Novel Full Chapter 1130 - Capítulo 1130: Ayame's Answer
Capítulo 1130: Ayame’s Answer
The water stopped its dance movements and instead exploded back toward Malachai. The old mage threw up a water shield with everything he had, shouting, “[Aqua Ward]!”
“Nope,” the masked man said, and the shield parted at his will. As a result, the returning torrent slammed into Malachai full force. The impact drove the breath from him, and the light left his eyes in a slow, terrible retreat.
A chime rang in his head just before the gentle embrace of unconsciousness claimed him.
[You have been defeated by the Primordial Subjugator.]
[Your fate now belongs to him. All you ever were, all you ever will be, is his to command.]
Malachai’s knees buckled. He slumped to the floor without the fight that had defined him. Selene’s mother was about to scream when a sudden gust of wind knocked her out before being greeted by the same message.
“Master…” Selene whispered in shock. The Pyromancer was a woman with a good head on her shoulders, but this development was all too abrupt even for her. A moment ago, she was just strolling through the streets of the stronghold, and in the next, she’s staring at her parents’ defeated and [Subjugated] forms.
“As the master of the elements, I’ve realized that I can overtake the elemental spells of lesser mages if I focus hard enough,” Quinlan explained, even though the fiery redhead asked no questions. “Don’t worry, Plump Fox. They have done no wrong; I just had to arrive in this place at this time. I won’t torment your parents.”
Selene didn’t know how she should best react, considering both of them were currently knocked out and sprawled on the cold floor. But she was smarter than to question him. “Thank you, Master.”
Next came more than a dozen armed women through a dimensional tear. Liora quickly cast a healing spell on the pair, who regained consciousness soon after.
Quinlan left them with a string of commands demanding their silence, and then Malachai left with Selene to go to their post. Selene was already making good use of [Master’s Link] to update her parents on their new reality.
As for Quinlan and the armed women, they moved toward a hidden part of the walls where they could have some privacy to themselves and took in the sights.
Quinlan watched the siege for a long, quiet breath. Smoke curled where a ballista bolt had found its mark, and a ward flared then winked out as another cannonbolt smashed through. The Fujimori pushed, relentless and disciplined. The stronghold’s defenses held for now, but holes were opening faster than they could be mended by the defenders.
He turned and caught Ayame’s eye. He reached out, pulled her close, and rested his chin on the top of her head for the briefest moment.
“My beloved samurai…” he began, but the words hung in the air unfinished.
Ayame closed her eyes for a breath, then met his gaze and nodded once. “I know. We will kill my clansmen today. I will not give you trouble, do not worry.”
Her voice was steady, but there was a hard edge to it that made the air feel colder.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Seraphiel asked softly from behind them.
“I will have no joy in this battle. But the current Fujimori leadership betrayed me. I do not want to hurt the ordinary soldiers who only follow orders, but this is not a fairy tale. Blood will be shed. The choice is whether I shed their blood now or watch my family die later because I chose weakness.”
Quinlan’s chest swelled with fierce pride. Around him, the others, Ayame’s sister-wives, all looked at the petite samurai with similar expressions.
Ayame was the youngest among the harem members, but she had a unique quality to her, one that shone the brightest in these moments where difficult decisions had to be made.
At first, many questioned Quinlan’s decision to make the woman into his second-in-command, especially once old baddies like Kitsara and especially Vex joined the harem. Compared to a 20-year-old girl with little experience, they would surely be better choices, no?
But Quinlan never tried to look at the current states of his companions. There was a reason why he named their group ‘Ascendants.’ He wanted to look at their potential. This was also the reason why he told Jasmine he wanted her to manage his finances long before the girl became the Tyrant of Trade, back when she was just an ordinary merchant girl.
These days, all of them had long since accepted Quinlan’s near visionary-style decision-making when it came to people, and it’s safe to say that they accepted Ayame. Even Vex and Serika, who, by all accounts, were more suitable for the job if one looked at their resumes, raised no objections.
Quinlan reached out and gave Kitsara a cheeky slap on the butt. “Your turn,” he said.
Kitsara purred while pushing her perky mounds out. “One more~”
When he obliged and she felt her cheeks reddening, the foxkin winked and folded her fingers together to weave a spell.
“[Veil of Deception],” she intoned.
Two of her three tails blurred and then peeled off right before shaping themselves into birds. They flapped up and dove toward the sky.
The defensive barriers that ringed the stronghold were built with directionality: they allowed those inside to pass outward freely while blocking incoming movement. That design let the defenders fire outward without being choked by their own wards.
The birds rose through the air untroubled, slipping through the seams between the wards that were tuned only to stop hostile bodies, not the small shapes she now controlled.
Because the birds passed unharmed by the besieging Fujimori, Kitsara herself smiled and shifted. Her body blurred, feathers and form fusing as she turned into a third bird and shot up after them.
Quinlan did not hesitate. Using his hold on his gorgeous samurai partner, he shifted his weight back, pulling Ayame closer until she understood without words. Normally, he needed to sit to stabilize the spell, but this time her arms slid firmly around his waist, holding him upright. Her grip was steady, her touch warm.
The samurai wasn’t just his blade but also his anchor.
“[Overlord’s Eyes],” he cast.