BXBX NOVEL Chapter 270 The First Step
- POV General -
"So the Empress might be the one to wake up Lady V ? Hence the return of Her Majesty Jade to her Kingdom despite the thousands of years of Vampire tradition of exile..."
"If she succeeds, in return your race has also sworn to follow her and fight by her side under the banner of Elysium, right ?"
"That's right"
An hour had already passed since the dragon representatives and those from the northwestern countryhad transformed into beasts. All of them were now in their humanoid forms and were talking in the cave that had returned to its normal state after being covered with ice. Since the alliance had been officially declared on the honor of all, there was no reason to hide anything from anyone.
Giving one's word to the dragons, swearing on one's honor, pride and clan were not words spoken in the wind, capable of being taken back. There was no official paper, at least not yet, but Freya had decided to put her trust in them and so Magnus had revealed her potential connection to Lady V. Because of this, Aneyaris, Nordin and Klover were coming to a better understanding of why the oh-so-grumpy Vampire Priest had also allied himself with Elysium.
"So ? When did you plan the invasion of the Capital of Zal ?"
"The humans must be panicking right now and finding a way to prepare for the attack without knowing from where, how, who, and especially when. On our side spies are already in the city and we are doing what is necessary so that we can attack in a little less than a month."
Without beating around the bush, the blonde haired dragon had asked what they needed to know about the time they had. All the information had to be taken into account if they were to organize for the important fight they were not even aware of a few hours before. Freya had answered right away, holding nothing back and giving answers to questions in a concise, quick and efficient manner.
"We are less numerous than your Empire but with the strength of the fire, water and lightning clan you can count at least 50 dragons ready to fight on your side. We are not many anymore, our existence to all is threatened but in one month with training we will finally be ready to go out"
"On our side, I'm pretty sure that all the Vampires in the Kingdom will join the fight which makes exactly 500 vampires in your ranks"
The Elysium Empire could count 550 allies at least because of their meeting, it was crazy and even if she didn't show it, the she-wolf was happy. Her face was expressionless and as cold as ice, but inside herself this news made her very happy. However, not everything was 100% decided on the side of the bloodsuckers and that, the leader of the fire clan was quick to point out showing a great unexpected reflection.
"That said, what will happen to your alliance if Her Highness Freya is unable to wake up Lady V ? It's not as if you swore to follow her as we did, your agreement is based solely on the success of the she-wolf Empress."
Klover, who had lost his annoying, angry side in the last hour, had just asked an important question. If the alliance between the Vampire Realm and the Empire of Elysium was held together mainly by the hope of their benefactor's awakening, what would happen if it failed ? Sitting in his stone seat with a serious look on his face, he stared at Magnus waiting for an answer that finally came from the young redheaded woman sitting beside him.
"Well..."
"I would still fight alongside her Highness."
Jade, the Vampire Queen had answered without hesitation shocking the whole assembly and especially her subordinate who had opened his mouth wide. Yet she didn't waver, remaining motionless and looking at everyone with her emerald eyes as if nothing had happened. It was a bit like dropping a bomb although the most shocked was Magnus who had dedicated his life to freeing Lady V alongside his leader, like a guide.
"Your Majesty Jade, you..."
"Even if she is not the one we seek, I would break tradition to join the dream of Elysium and I would not change my mind."
"With all due respect, you can't do that !"
The tone had risen suddenly, Magnus had risen with a jump, his long black hair fell on his eyes but he did not care. He was staring at his Queen with bewildered eyes, she who was sitting cross-legged supporting his gaze with the greatest of calm. After a few seconds, the young woman took a deep breath before speaking clearly, finally showing her status as Queen that she had not usurped.
"So what ? I should continue to search for this person while hiding shamefully among the humans while they destroy everything ? What happens if the Kingdom I join decides to attack my own people ? Aren't you tired of standing by and hoping for a miracle ? What's the point of waking up our benefactor if all we offer her is a world with no future for the rest of us, dark, filled with hatred, blood and ashes ?"
"..."
"I don't forget my mission but I too want to fight to take back the rights that humans have stolen from us simply because of our difference. I too have pride, I too aspire to be happy and having fought against the Empress, I can assure you that her strength is well worth breaking traditions no matter how crazy it sounds..."
Her voice had echoed throughout the cellar and her speech had impressed all those present but especially the clan leaders. They had never really had any relations other than diplomatic with the Vampires, but this situation had opened their eyes a little more. In the end, they all had the same desire, this unquenchable desire for freedom and this thirst for justice presented by an Empress from elsewhere.
To Queen Jade, Freya was like the Lady V of that time and though they were different, they had come into their lives to offer a new future. Ever since she had met the she-wolf on the battlefield, she had felt in her heart that she had to follow her. Like many others before her, the young redheaded woman had been mesmerized by what the Empress represented beyond her power and beauty.
So far she had not been mistaken, Jade did not know that Freya was the ancient Goddess of the Primordial Blood and thus their direct ancestor but her instincts were adamant. That's why, despite what her rank as Queen meant, she had decided to go against tradition. As if to give their support, Kira followed by Gaya addressed Magnus who could not ignore his feelings which converged with those of Jade.
"With my family and my sister's subordinates, we will hit Zal so hard that we will send a powerful message to the surrounding countries. We will draw attention to ourselves, but the humans won't be the only ones who will finally know of our existence and our struggle."
"As I speak to you now, the echo of our battle in the Dark Forest is attracting more and more people who want to find a safe place and join us in our fight. Day by day the Empire is filling up and for the moment no country is aware of it...we are ahead of them and even have spies in their homes right now"
The Vampire Priest was torn between his desire to respect tradition and his desire to fight for this chance to change things. The young woman wasn't wrong, what was the point of waking up Lady V if she was going to live shamefully underground like them for decades ? However, Kira's and Gaya's words were important too and finally made him give up with a sigh.
"Sigh...anyway, I guess nothing can change your mind your Majesty. As for me I-...I don't know but I think I can understand, as for you...I wouldn't like to have you as an enemy, that's for sure"
Magnus had lowered his weapons and even though part of him needed time to digest the information, another part had confidence. Moreover, hearing from Gaya and her sister-in-law that Elysium was one step ahead, confirmed the danger of the she-wolf but also her intelligence. And then there was no point in thinking about it for the moment because nothing was played out what Nordin, eager to learn more about Freya, was quick to say.
"Well...since we've talked about the basics, how about we go to the room held by Priest Magnus where the statue of Lady V is located so we can be set once and for all ? Depending on the outcome, a lot can change, right ? This is the first step"
Impatient, he was eager to witness the power of the Empress once again, as were Klover and Aneyaris who had a big smile on their faces. They had less than a month to find the Elysium army and its Commanders in Zal directly, time was running out. There was no point in blabbering anymore, now they all wanted to see what Freya was capable of and especially how she was going to free Lady V from her curse.
_________
- POV Freya -
We were back in the room where we had first met Magnus, I was standing in front of the famous statue and everyone was surrounding me. To be honest I wasn't sure what to do since even the vampires had no idea what to do. They said that this girl was looking for a blood handler, the one who was the Original and although this description reminded me of myself, I didn't know anything.
Neither I nor Kalaa recognized that childish face even though we knew for sure that she was not from this world but from somewhere else. Why was she looking for me ? Was it really me ? Did she come from the Domain of the Gods ? Why did she come ? How ? So many more questions but I didn't have time. Everyone was waiting impatiently so to get started I decided to analyze the statue for the first time, something I hadn't done before.
- PING -
[ ERROR ?%?#?%?#? ERROR ]
[ Warning : Unknown magic detection ]
*I thought so*
Immediately afterwards an error message appeared meaning that I didn't have enough level to analyze or simply not the right skill. However, I had one more piece of information confirming that there was indeed some kind of curse that had trapped this girl in the stone. I had another idea though, if she was really trapped then that meant that there was still a soul inside this statue.
I felt the gaze of others weighing on me but it didn't put any pressure on me, I was thinking very quickly, my brain was racing even though I had already made up my mind. I was going to use a skill that I had just acquired and that had only appeared when I had manipulated the mana and soul of dead soldiers. I didn't know if it would work the same way but it was worth a try, I was ready for anything.
*All right let's go...*
[ Activation of your "Reminiscence" skill (lvl 1) ]
[ Start the operation in 5...4...3...2...1...]
Closing my eyes, I began to see the surrounding mana, the mana that swirled in the bodies of people, insects, plants, every living organism, every thing. To make a long story short, I was seeing everything from a different angle, mana made of light particles in a vast world filled with darkness. As I had thought, the statue's was shining intensely, a blinding golden light at the level of the girl's heart.
[ MP : 60 000 / 85 000 ]
The little dragon at her feet also had a glowing ball, weaker but a pretty blue almost white which confirmed my theory. Unlike the first time, I didn't have to create a sphere of ice by binding the mana and soul of my target, my skill did that for me. However, as the process progressed, I still lost a very large amount of mana far more than the 478 deceased soldiers of Elysium.
[ MP : 43 000 / 85 000 ]
The same mana sphere swirled around the statue as a huge aura emanated from our combined power. A white light shone and as the seconds passed, it became brighter and brighter until a body appeared behind it. It was the girl's body because Reminiscence allowed us to talk to her, even if it was only for a short time.
The young Lady V was still alive and what I was doing was simply creating a way to communicate through her soul. She could speak, I was sure, her soul was still whole, so we could know how to help her because her soul was still attached to the statue. That's why I couldn't absorb her to free her later as I had done for Kira, June or May before.
[ MP : 28 631 / 85 000 ]
As my MP's dropped, the light finally disappeared leaving the girl's ice body on the ground. She seemed to be asleep, she looked exactly like the statue and as I wiped my nose of blood I could hear Magnus rushing towards her. His hurried footsteps echoed in the large dark room as a succession of familiar sounds echoed in my mind.
- PING -
[ Congratulations ! Reminiscence skill is now level 2 ]
[ You gain 600 attribute points ]
[ You earn 100,000 EXP ]
[ Congratulations ! Your level increases from 45 to 47 ]
[ You gain 1,000 attribute points ]
___
FULL STATUS
Names : Freya / Lucifer Nightshade
Age : 0 year old / Mentally : 25 years old
Sex : Female
Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult
Race : Imperial Demon
Titles :
- Demon Goddess of Primordial Blood and Death (former - until all powers are recovered) - 30%.
- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the uniques Sins Demons (to unlock it, please gather the other 6 - 3/6 - (locked)
- Dragon tamer
- Ruthless slayer
Level : 47/70
Exp needed for next level: 7 000 / 48 000
HP : 170 000 / 170 000 MP : 28 631 / 85 000. BLOOD : 100 / 100
Strength: 660
Defense : 660
Agility : 666
Endurance: 663
Speed : 662
Intelligence: 660
Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)
Attribute points to allocate : 1 600
Married to : Gaya Nightshade
Daughter : Shiro Nightshade
Twins (son & daughter) : Tyle & Altaïs Nightshade
Little sister : Kira Nightshade (Greedy Fox)
Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade
Empire (menu)
Subordinates: 10 801(keep growing)
Humans killed: 153
Souls: 0/3
Elements: Ice / Chaos (Freya) - Blood / Death (Lucifer)
Skills (all):
Attacks :
- Demon Claws (Lvl 5)
- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)
- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)
- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)
- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)
- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 7)
Défense :
- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)
- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)
- Pain Resistance (lvl 6)
Attack/Defense :
- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 4)
- Death Gaze (lvl 1)
Others :
- Humanoid form
- Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 20%.
- Ice creation (Lvl 6)
- Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)
- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)
- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)
- Master of Souls (lvl 3)
- Lucifer's Threads of Blood (lvl 3)
- Healing Blood (lvl 3)
- Reminiscence (lvl 2)
- Analysis
- Telepathy
Passives :
- Commander (lvl max)
- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]