Chapter 46: I've heard enough.
Middle Fire Month, 6th Day, 600 AGG
"You've never casted Super-Tier spells before," Draudillon asked, albeit not unkindly. "Is there some strict limitation on their usage?"
Summoning one Gatekeeper should've been an impossible feat relegated to the realm of myth. Summoning six Gatekeepers with one spell was beyond absurd.
'And Yuriko isn't even as strong as summoners could get. A game where people need to be able to throw out abilities that powerful… it doesn't sound very fair,' Draudillon questioned her beloved's taste in entertainment. She wasn't going to complain though; if it weren't for Yggdrasil, she would've never met them.
"Mmmmnn," Yuriko scratched the top of her head. "Well, I was always saving it for when I really needed it, y'know? 'Cause only two uses a day and all."
The angel kicked their feet back and forth from their perch atop one of the tables in the Raswaran Dham—the meeting hall of the Beastman Country's leadership.
"Guess I just ended up forgetting," Yuriko grimaced, shoulders slumping. "Sorry… I… it would've been helpful earlier, right?"
"Don't worry about it," Draudillon put a hand on Yuriko's thigh. "With all the other angels you have around, a couple more Gatekeepers aren't a necessity."
"That makes sense," Yuriko leaned against her. "I won't forget from now on. Promise!"
"You didn't have to promise…" The dragon queen laughed quietly, a short huff of air out her nose that was barely perceptible. "Really, don't worry about it."
"Vizier Veejanu, High Vizier," an Orthrous, some sort of gruff-looking bear type, entered the magically-lit chamber and put an end to their chatting. "And…" He disdainfully glanced at her and Yuriko. "These are?"
"People relevant to today's assembly," Varush provided a vague reply. "I've no desire to repeat myself to every single person that enters, so you'll have to wait until we start."
"Hmph. At least have them sit elsewhere," the Orthrous scrunched his nose. "When were we ever in the habit of allowing outsiders to dirty our tables?"
"... Of course," Varush awkwardly gestured for them to climb up to the elevated position where he overlooked the entire chamber.
Little by little, more beastmen trickled into the hall, ambient noise rising with the beginnings of greetings and conversations. Seats were gradually filled with a staggering number of powerful demihumans—their difficulty ratings, in the high-eighties to low-hundreds. Going by levels that was, well, she wasn't accustomed to using Yggdrasil's scaling yet; difficulty ratings seemed better for judging immediate combat threat in any case.
To be honest, she was impressed that so many notable individuals could come together and form a sort of cooperative union. True, Argland was another example, but Platinum Dragon Lord ran the Council State, so did it really count?
The doors grinded to a close, signaling that everyone had arrived and were now waiting for the Minotaur to begin the meeting.
'It won't be a long one, that much is certain,' Draudillon thought with no small amount of viciousness. 'Shame that they won't get the opportunity to suffer the tedium of statesmanship for longer.'
"This is everyone," Varush murmured in a low voice. "Will you…?" The Minotaur left the rest unsaid.
"Huh?" Yuriko blinked and swallowed. "Oh, y-yeah, I—"
"Varush!" One of the beastmen roared impatiently. "Did you call us here just to sit and wait?! Unlike you, some of us have important things to deal with!"
Many others grumbled in agreement, their heads turning expectantly towards the High Vizier.
'She's not ready,' Draudillon quickly stamped out the growing stain of disappointment welling up inside her. 'This is fine. Hasn't she already done enough, Draudillon? Don't let greed get the better of you. Besides, it's not like we're in any danger with『Gate』at our disposal.'
"Ahem," Varush cleared his throat, shifting his eyes away from the hesitating angel and towards the waiting Viziers arranged around the circular tiers. "Thank you all for coming today—"
"Get to the point!" The shout was met with similar sounds of unhappy acclamation. Draudillon chuffed; the beastmen Council lacked the cohesive unity she was so used to in her own court.
"Fuuu…" Varush breathed out a sigh that spoke of long years of frustration. "I've called everyone here today to discuss our future regarding the Draconic Kingdom."
"What about it?" A Tiger Zoastia, the one who had accosted them in Mahajarat a few days ago, sneered. "Wasn't handling that your job, High Vizier? Or did you turn tail and run?"
"These two here," the Minotaur ignored Lasaath's taunt and motioned at the two women standing beside him. Yuriko wasn't moving, golden eyes sweeping the entire room in search of… something. "Are the queen and champion of the Draconic Kingdom."
All of the Viziers straightened their backs at that, curious gazes giving way to a sharp ferocity. To go from a state of complete defeat to sudden victory took a few seconds for all them to comprehend.
"Incredible," One Vizier broke the astonishment that had overwhelmed everyone in the room. "By saying that, do you mean to say that you somehow managed to defeat what our armies couldn't?"
"She has a, um," Varush stumbled over his words, struggling to find a plausible excuse. "A weakness, you might say."
"And that weakness is?" Not a single beastmen could fully hold back their anticipation, each one of them—save for three—leaning forward ever so slightly.
"Hm, it's better if less people know. None of you would want your enemies to be able to direct such a force against you, I'm sure."
"But it's okay for you to know," the Vizier narrowed their eyes. "I hope you can understand why all of us here might find that to be… unfair."
"Have I ever abused my power? The authority of my position?" It seemed the Minotaur could pull a convincing act after all. Draudillon just wished he was more consistent with it. "Don't forget that the Council decided to send me to deal with the Draconic Kingdom. Are all of you going to complain after I've done just that?"
"Ku…!"
"Methods aside, bring them closer to the center!" Someone else mirthfully chuckled. "I can hardly see them from the other side of the room!"
Without any further prompting, Draudillon softly tugged Yuriko to the center of the Raswaran Dham, steadfastly refusing to balk in fear as all the beastmen hungrily watched them.
"So obedient," a feline beastwoman with striped fur purred. "I didn't know the High Vizier was skilled in breaking the wills of the conquered. Have you been hiding something from us?"
"You can compare your methods of handling slaves later, Vizier Arthashek."
"Fiiiiine~"
"What about the angel? She's strong, isn't she? Surely there's some good use we can get out of her."
"If we can leverage her summons, then even flushing out those damnable spiders should be possible!"
"One thing at a time," a Serpenti lightly scolded the beastman who brought up the 'spiders.' "We should recoup our investments from the dismantled human stockyards first."
"Mm, building everything back up is going to be a pain…"
"She's the ruler of those humans, ain't she? If we kill her now, then can't we just walk in and take over, no sweat? Probably make repairing all our shit a ton easier too."
"It'll be more effective if we have her manage the region for us," another Vizier argued. "What if killing their ruler causes them to scatter all over the damn place? I'm not cleaning that up."
Yuriko's hands tightened into trembling fists.
"I agree," a lean, catlike demihuman expressed his concurrence. "And now with this angel of theirs in our grasp, keeping the humans in line will be even easier than before."
"There's nothing guaranteeing her loyalty!" An especially bestial Lion Zoastia slammed his fist on the sturdy table. "Do you really think she won't try to sabotage us at every step? Have you thought about how much money that could cost us? That angel too, it's suspicious how the High Vizier has refused to tell us just how he managed to bind them to his will!"
"We can give this ruler a few haven cities," a beastman from the opposite side of the lion suggested. "As long as they stay in line, we won't harvest or interfere in those areas. Better for some to live than for everyone to die, eh? Gives them some incentive to not mess around."
They shot an inquisitive eye at Draudillon. She stared right back, unimpressed.
'Yuriko, are you really okay with this?'
"Plus, look at the 'angel,'" the beastman continued, mockingly gesturing at Yuriko. "Do you honestly think anyone would willingly subject themselves to this kind of humiliation?"
"... I suppose," the lion grudgingly agreed, budding optimism winning out over skepticism. "Holding some of their cities hostage isn't a bad idea. But how are we going to split the territory then? If the High Vizier is the one in possession of the angel's power…"
"I won't take part in the plunder," Varush was beyond confused now, his eyes boring a hole into the unresponsive angel. "You'd all agree it'll be better to not recklessly use such an incredible power for personal desires, hm?"
"Haha! I'm glad to hear that you're so reasonable!"
"Fool, that means we'll have to take over everything ourselves—no angels to shoulder the burdens of occupation."
"Isn't that preferable? Now we won't argue over who gets what. It'll be like the days of the Republic's founding; the ones who contribute the most gain the most!"
Sounds of accord grew to a fever pitch, flooding the hall with an enthusiasm borne from the most primal parts of the beastmen's psyche. Laughable. Draudillon had never hated the beastmen more than she did at that moment.
How dare they. But even still, even still, she kept her silence. It wasn't her decision to make.
"Great! Let's put it to a vote. High Vizier, if you would?"
"..." Varush tore his eyes away from the angel and heaved an exhausted sigh. "Very well, all in favor—"
"I've heard enough."
Yuriko snapped.
"Wait, what did she say—?"
"『Create High Tier Angel』."
A cold voice contrasted against a warm radiance.
'Bright,' Draudillon squinted as the flash of light seared her vision. 'Seraph Empyrean?'
One of the highest ranked among the angelic hierarchy, surpassed only by a scant few even Yuriko lacked the ability to bring into being.
Six hands, six wings, and three heads all fitted into a magnificent regalia that surely surpassed the value of the entire Beastman Country many times over.
Its three heads—a fearsome lion, a goat with mighty horns, and a white-haired androgyonous beauty in the middle—serenely turned towards a certain Rajan gaping at it from his elevated table. Despite the blindfolds covering the eyes of the two animal heads, and the pair of hands covering those of the human-like one, Draudillon had no doubt that it could see clearer than nearly everyone present.
"What kinda angel is that?" That one statement summed up the feelings of all the beastmen in the room. Despite the peril they felt, knew themselves to be in, they could do nothing but stand stock-still under the Empyrean's watch. "Oi, oi, High Vizier, what's going on?!"
Varush didn't respond. He didn't lift his head either.
"Treachery…" A Jaguar Zoastia murmured in resignation, loudly enough to be heard over the din that was overwhelming the room. She didn't sound surprised. "Is this what it is, Varush?"
"『Boosted Magic - Resplendent Barrier』," a translucent sphere of solid light formed around them. "『Boosted Magic - Starfield Bulwark』."
None of the Viziers had made a move yet, even while another sphere of glittering starlight enclosed the two women. Indeed, all of them were struck with confusion, panic, and a horrible encroaching fear.
"I promised I'd rip you to pieces," Yuriko jerked her head at the bewildered Tiger Zoastia. "Empyrean."
Faster than Draudillon could process what was happening, the Seraph Empyrean vanished and reappeared behind the Rajan of Clan Kroh'or.
'That wasn't teleportation,' the summon's speed left her speechless. She was familiar with its visage, but this was the first time she'd seen it in action. 'It's really just that fast.'
"What the fuck—" Lasaath barely got up from his seat before his corpus fell apart, becoming little more than a pile of shredded flesh and gore seeping over the tiled floor. A second later, the beastmen that had been sitting next to the Tiger Zoastia leapt to their feets with shouts of fear that were cut short as they too became diced chunks of meat irreverently scattered on the ground.
"Why aren't the defenses triggering?!" A Lion Orthrous roared, more out of sheer terror than anything else, and jabbed a finger at Varush. "Varush, you fucking sold us out—!"
He wasn't able to finish his denouncement before the Empyrean sent him to join his deceased colleagues.
"『Gather together!』" An Ape beastman released a rallying cry. "『Mages to the back, warriors cover them—"
Swish.
No quarter was offered and none would be given. Limbs and heads flew as the Viziers made a vain effort to erect an effective resistance against what amounted to a god. The only thing they had going for them was that the Empyrean couldn't kill them all in one go, but even that seemed more of a curse than a blessing with each death that followed.
"『Widen Magic - Detect Good』," Yuriko muttered. She looked so tired. "Guess karma's only a bunch of numbers, huh?"
Before Draudillon could ask what she meant, the angel opened her mouth, words of power pouring forth once more.
"『Widen Magic —』."
The Raswaran Dham fell silent.
Draudillon blinked.
'What?' She heard Yuriko say something, cast a spell, but the name eluded her. 'Even if she's speaking a foreign language, shouldn't it be translated?'
It felt like the spell was being purposely mistranslated to be incomprehensible.
"H-Hey, what did she do…" Draudillon glanced at the beastman who shattered the tense stillness before turning about while looking at her surroundings. "I'm—no, no. This is insanity—hrk!"
Half—no, more than half of the beastmen in the room had suddenly keeled over and slumped to the ground. One moment they were breathing, fearing, alive.
The next, they were dead. All their martial valor, their magical skill, all the triumphs they took pride in disappeared with but a few words from the angel. Before her, they may as well have been ants—less than ants.
Even in the midst of such a macabre scene, the Empyrean unceasingly continued its gruesome work. Twin longswords flickered in and out of sight, tracing the expanse around it in a dance of blood and viscera.
Not once was its tranquility disturbed by the lives it so callously claimed. Not once did it pause, hesitate, or waver.
A stark contrast to its master.
"Shit! Shit, shit, shit—"
"『Vermilion Nova』."
A Zoastia running to an exit was engulfed in a massive spike of unbearable heat, his agonized howl drowned out by the roaring inferno.
Sweltering. A flame that burned brighter than any lodestar and hotter than any blacksmith's forge, a flame that caused beads of sweat to drip down the nape of Draudillon's neck in spite of the dual barriers separating her from the purest expression of wrath.
"The hell kind of magic is that?!"
"Don't just stand there, do something!"
"『Wind Stride』!" "『Greater Ability Boost』!"
"『Vermilion Nova』."
The pair who attempted to leap towards them were scorched to ashes in midair, the last remnants of their physical existence falling through the starry outer barrier and bouncing off the golden inner.
"『Vermilion Nova』.『Vermilion Nova』.『Vermilion Nova』.『Vermilion Nova』.『Vermilion Nova』."
Baleful pillars of crimson flames erupted throughout the room in time with the beastmen's screams—fiery conductors of a choir that sang a monotone, deafening chord of despair and damnation.
Yuriko didn't turn her eyes away. She was a solemn executioner bearing witness to the judgment she wrought upon the wicked, a shining beacon in the blazing hellscape of her own making.
She looked lonely. So very, very lonely. Like she was the only person in the entire world.
Draudillon delicately took their hand, wincing as the angel tightened their grip like a drowning person holding onto a fraying lifeline.
'It's almost over,' she reassuringly squeezed Yuriko's hand. 'Just a little more. Just a little more.'
"Fuck this," one Zoastia vaulted over his table and made a dash for one of the exits. Yuriko pointed a finger at the doorway he was running towards and mumbled.
"『Wall of Magma』."
"Isholranth—" The beastman tripped to a halt before he fell headfirst into the bubbling barrier only to get mulched by the blurred form of the Empyrean.
"『Wall of Magma』," Yuriko closed off another path. "『Wall of Magma』."
Two spells to extinguish all hope of escape, a fact the beastmen were quick to realize in the face of the scorching barricades.
Ten beastmen became nine. Nine quickly became an eight that was cut down to seven, whittled into six, and in the blink of an eye, culled to four.
Varush, Ithit, the aarakocra Rajan Vahanda Shadiya, and that Jaguar Zoastia.
The dragon queen stepped out of the double-layered barrier towards the despondent jaguar woman. She paused, turning around to address whatever protests Yuriko might have, only for the words to die in her throat.
The look in the angel's eyes… mm, Draudillon immediately understood. A conveyed understanding that transcended words, bypassing the need for speech or thought altogether.
Draudillon ascended the tiers. Yuriko didn't stop her, allowing the Seraph Empyrean to slowly glide to a stop directly behind the last Vizier they were meant to kill.
'Detestable,' she scorned the spiritless Vizier from the bottom of her heart. 'But now, you're at my mercy.'
Mercy that she wasn't willing to spare.
Draudillon raised the unresisting Jaguar Zoastia's head up by the chin and stared them in the eyes. What should she say? At long last, her hated foes were laid low—completely and utterly crushed beneath the angel's heel.
There were many things she wanted to say, countless grievances she wanted to air. Some sort of grandstanding that did justice to the harrowing decades her people had suffered through.
In the end, simple was best.
Draudillon's soul reached out for the beastman's. It was strange, and a bit difficult, to grab ahold of a soul that didn't quite recognize her as an absolute authority, but she managed.
After all, the jaguar woman had already lost all desire to fight back. It would naturally be much easier to tear away the soul of somebody who gave up on trying to live.
"Ha… so this is how it ends—"
"Die."
Draudillon tugged.
A brief moment of struggle resulted when the beastman suddenly realized that death wasn't the sweet release they thought it'd be. The dragon queen dispassionately watched their body spasm with an agony reflecting the departure of the soul that kept it alive.
And now their soul was in her grasp. With it, came a sense of closure—the war, the raids… all of it was finally over, wasn't it?
Draudillon let out a sigh as her head tilted up towards the ceiling, eyes closed and nose filled with the scent of charred flesh and mangled organs. Never in her most feverish dreams did she imagine that this would be where her burdens were cut loose.
The dragon queen languidly lowered and turned her head to face the angel.
She made to crush the beastman's soul—wipe all trace of it from existence—but the moment she tried, an inexplicable dread crept down her spine.
Like something telling her there was no coming back from what she was about to do.
Unfair. After… everything they did, how could retribution be wrong? How? A small part of her understood the necessity of maintaining the balance of the World, but she didn't want to listen to that part right now.
'Fuck,' Draudillon gritted her teeth and reluctantly released the soul, allowing it to return to the cradle of the World. 'Calm down. It's not a big deal. What matters is that they're all dead.'
"Draudillon?" Yuriko walked up to her, worry lacing every syllable. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," the dragon queen regathered her composure and gave a forced smile. "So, Shadiya, Veejanu, and Varush—though he's unaffiliated. The lives of the other clans, with the exception of children, are forfeit."
"Yeah. I guess I better get ready. Can we go over the map stuff again?"
"Of course," Draudillon pulled out the map Rasthdaan had provided them with from a hidden Bag of Holding. "Here."
"Holy shit," Vahanda Shadiya whispered in horror to himself, fearfully flinching when his eyes met Draudillon's. "We… what do we…"
"You? Spared?" Ithit bitterly laughed and glared at the aarakocra lord. "That's why Rasthdaan was in the Draconic Kingdom? What drove you to do this, Shadiya? Why didn't you tell the rest of us?"
"I did no such thing," Shadiya snarled. "I didn't know, okay?! I didn't even know Rasthdaan was back until—"
"Can you keep it down?" Yuriko absentmindedly ended their conversation, hardened eyes scanning over the map Draudillon gave her. "Unless you want me to accidentally hit the wrong places."
They shut their mouths.
The angel repeated the names of the locations to herself before rolling up the map and placing it inside her Item Box. "Got it."
'Just… a little more.'
Ithit, Vahanda, and Varush were still stuck in their seats, breaths choked by the scent of corpses and trepidation for the future of their people.
"Get up," Yuriko gazed up at the frozen High Vizier, her quiet voice echoing in the bloodstained hall. "We're not done."
The angel's wings unfurled from empty air and tore holes through her tattered shirt as she clenched her fists—out of anger or guilt, Draudillon couldn't say.
"We're not done at all."