Chương 39: [BL] 38. Strength [6]

A silhouette of a skeletal figure was wrought into being behind the Lich Queen, like an inky swirl at first. The air trembled, dark clouds gathered around the two monsters, and when the queen glanced back, an anatomist appeared, covered in a dark mantle stained an even deeper shade. His flesh formed like a blob of gloomy matter at first and then trembled into a shadowy figure of a wide-smiling, crazed dark demon with a grin that split his face beneath his beaked nose.

He towered over the Lich Queen, three times her size. A beaked mask appeared, and he raised his hands. When he opened his palm, a dark and murky whirlwind spun around the Lich Queen, encompassing even her gigantic spear. For a brief second, both of them were trapped under the ball of swirling darkness. Then the anatomist hovered upward, passing through the spell and placing both his hands inside the dark globe. At once, the magic responded.

A vortex of raging dark wind swirled from the globe and feasted inside; each part of darkness became a starving blade of wind as they keened into the Lich Queen's body, who had summoned her cocoon of ice. But not a second passed before her defense was stripped bare as the relentless laceration dismembered the ice into nothing. Next, the Lich Queen screamed as the torrent of whirlwind tore into her.

"Fascinating," Kroos commented. Blood did not even make it out of the Dissection circle as they were torn apart. The Lich Queen, however, was no ordinary monster. Through the relentless flaying of dark wind, she managed to cast another spell. Dark blue chains sprouted from her chest and wrapped around her body. The dark wind tried to cut apart the metal, but it proved useless as the queen was now armored in her chain, with only a small slit for her eyes.

When the Dissection was over, the whirlwind disappeared, and the air around them turned into morning air once more. The Lich Queen's frost spear had been broken apart, and she summoned another—a much smaller spear—and sent it flying toward the Anatomist, who was hit straight in the chest and disappeared. Blood flowed down the queen's chain armor, dripping into the castle below. Willow did not plan to let her go.

As she was about to cast another Dissection, the Lich Queen raised her arms, and now an obsidian frost encased her dark body. She fell, plunging down toward the castle or about to, until Kroos summoned a banner and threw it, spearing the dark crystal and sending it to break against his fortress wall. Is she gone?

"It appears we are finally going to get a small breathing room," Kroos said. Not satisfied, Willow searched for the Lich Queen across the sky, but she could not find her anywhere. Now, the sun pierced through the clouds and beamed down morning light upon Willow. A small peace settled. Willow huffed and let her shoulders drop.

"I'm going down," Willow said.

"No need, my lady," Kroos said, and he made his way toward the stairs, stopping to invite Willow down with his hand.

"There will be no more Riftborn around here for a while. They must've sensed the trace of a tier-four fight and would avoid this place for two days at the very least. Now, this rare important moment where we could put our heads together and think."

The castle was relatively small, with only three floors according to Kroos. The first floor was assigned as a recovery area, where a runic bath was drawn and food was offered by a literally summoned servant. Willow saw one when she was offered a grilled chicken drumstick peppered with some kind of herb she had never seen before. The servant's skin was made of gold, and their eyes were red. When Willow said thanks, the servant did not respond.

"She is not a living being," said Kroos. The man kept his voice low out of respect for the crying woman across the grand table, which occupied most of the third floor—a room of dark bricks with braziers lining the walls. A banner of Kroos' family crest flower hung down from the four open slits high above, letting light filter through to the table where foods of all kinds lay.

Helen—Habel's daughter was the princess's handmaiden, and she sat right beside the princess, who consoled her upon hearing news of her father's death. The aroma of strange spices she had never smelled before assaulted Willow's nose, but she was not in the mood to eat; no one was, except for Kroos. Josha and Shera, who had been given seats to her right, looked around uncomfortably. Behind them were the other tier-threes, Drey and Leynah.

"My lord, may we have the room?" Princess Elesis addressed Kroos with narrowed eyes, not bothering to hide her anger as the lord enjoyed his meal. He was the only one who did not read the room. Or probably didn't care, Willow thought.

"Your Highness, as you can see, my lord's castle is not exactly big enough for us to lend an entire room to you." Behind Elesis, soldiers in heavy dark plates shifted, an aggressive stance at the disrespect. [?] Great, another bunch of tier-threes.

"You can enlarge it. I saw you do it before."

"If necessary, yes. But wasting my Runes is not beneficial to anyone here."

"The Runic pool—""Used."

"My lord," Elesis let out a growl, a threatening and authoritative voice that left no doubt that it was an order.

"We have much more important subjects to talk about. Such as the Bright One's Party Enhancer—the Hunt party, was it? Truly intriguing. Hm, yes, I can see why the dutiful marriage between the noblest blood and the Bright blood can be beneficial for the millions of souls relying upon the empire." If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"Must you be so crass, my lord?" Elesis bit back.

"Crass, Your Highness? Good Habel is not the only one to lose his life, and I shall not spend my runes unnecessarily in such a dangerous area as this." Kroos set down his fork and knife with a loud clink that made Josha and Shera stiffen. Willow locked eyes with Erick, who had been chosen as Sheran's representative. He sat beside the princess, appearing just as uncomfortable as Shera and Josha, but he still managed to sit up straight. Erick shrugged, not knowing what to do.

"Hm, yes. What do you think, my bright lady?" Kroos turned to Willow with a warm smile that was obviously forced.

"What?" She flinched.

"Should I spend my rune to facilitate a room for Her Highness's childhood friend?" Childhood friend, not handmaiden. He was not even acknowledging her title.

"I don't think it's my decision—""I beg to differ. What do you think makes a noble and royal have their power, my lady?"

"Their birth?"

"No, it's their ancestors' deeds, and the deeds they are expected to do when the Cycle arrives by putting aside their personal interests and putting the needs of millions before themselves. Those are the people who are worthy of being called royalty and nobles."

"My lord, you forget yourself," one of the guards stepped up behind the princess. Kroos tilted his head at Willow.

"Well?" The princess's eyes also went to her. Guarded eyes. Her first attempt to speak was without a word. Willow bit her lips and calmed herself. She had a sudden desire to put on her class outfit, just so she felt stronger.

"I don't believe it wise to do so," Willow said. A silence stretched for a while. Only the sound of Kroos taking another plate of golden-brown grilled fish and his cutlery clinking against his plate could be heard.

"This is a disrespect—" Elesis held up a hand, silencing the guard with a look; her eyes returned to Willow with another searching look, and Willow met it, curious why the princess seemed so... apprehensive?

"My lady!" Leynah's voice suddenly cut in as she stepped beside Willow. She addressed Helen.

"It was my fault. A Tier-two Lich managed to control my mind and, in doing so, destroyed the squad's cohesion. If my mind had been stronger, we would have caught the Emberblade party in front of the Kobold's rift." She hung her head down, and her white hair tumbled over her shoulder. Willow got a rising urge to defend her, and when she was about to open her mouth, Leynah shot her a fiery look and shook her head.

"Habel was brave," Josha added hastily, earning a look from everyone.

"The Kobold's rift was Willow's first rift, and he put Willow in a position of leadership to prepare her for the future. He also drew the best of us, the Sheran's force, despite our meager experience, and thanks to him, some of us survived. My lady, I will not forget him, taking the wrath of a Tier-two by himself for the rest of us. His name will stay with me."

Helen listened, still sobbing, and in a shaky voice, she said, "It appears my father sacrificed himself for the young ones, for the future, just like you said."

"How noble," Kroos added. The count took a goblet filled with wine and raised it high.

"For Habel then." As if prompted, everyone took a goblet; even those who were standing reached for one above a tray the servants brought. Willow never really drank except for a couple of sips before, but this was for Habel, so she glugged down the wine in one go. The world turned wobbly immediately, and she felt a rising bile climbing her throat. Leynah patted Willow's back and smoothed it, staring at her like she was stupid or something.

Willow coughed and tried to straighten herself up, but the world shook again just as she was about to regain her composure. A melodious laugh sputtered out of the princess, while Josha and Shera also looked like they were about to slobber all over the table.

"Ah, young one, such a weak body," Kroos let out a booming laugh.

"Willow, put on your class outfit, come on, breathe…" Leynah massaged her nape.

"Right…" She sucked in a lungful of breath, and her body glowed brighter than usual. The Huntress garb appeared around her, and in an instant, the wobbly world found balance again. She huffed and mumbled.

"I am never drinking again." The dinner thankfully went peacefully as Kroos kept sending for more and more meals and demanding that the retainer take a seat too.

"How does this work, my lord?" Erick asked after people began chatting.

"This food? You just summoned it?"

"It's my Enhancer, Master Erick. Lord Castle is my spell, and I have various enhancers that strengthen it, including adding comforts such as food." So the food was summoned because of that? Willow could not wrap her head around it, and perhaps she was not supposed to, since this was a world of magic. In the future, there would be plenty of things she would see and not understand.

After finishing her plate, which consisted of more chicken drumsticks that tasted way too good, and she filled her plate with ten of them. Willow had been preparing to be asked about the Grand Hunt, but it did not come.

"Now that we're full, my lady Willow, have you thought about what kind of weapon you'd like for your ascension?" Kroos asked"Ascension?"

"A class tier upgrade. A tier-two class allows weapons to be a part of your class outfit. All three of your classes are distinct. They each have different fighting styles… But worry not, we can arrange for a suitable weapon for you, my lady."

"I heard you favor swords?" the princess interjected.

"I myself prefer spears, but we have tier-two swords you can imbue into your class. All you need to do is ask. We have the finest blacksmith with us, eager to share their expertise with the village. I'm sure that receiving your weapon from them will also smooth our assimilation into Sheran village." She flashed her a beautiful smile. Willow's mouth twitched. She might as well have seen the chain being wrapped around her neck! The Sheran folks looked at her anxiously.

Suddenly, the princess and the count allied to wrap their hands around her.

"I will look into it. The blacksmith. But, my lord, Your Highness, I believe we have a more urgent matter. I'd like to work on freeing your trapped army and make our way to the Hollow Knight's rift and free the encirclement the Sheran folk are currently under." Josha and Shera let their shoulders drop; the latter gave Willow a grateful smile. Erick gave her a gruff nod.

"Your lady is correct, a true noble." Kroos raised a glass. I'm not.

"The Grand Hunt told me that if we were to take down these Treant groves… then the empire's army would be free to advance." The statement made Elesis and Kroos drop their facades, and their faces turned serious.

"A curious claim," Kroos said.

"Considering the Treants are far from the biggest threat the Duke's army is facing." Elesis nodded thoughtfully.

"We have found the Treant Rift. My mother led the raid into it with another tier-four. Her class is the ultimate fire type class called Flame Sovereign. I wouldn't be surprised if this Treant Rift has already been taken care of."

"You found the rift?" Damn it all. Willow drew a sharp breath and held the Princess' gaze, "Your Highness, your mother is in danger. The Treants plan to transform their rift into a giant tree, trapping everyone inside it."