Marathon (2/3)
Disclaimer: Neither High School DXD nor Elder Scrolls belongs to me, all rights to their respective owners.
Chapter 70
—Those mortals who have the incredible misfortune of having their soul fragmented will not only see their power diminished, but they will also lose part of their own self —
Phrase from a book on the mysterious and rare magic of souls.
The atmosphere that prevailed in the dining room of Edzard's palace was tense, very tense. Some of those who were there looked at each other, frowning in a somewhat suspicious manner. This was mostly used in Edzard's group, who looked at those they had in front of them with caution. In the other group, only some of those present did this, but they did it with the sole purpose of annoying them.
The tension present in the room only made Edzard sigh, as the dinner was not going as he had planned.
'I think it was not a good idea to bring them together without prior notice…' thought Edzard as he thought about the headache that would come from this. Stopping looking at the people gathered and the plate of venison with spices and roasted vegetables that was on the table, he looked to his side, seeing his wife, who had a cheerful smile, but with her bangs slightly covering her eyes. Seeing that expression, Edzard knew he would be in several problems. So, sighing again, he looked forward and took the wine glass he had next to him. Lifting it gently, he let it fall to the table, giving it a soft blow that scared everyone in the room.
The sound of the glass hitting the table caused those present at the table to look at Edzard, stopping frowning at each other.
Seeing that he had the attention of all those present, Edzard dropped the glass and looked at everyone.
"I hope you have stopped looking at each other in that way… I don't think it's necessary to remind you that while we are here, we are not enemies." Said Edzard, hoping that his words would sink into the minds of those present.
Edzard's words resonated in the minds of everyone, who nodded, some more reluctantly than others, that being the case of Mittelt, who let out a snort and then looked at his lover, wishing to ask him the question that was on everyone's mind.
"Ed, why are the members of Vali's team here?"
The fallen angel's question made the eyes of all the members of Edzard's group rest on him, which caused him to blink before starting to answer. "Well, that's easy… I suppose you remember the issue in Kyoto, right?"
Edzard's question was answered by nods from all the members of his group.
"For their help at that time, I told them that, if they needed help with something, they could come here to ask me for a favor and if it was reasonable I would fulfill it." Said Edzard, glancing at Vali, Zakir and Arthur, who were the people he had talked about this topic with.
Edzard's words sank into the minds of all the girls, who didn't know how to respond to it for a moment, but after that moment they managed to understand everything, so they decided not to object.
Seeing that the girls would not object, Edzard decided to talk to them about Arthur's request. Thus, looking at Vali's team and Ophis, he began to speak. "What I'm going to tell you here is something that is already known throughout the Kuoh pact."
The seriousness in the voice of Akatosh's son caused everyone to look at him. It was understandable, as it was a serious matter. However, it was unusual, as Edzard avoided discussing such serious topics during dinners. That's why Edzard's way of speaking took the girls by surprise.
"As you know, Vali's team belongs to the Khaos Brigade, and they have recently made several moves. But there was not known until now. As you can see, not only is Vali's team here, but Ophis, the 'leader' of that organization, is also here." said Edzard. This caused everyone in his group to look at Ophis, who was more focused on eating her food than anything else. At least that was the case until she heard her name. Upon hearing it, she looked up and her eyes met those of the girls, then stayed fixed on Edzard. Seeing that Ophis was looking at him, Edzard returned her gaze. Then he looked at Le Fay, as now came the more difficult part of the conversation. Even so, he just sighed before saying the following. "Not long ago, Vali's team was attacked by members of Nilrem, a very peculiar group of magicians… Which is affiliated with Qlippoth, one of the major factions of the Khaos Brigade, led by Rizevim Livan Lucifer."
The mention of the original Lucifer's son made those present feel somewhat uncomfortable, especially Vali, who discreetly clenched his fists. However, he was seen by his friends, who were a little worried about him. However, before anyone could say anything, Edzard got ahead of them again.
"I've spoken with Zakir, Vali, and Arthur… And they've asked me for a favor… From what we were able to learn from the mind of the magician they brought, they were after one thing… they wanted to capture Ophis…"
The mention of the target of the attack surprised everyone, especially those members of both groups who knew nothing. That is, Kuroka, Bikou, and Le Fay in Vali's team, and all the girls in Edzard's team. That revelation provoked several reactions.
"What?! / How is it that they were coming for Ophis-chan ~nya?!" were the shouts from Vali's team, while Edzard's team had their own shouts of surprise. "What?! / How could they be so foolish to think they could capture Ouroboros?! / Are they so foolish?!"
The girls' reactions were the most normal and expected. Even Ophis herself had reacted to this, looking up and letting out a slight snort. She knew that none of those magicians could do anything to her. The girls' reactions continued for a moment longer, until they finally calmed down enough to hear more about this topic.
When he realized it, he began to speak, narrating everything they had discovered.
Unfortunately, they hadn't learned much, as the magician was not one of the highest-ranking ones, he was just a low-ranking magician in the organization, so he knew nothing about the mission. Although he knew nothing about the mission, he did know what the orders were, and these were: to capture Ophis, eliminating all enemies that stood in the way, but not only that, but there was also one more order, which was to capture Zakir. This last order had left the members of both teams confused, as they did not know why that order existed.
"So… they also want to catch Zakir-sama, right?" asked Le Fay, looking at the Lilmothiit.
"It seems so… although, I don't understand why they want me, but in the end, it doesn't matter… it's not the first time they want to kill or capture me without me knowing the reason." replied the Vestige, then taking a bite of deer to his mouth, enjoying the native spices of Nirm.
"Aren't you a bit careless with this topic, Zakir?" asked Vali, who looked somewhat surprised the hero of the elder scrolls took it.
Vali's question brought smiles to both Edzard and Zakir, who looked at each other and let out giggles, which confused those present.
"Why are you laughing at this, ~nya?" asked Kuroka, not understanding why they were laughing.
"Do you tell her or do I?" asked Zakir, looking at Edzard, who just nodded, telling him to answer her, so, seeing that response, he spoke again. "You see, cat. People like Selene's brat and I already have experience in matters like these."
"What?" asked Aika with surprise in her voice, then looking at her lover. "What does he mean?"
"What you hear." Edzard quickly replied. "There have been one or several events where they have tried to kidnap or kill us without us even knowing the reason… let's suppose it's the price of fame."
Edzard's answer caused everyone to look at him confused, but they didn't have time to react or say anything to him, as Edzard himself spoke again, as he wanted to go to the most difficult point to deal with. So, taking a little breath, he looked at Arthur and nodded.
"Well, it's time to deal with another topic… As you know, it seems that some factions of the Khaos Brigade are trying to betray Ophis." said Edzard, drawing the attention of the mentioned one, who looked at Edzard with some expectation, hoping that he would say who wanted to eliminate her, so that she could deal with them in case they annoyed her. When Edzard realized that Ophis was looking at him, he didn't pay attention to her, but kept talking.
"As you know, this attack is not something fortuitous, or at least we fear so. These actions of the other factions of the Khaos Brigade only led us to think one thing… that Ophis is no longer considered the leader and that this organization is dissolved or fragmented, and all of them will go straight to hunt those who protect or know where she is. That's why, Vali told me that it is known by all the factions of that organization that Ophis usually spends time with them, that's why, Vali's team is considered a target for them. Not only for knowing where Ophis will be, but also because Zakir is also there, so, using the favor they owed him, Vali and Arthur have asked me to give almost indefinite asylum to Ophis and Le Fay in this world."
At the end of those words, Edzard realized that the whole place was silent. Looking at all the girls, he realized that everyone, except Ophis, was processing what they had heard.
When they all finished processing what they heard, chaos ensued. The first to speak was Le Fay, who, to everyone's surprise, got up from her chair and looked at her brother.
"Why do you want to leave me behind, oni-sama?" asked the young magician, whose tone of voice expressed sadness and, above all, a slight touch of betrayal. "Don't you want me to keep accompanying you?"
The moment Arthur heard his sister, he looked at her and put on a sad smile before answering her.
"Le Fay... it's not that I don't want you to keep accompanying me, but since you left the Pendragon house, I've only been thinking about your safety. The kind of life we've had on Vali-san's team hasn't been easy, but now, with what's coming, I'm afraid it will be even more dangerous. That's why I asked Edzard-san if you could stay here if necessary."
Arthur's answer was initially taken as an excuse by Le Fay, who felt that he just wanted to leave her behind. But before he could say anything else, he saw how Edzard looked at him and indicated that he would take care of this. So, getting up, Edzard moved his hand and conjured a key, which he sent levitating to where Le Fay was.
The magician looked at the key with curiosity, something that was copied by everyone who didn't know what door that key opened.
"What is this key?" Le Fay asked, looking at the key with curiosity.
"It's the key that opens the library door." Edzard replied with a smile, which caused the young woman to blush slightly, but only for a few seconds, as the next words made her blush completely. "If I remember correctly, you like to read and learn about magic. In the library of this castle, there are many magical treatises from Nirm. You can review them all if you stay in the palace."
Upon hearing Edzard's proposal, Le Fay was immediately tempted to accept, but before she even did, she remembered the reason why her friend was offering her this bribe. Stopping looking at Edzard, she looked at her brother and asked him a question.
"Oni-sama... do you promise you'll come back...?"
Le Fay's question confused everyone, as they expected her to perhaps demand something else, but apparently that was not the case.
Upon hearing this, Arthur knew why his sister was asking him that question. When he decided to leave the Pendragon house to prove himself as a swordsman and to find a worthy rival for Caliburm, his sister had followed him without even thinking about it, as they had always been very close. So, putting on a smile, he replied. "I promise."
Upon hearing her brother's answer, Le Fay smiled, something that was copied by Edzard, who looked at the son of the Pendragon house and nodded, thus giving him a verbal promise that he would keep Le Fay safe.
After those statements, dinner continued with a new conversation, which this time was from Edzard's group, who asked him to explain better what was going on. Edzard's answers were simple, but direct, so the girls nodded, some like Mittelt reluctantly, but in the end they all agreed. After that talk, dinner continued normally, the only events that disturbed the peace being the insinuations that Kuroka made to Edzard. Those insinuations ended with a verbal fight between Edzard's lovers and the cat, but fortunately it was nothing serious, just a few taunts between them.
When dinner ended, everyone had left the room, except for two people: Edzard and Ophis. Although Akatosh's son had tried to leave the room, he decided to stay when he saw that the dragon of infinity was looking at the sky from the window. So, approaching Asia and the rest of his lovers, he whispered to them to go ahead to the main room, as he would stay talking to Ophis about something.
Edzard's request caused concern in the girls, who did not want to leave him alone with someone so powerful. But in the end, after hearing Edzard tell them that it was very unlikely that he and Ophis would fight, they decided to leave them alone.
"So, Ophis… What are you thinking about?" asked Edzard, approaching Ophis, who was sitting with one leg crossed over the table.
Upon hearing the question, the dragon of infinity stopped looking at the sky and looked at Edzard. Her apathetic black eyes met Edzard's green eyes, to then give way to a short and almost emotionless answer.
"Silence…"
Ophis's answer didn't surprise Edzard completely, as he expected an answer like that. So, letting out a sigh, he stood next to Ophis.
"So, you're thinking about the dimensional gap… Why do you want to go back there?"
"It's the place where I was born and lived… the place where there is silence…" Ophis replied, stopping looking at Edzard and setting her gaze on the sky.
This new answer was more enlightening for Edzard, as Ophis unconsciously revealed more than enough information to understand why she acted the way she did. Therefore, understanding this, he felt somewhat sad, as he realized that she had no emotions due to the lack of contact with other beings.
"I see… you want to go back to your home… I understand that, but I don't understand why you joined beings like those of the Khaos Brigade… Did you think they would never betray you? Or that they can hurt you?" asked Edzard, taking a chair and sitting in front of Ophis.
"That's irrelevant, I'm more powerful than them… it doesn't matter if they betray me, I can easily eliminate them." Ophis replied in a flat voice, almost as if she was talking about the weather. "So, this idea that you, your fox friend and Vali have had to keep me here for my protection is irrelevant and useless."
"I see… I suppose it's true, you're one of the most powerful beings in this world… but tell me something…" said Edzard, having a somewhat crazy idea. "Do you really just want to go back to the dimensional gap?"
Edzard's question seemed to confuse Ophis, who just slightly tilted her head before answering. "Yes, I want a world of silence, which can only be found in the dimensional gap… I will go back there and claim my home."
"I understand… you're a really unique dragon…" said Edzard, thus attracting Ophis's attention, who felt some curiosity at Edzard's words, who seeing this continued talking. "You see… dragons, the Dovah in Nirm are different… we are sociable beings, and we like to talk… we are not very fond of silence… In fact, one of ours went completely mad from being in captivity and alone for a long time…"
"I see… so that's why you wanted to talk to me?"
"Yes, I don't have the pleasure of talking much with others of my species, even if they are dragons from another world." said Edzard with a smile, then looking at the sky through the dining room window. "Tell me something, Ophis… Have you ever been curious to see what it feels like to have friends?"
Edzard's words hit Ophis's psyche almost with the same intensity as the blow of an ice giant against an unarmored human, causing the Ouroboros to become confused.
"It seems it never crossed your mind… Well, I suppose it's understandable. Even if you wanted to, not many would approach you just to be your friends. Your great power is more of a temptation to attract flatterers who just want to use you." said Edzard as he stood up, preparing to leave. But before even taking a step, an idea occurred to him. Looking at Ophis, he spoke. "Although… if you want, I can be your friend."
Edzard's words confused Ophis even more, who decided to ask him a question.
"Why do you offer to be my friend?"
Hearing Ophis's question, Edzard smiled as he put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a bag of chocolate cookies. Walking towards Ophis, he gave her the bag while answering. "Because there's nothing worse than a dragon alone in the world…"
After those words, Edzard said goodbye and left the room. But as he was leaving, he didn't notice the small and unmistakable smile that appeared on Ophis's face.
The moon shone high in the sky of Edzard's world, gently illuminating the palace and several of the rooms inside it. In the main room, which was the bedroom, a meeting was taking place among all the girls who were in a relationship with Edzard. The topic of discussion was very simple: Le Fay, Ingvild, Rossweisse, and Yasaka… or rather, the very poorly hidden feelings that a few of these had for Edzard.
"You know… it's stressful to see those two looking at Edzard and not telling them anything about what they feel…" said Mittelt, who was brushing her blonde hair, which was loose, showing that it was longer than expected, reaching halfway down her back.
"Don't you think you're being hard on them by saying those words, Mittelt?" commented Valerie, who was sitting on the large bed where they all usually slept with Edzard… and where they also did other things, things that at times they felt could even embarrass a brothel.
"No, not at all…" replied Mittelt, stopping brushing and leaving her brush in the drawer on her side of the dresser. After that, she got up, showing that she was only wearing a simple black nightgown with some white frills. Walking towards the bed, she was talking. "It's just a matter of them taking the step… they, it's noticeable that they are in love… although… I understand them, I understand that it's difficult to enter this kind of relationship…"
After those words, all the girls were plunged into a deep silence, as they were meditating on what the fallen angel had said. If they were realistic, none of them ever imagined that they would be in a relationship like this, even some thought that they would never have a love relationship, but apparently fate had a surprise for them, a surprise difficult to maintain, but at the same time, very happy. That's why, after a few seconds of thinking, all the girls started to laugh a little. When they finished laughing, the girls continued talking.
"So… What do you plan to do, Asia?" asked Lint, who was sitting next to Asia, who was looking out one of the room's windows.
Asia's first response was silence, because she didn't know what to do… no, it was a lie… she knew what to do… so, letting out a sigh, she continued to gently comb Lint's hair while she answered.
"Initially I thought about confronting them and talking about this… but I won't." Asia replied with a somewhat muted voice.
The way Asia spoke caused the girls in the room to sigh, because they realized that Asia was still feeling bad about what had happened on the rescue mission for Marie. That's why, they all stopped doing what they were doing, that is, Valerie got up from the bed, because she had been lying down, reading a book out of the corner of her eye, Aika had been resting next to Valerie, sharing the book, so she also got up when the Dhampir did. Mittelt also joined them.
When everyone was next to Asia, Lint moved and looked at her friend, who was somewhat downcast.
Seeing her in that state, they all sighed, because they hoped that she had already overcome this, since it had been two days since they had woken up and talked about this topic. Even so, the way Asia spoke only made them see that she had not yet fully healed. So, they decided to say a few words to her, so that their friend can finally bury this once and for all.
"Asia…" said Mittelt approaching Asia, to take her by the face, forcing her to look at her. "Listen and I hope that this time our words do sink into that airhead of yours… You don't have to apologize, nor act as if at any moment we were going to treat you differently."
"That's right, Asia-chi." said Aika, playfully sticking out her tongue after saying her name. "We've told you many times that day, we don't blame you for anything."
"Yes, you said it yourself, you had no control over what was happening." pointed out Valerie, who was looking at Asia with a smile.
"So, we hope you understand now, so stop thinking that we blame and hate you for what happened… and if we realize that you can't stop thinking about it, we'll give you several blows, to make you forget everything by force." said Lint while looking at Asia and making a sign with her hand, which meant a possible blow from her if she didn't stop thinking about what happened that day.
The girls' words sank into Asia's mind, who, despite having apologized a few days ago, still hadn't been able to stop thinking about what happened and every time she thought about it, she always worried that they hated her, but now she saw that it wasn't like that, so, unintentionally, she began to shed tears, while putting on a smile.
Asia's sudden act took the girls by surprise, who, seeing her like this, gave her a hug, which managed to calm Edzard's wife.
When everything had calmed down a bit, the girls returned to their conversation, this time, asking Asia to better answer what she thought about Ingvild and Rossweisse's feelings for her lover.
"The truth… is that a part of me doesn't want there to be more girls, but…" said Asia, stopping before continuing.
"But there's still that vision that we've all seen… right?" asked Valerie.
The vision that the Dhampir was referring to was nothing more and nothing less than that, a vision, which they had all had not long ago, more precisely when Yasaka arrived. Nobody knew why, but when Yasaka took Edzard's hand during the conversation about their arranged marriage after the delivery of the territory to the Youkai of Kyoto, they all had a vision where they saw themselves sitting on a large sofa, where they were sitting around Edzard, but they not only saw themselves, but they saw some more silhouettes.
"Ten women…" said Aika with a smile. "Who would think that Ed would be so lucky."
"I wouldn't call it luck." commented Valerie, bringing a hand to her chin. "This is more of a challenge for him than for us…"
"Yes, I understand," said Lint whose words were accompanied by nods from her friends. "But we must not think about that, remember Ed's words, we must not influence the future… if we try to stop it we can accelerate it, or if we try to accelerate it, we can delay it…"
"So, what will you do, Asia?" asked Mittelt, looking Asia in the eyes, expectant of the answer they would receive.
The fallen angel's question did not get an immediate answer, but first got a silence, because Asia did not know how to answer. However, after a few seconds, she was finally able to properly answer her friend.
"I think for the first time I will make an exception with those two, so I will tell Ed to be the one to take the first step in this."
Asia's answer left the girls stone-faced, because the young woman was breaking the rule that she herself had imposed for the polygamous relationship they had to work… however, as much as it surprised them, in the end they realized that it was not necessary for them to ask, because they had shared quite a lot of time, not only that, but they had been in critical moments together, they had trusted their lives to each other, and until now, except for what happened on the rescue mission of Marie, none had broken their loyalty.
"I see… it seems like a good idea." Lint commented with a smile. Then she looked at Aika, who had a playful smile, something that piqued the exorcist's curiosity. "Why are you smiling like that, Aika?"
Upon hearing the question, Aika stuck out her tongue playfully before answering. "It's just that this will be the first time that Edzard has to express his feelings."
Aika's response made everyone realize that they had been the ones who had taken the step to be Edzard's partners, and that he had not yet taken that step. This made them realize that it was not normal for someone like Edzard to be unable to express his romantic feelings for the first time to a girl, as they always saw him confident in himself, which was confusing them.
"This is strange… Why doesn't Ed ever declare himself? I mean… it's strange, isn't it? We've seen him fight face to face against a daedric prince's son without showing fear, but…"
The words coming out of Valerie's mouth only increased the girls' concern, as this was not normal. But it was at that moment that they realized something else: he used to be very evasive about his past. But not only that, they had noticed that there were nights when he woke up completely agitated.
"There's something that doesn't quite add up here… Don't you think?" asked Mittelt, who narrowed her eyes as she realized this.
"Yes… I've always found it strange that he doesn't talk to us about his past…" replied Lint, who looked at Asia, hoping that she could reveal something more.
Seeing her friends looking at her, Asia shook her head, as she also didn't know much about her husband, something that was now beginning to worry her.
"Why do you think he doesn't tell us anything about his past?" Aika asked with some fear.
"I don't know, but we'll find out… when he comes back from that last-minute mission, they've given him, he must tell us what's going on." Mittelt pointed out, hitting her right fist with the palm of her left hand.
"Yes, we have to put an end to all this secrecy." Valerie commented with conviction.
"Yes." said the rest of the girls, including Asia, who realized that she should talk more with her husband.
"Well, with that out of the way, let's talk about something else…" said Valerie, drawing her friends' attention.
"What is it, Val?" Aika asked.
"Our new tenants…" Valerie replied quickly.
The mention of the two new women in the palace, namely Ophis and Le Fay, caused the girls to start talking again.
"I don't like having those two here." Mittelt replied quickly, showing that she didn't trust the two newcomers.
Mittelt's quick response caused sweat drops to form on the girls' heads as they looked at her with somewhat tense smiles.
"Oh, Mittelt… so quick to speak…" said Aika with a smile, wanting to tease the fallen angel.
Aika's words caused a mark of annoyance to appear on Mittelt's forehead as she looked at Aika with annoyance. However, before she could say anything, they beat her to it.
"While I won't say the same words as Mittelt, I also don't like the idea of having a member of the Khaos Brigade here, along with their leader… but there's not much we can do, Ed gave his word, and he won't back down." Lint said, letting out a sigh of defeat.
"Yes, Lint is right, Ed is one of those who keep his promises, whether they are good or bad…" Asia pointed out, who, unlike the girls, had no problems having Le Fay and Ophis here. This was because she, like Edzard and Yasaka, felt indebted to Vali's team for their help in Kyoto, as they saved Marie and Kunou from a possible death.
"That's true… but even so, I'm not entirely convinced to have a magician and one of the two strongest beings in the world here…" said Mittelt as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"We understand you, but there's nothing more to do, just get along with them… and from what I've seen, Le Fay-san doesn't seem to be a bad person… in fact, she reminds me a bit of Ed." said Valerie, drawing the girls' attention.
"How so, Val?" asked Aika, looking at her friend with curiosity.
"The way her eyes shine when they mention learning something new like magic…" replied Valerie, remembering how the magician's eyes had shone like stars when she entered the library, and she knew this because she had been there, looking for some books about the vampires of Nirm.
Valerie's words slightly surprised the girls, but not as much as the next words from the Dhampir.
"I'm not very knowledgeable about romance, but it's more than certain that she will end up falling in love with Ed… unlike many of us, she will find in her a soul akin to her research desires…"
Those words caused the girls to think for a few seconds, ending up nodding, as they saw that the Dhampir was right. That's why they looked into each other's eyes.
"So, do we suppose she will be our future sister?" asked Aika with a smile, emphasizing the word sister, using a slightly more sensual voice when saying that word.
"Don't say it like that, Aika… it sounds weird…" said Lint, reprimanding the magician for those words while blushing slightly.
"Yes, four-eyed pervert, don't say that word like that."
"Oh… come on, Mittelt, are you really embarrassed by that word… but if it's the truth, in this family we are all harem sisters, who share a single man…" Aika smiled pervertedly, remembering the exchanges they used to make at times. Unfortunately, she couldn't remember much, as Asia gave her a soft blow to the head, bringing her back to reality.
"Don't be perverted for now, we need to talk properly about what's happening with Le Fay and Yasaka."
"Asia is right, Aika. We need to know what will happen, because if they join, I'm afraid we'll have to get a bigger bed." Said Valerie, who looked at the bed and the rest of the furniture. "It's good that the room is huge, maybe that way there won't be so much free space."
"For now, we don't know if they are in love with Ed, so I propose that we observe them, but only that, we will not intervene, we will let everything follow its course, if they want, they will have to come to talk to me…" said Asia, ending the conversation about them two.
"Well, I suppose that's all for tonight, isn't it?" asked Aika, who looked at the bed with longing, as she wanted to go to sleep, as tomorrow they would have classes and she wanted to rest to go at least with some of the daily mood she used in the academy.
"Yes, I suppose so… only the matter of Ophis-san was missing… but I suppose she is only interested in Ed to try to get him to help her get the Great Red out of the Dimensional Gap." Said Asia, getting up and getting ready to go to sleep, as tomorrow was the day her daughter would wake up and she wanted to be there, but she wouldn't go alone… This was because her parents also wanted to be there. Speaking of her parents, she remembered that her father and mother had not left the medical room since what happened the day they woke up. This was because they were still recovering and if they were lucky, tomorrow they would be ready to at least go for a little walk around the castle.
"She doesn't seem to be a bad person… just apathetic?" asked Lint, bringing a hand to her chin, remembering that she had not seen any emotion on the face of that dragon.
"Ouroboros is complicated to understand… so, for now, don't try." commented Mittelt, catching the girls' attention.
"What do you mean?" asked Aika, curious about what the fallen angel was saying.
"I know you saw it, but throughout the whole dinner, she didn't show any emotion…"
"Now that you mention it, it's true, she didn't react to almost anything… it's almost as if she didn't have emotions…" commented Valerie, remembering that Mittelt was right, as she hadn't seen Ouroboros show any emotion. However, she felt that maybe she had seen wrong, so she looked at her friends and asked them if they had seen the same, and to her surprise, they said they also saw the same.
"So… we accept that she has no emotions, right?" asked Lint, looking at her friends.
"Yes… that's most likely… but that only opens up new doubts about her… like, for example, why can Ed relate to her as if Ouroboros's lack of emotions didn't affect him?" asked Mittelt, who knew a little more about Ouroboros in the group.
"I think it's because he sees Numinex reflected in her…" replied Asia, catching the girls' attention.
"Numinex?" asked Valerie, trying to remember if Edzard had mentioned someone with that name, but she realized he hadn't. "Who is Numinex?"
Hearing the Dhampir's question, Asia looked at her and, putting a hand to her chin, realized that she hadn't told anyone about this, so, without thinking, she decided to tell the girls the story.
"You see… Numinex is… no, was a dragon, a Dovah who lived in the first era…" said Asia, beginning to tell the girls the story of the dragon Numinex, telling them how this dragon had been trapped by a Nordic Jarl, whose name was Olaf One Eye. This man was the Jarl of the Whiterun county and had trapped the dragon in his palace. That confinement had led the dragon to descend into madness, a more than horrible end for a dragon according to Edzard and his brothers.
"That's horrible… I didn't know dragons could go through things like that…" whispered Lint, who felt a knot in her stomach, but she wasn't the only one, as all the girls felt the same.
"The little dove is right… since I heard about the Dovah, I thought they were invincible beings… but now, they seem very similar to us." said Mittelt, who couldn't even imagine what it would be like to fall into madness to the point where you would beg for death.
The fallen's words, added to the story told by Asia, made them all realize something, the reason why Edzard allowed someone like Ouroboros, a dragon with the power to destroy this world, to stay here for her "safety".
'It's not to protect her from external dangers… It's so she doesn't end up like Numinex.' was the collective thought of all the girls, who decided to help their lover in what they began to think was his goal with Ouroboros.
While Asia and the rest of the girls were chatting in the main room, Le Fay and Ophis were in one of the guest rooms.
The "leader" of the Khaos Brigade and Arthur's sister had initially received separate rooms, but after the first night, Le Fay requested that both be moved to a double room. This was because Ophis had sneaked into her room and refused to leave. Therefore, to avoid having a problem with Ophis, it was decided to accept the magician's request.
Currently, the magician was sitting in a chair, reading one of the many books in the palace library. The magician's eyes were fixed on the reading, so she was not paying attention to Ophis, who was sitting on the windowsill. The window was open, allowing the smell of the forest to enter the room with the night breeze.
'It's amazing, these books don't have the same amount of information as the magic books of the magic system we use in this world, but that's no problem, as it makes up for it with quality.' thought Le Fay, turning the page. She noticed that this new page showed her a very strange diagram, which she couldn't fully understand. Seeing this, she let out a sigh, as she had reached the part where she always had to stop when reading these grimoires.
Getting up from the chair, the young woman approached the window, standing next to Ophis. The young magician should be scared to stand next to a being like Ophis, one of the most powerful beings in the world, who had the power to destroy the world, but she knew the truth. Thanks to having spent several months with relatively several visits from the dragon, she knew that Ophis had no intention of killing anyone, not because she couldn't, but because she wasn't interested… At least for now, because, if she wanted to, she could eliminate whoever she wanted.
Looking at the sky, the magician's mind went to what happened a day ago. Yesterday, in the afternoon, the entire Vali team, except her, left the place to start moving around the world, attracting the attention of the other factions of the Khaos Brigade. The young woman was worried about her friends, but especially about her brother. She would have liked to have been able to go with them, but they had insisted on leaving her, something that had bothered her when she heard it at dinner that day. But after what her brother said, she decided to accept, even though she didn't like being left behind. Even so, she decided to stay to keep Ophis company.
"It seems you're enjoying this place, Ophis-sama." said Le Fay, looking at the infinite dragon with a smile on her face.
Ophis responded to the magician's words by diverting her gaze from the sky and placing it on her. The stoic eyes of the Ouroboros dragon were as always, devoid of emotions… Or at least that's how it had been before, because right now, Le Fay, who had spent quite a bit of time with her, could see that there was something different about her.
"This place is quiet… Not as much as the dimensional gap, but it's better than the human world." said Ophis as she looked back at the forest surrounding the palace.
"Yes, I suppose so. Although, that's because this world is not populated like the human world or the underworld." commented Le Fay, looking out the window.
"He is strange." said Ophis, drawing Le Fay's attention.
"Who is it, Ophis-sama?"
"Edzard." Ophis responded quickly, somewhat surprising the magician.
"Really? I don't think so." Le Fay commented with a smile as she thought about her friend. "He might be from another world, but he's not-"
"He doesn't act like normal dragons." Ophis interrupted, causing Le Fay to be confused by those words.
"What do you mean?"
"He acts more like a human than a dragon."
Ophis's response caused Le Fay to be greatly surprised, as she did not expect such an answer. In fact, the surprise was such that if she had had something in her hands, that object would have fallen to the ground.
"H-how so?" Le Fay asked with some curiosity, but stuttering because she was still surprised.
"His way of moving and speaking, he does it as if he were human and not a dragon."
Ophis's response did little to calm Le Fay's concern and satisfy her curiosity, but the magician decided not to force the conversation with the dragon goddess any further, as she knew she was not much of a talker. However, before she gave up on this chat, she heard something that left her surprised.
"Although, what really makes him strange is his own existence… it seems incomplete."
'What? What do you mean it seems incomplete?' the magician thought in panic, which began to worry about her friend, as she had learned that the incomplete souls of the inhabitants of Nirm had a great possibility of becoming a kind of Soul Shriven, which differed from the original in that they did not lose their souls, they just went crazy due to the lack of part of their souls. 'If he really has an incomplete soul, why did that happen?'
"You seem worried." Ophis said, after seeing how Le Fay's face changed very visibly. The mind of the dragoness, which had no emotions, began to feel curious, so levitating, she began to float around the magician.
Le Fay's heart was jumping, as she felt somewhat uncomfortable that Ophis was looking at her with her expressionless eyes. The young woman's mind did not understand very well why Ophis, who seemed interested in nothing more than defeating the Great Red and expelling him from the dimensional breach, so she felt surprised and at the same time scared, as she did not know what to expect from the Ouroboros dragon.
"Is it because of Edzard?" Ophis asked, surprising the magician, as her words contained a slight, but very slight touch of concern.
Upon hearing that tone of voice from the dragon of infinity, Le Fay was completely in shock, so she could not respond quickly. In the end, she managed to compose herself enough to be able to respond to her.
"Y-yes…" the magician replied, feeling her cheeks burning, as after giving the answer, Ophis began to look at her intensely.
The gaze of the Ouroboros was so intense that the magician felt her heart pounding harder in her chest, almost causing her an attack. However, to her good fortune, the dragoness diverted her gaze and looked back at the sky.
"He is an interesting person… although his existence seems incomplete, he does not show it… his strength, if I manage to make it mine, I will be closer to eliminating the Great Red."
After those words, the dragoness began to fly, leaving the young magician alone, thinking about what she had recently heard. She was not at all surprised by Ophis's desire to have Edzard fight for her, as her main goal was to eliminate the great red, but even so, she found it strange the amount of curiosity she seemed to have for Akatosh's son. However, as much as she wanted to ask her questions, she knew they would be in vain, as Ophis was not the most communicative being in the world.
So, after seeing that Ophis would not speak of anything else, Le Fay decided to return to her own. But the moment her hand touched the book she planned to read; a voice spoke directly into her mind. The voice was deep and contained much authority.
'Hello, my Champion.' said the voice of Hermaeus Mora directly into Le Fay's mind, causing the magician to feel a chill run through her body, as she was not yet fully accustomed to having a voice speaking directly with her mind.
'H-hello, Lord Mora.' thought the magician immediately, after overcoming the surprise of having heard the voice of the Daedric prince of knowledge.
The relationship of Hermaeus Mora with Le Fay had not started long ago. The first contact had happened when the young magician had been resting one night. In her dreams that day, she appeared in a kind of huge library, which was made up of structures that seemed to be books stacked on top of each other covered with a black mortar. That place caused fear in the young woman, who felt that this dream was more than it would seem at first glance. At first, she began to walk the corridors, reading every book she could find, causing her to rejoice, as several of the books were none other than books about magic, which showed spells and forms of magic that she had not seen before. This made her immerse herself in the library until she finally came to a kind of lake, from which a mass of eyes and tentacles emerged.
That mass of tentacles presented itself to her as the prince of knowledge, something that surprised her, as she had not heard of any being with that name. However, before she could do or say anything else, he offered her to be his champion. Upon hearing that offer, she was about to deny it, but before she even said anything, that mass of tentacles and eyes told her that it would not be free, because in exchange for becoming his champion, he would give her access to unlimited knowledge.
That proposal had left her in stone, but even so, she refused, because she did not trust that being. To her complete surprise, the being had laughed and told her that he accepted her refusal for now, but in the end, she would accept, since once a mortal tasted the knowledge of Apocrypha, they always came back for more. After those words, she woke up and realized that it had been a dream, or at least she thought so for a while, because from that day on every time she slept, she entered that place. After several days there, the amount of information she had read made her become addicted to it, so she ended up accepting the deal with this being, who presented himself as Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric prince of knowledge.
'It's time, my champion… it's time for you to start delving into the darkest parts of the unfathomable shelves of my library.'
The words of the Daedric prince took Le Fay by surprise, who did not know what to answer at that moment, but after a few seconds, she smiled, as she was excited to learn more in that place.
'Yes, Lord Mora…'
'Well, my champion… when you enter the realm of dreams you will come to my library.'
After those words, the voice of Mora and his presence moved away from Le Fay's mind, giving the magician tranquility.
The magician, feeling that the Daedric prince was not there, let out a sigh, then took her book and began to read a little, until it was time to sleep to enter the shelves of the library of the prince of destiny. As she read, she did not realize that during her entire conversation, Ophis had been watching her fixedly with her face showing something more than just stoicism, because she had felt the presence of someone very powerful.
The wind was picking up strongly, lifting the dust from the place, while the sun shone high, causing a series of mirages to form on the desert horizon of the northern part of the African country of Mali. On a crag that allowed for more than excellent vision, Edzard was found, kneeling, observing the horizon.
To any passerby in this inhospitable area, Edzard would seem like just any nature lover who was observing the desert, but the truth was far from that. This was because right there, behind what only seemed like a barren and lifeless area, there was a powerful barrier, which was only visible to him thanks to the spell «Vision of the Tenth Eye».
"Hahhh… I can't believe they only needed a few days to find one of Euclid's supposed bases. I guess Azazel can be fast when he wants to." said Edzard as he looked at the place, remembering that he had been sent there to deal with this matter while the rest of the leaders, except the devils, were looking for other bases in other parts of the world. "I hope they manage to find one of Euclid's bases, so they can use «Auromancy» and know where the other locations are… well, let's review what's happening…"
After those words, the son of Akatosh stood up and jumped, quickly reaching the ground. When he finally hit the ground, creating a small crater, and raising dust, he quickly moved his hands and used the spell of «Invisibility», so that he could go unnoticed. So, moving quickly, he left the dust curtain he had created, because even though it fulfilled its function of hiding him at first, Edzard knew that right now that dust curtain could give away his presence, so it was necessary for him to get away from there.
Running quickly, but carefully so as not to raise too much dust that would expose him, Edzard approached the barrier. The barrier that covered that place was nothing more and nothing less than a dome of demonic magic, which was colorless, allowing it to function as a kind of screen, showing what should be the landscape that was there, but Edzard's eyes could see the structure that was under that barrier.
Under that dome, seeming like a part of the landscape itself, there was a kind of pyramidal structure not very large, the size of a small house. It was made of mud and had several branches coming out of the walls, giving it the appearance of a porcupine.
'The place is too small to be just a base with hundreds of rooms, which indicates that it's another underground base… great… once again going down several floors cleaning every place of enemies…' Edzard thought with annoyance, who was expecting to see a huge structure, but he was mistaken. 'Normally, someone would think it's strange to have such a large barrier for such a small structure, but the barrier is to prevent humans from digging nearby, reaching the base… something considered by these subjects… but that was not their intention, the reason is to prevent them from being discovered, but that doesn't matter, because I…'
Edzard's thoughts were abruptly interrupted when his sense of smell picked up the scent of something he did not expect. The surprise was such that he quickly stopped, raising dust.
'This smell… there's no doubt, it smells like those bastards from the Hero Faction…' Edzard thought as he turned his head and looked towards the place where that smell came from. For a second, the mind of the former imperial general was divided between what to do, as the presence of a member of that faction could only mean that this place was in the plans of Cao-Cao's faction… however, no matter how much he thought about it, Akatosh's son realized that this was the perfect opportunity to capture a member of that faction, so, looking at the barrier, he sighed before starting to run in the direction where he smelled that member of the Hero Faction.
Author's Note:
To those who have made it this far, thank you for reading. To be honest, my English writing skills are not strong, and I'm relying on Google Translate and the dictionaries that come with Office 2019.
And we continue with chapter 70.
XD In this chapter, we see that Ophis seems to have realized that there is something strange with the Dovahkiin, something that has worried Le Fay.
About the reason why Le Fay knows what she knows, well, she is the Herald of Hermaeus Mora, and has access to the most dangerous library in existence, Apocrypha. In that library, there are many things that should not be known by a mortal.
I apologize for any spelling errors. Please don't forget to leave a review if you enjoyed the chapter, or if there's something that needs improvement, or if you have any questions about the story. Any constructive advice is welcome. With nothing more to say, see you in the next chapter.