"Straight." The hulking mass of armour said, pointing his gauntlet at the door over Iris's shoulder. She and Kia were currently being led through a tight corridor with closed doors lining the canvassed walls.

Iris opened the door at the end of the corridor and stepped into a room. The room could be described as medium size with a large desk in the back flanked by a bookshelf filled with dusty books. Behind the desk was a large green padded armchair with decorative carvings engrave on it.

"Don't touch that." The guard suddenly said behind Iris's back. She turned around to see Kia touching the wooden planks. Between the girl's slender fingers and the wall, a blue mesh resembling a spiderweb appeared shimmering brightly.

The door behind the desk opened and the guard thumped his chest with his fist to greet the newcomer. A pale woman with snow-white hair emerged from the darkness wearing an elegant dark blue gown but unlike the women in the hall, the woman barely showed any skin leaving only her face to be left uncovered with even her neck being covered by high collar coming up to the very base of her skull similarly to Kia's dress. Her arms were tightly tucked under the mantle as she sank heavily into the large padded chair.

Iris was sure if not for her race she would be shivering from the examining stare the human-looking woman gave her with her golden eyes. Like a predator contemplating how to play with its prey.

"Close the door, Karol." The woman said in a strange way bordering between domineering and friendly. The guard silently obeyed the request, lightly pushing the hooded necromancer and closing the door.

The woman pulled on the tips of her gloved hand before reaching her bare hand under the desk pulling out a small collection of documents before addressing them again.

"You must be the two strange visitors giving Eastwood so much trouble. I see he already made a mistake in judging your nature but if not for him and his disposition your bodies would have already been hanged by an angry mob of locals because of your actions towards my messenger. But I find it particularly cruel and unjust to sentence you to hang because of his incompetence. Now tell me how did you end up in Firmusa?" The woman asked leaning into her chair and resting the documents back into their drawer.

The elf pondered the woman's question for a moment. "We arrive in the port from Norten." Iris answered truthfully.

"And what were you doing in Norten?"

"We..." Iris stopped, they were teleported by Mother to a forest beside the village and she had a suspicion the woman would not believe the truth. "We were hunting a monster and ended up getting lost." She finally replied.

"You are adventurers then?" The woman latched on to the implication.

"Yes."

"How did you cross the river then? Norton is on the northern bank after all." The woman dug into the elf's story.

"We walked."

"How were you now swept by the current?" The woman did not question Iris's lie.

"We used magic."

"Akkad." The woman said a singular word and observed Iris.

"Ehh... I am afraid you have to elaborate."

"Why did you come to Firmusa?" The woman suddenly switched the subject.

"...We thought we could rest for a couple of days." Iris said before realising how stupid her answer was speaking to another undead.

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The woman leaned into her chair further. "I know you are lying and you would be a fool to think you outsmarted me but I can't feel anything off from you, I will get into that later." She announced. "You will now live in this city obeying my laws. You will be granted with a house and if your race which I have yet to comprehend requires something you might be provided with it after you prove yourself to me." The woman proclaimed as a goblet filled with crimson liquid appeared in her hand from nowhere.

Iris watched the woman standing up in shock but before she could voice her decisive disagreement the woman started to talk again, her golden eyes completely fixated on Kia hiding under her cloak.

"Warmblood look at me." The woman demanded as she got closer to the girl but Kia's eyes were focused on the wall to her right. "Thought you are smarter than this you know? Doesn't matter you will become useful one way or the other. Karol, you would agree with me that wearing a hood indoors is a sign of poor etiquette, would you like to teach this mortal some proper manners?"

"With pleasure, Mistress." The guard happily replied.

"Aaaa!" Kia's painful cry reached Iris's ears as the armoured gauntlet wrapped itself on Kia's cloak and yank it along side her hair.

The world became hazy as the elf's eyes struggled to focus as immersible anger filled her body. She saw her hand punching the guard who stumbled back. She saw her strike left only small scratches on the black armour but she did not cared, hitting the guard in a furry of attacks.

The soldier managed to raise her forearm blocking the claws aimed at his eyes before taking a step backwards. In a split moment Iris saw the soldier and Kia getting smaller and blurrier as she was flung through the air, by the knight's attack.

*Thump*

The sound of something squishy hitting the floor echoed across the room with the splash following shortly after. Iris tried to stand up feeling dampened pain radiating from her cheek. When her eyes lock back onto the guard she saw the woman kneeling on the ground, her forehead glued to the floor seemingly not caring that the red liquid from the goblet was ruining her dress. The confused guard stood still watching his liege before rushing to assume the same posture as his mistress. Kia stood confused between the two kneeling people, a black fog which gathered on her hands slowly falling onto the ground.

Is this some kind of a trick? Iris thought.

"M-my Supremeness, Great Master, the Lord of Darkness, Ruler of Death, Master of Afterlife, Ruler of Rulers, the Grey Eminence, the Dusk and Dawn, Eclipse of Aeons, the Jailer, the Lone God, Architect of Fate, Maker of Undeath, the Dark Wind, Bringer of the End, Lender of Divinity, the Great Judge, the First among Few, Destroyer of Wicked, Second of Three, Killer of the Fey, Eternal Maste-!" The woman franticly started to list strange sounding titles with a religious zeal Iris rarely experienced.

"Stop!" Kia shrieked at the grovelling woman causing her to temporarily stop. The necromancer rushed to Iris's side hiding behind the elf.

"Great Master?" The woman articulated her confusion, not daring to lift her face off the ground. "I am deeply sorry for this. I-I didn't know!"

"Iris, we are leaving now!" The necromancer frantically started to push the elf's back insisting she stood up.

"What gotten into you, Kia?" The utterly baffled Iris tried to ask. The situation around her changed too quickly for her mind to keep up with it.

"Quick Iris!" The panicking girl begged Iris to move.

"I beg you, Great Master!" The woman suddenly voiced another emotional plea. "I know I am undeserving of your precious words which sadly I can not comprehend in their everlasting glory but I would happily give my lowly life for you if you just said the word. Say just a word and my soul is yours but I beg you, oh Supreme One why did you sentence your faithful to an eternal life of torment? Have I or any of my vassals caused you to decide to leave us knowing for a fact you in your never-ending glory had not used us with no way of repenting our great sins, without you my Great Master what is the purpose of our immortality you mercifully granted us? I beg of you to tell me what you wish to be done for you to forgive your lowly servant of today's digressions. Shall I drown the world in blood for your glory or create an empire of the dead for you to rule over? If so speak a word and I shall do it or die trying." The woman's lips trembled with emotions as she spoke with absolute seriousness.

Kia stood above the woman looking at her with a great annoyed frown. In complete silence, the sound of the wooden floor creaking sounded like a dragon's wake as Kia shifted her weight continuing to attempt to push Iris's back trying to move the petrified undead.

*Grumble*

Everyone looked at the source of the sound, staring at Kia's midriff causing the girl's face to flush red. Iris glanced at the previously dignified woman kneeling on the ground, her mouth formed an "O" shape as a realisation overcame her. "Karol gather the war host we shall feed the Supreme One using all the mortals in the Edor- NO! All living in Niuran shall be the Supreme One's meal!" The woman pushed herself off the floor landing lightly on her foot. A flame of zeal raged in her golden eyes while a droplet of punget red liquid smelling of iron dripped down from her long white hair.

"As you wish!" The guard joyfully replied.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Iris brought an end to the madness going on around her. How could a situation change from life-threatening to how to feed Kia the whole world? I must be in some kind of strange dream because of lack of proper rest. The tall undead tried to rationalize her situation. "How about offering normal food before going genociding all life?"

"And who are you to say that!" The flame inside the woman's eyes turned into a fiery inferno as it shifted her attention onto the elf. "You were lucky to be slave of the Great Master for your short pathetic life, now I shall serve the Supreme One and bring her word to the world."

"Iris is not my slave." A cold shiver ran through Iris's spine as a low growl came from her side. She saw the black fog oozing from the gaps between the wooden planks and gathering around Kia's hands once again.

"!?" Iris stopped the girl from casting whatever spell she started to cast. She wasn't sure if the spell would even graze the strange woman but she would rather avoid finding out if the deluded woman only respected strength.

"It's fine, Kia."

"Oh!" The woman gasped in realization. "I-I hope the Harbinger could forgive my unforgivable mistake. I was carried away by my meaningless emotions." *Thump* The woman hit her head on the floor as she prostrated herself before Iris.

{New Title detected}

Title: [Anchor of Undeath][Harbinger of Supreme One]

A soft metallic chime echoed inside Iris's head as she glanced inside her mind.

"See!" A lamenting voice pulled Iris from her thoughts. "Its annoying!"