Harbingers of Change

Chapter 17

It had been a few hours since Tear entered the truly massive cave, and so far, she, guided by Yuuki, was no closer to finding the fabled entrance of Nazarick than she was before.

The labyrinthian caves gave no hints on where her target was located. What was easily noticeable was the amount of work invested to make the caves appear like a fortress, carved right into a mountain, rather than a natural phenomenon. The floor and walls were smoothed, and above her head were numerous lamps of magical origin.

She had evaded dozens of installed traps, barely noticeable to her eyes as she weaved in and out of the loose-brick potholes, entryway projectile traps, and the occasional almost-falling chandelier. The massive sources of light were enchanted with increased mass, making Tear shudder at the idea of being crushed under one of them. Even her strength had its limits.

The countless patrols didn't make the exploration an easy task, even with Yuuki hiding her through a skill he created for the current task; Concealment. The sheer amount of bodies alone made traveling difficult and slow, being stalled for hours at a time waiting for extremely large patrols to pass by. There were many, and they were numbering dozens of individuals for every patrol group and practically hundreds of patrol groups by her estimations. Even Dwargon didn't have this many patrols in their royal palaces.

The number of undead soldiers held in the caverns painted a grim picture: Tempest was downplaying its military might to a noticeable degree.

The same type of elite soldiers that guarded the nation's borders, clad in magical equipment of Rare or even Unique grade, were present inside the cave. Outside they were a minority, but, inside, their numbers were simply mind-blowing.

Even conservative estimates by Tear put them numbering in the tens of thousands. Considering their average strength, most human nations would be unable to deal with such an army and even the likes of Ingrasia and Famluth would need major help from Ruberios to hope for a victory. The Western Nations would be overrun within weeks if her calculations were correct, assuming the most efficient pathways for conquest were taken.

Tear was confident that these soldiers would pose no problem. She could tear through thousands of them if push came to shove, but it would mean giving away her location and the infiltration plan as a whole.

Meanwhile, a regular human nation's knight would have immense difficulty countering them, let alone standard soldiers or even conscripts. A person would easily have to be well into A-rank to stand a chance against these monstrosities, and an army of holy spell-spamming crusaders would be needed against a platoon of these undead.

{ Hey boss, are you still sure it's a good idea to fight Tempest? You're seeing all these monsters they're hiding, right? } She relayed her worries to Yuuki.

{ We won't do anything openly. You just need to map the path and find what's inside Nazarick. Rest assured; we'll use various tools to assist in our endeavors. } Yuuki responded confidently.

She could not help but feel growing anxiety, as something was off. Tear was used to relying on her instincts, and now they were telling her to leave the cave as quickly as possible. Things were going wrong by the second, even if they weren't, and it was lighting her material nerves on fire.

'It feels too easy, as if I'm creeping straight into a trap.' Sure, Yuuki's abilities to solve any problem were practically unrivaled, but even then, the severe lack of shadow demons patrolling this area was pure negligence from the leaders of Tempest. Too negligent, for majins capable of deleting Charybdis with a thought.

'I can't back down now. Boss is relying on me.' She continued her mission against her better judgment. Yuuki would surely have noticed if she had been led into a trap, given his expertise in creating useful Unique Skills.

Soon enough, she found a massive double door, with undead reaching the special A level guarding them. Armed from head to toe with Unique-grade equipment, they would wreak havoc upon most Western Nations if unleashed, forcing the involvement of the Ten Great Saints to suppress.

Now she had to be extra careful, to exercise even more caution than she had before. It would be foolish to open the doors on her own. No matter how hidden she was, such a careless action would put the cave's sentries on high alert. And given the seamless transitions and coordination of patrols she had seen so far, the undead roaming the halls likely had some sort of internal messaging system way beyond standard thought communication, she could not yet tap into, which would instantly end her mission by alerting the entire maze's fighting force at once.

{ Get in that smaller section over there and make sure to hide your presence. I'll take a short rest and you, in the meantime, observe how often the doors are opened. } Yuuki instructed her, mentally motioning toward a too-convenient shadowed crevice that only brought more stress to Tear.

{ Got it, boss. But don't be far away. I'll kick your ass if you leave me blind. }

{ Noted. } Yuuki replied with a short burst of laughter before cutting off the conversation.

That was one thing she did like about him. Yuuki was quite casual and carefree when interacting with his subordinates, even when times were tough. As much as she loved her creator, Kagali tended to be rather stiff in her interactions, rarely showing any emotion to those around her. She seemed content with displaying a constant air of anger and annoyance, in contrast to Yuuki's almost happy-go-lucky aura of promised good times and celebration.

She crawled into the dark side section of the cave and sat down for a short meditative nap, refreshing and empowering all the skills she had for the time to come. The path ahead likely was going to be a long one of high mental activity, so any respite was appreciated, and she had to be on top of her game in the case of encountering disastrous patrols.

The remoteness of the spot allowed her peace for about two hours while the massive doors opened and closed grandly ten times, which meant it would be relatively easy to pass through.

Once Yuuki returned and reapplied Concealment on her, Tear continued her journey, flipping through patrols and winding through hallways. Her instincts only continued to flare, effectively yelling at her to flee with all her might by now.

Passing through the doors wasn't a hard task, but the path forward was no better, if not worse. The pathways were even fuller of all sorts of monsters, but luckily none could see her.

{ Umm, boss, I think I'm in. The magicule concentration is far off the charts here compared to earlier. } Tear instantly messaged Yuuki, leaping onto the doorway's arc as another patrol passed through.

{ Move forward. We have to be extra careful here. There's some interference for a while and I can't view you or your surroundings clearly. You'll have to draw a map of the cave system when you get out. It looks like they don't want anyone to find Nazarick. } Yuuki didn't sound as confident as he was before, even as Tear felt her Concealment empowered even further.

It took a few more hours and a lot of close calls later, but she stumbled upon another massive double-doored pathway. Once she was close enough, the door opened as if waiting for her, and a patrol of undead marched out. The patrol was not noteworthy, but the doors were.

Everything else paled to sheer magnificence to the doors in front of her. The five-meter-high double doors were covered with intricate carvings in an unknown language of exemplary calligraphic precision. The ark above them sported a crest similar to that of one Tempest used, but with far more bone carvings surrounding it. The door itself appeared to be made of ebony, inlaid with gems and plated with gold, silver, bronze, and magisteel.

{ I think I found it. } She notified Yuuki and waited for further orders, taking refuge by clinging to part of the walls and ceiling as another patrol passed by.

{ Carry on. I don't sense any danger, but be careful just in case. If my suspicions are correct, you should be encountering a lot more shadow demons than before from this point on. I've fueled your Concealment with more magicules and upped its abilities a bit to help out in the next section.}

{ Got it, boss. }

Without hesitation, she charged forward, nearly touching one of the undead warriors. She breezed by with millimeters to spare, narrowly missing a shield as she leaped through.

'Like you'll have to tell me that. What's all this?'

She couldn't believe her eyes. Save for a small entrance room, every corridor for as far as the eye could see was filled with rows upon rows of skeletons. Standing skeletons, armed from head to toe and even their teeth and digits with high-quality Unique-grade equipment. Swords the size of halberds. Undead skeletons the size of dragons. All of them jam-packed into the corridors like cheap dried meat in commonly sold adventurer guild rations.

'Just how large is their army?' Tear crept forward, careful not to bump into the undead figures and praying nothing came her way. The situation was growing more uncertain by the moment, as by the minute the number of possible enemies increased by the thousands.

'Are they planning to conquer the world in one swell swoop, pouring out of Nazarick like a locust swarm?' By the rows upon rows of the skeletons, it surely seemed so.

There was no telling how vast Nazarick's armies were and how the storm dragon had even created them, as even its dimensions eluded her Thought Acceleration boosted mind. But then again, he had bided his time in his prison for centuries. Considering Veldora's godlike and destructive nature, he could have made a world-conquering army, one the likes of which the living world had never seen before.

As an ancient being, effectively a force of nature, he would have seen the worst the heavens could have offered, and then trumped them with his current forces, all to plunge the world into chaos as he reigned on top.

There was so little space she would have to backtrack the moment someone would walk down the same narrow path, forcing Tear to move forward and pray she could avoid an odd patrol coming her way.

Luckily, it was not the case. After a few minutes, she reached half-closed doors, carefully squeezing through without moving them. She noted that by the time she had arrived, the number of undead skeletons could be counted to be in the hundreds of thousands, enough to overwhelm even the greatest of crusader legions. This was something she couldn't even report to Yuuki because of Thought Communication failing repeatedly. Yuuki had warned her to cease much of her side's communication as he fixed the connection, fearing the worst.

The moment she was on the other side, the massive doors closed with a thud, startling her.

Tear held her breath and cautiously inspected her surroundings. She was still certain no one could see her, sensing Concealment still working fulltime and her aura completely concealed.

She was now standing in a ten by ten meter stone block room, with only one person present; Shalltear Bloodfallen, on a meter-tall podium.

'Huh? She's just standing there.' Tear commented and tried to circle around the vampire, quieter than a mouse sneaking past a sleeping cat.

After a few steps, she froze in place. Shalltear's eyes had followed her, even as the rest of her body remained a statue.

{ Boss, I think she's noticed my presence. Pull me out! }

There was no response. Tear felt her panic slowly rising, and she tried again, jamming more magicules into Thought Communication as she almost full-on panicked. Her heart racing, she piled on the magicules, which seemed to only brighten the eyes of the vampire.

{ Boss! Pull me out! }

"No one can hear you," Shalltear exclaimed, cruelly laughing as she leapt from her podium and landed without a sound. "Lord Momonga has given me permission to play with you for a while."

'She's bluffing!' { Boss! Now is not the time to mess around! Get me out of here now! }

Still in stealth mode, she tried to force open the doors to flee with her bare hands that could rip apart magisteel, but they refused to budge. She was locked in.

"Like a little rat scampering away. What a pathetic sight."

Shalltear took slow, methodical steps in her direction, a cruel grin slowly forming on her face.

"You have no idea who you are messing with, lady!" Tear shouted at her, canceling her invisibility to save on magicules as she powered up Strengthen Body to force another attempt.

"How about you show me? I'm eager to see."

Shalltear took another step closer to the girl with a wide grin, her fangs gleaming against her pale skin. Her skin as pale white as snow, she stood in stark contrast to the bloodlust found deep within her eyes, only compelling Tear to expend more of her magicules in preparation for whatever came next.

"Tell you what. I'm in a generous mood today. You open this door and I won't mess you up," Tear responded, trying to sound cheerfully confident. Her slight twitches and rising magicule count suggested otherwise, much to Shalltear's amusement.

She was not a coward by any means as she had proved time and time again with her comrades, but at the same time, she didn't like her chances of victory against the vampire. Shalltear's demeanor continued to exude a casual air of confidence despite her light threat and was seemingly ignoring her flaring aura.

The whole thing felt like a trap made for her, and Tear had fallen straight into it headfirst.

"I'm also in a generous mood. I will give you one attempt at attacking me. If you can cause me pain, it'll be even more fun since I rarely find entities with time to fight, and you just happen to have plenty of time!" Shalltear replied, cheeks flushing a bright red.

"I did warn you, missy!" Tear shouted and charged, aiming to quickly punch Shalltear's face and hopefully end the fight.

To Tear's horrified dismay, Shalltear caught her fist, using only her palm to hold Tear in the air. She dug her sharp nails into pale skin, bypassing all current defenses and drawing blood.

This action alone was enough to show the power difference between them, given Tear's high durability. Tear hoped to fight the vampire in some sort of attempt where she could escape with her skin intact, but now it was clear that wasn't an option. She had even bypassed the minute barriers placed around her fists, shattering them like thin dried sugar panels.

Tear tore back her fist, ripping apart her flesh with an angry grunt. She hastily jumped to the side, hoping to gain some distance as her wounds regenerated within seconds.

'This is bad. I need to get out now! Shalltear is a monster far stronger than we could have ever suspected! How far off the mark was Yuuki!?' Her worst suspicions of her walking right into the trap were all but confirmed.

{ Boss! } { President! Please! Get me out! } She tried to contact both of her superiors with increasing panic, only for dead silence to respond.

"I told you no one can hear you!" Shalltear shouted with the same cruel laugh as she slashed at Tear's face, claws extended. She had lunged forward without Tear even noticing, suggesting that she outclassed Tear not only in raw power and durability but in speed as well. By now, both parties had activated Thought Acceleration, and even then Shalltear exceeded all of her worst expectations.

The horrible scraping sound and sheer force behind the attack were enough to realize that her mask wouldn't protect her for long, almost slipping off as chunks went flying.

'This is bad! Trying to pick a fight with this vampire was the worst possible idea! I need to get out and report this to the boss!'

Tear glanced around frantically, trying to look for any semblance of escape. Unfortunately, the vampire would not spare her even a single second, both entities constantly leaping around the room.

Shalltear, relentlessly, rushed for another attack, this time aiming for her stomach. Tear made a flip mid-air and kicked her opponent on the left side of her face.

"My, you have a fighting spirit. This will be so much fun," Shaltear giggled in delight, not even bothering to counterattack as she took the assault head-on.

'She didn't even flinch. Just what sort of monster is she? Even Laplace couldn't just shrug off my kick like that! She is far stronger than Yuuki then. I need to get out!'

There was only one option left. Tear funneled all the magicules she could multiple ways - primarily creating the most durable Multilayer Barrier she could around her upper body that she could afford at the moment, and empowering her bones, muscles, and tendons with Strengthen Body - and some wind magic to top it all off to increase her already dramatically increased speed to ram into the sealed doors shoulder first. Every magicule she could dreg up from the depths of her spiritual body she burnt up in this attempt, knowing that the time ahead would be akin to hell as she ran on fumes.

But she failed.

The doors held firm, their own barriers shining as the now-clear dozens of enchantments repelled her own, shattering almost every bone in her body despite all she had poured into her skills.

As Tear attempted to recover from her fruitless attempt, she had an ominous feeling, but by then, it was far too late for her to act on it. Her vision, obscured by her own remaining magicules of her shattered barriers and her already-wavering mind from the flood of pain of her body attempting to regenerate, lent her no assistance as she felt a jolt of intense agony in her abdomen. She felt something pierce her skin, twisting and turning.

"Aaaaahgaah!" Tear screamed in pain for the first time in who knows how many centuries. The Moderate Harlequin Alliance was always on their game and never engaged stronger enemies, always preferring to strike those equal or weaker to them. Hell, they primarily worked in groups for this reason.

"You have such a cute voice. Do it again," Shalltear spoke softly into Tear's ear as her nails dug deeper in, ripping into organs, but not quite far enough that Tear would perish.

"You… monster…!" Tear hissed through her teeth, trying not to give Shalltear the satisfaction of torture. It was a satisfaction she knew too well, having worked with Clayman's cruel information-gathering methods for centuries, and what she saw in Clayman she saw in Shalltear except far, far crueler.

She got only that same cruel laughter in response ringing through her ears. Shalltear pulled out the nails from her side and slammed her fist into her kidney and bladder regions with such force that it likely rearranged her visibly torn-up organs, sending even more pain rolling through her body.

Her regeneration rate was insufficient, and only after two more hits to who knows where, she passed out from the pain. The last she saw was another claw swipe aimed at the solar plexus.

X

Tear could not figure out how much time had passed since her humiliating defeat against the vampire. Her mind was still in a daze, but she shook this off with the experience of centuries of mental practice, quickly assessing her situation.

When she woke up, she immediately felt an intense chill reverberating through her body, weakening her physical body through sheer temperature. Her eyes fell upon a sickly green, bloated woman of unknown species standing before her, armed with various short tools.

'Actually, I'm not even sure if this person is a woman. And why is she wearing a latex costume?'

Out of fearful curiosity, Tear began to study the position of her arms and legs. The way she was bound to an unremarkable-looking table reminded her of a human body diagram Yuuki hung in his office, saying it came from a particularly famous "Italian" otherworlder, and it spread her limbs apart.

"You woke up. How wonderful. Welcome to my dwelling. I'm Neuronist Painkiller, and it's my great pleasure to work with you," the bloated mass of a creature greeted her in a croaking voice, shambling forward as blobs of flesh jiggled and wiggled with every step.

Around her stood masked figures of transparent skin, revealing purplish veins and humanoid figures. The room was icy cold, prickling at her bare skin. It became apparent to Tear that somebody had stripped her naked back when she was unconscious, perhaps this very Neuronist who stood before her.

To her anger, even her mask was taken away. None, save for her closest friends, had ever seen her face.

'You bastards! Not the mask.' Her most prized possession was taken away, and it enraged her.

"Give me back my mask!" she cried indignantly, straining against the icy cold table and the too-tight cuffs digging into her tendons.

"I know anyone can't have a pretty face like me, but yours isn't that ugly to hide," Neuronist replied as she dragged her fingers over Tear's left cheek.

"You scum! My creator made me perfect! Do not dare to insult her skills!" She screamed in righteous fury, unleashing her aura as she attempted to intimidate the oddly-dressed woman. In her anger, she noticed her aura failing to alarm the blob-like monstrosity, adding another layer of fear to her already despair-soaked mind.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry for saying that, dear. I'm sure your creator was a wonderful person. But let's start, shall we? We have a lot to get out of you and so little time," Neuronist declared, seizing ahold of her neck.

In the next moment, Tear felt all her nerves tense up. Every square centimeter of her body instantly became fifty times more sensitive, as she felt even the slightest change in the breeze of the masked, purplish figures, let alone the gelatinous fingers gripping her neck.

'I'm sorry mistress, I'll have to abandon this body!'

Tear decided that there was no other way out of this. She labored to remove her soul from her physical body, rejecting her material form as she attempted to flee.

'What?!' It wasn't working. She couldn't disconnect. 'What is going on? Oh no! No! No! No!'

It finally dawned on her that the monsters had thought of everything. She had walked right into their perfectly planned trap from the moment she had evaded the cave's initial guard patrols. There was likely no escape in this place.

And then the pain began. Neuronist and her crew began inflicting all kinds of pain, everywhere, all at once. It was to such a horrible degree that her body struggled to go into shock instantly, but as the same with soul separation, it didn't work. Her body was no longer hers to wield, all while still hers enough to suffer.

Tear screamed at the top of her lungs as hooks dove into her flesh, raggedly tearing away pieces of her skin. Neuronist continued to detain her neck, keeping the girl under the influence of her Unique Skill Tormentor.

"Shh… do not scream, my dear. Tell me everything you know."

"Go to hell!" she hollered back. There was one rule, one, one rule only she would never break; betraying her friends and her creator. They would do the same for her.

The torment didn't stop. No matter what she tried, activating pain-nullifying resistances or even attempting to disconnect her soul once more, nothing gave any reprieve. She had to endure suffering she didn't know existed. But no matter what, she would not break. Her loyalty was something pain could never take away, even as her mind blanked out and her world went white.

X

The anxiety about Tear's infiltration mission wouldn't leave Kagali's mind, as she caught herself biting into her nails once again. Yuuki had promised to immediately pull her out in the event something bad happened, and even had discussed backup plans in case things went wrong.

But lately, she couldn't trust the client as much as she used to. The strong bond they formed when she lived inside his body for ten years seemed to be fading away, replaced with mistrust and paranoia as she feared for the worst.

'He knows what he's doing. I know Yuuki won't just leave her to rot should anything go wrong.' She tried to calm herself down once again, taking deep breaths in and out, in and out.

Tempest was a beast not to be taken lightly, if anything she could take away from her time working in Tempest, it was this. They hid behind kind words and friendly demeanor, but were more than capable of terrible brutality without so much of a second thought. What Clayman saw in the sparring matches was a clear display of that, and if they could clearly display that, Tempest's leaders likely had worse hidden up their sleeves.

From the sadistic maid who played with her opponent till the Beast King abandoned the pride of his kind, to the indifference of the Tempest's ruler spectating the entire situation as if it were two ants grappling for superiority, her experiences didn't paint a pleasant picture for those who dared to cross the monster nation.

And she was voluntarily sitting in the jaws of the beast that could close at any moment, crushing her and her entire family with it.

'I should work for appearance's sake,' Kagali decided. Worrying herself into a knot was pointless, particularly when she had no real influence over the mission. Working well would keep eyes off her, and by extension, her family.

She took a report from a pile and started to go through it. Merchants were reporting record profits on selling armaments of Tempest's origin. Kagali stamped it down and reached for the next report.

'She's a clever and crafty girl, even if Yuuki fails she'll find her way out of any bind.' Kagali resorted to convincing herself that everything would be fine no matter what.

Yet indulging in such positive thinking proved to be fruitless as mere minutes later there was a sudden shift in the air. Kagali instantly knew what had changed by running her magicules through her skills. Teleportation was blocked across the entire capital city or perhaps even further. She would not be able to flee with her body intact, and conversely, neither would Tear.

{ What's going on? } She immediately contacted Yuuki.

There was no answer besides unintelligible data swirling around.

{ What's going on!? } She screamed in Yuuki's mind.

{ I've lost contact with Tear. } Yuuki finally replied, reluctance evident in his voice.

{ You what!? }

{ I lost contact with Tear. She's on her own inside the Nazarick. I'm sure- }

{ I told you this was too dangerous. Get Tear out of there, now! } Kagali cut him off, roaring in fury as her emotions washed through like a hurricane.

Her worst fears had come true. Nazarick was a trap, and now one of her creations, one of her children, was inside there.

{ Watch your tone! I am trying to do just that. Sit tight and do not reveal yourself. } Yuuki raised his voice as well, seemingly distracted.

{ Teleportation is blocked. You want me to calm down!? You better get her out or else- }

{ Or what? You sit tight and shut the fuck up. I don't need to deal with your hysterics right now! } Yuuki cut her off, abruptly cutting the communication. Any further attempts to re-establish the connection failed, leading Kagali to think Yuuki was intentionally blocking her, the reason unknown to her distressed mind.

'That bastard. It's his fault.' Kagali's blood boiled. If only he had heeded her worries and taken a more careful approach, taken longer to delve into Tempest's secrets, then nothing like this would have happened.

The minutes ticked by in slow agony. There was nothing she could do right now, and even basic paperwork seemed an insurmountable barrier as her hands quivered.

As she waited and waited, each moment tore at her heart. Her daughter was likely in grave danger, and there was nothing she could do to help.

In a moment of fear for her other children, she contacted Footman and Laplace, knowing that was all she could do.

{ Leave Tempest territory immediately and do not return until I tell you to! }

Laplace was first to respond, his voice tinged with surprise.

{ But the client told us to be- }

{ Our client… No, that son of a bitch lost Tear inside Nazarick! Teleportation hasn't worked for her either, so I am left to assume she is currently under interrogation as we speak. }

{ Boss, we are not leaving you. Not this time. } Laplace messaged, his voice containing none of his usual cheerfulness and laced with concern.

{ We're coming, President. } Footman joined in.

{ I told you both to leave! If it comes to worst, I will leave this body behind! Meet up in Clayman's domain!} Kagali screamed at both.

'You stupid immature-'

{ Yuuki, mistress! Is anyone there? I can't leave! } Tear's panicked voice broke through, making Kagali's face contort into shock.

{ Tear!? }

{ Is that you, mistress? They're holding my soul! They have the means to-Aaaghaaghaa!} The message broke into a horrible scream that made Kagali's heart stop, the scream ever-so-familiar from memories long thought gone, but only suppressed.

{ Yuuki, get her out of there now! } Kagali just brute-forced the message through, not caring how hysterical she sounded right now or how many magicules she burnt up.

{ I'm trying but nothing works. Tear is gone. I'm sorry. } Yuuki replied in a tone that sounded way too calm for a person who had lost a friend.

Kagali knew that Yuuki didn't care about people on an emotional level, but she didn't believe he would just toss her and the clowns away.

They were his most trusted agents. His friends. The people who knew his true self and accepted Yuuki for what he was. And now he tossed them all away like useless tools.

'I should have known our relationship would end like this. That heartless bastard. He doesn't even care that he left her to those monsters.' Kagali's rage reached the building point.

{ You bastard! You treacherous piece of shit, you will pay! } She wailed at her former employer in righteous fury.

{ I told you to calm down. Get out of office under any pretense and leave the city as covertly as you can. Tear is gone, but I can at least get you three out. } Yuuki replied, sounding a lot more authoritative than before.

Kagali cut off all communication and clutched her face, digging her nails into its precious flesh. That scream her daughter managed to send her would haunt her for eternity, she knew it would.

{ President. We're coming, and we'll get her out. } Laplace messaged.

{ Tear is lost. Get out of Tempest now. } Kagali replied in a flat tone, wanting the best for her children.

'Yuuki, you bastard! You will pay for taking away my daughter! You will pay even if I will have to spend eternity getting my revenge. I will find your damn soul in the afterlife if I have to!'

Editing by aidan_lo

Proofreading by Miracle of Gods, Alassandro, Sluethen, Aurodium, FantasyTroll, Cakeeight, Dtrackt and aidan_lo.

AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2WmGKVU3XG2) where additional chapters are available or if you are interested in becoming a beta reader (gives access to chapters months ahead of regular readers).