Big Zoot City, Royal Palace
Martin, Zen, and Garudeer stood in the empty, blood-stained throne room. The eerie silence was broken only by the sound of dripping blood. They were the only three survivors in the vast hall.
On the floor, in a pool of his own blood, lay Emperor Saucon. His chest had been torn open by a massive aura attack. His heart, or what remained of it, was obliterated, leaving behind a grotesque reminder of his fall.
The perpetrator, once a loyal subject, was now a headless corpse in front of the trio. Surrounding them were the bodies of a hundred royal guards. Their swords were still buried in the chests and necks of their comrades.
The emperor had been overtaken by the curse of the moon. Earlier this morning, he had ordered his guards to surrender the empire to the demon lord, who was foretold to reincarnate in a few months.
Though most of the royal guards remained loyal to Saucon, so had secretly allied themselves with Martin or were spies from rival kingdoms. The rebellion had been swift and rciless. With Martin, Zen, and Garudeer backing the revolt, Saucon's forces were crushed, and the emperor himself fell by the hands of those he once trusted.
The magic contract that had bound the trio to Saucon shattered with his death.
But their victory brought no relief. The long-sought freedom felt hollow, like the empty throne that now lay before them.
"It's done," Martin deeply exhaled. He glanced at the other two with a weary smile. "So, who's going to take the throne? You, Garudeer?"
Garudeer didn't bother looking back at Martin as he trusted the Magus. Yet, Garudeer's expression remained cold and detached. He waved a hand in dismissal.
"I don't care about titles. Right now, I just want to survive."
Martin turned to the elder priestess, Zen. "Zen, what about you?"
Zen's trademark bright smile never wavered, but her icy dull eyes told a different story. "I serve the Goddess Eleanor. Status and power aren't my things. What about you, Lord Magus? You possess the blessing of light and the authority to command the empire. Will you claim the throne?"
Martin scoffed, rolling his eyes. "If it weren't for this cursed moon calamity, I might've been tempted. But why rule over a dood empire? By now, the moon's curse has driven the entire city mad. They'll either submit to the demon lord or lose their minds completely. The empire is finished."
Garudeer deeply sighed, feeling the weight of their actions bearing down on his shoulders. "Karma. It's all karma."
They stood in the wreckage of their world, rulers of nothing, with a broken empire collapsing around them. The throne may have been empty, but the curse of the moon still lood large, casting its shadow over the fate of Big Zoot City and beyond.
"For now, let's go and protect the juniors from our towers," Garudeer suggested, breaking the silence.
Martin nodded in agreent. His thoughts drifted to the students of the Royal Magi Academy. "I'll check on the academy's students. You two should focus on your own."
With mutual understanding, the group parted ways. Zen, ever loyal to her faith, would return to her priestesses at the Eleanor Church, located on another continent. Garudeer planned to head back to the Storm Tower to erect a permanent array that could ward off the cursed moon's evil energy.
As for Martin, his first stop was the male dormitories, where many aristocratic children resided. His mind wandered briefly to Tanaka.
Where had the man disappeared to during this ti of trouble?
.
.
anwhile, Diana reclined in her nest. Her eyes fixed on the cascade of water outside the cave. The waterfall's rhythmic flow contrasted sharply with the unsettling changes happening in the world around her.
Though most lamias served the demon god's family, not all were spared from the curse of the purple moon. The weaker ones, unable to resist, succumbed to the affliction. Their bodies underwent horrifying transformations once more.
Instead of their usual half-human, half-serpent forms, their upper torsos evolved into monstrous draconic shapes. Thick, jagged scales now covered their once fine lady skin, resembling the hide of ancient drakes. Their heads elongated and contorted, morphing into grotesque humanoid snake faces with large soulless eyes and vicious fangs.
Despite retaining their humanoid chest and two arms, the thick scales left them devoid of any resemblance to the seductive beings they once were. The alluring beauty that once defined their species was erased, leaving behind creatures that could only be described as monsters.
They were no longer lamias. They had beco sothing far more terrifying—the Basilisks.
After their transformation, the newly-ford Basilisks gathered outside Diana's cave, organizing themselves into disciplined ranks like an army awaiting orders. Their faces were expressionless and cold as they stood sentinel, ensuring their queen remained confined within the cave's safety.
It was as if they were now driven by an instinct or an unseen command, guarding her yet imprisoning her.
The lamias who had successfully resisted the curse were not so fortunate. The Basilisks viewed them as a threat and drove them out of the forest with brutal force. As half of the Basilisks did not join the warden ranks like the others, they instinctively moved, murdering the other lamias. Because of the sudden uprising, many lamias quickly migrated from the forest.
The Basilisks showed no rcy. The livestock they once kept were slaughtered, and their bodies left to rot. Worse still, the human captives they had held—n and won from rival families, including mbers of the Turo House—t a cruel fate. Roland, Robert, and the others were executed without hesitation, beheaded in a mass display of power and ruthlessness.
Diana could hear the chaos from her cave. The screams and clashes echoed through the stone walls. Yet, she remained helpless, imprisoned by the very creatures she once commanded. Her heart ached with a growing sense of loss as her domain devolved into a battlefield of twisted loyalties and madness.
Her eyes flickered over to the corner of the cave, where Shin Tanaka, a forr captive, lay crumpled in a pitiful state. Once a charming swordsman, he was now nothing more than a skeleton wrapped in skin, a shadow of his forr self. His eyeballs had long since fallen from their sockets, and his body was frail, ravaged by the curse and extre exhaustion.
Diana, filled with an unusual sense of rcy, decided to end his suffering. With a swift motion, she beheaded him. His head dropped to the cave floor, rolling towards a pile of lamia eggs she had recently laid. Oddly, as his head rolled, a faint smile crept across his face as if he welcod death.
Monts later, his body and head disintegrated into ash, leaving behind a small gemstone amidst the dust. Diana calmly picked it up and brushed away the ash.
DING
Diana stared at the crystal for a mont, feeling its power pulsing in her hand. After a long, contemplative pause, she made her decision. She swallowed it whole.
As soon as the gemstone entered her stomach, it dissolved into vapor and rged with her soul. Her system promptly chid with new updates.
DING
A faint smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as she felt the new powers flowing within her. Though her circumstances were dire, this newfound strength brought a glimr of hope. She gazed at her system screen, checking her urgent main quest.
…
Main Quest #1457: Survive the Calamity You Created
Description:
Shin Tanaka, the self-proclaid Harem King from Earth, has successfully brainwashed twelve of the most beautiful won in the Dragoon Empire. His ultimate goal is to turn you into yet another of his sex slaves.
To protect yourself, you made a desperate deal with the gods. By exchanging an Earth Fate Crystal, you temporarily fortified your mind against Tanaka's system powers. But you knew this would only buy you ti. You took the next step and sacrificed the sanity of all your tribe mbers to Goddess Zhu Qiao, invoking the Curse Moon Calamity as your final line of defense.
The calamity is now in full force. The Purple Moon hangs in the sky, twisting the minds of all who gaze upon it. Your goal is simple: survive. You must outlast this catastrophe, and once it passes, you will be tasked with reestablishing your tribe.
But to rebuild, you will need strong genetic material. Your mission is to secure the essence of powerful n from across this world—no matter their race or origin.
The consequences of your actions are here. The calamity you unleashed threatens to consu everything, but survival is your only path forward. The fate of your tribe depends on the strength of your will—and the quality of the n you will need to rebuild.
Mission Objectives:
- Survive the Curse Moon Calamity.
- Give birth to 1,000 Lamias.
Mission Rewards:
- Earth Fate Crystal x 2
- Sky Fate Crystal x 1
- Spellbook: Blight Curse
Secondary Objectives:
- Kill Shin Tanaka and Extract His Fate Crystal (Completed)
- Create a Demon God Vessel
Secondary Mission Rewards:
- Heavenly Fate Crystal x 10
- Entity Fate Crystal x 1
…
The curse of the eclipse lood over the land, and it would be so ti before its effects faded. Yet, within the confines of her cave, Diana remained composed. She quietly nurtured the 1,000 small eggs she had laid, carefully tending to them as if each one held a sliver of her future.
These eggs, conceived with Tanaka, represented more than just new life—they were her hope, her potential salvation. The world outside was crumbling into chaos, but here, she found purpose.
Each egg shimred faintly under the dim light of the cave, and their soft shells pulsed with latent energy. Diana could feel the tiny lives growing within, and for the first ti in days, she allowed herself to imagine a future. She wondered what kind of beings these children would beco.
Would they inherit the best traits of both their parents?
Or would the curse of the moon twist them as it had so many others?
For now, her focus was on keeping them safe. She was determined to raise them, to see them grow, and to find in them a new beginning.
As for the secondary mission given by her system, Diana pushed it to the back of her mind. It involved creating a powerful vessel of a demon god, but she had neither the resources nor the authority to complete such a task anyti soon.
The mission felt distant, almost irrelevant in the face of her current circumstances. The eclipse curse, the Basilisk uprising, and the loss of her kin weighed too heavily on her.
Just as Diana was about to push all thoughts of the demon god and her duties from her mind, a sudden ssage from her ancestor, Demon Goddess Zhu Qiao, appeared in her system, jolting her back to reality.
Diana closed her eyes. Her heart sank under the weight of the threat. When she opened them again, the light in her gaze had faded, leaving her eyes cold and lifeless, as if all hope had been drained from her.
"Understood, ancestor," she whispered.
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