The mont Eradicator removed her helt, Asher felt an eerie chill sweep him.
The sight before him was unlike anything he had anticipated.
Her face was hauntingly beautiful-striking yet cold and devoid of emotion.
Her skin was pale, eerily so, almost as if she had never known the warmth of sunlight. There was an unnatural smoothness to so parts of her face, yet others bore the faintest signs of decay, subtle cracks along her cheekbones and jawline that reminded him of sothing neither truly alive nor truly dead.
But what unnerved him the most were her eyes-deep, glowing crimson orbs that bore no warmth, no flicker of life. Unlike normal people, Eradicator's gaze felt empty, hardened, like a void that had swallowed everything that once made her whole. Yet, in those chilling depths, there was sothing disturbingly familiar.
His breath caught as his mind recognized so resemblance. The sharpness of her cheekbones, the regal structure of her face, the raven black hair, the sa piercing gaze- except colder, emptier.
Rowena.
She looked similar to Rowena but over 6 feet 3 inches tall and her beauty hauntingly bewitching yet barren.
But if Rowena's gaze held strength, passion, and fire, Eradicator's held nothing but death. An emptiness where sothing precious had long been lost.
Asher's fingers curled into his palms, his mind racing. He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing every detail of her face, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Who... Who are you?"
Eradicator did not blink. Her voice remained level, eerily steady, without hesitation.
"I am your protector, Your Majesty."
Asher's brows furrowed. He took another step forward, his gaze narrowing as his instincts scread at him that there was more to this than she was letting on.
"No... Who are you really?" His voice hardened, "Other than Eradicator, who are you? And your aura..."
His words trailed off as he inhaled sharply. Now that he was paying attention, the aura of death clung to her like a second skin. It was not the death of battle, not the fleeting presence of a corpse. It was sothing deeper, more intrinsic. It was as if her very existence was steeped in death.
Eradicator's eerie crimson gaze flicked downward montarily before shifting back to him. She raised her helt slightly in her grasp, as if contemplating sothing, before speaking in the sa hollow, asured tone.
"My master gave this helt to hide my true self until I reveal myself to you."
She then looked back at him with a empty gaze, "If you are questioning my origins... I am the first daughter of Zane Drake."
The words struck Asher like a thunderclap. His entire body went rigid as his mind blanked for a mont.
His lips parted slightly, his voice barely a whisper, "What did you just say?"
His heart pounded in his chest as he searched her face again, now seeing the resemblance in an entirely different light.
"You... You are his first daughter? You an... You are Rowena's elder sister?"
Eradicator gave a slow nod, unbothered by his reaction.
"That is correct." Her voice remained calm, almost chanical. "But she does not know about my existence, and I request you to keep it that way. It is my master's wish and what my father wanted as well. According to them, it is what's best for her."
Asher's mind reeled. This was impossible. Impossible!
Zane Drake-Rowena's father, the forr king of the Bloodburn Kingdom-never had another daughter. At least, not one that anyone ever spoke of. He had always believed Rowena was the only heir.
If that were true, then why did no one know about her?
How much was that old fucker hiding from his own daughter?
His jaw clenched as he took a deep breath, trying to piece it together.
But then, it was starting to make sense. He had always wondered why Rowena was born so
late, making her very young compared to the young ladies and young masters of other noble Houses, especially Sabina, Jael, and even Silvia.
Even Rebecca and Seron, who were from House Drake, had two kids who were much older than Rowena.
But looking at this woman with a towering presence standing before him, it makes sense that she was the eldest of them all, older than even Sabina or Oberon.
But he felt sad for Rowena, who still didn't know that she had an elder sister beside her all this ti. She still had family left and yet she lived all this ti not knowing that.
This made him wonder how Eradicator could bear to not let Rowena know even after Zane died. This Master must be the culprit and her past wasn't making sense...
"Your master..." he echoed, his brows furrowing, "Why... No, how did this happen? How did you-the first daughter of that man-end up as a guard, waiting for decades to protect ?" The pieces weren't fitting together. If she truly was Zane Drake's firstborn, why had she been erased from history?
Eradicator remained silent for a mont, then spoke without hesitation, "I was born dead."
Asher's breath hitched.
"What?"
"My mother was poisoned by mana that never belonged in our world," Eradicator explained. "My father was the cause, though I do not believe he intended it. But he and my mother were desperate to save my life. So, in search of salvation, they went to the ruins where you were trapped, the very sa place that was the origin of what caused my mother to fall sick." Asher's mind snapped back to the forsaken underground ruins where Lori almost died. If it affected Lori like that then Rowena's mother would be no exception.
His mind was spinning, his thoughts crashing into each other as he struggled to grasp the weight of what Eradicator had just revealed to him. He stared at her with an incredulous
expression.
"Wait... if you were born dead, how are you here now, alive? Did she really give birth to you down there?" he asked, his voice quieter, almost disbelieving.
Eradicator t his gaze, her eyes cold and unwavering, "There was no ti left. But the mont I ca out dead, my master showed himself before them. He gave my father a choice -to hand over to him, and in return, he will heal his wife and let them leave."
Her voice was devoid of emotion, as if she were simply reciting history rather than recounting the mont of her own unnatural birth, "That was when my father handed over to my master, and using his powers, he turned into a living corpse... if that helps you understand
what I am now."
Asher's breath caught in his throat as he processed her words, "A living corpse?" His voice was tinged with shock, "You an he turned you into an undead?" He took a step back, staring at her in disbelief, "What the... that's impossible... No one is that powerful to create an undead like you, and yet-here you are."
His mind reeled. Raising simple undead was sothing necromancers did, but those creatures were mindless, fragile, bound only by crude, temporary magic. But her? She was sothing else entirely-intelligent, self-aware, capable of rational thought and emotion or at least the mimicry of it.
The sheer mastery it would take to create sothing like her was beyond anything he had ever
heard of.
Yet thinking about it...her life was pretty tragic even if there was never any life to begin with. Since she was "raised" to protect him, she must have started to train the mont she started to barely walk. He was finding all this quite hard to process.
"This master you keep ntioning... Who is he? And what is he doing down there?" Asher
demanded.
Eradicator's eyes glead faintly, "I believe you fought my master, Your Majesty."
Asher froze. A chill ran through his spine as he rembered that thing-that terrifyingly strong undead monster that had beaten him within an inch of his life and basically toyed with
him-flooded his mind.
"That undead thing... is your master?" Asher's voice ca out almost as a whisper. His lips parted slightly as the sheer absurdity of it hit him, "You have to be kidding ..." Eradicator remained unmoved, "I am not kidding you, Your Majesty," she clarified, her voice flat, almost as if she found his disbelief unnecessary.
Asher ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply, "No, I know, but... it's still unbelievable."
He tried to piece it together, his mind racing, "So this is the master that raised you to protect ? Then why the hell was he trying to kill instead of offering a way out if he were that concerned about my life?" His voice grew sharp, frustration seeping in.
Eradicator remained still, her expression unreadable, "That I do not know. I only follow his orders. And right now, I am here to keep you safe, Your Majesty. Now that I have revealed myself, I am allowed to use my powers to their fullest extent. You can use as your shield. I don't feel anything nor pain."
Asher was about to question her when a dark green eerie symbol of a skull briefly manifested on her forehead along with the crimson of her eyes blending into a eerie, dark green light.
His eyes widened in shock as her flesh and skin instantly turned to ashes, dark green flas bursting forth, licking over her now-bare charred skull.
Her hollow sockets burned with eerie, spectral light, a nightmarish vision of death itself
standing before him.
"You have to be shitting ..." Asher breathed, "Mark of the Damned? Your master gave you
this power?"
As quickly as it had appeared, the flas vanished, and her flesh regrew over her skull in an instant, returning her to her normal—if haunting-appearance.
Eradicator nodded without hesitation, "Yes. I have been marked by his power since the day I
was born."
Asher could only stare at her, mind spinning, "What the fuck is he?" he muttered under his
breath.
He couldn't understand how that undead had such similar powers to his but at a shockingly
greater level.
The power to create an undead like Eradicator, to imbue her with the Hellbringer's abilities, to make her function as if she were alive-
This was far beyond the power of necromancy. This was sothing far beyond mortal
comprehension.
Yet he felt it strange to hear her dedicate her entire life to him with such a dead look. Yet it made sense now... Whenever he was about to face imminent death or found himself stuck in a place he couldn't escape from, she was always there to save him. She must have been watching him all the ti, without him even realizing it.
How could soone be this dedicated? Or was it because she was 'dead', lifelessly following
orders? Should he feel bad or should he feel glad? Maybe he wouldn't be feeling this conflicted if not for her being Rowena's elder sister or what she could have been.
He now realized why she or Zane told her to not tell Rowena about her elder sister. It would
only crush her to know about her elder sister's fate.
But suddenly, Asher snapped out of his daze as a sharp realization suddenly hit him. "Shit, I shouldn't be wasting ti here. The draconians could be reaching our kingdom within
a day or two. Do you have any information on their movents? I had yet to see them move,"
He said with clenched fists. Eradicator shook her head, "I do not know. I was searching for you."
Asher cursed under his breath, "Fuck. Okay, do one thing-stay here and make sure Lori recovers. I have to head back to my kingdom. I have already wasted enough ti by getting trapped there."
He turned swiftly on his heel, already moving towards the tent's entrance.
"But I have to-" Eradicator started, stepping forward.
Asher cut her off sharply, his voice firm. "It's an order."
She went still yet didn't back down.
He turned his head slightly, his eyes glinting with sothing cold and fierce, "I know you
prioritize your master's orders, but if you really care about keeping safe, then do what I
say. Otherwise, we're all going to end up in even bigger trouble. You want that?"
There was a mont of silence between them.
For the first ti, Eradicator hesitated.
Then, without another word, she simply stood in place, her crimson eyes locked onto his.
Satisfied, Asher stepped out of the tent, his body blazing with dark green flas as he prepared to launch himself into the sky.
The mont his feet left the ground, he shot forward like a streak of dark fire, ripping
through the night like a cursed teor, heading straight for ho.
Back in the tent, Eradicator remained motionless.
She didn't blink. She didn't move.
Her master had ordered her to protect him. And now... her king, the one she had sworn to
protect since she was born had given her an order.
For the first ti in her existence, two commands clashed inside her.
But in the end, she obeyed, thinking it was right to obey the command of the king in this
situation.
Slowly, she turned her head to where Lori lay unconscious, her serpentine twitching slightly
in her sleep.
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