Chapter Thirty

The courtyard is now a battleground, with shattered remnants of the once-grand city surrounding them. The sky above is obscured by dark clouds, heavy with the weight of destruction

Maple, still radiating an eerie black-and-white aura, relaxes slightly as Chrome's reassuring presence grounds her. The city around them lies in ruins, with buildings reduced to rubble and streets coated in frost and steam. Survivors of the battle peek out from behind shattered walls and debris, their faces etched with fear and awe.

Talia, now more aware of the situation, carefully picks herself up from the icy floor. "Aww... the fight is over." she says, pouting her face. Her eyes wide in glee as she surveys the damage.

Maple's eyes soften as she looks at her friends and the devastation around her. "You're right," she says, her voice steady but tinged with regret. "I didn't mean for things to get so out of control. But I won't let anyone hurt my friends."

Kaelith, now steadier on her feet, approaches Rory, who is still struggling to control her fragment. She places a gentle hand on Rory's shoulder, her touch calming and reassuring.

Rory's trembling lessens as she takes a deep breath, her eyes closing as she focuses on regaining control. "I'm cool, it'll just take a while," she whispers, her voice barely audible. The black energy around her dissipates slowly.

"No one has to die today, Garuth. We'll need all the help we can get. I'll... talk to my sister." Hamarie's tender voice calms the Sin of Pride.

Garuth sends a condescending look towards his son. Nahand flinches from his father's gaze. He turns to stare at the red headed female hiding behind the girl with the hammer, his niece.

Slowly he turns and walks through the broken wall of what was once a grand castle.

"Reset." His voice echoes and the city glitches back into place, looking like the previous altercations didn't happen.

Talia, still pouting, jumps and latches herself to Monarcha's visor once again, the golem walking a half step behind Garuth with large steps.

Thalion wipes off drops of sweat from his neck. "I think... Yeah I'm going to take my leave, the elves will keep an eye out for any activities." His entourage basically crawl out from underneath the rubble.

Kaelith calls for her Sundow warriors who begin preparations for a portal.

A voice cuts through the air. "Where's Yui? Maple I can't find Yui." Mai draws attention with her panicked figure as she looks around for her other half.

Chrome rushes towards Mai and Silvari. "What's going on, when last did you see her?" Mai, still panicking answers. "Back when you healed yourself. I haven't seen her since."

Thalion halts his steps and turns around. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Varkos in a while."

Realization dawns on the people present as Hamarie breathes out her words. "Oh no." Her words hang in the air like a dark omen.

|| Cover Move ||

Faster than they can blink, Maple is gone, disappearing in a flash of light.

Hamarie lets out a sigh, a small smile on her face. "No one had to die today."

////

(Six minutes earlier)

The Sin of Envy turns to Namarie with a questioning gaze. "One of yours?" Namarie chuckles with a teasing smile. "Not entirely... They're adventurers I hired for this meeting." Varkos raises an eyebrow to this. "So... no ones then."

Hamarie turns to her sister's amused figure. "I have to say, they're... rather intriguing. Although, Varkos, it's a little early to-" The Sin of Lust's voice is reduced to background noise as Varkos sets his sights on the black haired girl.

'Such strength, while so young.' He watches as the black haired girl raises her hammer against the Sin of Pride. 'It will be fun breaking her... but I can't take her in front of the others, what if they want her for themselves. Oh?'

His gaze lands on a new figure. White hair with am identical face to the girl with the hammer. 'Twins? Ah I see, this works too, two for the price of one. Since they belong to no one, then they're free for the taking.'

With a mental command, reality warps around the little figure, her pink eyes widening for a moment before she vanishes.

'Well, i don't have anything else to do here, Garuth should deal with them so i can have my fun.' With that done, the Sin of Envy shimmers out of the palace, his presence fading away.

If he had stayed just a little longer, he would have realized just how much he had messed up.

////

(Now)

"Welcome back, Lord Varkos." Sanach gives a small bow as he watches his charge walk in through a portal.

His eye twitches. Floating behind his master, is a white haired girl.

Surrounded by glowing letters that wrapped around her tightly, the young girl struggles vehemently against her restraints.

"Lord Varkos... may I ask who our guest is?" The little girl glares at the butler but he pays her mind.

Varkos walks past his butler as maids attend to him, "She's another addition to my collection. Though there's another I was hoping for." He turns to face his captive, her vibrant pink eyes staring holes through him.

Varkos's gaze lingers on the white-haired girl, a sly smile spreading across his face.

The girl's pink eyes flash with defiance, but she remains silent, her struggles against the glowing restraints growing more intense.

Varkos's smile widens, his voice dripping with condescension. "You'll learn to obey, little one. You'll learn to please me. And if you don't... well, let's just say I have ways of persuading you."

The girl's face twists in rage, her eyes blazing with fury, but she remains silent, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"Take her down to my chambers, I'll be there shortly." Varkos's words hang in the air, and the atmosphere in the room shifts, the tension thickening like a palpable fog. Sanach's expression remains neutral, but his eyes flicker with a hint of curiosity, his gaze darting between Varkos and the struggling girl.

The maids, their faces expressionless, move with practiced efficiency, their hands gentle but firm as they escort the girl out of the room, her pink eyes flashing with defiance, her struggles growing more intense.

Varkos watches her go, his smile widening, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Ah, the fire in her eyes... it's almost... palpable."

The maids' steps echo down the cold, stone corridor, the oppressive silence broken only by the girl's occasional grunts of effort as she tries to free herself. The air grows colder as they descend deeper into Varkos's domain, the walls adorned with grim relics.

The door to his chambers creaks open, revealing a room lit by a dim, eerie glow. Chains and restraints hang from the walls, and the scent of old blood lingers in the air. The maids roughly push the girl into the room, securing her to a cold, metal table riddled with spell formations in the center.

Varkos arrives shortly after, his eyes gleaming with sadistic delight. He approaches the table, his fingers trailing over the various tools and instruments laid out with meticulous care. He picks up a slender blade, its edge glinting in the dim light.

"Now, little one," he purrs, "let's see how long that fire in your eyes lasts."

The girl glares up at him, her defiance faltering. "You'll regret this," she hisses, her voice breaking with rage.

Varkos chuckles, the sound low and menacing. "I highly doubt that," he replies, the blade descending toward her skin.

Just as the blade is about to make contact, a blinding flash of light fills the room, and Varkos stumbles back, shielding his eyes. When the light fades, Maple stands before him, her aura radiating with righteous fury.

The walls of the 'dungeon' begins trembling with her rising rage. "What." She takes a step forward. "Is wrong with you people... this world?"

Varkos simply stares at the black haired girl before him, his thoughts racing. 'How did she get here? Apart from that damned Hamarie and her sister, no one can pass through my aethic defense matrix.'

|| Paralysing Shock ||

With Maple as the center, yellow lightning crackles out into the room, running along the walls and targeting the Sin of Envy.

The light in his chest pulses as he disappears in a teleportation spell, the lightning sailing by harmlessly.

Maple doesn't give chase however and runs over to untie Yui. "Yui are you ok? I'm so sorry, I... I didn't know, I should have..." She unties the bindings, the spell giving a resounding snap the moment it comes in contact with Maple. Immediately the bindings come off Yui envelopes Maple in a bone crushing hug, Maple's black armor cracking in multiple places before amending itself.

Trembling, Yui whispers. "I was... I was so scared... I-i don't wanna... be here." Her tears run down the metal of Maple's armor.

A resounding snap echoes in Maple's mind. Her heart beat quickens and the irises of her eyes gain a blood red tint. She strokes Yui's white hair tenderly while a black miasmic aura envelopes them, darkening the already dark room.

The shadows turn miasmic, making bubbling sounds and releasing fluid black as coal as Maple decrees.

|| Predator ||

A tail snakes out from beneath the now formed pool of black sludge.

Curly, ram-like horns. Head still down, it growls. With an array of limbs, it pulls itself out, it's full height at four meters.

With a low growl it turns to Maple. "Go." She orders. The demon howls, and with a rage filled fervor, it bursts through the massive doors exiting the room.

The sludge ripples, and another demon crawls out, then another, and another, and another.

A cacophony of howls echoes across the borders of the kingdom of Malakar.