Chapter 640 - 627: The beast wants to slumber

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

[Tin Palace]

"It’s so damn nosy."

The words seemed to echo through the vast space, lingering long after they had been spoken. There was something strangely empty about the chamber, not merely because of its size, but because almost nothing remained within it to interrupt the sound.

It was dark, with barely any light finding its way through the ruined tin chamber. What little illumination existed came from cracks and openings in the deteriorated structure, thin traces of light that barely reached the floor before disappearing into the surrounding gloom. The floors were rusted and torn through in several places, sections of metal having corroded so badly that openings exposed the darkness beneath them. The old walls were equally neglected, stained by years of decay, their once-smooth surfaces now warped.

Whatever decorations the chamber might once have possessed had long since ceased to exist. There were no banners, ornaments or fixtures to suggest that the place had once been intended for someone important. Time had stripped nearly everything away.

Yet one feature still remained difficult to overlook.

A wide set of ascending steps led towards the far end of the chamber, each one old and rusted. At their summit sat what appeared to have once been a throne. It was almost as deteriorated as everything else around it, its metal frame dulled, and portions of its surface visibly worn away.

But the throne itself was not what drew the eye.

The individual seated upon it did.

At first glance, the figure appeared humanoid.

Only at first glance.

The closer one looked, the more obvious it became that the humanoid appearance was merely the surface of something far less ordinary. She seemed, from a distance, like a young woman sitting quietly upon the ruined throne, but there was something distinctly inhuman about the details.

Her beauty was immediately apparent, even in the poor lighting.

Long, wild chestnut-brown hair fell around her head and shoulders without much concern for neatness, framing a pale, impassive face. Her light blue eyes remained fixed ahead of her; they were unreadable, as though the destroyed chamber and everything within it were beneath her attention.

Pitch-black scales ran down her arms and legs. They overlapped one another closely enough to resemble a layer of natural armor, covering her limbs with a hard, dark surface that clashed with her pale skin still visible elsewhere. They did not look like clothing, nor did they seem ornamental. They were simply part of her.

Long, dark-blue robes hung around her body, falling over her desirable frame and concealing much of it beneath their heavy fabric. She did not look uncomfortable despite the state of the throne beneath her, nor did she seem bothered by the darkness surrounding her.

She simply looked tired.

"Nosy out there..." the woman sighed, lifting her hands towards her temples and rubbing them with her scaly fingers. Her irritation came from the sort of annoyance that came from having already dealt with too much and realizing there was still more to come. "And now nosy in here. Give me a break. Is it really too much to ask for everyone to leave me alone for a little while?"

The inhumane figure lowered her hands again, her expression remaining largely unchanged.

She looked annoyed.

And that annoyance only deepened when a noise reached her from somewhere beyond the chamber.

A distant impact, then another.

Something was approaching rapidly.

The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder, accompanied by the scraping and pounding of claws against the old metal floors. The beast making the noise was moving quickly, apparently unconcerned with the condition of the palace as it rushed through the corridors.

The woman slowly turned her head towards the entrance.

A moment later, a large figure burst through it.

It was a tiger-like Deseruit Beast, though the resemblance to an ordinary tiger ended there. Its pale fur was broken by reptilian scales that covered portions of its body, forming hard ridges along its shoulders, limbs and torso. Its claws scraped against the floor as it hurried forward, and it finally came to a rough skidding halt near the bottom of the steps.

Its breathing was heavy.

"My Lady Electra! Intruders!"

Its growling voice carried through the chamber, making the words sound more like a warning than an ordinary report.

"T-two of them," the Deseruit Beast continued, struggling slightly to regain its composure. "They’ve already killed more than half of us. They’re still moving through the palace."

The woman seated upon the throne closed her eyes for a moment.

Then she sighed.

The reaction was not one of fear.

She shifted slightly in her seat, resting her pale cheek against one scaled hand while regarding the Deseruit Beast below her with an almost blank stare.

"I’m not your lady," she said. "You all kind of just came here on your own, remember? I never asked you to gather around me, and I certainly never appointed myself your ruler. You started calling me that because you decided you liked me, and somehow it just stuck."

The Deseruit Beast lowered its head slightly.

She stared at it for another moment before adding, "And it’s not Electra. It’s Doro—"

She abruptly stopped; a sharp hiss escaped her.

Her fingers returned to her temples, pressing against them as her brows tightened.

"Tsk."

She rubbed the sides of her head for a few seconds, visibly reconsidering whether correcting them was worth the effort.

"I won’t bother."

She rolled her eyes, letting her hand fall back to her side.

"Whatever. I sense two Nil within the palace. That’s them, isn’t it?"

The Deseruit Beast immediately lifted its head.

"Y-yes, my lady. It is them. They seem to be deliberately seeking you out."

"Lovely."

Electra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She looked past the Deseruit Beast towards the dark entrance through which it had come, as though she could already feel the disturbance moving through the ruined palace.

"Tainting this already ruined place with violence," she muttered. "As if there isn’t enough damage here already. Tell the other Deseruit Beasts to stay clear. I don’t want them getting in the way, and I don’t need them throwing themselves at two people who have already torn through half of you."

She paused, then gave the creature a tired look.

"I’ll handle it. I always do."

The Deseruit Beast’s eyes widened.

"You’re too benevolent, my Lady! How I wish you mothered me!"

Electra stared at it.

There was a long, painfully awkward silence.

Her expression did not change.

"Aaaaand that’s enough."

She exhaled through her nose, already sounding exhausted by the conversation.

Electra rose from her seat.

The movement was unhurried, but the atmosphere of the chamber changed the moment she stood. Her robes shifted around her legs as she stepped down from the throne.

She descended the first step.

The Deseruit Beast instinctively moved aside.

Electra continued downward, her expression settling back into its impassiveness as she prepared to meet the two intruders who had already torn their way through her palace.

Whatever irritation she had felt moments ago was still there.

But now it had a direction.

--------------------

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

[Tin Palace]

"This got old quick," Elena sighed, placing her hands on her hips.

For all the noise that had filled the palace only moments before, the hallways were now silent. There were no more snarls echoing from the darkness, no frantic footsteps scraping against the metal floors, and no sudden attacks.

Only the aftermath remained.

Discarded and bloodied pieces of Deseruit Beasts were scattered throughout the tin halls. Limbs lay at awkward angles against the walls and floor, some partially crushed beneath the damage caused during the fighting. Dark blood had been smeared across sections of the old tin, gathering in thin pools around the remains.

It was a brutal sight.

Yet Elena barely seemed interested in it.

She looked down the hallway, then briefly glanced toward one of the ruined bodies nearby.

It did not make the sight any less dull.

"Some of these Deseruit Beasts are A-Class, but their Manus Dei are mediocre at best," Elena stated, the dismissive tone in her voice becoming more obvious as she looked over the remains. "I suppose this was never going to be a real challenge. I was expecting something that would at least make me work for it, but most of them barely gave me anything worth remembering."

Her painted lips curled into a smug smirk.

She turned her head toward Goiim.

Goiim stood impassively at her side, apparently unaffected by the destruction around them. Her pale eyes moved over the hallway without lingering on the corpses for long. She seemed more interested in assessing the situation than appreciating Elena’s performance.

Elena noticed.

"You’ve been awfully quiet," she remarked through her expression rather than her words, the smirk remaining on her lips as though she already knew what Goiim thought of what she had seen.

Goiim regarded her for a moment before answering.

"Quite the Null Schema you possess." Her tone was same. "I can understand why the Guild values it so highly, especially considering that your ability has already been boosted to the Transverto stage of your evolution. Your control over space, your ability to reposition attacks and targets, and the way you can make something cease to occupy its original location all become considerably more dangerous at that stage."

Elena’s smirk faded slightly, it was not because she disliked the praise.

Rather, because she knew exactly what Goiim was getting at.

"Hmph." She folded her arms. "The Guild doesn’t care about me. They care about researching my power."

Her eyes narrowed.

"That’s all they ever seem interested in. What my Null Schema can do, how far they can push it, what happens when it evolves, how it interacts with everything else. They look at me and think, ’There’s a useful ability we haven’t completely figured out yet.’"

She scoffed and looked away.

"Especially that weird Doktor douchebag." Her expression shifted with genuine discomfort. "Man, he gives me the creeps. I don’t care how brilliant he is or how much the Guild values his work. There’s something about that guy that makes my skin crawl."

Goiim’s expression remained difficult to read.

"He’s quite eccentric," she said, "but when it comes to someone possessing power easily capable of realm travel, you could understand why his interest would be so persistent. Your Null Schema is unusual even among abilities of considerable strength. Once something can cross the boundaries between realms, the Guild has practical reasons to study it."

Elena gave her a sideways look.

"Practical reasons."

There was skepticism in her voice.

Goiim did not react.

"Regardless of his methods, your ability has value. And if you become a Mortifer, that value would become considerably more important. You would have quite an important position within the Guild."

Elena’s expression immediately brightened again.

"Obviously." She turned her attention back toward the hallway, the confidence returning to her posture. "I’m me, after all."

The words were smug, but there was more behind them than simple arrogance. She had spent enough time watching people above her to understand exactly what she wanted. She wanted the authority they possessed. She wanted the respect that came with their position. She wanted the ability to make decisions without constantly having to answer to someone stronger.

She wanted to stop being someone who was merely climbing.

She wanted to reach the top.

"I won’t stop at simply becoming a Mortifer," Elena continued, her smile widening. "I’ll reach all the way to Number One. If I’m going to climb that high, I’m not going to settle for taking some comfortable position somewhere in the middle. I want the highest seat."

Goiim finally turned her head toward Elena.

"You want to challenge our First Seat?"

One eyebrow rose slightly.

Elena immediately looked at her as though the question itself were ridiculous.

"Course not." She gave a small scoff, almost offended by the suggestion. "I know exactly what you’re talking about. I’ve seen that monster fight before. I’m not stupid enough to confuse my ambition with suicide."

Her smirk returned, though this one was more restrained.

"I want the position. That doesn’t mean I’m going to charge at the person currently holding it." She paused briefly. "I’d have better chances against the sun."

Goiim regarded her for a moment.

"True." There was no hesitation in the answer, the simple agreement made Elena glance toward her. "But perhaps those chances can be used against our friend to come."