While I engulfed in the ever tightening bundle of magic chains the lich Barthenor stood to his feet at the edge of the circle. He had clearly suffered a great deal of damage despite his magical protections and his robes were singed. Even with this however he had an air of tentative confidence about him. If his skeletal face had possessed the ability to show emotion it would have been displaying a certain level of smugness. It didn't however so this was conveyed instead through the limited body language his bones allowed.
Barthenor's jaw opened again and the magic mouth made sounds for speech.
“It's good you possess the same idiom of the rest of your kind.” He said while leaning on a nearby statue for support. “While this glyph has never been tested it should hold you at least for a while.”
I gritted my teeth and struggled lightly in the twisting chains. There were clear weak points and I was saving up my strength for a single burst to free myself. While the mana drain was bad it wasn't nearly enough considering how many fervent worshipers I had. I glared out at the lich and had a smirk on my face despite the situation.
“Think you've got me then?” I taunted. “Well you- ugh... Haven't!”
After spending a few more moments leaning on the stature Barthenor finally found the strength to stand up fully. His eyed me with emotionless eyes of light and took a couple steps closer.
“I believe I have.” He said very matter of factually. “It was only a matter of time before your kind plagued us on the surface again. Not content with everything you've taken from us? From me?”
The surface? What was he talking about? I'd have to keep him talking willingly like this for a bit longer before I bust out and force him to talk. I decided to taunt him and ask a probing question at the same time.
I smirked very smugly and tensed against the chains. It had the intended effect of making him take a step back in nervousness.
“Yeah you know I can't give up having an adoring public!” I replied. “And I know you don't drink enough milk to stop me!”
Barthenor looked very confused for a moment and even tilted his head slightly.
“Milk?” He asked. “What does that have to do with this?”
With a half fake laugh I squirmed around again.
“I'd think you of all people would- ugh.” I grunted. “That milk contains calcium.” My voice was escalating in volume. “And calcium builds strong bones!” I shouted.
Clearly baffled by my statement and general lack of concern for my own well being Barthenor took another step forward towards me. It was clear he believed his trap was working and so he was becoming slightly more curious. A word which here means he was dropping his guard.
“Has the glyph caused you to-” He started to say.
No sooner than he had begun speaking did I make my move. Suddenly I went completely still, hovering in the air in the middle of the moving chains. My face was devoid of emotion and both of my eyes were glowing brightly. Then with a monotone voice I spoke firmly and loudly.
“I cast flare.”
There was an odd silence that fell upon the courtyard as I finished speaking. Not because sound itself had been suppressed but rather that everything happened so quickly and there was now an overwhelming sound that drowned out all others.
The look on Barthenor's face was one of clear shock and fear even without skin as he started stumbling backwards after I had spoke, though it barely took a step before my magic was made manifest.
Suddenly there was a great light directly in front of my body, just a couple feet away from the chains that bound me. It was like the explosion of a bomb that started as a small burst of light and rapidly grew outwards, at such speeds that only those with enhanced perceptions could even see it. It was hot too, white hot, and engulfed everything in brilliant heat.
As the blast grew larger it was only due to my own powers that I was able to react to it. As soon as the bubble of destruction touched the magical chains that bound me they were broken apart as the pure power of the flare imparted incredible force. The ground beneath where I hovered was disintegrated and even the air itself was burned away in the sheer destructive display.
Barthenor had reflexively thrown up some kind of magical barrier that shined in a pretty turquoise. This did manage to stop the brunt of the flare although the explosion still sent him flying backwards with enough force to make him a blur. His bony body once again blasted into the terrain, this time it being the wall on the other side of the courtyard. With a painful sounding crunch he smashed into the outer wall of the castle and his body was left in the middle of an impact crater like out of a cartoon. He surely had some broken bones.
Me on the other hand had maneuvered myself the instant the chains were broken. Having supernatural speed meant that once I was no longer bound I could move away from the flare and thus avoid damage from the explosion. As the spell finished running its course I positioned myself standing at the edge of the previously existing magic circle with my books still floating on either side of me and my eyes returning to normal. All of this had taken around three seconds.
With the lich once again incapacitated I was free to act as smug as I wanted to. That flare had taken quite a large chunk of my mana, something that had been necessary to free my from that spell. However it would be less than an hour before the worship of my followers completely topped me off again. Whatever that binding spell had been it was clear the lich had spent many years powering it up. Too bad it was so easily undone by its intended target.
I sighed and shook my head as I walked over to where Barthenor was now laying. To be perfectly honest that little trick of his had actually scared me at first and I had to give him props for that. It seems that even goddesses in this world were far from invincible and I'd have to keep that well in mind.
Barthenor was laying on the ground amidst some rubbing in a crumpled heap, the fight now completely gone from his bones. While he wasn't entirely alive it was possible to kill him and I was thankfully I hadn't gone too overboard. Thought according to what I remembered liches couldn't be killed in the traditional sense. Even with his body destroyed as long as the object holding his soul was intact he could come back again. The phylactery, which was powered but souls if I recall.
I stopped walking just a couple feet away from the fallen lich so I could stand over him with my hands on my hips.
“Hey bone boy!” I asked sharply. “Does you phylactery consume souls?”
Even though he was clearly in a great deal of pain Barthenor still seemed to want to resist me. He tried pushing himself up with his arms but quickly collapsed again.
“W-Why does tha-” He started asking.
I lifted my left foot and stomped it down with great force creating tremors.
“Answer me!” I shouted.
Barthenor saw the anger clearly still on my face and seeing as I hadn't destroyed him yet he decided to be cooperative. He had already resigned himself to true death and since I was giving him an opportunity to live longer he was going to take it. The reason he became a lich in the first place was out of desperation to live longer after all.
“My phylactery doe not consume souls.” He said in his echoing voice. His face was still aimed at the ground, likely in shame. “While normally conflated mana and the soul are separate forces. My false life only drains all mana from the body which results in death.”
This was a very interesting answer and was of great relief to me. I crossed my arms over my chest and continued glowering down at the defeated skeleton at my feet. It was always a theory of both mine and others that the soul itself was some immutable thing that transcended normal existence. The only thing that might threaten it would be a lich was what I had worried immediately after finding out liches actually existed. But now that I heard this directly from a lich my mind was at ease. There would be no oblivion for this man's past victims. It didn't absolve him of all the murder he'd clearly done throughout the years but it did mean existence shattering horrors weren't under his belt.
“Alright demon mage.” I said sternly. “You'll get a partial pass on that. I have many questions for you but those will have to wait. Just know as long as you cooperate with me I won't kill you.”
In response Barthenor could only lift his head and look up at me in confusion.
“You... You are strange for a goddess...” He half mumbled.
I dropped my arms to my sides and shrugged.
“I get that a lot.”
Without speaking further I jumped backwards several dozen feet and changed back into my goddess size. Now I loomed over the castle and its grounds once again, the broken mage now no more than a tiny bug before my feet. Slowly and carefully I bent down and scooped him up into my gigantic hand. He didn't offer as resistance now and was more confused over my actions and exhausted from our battle besides.
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None of the castle's defenses nor defenders posed even the slightest threat to me now that I was full size, not that they had before either. Because of this I simply ignored the attacks of all the tiny bug sized skeletons and the tiny pops of the various defensive wards as I took a few steps back over to the castle proper. Once I was standing outside the half destroyed ballroom I looked down inside and saw Neske still bound up by my hair and laying on the floor. Upon seeing me she looked very frightened as she likely realized I had defeated her master.
“W-Wh-Wha...” Neske stammered in disbelief. “Where is m-master?”
There was a certain level of pity I felt for the tiny vampire, though I had no idea why I feeling such an emotion for her. Disregarding these feelings for now I let out a deep sigh and reached down into the castle with my free hand and scooped her up between my fingers. Then very carefully I plopped her down in the open palm of my left hand alongside her defeated master. I even cut the hair that bound her so she could move about freely. There was no escaping for her so I didn't worry myself about it.
Immediately upon being freed Neske jumped up and rushed across my hand to kneel by Barthenor. She had great distress in both her voice and body language. It was clear for whatever reason she truly cared about the lich. Whither that was due to some manner of magical control or true loyalty it was impossible to tell at the moment. Regardless I'd allow them a moment before I continued.
“Oh master!” Neske gasped as she knelt beside him. “Are you still with me? Please don't leave me!”
Barthenor struggled to lift himself up enough to look at his charge and the vampire helped him right himself enough to sit. His back was put to rest against the lump of flesh beside my thumb for support and thus while looking quite pathetic he was upright. There was a clear air of defeat in his voice as he was broken both literally and emotionally. Nothing that the magic sustaining him couldn't repair over time of course.
Barthenor sighed without breath and looked into the eyes of his servant.
“I apologize that you have seen me in such a state Neske.” He said dejected. “It seems all my centuries of planning were naught in the face of even a child goddess.”
Neske reached out and held her right hand to the cheekbone of her master in the quite the comforting gesture all considered. Her voice was full of what seemed to be genuine concern as well.
“Please don't resigned yourself to true death master!” She cried. “Surely you still have machinations to sunder this wicked goddess?”
After hearing this Barthenor looked upwards to my face high above with clear concern for my reaction to that statement. The vampire was talking about me as if she wasn't sitting in the palm of my hand. Much to the lich's relief however all the reaction out of me consisted of rolling my eyes.
“I'm afraid as you can see from my condition.” The lich started in reply. “I've been utterly defeated. We are at this goddess's mercy.” He then paused and looked up to me again before returning his gaze back to his servant. “She is clearly a different kind of goddess, one would call strange. I've no choice but to obey her should I desire to continue.”
Neske looked utterly crushed emotionally and stared at her master in disbelief. It was if she was seeing someone she thought undefeatable finally meet their match and it was beyond her brain's ability to process. Such reactions were common in people who worshiped someone. My worshipers would go through the same thing if I was ever defeated and was why I never could be.
“But Master Barthenor...” She said still in shock.
Unable to console his servant any further at the moment the lich continued acting upon cold logic and ignored her for now. Instead he looked up into the air above him and at my huge face that dominated their view. It was clear that he was willing to debase himself in order to fulfill his plans and continue existing, the result of operating on logical thinking.
Barthenor's voice was still filled with emotion despite his undead nature. There was deep disappointment as well as great regret. He was humiliated but strangely in contract to most liches I had known in fantasy he was able to be humbled as well. Even if this was only as a means of self-preservation it was something surprising.
“What will become of us now at your mercy young goddess?” He asked without fear. “The fact you've not destroyed my soul makes me believe you'll surely enslave me. Or are you merely waiting tor our suffering to ripen before snuffing us out?”
A small smile crept onto my face and I couldn't help but let out a small giggle as well. Honestly this was turning out far differently than I had expected and I decided to drop the big bad goddess act for now. I could always put them in their place again if I needed to anyway now that I knew even a lich was easily beatable.
“Nah nothing like that!” I said grinning. My expression then got a bit more serious. “I mean you two have killed a lot of people. Maybe not in this time that I'm aware of but surely throughout the past. You're not getting off the hook for that but I'll keep you alive for the very least until I'm done using you.” I then lifted my right hand and wagged around my index finger. “As of now you're both my prisoners so you best listen up!”
Barthenor looked down at the floor which was my hand and thought for a moment before speaking again.
“You are known as Jenna?” He replied. “You know me as The Demon Mage of Henjuk but my name in truth is Barthenor. I'm sure you have heard that name as well.”
“That's right!” I said a bit too excitedly. “The Goddess of Knowledge and Light! And don't you dare forget it!” Then I looked down at them and sighed. “You've probably met a lot of goddesses though. I'm much scarier than them though I guarantee it.”
Barthenor nodded up to me while his vampire servant just sat there next to him. Clearly she only had thoughts for him and this passive submissive display was in stark contrast to her previous violent rage. Everyone had someone that could reel them in I suppose, even a goddess like me surely would have succumbed to my emotions if not for the people in my new life.
The lich was clearly recovering somewhat already due to his sustaining magic. Because of this while still pained Barthenor's voice was already recovered. Or at least the magic that created his voice. I still wasn't entirely sure how that worked.
“We shall remember your name Jenna.” He said.
“Goddess Jenna.” I corrected him.
In response Barthenor shuffled his shoulders, the great cauldrons sliding about as he steeled himself.
“While I accept your species name is referred to as goddess I shall not revere you as one.” He said firmly. The yellow lights in his eye sockets were burning brightly. “Smite me if you so wish but I shall never worship you nor your kind.”
Well this certainly was a surprise! Though not unexpected I suppose considering the information I remember about liches. Being fictional beings in my previous world they still had quite firm mythology. Generally they didn't worship any gods except for the rare ones that would worship gods of death or other evil things, there were even some good liches too if I'm remembering correctly. They had their own weird name though.
Regardless him not being willing to worship me was clearly something he would stake his life on and I'd have to decide to allow him that freedom or not. To be completely fair I allowed humans to freely choose between worshiping me or not so it was only fair to extend the same courtesy to him.
I shrugged my shoulders and lifted my right hand up to my face, placing two of my fingers on my chin.
“I'll allow it human.” I replied with a rather blasé expression.
This also seemed to utterly shock the lich and Barthenor would have been looking up at me bug eyed if he was able to.
“What madness is this?” He asked dumbfounded. “You'll allow this?”
Neske was displaying the expression her master could not.
“I-I don't believe it!” She gasped.
I dropped my hand from chin and smirked down at them.
“I'm a goddess you silly little bugs. I'm beyond the need for worship. Besides forcing people to worship me only leads to issues down the road.” I then winked. “You'll be groveling at my feet regardless. Now lets put you in prison.”
Due to their magical and undead nature they were extremely powerful. Tossing them in some random dungeon cell would only end the same way it had before: badly. Not to mention with one of them being a lich it would go much much worse. No the best place to store them would be inside my own home. My goddess domain was actually the perfect idea and since they didn't need to eat or drink like me they could be locked up there until I decided otherwise.
With this plan in mind I opened a portal large enough for me to walk through in my two-hundred foot tall goddess form and smiled happily. I then stepped through the glowing doorway and into the main entrance of my castle, the familiar surroundings making me feel even more safe and empowered even though I had a real pain in the ass literally on my hands.
The portal then closed and I lifted up my palm and moved it around so they could get a view of the entire room.
“Welcome to my goddess domain.” I said somewhat proudly. “And your prison until further notice!”
Both undead captives in my left palm looked around with a clear sense of awe and wonder. The environment they found themselves in was certainly a sight to behold.
Barthenor in particular was seemingly quite impressed and he even forced himself to stand on his feet with some effort. His vampire minion tried to help him but quickly gave up on it due to her knowledge of his pride. Liches were prideful.
“A goddess domain.” He said in amazement. “While I've known of them I've never been within one before.”
Seeing the two of them so rapturously entranced by my little castle dimension filled me with that sense of pride and longing to educate that I often got with people. There was just no stopping the big grin from dominating my face as my right hand was put on my hip in a fist while I stood tall.
“That's right!” I said proudly. “Everything around you can be considered an extension of myself. You could think of it as being inside me!” After saying that I immediately lifted my right hand to my chin. “Phrasing.” I then paused a moment before shrugging and returning my right hand to my hip. “Anyway this place is completely under my control so don't even think about escaping! Consider it your personal pit of despair! Hahaha!”
The rather unconvincing evil laughter coming from me did little if anything to hide my clear and joyous excitement to have someone genuinely interested in my goddess domain. Thus the two undead humans in my hand were left sort of awkwardly staring up at me with a sense of befuddlement about them. Obviously I wasn't some evil goddess and so my vain attempts to present myself as one only added to the confusion.
I looked down at the two in my palm and my eyes lit up with a bright glow. With my goddess vision I scanned both of them for any and all magic items. Then I lifted my right hand up next to my left and frowned down at them.
“Now give up all your magic items.” I demanded sternly. “Rings, potions, the works. I don't care how petty of an item it is I'll not suffer it to remain with you.” I then looked up and down the lich. “The only exception being your crown as it clearly has your soul in it.” I smirked. “Kinda stupid to wear it on you isn't it? Though I suppose you're not the first lich to do so.”
Neske stomped her foot in a pout, not remembering the floor she was stomping on was the skin of my hand.
“This is unfair!” She shouted. “You treacherous-”
Barthenor cut her off by lifting his right hand. She fell silent and he spoke.
“Very well Jenna.” He replied. “We shall acquit.”
I nodded and smiled a bit more of a friendly way as I watched the two of them step to the side of my left hand and begin depositing items into my right. My eyes were glowing the entire time as I kept close watch over their bodies for any sign of magic. All manner of rings, bracelets, belts, and even some odd potions were tossed into my gigantic hand to tumble down the mounds of flesh into the creases of my palm. Once they were done only Barthenor's crown remained. His phylactery.
“Very good!” I said seeing them finish. “Now come with me. We're going to have a nice long chat.”
My right hand closed into a fist as I moved it away, the items all being deposited into one of my pockets for the moment. Then I started walking across the room towards the dining hall, my request for them to follow obviously being moot as they had no choice in the matter. There was much for us to discuss and I hoped to get to it as soon as possible.