Chapter 76
“The smell of death.” Part 7
Kalysto stepped back, startled as soon as Galatea threw the door wide open. Small sparks of electricity surrounded Tsuki’s body, who began to growl at the intruder.
[What are you waiting for, Kalysto?]
[Touch the screen, now and show me what happened!]
The former waitress swallowed saliva, feeling it thick and heavy all of a sudden.
“But... I don’t know how to do such a thing," she replied fearfully as from the corner of her eye she followed Galatea’s every move, wishing she could delay the moment when she would be discovered.
The fairy took a step back, staying under the frame, while she checked the room with her eyes, making sure that only they, besides Tsuki, were there.
However, her hand did not leave the handle of her sword.
[Just touch the damn screen, Kalysto! Now!]
Her heart pounded wildly as she brought her hand closer to the screen, feeling like she was walking straight towards her own death.
And as soon as she did, she felt a strange, invisible weight on her, pressing down on her head. Immediately, the face of the elf who threw white powder in her face appeared before her as the other elf covered her mouth with a handkerchief from behind and everything went dark. Then she was back on the soft carpet of the blond merchant’s elegant office as she listened to them talk.
Kalysto felt a bead of sweat run down her back as her heart raced, knowing full well what was to come. Wishing she had a way to be able to avoid it.
And when finally the demi-human guard, whom she hadn’t noticed when she woke up, grabbed her from behind, the elf’s hands began to move closer to her as he whispered sadistically to her. Disgust and fear gripped her again as she felt the elf’s filthy hands on her skin again, one on her face and the other trying to sneak under her skirt.
A cold terror enveloped her, fearing what would come next.
What she didn’t want her boss to see.
“Stop it, get out of my head, now!” she screamed in fright. Her hands began to tremble. Feeling anxious and terrified at the same time at having to see herself in such a weakened state.
Embarrassed that someone else witnessed it.
[The passive skill Mental Defense has been activated.]
And even worse... all the destruction that followed.
A part of her was horrified at the thought of what this queen might do to her as soon as she found out about all the chaos, death and destruction ‘she’ had caused.
And she feared she would be killed on the spot.
She supposed that was why Galatea had come running up to her room without deigning to knock on the door.
But as the passive skill took effect, her mind began to unclutter, allowing her to think clearly.
Then a series of doubts arose.
Was Galatea one of the dots she saw approaching where she had been before? Because now that she thought about it, just as she had a dot on her map that told her where her boss was at all times and how much distance there was between them, surely on her boss’s map she should also appear. And seeing her in a place where she was not supposed to be, it was obvious that he would send one of her warriors to investigate. Besides, if we take into account that Galatea had been guarding Artemis the first time we met, doesn’t this imply that she is either very strong or has the queen’s full confidence to put her in charge of her sick daughter and the champion she chose?
Then, Kalysto observed the fairy, with beads of sweat running down her face, and her breathing still agitated. It’s obvious she ran here, but from how far away? ...Inspection! She thought, wanting to check how feasible her theory was.
A violet window appeared to her left.
[Name: Galatea
Race: Fairy
Level: 85
Class: Warrior
HP: 790.000/800.000
MP: 3,200/5,000]
Holy crap!...how did she get that much HP and MP?...whatever she feeds on to get to those stats, I want it too!
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And just as quickly as that doubt popped into her mind, another one formed.
A much more important one.
If the boss sent Galatea to the city I was taken to by force and saw all the damage Persephone caused, why did she want to know my side of the story instead of judging me right away and allowing me entry into her territory?
Which raised another question. Did she know?
Kalysto felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her. And her body froze.
Had she known from the beginning of Persephone’s existence? Kalysto had no idea how the theory of multiple personalities worked when mixed with magic, but seeing the ease with which the queen had just entered her mind, when not even her physical body was in contact with hers, that spoke not only of how powerful and capable her boss was.
But also of how cautious she was.
Is that why she won’t let me heal myself? To have a way to get rid of me in case I ever lose control?... And though the idea bothered and scared her, at the same time. She could see the logic in that.
She would have done the same if she also had to use a time bomb that could literally crash into her face at any moment. But to be honest, I wouldn’t have risked it... unless I had no other options.
Which raised more questions.
By what criteria was I chosen as a saintess? Did they have other candidates? And even more important, if she could enter my mind so easily, could she also sense Persephone’s presence? Or worse, does she see us as the same person? Or can she tell the difference between me and her? And if so, since when? And while the thought of it was terrifying, it also explained why, despite being in her territory, they were still communicating through a screen instead of face to face.
She doesn’t plan to take risks...not too many, at least... She realized.
If I were in place, I wouldn’t meet with a guy like that either... Besides, for now I’m needed and I’ve proven to be efficient, so I might be safe for a while... But that doesn’t mean she’s stupid.
At least Kalysto didn’t think she was.
As long as I don’t give her a reason to kill me, she might not. She tried to get her hopes up, but immediately struggled not to get her hopes up, preferring to refocus on what she had been thinking earlier about Galatea.
That also explains why she assigned a level 85 warrior to ‘take care of me’ when I arrived, even though I was only level 1. And for some reason, she resented the idea. Galatea wasn’t taking care of me, she was watching me.... She wanted to growl. Although she had already assumed that she was doing it to make sure she was doing her job right. Kalysto never imagined that the fairy’s kindness and willingness to help her was because they wanted to keep her under control. Could she sense Persephone too, and was she faking it all this time to gain my trust? She worried for a moment, but then dismissed the thought. Even she herself wasn’t capable of sensing Persephone most of the time.
At least not until her life was in danger.
Does the same thing happen with Alynn? But for some reason that thought didn’t feel right. Alynn seemed too sincere and motherly for that.
No, she doesn’t know. Not yet, at least.
And as Kalysto debated on how long the fairies had been watching her to choose her as their champion or how long they knew of Persephone’s existence when she had only told Alice, the violet window began to tremble.
[...]
And another window, much larger than the previous ones, appeared before her.
[Those damned fucking elves dared to touch you?]
A powerful surge of magic, much stronger than anything she had experienced so far, came from somewhere else. Crashing into them and causing Kalysto to stumble and fall against her bed, and Tsuki tucked his tail between his hind legs and began to whimper in fright.
The earth shook beneath their feet.
And the walls, along with everything around them, began to shake.
[To my chosen one?]
[How dare they?]
[Do they dare to defy me?]
Tsuki ran to her master’s side and hid under the bed between Kalysto’s legs. Who wished she could do the same as her pet and have a place to hide.
The air began to sputter in her lungs as another wave of magic spread. Despite not being in the same room as the queen, the terrifying pressure she felt that was crushing her lungs and everything inside her was something she had never felt before in her twenty-one years.
And that she hoped she would never experience again if she ever left this room alive.
“My lady, please calm down! The champion seems to be drowning due to the strong magical pressure!” Galatea, who also seemed frightened by her queen’s outburst, began to shout.
The surges of fury that Kalysto could feel coming from the violet window stopped for an instant and seemed to focus on Galatea. Who suddenly lowered her gaze, looking duly scolded.
So she has a system too, then. She noted.
Kalysto gasped for air, felt as if she had been about to drown, though she was only lying on her comfortable bed and had to turn halfway on her side as she coughed several times until she could calm down.
Shit, if that’s how overwhelming her presence felt without even being in front of her, I don’t even want to imagine what it would be like having her in front of me!
And at that moment, Kalysto swore to herself never to do anything that could anger her boss.
The problem is how long will it take for the queen to discover the city that ‘I’ destroyed, if she doesn’t already know.
And out of the corner of her eye, she looked at Galatea, who was apparently still being scolded. I don’t think she had time to inform her yet. Then she mentally opened her inventory, taking advantage of the distraction of both women. She didn’t have time to think of a plan to keep Galatea from giving her away, but even if she escaped using the stone that would take her to the elven city, her new boss would have no problem summoning her back, just as she had when she had been on Earth.
She had no escape.
No, wait! That’s not necessarily true. Maybe I’m just making hasty guesses.
So she decided first to check her map and zoom in.
And the next second, she closed her eyes as she watched all her hopes die.
One of the two dots, the gray one that had advanced at breakneck speed towards the place where she had been, was now glowing on her map just a few steps away from where Tsuki and she were.
Galatea had indeed been there.