AKU clicked his tongue while watching Yumi scream in agony as she was being roasted to death by the Black Fla.
Then, just like a while ago, she combusted and burned into ashes.
That's already the fifth ti that it happened since I arrived here.
By "here," he ant the praying room for Kyro in his palace. He brought Yumi there only to watch his darling wife die again and again in front of him. The frustration and the anger on the god's face couldn't be hidden.
"Why don't you just break Yumi's connection to Kiho?" Aku asked the Moon God in his spirit form, then he crossed his arms over his chest. "Yumi already betrayed her son. And I heard from Lord Ripperton that she has been disowned by Kiho. A spirit guardian disowned by their master could no longer return to their side. That also ans that Yumi's connection to Kiho is at its weakest now. She could cut it off herself, to be honest."
He knew that much about the bound between a Beast God and a spirit guardian because she witnessed the broken relationship between the Supre Fire Mage and Lucina Morganna.
The outco of the separation of the two wasn't pretty.
When Lucina Morganna successfully separated herself from the Supre after she betrayed her master, she created a human body for herself. But it was weak, so Lucina Morganna looked for a suitable host. A host was sothing akin to their master. It had to be soone who had a soul that could resonate with the spirit guardian's essence.
"Since Yumi is still a god albeit being a minor one, she could create a human body stronger than what Lucina Morganna managed to create," he continued. "Of course, she would still need a host to contain her power."
Since a banished spirit guardian's physical body was weak, it couldn't contain their power. To avoid breaking that body, they needed a host where they could 'rest' and 'store' their essence into. That was why Lucina Morganna begged Nia in the past to be her new host.
To be honest, he didn't like Lucina Morganna so he made her take a deep slumber inside Nia's heart for a long ti.
But when his beloved beca stronger, she managed to awaken Lucina Morganna. He figured the spirit guardian could be of use so he let her stay awake. And when Nia was exiled, he used the woman as a ssenger for him and his beloved.
"Knowing your wife, I bet she would rather die than be completely separated from Kiho," Aku continued convincing Kyro to separate Yumi from Kiho. He had a plan after all. "So you should do it yourself, Lord Kyro."
"That's what I intend to do," Kyro said while putting Yumi in an ice coffin again after the White Snake returned to life a while ago. The Moon God put his wife to sleep so she wouldn't combust in flas again. But that trick wouldn't work for long. Every hour, the Black Fla would force Yumi to wake up, burn her to ashes, and bring her to life only to kill her again. It was a cruel cycle that he didn't know Lady Nystrom was capable of punishing soone with. "I just need to find a suitable host for Yumi. She needs a person with a strong soul to contain her divine powers."
"I can recomnd a strong host for Yumi."
The Moon God turned to him. "And who might that be?"
"The Royal Archmage introduced their latest test subject on a while ago," he said with a smile. "The White Tower was able to create a female that could apparently conceive a child with even if she's not a Moonchester."
"Interesting," he said. "I thought my daughter-in-law cursed the Moonchesters to not be able to conceive a child outside your family in hopes of ending your lineage."
"Well, we can't underestimate the mages of the White Tower," he said. "So of them fought alongside gods in the previous wars."
"That's true," the Moon God appeared. "What do you wish to gain by making that witch as Yumi's host, Aku Moonchester?"
Ah, of course Lord Kyro knew that he had a hidden agenda.
"I want to get rid of the witch. I can't allow anybody else to give birth to my child other than Nia," he confessed. "But if I kill her, I will earn the wrath of the White Tower."
"Afraid of those old folks, are we?"
"I'm not afraid of them," he denied firmly. "But they'd be useful in the upcoming battle. Now that the mories of Kiho and Lady Nystrom have returned, I'm pretty sure they'll be summoning all their allies next. I should start gathering our army, too. After Nia leaves the Royal Capital with the Nystroms, I shall head to the North myself."
He owned a huge part of the North and that was where their allies were sleeping.
It was a sha but the territory that Lord Prescott managed to buy was the very area that he couldn't totally control. Although his n managed to kill Lord Prescott and Lord Denver there five years ago, the area "disappeared" after that.
He had a feeling that Lord Ainsworth and the rest managed to control that territory. That could only be the reason why he failed to find and catch them for the past five years.
"Ah, yes," Kyro said while nodding. "We don't need human allies in the upcoming battle against my son and the Supre. The next war is a divine civil war among gods."
He liked the sound of it because it made him feel like he was also a god now.
"That's true. This ti, the war is a divine civil war among gods," he agreed, feeling superior now because of the Moon God by his side. "I'm glad that the Supre offered that deal. The war will start in the land that drinks blood. It's far from the Royal Capital so my people don't have to die in a battle where humans don't belong to."
"We've been prepared for so long anyway," the Moon God said. "If only we can take Kiho back to our side"
"We'll get him back," he promised him. "I know why you need Kiho."
Kyro just smiled at that. "And I know why you need the Moon Serpent."
He laughed at that. "That what makes us great allies, Lord Kyro. If only the Supre wasn't so hard to kill."
"The Supre has managed to ignite the little Black Fla left in her," the Moon God said. "Make sure that she won't be able to take back the fla that her spirit guardian stole from her, Aku Moonchester. At least, not until I gain a physical body."
"I understand, Lord Kyro," he said, then he stopped talking when the ice coffin started to crack. It ant Yumi was about to wake up again only to burn into ashes. The frustration on the Moon God's face was very clear. "Shall I send the witch to you?"
Kyro fell silent for a while, then he nodded firmly. "Yes, send the witch to ," he said in a soft voice. "I can't let Yumi suffer for eternity."
Aku bowed to the Moon God. "As you wish, my lord."
***
TILLY knew that her day would be good.
First, she and Kiho spent another intimate mont before they went to the main mansion.
Second, she had a touching reunion with their servants. After their mories were returned, they apologized to her for being rude to her. Still, she couldn't tell them the truth about her identity as a Fire Mage. She simply told them that starting today, House Nystrom was no longer a part of the Royal Faction.
Third, Kiho was talking to their children. He first talked to Julian, and then he summoned Winter.
"I'm glad that you and Duke Nystrom have retrieved your mories, Tilly," Luna said. "Most of all, I'm relieved that the White Snake and the Moon God can no longer control the duke."
"I wish I could have killed either one of them," Tilly said while shaking her head. "But I figured separating Yumi from Kiho must be prioritized. Plus, even though I felt a surge of power because of the Black Fla, I have a feeling that it wasn't enough to kill Kyro."
Right now, she was having so tea with Luna.
Roarke, on the other hand, was outside the mansion. She asked the Keeper to contact Jason and set-up a eting place for them. It was ti that they gathered in the Royal Capital. He also asked Roarke to try and contact Wong to get an update regarding Wixx.
"I think you made the right choice, Tilly," Luna assured her. "It's almost impossible to kill a spirit guardian as long as their master is alive. Also, killing the Moon God wouldn't have been possible anyway. Not when he was in his spirit form. Cutting-off their connection with Duke Nystrom was already a huge feat."
She smiled and nodded. "Oh," she said when she rembered sothing. "Luna, you have sothing important to tell , right?"
The witch suddenly went serious. "I recently found out that my sister is alive."
She gasped in surprise. "The one who made the dicine that successfully made Nia Moonchester infertile?"
"Yes, that's her," Luna said while nodding slowly. "During your "audition," I saw her in the ballroom. I confronted her so I know that it's really my sister."
"That ans the White Tower has hidden her for the past years," she said, then she sipped her tea. "Didn't you say that the White Tower is practically owned by Nia Moonchester?"
"Yes," the witch said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's the one behind it. But I wonder why your sister didn't tell you that she's alive all these years."
She nodded in agreent.
That's suspicious, indeed.
Their conversation was interrupted when soone knocked on the door. When she let Leni and Lani enter the room, she was surprised when she saw the spark in the twins' eyes.
"My lady, you have a guest," Leni said in her usual calm tone. "Duke Sherwood ca unannounced."
"The duke isn't alone," Lani added in a sowhat excited voice. "His Grace has brought Miss Louisa and Mr. David ho."
Tilly gasped in surprise, and then she beca teary-eyed. Finally, it has begun. The people whom she trusted most were coming ho one by one. "Tell our esteed guests that I will join them in a bit."
***
WIXX, who sat on top of a huge rock, yawned while watching Kelsi imprison the Blue Dragon's spirit guardian in a box made of her fla.
Out of all the Keepers that he created, Kelsi was the one who could create the strongest barriers. But her ability wasn't limited to creating protection alone. She could use that to entrap her enemies as if they were prisoners.
Kelsi is my precious Soleil's shield.
"Lord Red Phoenix!"
Wixx looked down at Faline, the Golden Tiger's spirit guardian, who stood in front of him with an excited look on her face. "Can you bring along with you? I heard that Lord Ainsworth has already returned to the Supre's side."
"Well, you can be useful to Soleil so I don't mind," he said lazily. He just woke up, and he still felt a little sluggish. He was yet to recover his full strength. After all, it almost drained his Mana and all his power from protecting himself from the lava for so long. "But you should pretend that you don't exist while travelling with Wong. If you piss him off, he'll kick you out. I won't be with you since the ship they brought isn't enough for all of us."
"Don't worry, my lord," the cat-like woman said cheerfully. And then, in just a snap of her fingers, she turned into an orange cat. "Nobody can resist in this form!"
"No one except Wong."
Faline just giggled, then she ran towards Kelsi's direction.
"My lord," Sentinel said when he appeared beside him. His spirit guardian had to rest inside his soul to recuperate. He almost died freeing him from the shackles that locked him up under the harsh lava. "Do you intend to use your wings to get to the Royal Capital fast?"
His wings weren't just used for flying.
It also served as a magical portal. He could go everywhere he wanted as long as his Mana was strong enough to take him there. But flying around to faraway places usually drained his strength so as much as possible, he avoided doing that.
Still, this was the kind of situation that he had no choice but to use his wings to fly to his little sister as fast as he could.
"I want to reach Soleil the fastest way so I have to," he said to his spirit guardian. "But don't worry about , Sentinel. I have enough Mana to use my wings even though I just awakened."
"My lord."
"What?"
"Absorb back to your soul."
He flinched at Sentinel's suggestion, then he turned to him with a cold glare. "Why are you trying to make kill you? If I absorb you back, your consciousness will disappear. That's equivalent to dying, silly child."
"But that's the quickest way for you to recover your full divine powers," Sentinel insisted. "It's not like I want to die, my lord. Im just being logical because the upcoming war is a divine civil war among gods like you. You can't be weak once the battle starts."
"I'll be fully recovered by then."
"My lord"
"Enough," he said firm enough to make the ground shake, the sa ti the volcanoes around them began emitting gas and initial steam.
Yes, his anger could literally make volcanoes erupt so he quickly tried to calm down.
His Keepers and even the Ainsworth's spirit guardian noticed the sudden change in his mood because they all turned to him with a concerned look on their face.
"Sentinel, go to sleep or else, I will get angry for real," he warned the spirit guardian. "I don't want to hear that from you ever again. Do you hear ?"
Sentinel bowed to him. "I understand, my lord."
And just like that, his spirit guardian disappeared and returned inside his soul. The warmth in his chest was a clear sign that Sentinel was now resting inside him.
"Why did you scold Sentinel, my lord?" Wong asked when he stood in front of him. "You rarely do that."
"That child wants to absorb him back to serve as "fuel" for my dormant fla."
"It makes sense, my lord."
"Wong," he warned the Keeper and this ti, the ground only didn't shake the volcanoes also vented ashes as the lava do began to buildup. If he got angrier than that, the magmatic explosions would begin until the volcanoes finally erupt. "I just woke up. I don't want to hear about death for now."
Wong bowed his head. "I apologize, my lord."
He just waved his hand in dismissal. "What did Roarke tell you?"
Out of all the Keepers, Roarke was the only one that he created for himself. Of course, Roarke was also born out of his love for Soleil. But he was also created with a "mother" wired in his system.
In short, Roarke was like a son to him.
"Roarke confird our thoughts: the remaining Black Fla inside the Supre has been awakened," Wong reported to him. "It seems like the childhood mory that you lock up inside her has been freed from the Abyss."
It couldn't be helped because the red fla that he used to fuel her heart in exchange of sealing her Black Fla was extinguished by Kyro's Mana. If the Black Fla didn't awaken, his precious little sister and everyone connected to her fla would have died.
"According to Roarke, the Supre wants us to return to the Royal Capital as soon as possible," Wong said, then he gave him a look of pity. "My lord, the Supre told you to brace yourself for her "questions.""
Wixx wouldn't admit this aloud but he shuddered at his little sister's threat. "She'll definitely kill ," he said while shaking his head. Thankfully, the mory of his encounter with "Lady Nystrom" in the temple a while ago didn't disappear. He could still rember how feisty the reincarnation of his sister was. Well, Soleil had a bad temper. But it seed like "Lady Nystrom" was more hot-headed than the sister he rembered in the past. "Prepare for my funeral, Wong."
***
KIHO looked at Winter and Julian seriously.
Right now, all of them were in his office. And also, they were kneeling on the floor because he wanted to talk to them that way. He was facing his sons, and both looked as serious as he was. They probably felt how solemn his mood was.
"Winter, Julian," Kiho began seriously. "Now that my mories have returned, I can finally teach you the role that you must take in the upcoming divine civil war."
Winter and Julian both gulped hard in anticipation of what he was about to say.
To be honest, he consulted Tilly about the thing that he wanted to talk about their children. It took him a while to convince his wife to agree with his plan. But in the end, they both decided that it would be better for their kids to have a role in the upcoming war instead of being kept in the dark.
"I will teach you how to kill a god," Kiho said seriously, making his sons' eyes widened in shock. "To be precise, I will teach you how to kill the Black Serpent."
***
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