While Auros finished with her nightly activities within the cave that contained the sealing chamber of an ancient enemy, Violet Death felt a shiver go down her spine.
"...!"
It was even stronger than the one she felt some weeks ago when the ominous storm rained down upon the now burning mountain.
"What...?"
Such question broke the silence that reigned over the library that served as her personal space, all as she moved her gaze in search for what had caused such feeling. Furthermore, she had not noticed it, but her hand was trembling as she uttered that question in her silent and lonely library.
Of course, she already knew that the reason behind that shiver was nowhere close to her, but she still did so for it was like an instinct deeply ingrained within her.
After all, something being utterly broken and practically erased from existence was not something she got to feel every day.
No...it was an occurrence even more rare than that. For she was able to hear, even if faintly, that being’s scream of sheer agony.
But the shock of such occurrence did not last long, having been replaced by a desire to know the reason behind it.
A task that she was more than capable to complete since she was one of the oldest Dragon Lords.
She was not only wise and knowledgeable to an unbelievable level, but she was also more attuned to the energies of the world.
Such attunement was like a sixth sense and while it was not something that could let her pinpoint the exact reason behind her bad feeling, it indeed gave her a little push in the right direction.
Which was more than enough for someone like her.
“So it is that human capital again.”
She murmured as she passed her fingers over a map of said place.
“I give it to you, King of Storms. At first, I thought of you as amusing, a new and unexpected character in my play, but you gained my attention when you destroyed Brynn’s wide net of [Ice Garden of Silence] in one stroke, causing her to suffer another magical backlash and leaving her without the strength to report back for two days.”
Indeed, Scath had been looking forward to 'play' with the strong surprise that had appeared in her boring life. But that amusement turned into attention when the last thing she heard from her deeply close servant was a painful groan as she collapsed, leading to a cut in their communications.
With the help of her knowledge in magic, both Dragon Lord master and servant shared an active magical connection where one could see and hear what the other sees and hears. But they needed a stable mana supply for such connection to work. She even had placed Brynn in an advantageous position where she could both see the 'play' unfold and guide everything to the goal she had in mind through it.
But the King of Storms cut that connection when they broke one of Scath's carefully crafted steps to destroy the capital in one fell swoop. One where she would use her servant’s spell to kill everyone in the Capital. Yes, and she would do so the moment that she grew bored of the grand battle that would ensue when her armies appeared on its doorstep.
Just like five years ago.
'A good prelude needs a good follow up.'
That is what she thought at that moment.
But just like her servant’s spell, that plan had been broken.
"You did good on your word and went to the capital. You even did that to Brynn knowing fully well that we would immediately know it was you and could launch an attack at that same moment. That confidence..."
Scath did not grind her teeth in frustration while saying that. On the contrary, her lips began to form a smile as she continued.
"...you may actually have the strength and power to challenge me...no..."
Looking at her still trembling hand, she corrected herself before making said hand stop with the other.
"…you do. Thus, you no longer have my attention, but my interest. It is clear that you are behind all of the inconveniences that have been happening since then. And doing so while having such power is but a mockery, a taunt, for you desire to see what I will do. How I will respond. Very well."
After Brynn was able to report back to her, she told her that the tools of her kingly toy had started to act up or malfunction. Resources and materials were late, which made processing of the evil god's blood more difficult. Their forces were also falling into chaos due to misinformation taking root within their intelligence network, leaving them blinded and confused.
It could be said that the organization called ‘New Glory’ was falling apart just before arriving to the finish line.
Although those were minor inconveniences for Violet Death.
After all, the whole charade that her servant was putting up was but a simple form of entertainment.
Something to spice things up.
A…drama.
Yes, she enjoyed watching it all unfold.
She enjoyed seeing how humans and the like would fall and dance for her without knowing.
And the emotions that a good conspiracy could bring up helped her go through the boring days of her ancient existence. Although, in the end, the only things she needed from it was for it to be entertaining and that the main puppet reached its goal by breaking the seal.
But even then, the Capital was already sentenced to death.
Drama or not, that place would fall to the cold blades of her armies or her power.
Her servant would then siphon and store the power of the emissary inside one of her grimoires and then, she would present it to her in the curtain call of her ‘play’.
With that, the other Chosen of the Dragon Lords would be silenced, and she would be left to her own devices for some time.
That is what she desired above all else.
Even more so now that she was interested in someone.
Someone that had made her smile in anticipation.
"I shall oblige. Do make it worth the effort."
With that, her mana started to swirl around her with a violet hue as she walked to the center of her library.
That is when a lesser dragon lord entered to give their daily report, but turned the second he felt said power and, most importantly, the mood his Master was in.
He even gesticulated a perfectly clear ‘no’ before quickly turning around and leaving.
'A wise choice.'
So thought Scath, because he would have been killed if he had done the opposite.
She then extended her arms to each side and various grimoires started flying towards her.
They all had ominous auras, were covered in runes, and had various attributes coming out of them.
"Come, grimoire of the eternal vigilance! [Panopticon]! Let me gaze upon my enemy!"
One of the various grimoires then floated in front of her at the height of her torso and opened itself, its pages turning rapidly and stopping right where its wanted.
She then put her right hand on its pages, feeding the hungry grimoire with her mana, and activated its power.
A power that brought forth a change in Scath’s immediate surroundings and on the grimoire itself.
A change in the form of…eyes.
So many eyes.
It was as if Scath was inside a sphere made entirely of ethereal eyes, all looking crazily at every direction.
Not only that, but the most ominous eye of all had appeared on the cover of the grimoire, one that had a slit white pupil and a black sclera.
"[Abyssal Gaze]!"
So exclaimed Scath as the many runes written on the pages of the grimoire came off the paper and started slithering their way from her arm to her eyes.
Then, when said runes reached their destination, Scath's eyes changed into ones that had a white slit and black sclera right before her sight was transported to the Capital’s air view.
An air view that quickly changed as the spell took her to her target, but something strange began to happen as her sight got nearer to the place where the King of Storms was.
"Something is trying to stop my gaze..."
She murmured as she tried to keep going forward but kept being pushed back, giving her the sensation that it was something akin to a barrier.
"If you think that I will be stopped by this, then you are horribly mistaken."
Indeed, such thing only served to mildly annoy her as she fed even more of her mana to the grimoire and broke through whatever was stopping her.
So, having dealt with that, her sight moved as a predator hunting for its prey, quickly and silently.
And it did not take long for a certain building to come into view, one with a pure white façade that was adorned by the color gold of its window frames and the metal work of its balconies.
"So, this is where you are hiding, King of Storms."
She smiled as the spell took her gaze to one of the balconies that the building had.
A balcony where she saw two women being bathed in the magic light that illuminated the balcony.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
One was embracing the other in a comforting manner as she spoke of something that surprised the other.
And as their embrace ended, their features became clearer.
One had short blond hair and was dressed in a simple night robe with embroidery that looked like flowing water.
“…”
Something about that robe made Scath feel uncomfortable, but she quickly shifted her focus to the woman's face and demeanor.
Her features were finite and delicate, she could be even considered attractive, but something seemed familiar to Violet Death. It was as if she had seen this woman before in her royal drama, but she could not place her within her memories.
But that did not matter, she was not her objective after all.
Her gaze then turned to the second woman on the balcony. A woman with pale skin, almost as white as wax, and her eyes were as golden as her hair.
But more than that, her skin, eyes, and hair, all seemed to glow while bathed in the magical light.
It was surely a sight that could make a prince fall in love at first sight.
Furthermore, the way she carried herself was clearly regal and she was surrounded by an aura that perfectly complemented that.
She was wearing a fine night robe, black as the night, and adorned with red embroidery.
And she felt again that strange sensation while looking at it, but something else took her focus away from that.
That something being her spell reacting to the woman she was seeing.
"So, it is you."
Indeed, that was her enemy.
The King of Storms.
Even if static suddenly filled her field of view when she tried to gauge her strength, she knew.
That woman was the one behind everything.
An apparent human who was conversing carefreely with her subordinate.
"That form of yours can only be a disguise. Someone with your power must be the same as me. A being that was remade by reaching the peak in power."
Still, even with the power that Scath had clearly declared her to have, she did not know that her opponent was watching her from afar and that was a chance that the Dragon Lord was not going to pass.
"Reveal your true form to me while trying to survive this."
In that moment, Scath’s irises began to glow over her then fully black sclera as the multiple runes within them lit up in a fiery manner. And the same could be said about the runes that seemed carved on her horns, runes that were actually natural. A trait that made her unique among her kin.
Then, the whole library was bathed in the violet light that her mana was releasing.
"Blade from the forgotten dimension that rests within my eyes, bring death to those that I gaze upon, [Reaper's Gaze]!"
The moment she finished her chant, a scythe’s blade appeared from an extradimensional gap and slashed at the regal woman.
"What a disappointment..."
So scoffed Scath as she looked at the woman not reacting at her attack.
And her being unable to do something about it had made Scath lose any interest on her.
After all, the King of Storms was as good as dead.
"...nnngh! What?!"
Or at least that was supposed to be the case.
But it was not.
Not at all.
Instead, something grabbed hold of the blade.
A strange, floating arm, one that had an alien design never seen before by Scath.
It was clearly divine due to its energies, but at the same time it felt like nothing related to the Goddess that was their enemy.
She knew her well and that was not something of hers.
But that was not all.
The woman she had attacked was looking upwards...no...she was looking straight at her.
The woman's eyes, which had gone from golden to an intense red, glowed strongly as the arm holding the blade started to apply pressure to it, making it tremble.
She then uttered just one word.
"Soon."
A word that she was somehow able to hear Scath despite her spell only involving sight and nothing more.
That is when the arm's pressure grew in strength and the blade cracked along with Scath's right iris.
The pain agonizing but she resisted it.
"Nnnngh! You...! Nnngaah!"
But as the blade and her iris cracked even further, the pain became unbearable for her spirit, forcibly cutting her connection to the grimoire, causing said object to close abruptly and fall to the ground.
It also made her spell vanish as she lost sight of her target.
She almost dropped to one knee after that due to the pain, but she stopped halfway as she covered her right eye with her hand.
After all, there was something much better filling her mind.
"Hnngh…! Haa…King of Storms, in all my years I have not encountered a being more clouded in mystery than you. Not even my eyes were able to force your hand and reveal your true form. That strength...I wish to experience it firsthand! Will you bring an end to my long life and bring an end to this play?!"
Yes, what filled her mind more than pain was true excitement.
One that she had not felt in literal ages.
Her life was truly at risk at that moment.
That is what she felt when that strange arm grabbed hold of the blade.
Her strength had been absolute for such a long time that she had forgotten that feeling and had grown aloof towards direct confrontations, for they had turned boring.
But that was no longer the case.
And so, she remembered what the King of Storms had said.
"Soon...yes, yes. It shall be sooner than you think, King of Storms."
She breathed in as those words left her lips, for she was getting ready to make an announcement.
"Heed me my subordinates! Tomorrow we fight!"
Her voice was heard all around the castle and her armies stirred in thirst for the blood that would be spilled.
"The climax for this play has begun, oh King of Storms."
Said Scath with a smile on her face.
To be continued...(cue illustration of Scath, The Violet Death!) (Alternative title for this chapter: Don't cry, you haven't been forgotten Scath. I think...)
From Auros' Stat Sheets: Allegra's sheet
Name: Allegro Frangipani→ Allegra Frangipani
Race: Human→ High Human
Gender: Male→ Female
Age: 44 years old →22 years old (Physically)
Rank: A→SS
Class: Master Alchemist
Variant: Poison and Medicine
Subclass: Scout
Variant: Double Hand-Crossbows
Stats:
· Strength: D→A
· Intelligence: S
· Agility: B→S
· Mana: B→SS
· Endurance: A→ SS
· Constitution: B→SS
Passive skills:
· Sound of Silence (Movement & Actions): B→A
· Intellectual Presence: S
· Master Alchemic Understanding (Poison & Medicine): SSS
· Knight’s Oath: A
· Magic Resistance: S (NEW!)
· Poisonous Flower of the battlefield: S (NEW!)
· Physical Resistance: C→SS
· Poisonous Constitution (Blood): S→SS
· Rapid Healing: A (NEW!)
· Master Alchemic Crafting: SSS
· Sleepless Alchemist: A→S
· Raw Material Processing: S
· Mana Regeneration: A (NEW!)
· Tracking: A
· Hand-Crossbow Technique (Double Wield): A
· Underground Navigation (Tunnels): S
· Dragon Lord Slayer: SS (NEW!)
· Abnormal Status Resistance: S (SS if poison)
· Teacher of Alchemists
· Soothing Voice: A
· Monster Slayer: A
· Close Quarters Crossbow Combat: B
Active skills:
· Enhance Constitution: D→B
· Enhance Strength: C→A
· Enhance Agility: C→A
· Bolt Barrage: A→SS
· Enhance Hand-Crossbow Skills: A→S
· Blood Bolt: A→SS
· Enhance Poison Damage: A→SS
· Cross Shot: A→SS
· Enhance Elemental Resistance: D→S
· Round Shot: A→SS
· Triple Effect: C→S
· Evasive Fire: A→SS
· Scout’s Will (Hand-Crossbow): A→SS
· Rain of Death: S
· Master Alchemist’s Trance (Non-combat): A→SS
· Poisonous Words: EX*
Unique traits:
· Unaging (Race)
· Poisonous Constitution (Blood)
· Poison Magic
· Pact of the High Dragon Lord (Voluntary)
· Blessing for the worthy: Knight
· Blessing for the worthy: Master Alchemist
· Blessing of Nerinne
· Poisonous Words
Magic:
Nature and Dark attribute.
Combined Magic:
Poison Magic. (Can use her own poisons as catalysts for a reduced mana cost)
Spells:
· Poison Shroud
· Paralyzing Spikes
· Sleeping Fog
· Lurker’s Trance**
· Toxic Fog
· ?????
· Deadly Touch
· ?????
· Poison Blast
· ?????
Titles:
Capital Born, Son of Frangipani, Son of Construction Workers, Accident Survivor, Lost Child, Underground Tunnel Survivor, Underground Tunnel Child Explorer (Unauthorized), Problem Child, Poisoning Survivor, Poison Aficionado, Strange Child, Academy’s resident Poison Maniac, Disruptor of Family Tradition, Holder of Alchemy Excellence Scholarship, Novice Alchemist, Poison Tester, Poison Modifier, Teacher’s Interesting Student, Honorable Graduate, Alchemist, Poison Maker, Antidote Maker, Medicine Maker, Hunter of Poisonous Organisms, Scout, One who has taken many poisons within their body, One who reached the first peak of its research subject, Meister, Master Alchemist, Poison Meister, Best Friend of the Ghost of the Battlefield, Knight, Alchemist Knight, Scout Knight, Oldest Knight of the Order (Former), Bandit (Fake), Unknown Supporter, High Dragon Lord’s Personal Alchemist, Alchemist Maid, Scout Maid, ASMR Maid, The Purple Death, Weird Name Maker.
Nerinne’s Divine Glossary Corner:
*Poisonous Words: It is said that those who reach one of the three peaks of Alchemy will be able to influence the world around them in ways akin to their research subject. This skill is a product of that. An immeasurable skill that makes the sound of one’s voice (and the phenomena behind that sound transmission) into a poison of varying effect. Said effect can be whatever the skill user desires, but it is limited to their own knowledge and educated guesses. Which is not much of a demerit knowing who is wielding the skill. It can cause minor effects, like a headache, but it can also cause death if the user wants. The only true demerit of this skill is that its user needs to be at a whisper’s distance of its victim. Then again…she has that covered too, fufu~.
**Lurker’s Trance: A trance that is not a trance skill but a spell. A custom spell made by Allegra for combat purposes. Since her true trance is a non-combatant one, she concluded that she needed to cover for that weakness. By taking advantage of what nature and darkness magic offers, she was able create a spell that reinforces her stealth capabilities. It might not be as powerful as a true trance, but it is still a convenient spell to have at hand.