image [https://i.imgur.com/DlxQXdh.png]

As the two rested from their tense battle, Asiah turned to Zalthia with a slightly concerned expression.

“Do you think the Boundless captured Carmen?” Asiah asked with great curiousity.

“Dunno... It’s a strong possibility.” Zalthia replied with a slight shrug, not really having much of an idea as to where her sister was.

“Hmph, man… Just what is their end goal? They show up out of nowhere and start subjugating our world as though it were their life long mission. It’s all so strange.” Asiah’s voice trembled with a tired cadence, feeling annoyed by all the recent events.

“I don’t think they have an end goal. Seems to me they're picking up where they left off, rebuilding and continuing their previous crusade from before. The last scouting report I received indicates as much, stating that their numbers have already grown to over 9000 Boundless civilians. It’s only a matter of time before they become another integral constant in Resotera. The seventh nation...” Zalthia replied matter-of-factly.

“The seventh nation, huh… You really think that'll become a reality?” The wind began to blow as Zalthia pondered a response to this question.

“Yeah... Especially since no one seems capable or willing to bring an end to it all. Plus, there’s too many of them now. The window to put a stop to the Boundless closed ages ago...” Asiah was surprised to hear this from her commander and her eyes went wide with concern, finding it uncharacteristic of Zalthia to sound so apathetic. She softly sighed and the air around them grew silent as they thought about the impending future.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

The evening hours were creeping in close as Briddle stood in his throne room, waiting for his guards to return with a new shipment of extracted Strands. Karris and Priscilla were standing by as Briddle paced back and forth, eager to speed up their revival process.

“Gah, must they keep me waiting? I grow bored of sitting around…” He complained with a heavy sigh, becoming more annoyed by the minute.

“Priscilla, fetch me some water and make it quick.” Priscilla nodded and quickly rushed over to a nearby table, pouring water from a golden pitcher into a jeweled chalice.

She finished and made her way back to Briddle, holding onto the cup tightly with her small hands. However, her pace was a bit too quick and she tripped on her own foot in dramatic fashion. Priscilla dropped the cup and spilled water all over the floor, some of which got Briddle’s pants leg wet.

In a swift rage, Briddle’s expression turned absolutely sinister as he fumed with anger. He quickly went over to Priscilla and started kicking her on the floor, not holding an inch of strength back. Blow after blow she endured as she tried to cover her ribs, crying out from the pain of his discipline.

“How dare you sully my clothes, you filthy human!! Useless, useless, USELESS!!! If Karris didn’t bring you along and your power wasn’t so crucial to my plans I would’ve disposed of you ages ago!” Briddle yelled out with unjustified rage, still kicking this little girl to a pulp. Karris stood by doing nothing, instead he watched on with little to no reaction.

He finished stomping out Priscilla and rested his foot on her head as he panted heavily. She cried and whimpered from the pain, not understanding what went so wrong just now.

“Why me? I-I wish he would just kill me so I don’t have to endure this any longer...” She quietly thought to herself as her vision blurred from the tears.

“Stop whimpering like a dog, you sound pathetic…” Briddle remarked as he stepped away from her, taking a seat at his throne. Moments later, Homura walked into the room and saw Priscilla on the floor, severely beaten.

“What happened to her?” She asked as she took her seat next to Briddle.

“Nothing important. I just felt the need to discipline a lower life form...” He replied nonchalantly, not finding Priscilla’s current state even remotely worth talking about. They shared a brief kiss before Briddle posed a question to Homura.

“That girl with the silver hair... It’s been almost two weeks now, have you made any progress with her?” He wondered with a curious cadence. Homura smiled as she nodded.

“Progress is great. I think with a few more conversations she’ll be completely on our side. I have no doubt in my mind that she sees the benefits of staying with us, it’s just a matter of time. The girl seems to react the most to kindness, so I will continue down that route.” She replied with a happy tone, recalling the conversation she had earlier with Carmen.

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“I see... Well, keep doing what you’re doing. I want that girl’s power to stay with the Boundless, whatever the cost. Lie to her if you have to.” Briddle responded with a pleased expression.

“Pfft, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to such an adorable child. I’d much rather tear her down bit by bit with harsh truths and scathing realities. It’s much more effective, especially when dealing with such naive youth. But, I will say that I have begun to grow quite fond of the girl. Don’t know what it is about her, but she’s certainly a constant on my mind.” Homura warmly smiled at Briddle while rubbing her belly gently.

“Of course, my love. You’ve been doing a-.” Briddle paused his response as he quickly sat up in his chair, now on full alert. He averted his gaze down the long walkway leading to the throne room entrance with wide, angered eyes.

“WHAT!?” He loudly exclaimed, sensing something was wrong. Homura was confused by his sudden shift in demeanor and she asked him what was wrong.

“Moku and Mallie are gone! Their presence has ceased!” Briddle stood as he looked incredibly pissed off, not sure of how this could have happened.

“What do you mean they’re gone?” Homura asked, still trying to understand the situation better.

“I don’t sense their energy pattern anymore. That can only happen if they die. Impossible!!” Briddle begins to seethe with anger more and more as the seconds go by, his frown curling deeply.

“Just who could possibly defeat my generals?? Who would dare test us!?” He wondered to himself, trying his best to think of anything that could explain this impossible situation. In that same moment, a thought came to him and he quickly turned his attention towards Homura.

“That girl… It’s her fault!! I guarantee you it’s her fault!!!” He yelled as spit flew from his mouth. Homura was even more confused by this statement and she quickly tried to calm him down.

“Lord Briddle, please, calm yourself. What girl are you talking about?” She questioned as she placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

“The silver haired cretin upstairs! We should’ve just extracted her Strand instead of holding her here. I bet you anything that her family is planning on interfering with my efforts. Big mistake on their part! BIG MISTAKE!!! If this is the game they want to play, I will happily oblige!!” Briddle’s flurry of sentences fired off in rapid succession as he started to make his way out of the throne room.

Homura swiftly followed after him, trying to slow his advance and change his mind. She hoped she could prevent him from doing something terrible to Carmen, but her efforts were met with angered silence. His rage, while based entirely on a hunch, shut him completely off from any voices of reason.

He arrived at Carmen’s door and burst inside the room, slamming the door against the wall. Carmen was startled by the sudden commotion as she sat on her bed, caught off guard by his appearance. Briddle rushed over to Carmen and stopped in front of her, yelling all sorts of obscenities.

“You filthy, human swine!! You contacted your family somehow, didn’t you!?” He screamed with a dark tone.

“W-What are you talking about?? I haven’t done anything!” She replied with a panicked cadence, not understanding what was going on.

“Do not lie to me, little girl!! Two of my strongest generals have been taken out and I know for a fact that isn’t just some coincidence. You know who did this, don’t you!?!” Carmen continued to express various levels of confusion at his baseless claims and she didn’t know how to respond to his flurry of angered questions.

He lost his patience with her stunned silence and proceeded to raise his hand, ready to beat Carmen into submission. He began his assault, but just before he hit Carmen, Homura got between them and took the slap head on.

The smack echoed along the walls as Homura fell to the ground, knocked nearly unconscious by his powerful slap. She landed on the floor with a loud thud and Carmen immediately went to her side, shaking her to see if she was alright.

“H-Homura! Are you alright!?” Carmen quickly asked, worried that she could have severely injured herself.

Homura slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Carmen before sitting up, dazed by the forceful impact. She gently rubbed her cheek and looked at Briddle with soft eyes, disappointed that he lost his temper like this.

"My Lord, please let it go. We can figure this all out once you've calmed down. There is no need to escalate things further." She softly said, hoping he would end this violent rampage. He turned his head and didn't respond to her, unable to look Homura in the eyes. A couple of maids swiftly entered the room and helped Homura to her feet.

"Miss Homura, please come with us so we can tend to your injury." She agreed as they escorted her out, trying their best to keep her steady as she slowly walked. Briddle stood there with wide eyes and a stunned expression, feeling terrible about what he had just done to his mistress. His hand shook something fierce as he contemplated his previous actions.

“Y-You… Look.. What you.. M-made me do… I would’ve never done that if you weren’t here… You will pay… Your family will pay.. I will end you all!” Briddle’s face went incredibly dark as he was pushed to the limits of his rage.

“W-what!? Why are you blaming me for what you did? I’m not the one that smacked your mistress!” Carmen pleaded, now feeling scared by this man’s exertion of power.

“Silence girl!!” Briddle chopped his hand into Carmen’s neck, knocking her out cold. She slumped over as she dropped to the floor in an instant.

“Karris, come forth.” He said with great authority. Karris walked out of the shadows and made his way to Briddle, bowing his head once he arrived.

“Start a new projection. Destination, Castle de Belouis…” Briddle commanded, not wanting to waste anymore time.

“As you wish, Lord Briddle.” Karris raised his hands to the sky and the room started to shift and warp all around them. The anticipation was unreal as Briddle couldn't wait to relay whatever message he planned to send.