Chapter Forty Four: Decision and a New Ally?
Moments later, Eris sits on the black throne wearing her usual red dress, beautiful jewelry, and evil-looking crown. In front of her, there are thirty two individuals kneeling in her presence. Her thirty commanders as well as Serena and Rose look at the powerful vampire with anticipation as they await her words.
"I've made my decision. I'm going to rule over the vampires of Rimore."
Serena gains an excited expression, "Are you serious?!"
Eris smiles in response, "I am. However, I cannot do this alone. If I'm going to rule, I'm going to need your help."
"We shall do anything that you require of us, Empress. Just say the word," answers Hadrian.
"I'm glad. Because you, along with the rest of the Four Horsemen shall be my advisors and bodyguards. The Seven Deadly Sins shall be responsible for overseeing the military. The Nine Rulers of Purgatory will spearhead the nation's technological and magical development, as well as other domestic affairs. And The Ten Commandments shall be responsible for foreign affairs. I'll be establishing a spy unit consisting of the shadow stealth units that'll work under the Ten Commandments. Is that understood?"
"Yes, your highness," answers all thirty two individuals at the same time.
"Good. We'll move out in two weeks. I'll be taking Hadrian, Chrono, Lucina, Taila, Serena, and Rose with me. Prepare the shadows to move out at a moment's notice, should something go wrong. I'm not sure what kind of welcome I'll receive there, so all of you should prepare for a fight just in case. Until we move out, I want you all to study up on the aspects of the aspects of the kingdom that I'm assigning you to."
"It shall be done as you request, Empress," says Hadrian.
"Good. Now go. You all should start immediately."
Two more days pass. Eris spends these days reading in the library and training with Serena and Rose in the underground arena. Eris is currently standing on one side of the arena with Hdrian at her side with Serena standing on the other side, fused with Rose. Serena is breathing heavily with drops of sweat running down her face while the other vampire and the dragon knight stand cool and composed.
"Your spell casting is getting stronger and faster, as are your physical attacks. The growth in your strength is quite fast. At this point, if you were to go for the throne of Rimore, I doubt you'd lose to any other vampire," says Eris with a smile.
"I don't think so," answers Serena, sounding like she and Rose are speaking at the same time, "The current king is really strong himself. And he also has a contracted spirit too."
"Speaking of which, why don't you get yourself a contracted spirit, Empress? It would definitely increase your strength by a large amount," suggests Hadrian.
"I'll think about it. Huh?"
Suddenly, Eris receives a mental link from one of her bat familiars, alerting her of something that it's seen. She uses this link to see through the bat's eyes and finds what she sees interesting. There's a fancy-looking, gilded carriage with knights clad in light armor protecting it from other knights that have surrounded it. Based on the shape of their armor, Eris determines the attacking party to be from the Theocracy of Reogradia. And based on the crest that lies on the door of the carriage, she determines it to be from the Mikhail Kingdom.
Eris' curious expression contorts into an evil smile, "Interesting."
"What is it, Empress?" Hadrian asks.
"It seems like there's a battle going on not far from here. And I'm thinking about joining."
"Would you like to fly there together?"
Eris shakes her head, "Flying would take too long. We're going to have to warp there." she turns to Serena, now unfused with her spirit, "Serena, Rose, keep training until we get back."
"Seriously?" Serena asks with an exhausted/saddened expression.
"Stop complaining. If we're not back by sundown, then you can stop. Now, let's get going." she says while thinking, "I hope that this individual that I'm about to save is who I think they are."