Fa Lian couldn’t help herself from worrying about Ah Dan. It was a little ridiculous when she thought more about it. Shade and Calliope were both powerful enough. Neither would be an easy fight for herself, the victor not clear one way or the other. She soothed her worry by picturing two of herself flanking Ah Dan and couldn’t help scoffing at the image.
“Not a fan of religion, either?” Yurie asked from her side. Fa Lian looked up from her daydreaming and focused. They were approaching the church, Yurie had mistaken Fa Lian’s snort to herself as derision for the clergy. Well, Fa Lian had no specific love for praying or scripture, so she simply shrugged and made a noise of general non-committal.
She had no thoughts to spare for the church of the empty god, though their involvement in this situation was definitely worth scrutiny. Growing up, even as a small child, she had received no lack of intel from maids and whispers from the court that her current, feeble understanding of the politics in Allusia and its relation to the church was a source of powerful irritation.
Which, in turn, was only one source of anger for Fa Lian right now. Foremost in her emotions was something more primal. An anger which was definitely borne of both Fa Lian and Ryong Aang in equal measure. A bad taste rose from her throat at the thought of an enemy left alive, a knife preparing itself at her back.
Steel Fever.
The monster had been locked away in the Guan vault for centuries until her uncle had felt its call in his mind. Once he had donned the gluttonous, evil suit of armour, it had been too late for him. With the help of Hyun Soon, Xiaomei, Ah Dan and Ryong Aang combined, they had just barely been able to throw the metallic parasite into the void.
She had thought that was the end of it.
Through whatever evil means it had gotten here, the creature was now in Allusia. It had wrapped itself up into the situation and placed itself before her yet again. Ryong Aang rippled and growled against her core. The dragon also held a disdain for the wretched thing and added its own draconic aggression to her thoughts. She would tear Steel Fever from whatever host it had attached itself to and melt it into nothingness. She would protect those she wanted to protect and destroy the things she wanted to destroy. First would be Steel Fever which would allow her to do both of those things at once.
It was at this point that Fa Lian realised she had not answered Yurie properly and had let her mana start to rage. She looked to her right and saw that she was currently being given a very wide berth by not only Yurie but Hyun Soon and Xiaomei as well. Consciously, she contained her heat and felt the physiology around her eyes soften. She couldn’t blame them for being worried. When she had first seen her new appearance in a mirror, it had startled her.
When she started channelling her mana, red scales formed around her eyes, the colour of her irises became a melted gold and her pupil took on the great lizard’s shape, a predatory horizontal slit. It wasn’t something she noticed in the moment but even her sight became draconic, danger and valuables both coming into focus much quicker than anything else.
Right now, it alighted the church. In the back of her mind, Fa Lian wondered what part of her was deciding what had value or held danger, the dragon or the girl? When they were basically one and the same, she supposed it didn’t matter.
“No, Yurie,” she finally answered as they stood outside the door to the church, “I don’t hate the clergy. However,” with an exhilarated thrill inside her, Fa Lian raised her foot and planted it into the door, sending them exploding inwards and snapping the hinges, “I am not a fan of this church in particular.”
“What is the meaning-.” Brother Oblax had dropped into a much more adept stance for combat than Fa Lian would have expected from a priest. Where had he learned that? Before he had time to register what was happening, Fa Lian scanned the room. Empty other than the man himself, it was a fairly shoddy excuse for a church. Where was the filigree? The prestige that these places normally carried? She couldn’t fully decide whether she respected the lack of wealth on show or not but Ryong Aang was certainly disappointed.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Sorry about that! I don’t know my own strength these days, I suppose!” Adopting her best courtier’s facade, Fa Lian walked past the splinters of wood as though she hadn’t any idea how they got there. “We were just in the area and had a few questions that we hoped you could answer!”
Not for one moment letting her guard down, Fa Lian walked into the room which was still echoing with her entrance. Behind her, the other three filed in and suddenly the large room was feeling crowded. Oblax himself lost his battle readiness and slipped into a more gracious demeanour. “A rather unorthodox entry, Lady Guan. What questions might you have? I assure you a sermon would be better suited to understanding our god.”
“We are more interested in what’s happening in this church, though.” Affecting a similar tone, Xiaomei spoke. Fa Lian almost snapped at her to be quiet but that was a quickly stamped out impulse. She didn’t need to be angry but she also didn’t need any help being intimidating. “We think there’s some things that you haven’t been telling us.”
Hyun Soon backed Xiaomei up with a very ineffectual “yeah”, said with as deep a voice as he could manage. It spoke to the man’s composure that he didn’t simply laugh at the clumsy attempt. Instead, he raised a single eyebrow questioningly and waited for the interrogation to begin.
“Why are you so interested in Ah Dan?” Fa Lian asked the question before Xiaomei could, wrestling back control of the situation for herself. As she spoke, she released the mana she had been containing to her core. It flowed around through her like magma through the planet. Her lifeblood, made molten. “Don’t lie and say you aren’t, just answer the question.”
To his credit, Oblax did not lie or try to shy away from being caught. There was a confidence in the man that almost gave Fa Lian pause. His voice was steady as he answered. “Ah Dan is as unique an individual as I have ever seen. I would be remiss if I did not at least attempt to recruit such a fine, young man to the ranks of the church.” He raised his hands in an apparent sign of submission. “I can see that such a plan will clearly be met with hostility.”
The temperature of the church rose in magnitudes, her breath leaving her mouth superheated. Letting the magic run free was intoxicating and she saw no reason to reign it in. Time to let the dragon out. “Yes, Oblax. You have met hostility. You are looking directly at the face of hostility right now but I think it is also one you’ve seen before. I imagine my cousins look at you much the same way.”
“Not entirely the same. We do not have scales.”
She had not for even a moment taken her attention from Oblax, certain that he would pounce the second she did but Fa Lian’s eyes quickly found something more dangerous to watch than the priest. The source of the new voice wasn’t immediately clear but as the priest grimaced, a familiar face emerged from a hidden staircase.
“Cousin?” Lowering her arms from a defensive position, Guan Po Daiyu looked equally amused and surprised. When had Fa Lian last seen her? During the combat against Ah Dan so long ago? She had heard from Xiaomei and Hyun Soon about their own battles with her cousins but did not expect to see her in Allusia, let alone in this church, now. “I knew you were in Allusia but I hadn’t heard that you were awake. Nice of you to pay a visit, I was going to come see you on your deathbed but it looks like I was being too hopeful.”
“It would take more than a dragon to kill me.” Fa Lian was furious at the sight of her cousin’s smug face. Her question wasn’t completely answered either but seeing Po Daiyu here meant that maybe her father was nearby. She hadn’t known what to expect but seeing Po Daiyu made all of the alarms blare in her head. “Where’s the rest of the family? You never wander far from your father’s web, so where is he?”
With a yell, the world exploded into chaos. “So you know where my father is?” Po Daiyu screamed her question as she launched forward, slashing her arms in the air. A trail of purple light followed her hand before solidifying in the air and slicing forward. Without missing a beat, Fa Lian raised her right hand and the energy washed harmlessly around the shield that formed. Ryong Aang’s scales were hers to command.
As Po Daiyu swung into action, so too did Oblax. Regaining his aggressive posture he raked his hands across the air. Seeing no danger in his actions, Fa Lian ignored them and attacked Po Daiyu instead. A clash of combat occurred as Hyun Soon collided with Oblax, sending the pair of them rolling down the previously hidden stairs. Fa Lian didn’t have time to care beyond making sure Xiaomei could join the fallen Hyun.
Communication had broken down but that was fine. Fa Lian would simply tear the whole city apart until she found her quarry. Starting with Po Daiyu. “Your father fed the void, at least, last I saw him.” So Po Shang was not here, it seemed. That was promising. “Where’s the monster?”
As she asked her questions, Fa Lian moved closer and closer. Each attack from Po Daiyu came out slightly weaker, slower or more telegraphed. From the other woman’s perspective, Fa Lian must have looked like a demon.
Good. Let her be scared. I’m tired of caring.
It felt good to release the tension. That was actually all that Po Daiyu could force from Fa Lian with her current abilities. It was like watching a child fumble around and attempt their first martial arts. She moved so slowly, having to be careful of Fa Lian’s scorching skin and malleable weaponry that within moments she was sweating. Within a minute Po Daiyu was panting with exertion.
Fa Lian had never been one to tear the legs off of insects. She would much rather have nothing to do with them. However, at the current moment, as each blow she landed seared skin and caused screams of pain, she understood the appeal for a moment. Lost in the grim satisfaction of hurting one who had hurt someone else, Fa Lian didn’t hear the second set of screaming.
She couldn’t stop her swing as Xiaomei came too close, still screaming her name. Her blow was impressively blocked, her weapon currently a hammer. The head of it was caught in a bundle of threads that Xiaomei hastily guarded herself with. Po Daiyu was confused as well. Fa Lian didn’t have words as she turned around to look at the other girl.
Xiaomei didn’t stop to explain. “You need to go downstairs. Now.”