Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power - Chapter 382

Chapter 382: Chapter 382: Dire Situation
Chapter 382 – Dire situation

Inara was still on the floor, shooing away any snakes daring to approach her, before a thought suddenly summoned itself inside her head.

“What about the beasts around?” she asked, sparing a glance to her mother, “And even Kaleith?”

“Difficult to say.” Medusa whispered. “We have met Kaleith two times, but each one of them didn’t bode quite well.”

She closed her eyes in frustration, remembering the meeting with the Shepherd.

That man was looking and talking to them like they were beings who were lost in life and needed guidance towards the truth.

And for him, or rather for all of them, their truth lay in following the Prophet and worshiping their god, the “I”.

Needless to say, neither King Progeny nor his wife Serena liked that idea. Even Lady Heavens and herself found themselves somehow offended.

It was never a good idea to force a belief on a group of people who had lived well until now with their own beliefs. No matter how barbaric and strange it looked.

The Shepherd was condescending. And it was always a challenge to find a middle ground with beings who thought you inferior.

Thinking that, Ouroboros let out, through the door of her mouth, a green steam of annoyance.

Inara watched quietly, guessing the burden her mother must go through.

“As for the beasts,” Medusa continued, “The Hive is tricky. They are exponentially strong too. Their strength lies in their ability to fight as one. I attempted to see the Queen of All.”

A wry smile edged her lips.

“I was turned down.”

She paused, letting Inara digest. Next, unhurriedly, her voice spilled out…

“For the Nirvana Foxes,” Medusa clicked her tongue in irritation, “They attacked our men the moment they stepped into their territory.”

“And so?” Inara raised an eyebrow.

“So? They are all dead, of course.”

“You did nothing?” The Mother of Monsters inquired in surprise, now sitting straight, frowning heavily.

The King Progeny she knew would have shattered the whole beast settlement in one frightening instant.

But none of that happened. How come?

Lady Ouroboros spared her daughter a hard glance, lips twisting into irritation. “The Nirvana Foxes,” she grated, “have power over a concept even I do not understand. A member of them, a seven-tailed fox, could match us.”

She paused, then her voice came out shallow and strained.

“And there is a nine-tailed fox.”

Inara unconsciously shuddered.

“And it’s not the end.” Medusa exhaled. “They are in mutual alliance with Kaleith. So you can guess why we did nothing but mourn our dead?”

The Snake Princess nodded slowly.

She didn’t know the situation was this dire.

“But there is at least a silver lining to this situation.” Medusa continued. “The rootraces are willing to be allied to us. But even then, their conditions are harsh and restraining.”

She passed her hand through her hair slowly.

“We are still discussing what to do. But we need to do something. And that, sooner than we would have wished.”

“In times of peace, Waverith has seen a rise in the number of births. The farms and cattle are now hardly enough. And with our timid relations with Kaleith, merchants are getting annoyingly shy about coming to us.”

“Do you need my help?” Inara asked, face serious. “I can—!”

“You are still a Master.” Medusa shot her a glare. “Be strong first and come back to help us.”

Inara nodded, accepting her mother’s words. She knew that with the monsters she had gathered in these two years, she could be of help, but her mother didn’t want to know that.

Still, she admitted that she had wasted too much time here.

All these times she told herself that it was to rest and prepare…

But she knew well.

One reason was because she was afraid that once she went back, she wouldn’t come back.

The other was because of a certain man. She… she didn’t wish to go with unhealed wounds. And the only way to heal herself was to confront him.

She looked at the crimson letter, still glowing like crimson stars, filled with his scent and aura. She folded it and gave it to a small fat rat that appeared through a piece of her flesh.

‘Another one in my collection.’

Inara thought, only to berate herself for her new coping obsession.

She cursed once more.

…

Meanwhile, still in Darklore, in a strange place where everything was sand and the howling of dust.

The sand was immaculate black, hard to the touch and heavy, with rising dunes as far as the eyes could see.

Above, a white sun hung itself on a black sky adorned with angry clouds.

Despite the apparent atmosphere, the wind was freezing cold, frosting the inside of anyone weak enough to walk here.

Yet a being was walking.

It was a man, it seemed, wearing tattered blue clothes that fluttered behind like a cape. Some parts of his clothes were black with dried blood. He was limping, his face hidden by a cap.

Inside the cap nothing could be seen despite the searing light, besides only a pair of cold, sky-like blue eyes.

The man marched inside that strange place, the Desert of the Lost, for an untold number of hours relentlessly.

His feet made no crushing sound, and left in his wake no traces, sparing him from the beasts swimming through the sands, waiting for prey to swallow.

Suddenly, the man halted in his steps.

In front of and around him, nothingness still remained. Yet he was looking ahead as if seeing things no mortal eyes could see.

“I know you can see me,” he said, voice robotic. “Open the way. I need to see you.”

No response was given, except the wind whispering tentatively in his ears and the slow stirring of the sandbeasts, moving in the man’s direction.

He noticed it. His eyes stayed unconcerned.

He cracked open his jaw again.

“Open the way,” his voice colder. “Forbidden Alchemist.”

Instantly, the air around stilled.

The man raised his head, sensing something.

There, his eyes rested upon a man sitting in the air. No, it was not air. He was sitting on the tip of a pyramid made from shifting runes.

In time, the runes would disappear, making the strange pyramid seem as if deleted from existence.

It was a black-skinned man, grey hair braided, deep void-like black eyes. He was bearing a wide, welcoming smile.

But the blue-eyed man was not.

“Where is the Forbidden Alchemist?” he grated. “You are not. You are—!”

“A clone, indeed.” Forbidden said. “But clone doesn’t mean I don’t know who you are and why you are here, Neila Cerveau.”

Neila Cerveau craned her neck.

“My true self has sensed himself living in another timeline. A timeline that was altered by someone. By a being.”

“I am not here for this knowledge. I already know that fact.” Neila interjected.

“Oops! How harsh, little girl.”

“You promised me vengeance, Forbidden,” she continued smoothly. “I am here to demand what you promised me.”

The hood fluttered down, showing the handsome face of Nuke Cerveau. Yet the one talking was anything but him.

He raised his hand and showed a ring. The same ring Nuke received through a member of his family.

“This is incomplete and lackluster,” Neila said. “I need the complete version of the research.”

“What price are you willing to pay, little girl?” Forbidden grinned. “We already aided you. Or did you forget?”

“If yes, let me remind you, little girl.”

He laughed, swinging his feet like a child.

“We helped you in creating the Cerveau lineage with our dear Soulless. And oh, that makes me think, why are you not asking about your dear lover?”

CRACK—!

Space around cracked, splintered into shards, then exploded outward viciously.

For a moment, Neila was standing inside a void zone, yet her blue eyes didn’t waver.

“I dare you to repeat that, worthless clone,” Neila hissed, her telekinetic power wrapping the space around so much that time itself lagged behind, strained by the power of her consciousness.

“Soulless was nothing but a breeding partner,” she grated. “My lover is Solaris.”

She pointed her index finger at him. “Next time you spout such nonsense in my presence, I will kill you.”

Forbidden’s smile didn’t waver one bit.

Next, he cackled, finding this situation so funny that tears streaked down his cheeks.

“I might be a clone,” he said between laughter, “but it would be a mistake to underestimate me, little girl.”

His laughter died suddenly. “Still, I will humor you.”

He stared at Neila with mocking eyes, the space now healed.

During her outburst, all the sandbeasts around exploded into rain of blood, painting the black expanse in black and green.

“We will give you the complete version, Broken Mind,” he said, playing with runes with his finger. “Not only that, we shall help you even more by giving you an interesting ally.”

He smiled. Neila tilted her head, frowning.

“Look for the Ascendant of the Sorrow Pathway, Joykiller.” He clicked his fingers, and a new ring appeared on Neila’s hand. “She shall help you. It seems the Woeful One is once again in her greedy pursuit of—!”

“I don’t care.” Neila cut him briskly. “I have obtained what I needed. I will go back.”

Forbidden smirked. “Are you really not going to ask about Soulless? You will be surprised to see what he has become.”

“He can go to Hell.”

“Ouch! I am afraid even those demons would not want him.” He cackled, tapping his legs in the process. “Still, I will make sure to tell him.”

He grinned strangely. “Hopefully you won’t regret it.”

Neila ignored him. Her body began to dissolve, like salt in water, returning to Fokay.

Before the transition was completed, the last words of Forbidden reached her ears — cold, yet deeply humorous.

“Everything has a price, Neila.”

“Everything.”

“Today you came and took from me. Tomorrow I will come and take from you.”

“Now…”

He laughed wickedly.

“May those twin whores of Luck be with you, Broken Mind.”

—End of Chapter 382—