章節 25: Chapter 5: Your Move
Athys and Espin are completely two different worlds. We've been walking through the streets for almost thirty minutes and everyone overall seems happier. Although dark clouds hang in the sky, the energy feels lighter, more people are out on the streets looking jolly. Cities also don't seem to be neglected like the Districts in Uboni. I don't know much about how the Hazel governs, but I'll take this as a good sign. On our way to the Hazel's castle we pass the colosseum which is still ablaze and barely holding together. Victoria looks on in amazement—and so do civilians. A group of about fifty is standing on the sidewalk watching the white flames continue to sparkle with golden embers.
"What in the world caused that?" Victoria asks.
"My daughter's ability."
"Right…Alyssa Valentine? Your daughter is a Valentine princess….how exactly did that happen again?
I remain silent.
"Well, it's none of my business anyway. But, what kind of power does she possess to cause this? It's beautiful"
"She's able to create a weaker version of Holy Fire."
"Holy Fire? Right. Mmhmm, mmhmm. I understand what that is, completely. I'm sure she can't be happy about you wanting to kill her sister and destroy her country though. I wonder how she feels about all of this."
Once again, I remain silent.
"You're chatty today." She smiles. "I love this silent beauty thing you have going on now….you are so pretty, by the way."
"Thank you, darling. And what about you with that purple hair of yours? I'm sure you could also put out that fire if you really wanted to?"
Her smile fades. "How do you know about that…?"
I gesture to her hair. "It's always the dead giveaway. You are human, right? Long ago, I came across books that mention humans with brightly colored hair possessing abilities that rival elementals—sometimes even surpassing them. Your kind is rare. I suspect it's only you and your brother, George, right?"
She silently nods, and her expression becomes despondent. "It's the only reason we're alive. Out of our entire family, we were the only ones able to get away from the Valentine soldiers."
"I'm sorry….are you, George, and Amiyah the only ones in The Coven?"
"I think so." She nods.
We come upon the 'Mighty Hazel Castle.' There's an actual monument with those words carved into it on the castle's lawn. And I thought the Valentine were egotistical. The white brick of the castle almost resembles marble with how clean it is. I've only ever been here once when I was captured by Charles. It's been standing for centuries. Palisades surround the castle. The large pillars of brick resemble a fortress with spiked roofs—towers—medieval in design.
As we're walking up the steps, we're met by Hazel soldiers coming down.
"How can we help you, young ladies?" One of them asks.
"I need to speak with Florence and I assume you're not going to let us through?"
The soldier looks to his men and chuckles. "Well, of course not. No random person can walk right in and see the Queen."
"Well, I'm glad to be the first." I smile.
I put the group in paralysis spells and Victoria and I continue up the steps. They scream for help and more soldiers come rushing down the steps to block our path. I'm trying my hardest not to use force. I have to make a good second impression for Florence.
"Transmutation Enchantment: Form Manipulation."
The soldiers running at us all turn into children, buckling underneath the weight of all the heavy armor they wear. I'm sure they won't mind sitting one out for an hour. They'll be back to normal then. We approach the door to the castle—a single large wooden door. It doesn't bulge as I try to push it open. I use a gravity enchantment to blow it off. Florence can also fix that with ease, right? Another group of soldiers come and this time I release my light double to incapacitate them.
"It doesn't seem like you need an army by the look of all this," Rose says.
"I'm only one person—even I'm limited."
"Where's the queen?" I pull one soldier aside. With fear in his eyes, he nods upstairs. Victoria and I continue that way. While the outside of the castle looks ancient, the inside is relatively modern. Beautiful halls, spacious chambers, and chandeliers made of gold. We don't get very far when we hear someone call us from behind. Standing behind us is Florence with her arms crossed.
"This is one way to make an entrance—Helen, I presume?"
"I made sure not to kill anyone. You'll need to fix your door though."
"You look so much like Alyssa—more than her actual sister. You care to explain?"
Quite frankly, I'm tired of explaining this, and so I play my silence card.
When she doesn't get a response, she unfolds her arms and walks toward us. "Why are you here?"
"I believe you know why, darling. We made a deal. One I expect you to uphold."
She gives me a slight chuckle before noticing Victoria. "Who's this?" She nods her way.
"Someone who sees my cause." It'd be better if I didn't go around shouting her abilities to the masses. Power like that only attracts those who seek to abuse it. The human hierarchy sought after elementals which led to their downfall. The elementals sought after multi-seals. The same cycle repeats
"I'm not here for small talk though," I continue. "You promised me an army. We still have the same goals in mind. There's also one less king off the board, Harris is dead."
"We've heard. I've also heard some things about you. Quite the history. I've only heard passing rumors of you from my father, but, I've been completely filled in on what happened to you. I didn't see it before but I'd be stupid to turn you away. I was hoping you'd come back somehow. There's still the lingering question though: you want every royal family gone, what happens to me once this goal is achieved?"
"I'll let you be. I'll return to Athys and rule. It seems Espin and The Valentine are a bit different. They murder us, you use us as soldiers to fight wars. But, when this is all said and done. I will ask the soldiers in the army if they're willing to leave with me. The ones who are will return with me back to Athys. Will that be a problem?"
She shakes her head. "No, not at all. Seems we're two women who don't like to waste time." She extends a handshake.
"Yes, well, let's get started." I embrace her offer.
She takes us to an office where we discuss her plan. We'll start with the easiest families to invade—leading up to the Valentine. If any family refuses to bend to the Hazel, or my crown—we'll dispose of them. All their kings and queens will die anyway.
A day later, I'm introduced to the army of multi-seals. Not much of an army though, it's only about a hundred of them. I suppose it doesn't matter though, The Aurora overthrew the era of human hierarchy with only a group of twelve. Although they were more adept with their seals. Florence lines them up and has them hold out their palm to reveal what seal combinations they have. I suggest implementing the idea of mimicking what The Aurora did. Splitting the army into groups where seal combinations complement each other. She agrees to the idea and has her General, Nicholas make a comprehensive stat sheet of what every individual in the army can do. From there, we all begin our studying.
More weeks go by of planning and after double-digit hours of studying and deliberating, we come to a healthy conclusion and overall good idea of what we want to do. There are one hundred and two multi-seals combined. We've decided to make nine groups of eleven to bolster certain areas of the already existing Hazel army. Defensive seal users will be on the front lines of the Hazel army. They'll be able to protect soldiers with relative ease. Offensive seal users will 'enchant' the archer's arrows, the soldier's blades, etc. Coating their weapons in elements to enhance their striking capabilities. Enchanting requires imbuing your seal nature onto an object, which no one knows how to do other than me. I end up training this group myself. A grueling process but after two weeks, they start to get the hang of it.
During these couple of weeks, I also take this time to mutilate my own body—it's necessary. I burn warding symbols into my flesh to avoid Lilith's detection. While my stomach takes time to heal, Victoria takes over the training for me. Seems she's progressing as well, even making new friends with some of the soldiers.
And finally, the day has come. The day we strike our first target: the Urbenheyer's. They're a family that stays out of the chess game that is the royal hierarchy. They often side with the Valentine just to stay on their good side and avoid conflict. And to our surprise, even with the daunting army we bring to their doorstep. They still choose to remain loyal to them. They send their army at ours but it's no match—never was. We cut through their land with ease. Florence and I make it inside their mansion where their king, Ramon, begs for his life. Florence happily gives me the honors.
And so, I release my light double—whose arm forms into a sharp blade that she uses to rip through his chest. His body falls to the ground once I retract her. Florence and I take a moment to stare out onto the beautiful land of theirs through the window of his chamber. Its architecture is gorgeous. The city of Srimore, located in Vrale: home of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth, as they put it. I can't help but smile as we bask in the sun. It's here, it's all finally happening. Everything I've been working for will be attained. But there's more to come. That's only one down, Alyssa.
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票