Chapter 201: Chapter 199 ~ Intervention

“You’re reckless.” Nel says, her voice quivering with buried emotions clawing their way to the surface. Her eyes shimmer in the low light and through some force behind nature, she squeezes my heart tight.

Well above us, students study and play while locked into futures that they cannot escape, some still struggling with hopes not yet dead. While in the city surrounding us, I can see the thousands of people building their new lives, exploring the abounding opportunities surrounding them.

Many have settled themselves down, their initial frenetic energy relaxing as they find time to get to know their neighbours and explore the city and its functions. Many lovers make date spots out of clearings, or cuddle as they watch the actors practice their plays on stage.

In the level below us, Alo and Vice are interviewed by an overexcited June alongside her gang of miscreant volunteers, but they aren’t really anything more than a distraction right now.

Nel has gathered together our little group of lovers. Eshya, Vii, and Adler sit by her side facing me with serious expressions, some more forced than others. They caught most of my fight in the moment, twitching with every injury and cheering for every success, but just in case they missed anything, Nel insisted that I share the footage of the incident.

Today, our plan isn’t for a date, or anything fun. It’s something closer to an intervention.

“The wounds you received were awful to look upon. You looked half-way a corpse, and I could feel every one of those wounds scarring my very heart.” My own flesh has been rebuilt by the healer upon our return. Arduelle decided to leave me to suffer them rather than treating me, as she could’ve easily done. A punishment perhaps.

“If this was some unavoidable fight, or there was good reason for your recklessness, then I’d quietly bear these sympathetic pains, but there was no good reason.” Nel slumps in her chair, staring down at her own hands as her fingers slowly, nervously tap out an uneven rhythm.

The others sit wearing serious expressions as they stare down at the table between us. There’s a plate covered in cookies, but they feel out of place with the weight of the topic we’re discussing.

Vii looks conflicted, and a little unsure of herself as she opens her mouth, but she doesn’t immediately speak.

“Vii?” Nel encourages her to speak.

“It’s really dangerous to do things like this, but the way you ignored all of your injuries made you look kind of cool-”

“Vii~!” Nel’s voice is raised, and she retains a threatening tone without needing to shout.

“But it was also really silly!” Vii quickly amends. “If I did something like this, you’d probably be upset with me. Not that I would unless I really, really had to, pain sucks. Even a paper cut bothers me until it’s healed, like I won’t whine about it, but it’s always there bothering me. But you don’t even flinch, it’s a bit scary in a way.”

“I still feel the pain. I just don’t have much of a flinch reflex.” I say, shrugging and pulling a cookie over. There’s a jug full of… let’s call it milk alternative, something like almond milk, and some glasses, but I hesitate to reach for them. I instinctively hold the cookie up as a shield as I listen.

“You stepped in to help the town.” Adler says levelly as she realizes that everyone else has gone silent and she can voice her perspective. “That is admirable, even if you were extraordinarily violent in your means, but couldn’t you have achieved as much good, or more, just by casting your magic at the groups that are stopped at the town’s walls?”

“I… suppose so?” I reply. “I was trying to practice my hand-to-hand fighting.”

“That wasn’t a particularly smart time for training.” Adler says, leaning back and shrinking down a little in her seat. Her ears flicker nervously, and I know that she’s had to push herself a little to come out with her thoughts. The air just feels heavy and it’s difficult to speak.

“Your dodging requires some more effort, your punches are pretty gruesome, but you need to get much better at using your defensive Skills.” Eshya evaluates me, feeling none of the same weight in the air. “Also, the way you moved… I could practically feel you stepping on my toes through the memory of it. You’re meant to step around an enemy attack, not try to catch it.”

“Yeah, it wasn’t my best performance.” I admit, sighing.

“It wasn’t even average. You can usually do better than this.” Eshya says, staring down at me with crossed arms. “But much worse than any of that… You didn’t bring me with you! This is specifically what I do and you left me out of it.”

“You had class, and the timing wasn’t great.”

“It’s just unfair. You have all the best fights when I’m not around to join in.”

“Eshya. Off topic.” Nel says sharply, sitting up straight and pouring me a glass of milk and carefully sending it across the table to me.

“Thank you.” I nod my head towards her and she flashes a smile before her stern expression returns.

“Kyra, I love you.” She says, sighing as she stares down at the table. “And I want to love you for a long time. That’s what this is about, so please put as much value in your own life as you do everyone else’s.”

“I’ll be more mindful.” I say.

“Thank you.” Nel replies with a nod, relaxing a little as she partakes of the snacks alongside me. It’s something that June made for us, after following us back here. She’s still undecided on whether she wants to stay or not, but for now she’s happy to float around the tower and help out with things.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Nel asks, leaning on the table. “The reason you were so stressed, and felt that you had to go so far to let it out.”

“You mean the whole, killing god thing…?”

“Yeah, that tripped me out.” Eshya leans in, her eyes glowing bright, “What the hell was that?”

“Everything. Tell me everything.” Vii says her eyes glowing as she grips a pen and presses it to her little coded notebook. “I don’t know anything about this god-king of the unified states. It sounds ridiculous, like one of the crazy theories that the lizard people come up with. Actually, I think I heard some of those theories, but they’re still just too ridiculous.”

“I would also like to know…” Alder says, leaning in.

“Arduelle didn’t really say much, and you heard all of it from looking in through my eyes right?” Their version of the Skill doesn’t blend multiple visions together into a complex image, but it’s more than enough for a little peeping.

“I have to grow strong enough to eventually eliminate this monster that’s so powerful that he just goes around destroying whole galaxies.” I say, shrugging as I feel my hands start twitching. Eshya is the first to grab my hand, squeezing it tight.

“Do you want to?” She asks, relaxed and unconcerned for any consequences either way.

“I… I want to be strong enough that he leaves us alone, or else strong enough to kill him.” I say, struggling to swallow back my fears. I’ve been grasping for more and more power but only recently have I been seriously thinking about where that path ends.

Now I know.

“Then I think we need to do some more training.” Eshya says, not even questioning the scale of this challenge.

Vii nods, slowly, tapping her pen against her book as her face is scrunched up cutely. Whatever her thoughts are on the matter, she refrains from voicing them further.

“I’d like to question him.” Adler says, sitting up straight. “I’d like to know why he made his empire as he did. Why he gave us welfare officers the rules he did, and what he actually wants from all of this.”

“I’ll make sure to ask him, before I kill him, that is.” I laugh, but I can feel no joy in it.

“There’s something else we need to talk about, as well.” Nel says, sitting up straight and looking back towards me. “Are you serious about forcing the surrender of all other factions and groups in this dungeon?”

“Yes,” I reply quickly and easily. I feel no shame at the admission, a little fear surges forth only to be consumed by rage as I consider those who would harm these people around me.

“Assassins were sent after us already, and that’s not something that’s going to end if we do nothing about it. We need to teach everyone down here that we are not to be touched. We are not to be harmed. For now, so long as Frey and Arduelle are willing to accept it, I want to have a meeting with the leaders of the important factions. I’ll make it clear that any attempts to hurt anyone around me will mean a swift execution.”

“Wont that just make them more likely to come after you?” Vii asks, but Eshya laughs while providing an answer.

“No, not if the dungeons are interfering on our behalf. They’re practically goddesses down here, remember?”

“It might not be enough.” Nel says, shaking her head in uncertainty.

“They’ll either be smart enough to let us live safely, or they’ll die.” I say. “Hopefully, I can trust in Arduelle and Frey to protect you in that case. I may be rude at times, and in need of lessons, but I’m still their weapon. Or I will be, at least. They’ll protect you.”

“I’ll have Red look into solidifying our defences.” Nel says. “There’s no reason we should rely on the dungeons as a first line of defence.”

“A good point.” I admit, nodding to her.

“Why though?” Vii asks, sitting up straight and meeting my eyes. “Why the city? Why the empire? Why not just hide, while gathering power?”

Her eyes sparkle as she leans in, curious of my answer. She can get this fearsome energy about her sometimes when she wants to understand something.

“I… I want to live somewhere beautiful, and safe. I want to be surrounded by happiness and thousands of different people, doing different things. I want to know all their different cultures, their music, food, what drives them, and what they desire.

“I want to be surrounded by people at their most beautiful. Every society I come across does something wrong, that I can’t help but want to fix it. Sometimes their ruled by assholes, and I just can’t find it in myself to bow down to them.

“There’s… I also like having people listen to me. Not because they’re forced to, but because I have something worth saying, because I can do something for them. It feels nice being a leader that people appreciate and seeing everything I do change the world around me for the better.”

I let out a long sigh and meet the eyes of my lovers, feeling the weight of their thoughts and judgments, a burden that I welcome. Just having them think about me, about my words and feelings, it’s enough to make me blush.

“Surrounded by beauty, huh?” Eshya laughs, looking around the table. “I guess that explains the harem we’re building then.”

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“I… can’t deny it.” I say, biting my lip and staring down at the cookie in my hands. “I am a little possessive and greedy, but that’s not really bringing up anything new, is it?”

“So, we’re killing this god-king, razing his empire, and taking over all of reality?” Eshya asks, snapping a cookie in two and sharing half of it with Vii. “What’s the first step?”

“Getting to class on time.” Nel answers. “Kyra, you’ll need to breakthrough and practice as many magic disciplines as possible, especially space magic. We don’t know the capabilities of this enemy of ours, so you need to be ready for anything.”

“Well, I guess I’ll learn how to be an astronaut, and steal a few Skills, then.” I say, nodding to her suggestion.

“The rest of you, we’re here to support Kyra, and develop this empire. We can use this to gather as much mana and talent as possible, in preparation for the battle, and in strengthening you. We’ll be polishing Skills that might be useful, and developing institutions that can do the same. She can’t win this fight on her own.

“You will survive this, Kyra. I’ll make damn sure of it.”

“Okay.” I can only accept her offer, as she starts discussing exactly what a civilisation can do to strengthen a single individual. I swallow back my overbearing emotions and take in the view around me, filling my city.

The thousands of people. I need to make sure that we don’t lose sight of them in all this. It’s for my own sake that I want these people to be happy, and I will not grind up their hopes and dreams just to gain a little more strength for some battle far over the horizon. Though, I do want at least a little support and loyalty from them.

“We have a visitor.” I say, trying to keep my voice even as I prepare the mana in my throne. There’s not much need for aiming, not with how close to the throne they stand. Matter of fact, they seem just about ready to plant themselves on it.

I move fast, but without sprinting. They’re not an immediate threat, and I need to focus. My lovers surround me and I can hear Nel calling for assistance from Red and her teams, while Eshya draws her sword and readies herself for a fight.

Stepping into the throne room from the stairs behind the crystal chair itself, I take in the scene with my own eyes.

Khet, the guild master with his eyes on power and riches, stands awkwardly off to the side as the target of my concerns stands aloof just by the side of my throne. While the merchant withers under my glare, the woman herself shows no sign of concern.

A large circular stone lies abandoned on the ground near the entrance to the room, still glowing with some residual light from the mana that passed through its enchantments. A teleporter, just what I always wanted, but I don’t think it was brought as a gift.

“So, you’re this Empress that has the court all stirred up in a frenzy.” The regal woman says, her eyes equal height to mine.

Looking at her more closely, I can see that she’s actually rather small. Her elvish body attached at the waist to the larger body of a spider, though she seems slightly different from our own alchemist, who has a similar build. The pale white of her chitinous spider body is accented by the red streak along her back, and only serves to highlight how pale her elvish skin really is.

That said, the parts that I can reasonably judge as human-adjacent are on the smaller side, and while clearly alien, it’s also clear that she’s no child even for her smaller build. Her stance, her glare, the way she expresses herself, and the slightly more delicate features of her face all lack any sign of immaturity.

She is refined, and dangerous.

“Usually, one should be invited inside before making themselves at home.” I say, carefully manipulating the magic in my throne so that I can cast it whenever needed.

“Well, it wouldn’t be acceptable for me to be called impolite. I’m princess Malea, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“The pleasure is all mine.” I say, “You’re here in surrender, I presume?”

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Skills & Stats

 

~Mana Form:

Current mana density: 15908 units

~Mana distribution:

Defence: 20/100%

Offense: 20/100%

Mana sense: 20/100%

Recovery: 20/100%

Gluttony: 10/100%

Misc.: 10/100%

Efficiency: 100/100%

 

~Favourited Skills:

-Tag and Film

-Trapping

-Stealth

-Mana surge movement

-Annihilation defence

-Annihilation flame burst

-Annihilation net

-Eyes of an Empire

 

Adaptions:

-Quick perception mind

-Annihilation Heart

-Clean bowels

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

//Author Note

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