The magnitude of the chaos that seized Ducroft when the Grand Duke announced he was taking over was by no means small. The borders were shut down, the capital was put in a lockdown and the nobles were forced to pick a side. If it was in the past, there would have been a few loyalist to oppose the Grand Duke but as more crimes of the Crown Prince came out, everyone submitted to the Grand Duke. Marvis watched all this happen from a distance. With the commotion, it wouldn’t be weird if his master had already heard what happened. He did have to go back to report but it wasn’t a problem if he didn’t go right away. Since he was already in the Forest of Telra, he decided to go to check out the Werecreature’s village that was being built. With how long he was gone, it should’ve been completed.He traveled for four days, making it there with only tracing the scent that was unique to werewolves. Since there were werewolves with them, he would be able to find them. He finally exited the forest,
“What are your plans now, your grace? They haven’t yet found out that we stole your body but once they do, there would be guards everywhere,” Countess Quartz said, handing her a cup of tea. Natalia collected it, taking a sip from it. Her sense of taste was returning gradually and her body was still very sensitive since she just left a state of near-death. “We would leave for the Empire of Illumine today,” she replied, putting the cup down on the table beside her. “You want to reach the Berden Pass from the Empire?”“Yes. The territory bordering the Berden Pass in this kingdom belongs to Marquis Bellam. If we pass through such an open place, I would get returned before I realize it. Going from the empire where no one knows us would be better. All you two have to do is escort me over the border”.“You don’t want us to follow you to your destination?”“I made a promise and I won’t go back on my word. The moment I get on the carriage heading for the northern part of the Empire, we would
“Your grace, who is that?”“I need a quiet room and no disturbance for the next three hours”.Whenever Natalia didn’t give a definite answer, it was a sign that she didn’t want to be pressed. They were quite surprised to see her come in with a body floating right behind her. They couldn’t recognize the person which made them wonder who he was and where he came from if he was even a he. Natalia was unable to use her healing powers properly because of how little mana she had left so she summoned Madaline. {Werecreatures are rarely this fatally injured. Most of them were wiped out but this one is particularly resilient}“Can you heal him?”{I need a medium. Do you still have the medicine I used to heal you?}“Yes. Here it is”Natalia stood aside and watched Madaline heal Marvis. It was a complex possess she couldn’t interfere with but it was interesting to watch. It was different from the other types she had seen and she could feel it especially now that she was rapidly losing her natu
“You don’t have a fever and your pupils aren’t dilated. You should be completely healed soon. How are you feeling inside?”“Why?”“That’s not really an answer. Do you feel unstable inside?”“I’m asking why you saved me.”“A favor should be repaid in kind, shouldn’t it? You saved my life, I saved yours,” she replied plainly as if it was that simple. “Do you even know the gravity of what you’ve done? If you keep harboring me, then you won’t be safe! You don’t even know who I am!”“Then, do you know who I am? You don’t think it’s strange that we met in Ducroft and now we’re both at the border town of the Empire?”“What….do you mean?”“Marvis Jane. A personal knight of Crown Prince Reagan of the Empire. A Werewolf capable of mass destruction and the secret weapon of the crown prince. Am I right?”“How did you……?”“It’s funny that despite being the personal knight of the crown prince, you still haven’t recognized me. Well, maybe it’s because I’m supposed to be dead.”“I am very confused r
The journey to the north was somewhat peaceful because of the route recommended by Marvis. Most of the Empire was developed so the roads were carriage accessible. They got through the security checkpoints quite easily but there were an abnormal amount of Security checkpoints and with the questions they asked, it was fairly obvious they were looking for Werecreatures, most especially Marvis. With the increased security, it wasn’t long until someone figured out who she was so she decided to take the rest of the journey on foot. She was almost at the north and was fully recharged on her energy so she decided to use teleportation and take her time to tour the Empire. In the days of the war, the borders of the warring nations were totally destroyed by either side. The north got the brunt of it, becoming an unrecognizable wasteland. Before the war, it was a quiet peaceful place that relied on agriculture and tourism, especially through the Berden Pass. It took her a total of a week to fi
The heat coming from the Berden pass was no small matter. Finding a caravan that would take her across proved to be a little difficult as most of them were filled already and none were willing to take a lone, weak-looking woman across the desert that she was more likely to die on. She was turned down there more times than she was turned down in her life. Thus, one day of travel was wasted. It was a frustrating experience. She returned to the inn where she once again waited for the day to pass. The nights were cooler than she expected and since winter was approaching, it was safer to leave sooner to be able to cross the rocky terrain of Polivia. She put off the candle in her room and rested her head on the itchy pillow of the inn. It was uncomfortable but compared to living in the Dukedom, it was more than enough. The inconsistencies of her plans would’ve already been obvious to anyone smart enough to notice it. However, it wouldn’t be easy to look for her openly so she was safe, at
If it was any other dragon, she wouldn’t be worried that it was a pointed attack and would’ve just fended the dragon off with everyone’s help but it was a red dragon, the same dragon that sat on the roof of the Duke’s Mansion. If it was there, then Fredrich definitely knew she was alive. “Madaline!”The fairy appeared in a nick of time and saw the humongous creature almost immediately. Without question, she enveloped the whole desert stork in a green barrier. In response, the dragon spat fire at the barrier but was unable to break it with just that. “Is that a…..fairy?” Marvis asked in amazement. Everyone else was staring at her as well. They couldn’t possibly know it wasn’t an ordinary fairy but the fairy mother herself but there was no need to broadcast it. “I’m sorry for calling you here like this Madaline but I need that.”{Are you sure that is what you want? You worked hard to get it.}“It’s fine, I can always get another one. Just do it.”Madaline nodded, disappearing. A gree
The feeling of something warm on her hand woke Natalia up. It was still very early in the morning but it was uncomfortable to feel something looming over her. She immediately opened her eyes and reached for her dagger, cautious. However, she was flabbergasted to see a huge wolf in the cave. Its head was two times bigger than hers, its body huge enough to dwarf her even though she was of significant height. The wagging tail felt like a hurricane, blasting cool air to her face. The warm thing she felt on her hand was the tongue that drooped happily from its mouch. “Mar….vis?”The wolf gave an excited howl, circling around her. He nudged her hand with his snout, panting even harder. She was amazed as it was the first time she had seen a werewolf transform. Even Amaika didn’t transform in her presence. She curiously slid her hand through his fur, feeling how soft and silky it was. It felt even finer than all the fine materials she had ever gotten in her life and she was someone who live
Upon hearing the cry of a baby, their hearts of multiple people became calm. The mother had been in labor for a total of two days, trying her hardest to push her babies out. The second followed the first closely and they were both taken out to be cleaned. The father of the child had been there the whole time, clasping her hand as tightly as she clasped his. He kissed her forehead and watched her until she fell asleep from exhaustion before going out of the room. "Is she well? Are the babies well?" He was bombarded with questions as soon as he came out. He nodded, smiling. Messangers were sent out immediately. The royal heirs of Polivia had been born. Natalia had always asked herself this question: What would a timeline without me look like?Since she was never born, her mother didn't have to go through the pain of bearing another child. Her relationship with Marquis Adamantine became better, she made the step to reconnect with her family and she went on to have a fruitful married l
They readied their weapons, holding their breaths. Fighting ascended gods was vastly different from fighting original gods. The weakest was Madaline, who was both lacking in the number of wings she had and an ascended god. Luckily, her barriers were the strongest in the world. “Wait. They’re just looking. It’s like they’re waiting for something or…someone.”They looked down at Nataroth and saw that giant white wings were sprouting from her back. She was growing larger by the second, soon dwarfing out the space. She stopped growing and focused her eyes on them.{My children. I…have returned}Marvis figured out the patterns and used the teleportation portal to get them to another room. It was relatively intact like the other rooms and it didn’t look like it was affected by the blast. But after seeing the coffin in the middle of the room, they soon realized why. Just as they were about to figure out their next move, Denitra fell into Marvis’s arms. They thought it was intentional until
Even in the spirit world, where nothing was solid, the ground began to shake. The coffins that surrounded Nataroth opened of their own accord and a thick miasma formed on top of it. The bodies in the coffins rose, slowly climbing out of the coffins. Maowry watched this all unfold with fear in their heart. “You can still stop this, Maowry. They are still vulnerable.” “Even if I can, why should I, Uriel?”“You’ll regret this!”“I am regretting this but I want to see how far this can go.”“MAOWRY!”They ignored her, looking at the bodies slowly coming closer to her. They walked like the undead, unstable and unstoppable. In a way, they were undead but with the large spell, not for long. They could recognize the magic being used and the obvious bending of world order. However, there was something they didn’t recognize, something that transcended both magic and world order. It was the reason why the spell was working in the first place and there was only one god that could use it; Natarot
The fights between the gods raged on. If they met on neutral grounds, Maowry versus Uriel wouldn’t be a one sided beat down. However, Maowry’s powers were fading because Thiton and Madaline kept shattering the ancient barriers of the spirit world. Madaline also had to repair those barriers immediately so Thiton was able to get some blows in. “Why won’t you just roll over and die?! You have always been a pain in my neck and you keep making aggravating decisions that bring us to this point every single time! What is wrong with you, Madaline?”“The way you speak Thiton, makes it obvious that you are obsessed with me. That’s worrisome. I cannot let a disgusting creature disguised as a god profess his love to me that loudly. Why don’t you just die?”“You’re delusional. Your attachment to Nataroth even though you’re an ascended god just like us shows how much of a hypocrite you are!”“Coming from the person who killed me?! That’s laughable. You, of all people, are claiming to care for the
“Lovely, isn’t it?” “I feel like you’re ignoring me. It is lovely. Is that made from purely cotton?” “Yes, it is. You love even lovlier in it, your highness. The wedding is soon, is it not? I cannot wait to be there.” “What about you? Why won’t we attend your wedding? Come on, Lady Natalia. You know you would look absolutely beautiful in a wedding dress.” “I hate wedding dresses.” “...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” “I’m not angry, Princess Temara. I know how much you care about me and I know how much you love my brother. Honestly, it worries me. Would you really slit your throat if he asked you to?” “...of course not.” “Your highness, you hesitated. Well, it doesn’t matter because he would never ask you to. Like I was saying, I understand why all of you are worried about me. Yes, I know you’re all behind that door. But I know what I’m doing. I’ve been doing it for a long, long time. But if you don’t all trust me to make the right decision, then is it really love?”
In Madaline’s palace, there was a direct portal down to earth. Sylph and the fairy sent to rescue her were ready to send her soul back but it was too damaged to travel whole. They had no other choice but to wait for Madaline or find an alternative. It was difficult to patch a soul and not just any god could do it. If they waited any longer, it would affect her chances of escaping significantly.“Shouldn’t Madaline have returned by now? What’s taking so long?!”Back at the platform, the gods were amazed. The fight was on a different level than the one they watched earlier. Two of the most powerful gods going head to head without fear. The first weapon they used, they had both broken them even though they were items not built to break. They were fighting solely with magic, causing all forms of natural disasters. The sky began to darken all around the world, alarming the mortals. Madaline's magic was focused on barriers. No matter what anyone did, you couldn't get past her barriers. Her
"Grandmother!" Natalia dashed into the mansion, heading to the living room first. She found the butler and he told her she was in the office. She could finally calm herself and walk into the office. "Grandmother, you really came.""You have a very nice office, Natalia. This old woman is jealous.""I can make the exact one for you. I'm just curious. Why are you here?""Sit, we need to talk.""I'm terrified. If this is about my marriage, you need to give me more time…""This is not about that. It's about your inheritance.""You came all the way here for that? You could've just asked me to come to you. It must be more than that.""Yes. Why did you bring a hostage and ask the plan to be sped up? You know how sensitive the whole thing is! You didn't even tell anyone else about it and now you want to hasten it out of nowhere! What happened?""The hostage is critical. I had to put her away so she wouldn't affect my plans. Two, there isn't much time left. Even after I went back in time two
“W-What do you mean the god of death and destruction?!”“Yes, what do I mean indeed?” she just smiled, looking at the body in the casket. He just stared back at her with his eyes open. "I was very lucky to find him, you know. Gods are not just objects you find on the side of the streets. I actually built this whole thing because of him but not for him. He belongs in another world so you have to be curious as to why he's here. He won't say anything though which is disappointing.""Are you insane?! That is the most dangerous of the original gods!""I doubt he is as dangerous as Nataroth. Anyway, now that I've shown you my treasure, let's take you to your room, shall we?"They left the room, the doors locking behind them as they left. The boy laying still in the casket rose to sit up and stared unblinkingly at the door. As they faced down the two royal heirs, a servant came running out from the mansion, handing a letter to Sebastian. He frowned and burnt the letter immediately. "You w
After dinner and settling her friends and hostage into her home, she could finally rest. She soaked herself in the tub, feeling the knots in her body loosen. There was also the fact that she was being massaged by little fairies that fluttered excitedly around her. She sighed with content. "Do you like it that much?""Hmm, it's nice. Did you miss me, Madaline?""You worried me but you really came back without a scratch. Berinda is Uriel's territory so I cannot intervene at will. I'm glad it went well.""No, I got attacked and that's why I have a hostage. Now that you say it, she's probably Uriel's Saintess.""You took another god's Saintess?! Since when did you start acting so recklessly?""It was not a reckless or juvenile decision. You know what my goal is. By the way, I have a question.""What is it?""If Adelie is Ducroft's Saintess and Denitra is Uriel's Saintess, does that mean I'm your Saintess?""No, it's not you. It's Marvis's mother." "How cruel. You could've reserved that