234 234: A surprise indeed [pt1]
“Now, we’ve talked enough for today. We really should get going before we are caught. I don’t know about you but I am terrified of your mother and what she can do. That woman is not stable.”
A shiver went down Karan’s spine as he thought about the ruthless lady he would have to face soon.
Lady Dehva was the most impressive woman Karan knew of and he knew some pretty remarkable women in his life.
However, a certain charm to the Southern leader had made her very beloved in the region and very feared outside of it. It might also have something to do with her beauty and ruthless behavior but Karan was not sure.
He just knew that Aurora had inherited her charm and was impressive in her way. That was what had attracted him to Aurora in the first place.
“I want to leave here as well but I am kind of in a pinch here if you cannot see! I have no idea how to get out of my binds.”
Aurora might not be shackled up visibly but she could feel the weight of her chains nonetheless. And maybe Karan could feel them cutting off her power as well because he winched apologetically.
“Sorry, I cannot help you out. The stones embedded into the wall are cutting off my magic supply as well. But I promise to help you out once we are out of this place.”
Karan promised as he pushed the door open more. Elysia was surprised to see just how much power his bare hands held right now.
Usually, Gods and goddesses were lacking in the physical department and they made up for it with the help of magic. Aurora was guilty of doing the same but Karan seemed to possess some actual muscle mass.
The man managed to open the door when the building shook with a violent temper. The earthquake that occurred was strong enough to make some breakable stuff fall violently.
“An E-Earthquake? How is that possible? Isn’t this building supposed to be disaster-proof? I am sure it doesn’t even have a foundation or any connection to the ground.”
Aurora might have a crappy memory but she was more than sure that her birth home had been built with the help of magic and was currency floating a few feet above the ground. It should be impossible for natural disasters to reach this far.
“This should be the tower’s attack to retrieve Mei’s core from these people. I want to help as well but getting you out is the top priority right now.”
Karan said those words almost casually but Aurora felt her heart break hearing them. Mei had grown up on her in the past few days so the news of her demise hit Aurora hard.
‘Mei died? How I that possible? How can a goddess of her level die like that?’
Aurora could just not wrap her head around the fact that Mei had died. She had been so full of life and vigor. But more than that, Mei wanted to know who killed her.
(She knew who it was in her heart but Aurora did not want to admit it to herself. She wanted to give Clove a shred of chance but the more time that passed, the more unlikely that chance seemed to be.)
“You don’t need to worry about who killed Mei or not. You just need to get out of here safely and into the abyss. That would be the best revenge we can ask for in this scenario since we will be depriving these bastards of their biggest weapon.”
Aurora opened her mouth to protest that she was not a weapon. But then closed her mouth since she knew that she was lacking a lot of facts.
If she was indeed a weapon for her mother and her family then things made a lot of sense about her neglect and treatment in the past.
But Aurora still found it a hard pill to swallow.
Her eyes felt wet with emotions and Aurora even felt one slide down her cheek and fall to the ground. Was she crying in this situation? How humiliating.
But the tears refused to stop falling down her cheek and Aurora had no intention of stopping them either. She needed to vent out her emotions and this seemed to be the only way to do so.
“Aurora, are you crying? H-Huh, don’t cry. It is alright and you don’t need to push yourself that hard. Everything will be alright, you’ll see.”
Karan tried to console her but Aurora’s tears picked up more speed and force. She was outright sobbing now and Karan’s arms around her just caused her to sob even more.
It all was so humiliating but Aurora’s body seemed not to care about it. Her tears continued to fall down her face anyway.
It was the second quake that snapped Aurora out of her misery and made her realize that the danger was just around the corner. There was a feeling of uncertainty in the air and Aurora knew that her disappearance had been found out.
“Karan, you can use your magic now, right? Then I need you to help me reach somewhere.”
Aurora knew she was thinking of taking a risk but she no longer cared at all. There was something she needed to get her hands on before she left this place and she would get it at any cost.
If these people had robbed her friend, then Aurora would rob them back. They did not deserve to keep holding on to Mei’s core and there was only one way to ensure that happened.
___________________________
The castle shook violently from the outside as more and more weapons knocked themselves against its walls. Had it not been magically enhanced, it would have fallen a long time ago.
Not that Seraphina cared too much about it when she had every intention of knocking this place down and then tearing it apart.
She was not going to let these people keep Mei’s core at any cost. She would retrieve her friend’s core in her honor.
What would happen after that, even Seraphina did not know. It was not like she could bring Mei back to life even with the core. The body was long gone and would no longer function but Seraphina was certain that she would be able to bring the soul back.
She had to at least try to do that if nothing else. That was what Mei deserved.
“Get ready to fire at the count of 3…”
Seraphina picked up her bow and launched the attack. The huge arrow pierced the attacker and resulted in a small explosion that took out a few more people.
Seraphine did not like using the bow as she found it troublesome and inconvenient but Mei had loved the art of the bow.
This was the first weapon Mei had picked up and she had never changed her main weapon. So Seraphina wanted to preserve her memory by using the same weapon to get her revenge.
One arrow was all it took to take down several of the enemy forces and Seraphine finally found her opening to land on the castle roof.
People ran away from the Goddess of Victory’s vengeful stare. They were too cowardly to face her head and this was something Seraphina had expected as well.
She might look childish but Seraphina’s powers and authority were not a joke. These people would die if they did not treat her with the respect she deserved.
A few brave soldiers tried to hold Seraphina from advancing and they received a pierced chest as a result of their bravery. Seraphina did not care for such fools and their ambitions.
She would not be caught off guard once again.
The sweet smell made a return in the air and she quickly covered her mouth to not inhale that smell but some of it managed to enter her nose anyway and make her dizzy.
She punched the side wall in anger and it surprisingly gave way under her hand and now Seraphina had a way inside the castle.
But as soon as she entered the place she realized that something was wrong. No wonder that wall had given way too easily under her hand and allowed Seraphina to enter the castle. It was all an illusion created by a strong power.
The space around Seraphina did not indicate where she could walk to even get out of here. There was just nothing in her immediate surroundings.
“Fuck it. Punching the space until it gives way is my only choice.”
Seraphina’s powers erupted around her to dominate her space. She could feel the space trying to fight back against her but failing to do so. This was not a domain but a semi-suppression of someone’s powers.
And the person was knocked unconscious soon enough, not being able to take Seraphina’s powerful assault for long.
The space faded, only to bring Seraphina face-to-face with a familiar sight in front of her eyes.
It was her son’s illusion who was bound to the floor and laid down unconscious and it made Seraphina’s blood go cold.