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In the previous chapter, Violet’s party fled from the mage guild’s ambush in the Underground. They headed towards the exit the next day.
Chapter 13
Roaring Mountains
The apprentice mage squirmed in his folding chair, growing increasingly restless after hours of sitting.
Gateway
He spent the day observing the steady flow of people passing through the Underworld gateway, meticulously comparing each face to the portrait of Violet provided by the Thieves’ guild.
Merchants guided their carriage through the life detector gate, ensuring that Violet couldn’t smuggle her way out.
But would she show up during this shift? Dusk was settling in, and the inept pawns struggled to set up the lamps in the checkpoint.
The mage sighed, utterly bored. His only entertainment came from the disgruntled passers-by, who raised complaints about the traffic jam caused by the mage guild. For these ignorant fools, letting the manticore pawn stretch out was enough to scare them shitless.
Mage Guild Student
Mage
“Thank you for your cooperation, the mage guild is committed to apprehending the dangerous individual who has infiltrated the Underworld,” he recited, smirking at the cowards who fled from the manticore.
An unexpected tremor shook the ground, sending the mage and his chair toppling over. The walls of the gateway roared, collapsing and spilling on the road.
Panicked, the fleeing civilians cleared the gateway in a sweeping stampede.
Amidst the chaos, a stone golem emerged from the shattering walls, stepping into the narrow corridor of the gateway.
Further behind the golem, Violet struggled with her Elemental Earth Spirit summoning. Perhaps because she was tired, hungry, and possibly thirsty, her control over the spell slipped, and she swiftly canceled it to avoid its dangerous backlash.
The golem scattered in pieces before it could fully separate from the walls, exposing Violet’s party to the sight of the mages.
Mage Guild Student
Mage
“It’s the target! Violet Ylenward is right there!” The mages barked a series of orders to the pawns and swiftly relayed the information up to the chain of command.
Ally
Harpy
“What happened to the golem?”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“I’m sorry, I’ll recast it again!” Violet attuned to her spellbook and drew the sigils for her summoning.
However, their pursuers swarmed, wasting no time to apprehend Violet. The imposing manticores, in particular, were especially intimidating as they loomed over the group.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Let’s defend Violet!” Lorely guzzled the bottles of stimulant from the apothecary and steeled herself.
With their back against the wall, the group of harpies waited in dread. Harpies usually fought with hit-and-run tactics, rather than facing enemies head-on.
No more than three manticores could surround them at a time. But even just one was enough to freeze the harpies in fear.
Though Lorely was an inexperienced fighter, her raw physical abilities and her equipment were enough to protect Violet, if only for a fleeting moment.
On the other hand, the harpies were trueborns -natives of Hekalys-. They didn’t possess innate warding aura like pawns, nor the artifacts needed to put up a fight, unlike the apprentice warlocks and wealthy rooks.
So, when the needle of a manticore struck a harpy, it just went through her from one side to the other.
The first victim fell before Violet’s shocked eyes. A swirl of emotion wrung her heart. Shame especially overwhelmed her. Her friends paid the cost for her mistakes.
Half of the harpies fled in fright. Yet, some could not abandon Violet and Lorely and returned to harass the manticores’ backs. Though valiant, it did little to deter the relentless assault focused on interrupting Violet’s spell.
Tears clouded Violet’s vision. She couldn’t bear to watch the one-sided slaughter.
She channeled her anger and passion into her new attempt. Her chaotic outburst of magic took shape as a cascade of light, spreading across the land.
The result of the summoning spell was… the disappearance of the ceiling. It was gone, lifted high up in the sky.
In fact, it was just her golem standing up. It tore itself from the ground, as if it was directly carved in the earth.
Boulders and sand floated upwards and filled the golem’s insides, pulled by an invisible force. The stream of rocks swept the pawns engaging Lorely, burying them inside the golem’s mouth.
Its ribs closed, sealing the golem’s weak point in its chest.
The towering figure emerged, as if the entire canyon that contained the Underground just stood up on its own accord.
Its body was so massive that it had stripped clean the ceiling and the walls of the Underground, exposing it to the red sunset sky.
After the first tremors, travelers had sought refuge deeper in the depths of the Underworld, believing themselves safe. But in an instant, they were thrown out into the open, dwarfed by the presence of a mountainous being in human shape.
At this point, they just dropped on their knees as they witnessed the surreal sight. In Hekalys’ history, nothing of this scale had ever been summoned.
Overwhelmed by the magnitude of the golem, the onlookers suddenly found faith and prayed to the gods, because something like this could only be their work.
Violet’s gaze darted around, seeking someone who had witnessed her miracle, someone with whom she could share the relief and joy of her successful spell.
But she found no one. All the harpies had fallen in battle, lying in gruesome pools of blood. Lorely and the enemies were recovering their composure after getting knocked prone by the earthquake that followed the golem’s emergence.
Now, it fell upon Violet to conclude this bitter conflict.
Mage Guild Student
Mage
“Retreat!” The mages scrambled away in pure terror.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Crush them all!” Violet’s command resounded, stained in resentment and ruthlessness.
The golem winded a punch, using its maximum range of motion.
And put all of its weight into its attack.
The colossal fist of rock descended upon the ground with tremendous force, obliterating the mages in a single devastating strike.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Aaah!” Lorely shielded Violet from the shockwave, covering her with wings until the gusts of wind subsided.
The only remaining enemy was the vermin in the sky. Violet’s gaze caught the distant silhouette of dragons and manticores, reinforcements stationed in other Underground Gateways. However, they swiftly turned tail and fled at full speed. What a disappointment.
If only they had flown a tad faster, Violet would have wiped them all in a single blow.
She examined her golem’s strange appearance, assessing its range.
The golem looked like a doll with chains of stone cascading from its head instead of hair. Compared to Violet’s other golems so far, it was unusually feminine, save for its angry demonic skull face.
This golem didn’t look like a protector of life, but like an agent of revenge instead. Too late to save the harpies, but just in time to unleash absolute destruction.
Violet seized control of her golem once more. It tore a chain from its head and swung it at the fleeing army.
Her wild swings not only crushed the retreating army, but also caused Underground tunnels to collapse, forests to be torn, and mountains to bear the scars of her wrath. Each strike of the whip carried the weight of Violet’s unbearable rancor against the world.
Eventually, her fury subsided, but only because the sky had become too dark to see the mage guild’s forces. The only sight left to see was the aftermath of destruction.
Part of the Underground had become the Surface.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“I knew it… I could have opened an exit in the ceiling instead of fighting.” She let out a weary sigh.
In the end, only Violet and Lorely were left alive.
Completely worn out, Lorely sat cradling a fallen harpy in her lap.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Step aside, Lorely. I’ll cast Resurrection.”
Accessing the memories of the spirits of Hekalys, this spell reconstructed a dead target to a previous state. But Spirits were whimsical and their memories limited, so treatment needed to be as early as possible.
Violet felt shameful once again. She had let petty revenge cloud her judgement, prioritizing the fleeing enemies over aiding her loved ones.
She exposed her foolishness and the ugliness of her character. It was always like this. No wonder that no one wanted her to rule as a sovereign.
What could she say to the ones who couldn’t be revived? ‘Sorry, I was caught up in the moment~’ ?
She despised herself, questioning whether she was merely using resurrection to relieve her own guilt rather than out of genuine care.
After completing her spell in silence, a ballet of light graced the torn battlefield. Two third of the fallen harpies miraculously stirred back to life. While an impressive feat by warlock standards, the bitter truth remained that they had lost long-standing companions.
Violet hurried to the remaining fallen harpies, and poured all her remaining healing potion on them. These potions were her lifeline, but it was the very least she could do for her friends.
Ally
Elpy
“Nooo!” Elpy cried out in anguish. She cradled her lifeless partner.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“I’m sorry…”
The party lingered to mourn their loss. They already wasted all the healing potions, and couldn’t do anything more for their lost friends.
Ready to leave, they decided to bring back the bodies.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Let’s go.” At Violet’s command, the golem kneeled and offered its hand to scoop the entire party. It would carry them back to the witch hut.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Wait, fleeing on the golem is too slow and easily trackable.”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Friends, can I ask you a last favor? I need you to fly Violet back to the witch hut. The best way would be that four harpies carry each limb.” Only harpy hags were strong enough to comfortably carry a human body in flight.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“And you don’t need a run up to gain speed if Violet’s golem throws you from its palm.”
Ally
Elpy
“What about you? Do we carry you too?”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“I’m staying behind.”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“What? Why?!” Violet exclaimed, shocked by Lorely’s decision.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“The guild will resume their pursuit as soon as your golem disappears. So, I’ll act as decoy. Besides, I need to settle the score with the dark elf.”
With a calm demeanor, Lorely stripped Violet from her hooded cape, emptied its hidden pockets, and wrapped it around a harpy’s corpse, slinging it over her shoulder.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Don’t worry, only one faction kills rooks. The others are scared of the system’s penalties, and pawns automatically stop hostilities against surrendering rooks. We’re precious guests in this world after all.”
She planned to run around, pretending to carry Violet, in order to deceive the guild.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“You don’t have to go that far to protect me! Come with us, I order you as your-”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“There’s no time for that!” Lorely hollered in an uncharacteristic outburst, startling Violet before she could complete her command.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Of course, I have to go that far!”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“I’m not a real harpy. I’m a fake. How could I ever be friends with these harpies, if it weren’t for my undeserved strength? They don’t truly respect me, but the blessing instead! I need your blessing to thrive in this world. If the guild catches you, I will be reduced to nothing.”
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“...” Violet stared at Lorely, unable to find the right response.
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“No one in this world sees any value in us, except for you -who needs me- and I -who needs you-.”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“To be honest, I was glad when you lost everything, because it meant that the only thing you had left was to cling onto me.”
Violet’s Rook
Lorely
“Are you disappointed?” Lorely painfully exposed her possessiveness and the raw truth of their relationship without her usual naive fluffy sugar coating.
As a response, Violet hugged Lorely.
Destitute Sovereign
Violet
“Make sure you come back. Just like you said, I still need you.”
Then she turned around and stepped on the golem’s hand, ascending into the night sky. She spared Lorely one last glance before her departure.
It was on these awkward words and botched farewells that they parted ways.
