Chapter 14: Hidden Dungeon (7) Towards Azeroth

"Alright, kitty, the moment you see a chance, teleport us out of this underground bunker," Elysia asked the cat after learning about her powers, which included Shadow and Lightning Manipulation, as well as Necromancy. Or should it be Cat-Necromancy?

With the ones whom the cat kills, she can summon them using Necromancy in the form of cats, thus creating a legion of cats with varying abilities. Using Shadow Manipulation, the cat can teleport anyone with her as long as she is touching their shadows to another location with a shadow.

"Meow?" The cat tilted her head, almost as if asking – 'why did you enter this place if you wanted to leave without doing anything?'

Elysia, almost as if understanding what the cat was saying, said with shining eyes, "I came to gather information, and after I would have gained control over someone, I would have left this place. But now that I have you, do I need someone else when you can protect this damsel?"

The cat, as if understanding her, meowed in happiness, and her tail kept swinging in delight while sitting at the head of Elysia.

"Seriously, what do humans do in jealousy, envy, and hatred that they kill anyone they want while justifying their actions," Elysia muttered, gazing at a man consoling a woman who had lost her lover while trying to fight against the liger amidst the mission to protect the civilians, among whom she was also present.

Elysia witnessed everything: the man's use of a skill to immobilize Sebs, allowing the liger to strike, and the satisfaction evident on his face as he watched the girl mourn Sebs's death. She observed his attempts to console her, his apparent desire to win her affection.

This experience is precisely why Elysia loathes revealing her vulnerable side to others. She knows they could exploit it to manipulate her, and she's uncertain whether she would resist their influence. Consequently, she projects an air of cruelty and heartlessness to keep others from penetrating her defenses. However, after spending a considerable amount of time with her brother, sister, and friends, she eventually opened up to them, recognizing the sincerity in their hearts.

Suddenly, a massive vibration reverberated throughout the area, accompanied by debris cascading from the ceiling, plunging everyone into a state of alarm. However, this was the opportunity Elysia had been awaiting, and the cat recognized it as well. With swift precision, she leaped down from Elysia's head and touched her shadow on the ground. In the next instant, the shadow expanded, enveloping Elysia and the cat, causing them to vanish from their previous location and reappear amidst the distant forest, far from the outskirts of Fantastic City.

Elysia surveyed the direction they had appeared from, her eyes momentarily glowing purple before returning to their usual red hue. She nodded approvingly and fixed her gaze on a distant location to the southwest. Once again, her eyes shimmered with a purple light.

She gazed upon the land of eternal starlight, forever shrouded in darkness, its natural boundary marked by a mountain range.

She pondered that the objective she needed to complete could only be achieved there; it remained veiled in mystery, with none aware of the crystal tree's existence. If it held the power to cure her of a mythical curse, it would be truly precious—enough to ignite anyone's greed.

She also realized that the place had to be heavily guarded to protect whatever lay within. If she ventured alone, she would have to rely on mana, hastening her demise. Should she encounter a serious confrontation, her survival was not assured. The Crystal Tree might not even be located at Azeroth, so she desired a bodyguard. As luck would have it, one found her—though she couldn't fathom why the cat had chosen her. Nonetheless, as long as it could protect her and spare her from battle, she didn't care. Survival was her foremost concern; everything else paled in comparison.

"Curse Status"

[30.57%]

"Tch, already at 30.57%. At this rate, it will reach 70% in no time, and I won't be able to move this body anymore. In my spirit state, I cannot interact with physical objects or elementals. I've got to hurry."

Spirits—a race formed entirely from spirit mana, better known to exist in the soul state. Every spirit can advance in rank, but unlike physical beings, a spirit's entire existence grows. However, they possess a significant flaw—they cannot interact with elemental or physical beings or objects. Likewise, others cannot interact with spirits unless they use spirit means, which is extremely difficult for anyone.

A spirit can only interact with physical or elemental objects if they have a contract with them. However, it is not vice versa. Regardless of whether physical beings form a contract or not, they cannot interact with spirits. They can only interact with those spirits with whom they have a contract.

After confirming her chances of dying, Elysia sets off towards Azeroth.

***

"Grey Seedling, an organization that strives to protect any and all—a name unfamiliar to me," remarked the woman.

As Nova and his friends introduced themselves while mentioning Grey Seedling, she ignored them, her gaze fixated solely on Nova, as if her eyes were magnets naturally drawn to him.

Initially amusing, Nova now felt a growing unease under her unwavering stare.

As narcissistic as he was, her gaze made him uncomfortable, as if she were devouring him with her eyes.

"And your mission is to kill an individual named Aurora Araceli—a foul said to be the symbol of destruction," she declared.

She spoke in nonchalance while still surrounded by her fellow comrades.

"I guess since you guys are not familiar with royalty, I owe you an introduction. My name is Rewi Frostalia von Blizzard, the only princess among the Phoenix Race, and these two gentlemen are my husbands, Ath Fury and Kite Jental."

"A reverse harem? Looks like she's not easily satisfied," Aisha whispered to Alora, only to be shushed by her sister.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ath and Kite," Nova greeted the two husbands with a polite smile, without delay.

"It's good to be friendly with these two, as you are going to be among them as well," Rewi remarked.

"Huh?" Nova responded, puzzled.

"So, you didn't understand. Let me explain to you: after my errand, you will become my third husband," Rewi clarified.

…

Nova Alacia's POV

Throughout my life, I have only loved a single woman: Analise Ventus. Even after many women came into my life, I just couldn't accept any of them. And now, this woman wants me to become her husband. This fucking bitch.

I swear I will kill her.

"So, Nova, will you be kind and tell me about your Phoenix lineage?" Rewi asked, seated beside me in this cursed carriage.

"I do not know what you are talking about, Your Highness."

Of course, I am not a Phoenix. I think she is sensing my spirit, and I really want to tell her, but then she might try to kill all of us and forcefully take the Phoenix Spirit.

"Hmm, then I guess you really do not know about it," Rewi remarked.

Thank God she didn't probe further, or else I might get trapped.

"Sigh... you really are so handsome,"

While saying so, this woman casually put her hands on top of my thighs. If she tries to force herself on me, then I will let precaution go to the wind and attack her forcefully.

KNOCK KNOCK

To my rescue, a knocking sound came urgently, letting me release a sigh of relief.

"Wha-?"

What the hell? She just placed her hand on my pants above my dick. Yup, that's it. I am going to kill her.

With a roll, the windowpane came down, and a guard's voice was heard, which gave me a rescue from being assaulted.

"Your Highness, we've lost all communication from the assault team, and I received a message that all other races have lost communication as well."

"Was there any report before we lost contact?"

"Yes, Your Highness. It seems they encountered a lone Vampire Girl, and they requested permission for assault. I gave them the go-ahead, as we already knew the location of The Vampire's Camp."

"Then I assume they died fighting against her. Was there anything else from other royals?"

"Yes, Your Highness. Apparently, they all encountered a lone Vampire Girl with brown hair having red tips and red eyes—the same girl our assault team encountered. I assume they all died by her hands," he added in a grave tone.

"Hahaha! So she alone killed 6 X Ranks, 20 SSS Ranks, 50 S Ranks, and 200 A Ranks. Things just got extremely exciting," she laughed, madness evident in her eyes. A crazy amount of pressure was released from her, which I think is at the peak of X Rank, but she seems even stronger than that.

But still, if we want, we can kill her at any time. The problem is that everyone here is at Peak X Rank, with the guard who just spoke being at Z Rank, while we all are at Peak X Rank.

***

Third Person POV

"My my, so many cats. It's seriously strange to see them all harboring different racial aspects while still being cats," Elysia said to herself, gazing at the various cats of different appearances. Some had draconic skin and tails, others had plain blue skin and fish tails, some had orange feathers for fur, green skin and long elf-like ears, while others had black skin and demonic red eyes like Ingenari. There were also some that were short with excessive fur on their bodies like cambions.

In total, there were 300 cats in front of her, all either A Rank or above, with 6 X Ranks among them.

"M-meow," she heard a cat mew in pain above her, prompting her to take it in her hands. She gazed into its chaotic violet-colored eyes, noticing sparks of purple electricity surrounding her, which numbed Elysia. Despite the discomfort, she continued to gaze at the cat's beautiful eyes.

"Kitty, it's about time you show me your stats," Elysia whispered, fully aware that the cat could understand her completely, unlike other monsters.

In response, the cat mewed once more, still in pain, and a black screen with red words materialized in front of Elysia.

===STATUS===

Name: Aurora Araceli

Race: Foul

Affinity: Destruction, Shadow-Death, Lightning

Rank: Peak Epic (Peak Superior God)

Fragment: Destruction x5

===END===

"Hmm... a named monster and a foul? What is that? Destruction, Shadow-Death? Fragmen-"

The moment she gazed at the word "fragment," suddenly a massive amount of mana was released from Elysia, and her eyes shone in a purple color.

With the passing of mana, all traces of emotion vanished from Elysia's face, and she gazed at the screen without any emotion.

"Five Fragments of Destruction, huh? Someone is so close to it," she muttered without any emotion, then stopped paying any attention to the screen, instead gazing forward as if looking at a faraway place.

"The Crystal Tree, the tree of myth which can cure anything and make anyone immune to any kind of negative aspect. Sigh... my only hope to survive," she muttered, this time with faint emotion.

"Kitty, never show the fragment thingy to anyone, okay? And yeah, if you want to survive, then kill your consciousness and become my pet, okay?" she said, her eyes shining in hypnotic purple light. Aurora's eyes mirrored the purple light before vanishing and returning to their violet color, and the fragment stats were removed from her screen.

"Guard me, okay?" With that, Elysia collapsed, while Aurora meowed once again.

***

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Thx for AlfDeT_Valedstorm for always thanking me for the chapters and being active, it tells me that atleast there is one person reading my work.

Thank You :)