Choosing a Party

As the teleportation mechanism Kishirika used to traverse between her castle, Fort Necross, and three other locations required something akin to biometric data, Paul and Party had no choice but to travel to the Capital City of Rikarisu directly. It was more than 1300kms away, but, thanks to Ganyu and Venti, it only took around two and a half hours to reach their destination, a colossal, 8km wide crater surrounding a futuristic-looking black castle that was elevated hundreds of meters above the actual city.

Though most people were forced to travel through one of three gates, all of which were massive cracks in the rim of the crater, Kishirika had given Ganyu her 'permission' to fly over the natural barrier. At first, Paul thought this was just Kishirika pretending to be magnanimous, but the reality was quite a bit different.

With the intention of making good on her promise to share her wisdom, Kishirika eagerly explained, "A few thousand years ago, the First King of Man, a man you may know as Ars Anemoi Asura, launched an attack on my castle from high in the sky. His attack devastated the surroundings and formed the crater you see before you. To prevent similar attacks, we installed several countermeasures, chief among them being a network of magical lasers that can take down even drakes. Did you ever wonder why there were so many holes in the surrounding crater...?"

Shaking his head, Paul reminded, "This is my first time visiting the Capital. I've read about it, but objective information about the Demon Continent and its history is difficult to come by. There's a reason the King of Asura sent me to conduct a survey."

Narrowing her eyes, Kishirika adopted an increasingly alluring smile as she mused, "Oh, yeah...I almost forgot you were a spy..."

Seeing Paul's face scrunch up, Kishirika covered her mouth to stifle an impish snicker before quickly changing the subject, stating, "Have your little Qilin friend land atop one of the towers. It doesn't matter which as Fayde will be able to teleport us to the Main Hall once we summon her."

Though Ganyu could hear the conversations on her back, Paul dutifully repeated Kishirika's words. There was no genuine hostility between the two, but Ganyu didn't like taking orders from people she didn't respect or admire. She would obey Kishirika if ordered to do so, but she wouldn't be happy about it...

As if she had been waiting for them to appear, a fairly demonic-looking woman appeared a few meters away from the spot Ganyu touched down. The skin of her chest, abdomen, and inner thighs was a pale, bluish-white that resembled the underside of a snake, while her arms, legs, and much of her back were covered in obsidian-black scales that reflected a purple hue. She had black hair that faded into a luminous blue near the tips, ears even longer than an Elf's, and blue eyes set with red, slit-like pupils. A set of four glowing blue horns protruded from her scalp, much like a crown, while a smaller yet equally luminous horn parted her bangs at the center of her forehead. Crystal-like protrusions released a similar light above and below her breasts, but, as striking as her apparent nudity was, a person's eyes would invariably be drawn to her draconic wings, the tail protruding from her lower back, and the fierce, glowing blue talons at the ends of her fingers...

Elbowing Paul in the ribs, Kishirika adopted her characteristically shark-toothed grin as she asked, "What do you think? If you ask nicely, I might let you bed her."

Answering before Paul could even roll his eyes, the demonic-looking woman adopted a venomous glower as she said, "I heard that...don't go thinking I'll obey your every command just because you're on the verge of regaining your authority. My contract is to protect the castle, not entertain its guests."

Though her words were directed at Kishirika, the demonic beauty, known to only a select few Fayde the Twilight, stared into Paul's eyes with a hint of confusion in her otherwise icy gaze. Very, very few people were aware of it, but she was actually the daughter of Almanfi the Bright and Adrienne the Dark. She had inherited her father's ability to ascertain the nature and identity of a person by observing their 'soul,' but Paul was unlike anything she had ever seen...

Interrupting Fayde's thoughts, Kishirika leaned close to Paul, her hand pointlessly covering the lower half of her face as she loudly whispered, "I think she likes you..."

Clicking her tongue, Fayde crossed her arms in a defiant posture as she said, "If you're going to keep messing around, I'm going to return to my slumber. Even doing absolutely nothing is more productive than listening to you prattle on like a fool."

Though she was tempted to let Fayde depart only to order her to return, Kishirika ultimately shrugged her shoulders and said, "Fine, fine, no need to be such a curmudgeon. Once you teleport us to the Main Hall, you can go about your business."

Snorting through her nose, Fayde responded with a faint, "Whatever..." before casting her gaze over the members of Paul's Party and stating, "It seems your memory has finally begun to fail you. In accordance with the Ancient Covenant, I can only allow seven people to enter and attempt the castle's trials. Including you, there are nine people present..."

Dismissively waving her hand, Kishirika said, "Some of them are only here to explore after the fact. For now, you can teleport me, this man here, the two big-breasted monsters, these two wannabe exorcists, and the horny goat woman."

Realizing she was among the group being excluded, alongside Yae, Sayu adopted a concerned expression and said, "It's probably for the best if I enter with the main group. I'm skilled at avoiding detection, mapping, and locating traps."

Catching Kishirika a little off guard, Paul adopted a wry smile, nodded his head, and added, "If anyone should remain outside, it's probably me. As much as I've improved these past three months, I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself powerful. I'll wait here..."

Though some might misinterpret Paul's words as cowardice, everyone present could tell he really wanted to enter the castle. It hadn't received a classification from the Guild, but the interior of Kishirika's palace could be considered an S-Rank Dungeon due to the complexity of its structure and the strength of its automated defenses. He had been yearning for a chance to test his skills in live combat, so it took a considerable amount of restraint for him to just sit back and leave everything to the girls from the IOF...

Fortunately for Paul, Kishirika trusted him a lot more than the 'Spirits' in his employ. There was no way she was going to enter her castle alongside monsters such as Zhongli and Ei without some form of assurance, so she immediately made a cross shape with her arms and said, "Bzzzt! Rejected! You're coming along, and that's final!"

Understanding that Paul really wanted to enter the castle, Yunyun came to Kishirika's aid, calmly suggesting, "Lady Ganyu and my Great Aunt are far more skilled at exorcising spirits than me. I can remain here alongside Lady Yae while you join everyone in exploring the castle's interior..."

Though she had no interest in exploring Kishirika's castle, Yae narrowed her eyes and mused, "You're pretty bold to nominate me without asking for my thoughts on the matter."

Feeling goosebumps develop across her body, Yunyun could be seen visibly sweating as she positioned her aunt, Shenhe, between herself and Yae. She wasn't good at dealing with 'devilish' women such as Yae, so she was already beginning to regret her decision to stay behind with the pink-haired vixen...

Catching Yae a little off guard, Shenhe gave her a fairly icy glare as she said, "I'll remain behind with Yunyun. You should accompany our Master and look after your Mistress..."

Sensing genuine hostility exuding from Shenhe, Yae blinked in surprise and muttered a faint, "Oh my..." She knew about Shenhe's murderous split personality, but this was the first time she had experienced being on the receiving end of the silver-haired woman's bloodlust.

Stepping between the two beauties, Paul adopted his characteristically wry smile and said, "Let's leave it at that. Shenhe and Yunyun will remain here while the rest of us enter the castle. Better yet, why don't the two of you go and explore the city while we're away? Here, this should be more than enough money to tide you over..."

Since Shenhe lacked common sense due to her prolonged isolation, Paul handed Yunyun a pouch filled with nearly three hundred Green Ore Coins. It was a paltry amount if converted to Asuran currency, but it was a small fortune in a place like Rikarisu.

Accepting the rather sizeable pouch, Yunyun adopted a rare smile as she said, "Thanks..." in a faint, almost bashful tone. Presumably realizing this, she quickly cleared her throat, adopted a serious expression, and added, "Good luck. If you encounter anything dangerous, please prioritize your safety over everything else."

Adopting a smile of his own, Paul was about to thank Yunyun for her concern when Fayde chimed in to pointedly inquire, "Just how long do you fools intend to keep me waiting? If you don't make up your mind soon, I'm disbarring you from entering the castle for at least a month."

Though she couldn't stop Kishirika from entering whenever she wanted, Fayde could prevent 'outsiders' from challenging the castle's trials. The Ancient Covenant only required her to permit Heroes and their respective Parties to enter, so if Paul's group continued to annoy her, she could send them away until they earned the qualifications to return.

As she was also beginning to feel a little antsy, Kishirika followed Fayde's threat by saying, "The horny, wannabe dragon spirit is right. I'd like to be able to sit on my throne and inspect what remains of my treasury, so let's get a move on."

Annoyed by Kishirika's words, Fayde barred her row of razor-sharp, pearly white teeth. If not for the contract she had made to spite her parents, she would never put up with Kishirika's antics.

Fearing that Fayde would make good on her promise to deny them entry, Paul promptly covered Kishirika's mouth from behind, his left eye visibly twitching as he said, "Please teleport us inside. We've already made our preparations."

Seeing Kishirika struggle in Paul's embrace, an amused smile developed across Fayde's face as she replied, "Very well. Just know that once you enter, the only way to leave is by completing the trials within. I'm not sure what this fool promised to procure your aid, but there'll be no turning back once she reclaims her throne..."

Maintaining his smile, Paul left Fayde at a momentary loss for words as he expressed, "I appreciate your concern, but I promised I would help her. If I turned back now, I would be leaving one of the most important pieces of myself behind...my dignity..."

Recovering almost immediately, Fayde raised her right hand and bit down on the sharpened tip of her right pinky. She had suspected that Paul was a Hero candidate, but hearing him speak all but confirmed it. Since Spirits were obligated to aid Heroes, Fayde would be lying if she said Paul hadn't piqued her interest...

"Very well, then...you have clearly formed your resolve, so I have nothing more to say. I wish you and your allies the best of luck..."

Without waiting for Paul's response, Fayde removed her finger from her mouth and tapped on empty air. As she did, what appeared to be a blue holographic display appeared. Unfortunately, Paul could only get a brief glimpse of it before his stomach felt as though it was being twisted and pulled in multiple directions...

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