The ungodly cocoon tore open at one side, revealing the figure of a crystalline skeleton sitting half-submerged in a pool of gold. A skeletal hand rested on its bare chin and a smile of mockery could be felt on its face, even though no skin was present in its malevolence. A black sphere, with starlit rings connecting all the way across, was burrowed within its chest cavity. A long set of fleshy tendrils connected the sphere and the pool, siphoning in all the gold from its roots.

The figure stood up. Its blessed flesh regenerated and mended at a pace visible to the naked eye. New skin reappeared on its face and on the rest of its muscular body while starry silver hair grew out and reached its shoulders. The tendrils that latched against its chest slowly convulsed and turned to dust when the whole pool of gold receded towards the earth. Violet specks danced in its empty sockets and slowly converged into a set of azure eyes. The body it now possessed seemed to be something sculpted by the very god themselves, imposing the mortal world to hush into silence with undisguised reverence. The figure walked out, and then the fractured cocoon sprinkled into drops of blood and dispersed with the wind.

“Vincent!” Selena said and ran up to the figure.

“Wait!” Nathaniel stretched out a hand to her, but eventually stopped himself from further revelling in his delusions.

Selena arrived beside the figure and hugged him in a tight embrace, “Vincent! Are you alright?! Did it hurt in any way?”

“What do you think?” Vincent asked in return and surveyed his reforged body. “Feels not that much different from before. Selena? Why don’t you kindly ask your Father to share a bit more of his divine blood?”

“What are you saying? I was so scared in my heart that something bad would happen to you! So please don’t do this again.”

“I am fine aren’t I not? At worst, they would have just captured me and hauled me back to the Empire.”

“But, what would have happened to us then?!”

“Do you possibly think that the Emperor would even hurt his own daughter?” Vincent caressed her face and turned to the small cocoon laying on the side. “Not to mention, he became a grandfather now.”

The cocoon split open at its tip and countless arachnid limbs broke free from its shell. A long segmented body encased in an exoskeleton crawled out. Multiple azure eyes opened on its faceless visage with fleshy tentacles wriggling out from the sides. Skeletal wings pushed out and unfurled from its back. With a sudden flap of its wings, it raised its insectoid frame off the ground and gave an ear-shattering screech. Then, moving its countless limbs in a rhythm, it ran around Vincent and Selena in a circle, just like a lost centipede plucked from the abyss.

“It’s quite sad that my lovely daughter turned out to be this ugly,” Vincent said.

The creature lowered its head and tiny tears rolled down its eyes. It peered up at its father and curled its insectoid body into a ball. The sounds of bones and flesh being grounded clattered inside. Its exoskeleton fell off its body and a puddle of blood accumulated underneath. Eventually, its peeled flesh moulded and rearranged itself to form a figure resembling a six-year-old girl, with skin shaded in faint gold and hair painted with the tale of silver starlights.

“Give me that!” Selena ran towards Nathaniel and pulled on his cape.

“What? Why?” Nathaniel asked.

“Just do as I ask!” Selena glared.

“No.”

“Oh? And here I thought you would do everything I say to make me happy, so was what you said all a lie?” she teased.

“Alright! Fine!” he complied and released his cape.

“No need to wait for my thanks,” she laughed and turned away, quite satisfied with her lawful thievery.

She then dashed towards the little girl, covered her up with the cape and took her in her arms, “My silly little girl! How did you grow up so fast?!”

Celeste looked up at her mother and mumbled out incoherent words that no one could understand.

“What are you even saying, my child?”

“I am more concerned about why you are asking these things to a child who is not even an hour old,” Vincent said.

“I know…I was just a bit excited!” Selena said.

“Take her inside and feed her something,” Vincent said and glanced at the discarded bodies littered along the scene. “Else, she might try to devour these if she is too hungry.”

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

“Will my little girl actually… do that?”

“Of course she will, she is now just a child without wits.”

“I understand.”

“I shall escort them back and guard the entrance,” Nathaniel raised a hand and suggested.

“Oh? You really are considerate Nathaniel, what shall we ever do without your help,” Vincent chuckled.

Nathaniel froze up, and shivers ran along his spine when he glanced deep into his azure eyes. Finally, he shook his head, purging away all the muddling thoughts and led Selena and her daughter back inside the cave. The surviving soldiers did not interfere at their departure but instead, retreated further out from the accursed valley. Thus, Vincent and Hertha were all alone in a field sewn with corpses.

“Hertha? Why are you still here and not inside the cave?” Vincent asked.

“What do you mean I am still here? I want to help!” Hertha replied.

“What can you possibly help me with right about now?”

“I don’t know!”

“Well then, go and fetch me some clothes, not that I mind being in my bare body,” Vincent said.

“Yes…” Hertha said and turned away, her face turning beet red at the mention of his naked body. She scoured the death-ridden fields in search for anything that might serve as a modest article for his bearing. Moments passed and she found nothing of the sort, apart from the blood-touched remains of threads and armours, adorning the untended cemetery. Until finally, she stumbled upon a rolled-up piece of a cloak, clutched in between the arms of a fallen. She bent down and pulled at it with all her strength but it refused to leave the death’s embrace.

“After all this searching, you found only this?” Vincent arrived next to her and said.

“But… it won’t let go,” Hertha said and pulled at the cloak in desperation.

“Or is it that you are just weak my dear Hertha?”

“No! I am not!”

Vincent simply smiled and bent down beside her. Then clasping into the arms of the fallen, he applied pressure and spread it apart, crushing its bones and flesh into pieces. Before blood could leak out and defile the cloak, he snatched the cloth away from its helpless grasp and draped it over his bare body.

“You did it!” Hertha cheered.

“Of course I did,” Vincent said and readjusted the cloak, making sure to dust off the dirt and mire that stained the ends. “Hmm, this is surprisingly more clean than I expected.”

“Why was he… holding onto this thing even at his last breath?” Hertha asked and gazed at the neglected corpse.

“What do you think? It’s most likely because this belonged to someone very close to him.”

“Oh,” Hertha sighed and placed a hand on her chest.

“Having pity for the enemy?”

“I don’t know, but--”

“That can wait for later, we now have new guests to greet,” Vincent said and flicked her forehead.

Stomp! The earth quaked. Hulking men in full plates of gold set foot in the valley. They shouted and stomped their feet in unison. The rune patterns around their armours revolved and beaconed with light until they all resembled statues forged by the grace of the burning sun. Now condensed with aether, their swords and shields flared up one after the other. Then they advanced forward in a formation resembling an impenetrable fortress.

“I am a bit disappointed Hertha, seeing the Empire sending only their Golden Legions against me, do they really think I am this weak?” Vincent said and shook his head. “I have yet to see a single Immaculate among them.”

“What are you saying? Kennard is an Immaculate! We should at least be careful!”

“Correction, Kennard was an immaculate, but now, I am not so sure about that,” he laughed.

“Vincent, is there a chance… all these is just a trap to lay our guards down?”

“You already know the answer to that, my dear,” Vincent replied and strolled towards the human fortress with his hands behind his back.

“Just be careful!” Hertha said.

He then arrived just a few paces before them and spread open his arms, “Gentlemen, I demand a duel.”

A helm-ridden legionnaire of gold walked out from the formation with a greatsword in tow. The legionnaire charged at him, raising the sword up in the air and making an overhead slash that aimed at his skull. Vincent did nothing aside from raising his arm to meet the falling blade.

Just before his fingertips reached the edge, he tilted his arm and slapped at the side of the blade with his knuckles. The blade shifted directions at the last moment and plunged deep into the ground beside him. Then, he jumped atop the inclined greatsword and delivered a kick. The blow connected and the legionnaire was hurled into the air and tossed back within the formation, leaving the greatsword behind without its master.

“Not bad,” Vincent picked up the greatsword and gazed at Hertha all the way in the back. “A little help would be nice, don’t you think? Not that I need it from you anyway, haha.”

“I will help!” Hertha said and her black hair danced along with the windless skies. A vortex nurtured with aether circled around her. She tapped her foot and hovered inches above the ground. Condensed air coiled in her palms, and formed into blades shrouded in white mist. She then stretched her arms and the blades took flight, blending in and masking themselves within the air, before finally besieging her enemies.

Bang! She broke into a frown when the blades only bounced off their plates of gold.

“Vincent! I can't break through their armour!” Hertha said.

“Of course, you can’t, I knew that from the start,” Vincent said.

“Then… you were just making fun of me?!”

“Yes,” he smirked.

“Humph! I knew it!”

The legionnaire who just lost his weapon moments before rushed at Vincent once again. Vincent made a cleaving motion at the enemy’s waist. The greatsword met its target but it failed to penetrate its defence for even slightly as the runic armour repelled all its force back towards the blade. Taking the unforeseen chance, the enemy clasped its arms around the blade and secured it in place. Vincent released the greatsword without hesitation, curled his fist and threw an uppercut right beneath. And thus, the helmet flew off, revealing the face of the aggressor.

“Kennard, you are not in a state to fight beings such as myself,” Vincent said.

“We cannot know until we try,” Kennard said as three more legionnaires flanked him on all sides.

“Here I was, trying to be as magnanimous as possible, letting all you lot leave unscathed, but alas, good intentions shall always be greeted with aggression, such is the curse of all you humans,” Vincent cracked a faint smile and the black sphere within his chest spewed out threads of aether, drowning his eyes in insatiable madness.