The Wielder of Death Magic

1117 Battle of the Academies [5]

‘What a pathetic dream,’ Igna’s slumber broke, dawn gazed over the battlefield. ‘Leaves a bad taste in the mouth,’ muffled thuds soon pulled the attention out the window below, where undead soldiers, commanded by Mammon, did military drills. Spotters placed at the Geld’s pass were mute, ‘-no signals,’ a connection seamlessly formed between Yui and the interface.

*tap, tap,* “-enter,” he said, fully dressed and ready for the day ahead. When it came to Igna and his life – premonition or not, they made quite the impression. Many catastrophes were foretold by said dreams, ‘-I know well to heed these kinds of visions. Sathanas,’ he pressed his lips tensely, ‘-she’s yet to be found.’

A kind dame waited at the doorway, her hand clasped below her waist in a respectful bow. Her long black hair ran down her shoulders, and her slender frame, long legs, and well-proportioned limbs took from her lovely features, a taint upon her beauty – horns.

“Teresa.”

“My master,” she reserved her voice, Igna took quite an interest in the silence, “-I must confess.”

He side-stepped, making the room feel spacious and inviting, “-come on, let’s talk inside,” the wind howled, the reddish-orange sunrise, tamer to sunset, held the forest in a pinch of subdued colors.

“Master,” the interface lit, “-urgent message,” he gestured at Teresa, turned away, and toggled the notice, “-Sathanas Haggard has been located,” read the message.

‘No,’ the world fell, the walls crumbled, the ground shook, each movement resounded inside the very bone of his being, ‘-the dream’s a premonition,’ he looked at Teresa, her slow movements and unwillingness to stare, ‘-is she responsible?’ the feelings brushed aside, taking the ‘him’ out of the equation, “-Teresa, you wanted to discuss?” he was able to see clearly, ‘-getting riled won’t do any good. Can’t be hasty, I have to trust in her strength.’

Teresa kept her lowered gaze, “-master, I have to confess.”

.....

“…”

“It’s about me.”

“Please, go ahead.”

“See, master, I don’t want to come across as rude or anything of the sort. I’m a daughter of nobility, I was born to the family of Leviathan, father told me my birth wasn’t exactly planned. He was in love, he still is in love and he wanted to have a memento from his lover. Even with the unwanted birth, my father never treated me short of a princess. I was raised with manners and power, the world revolves around me, and I still believe the situation will work in my favor – it’s always been like that. Such was my life before I came to your school – here, I was challenged and thoroughly beaten. I learned my allies were my enemies and I didn’t want to face the truth. You see, master Igna, without your offer, I didn’t know what I would have done. The truth is, I had a choice between the academy or a peaceful life at Dems. I subsequently chose the academy and soon transferred on his orders. Father’s very secretive about his love life, it’s a taboo subject far as the court is concerned. I wanted to know my mother, but, but, he never spoke a word, he kept up his lie and I was left dejected. I have a mother, I know she’s alive… it was Artanos, he told me who my mother was,” her long lashes flapped, her horns glowed, “-Lilith,” a weight lifted, the instant she spoke, her knees weakened and she tipped onto the nearby chair, ‘-relief,’ she shook, ‘-I feel lighter.’

Contrary to the lass whose burden lifted, Igna suffered a thud, a shock – her weight chained to his feet, ‘-Leviathan and Lilith’s child. Teresa L. Leviathan,’ he stared outside, ‘-Sathanas,’ he side-glanced, Teresa’s relieved expression tightened.

‘His aura,’ she swallowed,’-did I see something wrong?’

“Teresa, care to answer a few of my questions?”

“Sure?”

“Do you regularly enjoy torture?”

“Yes,” she beamed, “-as a member of my father’s court, I was blessed with the responsibility of dungeon mast-”

“Okay, good enough,” he interjected, “-did you find the prisoners a little lax?”

“Yes, they died easily.”

“Recently, has Satan and Leviathan made any correspondence, perhaps an exchange of gifts or else pleasantries?” a gamble, ‘-Asmodeus’s last account of Sathanas going missing is her trip to her father’s realm. Common sense would say she’s trapped there, however, there are no signs of her lifeforce, even when I had Yui scan the domain. My dream’s convoluted message showed flash images of Sathanas and Teresa… the ending, the former died at the hands of a strange entity. I wonder if…’

“How did you know?” amazement took her visage, ‘-I got my proof,’ he held the aura.

“Last question, did you have someone new join the dungeon, perhaps a lady with crimson hair and a bad attitude?”

“A lady with short crimson hair joined the dungeon, she’s not like you described. She has no meat on her bones – she’s lost weight if she even had some. Her hair was a mess and she reeked of smut. Don’t know what happened, she had a strange collar around her neck. I never asked her name, she refused to speak or eat. Her vitality, now, she’s fierce when it came to my games. Her body healed almost instantly – the silent withdrawal of her audible yelps, the quiet suffering, and the squeamish look she gave when I dug my claws,” Teresa’s face melted, pink cheeks and flushed forehead.

“Calm down,” he said, “-good on you. Now, if you’d kindly take the arousal out of my chambers, it would be great.”

She left – two spirit animals soon leaped into the room, a cat and dog, the feline perched on his shoulders, the dog soon changed into a human, “-good morning master.”

“Master,” the cat quietly licked her lips, “-I’m going home, call me when battle draws,” the shadows swallowed the feline, leaving Fenrir in the company of Igna.

‘There’s tension in the room,’ her nose noticed lingering stress and arousal, “-master, did you-”

“Don’t you even go there,” he jokingly pinched her nose and scuffled her hair, “-I’m not interested in children. Teresa’s a strange case… from what I’ve heard through reports coming from Memphe’s informant,” he quietly lit a cigarette, ‘-knowing their move is good, wish I could shake this feeling. I don’t know who or what to trust – the truth’s grown blurry – conflicting purposes, I don’t want to be trapped.’

“Master?”

“My apologies, Fenrir,” silence had settled, passing over fourth-minutes on the clock, “-did you stay long?”

“Not really,” he looked over, “-the bed’s rather comfortable.”

‘And she’s sleeping on the bed in her wolf form,’ he puffed, “-Fenrir, go find Asmodeus and relay this message, “-the attack on the academy is a single piece in a greater game. Establish contact with our men in Draebala, audit the situation – ask for Formle, he’ll be of aid,” would take a few hours before Asmodeus could be found. In the meantime, Igna headed for Lilith’s chambers. A secluded room built in the deepest reaches of the Tree, the branches leading to her place were of a brighter color, the floor was wooden compared to the stone floor everywhere else, and upon those wooden floors sat a cozy carpet. Her door was at hand, oval and chubby in appearance, “-tap, tap,”

“You can knock, you know?” she muffled.

“Tapping the door is too common,” the lock clicked and open inward automatically, Lilith held the bed with five or more semi-naked women drenched in sweat and under her covers, “-you changed teams?” he fired.

“Cleansing,” she eased off the bed in similar vestments, or rather, lack of, “-have you come to the feast?”

“No, not really,” he watched as she moved to a decadent vanity table.

“Could you pass me my undergarments dear?” she pointed at a drawer, “-the black laced ones,” she winked and sat, Igna reached over with the Hand of the Lamented, the fabric seemingly floated to her table. She seductively got dressed and remained in those very undergarments, “-not flustered?”

“Turn off the charm, won’t work on me, Queen of Demon.”

“Using my title,” she stared at his reflection, “-Igna,” she slowly combed her hair, “-we hate beating around the bush.”

“Teresa L. Leviathan.”

“Yeah, what about her, she’s your new toy, isn’t she?”

“…”

“Igna, stop playing games.”

“What do you know about her?”

“No idea and I’d rather not care.”

“Well, I did expect that from you, Lilith. Would you care if I said she’s your daughter?”

A crash, her comb fell – her expression remained stoic, her attention was harsh, “-say that again?”

“Leviathan and Lilith, the story’s not as complete as you’d make me believe.”

A smoldering passive aggressivity spread, “-Igna, don’t play these games with me. We know it won’t do us good,” she turned and stared, the women awoke, “-GET OUT!” tiny feet darted out the door, the door slammed, Igna and Lilith held the tension, neither broke.

“Someone has trust issues, doesn’t he?”

“Lilith…”

“What?” she shrugged, “-I’m speaking the truth. Let me guess, you think I’m like the others huh? Gophy left to meet Artanos, and Miira grew weary of your whims and left for the Heavens. Intherna remained because she feels pity and, I’m here because I care. The guardians of the Shadow Realm, such a prestigious rank, isn’t it? We’re nothing more than flowers to be displayed, isn’t that right, Igna? You never cared, and never will care. The only reason you’re acting strange is because of Teresa, what if I had relations with other people, does that affect you?” she paused, a mix of anger and sympathy filling her voice as she trembled at a few irregular syllables, “-you don’t see my loyalty, you don’t see why I’m angry. Even now, you’re thinking I’m playing mind games,” she lowered her head, “-the answer is clear, get your head out of your ass, Igna. The answer’s always been there,” tears rolled down her cheeks.

He watched, no reaction whatsoever, “-done?”

“ARGG!” she stormed over and grabbed his collar, “-don’t dismiss-”

“Calm down,” he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a close embrace, “-Lilith, I never said I questioned your loyalty. The words you said, it’s true, what you said about me and the Guardians is very true. I never had those thoughts, really,” a ghastly howled pressed the room,-

‘so much pressure,’ she buckled, ‘screams of the dead. Is he pointing Orenmir at me, I feel the tip… he’s going to kill me?’

-and forcibly had Lilith on her defensive, she barely rose her gaze, the weapon’s energy pressed and pressed, “-the simplest answer I find is to kill. If I pressed, the blade would easily go through the back and out the front – you’d be like the demons we impaled. I don’t appreciate outbursts, unwarranted outbursts,” the blade sheathed, “-well, that is in the past. You were being unreasonable, and I know, I’m unreasonable too,” he smiled and knelt, guiding Lilith’s unsteady footing and head into his lap, “-I came to learn the truth. Will you trust me with your truth, Lilith?”

“Do you trust me?”

“I do. You wouldn’t have fought against Leviathan – knowing your promiscuous nature, I doubt the event to be traumatic, unlike Vanesa. Besides, you did remain for my sake and even conjured this Tree despite the toll it takes on your energy. It’s normal that you’d find energy easier during mat-”

“Don’t,” she put a finger to his lips, “-I’m not a whor-”

“No, you’re not. I never said that. Just a lady who enjoys intercourse, nothing wrong with that. Trusting you is my decision, breaking that trust is your choice to make. I had my trust broke a few times, not the greatest of experiences… the vengeance was sweet. Enough about me, I rather not come across as the victim. We have our issues. Tell me, Lilith, will you place your trust in someone like me? Consider it like an investment in the stock market.”

“So much for asking trust when one has a cursed sword pressed against her back,” her breaths steadied, “-a gamble is a gamble. Fine, Igna, I’ll tell you.”