Chapter 13: The Counterattack
Siting at his desk, Rimuru looked with some disinterest as Mjulan was brought in and seated across from him; of course, Yohm and Grucius came along and were protectively sitting near her. Like before, the majin woman did not look scared or distressed, just resigned. He decided that he would get straight to the point
-'Mjulan, was it? I would like you to tell me your side of events.' he told her calmly. The woman simply nodded
-'As you wish.' she said, then began her explanation 'As you say, my name is Mjulan; I am a follower of Demon Lord Clayman, one of his five Fingers, the Index Finger.'
'Clayman...' he though the name with anger; he remembered how Milim had explained to him that he, along with herself and Carrion, were supporting Gelmud on the Orc Lord project; she had also told him he may have been behind Charybdis, but he ignored it at the time due to lack of evidence. From the other things Milim said, he did not have a good impression of the Demon Lord.
-'My mission was to spy on Tempest...I infiltrated Yohm's group to gain access to the city...' she said as Yohm looked at her, shocked 'later, Clayman had me raise the anti-magic field for him.'
-'I see...' Rimuru said thoughtfully 'are you still giving him reports?' he asked; she shook her head
-'No. In this anti-magic field, I too am incapable of magic.'
-'How were you planing to leave, though?' he asked.
-'I did not.' she answered almost immediately
-'So Clayman abandoned you?' he asked, his opinion of the Demon Lord getting lower by the second
-'Clayman is known as the 'Marionette Master'; he manipulates even his followers like puppets. To him, we are nothing but tools to be discarded when no longer useful.'
-'Why would you follow someone like that?'
-'Ah...' she said, sounding almost amused 'If only...I was originally a human witch; long ago, I was persecuted and hid in a secluded forests, where I lived for several hundred years. Alone, with no friends or family, I spent all my time researching magic. Then...when my life was seemingly at an end, he appeared. He said he would give me eternal youth if I served him...heh...I suppose a naive woman living alone in the woods was a laughably easy target for him.'
-'And he kept his word?' Rimuru asked curious
-'Yes, I suppose he did...but in exchange, I lost my freedom. You see, he used a special ritual, Marionette Heart; it replaced my original heart with a fake, which transforms a human into a majin, but also gives him complete control over your life...or death..'
-'So he literary has complete control over your right to live...how despicable.' he said as he got up and rounded the office 'So because you refused to accept your own death, you have now condemned my people to die, is that it?' he asked in anger
-'Hey boss, wait a...' Yohm tried to protest, but Benimaru quickly shot him down with a murderous look
-'Alright then, tell me this: what is Clayman's real reason for doing all this?' he asked the woman, who looked to contemplate her words before speaking
-'Clayman doesn't tell his puppets anything..' she said 'I presume, based on the tidbits he said, that he intended to foment a war between you and Falmuth; for what reason, I can't tell.'
-'So you don't actually know anything...guess you have no further use then.' he said in a dark tone
-'Hey boss, what are you doing?' Yohm said in a slight panic; ignoring him, Rimuru looked straight at Mjulan
-'Mjulan...I will need you to die.' he told his verdict; even then, she did not flinch, just accepted her fate
-'Wait, boss! I...' Yohm tried to protest, but Grucius shut him up with a shove
-'Quit wasting your time, Yohm...' the beastman said as he marched forward 'his eyes say he's serious!' and began to transform. In a split second, he had turned into a large, white haired wolf-man, ready to pounce. 'Stop gawking and get Mjulan out of here!' he shouted and slashed at Benimaru, who had placed himself between him and Rimuru. The ogre easily blocked the lycan and twisted his arm until he was pinned on the floor. Rimuru walked past them, casually
Detrmined, Yohm grabbed Mjulan's arm and prepared to drag her to safety 'Quick!' he told her 'Let's get out of...' but was interrupted when she grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. To stunned to say anything, he stood there as she broke the contact
-'I love you, Yohm...' she told him with a smile 'In all the time I have lived, your the only one...that I ever fell in love with.' she let go of his face and took a step back 'Goodbye and...try not to get led astray by other wicked women.'
Before he could say anything, Yohm was immobilized by a cocoon of Rimuru's thread magic; he fell to the floor, unable to do anything but scream.
-'I see that you're ready...' Rimuru said to Mjulan as he approached her, ignoring Yohm's desperate screams. With a hard thrust in her chest, it was over. Silence fell over the room...
-'Huh?' Mjulan said as she tried to process the situation; she looked down at where Rimuru had hit her, but saw no blood or anything.
-'Looks like the operation was a success!' Rimuru said cheerfully, looking at his handiwork
-'What..but...how am I not dead?' Mjulan asked
-'Oh, you were dead...for about three seconds.' Rimuru answered with a loopside grin
Rimuru released Yohm, who was looking both confused and concerned 'Huuuh?! Boss, what the hell is going on?!' he screamed at Rimuru, who shushed him. Not losing his grin, he opened his palm to show them what he had done. It was a broken crystal
-'This...' Rimuru told his confused audience 'is Clayman's fake heart he put in Mjulan. It's actually a listening device.' at their confused glances, he continued 'earlier, when I installed a third barrier, I detected an encoded signal; the signal was coming from this thing. Mjulan...' he looked at the woman, who had a look of realization 'he was spying on you. Those regular reports were probably just a ruse to keep you from realizing it.'
-'Spying on me...' she said, baffled '..but, what is this beating in my chest?'
-'I made you a new artificial heart based on Clayman's; of course, its curse free.' he explained 'You're free. Clayman has no more power over you.' he told her. Hearing that, the majin began to cry, the relief too much to handle. Yohm took to comforting her. Grucius, meanwhile, was fuming, but there was nothing he could do; the woman had already said she had a thing for Yohm. After letting them take their breath, he continued to explain to them his theory, namely that Yohm was being used as a hostage to force her to do her bidding.
-'Lord Rimuru...no amount of words can express my gratitude...' Mjulan said 'If there's anything I can do...'
-'Oh, there is. Don't worry. I didn't just save you for free!' he told her with a small smile; she nodded, so he decided to elaborate 'I did it mostly because it would keep Yohm in line; I have great plans for him...' he looked over at the man in question, who was now picking a fight with Grucius over something the beastman said (he wasn't paying attention). He looked back to Mjulan with a sad expression 'But also...I know how you two feel...' he told her. She looked a bit confused at his words, but decided not no pry. 'Now then...' he said louder to get everyone's attention 'With the spying taken care of, let's start the real meeting.'
A while later, the office was jammed packed with people; the remaining ogres, Kaijin, Geld, Rigurd, Gobta, the hobgoblin Lords, Yohm, Grucius, Mjulan and even the adventuring trio were all included. Looking at them with a serious expression, he told them
-'Thank you for coming; I will get straight to the two main points of this meeting: our counterattack against Falmuth, and the revival of our fallen comrades!' he told them. They all had a look on their face that said 'I knew it'. 'Eren...' he turned to the girl, who became somewhat uncomfortable as all the eyes in the room turned to her 'I ask you to tell them the story you shared with me.' he said; though somewhat reluctant, she nodded and began retelling the story of the Dragon Princess. As she was coming to a close, he could see several people around the room, mostly the magically adept ones like Shuna and Mjulan, begin to get a hold of what he was going for. When Eren finished, the room remained silent for a while...
-'I see. Resurrecting the dead...' Mjulan said, astonished and curious; he supposed she was a witch who spent centuries researching magic.
-'Yes.' he answered simply 'And the conditions for it to happen, though low, hinge on one factor: me becoming a Demon Lord.' he let the gravity of his declaration sink in for a few moments, then continued 'Any objections?'
The people in the room began to exchange glances; he guessed some of the monsters may be using telepathy to debate his words, but he decided against intruding. After a while, Rigurd spoke up
-'My Lord, we will follow you down whatever path you go.' he said with conviction 'Whatever that may lead us to.' almost everyone in the room nodded. It warmed his heart to know just how much they trusted him; even when he declared something so absurd, they did not judge and simply trusted their lives in him. However, given the events of the past few days, he wasn't so sure how good it was, his feelings aside. With that in mind, he made a decision
-'Guys, you know, I have something to say...I, myself, was once human.' he told them. They all looked a bit confused at him, and so he decided to tell them the truth; about his previous life, his death and reincarnation, and more importantly
-'So you see...' he continued '...because I was human, I wanted to continue interacting with humans; when I made the rule 'don't attack humans', it was with that selfish though in mind. I cannot take that back no matter how much I wish...' he said sorrowfully, even ashamed 'but...believe me when I say that I never, ever wanted anyone to get hurt by that rule.' he finished, bowing slightly to everyone in the room 'this really was my...' he was about to say 'fault' but was quickly interrupted
-'Lord Rimuru, please raise you head!' Rigurd shouted with concern 'We would never accept such a thing!' he said
-'Indeed, my Lord.' Shuna interjected 'We too are responsible for what transpired. We always depended on you too much, and the slaughter was the result of that. It is our burden too..' she told him with a stern voice
-'How pathetic I am...' Benimaru muttered 'For my younger sister to say that before me. But she's right. We lost our will and faulted; I faulted, even though you left me in charge...'
-'Wait a moment, Benimnaru!' Rigur, shouted 'As head of security, this is much more my fault!'
-'No...' Geld said with guilt in his voice 'I too should have kept a sharper eye on those who came down the road...'
One by one, everyone in the room began accusing themselves of something, trying to draw blame from him...or so he though. Thinking more carefully, he realized it was just their sense of responsibility, something which he had tried very hard to nurture in them from day one. And now, here it was, bearing fruit. However, even that was because he was selfish. He tried saying as much but Hakuro interjected
-'No, my Lord; there is nothing wrong about being selfish.' the old man sagely said 'What truly caused all this tragedy was our own weakness. Our negligence allowed that rabble to get away with this in our own home. Am I wrong?!' he shouted at everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.
Rimuru looked over in awe; he was honestly ready for them to hate him, even brand him a traitor and banish him, but no.
-'Selfishness if perfectly fine, my Lord. You are our only true Master, and it is our destiny to follow you down any path you chose.' Rigurd assured him with a smile.
-'And you...don't have a problem with a former human giving you orders?' he finally asked
-'Huh? What dose that have to do with anything?' Gobta asked, genuinely confused. Everyone in the room had to offer a small laugh at his straightforwardness.
-'Monster or human, you are our Master, Sir Rimuru...' Shuna said 'It doesn't matter to any of us.'
-'...I see.' he finally relented. Looking around at his assembled companions, he realized his worries were baseless. They would, in fact, never abandon or cast him aside over something so meaningless. Even so...he swore in his heart that he would never fail them again. 'Yes...being selfish is fine...and this promise is for my sake too!' he though. 'Alright then, let's continue. Here's the plan...'
-'Wait, just one question...' Kaijin interrupted; when all eyes were on him he continued 'how are you going to go forward interacting with humans from now on?'
-'Ah that...' Rimuru said, having hoped to avoid that topic until later; he had an idea, but Rigurd took initiative
-'I think we should continue interacting with them...' he said 'yes, those humans attacked us, but we should not lump all humans into one category; Sir Mjollmile and the adventurers jumped right away to assist us any way they could. I think we should consider that.' he finished. Everyone around seemed to agree, for the most part, and voiced their opinions as such.
-'Yes, I agree. However, we will be much more cautions in the future. We will extend our hand in friendship and peace to those who do the same. To those who bear their fangs at us, we will respond in kind. Do we agree?' everyone nodded in approval 'In that case, let's start...'
For the next few minutes, they discussed the main steps they would need to take in their mission; first, the humans outside maintaining the barrier would have to go. Then they, or more specifically himself, would need to obliterate the Falmuth army, not just to stop their advance but also to enable his ascension to Demon Lord; at the last part, everyone wanted to join him on the attack, but he refused.
-'No, I will do this alone.' he told them, ignoring any protest 'I have good reason for it; in order to become a Demon Lord, I must be the one who kills them; it's the only way.' he told them, leaving out how the Sage informed him the task could be delegated. No need to let them know. He would be the one who would end them; that too was his selfish wish. 'But I leave the ones outside of town to you guys. Hakuro, Geld and the Goblin Riders, you guys take the west; Soei and his team will take the north; Gabiru and his men will take the south; Benimaru, I think you can handle the east by yourself.' he relayed his orders to each of the teams, who had a look of pure determination on their faces. Finally, he turned to Shuna and Mjulan 'Once they are all taken care of, the barrier will go down; I want you to to work together to form a new one, just in case, to keep the souls of our friends in place. Can you do that for me?'
-'Of course.' Mjulan said immediately 'I will repay my debt in any way I can.' Shuna nodded.
Finally, with all the pieces in place, Rimuru and his subordinates began the counterattack.
Taking one final look at the city as he exited the barrier, Rimuru grew two large bat wings from his back and, with newfound determination, flew off into the west, to intercept the army marching on them. He had complete faith in his people to do their part; all that was left was for him to do his.
He flew at high speeds over the clouds; as he was wearing his replica mask, his presence was completely concealed. It took only about 15 minutes of travel until he spotted his enemy. Looking down from on high, he judged the army that had set up camp in a field and prepared to eliminate them.
'Trash, all of you.' he though as he waited for the all clear signal from the forces outside Tempest. He waited, and though about how he ended up where he was now. Perhaps if he had been more careful, he would not have needed to do what he was about to do, but it was too late to regret or even care. His heart was iced over; he simply did not have the desire or capacity to see the worms below as anything but trash to be disposed of.
'Lord Rimuru...' Benimaru's voice rang out in his mind 'we're finished on our end; all magical crystals generating the barrier have been destroyed. No casualty on our end.'
'Understood.' He answered back 'Go and help Shuna and Mjulan in the town square. I will finish here shortly.'
And with that, he began gathering the energy needed for the task. Thanks to Great Sage, he had devised a perfect method to eliminate them as quickly and as efficiently as possible. It was rather simple, but deadly, frighteningly so; it boiled down to a using his Water Control to form large water lenses high up in the atmosphere, which would focus the light of the sun into an extremely thin beam . He would form smaller water droplets close to the ground to reflect and redirect the resulting beam of pure heat to whatever he deemed a target; the heat would instantly vaporize the droplets, but they required so little magic to form he could reform them over and over again at very high speeds. The only drawback was that it required sunlight to function, so it was useless during the night; right now, however, was noon. Nothing stood between him and his goal. He finalized the spell, and aimed at the worms down below.
'You humans who invaded my territory...hurt my people...you must now pay for it with your lives!' he shouted, though he doubted anyone below heard 'Megiddo!'
Instantly, numerous beams of sunlight were directed downwards to the droplets below, which shot them in all directions right in the middle of the camp. The effect was devastating; several hundred soldiers instantly fell over dead, chests or heads pierce and burnt clean through; armor was useless, as were magical barriers, since the beam itself was not magic but natural sunlight. Panic spread like wildfire through the camp as more and more beams rained down into their ranks, cutting them down like insects; it didn't matter at all who they were: old or young, malicious or not, strong or weak, they all suffered the same fate in a long but short nightmare. And he felt nothing.
Attention Great sage suddenly said Unique skill 'Merciless' successfully acquired
'Merciless?' he wondered as he continued to rain down death upon those below, but decided to leave it for later. 'Wonder how many I have to go?' he though to himself, not concern at all that he was talking about how human lives he had snuffed out Report: over 2500 enemies dead; 2550... Great Sage reported. He decided to order it to report only when he had reached the required 10000 souls- not that he would stop at just that- and had to steady himself as he realized that Megiddo was even more frighten than he had expected. Even so, he continued. After what felt like hours, but could not have been more than five minutes, the Sage reported he had almost reached the required amount; he continued. After a few more seconds, he turned his attention to a large, gaudy tent installed some distance from the center of the camp.
'Either some high ranking general...or the King who was supposed to lead this force.' he though with contempt. When he saw a knight leave the tent, he didn't hesitate to put a beam straight through his temples. A second later, a few other figures strode out; a young looking mage and two older men. One of them dressed in expensive clothes hastily walked to the knight, who had died so suddenly he was still standing, and patted the knight on the shoulder, causing him to fall over. The fancy dressed man quickly stumbled away, looking even more terrified than he already was. He concluded either him or the other older man must be the king, and so he decided to introduce himself. Flying down to the three, he landed with a thud.
-'Hello.' he said, ignoring their looks of fear 'Is one of you trash the king?'
-'You...' the young mage began in a fearful voice 'are the Lord of the Monsters?!'
-'You do not look like you're from this realm...' he said as he got a good look at his asian features 'are you one of the otherworlders that attacked Tempest?' he asked
-'No...' the mage answered 'My mind and soul are of this world...'
-'Whatever.' he grumbled 'You're an enemy either way.' and with no more words or warning put two beams through his heart and brain. As he fell over, dead, Rimuru marched over to the two other figures. 'Well?' he asked impatient. The bearded, fancy dressed one stepped forward after looking to contemplate his words; based on how the other looked more like a priest, he concluded that the fancy one indeed must have been the king.
-'Y...you violate proper manners, monster!' the man said in a haughty voice; Rimuru had to quickly replay his words in his mind to make sure he heard right 'Kneel before me, King Edmaris or Falmuth! For I wish...' and decided then and there to teach the maggot a lesson of 'proper manners' by instantly cutting off one of his arms; though he sealed off the wound with some flame as well to keep him from bleeding out. The idiot cried out in pain and fell to his knees, clutching his stump.
-'You there, baldy...' he turned to the other guy 'Is this man really the king, or just a double? Tell me.' he ordered. The priests looked ready to soil his pants, stuttering for a few seconds
-'Yes, yes! He is! As an archbishop of the Western Holy Church, I vouch for it!' he said with a panicked voice. Unlike the idiot on the ground, he seemed to have instantly realized their situation. 'M..my name is Reyheim...I hold great authority with the Church!' he continued, droping down to his knees and prostrating himself 'Please spare my life! I can vouch to anyone that you...'
-'Silence.' he decided to interrupt his pathetic pleading; since he did seem to be fairy high up, he decided to keep him alive for now. 'Do not move from your place. And you...' he turned to the king, who was looking up at him with absolute horror in his eyes 'I will hear you out, but know that I am not some pushover. Now, I permit you to speak.' he said, putting as much malice in his words and aura as he could
-'This is a misunderstanding!' the king said 'I..I came to you to form friendly relations! My army was only for my protection, I swear!'
-'You say that, but your scouts started a fight and killed many of my subjects.' Rimuru shot back
-'No, wait please! It was those otherworders, not me!' he shouted 'They acted foolishly, without my consent! I was fooled too! And the Church, as well...they hate monsters and so, I was only trying to prove you could be trusted...'
-'And?' he asked the obvious liar 'Are you willing to form friendly relations now?'
-'Ah, of course!' the king billowed in what sounded like relief 'Of course! My nation is much richer than Blumund! In fact...' his voice began creeping back to his previous haughtiness 'you should be grateful that...'
-'Enough.' Rimuru ordered, shooting him a dark look; he instantly shut up in fear. 'I heard enough. We will...talk later. For now...' he said as he turned around 'I will end it all.'
Attention: Unique Skill Merciless analyze. Use Merciless? Great Sage asked. He had only one thing to say: Yes
And so, everyone remaining in the camp but the king and the archbishop died. Not simply killed by some magic; no, Merciless had affected everyone who had lost all hope and begged for their lives. Instead, Merciless had ripped their souls straight out of their bodies, ending them all in a single instant.
Immediately, Rimuru could feel all those souls being absorbed. A great surge of power emanated from him as he turned back to the pathetic king, who, upon witnessing the scene, had literary soiled himself in fear. Reyheim had already fainted. 'It's too bad. I really wanted to be friendly, but you people forced my hand. And now...' he said as he took the mask off and looked the man straight in the eyes 'you will suffer the consequences.' Without saying another word, the king rolled his eyes back and fainted.
Notice: Individual Rimuru Tempest has completed the Demon Lord Harvest a voice like the Great Sage rang out, but he realized it wasn't his skill. No, this was the Voice of the World announcing to everyone who could hear his achievement Now preparing evolution to Demon Lord Immediately as the Voice said that, he could feel his consciousness fading.
'Crap...' he thought through the sudden haze 'I'm feeling dizzy...' he turned around to the two unconscious prisoners, and noticed something strange; namely, that the body of the mage he had shot was missing...
Notice: one survivor detected through magic sense The Great Sage reported. However, he could not even stand up straight and fell down; 'I can't chase down some survivor in this state...l' he forced all his willpower to keep himself awake for a little while longer 'And I sure as hell can't fall asleep around them...what to do?' he had an idea.
-'Ranga!' he shouted. Immediately, the wolf jumped out of his shadow and got close to lean on him 'I will need you to take me back to Tempest...and those two...' he said and began channeling some magic in his hand. Barley keeping himself from fainting, he cast a summoning spell.
'Come forth, demons!' he chanted 'I seek your services! I offer the bodies of my prey!' a magical array appeared on the ground and in a gust of wind all the dead bodies vanished. Three demons appeared in front of him 'All those bodies and I got just three...well, I guess I did suck out their souls...'
-'Keh he he, what a familiar sensation...' the demon in the middle said 'The birth of a Demon Lord!'
-'Ah, yes...' Rimuru said fighting off the darkness 'There is at least one survivor around. Capture them and bring them to my city. When you get there, do what...Ranga...says...'
-'Of course!' the demon said with joy in his voice 'I accept this great honor! But may I ask that we continue to serve after our task is done?' he said, kneeling down.
-'We'll talk later...prove you're useful...I...'
-'Yes, master. Be at ease and consider it done!' the demon said. Then, no longer able to withstand the darkness, Rimuru's mind slipped. Be at ease, Master. he though he could hear a voice say I will handle the rest.
Benimaru, Shuna, Mjulan and the others were waiting in the town square for several minutes, waiting for news from their master. Shuna and Mjulan managed to successfully cast another barrier after the other one was taken down, and now all they could do was wait along with the entire city, holding their breath. Then...
Notice: Individual Rimuru Tempest has completed the Demon Lord Harvest the Voice of the World rang out for all to hear Now preparing evolution to Demon Lord. When it is completed, all affiliated monsters will be granted gifts.
The sudden words shocked everyone at first, most of which never imagined they would ever hear it in their lives, but that was quickly filled with overwhelming joy at their master's success. Almost the entire city began kneeling, praying for their Master. Benimnaru, fighting through his own desire to prey, however took charge
-'Steel yourselves! Our Master is victorious!' he shouted at everyone 'His return is imminent! Until he is finished, we must use our bodies and souls to protect him!' everyone around nodded with determination.
Some time passed as everyone waited, when suddenly someone shouted 'Clear the way! Lord Rimuru has returned!' The large form of Ranga made its way down the main street, stopping only in front of Benimaru and Shuna in the town square. Gently, he placed the slime form of their master down.
-'I must return to the town's entrance...' Ranga said as Shuna picked the slime up 'Master ordered me to keep watch for something.' Shuna and Benimaru exchanged a glance
-'Grucius, Yohm, could you escort Ranga?' Shuna said. The two, though hesitant, quickly followed the wolf. Shuna moved to gently place their master on a pedestal they had prepared beforehand. Then...
Attention: Demon Lord Evolution commencing' the Voice of the World said. As they heard that, everyone that was named by Rimuru began feeling weak and sleepy. Weaker monster simply fell over, sleeping, while the higher ones managed to hold on for a few more seconds.
-'No...we...can't...'Shuna muttered as she fought off the drowsiness; realizing that she could not, she turned to Mjulan and fell asleep. Benimaru looked over at her too but didn't manage to speak before falling asleep. Soon, only Mjulan and the three adventurers remained conscious in the square. And then an angel descended upon Tempest.
It was dark. Darker than he had ever experienced, even that time he had died. Even so, it felt oddly comforting. He could not feel his body, or anything at all. It was simply stillness. Then he heard a voice say Evolution from Slime to Demon Slime successful. All physical abilities greatly improved though it said that, he could not concentrate enough to truly register its meaning Acquisition of new skills and resistances, successful. He though he could see something in the distance; a faint form through the darkness, silhouetted against the empty. He tried reaching out...Evolution process completed; Notice: attempting to evolve Great Sage...failed...failed...failed... he could almost reach the form. Offering skill Degenerate as sacrifice; successful. Unique skill Great Sage evolving to Wisdom Lord Raphael the form took shape and turned to smile at him. And so, he woke up.
He could feel himself being held, though Magic Sense was temporary off. He willed it back on, and took a good look around...
-'Ah...good morning Shion. Your back...' he said to the ogress holding him; he looked around and saw they were on the porch of his private house.
-'You're awake, Lord Rimuru!' she excitedly said. Gently, she placed him down onto the porch itself 'and not just me!' she said, motioning to the large crowd of people gathered there. They all cheered as he looked over them. Finally, he could feel a burden lifting off of his soul. However, there were still many things left to do, one of which was even more personal
'Alright, Milim. I'll be coming soon. Just you wait...'
A long distance away, around the same time, the Destroyer was sitting in he room in Frey's castle, talking with the Queen about small nothings, when suddenly she shot up...ignoring the harpy, she focused all her senses in the direction of Tempest. She grinned, sending a shiver down the harpy's spine.