Right through the door and the grasping alraune tentacles went right for Cammy. She sidestepped out of the way, compelling her own plant appendages to keep the assaulting ones at bay. Given that she was cut off from her worshippers within the tower and alraunes were unnaturally strong to begin with, it was no surprise they could overwhelm her. There must be at least three housed within this mansion. Gods knew what more lay beneath the surface.
Fortunately, a mother's love is a powerful thing. Cammy might just be an adoptive daughter. We were not related by blood or race, but after having raised and watched her grow my maternal instincts emerged in full force in the form of magic.
"M-Mama?" Cammy squeaked.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of them for you," I assured her.
Convoking Flora's boon and Vessyra's magic to the surface of my being gave the alraune's pause. I sensed their hesitation to proceed, but their lustful desire to impregnate Cammy was greater than fear.
Then I just need to give them something to sate that lust, I thought to myself.
My magic signature tethered itself to four entities which I then pumped my font into. I sensed their emotions— surprise at first, then keen interest, and finally resignation that culminated into incredible satisfaction and relief.
The tentacles fell limp to the ground, twitching and shuddering as they slowly retracted from where they came.
"Whew. They shouldn't bother you from now on. Cammy?" She had collapsed to the ground, trembling as the alraune's tentacles were and face tinged a shade of red.
"You… took care of more than just them," Cammy remarked, clutching her lower body.
"Ah— Don't tell me… I just… and you…" I became at a loss for words. There were three alraunes, and so the fourth I sensed was actually a dryad.
Oops didn't even begin to describe how guilty I felt.
"A first for everything, I suppose. Being made to orgasm by my own mother was a rather pleasant experience." Cammy climbed to her feet, and I gave her a hand to help her up. She clutched my arms and waited until her legs stopped shuddering from the climax before standing on her own.
We went directly to Eudora's laboratory unbothered by the alraunes. Belle and Eileen were inside, engaged in a discussion over a heated topic about the towers.
"It's not possible." Belle cut through the air with her hand. "If that much magic floods into the world at once, all life would drown. It's no different than a dam breaking over a village. Unlike soul stones, there is such a thing as having too much magic in your body."
"But by not destroying the towers all at once, it would take decades to remove them one by one. That isn't time that the rest of the world has. Think of the people of Vessyra— They need their lands to flourish soon," Eileen fired back just as ardently.
I cleared my throat hoping to get their attention, but it only served to bring me into the argument.
"Come here!" both of them ordered at once. A table upon which a spectral map similar in form to the ones Eudora created came to life at Belle's will. It was of Talmora in its entirety. Pillars symbolizing the towers rose from the ground and were connected by streams of magic. All led to a single point on the map where we all knew was Thanreas, reminiscent of the now defunct megatower in the Weeping Expanse.
"We've learned two things," Eileen began, raising two fingers. "First, Edith has another megatower in Thanreas and is likely the key to toppling every tower at once; second, there is more magic flowing through those streams and inside towers than our world five times over than it should have."
My mouth dropped.
"You mean… because all the battles being fought in Talmora is causing an influx?" I asked, hoping for clarification.
Belle shook her head. "The demons that we've been slaying are a drop in a pond. Edith is drawing magic directly from the nether realms. It's like a waterfall— and our world is a bucket in comparison."
"There are plenty of soul stones scattered about the Weeping Expanse to absorb that magic," my apprentice said.
"You're a talented alchemist, I'll give you that. Hell, the best we witches have known in centuries. But stop pretending to understand magic. More soul stones will spawn as a result of allowing all that latent magic out. What better way to tempt another Crimson Witch once we've defeated Edith?" Belle and Eileen were back to arguing with each other again, and there was little Cammy and I could do.
Although they were getting nowhere, these were the sort of debates the Elder Board had all the time. I could imagine the both of them forming their own faction on the matter if they had attended the academy together. If only this were more peaceful times, and the most war we had to worry about was a sore throat from yelling too much.
"Someone mind filling me in on the details? Like why do we think Edith's megatower can topple the other towers?" I clutched my head in mental agony as, for the first time in a while, I felt like the stupid one.
"It's guesswork at best. If that megatower is another portal to the demon realm, Edith must be the conduit empowering it. Destroying a tower with all that magic leaves the well with no other place to go, and would cause a feedback loop to the other towers that can't contain it," Belle explained.
That was news to me. Defeating Edith would render the tower unable to acquire any more magic. Dismantling the tower was another matter. It caused a domino effect on the others, and we wouldn't want all that magic to pour out at once.
Witches, familiars, and creatures with a greater affinity towards magic like dragons would survive. Many humans and demi-humans would perish.
Eudora… she knew this, yet searched for a way to destroy all the towers without considering the repercussions. No. She did know. Merely, she stood at the other end of the spectrum of Edith.
Fortunately, we held the cards now.
"We won't destroy the towers all at once," I declared.
"But—" Eileen held her tongue as soon as I raised a finger.
"Edith dies first. We'll find a way to deal with the towers when we're afforded the peace to do so." The two of them appeared satisfied with my answer. After all, we had to deal with Edith in order to deal with the towers.
With our discussions concluded, Eileen and Cammy went to occupy another laboratory to further experiment on alchemical means to dismantle the towers. Belle and I remained in the first room, mulling over the new information.
"You don't think Eudora allowed herself to be caught, do you?" Belle asked.
So, she suspected the same.
"Maybe. What better way to achieve your goals than to position yourself next to the finish line? Ugh. One wants to hoard magic for herself, the other wants to let the world drown in it." I groaned and buried my head into my arms.
Belle took a seat across from me and vanished the map from the table. We had looked at it enough anyway. She stuck a hand out and grinned.
"Never thought we'd come this far. Couldn't have asked for better people to go down fighting with," she said.
I clasped her hand. "Hard to believe it hasn't even been a year yet. We've attended the academy longer than this war has gone on, but it feels like so much time has passed."
Luna and Rio flew down onto the table and contributed to the handshake.
"How many orders do you think are left in that?" I asked about the collar.
"Not sure. I've grown accustomed to it." She traced a finger along the length.
I took hold of the leash with my free hand. "Go tell Eleanor how you feel about her."
The magic in the collar glowed. Belle gave me a death stare that could frighten a dragon.
"You… are the worst junior I could ever have!" she exclaimed, walking out of the room to fulfill the order.
