楼上的上瘾女士

Imperial City...

Tanya's Residence...

Tanya was cross-legged at the center of a dark room that was void of furniture. Her eyes were closed and the gem set into the center of her forehead as well as the stone set into a bracelet on her wrist was the only source of light in the dark and frankly gloomy room.

Tanya's hands suddenly began to glow with light very similar to the light that the gem in her forehead was giving off.

There were a few taps on the door into the room but Tanya said nothing and did not indicate that she had heard the taps. Apparently, that was a sign that she was open to being disturbed as the door opened soon after, and in walked Aliya and Ehrlich.

The two appeared cautious as they walked closer to Tanya who they had not seen for days. After Tanya defeated Nozel and took the gem from his head, she secluded herself to learn its mysteries.

She said that was her reason for seclusion while she put the finishing touches to her defeat of Nozel by destroying his cosmic pearl and returning him to the very start of his cultivation.

The possibility of Nozel being able to restart his cultivation was looking on the bright side though as what Tanya had done had at the very least inflicted permanent damage on him.

Getting the gem ripped from his head had injured Nozel mentally and weakened him but it was a mental injury he could heal from which was why Tanya decided to take it a step further.

Her decision had caused a bit of a ruckus in the Imperial Palace with Nozel's mother, a consort of the Emperor raising her voice in protest for her son's treatment but no one stood with her. Even those who had joined up with Nozel in his plans to overthrow the Emperor were quick to denounce him now that he was useless to them.

Tanya had also not done the destruction of the cosmic pearl in secret but rather right in the sky with the perception of all spectators on them.

What Tanya did shook Creten Haron, the first Prince to the core.

Creten had not exactly been in support of Nozel as he was only truly interested in a future where he ruled the Empire and not a future where he was beneath any of his siblings. That said, he was in support of the idea of someone taking Tanya out as he had failed to do so himself.

Anyway, seeing how far Tanya would go to take away the future threat that Nozel could pose caused Creten to worry that he might be next or if at least, that fate was in his future. His worries were unfounded so far as Tanya had gone silent ever since the incident.

Nozel's mother had no support, especially not from the Emperor and so she slinked away to mourn her loss quietly and in secret.

Amador, the Emperor of the Haron Empire could not be more proud of his daughter for getting rid of the possible threat to his reign and he was very ready to sanction whatever Tanya was ready to ask from him and that was especially the case in recent events.

"Your Highness..." Ehrlich began after a few seconds of silence but before he could continue or even really hit his strides with his words, Tanya interrupted him,

"It's Doxon, isn't it? It has fallen to the Cult" she said and both Aliya and Ehrlich nodded behind her as though she could see them, although to be fair, she could sense them clearly with her perception.

"Yes, it has," Aliya said vocally to which Tanya chuckled which caught the two a bit by surprise,

"I told Father it would be unwise to trust the Doxons to keep the Duchy out of the reach of the Cult. A majority of the Duchy ruling families were already prepared to turn against us even before the Cult and Doxon is on that list.

For all of Kirill's vocal support, he is also a sneaky bastard who surely had his plans that undermined our reign. It just happens that he was not on his grandson's side.

And then there is the fact that Hal is a Doxon.

Whatever he becomes, whatever strength he gains, that is his root... We should have been rid of the Doxons before they had the chance to ally with him" Tanya said with slow and deliberate words and never stopping or pausing her insights into the gem in her head.

Tanya had felt it when the Doxon Duchy got out of reach by using the strength she got from the Monument-gem in her forehead to amplify the influence she had over the Nexus stone that was bonded to her.

Tanya's seclusion had achieved what she had aimed to achieve. She had dug deeper into the secrets of the Monument-gem through the connection that had taken her into the Monument of Ordinances where she eavesdropped on a conversation of obvious great importance.

'Nozel had no idea what he had' Tanya had thought as she unearthed secrets through the gem.

The gem had given Nozel ideas of power surpassing the usual cultivation path but what he had learned had only scratched the surface of what there was to learn.

Tanya had opened herself more to be flooded with power from the Monument and while it inflicted her with pain, she accepted that pain on account of how powerful it made her.

It was common sense to her; More Pain, more power.

"Well, the Emperor appears to have seen reason," Ehrlich said.

"He's ready to let you do as you please" Aliya added and Tanya sighed.

She was not actually planning to wait for her father's permission to do what she felt was right but she was happy to receive it.

"Very well, then," she said and sparked on every Rune-lamp that was in the room so that it brightened up as she floated to her feet to turn around and face Aliya and Ehrlich who were treated to the sight of crack lines on her face.

There were two cracks and they started from above her eyes ans down to her chin and they gave off light as though Tanya was positively bursting with power.

Neither Aliya nor Ehrlich knew what to say to Tanya's new look but that was fine as Tanya was not fishing for a comment. She just smiled and walked past the two with a smirk,

"If Hal and his cult think they can hole us into the Imperial City, they have another thing coming.

How many men has my father granted I take along to avenge those who fell in the Doxon Duchy?" she asked.

"As many as you think you'll need and be able to adequately command," Ehrlich told her.

"Then we have work to do. It's time to take the fight to the Cult" Tanya said and walked out of the room with the two hurrying to follow after her.

As she walked, Tanya's smirk was perpetual,

'Hal, as long as I live, you will never rule the Haron Empire... You can be sure of that!'

...

Meanwhile...

The Dystopian Phoenix Clan...

Hal was having a meeting with a bit of an unlikely duo that was the Dystopian Devil Chieftess and the Dystopian Pheonix Queen.

Alvira had had her duel and had the firsthand taste of Hal's power while also realizing he was still holding back so much.

Hal had shown her goodwill by not killing her guards who had attacked him and also by not being insistent on manipulating the control he seemed to have over her bloodline.

Alvira was calm and much more receptive to what Hal had to say which honestly was not much.

Hal simply admitted to having been the reason Aspasia killed her Draconic husband while Aspasia admitted to readily going along with it.

Hal's influence, which was at play with her daughter, was clear to see and Alvira believed she would likely follow along that path the more time she spent in Hal's company but there was nothing she could do about that.

Hal made it clear that he would not stand for a union between the Dragon and Phoenix Clans but he also said he was doing so in the best interest of both clans,

"What the hell are you talking about?" Alvira had asked as calmly as she could.

"It would have been a waste of time to unite as that would not stop me from ripping you apart.

Whether or not the union went through, my plans and the success of those plans would not have changed. You would have just forced something and had nothing to show for it.

Once both the Dystopian Dragon and Phoenix clans have surrendered themselves to my reign, you can mix your races as much as you please. At that point, the innate hatred that forces your clans apart would be gone courtesy of me." Hal had explained still seated in the throne he had conjured while he fondled Aspasia's breast and she stroked his cock through his robe.

After making it clear that he wanted the subservience of the Pheonix Clan starting with Alvira herself, Hal opened a portal to the Devil Tribe, and in came Elenor the Malignant in all of her almost-naked glory.

Hal morphed the room they were in with the use of Reality warping so that it became a meeting room with a round table that had Alvira and Elenor seating at opposite sides facing each other.

Alvira disliked Elenor, she always had and Elenor disliked Alvira, especially with the recent plans to overwhelm the Devil Tribe along with the Dragon Clan but the two had a truce of sorts in Hal's presence.

"You are not enemies. At least not as long as I require you both. You shall coexist and that is not up for debate.

The first order of business of your truce is to work in unison with me for the destruction of the Nexus Stone,"

"You want to destroy the Nexus Stone?" Alvira asked in stark disbelief.

This was the first she was hearing of such although that was not the case for Elenor who Hal had revealed this to before he took off to the Dragon clan to take Aspasia as his.

"That was exactly my reaction" Elenor pointed out as Hal answered them both,

"Yes, I do. It's nothing more than a nuisance and getting rid of it is the first step in uniting the landmass of the Dystopian and Human Continents" he said and patted Aspasia on the head with her kneeling between his legs to worship his cock while he sat on the throne he had conjured for himself.

Aspasia had fished the organ out of his robes and paid little to no attention to conversations or the fact that her mother was in the room with her as she sucked Hal off.

Speaking of Alvira, the scene was obscene to her but for some reason, she could not bring herself to speak against it. In fact, the obscenity was having an arousing effect on her.

She suspected the reason for all this was the sweet scent that had now pervaded the room.