Book 4, chapter 24

Humming a jaunty tune Zee strode down a wide, carpeted hallway, admiring the murals painted along the walls. The mansion was big, with several dining rooms, but thankfully she didn't need to check them all.

Her spatial ripple skill was incredibly useful at times like this. She found the people she was looking for in a large dining room, close to the main foyer.

Malden, Allison, and her grandpa were seated at a large table, eating. From the hallway, their conversations were muted somehow, as if they were using some sort of skill to block anyone trying to overhear them.

Well, so much for eavesdropping.

Adopting a smile she entered the room, the smell of baked bread, making her mouth water. 

She met Julian's eyes, which twinkled in amusement. He clearly knew she was trying to eavesdrop.

"Nice of you to join us," Julian said. 

"Good morning Grandpa, what are you three discussing?" Zee asked, giving Malden and Allison a curious glance.

Malden sat up a little straighter, his fluffy black ears rigid. 

"We were discussing the possibility of ferrying home aboard your grandpa's ship," Malden replied.

Zee's heart skipped a beat. 

Well, crap, she had been hoping they might come with her since they couldn't go home, but this ruined her plans. Now might be a good time to spill the beans as it were.

"You don't need to go back to Iztara, the planet will be safe," Zee said, confidently, taking a seat next to her grandpa.

"Prey tell, how do you know that?" Allison asked doubtfully, daintily sipping from a cup of fragrant tea.

Zee snatched a steaming loaf of bread from a plate and took a bite. 

"I'm blackmailing someone in order to protect your home planet," Zee said through a mouthful of buttery pastry.

"Zee, stop messing with us, this is a serious conversation, " Malden cut in.

She looked the crown prince dead in the eye. "I am not messing with you. Your planet is fine, trust me." Zee said.

Allison gave Zee a warning look. "You are going to have to give us more information than that. Who are you blackmailing, and how are they going to save Iztara from an undead invasion?" Allison asked.

Zee took another bite of the delightfully soft bread, chewing thoughtfully.

"Sorry, I can't reveal who they are. Suffice it to say, they are powerful, and I have blackmailed them to protect Iztara," Zee said.

"How powerful?" Allison asked.

"Well, they used to be the patriarch of a B-grade empire," Zee said.

That made her grandpa perk up.

"I have a spatial barrier around us, no one will hear if you say their name?" Julian said.

Zee glanced at Allison and Malden, who didn't look convinced in the slightest. She realized she would need to be a little more forthright if she wanted to convince them.  Zee took a deep breath before speaking.

"His name is Tarnival, former patriarch of the heaven fall empire," Zee said.

Julian's face went white as a sheet, his hands clenching into fists.

"Is something wrong grandpa?" Zee asked.

Julian took a deep breath, his gaze locking on the book that hovered around the room, poking and prodding at the decorations.

" Sendredie told me about an ominous presence that held a domain over the library. It takes a lot to keep the mad witch out of anywhere, much less scare her." Julian said.

"So, you believe me?" Zee asked.

Julian exhaled sharply. "I believe that someone powerful resides in That library. More importantly, you mentioned you were blackmailing them," Julian asked.

"Well, Tar tricked me into a blood contract with that living book. In retaliation, I threatened to tell everyone who and where he was if he didn't protect Iztara from the invasion," Zee said.

Julian looked like he had just swallowed a lemon. 

"Is he the one who taught you those distasteful rituals?" Julian asked unhappily.

"Ya, he may be a senile old geezer, but he is pretty good at rituals," Zee replied.

Julian let out a scornful laugh.

"Tarnival is one of the greatest ritualists of all time. Too bad he is insane. He wiped out trillions of people in a mass sacrifice, all in a bid to rank up," Julian said.

"He said that was in self-defense," Zee replied.

Julian shook his head," The how or why does not matter. What does matter is the fact that he is a war criminal who has the likes of the Ashary, and the Kul a Var hunting for him," Julian said.

"You are not going to tell them are you?" Zee asked worriedly.

Julian groaned, "Of course not, I am not suicidal. Besides, that would draw attention to us, which we don't want. Especially since you are bonded with a banished Ashary." Julian said. 

"Why is everyone so worried about Dern? Who cares if we are bonded?" Zee asked. 

Julian took a deep, calming breath, letting it out slowly.

"That is a conversation for another time. Now, tell me why you thought it was a good idea to threaten Tarnival? He could squash you like a bug," Julian said.

Zee glanced over at the princess and Malden.

"I was hoping to protect Iztara, so Allison and Yukna would come with us," Zee replied defensively.

Allison's lips turned up into a smile. "I should have known you would find a way to both mess things up, and resolve our problem," Allison said.

"Atleast someone believe in me. And grandpa, Tar is grouchy but harmless. That old geezer wouldn't hurt a fly, well, unless they destroyed any of his books," Zee said. 

"I have met the guy, he is not harmless at all," Allison said with a shiver.

Julian raised a hand to pause the conversation, just as a side door burst open, and a frantic-looking arachnid cultivator burst in.

He wore the grey livery of some noble house, his aura exuding the pressure of an early D-grade cultivator.

"Lord Julian, the patriarch humbly requests your presence as soon as you are able," the spider said, its tone urgent. 

Julian frowned over at the arachnid cultivator, making the oversized spider fidget nervously.

"What is so important that you come in here and rudely interrupt my breakfast?" Julian asked, his tone impatient.

"The Terlashar has sent an envoy," the messenger replied.

"I see, has this envoy requested my presence?" Julian asked pointedly.

"No, lord," the messenger replied hesitantly.

"Has the envoy of the Terlashar specifically requested that I not attend the meeting?" Julian asked.

Zee didn't know if the arachnid species could sweat, but this one certainly did. There was a long silence as the messenger shifted nervously, grinding his front legs together.

Julian stood and rested his hands flat on the table, seeming to loom over the messenger, despite being across the room.

After nearly twenty seconds, the messenger finally broke the silence.

"The patriarch has offered an artifact of your choice from his treasury if you attend," the messenger deflected smoothly. 

"An artifact? What about the materials we already paid for to repair the ship? It's been five days, and still, most of the components have not arrived." Julian countered.

"You must understand, that those components are difficult to obtain considering the circumstances. They will take more time to secure," the messenger replied.

Julian huffed in annoyance. "Very well, you may inform the patriarch that I will attend," Julian replied.

Taking that as a dismissal, the spider fled, scurrying back the way it came. 

Zee waited for the messenger to leave, before speaking, "What was that about?" Zee asked. 

Julian sighed, looking frustrated. "The patriarch is stalling. The components to repair the ship are not that difficult to get, and yet, they keep coming up with excuses." Julian replied. 

"Sounds like you have a handful, Grandpa,"  Zee gestured with her fork toward Allison, and Malden. "These two are both royalty and well-versed in political intrigue," Zee said.

Julian hummed thoughtfully, but shook his head after a few seconds," I would bring them, but they are to weak. Their words will lack any weight because they do not have the power to back them," Julian said.

Zee furrowed her brows. "Now that is just stupid and you know it. I have met plenty of people who are of a higher rank than myself and I wouldn't trust some of them with cleaning a latrine," Zee said. 

Julian laughed, his annoyed expression fading. "That's a good one, Sendredie said something similar. That woman hates politics more than I do," Julian said. 

Allison tucked a lock of white hair behind one ear, giving Zee a sideways glance.

"Zee, didn't we already talk about this? You are not allowed to volunteer me for things," Allison said.

"I thought you liked politics?" Zee replied, unashamedly. 

Malden snorted," Of all your stupid ideas, this has to take the cake. Julian is right, no one will give a lizard's scaly ass about what we say, because we are E-grade cultivators." Malden said. 

"Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Maldy, maybe you should stay here on Tartana, if you are here the undead might avoid the place so as not to associate with you." Zee said. 

"About that, Zee, how exactly is your friend going to save our planet," Allison piped in.

Zee shrugged, skewering an egg and some meat that were on ornate plates in the middle of her plate. 

"I don't know, he never told me. But don't worry, he said he would protect Iztara, and I believe him," Zee said.

Allison gave Zee a telling look. "Such a baseless promise might work for you, but not for me. When is Tarnival going to do his thing?" Allison asked.

At the head of the table, Julian stood, wiping his lips with a napkin.

"I see you three have a lot to discuss. I best not keep the envoy waiting. Allison, I trust you will my granddaughter out of danger while I'm gone?" Julian said. 

The princess nodded. In the next moment, Julian simply vanished, without so much as a ripple in the world river, or a disturbance in space. It was still creepy no matter how much she saw it. 

Silence fell over the dining hall, as the three ate, an odd tension in the air.

Zee knew it was going to be tough to convince Allison to come with her, but this was ridiculous.

How was she supposed to prove Tar's sincerity when Zee herself didn't know what the old geezer was planning? A small leather-bound book floated through the air, hovering above Malden's head.

His fluffy black ears kept twitching, which seemed to draw the book's interest.

Opening its cover right above his left ear, the book lunged down, clamping its cover shut. 

"Oww! Oww, get it off," Malden shouted, frantically batting at the book.

The book released its grip, as Malden swatted at it.

Zee glanced over at the princess, who looked to be struggling to contain her laughter. Maldy was frantically batting at the living book in an attempt to protect his ears as the book repeatedly swooped down biting at them.

The book was surprisingly nimbly, dodging his paws with catlike grace. Zee broke first, bursting out laughing. 

Allison followed suit, nearly falling off her chair, as she laughed.

Seeming fed up with the book's antics, Malden reached over his shoulder, grasping the haft of his giant war hammer. 

With a tuft of fur between its pages the book fled, narrowly dodging a swing from that spiked hammer. 

"Get back here you stupid book," Malden growled, glaring after the book as it fled towards the door. 

His flustered expression only made Zee laugh harder, tears welling in her eyes.

Fed up, Malden hurled his war hammer after the book, just as the door swung open. Much to Bastion's surprise, he was greeted by a shock when he opened the door.

The hammer hit the book, which then struck Bastion right in the chest. Bastion's eyes opened wide as he tumbled head over heels, rolling down the hallway with the weight of the hammer.

"What the hell Maldy," Bastion asked, clutching at his chest. 

"Whoops, sorry, I was aiming for the book," Malden said, apologetically.

Bastion glanced down at the living book which seemed no worse for wear,

"That's a tough book isn't it?" Bastion said.

"Speak for yourself, are you alright?" Zee asked.

"I'm fine, it's just some bruised ribs, I have gotten much worse," Bastion said, with a pained wince.

A thick tendril of sand swirled out of Malden's paw, snaking across the room, before wrapping around the haft of his hammer. He tugged on the sand like it was a rope, and the hammer flew back through the open door, across the table to his open paw.

"Zee, don't be such a worry wart, I didn't throw my hammer very hard. If your boyfriend can't handle a little love tap, he should retire from our line of work," Malden said. 

Bastion stood, glancing over his shoulder at the book that was using him as a human shield.

"Why were you throwing your hammer indoors? I'm pretty sturdy, but if it were Yukna you might have actually broken some bones," Bastion said, smoothing his wrinkled blue shirt.

Zee covered her mouth to suppress more laughter.

"Maldy was just overreacting," Zee said.

"I was not! The damned book bit my ear, it pulled out some of my fur and everything," Malden said, glaring at the book which was still hiding behind Bastion.

Bastion raised an eyebrow. "Huh, your right. That does look bad, I think I can see a bald spot," Bastion said.

Malden reached up for his left ear, his expression souring further, "Move out of the way, I'm gonna show that book whose boss," Malden said, raising his hammer menacingly.

Allison wiped tears of laughter from her eyes, straightening up on her chair, drawing Zee's attention. "Speaking of Yuky, do you know where she went?" Allison asked, ignoring Malden's angry tone. 

Zee shrugged. 

"I'm pretty sure she went with some of Rin's people, though I'm not sure where they went," Zee said.

"Wasn't that right before you got attacked by assassins?" Allison asked.

"Yeah, I think they were waiting until Rin's people left before they attacked," Zee replied.

"Are you sure she left with Rin's people?" Allison asked.

"I'm pretty sure it was. She seemed to know the people who came to get her," Zee replied.

Allison let out a worried breath. 

"I'm probably just worried for nothing," Allison said.

"No, you have every right to be worried. Let's go find that fiancé of yours," Zee said, her plush chair sliding noisily along the tiled floor as she stood.

"Yes, let's. Malden, want to come with us to the stacks," Allison asked. 

The crown prince had crossed the room in a gust of sand while they were talking, and was mid-leap, snatching the living book from the air. Malden lit on the tiles in an agile crouch, giving Allison a victorious smile. 

"Sure, let's go," Malden said as the book struggled to escape his firm grasp.

Zee walked passed Malden towards the door, giving the book a shake of her head.

"Serves your right little book," Zee said. She glanced up into Malden's slitted yellow eyes." You can punish it, just don't hurt the book too bad," 

Malden cracked a wide smile. "Hear that? I'm going to throw you into a latrine," Malden said. The book struggled even harder, but there was no escape now that it was caught.

Zee didn't feel bad for the living book in the slightest, it needed to learn not to antagonize people. 

She left the estate through the front doors, squinting as she stepped out into the wide quart yard.

Halfway down the front stairs, she glanced over her shoulder, wondering when exactly Greg joined the group. That man sure could be sneaky when he wanted to be. 

She walked down the cobbled path, out the ornate front gates, and onto the wide boulevard. The street was mostly empty, a far cry from the usually bustling atmosphere for this time of day.

An explosion rumbled like distant thunder, reminding her why the streets were so empty. Shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, she looked up, scanning the Smaug-filled sky.

She almost immediately spotted a ship, as several clouds of smoke, fire, and shrapnel burst around them. 

The ship was really low, weaving and dodging side to side, weaving amidst a hail of anti-aircraft fire.

Zee tracked the undead ship as it shot over the city, dodging balls of fire, bursts of lightning, and a hail of metal fragments. The front of the ship pulsed, and a huge ball of turquoise miasma shot downward, striking something she couldn't see.

There was no thunderous boom, but there was a massive pillar of toxic smoke that blossomed upward from the attack site.

"So much for the Terlashar not attacking while your grandpa is here," Malden said, from just behind her.

Zee glanced from the retreating ship, back to the growing pillar of toxic smoke.

"They are getting pretty bold. Do you think Julian will do anything?" Allison asked.

Zee shook her head.

"No, I don't think Grandpa will. I tried getting him to help, but he doesn't care for the plight of these people," Zee said dejectedly. 

Bastion walked up beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. " Should we go help clean that mess up? Or are we still going to find Yukna," Bastion asked.

Zee shrugged," Up to you princess. It shouldn't take too much effort to contain that miasma if Dern and I work together," Zee said.

Allison sighed. "Alright, fine, we will go help contain that blaze, then we are going to go looking for Yukna," Allison replied.

Zee grinned, "Well, let's not keep them waiting. The last one there had to buy dinner tonight," Zee said, turning into a cloud of mist and shooting down the street.

Zee was fast in her mist form, but Malden and Bastion were faster. Even when she used the second and third steps of her wayward walk skill, they managed to keep ahead of her.

Malden seemed to flow over the tops of buildings and through the streets, turning into a cloud of sand that stopped at nothing.

Bastion was less of an eyesore, moving with a speed that was still surprising even after a year together.  He leaped from roof to roof, his aura casting a wide net around him.

It was a surprisingly gentle aura, one that wasn't overbearing, more like a breeze ruffling her hair. It was hard to tell what exactly he was doing, but it looked like he was robbing some of the momentum of everyone in his aura, and using it to propel himself forwards.

Even with the ability to teleport a hundred meters every twenty seconds, Zee couldn't catch the two.

After only a few minutes, she slid to a stop near the blazing set of buildings, where Bastion and Malden were already waiting.

"Have you no shame Malden, using your teleport skill is so unfair," Zee said, gasping for breath. 

Malden grinned, not seeming winded at all. "No one said the race had to be fair," Malden said.

Bastion laughed, wiping sweat from his forehead," I don't have a teleport skill, and I still beat you here," Bastion said, with a cheeky smile.

"Ya well you cheated too, don't think I didn't notice how you kept robbing my momentum," Zee said her chest heaving.

"I thought it was inspired," Malden said, patting Bastion on the back with one of his massive paws.

Zee couldn't help but smile as the two laughed. She wasn't sure when exactly those two became so friendly with each other, but it was nice to see. 

Greg was the next to arrive, leaping down from a nearby roof, landing, and rolling nimbly back to his feet. 

"Greg, where is Allison?" Zee asked.

The large Armenian pointed passed her, and she turned.

Allison appeared in a cloud of dust and rock right next to Malden, her flowing white hair dancing around her face.

Allison eyed the roiling pillar of turquoise smoke, her expression serious. The princess didn't waste any time.

"Now that we are all here, let's get started. Bastion, you and Malden search the nearby houses for survivors. Try not to breathe in that smoke, its really toxic.

Greg, you are on overmatch, warn us if any more ships are approaching. Zee, I will stand guard while you and Dern do your thing," Allison ordered her tone calm and confident.

Malden turned into a storm of sand, heading around the left side of the swirling haze.

Bastion's body blurred as he vanished, heading around the other side.

Greg un-shouldered his large horned bow and jogged off towards a tall building that would give him a good view of the area.

Zee took in a deep breath. This was the least fun part, she hated breathing Miasma. 

"No offense Allie, but you shouldn't follow me inside," Zee said.

"I am not suicidal. Go I will watch you from out here. If anything happens, I will come to your aide," Allison replied calmly.

Zee nodded, well, here goes nothing. Breathing through her mouth, she walked into the dense haze of miasma. The smoke was so thick that the sun visibly dimmed.

Breathing in the toxic haze made her lungs burn, but she pushed on, heading toward the center.

It had probably only been fifteen minutes since the attack, but the buildings that were hit were already in a state of rapid decay.

She was curious as to why that ship had attacked these buildings.

Seemed like a lot of risk to destroy a few residential buildings. After a minute of searching, she found the epicenter of the attack and the mangled remains of one of Yukna's anti-aircraft guns.

She hummed to herself, "Dern, why would they risk this direct attack? What if it pissed off grandpa?" Zee asked.

"The undead are probably just testing their limits. Julian doesn't seem to care about these people, so they might be seeing how far they can push things," Dern replied, his mental voice thoughtful.

Carefully stepping over the rotting remains of a mangled soldier's corpse, Zee looked for a good spot to perform the ritual. 

"Dern, can you keep an eye on those corpses, they look like they might come alive soon," Zee said, calling him out with a small puff of mist. 

Dern's metal boots clanked loudly as he lit on the street, his wide armoured frame towering over her. 

"I don't think undead come alive."Dern said, his tone amused, as he projected his thoughts to her.

"Then what do you call it? I can't say those corpses just became more dead," Zee said. 

"That begs the question, how do you kill something that is undead? Do you re dead them?" Dern asked.

"I never thought of it that way. Maybe we can just say, we killed them," Zee said. 

"But, they were already dead. How do we re kill them?" Dern, asked.

Zee sighed.

"Ohh, shit up, just destroy their corpses," Zee said.

Dern sent her a mental laugh, as he poked at one of the corpses with his large glaive.

Zee shook her head, Dern was such a pain in the ass sometimes. 

Well, at least he wasn't near as bad as a certain scheming ghost. Speaking of that ghost, she needed to talk to her team about Kur Zul's offer. 

Zee pushed aside those distracting thoughts, drawing her sword. The death spirit inside hummed happily, seeming excited for the ritual to come.

That was good to see.

Pointing the blade towards the ground, she clasped the grip in both hands. Raising the sword high, she thrust the blade into the cobbles, embedding it several inches into the rock. 

With four of the inner gates open, it was surprisingly easy to pierce solid rock. She was still working at opening the fifth gate, but that was going pretty slow.

Zee needed to set aside some time to focus on the inner gates, or she might not progress at all. At this rate, her next rank up was a long way away, as she needed to open twenty inner gates to reach mid-E grade. 

Zee unclasped the satchel at her hip, and a disgruntled book floated out.  It ruffled its pages at her, annoyed at its captivity. 

"If you don't like being put in the satchel, then don't misbehave so often," Zee scolded.

The book flapped its pages as if in protest at it's unfair treatment. The dejected flapping of its pages was actually kind of cute. 

"Okay, biting Maldy's ear was actually pretty funny. If you help me dispel this miasma, I will protect you from further punishment," Zee said.

The book perked up at that, opening its pages. As if on cue, writing appeared on its blank pages, a complex ritual diagram that she was all too familiar with.

"Thank you, now please stay still while I perform the ritual," Zee said.

The ritual blossomed around her, expanding outward to enclose the plume of miasma she was inside. She had adapted this ritual over the past few days, removing, and adding certain energy constructs to the ritual's main framework.

This ritual was not initially intended to be used to cleanse miasma, but poison. The two nasty ailments might have a similar effect on living things, but they were not the same.

The more she dealt with miasma, the more she was able to alter the ritual to be more efficient. Some parts of the former ritual were useless, whilst others needed to be added like the expansion constructs to give the ritual a wider area. 

After only a minute, the ritual was complete. With an audible twang, the miasmic haze around her shuddered and was sucked towards her sword. 

Like water going down a drain, the deathly energy created a whirlpool, disappearing into the pommel of her sword. 

The death spirit inside hummed gleefully, drinking it all up. It was both impressive and concerning.

Zee was all for her sword getting more powerful, but she had her doubts about doing so with this method.

Like a bottomless well, the death spirit in her sword drank it all, absorbing enough miasma to kill over a hundred people. Even still, it didn't seem sated at all. Its mental hunger was still stronger than ever. What a glutton.

Zee swayed on her feet, feeling drained from the taxing ritual. Cleansing all the corruption in one go was almost enough to put her on her ass, but she managed to stay on her feet. She took a deep breath to steady herself. Reaching out, she grasped the hilt of her sword, tugging the blade free from the rock. She gave the silvery blade a once over, noting the metal now had a slight turquoise hue.

It looked like her sword was on its way to another evolution, which was exciting. 

Ahead of her, one of the corpses stirred. With a mental flick, a piece of metal broke off her blade, and shot forward, piercing the lesser undead through the skull in a shower of gore.

With one hit, the undead went back to being just a regular dead body. Turquoise smoke drifted up from the former undead corpse. 

There was the soft scuff of boots on stone, as Allison approached, eying Zee's handy work with a thoughtful expression.

"Is it supposed to decay your targets face off?" Allison asked.

"Not usually. Well, not unless I use spirit echo," Zee said, watching as the corpse's head rapidly decayed.

Allison gave her sword a wary glance. "You need to be careful with that. I am all for killing my opponents, but that looks really dangerous. Especially if you break your sword into a few dozen pieces and make them swirl around you," Allison said.

Zee nodded.

"Ya, pretty cool right? Imagine when I combine this with spirit echo," Zee said.

Allison shudder.

  "You know, you are getting pretty scary, especially with that guy walking around," Allison said, gesturing toward Dern.

"Speak for yourself, you throw fire at people. I have seen you burn monsters to ash in a single hit. That is way more scary than anything I have," Zee said.

"Fire is nowhere near as scary as a soul-sucking monster," Allison said, pointing a dainty finger towards Dern. 

Dern grunted," Why is everyone so scared of me? I just eat souls, it's not a big deal," Dern retorted. 

"Not a big deal? I think everyone else would disagree," Allison said.

Dern gave the princess a rude gesture. "You know, I like Yukna a lot more than you. I think she could do a lot better than you," Dern retorted. 

"And Zee could do a lot better than you," Allison fired back.

"Are you two done bickering? We still have people to help." Zee said.

The two glared at each other for a few more seconds. 

Allison looked away first.

"Alright, let's go check out that half-collapsed building over there, there might still be survivors inside," Allison said.