Chapter 447 - Reign of the Crowned XI

  Lana deployed her temporal distortion field and leapt over an incoming cw. Landing square on her attacker’s back, she kicked at its head whilst unching herself down the snowy mountain path. She needed a weapon—something sharp and heavy enough to apply the techniques ingrained into her flesh. Her pocket knife wouldn’t cut it. At most, she could leverage it as a means of preparing another wooden axe, but there was no time.

  The orniferin king was already poised to strike. Spinning around, it reared up on its hind legs and descended upon her with its jaws and cws alike. She threw up her domain, slowed down time, and slipped right under the attack. She retaliated with an open-palmed strike. It was a pathetic imitation, something that she performed with one of her crew members’ abilities in mind. And surely enough, it proved entirely ineffective. The crustacean didn’t react. Its cold gaze still fixed upon her, it followed with a spinning cleave, ready to gouge her entrails out with its bded legs.

  If anything, Lana’s fist had taken more damage. Her fur was supposed to be tough as diamonds, but the tiny serrations that dotted the orniferin’s body tore straight through her natural armour and bloodied her palm.

  Attacking with her bare hands would get her nowhere.

  She needed an axe.

  It was fortunate then that she was far from the only assaint. Her spell-slinging companions unleashed their magic in tandem, with one surrounding the centipede with a circle of arrows, and the other directing a nuclear bst straight into its skull.

  The force of the magic sent the insectoid crustacean flying through the air. He was thrown all the way to the next mountain, his shell scorched bck by the all-out attack. Lana was hardly unaffected. She was sent spiraling into the nearest valley despite the enemy absorbing most of the explosive force. But that was exactly what she had wanted—needed to happen.

  Because she came to a sliding stop by a pile of orniferin corpses.

  It wasn’t the rgest group, just one of the many that they created mid-retreat. Still, it served her purpose.

  She grabbed a cw from the pile and removed the bottom pincer. Its new shape was much closer to that of a scythe, but the system was generous enough that it allowed her to override the cssification—in Lana’s hands, it was considered an axe, even if it had a pair of strange, floppy joints she would have to work around.

  Another spell scorched the horizon as she test-swung the weapon. It was a pilr of fme, defined by the mushroom-shaped cloud that filled the world around it. The mountain range was changed, completely reshaped as ndslides and avanches rained down on the world below. All the clouds were blown away, leaving nothing but the afternoon sun to shine down upon the Langgbjerns, their rays focused on the orniferin that rose from the rubble.

  He hissed and snarled, crying out in rage as he turned his eyes towards his attacker.

  But he was given no chance to strike.

  A dozen magic circles formed in the space above his head, each rger than the other, and each made to concentrate the primordial magic directed towards the crab-shaped target.

  Three brilliant colours shuttered the day, outshining the sun itself with their bsphemous radiance.

  They shone so bright that the rest of the world almost seemed to dim, to lose its glow before their pulsing, neon waves.

  And then, annihition.

  A whole mountain was eaten, burned to the ground by the ray that rose from the earth and sought the heavens above. It was the only extended spell that Jules had worked into his repertoire, designed precisely to erase that which could rapidly recover. Lana was almost certain it worked. She watched as it melted the sky, destroying everything but the few pces where the gods had guarded their dungeons, where magic ran through the earth and filled it with raw power.

  It was followed by another world-shaking spell. A verdant arrow that fell from far above and melted the crater that the first magic had left behind.

  And yet, the orniferin stood. He rose to its feet, chittering madly as he fought against the sorcerous downpour.

  He dove straight through the bright green arrow and emerged from its rear. The veiny, translucent wings that sprouted from each segment conveying his rage by their lonesome. The rapid fluttering was so violent it shook the mountains, sending with each beat a powerful, skull-rattling shockwave in the form of a haunting screech.

  Lana expanded her domain three times each second and sprinted away as fast as she could, but she couldn’t outrun the bst. The soul-shaking echoes chased her down and coursed through her bones, converting her insides to a bloody mush.

  Suddenly, the insect appeared in front of her.

  She didn’t know when it had even kicked off the ground, but there it was, with its cw in her face.

  Not even her time dition sufficed to save her from being ripped in half.

  When she next regained consciousness, it was on top of a completely different mountain, her body somehow put back together again. Looking up, she found Panda, sighing and shaking his head as he looked down at the half conscious trio.

  “Come on, get up,” he said, with a smirk. “There’s no time to be wasting.”

  A shiver ran up her spine as soon as she followed his gaze.

  “This is how it’s gonna be until you prove your worth.”

  The cycle had repeated again.

  The orniferin was already approaching.

  ___

  Guided by the jittern warriors, Chloe slowly made her way through the massive pace. Unlike the Cadrian castle, which was scaled up for its inhuman inhabitants, the individual structures within the jittern nds were specced to an ordinary human scale. Their spatial consumption stemmed almost entirely from their ridiculous quantity.

  She passed glimmering pavilions and towering mansions, beautiful courtyards and immacute gardens, the contents thereof never anything but perfectly maintained.

  Though she cked any such uncanny ability, the vampire felt a stare on her person throughout the walk. If anything, it was more difficult not to notice. The king shot a continuous stream of conspicuous gnces—a behaviour that persisted even after he accidentally walked himself into a pole.

  He clearly knew he wasn’t being sneaky. He smiled sheepishly when she met him with a less-than-satisfied gaze and did nothing to correct his behaviour. Only after one of his servants whispered into his ear did he clear his throat and raise his voice.

  “To journey this path, regardless of thy purpose, a beckoned fatigue,” he said, with the usual realm-distorting projections. “Let mine hearth be yours, a feast for supper we share, upon fme of rest.”

  Chloe smiled awkwardly. “Thank you, but I’m still doing fine on rations. To be honest, I’d like to set out as early as I can, and if you rather I waited until morning, I’d like to use any extra time to catch up on sleep.”

  “Mind not for thy rest, for with our chefs ablessed, rest thy meal shall grant.”

  “To be honest, I’m fasting right now,” she said. “I can’t eat without growing weaker.”

  “It shall be no fault, for thy steed shall offer strength, more than is required.”

  “I’m a padin, and that would be breaking my oath,” she said. “I worship Alfred, celestial of life, and I’m only allowed to eat on days where I fulfill his demands.” It was a lie, of course. Alfred wasn’t the type to care for much of anything. And though Chloe bore many titles, holy knight was clearly not among them.

  “In thy faith he trusts, eversting and endless, of one day he cares not.”

  “I mean, that’s probably true…” She wasn’t really sure what to say. The pug king was being pushy enough that she suspected he would reject any excuse she came up with, so she stayed quiet and surveyed her surroundings. The pace’s yout was nothing short of convoluted. She could see over a dozen escape routes in any which direction, but she didn’t dare to take them. The pug-satyrs had proven themselves much faster than her. She probably wouldn’t have been able to get away unless a max-speed sprint sufficed to get her out of their territory. Frankly, she doubted it would. All the signs pointed down Patience Lane. She would fare best under cover of night, but even then, escape was practically a pipe dream, impossible lest their senses of smell were worse than their faces suggested.

  Though, it wasn’t like they would be necessary if the pug-king was true to his word. The longer they walked, the louder her doubt grew. He was talking her ears off, speaking in his odd rhythm as he bragged about the history of his reign.

  The details were uninteresting, but she did her best to follow along in case he asked her to repeat it.

  “Mine home we arrive, grand as the heavenly halls, a marvel divine.”

  A pair of servants opened the door for the entourage and revealed the building’s beautiful interior. There were veritable works of art pced all over. Vases, paintings, and sculptures sat among books, trinkets, and charms. Chloe, however, paid them little mind. She continued to seek alternative paths as she continued towards the dining hall.

  Somehow, the empty table was set as they pushed open the doors. And somehow, the daylight had long been stolen.

  When she looked outside the window, she found the sun far beneath the horizon. The stars were out, flickering just like the candles that kept the room alight. With another blink, the guards that were their escorts were gone. The king and his maidservants were the only ones still present. And oddly enough, the food was already on the table.

  The smell came out of nowhere, assaulting her senses as the maids lifted the lids off of their exquisite offerings. Cuts of duck, freshly seared steak, and even a whole roasted pig prepared alongside a whole bouquet of fruit. The wine the servants poured into their gsses was so fragrant that she could almost taste it from afar. But Chloe had no intention of partaking. She knew how her body reacted to good food, and she had no intention of putting that side of her on dispy before someone whose eyes were pregnant with interest.

  “I really do appreciate you preparing all this, and I don’t mean to offend,” said Chloe, “but as much as I would like to indulge, I have to uphold my oath.” When she looked back at the realm’s ruler, she found everything about him changed.

  He was no longer wearing his warrior’s garb, but a set of loose casual clothes that exposed a glimpse of his chiseled chest. The veiled hat was repced with a crown that exposed his ugly pug mug. Unlike many of the other men she saw, he had a strange moustache that grew into a pair of long, tapered tendrils. They extended well below his face, nearly reaching the table that he was leaning over.

  His eyes sparkled, shining with a bit of an odd light as he spent a few moments staring. Despite her rejection, he didn’t seem angry, only curious or perhaps even intrigued.

  “Packaged solution, a box of finest carved wood, eaten down the line.”

  “Yes please,” said Chloe. “Thank you for understanding.”

  “A stark impression, impresses a man’s true worth, or the ck thereof.”

  The vampiric maid forced another smile. “I’d really like to bathe and sleep.”

  “Such simple desires, like falling leaves they're granted, yet rebuffed I am.”

  Chloe almost wanted to grimace. He wasn't even being subtle anymore. Still, true to his word, he allowed her to go. She was pleasantly surprised to find that he didn’t try to follow her to the baths. There were a few maids present to attend to her needs, but she was otherwise left with peace and quiet.

  She threw off her clothes and hung them on the racks nearby. She started walking to the baths, but stopped as she spotted herself in the mirror. It wasn’t on account of her beauty—though she definitely would have wanted to fuck herself if she was anyone else—but rather the faint amber glow that came from her pelvic mark.

  It started at the very bottom of the heart-shaped tattoo and worked its way up along the other edges. It took a few seconds for it to get all the way through, and another few for it to return and begin the cycle anew. Confused, Chloe pced a finger on the mark and traced along its length. But while she could feel that the glowing parts were just a little bit warmer than usual, she couldn’t really tell if anything else was different.

  Making a note to ask Alfred the next time they convened, she sank her way into the bath and rested her weary body. It wasn’t until she touched the water and grabbed the soap that she realised how grimey she felt. She was fortunate enough not to have any blood spttered all over her body, as would certainly be the case for the others. Her particur constitution allowed her to absorb it through her skin and hair.

  Her mind shifted to her outfit as soon as she started washing up. For the most part, the uniform appeared undamaged—she had mended it every night before going to bed—but it was every bit as filthy as her body, perhaps even more.

  Thankfully, the servants didn’t raise any questions when she rose from her soak and grabbed it from the changeroom. It took a few seconds to remove everything that it was equipped with. The seven weapon belts that lined the insides of her skirt were easy to rip out, but the needles hidden in the fabric were difficult to access when the dress was id out. It didn’t help that she had dozens of pockets filled with miscelneous items. There wasn’t a single part of the dress without some sort of hidden feature or other. Even her panties were tweaked for emergencies. She had gone ahead and added three knife slots to each buttcheek as soon as she grew a tail.

  The final piece she removed was the brooch pinned to the strap of her apron. Checking the clock attached to its backside and confirming that noon had only just passed, she threw all of the fabric into the water and gave it a solid wash.

  She grimaced as she eyed all the dirt she squeezed out of her uniform. There was enough of it to turn the water brown. Had the servants entered the room right then, they surely would have fainted. But fortunately, the ever-running faucets washed away the filth before any such incident could trigger. Chloe soaped everything but Arciel’s panties four times for good measure before giving the cloth a good wring and observing her handiwork with a nod.

  Her maid css allowed her to remove all of the moisture with a single squeeze, so she threw the clothing back on and returned her weapons to their intended positions. Only then did she step out of the bath and follow the servants to her guest room.

  “Should I sneak out?” She muttered the question under her breath after closing the door and stepping over to the window.

  At a gnce, at least, it seemed like he was the sort of man to keep his promises.

  But on the other hand was his overbearing curiosity.

  The way that he looked at her was concerning, bone-chilling. She didn’t want anything to do with him.

  Still, Chloe soon settled for setting up a line of defence—a series of traps by all the room’s entrances so she could sleep at ease.

  If it was for her mistress, there was nothing that she couldn’t endure.