Chapter 81
I did not hear from the others about the current state of Borderton, but given their numbers, I found it safe to assume that all the remaining defenders had arrived at the academy grounds.
The lack of any sound of battle coming from the town also suggested the last of the Soleans were either dead or fleeing. Unfortunately, we were faced with the one unerring fact of this world—the greatest difference in warfare between Earth and Arden.
The existence of ‘heroes’. Individuals who were so mighty that only another person in their realm of power could hope to do anything to stop them. The best analogy for these types was the nuclear bomb. Any nation that has one has the option of wiping out its foe by deploying it, and no amount of infantry will matter.
That was the realm that Emperor Albrecht and King Leonidas lived in. Merk as well, considering how easily he dealt with the royal guard, but from what I had seen, his toolset was meant for instant-kill tactics. Against the King of Knights, such methods probably wouldn’t work.
With that in mind—even with my newfound abilities—there was nothing I could add to the fight between monarchs.
And neither could anyone else gathered there. Draven and Klaus were leading the effort to secure the academy, preventing anyone from leaving for any reason under the guise of needing to account for all citizens.
In reality, every Solean in the IMA was now under Imperial watch. I felt no guilt at being the one to recommend this strategy. After all, once all was said and done, this was the best way to force Soleo into negotiations. And if they remained hostile…
…Well, high-value hostages tend to keep would-be resistance at bay. We should have no issues setting the pace of our war from this point onwards.
Assuming, of course, that Albrecht does not lose.
“Rex? Are you in need of healing?”
Isolde had left the main building and quickly set about healing all the soldiers. Axel was already looking ready to fight again, but he remained unconscious due to mana exhaustion and plain old fatigue.
“Hm? How odd. Your clothes are damaged, but your body is fine. Did you take a healing potion?”
I was barely registering her words. The girl had not done much to leave an impact on my mind so far, and I was far more focused on the soul I remained linked to.
“Is something wrong? There shouldn’t be any enemies left this way.”
She continued to follow and inspect my wounds—or lack thereof—while I walked to the dormhouse.
There was no need to hurry, both because Tiara’s condition seemed to be stable and because I was in need of a breather after the last fight.
Finally, we arrived at the dorm.
“Oh no…”
Isolde pressed her hand to the door before I could enter.
“It’s the same as the arena… Someone has cast a barrier over this place to block out all sound.”
That explained why I could not hear anything despite knowing for a fact that a fight was occurring behind the doors.
“Move.”
I stepped up and opened the door. At least, I tried to. Something heavy was blocking the other side.
It was nothing a quick link with Soot and a heavy kick couldn’t solve, though.
Inside, there were immediate signs of a struggle, with furniture scattered all over the room. Some kind of improvised barricade had been set up and subsequently broken down by the rear door as well.
“I’ll get help.”
Isolde took one look at the wreckage and ran back the way we came.
I, on the other hand, silently stepped inside. And the moment my body passed the threshold of the door, I could hear wood breaking and animalistic noises. Hissing and growling both echoed out from the training room, and I felt Tiara’s presence behind the door.
I could see through the partially broken door that the other side was still blocked. So just like last time, I broke through. And there I saw the cause of all the commotion.
An immense snake—probably a therian in its true form, judging by the humanoid features—was whipping its lower half around the room in an attempt to catch its prey.
They stopped to look back at the source of the sudden noise.
“You? What ar—”
The snake spoke, but was cut off by the large feline that drove their fangs into their arm.
The cat I identified immediately; It was Tiara as she used to appear in the Feral Abyss, when her soul was free and overflowing with mana. I thought at first perhaps the change was due to my own self-improvement, but that couldn’t be right.
My advancement only affected my own soul. It might influence others when we fuse, but it wouldn’t have had any effect on Tiara already.
My mind immediately recalled the pill she had swallowed—the one given by Merk.
“You’ve done well, Tia.”
I smiled proudly as she tossed the snake around like a rag doll and threw her into the wall before running to my side.
“”
She rubbed her head into my hand, then stood up on her hind legs and pushed her whole body into me, overjoyed by our reunion.
“Hahaha, I missed you too, girl.”
It had only been a few hours, but that was still a painfully long time to be apart from my sweet little princess.
“Brother! Watch out!”
I was so taken in by Tiara that I had almost failed to notice the two other girls in the room. Rose’s warning was appreciated, but unnecessary.
The snake’s face appeared inches from mine, ready to tear my throat out with its fangs. But they clearly hadn’t understood just how fast Tiara’s reactions were in her current state.
I made no move to defend myself, trusting entirely in my partner. And as expected, the snake was teleported and tossed around once more.
Speed, power, technique, and even violence. Tiara was superior in every way. It raised the question of how she was struggling to end things.
But then I saw it. The rapidly regenerating wounds and venomous fangs of her opponent.
“I see. These types were always a hassle for you, weren't they?”
I mused aloud as I watched their fight.
The snake was tireless, and nothing Tiara did was causing a wound deep enough to put it down. Beyond that, Tiara lacked any defence against venom. Just one lucky strike and the tides would turn immediately.
“Rose, take Fleur upstairs.”
I rolled up my sleeves with a sigh and prepared to step in. I could question what Fleur was doing back in Borderton later, but given her state, I doubted she was involved in the attack.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Brother, you should know… that thing is actually—”
“I know. It doesn't change anything.”
I cut her off and nodded at the door to urge her on.
It didn't take a genius to identify the snake therian. There was only one in the academy as far as I knew, and I already had a close-up look at their face. Sure, she was covered in scales and had a freakishly large jaw now, but it was undoubtedly Paris Vipera.
“...alright then. Oh, I took these.”
Rose handed me one of my prototype visceranid stimulants and a force bomb.
A jolt of fear ran down my spine as I grabbed Rose by the chin and forced open her mouth.
“You didn't take any, did you!?”
My prototype was an absolute failure. If she had tried to use it, I would have needed to start emergency treatment.
But her tongue looked normal, insofar as it had not melted into mush.
“Agh! Leh guh o meh!”
She pushed me off with one hand and moved to support Fleur.
“We're both fine, just keep yourself safe, alright?”
I relaxed and chuckled at my own hysteria.
It was good. She deserved a brother who worried about her well-being, and I wanted to fill that role for her.
Seeing that she was able to navigate the wreckage and get to safety, I was able to focus entirely on Paris.
“Paris. I'll let you know one thing before we get started.”
I stroked my new mask as I addressed Tiara’s plaything.
“I won't kill you. But by the end, you'll understand that this is not a mercy.”
What more could she expect from me? She clearly was not on our side. She had wounded my sister, and above all else, she was trying to kill my cat.
Tiara once again kicked her across the room, and in that opening, I connected our souls.
It was different from what I was used to. Both my soul and hers had changed since we last saw one another. The density of the mana within her body would have been too much for me to deal with before. There were too many circuits to factor in, too much capacity, and the way it flowed was beyond what I was comfortable with.
If it were the me of yesterday, I would have no chance of pulling off the fusion without sacrificing my own mental state. And yet, I felt a total sense of stability. Absolute harmony connected the two of us as my own soul bent and morphed to perfectly accompany hers as if it were only natural.
Fur overtook my body. My limbs extended and claws sprouted. I felt attuned to magic in a way that was alien to me, but second nature to Tiara.
Paris pulled herself up from the ground and lunged for the door, seeking to disregard me completely.
It was not permitted.
I slammed my foot into her tail, pinning her to the wall. She tried to coil back and slash out my eyes with her daggers, but she may as well have been moving in slow motion before my senses.
A slight sway and she missed both attacks. I responded with a heavy uppercut and jammed my thumb through her lower jaw.
“Urgh…”
She groaned as my claw hooked into her tongue, and I tore my arm backward while kicking her back.
Black blood sprayed out as Paris’ lower jaw had been cut down the middle and her tongue removed.
She coughed and sputtered, likely trying to curse me for my actions.
She then tried to leave once more after distracting me with her thrown daggers. Had she forgotten Tiara’s trademark ability?
“
I blocked her escape and slammed her head into the ground. With it pinned beneath my heel, I then set to de-scaling the snake.
The claws of a phantasmal panther were deadly, but they lacked reach. To compensate for this fact, I used my new mana capacity to fuel a spell.
Shadows encroached upon my arms and wrapped themselves around my claws. Blue and green flames began to flicker from within as they expanded to effectively triple the length of my claws. This was one of the spells Lily had taught me after we had success with the monster method back in Farrowgate.
I slashed once to test the effect. Scales were torn apart as though they were tissue paper, and her tough flesh offered next to no resistance beneath my flames.
I raked my claws across her body again and again, decorating the interior with her blood. Her tail whipped about in a vicious attempt to fight back, but no matter how violently she flailed, she could not evade my attacks.
These cuts were deeper than what she experienced before. Tiara and I had both the precise killing instinct of a predator and the calculated intent to cause pain that Paris had drawn out of me.
Was I angry? Furious? Letting my emotions rule me?
No. I was calm. My heart as still as a silent lake.
I made sure not to cut too deeply and not to sever anything that may cause permanent damage. I ripped and tore at Paris’ body, slammed her into the ground, broke her bones, and scorched her over and over.
But not out of anger. Only animals and those who lacked self-control let rage control them.
This was education. A lesson that would be burned into her soul forever. A lesson she would remember every time she saw the scar on Rose’s shoulder. A lesson I would have her recall when needed.
Her regeneration was impressive, but that only served to drag out her suffering. Her eyes rolled back in her head, an attempt to escape reality by losing consciousness.
That was not permitted.
I sank my claws into her eyelids. Delicately, so as not to remove them completely. It was just enough for the new kind of pain to keep her attentive, and just enough for me to keep her from shutting out the reality she had created for herself.
She still levelled a rebellious glare my way, and as I opened my mouth to speak, she spat a mouthful of venom into my throat.
“Heh… Die, you freak.”
Her laughter was raspy and dry. I could tell that all the blood she had coughed up had made any use of her throat a painful experience.
I swallowed the venom and tilted my head curiously.
It was good for prey to resist. But this was too boring.
I let go of her and waited. I waited to see how she planned to follow up.
Fangs reached out for my neck once more. It was boring. Repetitive.
We played that game already, and so I grabbed her throat and ripped out both fangs. I turned them upwards and jammed them back in so hard they poked out of her face.
The toy screamed. It was an unpleasantly shrill sound, one that my delicate ears found offensive. And so I ripped off her lower jaw.
The toy flailed, and finally did something interesting. It began to flicker in and out of existence. Was it like me, moving through space to find safety?
No, this was more basic. Camouflage.
But the toy was bleeding too much for that to work. I threw a force bomb, and the cloaking was removed while the toy crumpled to the ground, its limbs bent in all sorts of funny positions.
Then I produced the visceranid venom and held the toy’s head back.
My mind cleared. I had let Tiara take the lead for too long, and her more sadistic tendencies were coming to light. Such as it was when cat found itself some weak prey.
I stepped back and spoke down to Paris.
“Thank you. This was a good learning experience. It seems I can regain control, even if I let my partner’s ego run completely wild now. Theoretically, this means I can dominate the souls of less cooperative creatures, too.”
Paris only gurgled in response to my musing.
“Don’t worry, there is a diamond-rank healer nearby. I’m sure you’ll survive. Right, Isolde?”
I directed my attention to the small presence that had been hiding just outside the room.
“Oh, you noticed? I thought it was best to wait for the fight to finish.”
The blonde girl poked her head into the room and walked in with an apologetic smile.
“I just got here a moment ago. Oh my, that’s not Paris, is it?”
She spoke with genuine concern. At least, it sounded genuine. If not for the fact that I knew she had been watching for some time, I may have been fooled.
“Weren’t you going to find reinforcements?”
I asked.
“Oh, yes! But then I thought there may be survivors here, and I rushed back to make sure nobody was in dire need of medical attention.”
She smiled warmly, a gesture that disarmed most who saw it. But in this blood-soaked room, it simply did not belong.
Isolde Langenberg. A girl much like Paris, in the way that I had little reason to interact with either of them. Was she hiding something as well? I may have been able to preempt Paris’ betrayal had I afforded her more attention. Maybe I should keep a closer eye on this one as well.
Or, I could call her out directly.
“Why did you watch for so long?”
I bent down to stare right into her eyes. While my actions were excessively violent, they at least served a purpose. But then, why would such a pure-hearted young girl watch such a scene in its entirety? What purpose could that possibly serve?
Despite being put on the spot, she did not falter in the slightest.
“I was worried you might lose. I may not be a good fighter, but I could at least get you to safety.”
Again, she smiled brightly as she spoke to me.
“We should probably restrain her, right?”
Isolde pressed her index fingers together. As she pulled them apart, a long golden string stretched out connecting them.
“This is quite sturdy, I think it will be enough to keep her down.”
She confidently set out to tie up Paris' arms to her sides. She may be heavily wounded, but she was still conscious. Isolde was not some dewy-eyed newborn who could not see the danger that Paris still posed, so why do this herself?
There was something else that bothered me about it all, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
But in the end, there was no evidence of foul play behind Isolde’s actions. Accusing her was both pointless and nowhere near the top of my priority list.
Although there was one way to test her right away.
“I told Rose and Fleur to wait upstairs. Can you come check on them with me?”
Fleur’s presence should cause anyone to hesitate, given the circumstances, especially as someone who lived in the same dorm and therefore knew that she was meant to have moved out. Would Isolde fear her? Hate her? Try to save her?
Depending on the answer, I could gain a little insight into her intentions.
“Oh…”
But instead, she looked concerned.
“Have you told her? About her brother, I mean.”
“No, I didn’t have a chance to talk to her. She looked out of it anyway. It’s probably best you check her condition before we touch that topic.”
“I refuse.”
Surprisingly, Isolde met me with a serious expression.
“Maybe you trust her, and that’s why you and Rose helped protect her from Paris. But for all we know, Paris thought Fleur was with the attackers and was just doing her duty.”
“Are you defending her? She tried to kill me, and Rose has been cut.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll see to your sister. I’m just saying we don’t know the story here, and we should maybe hear that story before we rush to a possible enemy’s aid.”
It was hard to argue. I knew Paris was an enemy purely because Tiara had thought of her as such. But nobody else could feel her soul’s certainty as I did, so how could I expect them to jump to conclusions without evidence?
“Fine, fine… We’ll take Rose and Fleur in for questioning as well, and get the whole story. Happy?”
Isolde nodded.
“It is important to follow protocol so we don’t fall into chaos.”
She held my furry hand while she spoke as if to emphasise how genuine her words were.
And so, the questioning began, and I was left to watch over Paris like a hawk.
