novelraw Chapter 339 - 338 - Harmony of Domination
Chapter 339 - 338 - Harmony of Domination
"I seem to be confused about a few things. For instance, who are you?" Lind was in his office once more but it was not the waif of a demoness across from him but the first maid he had met.
She had so dark green it was nearly black, but her eyes were almost a luminescent blue even without whatever Art she had been using earlier. She was a slim demoness but well proportioned for her build. Many would find her company alluring but her coldness built a wall at least half a meter thick.
The maid bowed to him in a manner of respect as she was only a Gold Tier but a peak one from what Lind could tell. She had blue flame and metal as her elements which was a powerful combination.
"I am the head maid. I wanted to be clear that while you must by now know why we are here, his Imperial Majesty as of this moment no longer considers us part of the Blood Empire." Lind nearly jumped up. His blood boiled as he had gotten a good look at the pale demon.
She was clearly a blood relative of Yor!
His aura actually made the maid flinch while her eyes bulged in fear. Lind took a deep breath and calmed himself.
"Explain, clearly and without any useless double talk. Who exactly are all of you?" The lack of emblems made things damned odd in contrast to the high end materials they all had.
The maid gathered herself but there was now more respect in her eyes when looking at him.
"We are the loyal followers of her Highness, Angelica. She is the last living sister of his Imperial Majesty Yor." Lind was stunned. The vitality of the waif was barely holding on but he could still tell she was no more than 30 or 40 years old. That would mean the former emperor had lived for 10 years after his supposed death at least!
His questioning look was clear but the maid was not forthcoming on the state of the former emperor.
"Her highness has led a hard life. When she finally broke through into the Soul Realm, her unique and wonderful ability was celebrated, but then she began to suffer side effects." Lind began to understand. He also made a leap of logic.
"She has been in a formation to slow down her aging and her cultivation?" The maid nodded but did not elaborate. Such formations were used by healers to buy some time if there was a hope of healing but they were not cheap to construct and burnt out once used.
It was a last resort and reserved for the powerful or rich that could supply the materials.
Even Lind had never found a way to overcome the severe material and duration limits of that formation. He suspected weaving might hold the answer considering Delenn's situation but he was far from making progress in that branch of his studies.
It was very dangerous as he had felt his soul pay the price for grade 1 Weavings. It was healed relatively easily but making a mistake could do worse than cause deviation, Lind could be stone dead!
"So she was born while the former emperor was alive, but Yor does not strike me as being sentimental. So why was she spared?" Lind had suspicions but given how the maid started, it did not seem likely.
The maid actually glanced away from him and seemed to fidget a bit. He had to be wrong!
"His Imperial Majesty believed it would be wise to build a stronger relationship with–" Draconic aura flooded the room and at that time, Lind did not hold back. How dare he?!
How dare Yor use his sister, his baby sister if Lind was to guess, like that!
"C-calm yourself senior!" Lind snapped out of his anger and retracted his aura. His communication jade stones lit up but he swiftly reassured them all. He still had a sore point for things like that but he had not blown his top in quite some time.
"Apologies, please continue." Lind let her collect herself before proceeding.
"Her Highness is the first demon to have all 6 elements. It has a massive detriment to her health. Her father worked diligently to prolong her life. When the formation collapsed 2 years ago, his Imperial Majesty decided to disown her and send her to you." The maid finally broke a bit of her character as a bit of bitterness snuck into her tone.
Lind was confused.
The known political fallout of the Demon Empire was when a new Emperor killed his predecessor, the remaining siblings generally were slaughtered or made crippled. Why was this one an exception? Just because she had 6 elements?
Lind doubted that. Yor did not strike him as the kind of person to be merciful for such a reason.
The man loved to dominate the field of battle, even if it was only in negotiations. So why?
"Did he say anything aside from what you already told me?" He saw it the moment he asked. The maid ever so slightly flinched.
"H-he said she was like you. His Imperial Majesty stated he could not extinguish such an–" She could no longer look him in the eyes but she continued. "Such an interesting cultivator simply because tradition demanded it."
That sounded much more like Yor and piqued Lind's curiosity.
"Very well, then I should meet my new resident." Lind then swept past the maid before she realized he left the room. She quickly ran after him but she dared not overtake him. The flash of aura had forever imprinted that the man in front of her was not just a simple Diamond Tier.
He had clearly reached his full potential at each Tier and Realm until he became what he was today. A feeling of hope kindled in her chest but she could only hope as they were on their last thread at that point.
⬧⬧⬧⬧
Lind came into a darkened bedroom off the main courtyard. The maids had been cleaning and arranging pieces of furniture to how they wanted them. The tiny body seemed to be struggling to simply lay there.
He came over and found her eyes were a smoky obsidian looking up at him. She had never spoken but a thousand tiny signs told him she was in constant pain.
"I am Lind Frey. May I examine you?" He was the senior and felt he should hold back from in depth analysis unless he was facing an enemy. His quick glance was due to the fact all 6 demonic Qi floated around her. It had shocked him.
She glanced at the head maid that followed him in.
"Her Highness allows it." Lind did not detect anything but the warmth in her voice told him all he needed to know. Maids and butlers were often closer to young royals than their parents in many instances.
His Heaven Eyes began to delve into the depths of the waif's issues. His vision was filled with disaster.
Meridians heavily frayed, organs covered in black veins while the dantian was cracked. She was only a tier 2 Demon Soul Realm but her cores were not tempered equally. It was actually normal for 6 elemental before a lot of trial and error for humans.
As there had never been even a record of a 6 elemental demon, it seemed likely they were much more rare than humans.
Lind looked at the final piece but was nearly stunned at the harmony he perceived. It was a midnight black flame burning like a giant pyre was feeding it. It licked at the restriction of the dantian as if it wanted to escape!
"Domination." The word left his lips as his own emerald flames lined his body in response to the harmony in front of him. Black and emerald seemed to resonate in a way no other harmony had before, but where the black tried to conquer, Lind's wove tendrils of perception into it.
Neither could win or lose but the once raging black flame became calm and some color returned to the girl's face.
"You are lucky to be alive and you have worked hard too. If you are willing, I can resolve some of your issues now, but it will be a long road after that." His dark green eyes peered deeply at the girl.
She slowly nodded and artifacts instantly appeared in the room. A formation isolated them from the world which made the maids clench their fists but Lind did not care frankly. He used the diffuser to change his Qi into demonic Qi.
Acid coalesced in midair as the tools he had created were not able to handle demonic Qi yet. He had many experiments to run but so many other things took his attention. Now he used cold fire and the herbs with vibrant colors withered as he extracted their essence.
He technically did not need to use a diffuser for that step but he got better results if he did. The demonic essence gathered and thankfully he was far past grade 2 elixirs for demonic Qi.
The maids all watched in awe as Lind compressed and controlled all 6 demonic elements as if he was a full born demon! Tears appeared in their eyes as an elixir filled 6 vials easily with the color of all 6 elements flashing inside them.
"Before I give you this, you have to understand your harmony is giving off the feeling of domination. It wants to conquer, to rule, to be the absolute authority. It will kill you if you do not rise above it." Lind was solemn as he spoke. He had worked for a century to figure out what was possible with harmonies but this girl's was the clearest he had ever felt. "It means you at your core wish to dominate. Will you let a part of you be stronger or will you rise above it?"
His challenge finally sparked something in the smoky obsidian eyes. He fed her 2 elixir vials and then helped guide it through her meridians. Black flames rose once more and pain was clear on her face but Lind was there.
His emerald light was woven throughout the elixir as it began to heal what was broken. The frayed meridians became whole. The black veined organs returned to their healthy colors. The cracked dantain slowly healed.
Days passed as he continued to work with the elixirs but the greatest challenge was her battle with the 6 cores. Unlike with humans, Lind could not help her as much and could only shoulder part of the burden.
The cores were slowly tempered and the elixirs filled in the gaps as possible until finally they were at tier 4 tempering. Her own foundation settled at tier 3. The pain faded and her once pale white skin began to have a shade of lavender.
It was the faintest, but Lind suspected it would darken now that blood flowed properly in her body.
The formation shield was dispersed as the head maid rushed forward to check her charge.
"She will sleep for a time. I have shielded her body completely for now but it will eventually fade. She will need to train hard and I will help her." Lind's authority was clear in his voice as all the maids bowed low to him.
He was about to leave when he realized something.
"What is her name?" The head maid looked up with tears in her eyes and a slight smile.
"Her name is Kexin, she no longer has a family name." Lind bowed and went back to begin to plan. The Soul Realm was the most troublesome Realm for 6 elementals thus far. He could only hope to figure out the new demonic path in front of him.
He also had many questions. Had there ever been demons like this girl before or was there some reason she could exist now rather than before? His eyes glinted with joy as he began to review records and jade slips. A challenge was in front of him and it was as dangerous as any battle.
He had to create a new path for that girl to live and he had no guide this time other than parallels and inferences. It would be a true test if all he had down was only built on the shoulders of the ancestors or he was truly able to do what others could not for billions of years.