Chapter 46

Depravity

The inside of the massive ice dome was eerily beautiful. Everything encased in ice was perfect and smooth - the floor and the semi-spherical ceiling overhead. And though it was slightly dim since the sunlight barely passed through, the light that occasionally escaped added to its surreality. Yet Vlanca had no qualms with these things. She only had two things in mind - the safety of the boy and the person behind this magic.

Vlanca looked around for a second, finding nothing in the immediate vicinity, except for a slightly smaller clay dome at the center. As coldness crept to her spine, she followed the three armors whose pace had slowed down. The floor was too smooth and slippery. Garo had fallen once which released a loud thud. It echoed many times in the closed chamber before it finally died down.

But the demon girl was getting impatient. She sat on the floor and poured some mana on her hands before pushing herself forward. With strong momentum, she overtook the Arisens in no time. She then tilted sideward to change her direction. A few more seconds and she punched the floor with both hands, holding onto the holes they made to stop the motion.

Vlanca was gravely mistaken when she thought that she was ready to face the intruder. She wouldn’t mistake the face of the woman only a few meters away from her. The red hair that contrasted her piercing blue eyes, the high-arching brows, and the same twisted smile - Vlanca remembered everything perfectly.

“Vlanca,” Pasifae whispered ever so slowly as though teasing her. “How have you been… our dear servant?”

Vlanca couldn’t move, let alone speak a word. Fear consumed her as a different kind of coldness enveloped her being, like a spider crawling under her skin. Tremors began on her lips, then her arms, her legs, until her entire body trembled immensely. Yet she didn’t blink, not even once. Then she collapsed on all fours, staring unseeingly at the frigid ground. Acting on pure instinct, she prostrated in front of Pasifae. “Lady Pasifae, my supreme liege,” she muttered, the words coming out almost inaudible and unrecognizable.

“So you’ve used it?” The red-haired woman let out a laugh despite her erratic breathing. “You must be thankful that I taught you that spell.”

Vlanca stayed silent, unable to respond. She was still trembling as the memories of her master’s daughter returned.

“Raise your head, demon girl.” Ice began to form at the top and bottom of Pasifae’s eyes. With her mana almost gone, she could barely keep herself awake. She passed out once and she knew that she couldn't let herself pass out again. “Katarina sent you here to protect the boy, didn’t she?”

The trembling halted at once. Vlanca looked up, her dark eyes flaming in furry. Mana surged on both her clenched hands and feet. She was ready to leap at any time. During that same moment, the three Arisens came into view.

Pasifae smiled amusingly at the reaction of the girl. It’s laughable how her behavior changed with such simple words. “Arthur, was it?” she taunted. “Do you think he’ll enjoy our little dungeon?”

Vlanca gasped, her fingers sunk deep into the frozen floor. Her fangs glistened as she gritted her teeth.

“Oh? It seemed that Katarina tamed you very-”

Pasifae coughed. A lot of water vapor came out with traces of blood. She covered her lips, then she looked up and took a deep breath. Nausea made it harder to think and speak. ‘Shit’, she thought, ‘even if I came out of here alive, Daedalus may kill me. What a freaking mess…’

Vlanca could only stare as her former master leaned helplessly against the earthen wall. Her breathing was rapid and deep. The condescending smile she usually wore had disappeared. For a second time, Vlanca trembled, not in fear but anger. Even though she was only nine years old in a sixteen-year-old looking body, she clearly remembered the suffering she incurred from the woman. Now was a perfect chance to exact her justice.

“The boy is dying…” Pasifae muttered in a low voice which prompted the girl to jump, her fist aimed for a powerful punch. “But if you fail to kill me with that blow, he’ll certainly die.”

An inch before it connected, Vlanca stopped. She looked down on her, doing her best to stop herself from killing the woman. ‘But it may be your only chance,’ Vlanca fought the thought. With a heavy heart, she jumped back. However, Garo, Pirro, and Servo were already close enough to attack Pasifae and so they did.

A cold sensation passed through Vlanca’s neck. Without thinking, she jumped forward. But instead of joining the Arisens on ganging up on her, she stopped their attacks.

“Wise choice,” Pasifae whispered. A smile that briefly curved her lips disappeared as soon as it surfaced. “Those unempowered blows would only knock me out. If that happens, I don’t think you’d be able to restrain a mindless-” She abruptly stopped, their heads suddenly turning sideward.

***

“Leon is dead, Katarina. What he wants doesn’t matter, his child does. I’m only ensuring that his family lives on...” Daedalus’s eyes sharpened still as he raised his sword and pointed it on Katarina's neck. “Even if it excludes you.”

The old woman returned the glare as she leaped backward, leaving a considerable distance between them. A second later, they both vanished and reappeared midway. Their weapons collided which released a strong shockwave in the area. The same sound continued to echo as they exchanged countless strikes to one another.

Following their conversation, both of them didn’t say another word. The fight would speak for itself. And Katarina wouldn’t let herself be overpowered, not when Arthur’s future depended on it.

Katarina adjusted her grip on her staff before swinging it. As soon as Daedalus aimed to parry, she teleported beside him and resumed the attack. This forced him to retreat away with Segure, but the old woman immediately followed and pounded her staff sideward. For a second time, the man used the ability. However, by following his line of sight, she predicted his destination. She also teleported with him and successfully delivered a powerful blow to his waist. Before he recovered, she slammed her left fist into his face.

Daedalus ducked, barely dodging the blow. He then stepped between Katarina’s legs and slid it sideward, causing her to lose her balance. As she staggered, he thrust his blade toward her chest. In reflex, she struck her staff sideward to block. Daedalus anticipated it as his left fist was already on its way to her stomach.

A strained groan escaped Katarina’s mouth as she tried hopping backward. To her surprise, Daedalus had already grabbed her shoulder, his sword on its way to her heart again. Katarina wasted no time and teleported, not away nor behind Daedalus, but over his head. Her legs smashed against his right shoulder and numbed it for a moment, causing his grip to loosen. Before his sword fell on the ground, she blinked beside him and attacked his waist for the nth time.

Daedalus already realized his opponent’s tactic since she had been hitting the same spot several times whenever the opportunity arose. He was ready and caught the attack with his right hand before it hit. Daedalus didn’t mind the pain as he pulled her inward and punched her stomach. At the same time, Katarina let go of her weapon that began to be encased in ice and counterattack by punching his waist with her left arm. Both of them released a painful howl, blood coming out of their mouths. They stumbled back, fell, and rolled on the ground.

The queens fell dead silent as Katarina and Daedalus stood up. The two were panting, their eyes filled with bloodlust. Their bodies were covered in dirt and bruises. A few more breaths and the queen’s attention suddenly turned to Kasheda whose body glowed. Gradually, it began to shrink until a dark-skinned man emerged.

“Queen Kasheda?”

She didn’t answer, instead, she beamed a warm smile at them before sprinting towards Daedalus and Katarina. Before their duel entered its final stage, he jumped between them.

“Enough!” Her deep husky voice echoed, her hands were stretched on both sides, palms open.

“Kaleb?” Katarina and Daedalus said in unison, their faces filled with disbelief. Then after a while, they both recovered and picked up their respective weapons.

Daedalus pointed his sword towards Kasheda. “Kaleb died during the Great Tragedy of Hansen. Who are you?”

Kasheda hadn’t answered yet when an explosion reverberated through the forest, all their eyes turning to the source of the sound. And then they saw it, smoke arose from the location of Katarina’s house as they sensed a sudden outburst of immeasurable magical energy from the same place.

Katarina wasted no time to take off. Daedalus, on the other hand, lost his composure altogether as he stared somewhere else unseeingly. He gasped. “Pasifae…” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “What have you done?”

***

“Wise choice,” Pasifae muttered. “Those unempowered blows would only knock me out. If that happens, I don’t think you’d be able to restrain a mindless-”

Their heads suddenly turn sidewards, even the Arisens. None dared to move as if time slowed down. The flow of mana inside the earthen walls had changed. It’s as if it turned into a dark miasma, and at its center, an immeasurable amount of power had instantly burst out and then shrunk back to a single point. The phenomenon repeated like a heartbeat, continuously bursting out before shrinking again. Then a few more silent breaths and an explosion echoed not too far from them. Rubbles, dust, and smoke covered the area, yet they knew that the mysterious entity was coming out. It was moving ever so slowly.

“He fell to depravity?” Pasifae experienced her consciousness come back for a brief moment. For the first time in a long time, she experienced great despair - that despite the cold, her back and forehead sweated. “Just what extremity led you here,” she paused darkly as she panted. Her whole body shuddered. “Monster?”