Faded2Fate

I'm back! I thought I'd be gone for at least two more weeks, but here we are. I will probably start releasing chapters at a rate of 1 a week, with a couple of extras every once in a while. Before that though, I'll release up to chapters 54, 55, and perhaps 56 over the coming days.

“Aella… I’m scared to ask, but I’m going to anyway. How did you manage to find and procure this location… No, rather, how did you manage to do so without me knowing?” Blair questioned while opening the car door for the three kids.

“Ooh! What’s that? It’s so glowy!” Seraphina cheered while stepping out of the car.

In a large open field, a distance away from civilization was a large glowing sphere. Sitting idly in small groups slightly in front of the gate were a handful of familiar faces from Aella’s… Recent escapades.

“That, my dear Seraphina, is the door to an Abyss Nest. It’s only E-rank, but an unexplored one nonetheless. And you, Aunty, underestimate my capabilities to do things while being monitored.” Aella explained, flashing an ID of an older woman in her mid-20s who looked nothing like the current Aella, especially with her black hair.

“There’s still blood on your hands.” Blair rolled her eyes.

In an instant, wind engulfed Aella’s hand, swirling around it briefly before leaving with no such vital liquid present. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. That aside, it looks like everyone is here. Stay near me, Cid.”

Cid nodded without saying a word, leaning into Aella’s side.

“Eh? No fair! What about me?!” Seraphina pouted.

Aella glanced at Seraphina before her eyes landed on Blair with a pensive look. “I didn’t mean for it to end this way. Not so quickly, at least.” She joked, making sure only Blair heard her.

As they grew closer to the group, their idle chatter was cut off by a loud and hearty laugh from a man with unnerving tattoos that seemed to move independently when eyes weren’t placed on them.

“The little lass tells us to come here only to make us wait 2 hours. A little crass, don’t you think?” Magnus asked with an unmasked confidence.

“You say that like you have anything better to do. You must keep an eye on me because I have sown the seeds of World War Three. The boy’s shop is closed today, and the girl’s only family is in a coma, I think. I’ve done the minimal research needed for all of this!”

“So you know what you did?”

“Terrorism. Yes, I’m aware I did a terrorism. Anyway, let’s go inside. Too many possible eyes are out here.” Aella responded with an innocent smile as she assisted her companions in entering the gate.

She obviously wasn’t so naive to think that such a public event would go down quietly. The incident in their city was hidden because the government was most likely in cohorts with the cult, so Aella had to ensure her scene was large enough to get out, even if Japan fell under the same rule.

Her plans were a little shaken at the revelation of the cult trying to awaken the Demon Lords. Still, ultimately, it remains the same, even if she will probably be underprepared for what she planned in the near future.

|<You have entered into a [E rank Abyss Nest], and a quest has been generated>|

|<Defeat the Boss [Maggot Prince](E+)>|

|<Rewards: EXP!>

|<Failure Condition: Death, letting an [Abyssal Fracture] occur!>|

“Ooh, a jungle this time. Perfect. Hey, you guys can go play for a bit. I’m gonna have a chat with my guests.”

“Hmm. Okay! Let’s go, Cid, Mommy!” Seraphina nodded, not questioning Aella’s… Anything about the situation, actually. She really takes after her mother.

Just like how Blair doesn’t question Aella because it’s not worth the headache, Seraphina trusts her unconditionally.

As she said, they found themselves in a jungle. A place that was usually such a cacophony of life, yet this one in particular lay in an almost palpable silence. The dense canopy above, a lush tapestry of interwoven branches and leaves, filtered the sunlight into a soft, mottled glow barely reaching the forest floor. The air was heavy with the scent of moist Earth and rich vegetation, yet the only sound it carried was the group’s footsteps, crackling and brushing past the greenery.

Tall trees, thick and gnarled trunks, stretched upwards, striving for the sky. Vines and mosses clung to their bark, yet even these seemed still as if holding their breath. The foliage, normally rustling with the movement of countless creatures, was motionless, the broad-leafed ferns and vibrant flowering plants standing silent in the understory.

‘Even the wind doesn’t whistle like when we were in the mountains. Are the monsters hiding? No, even the rivers are completely still.’ Aella wondered with a slight smirk.

With the destruction she was capable of, it was a reasonable response to her presence, assuming she was right.

Abyss Nests were something that still wasn’t extensively understood. All people knew about them was that rarely were they entirely normal. Aella herself theorized them to be fragments of worlds, considering that she’s seen species she knows of. That was of minor importance, though, as the others entered the Abyss Nest.

Of note, Grayson looked around like a country bumpkin experiencing the capital for the first time while Aimi and Magnus glanced around casually, observing their surroundings, making a similar observation to Aella as they came in.

It was easy to tell who was level 1 in this group of theirs.

“Alright! Since you’ve all shown up, that means you’re willing to hear me out, at least. So how about we talk about the reason why I actually brought you h-”

“No. You’re addressing your stunt in Japan first. Do you know how many people are going to die?”

There it is. Aella was curious how quickly she’d be interrupted. “Well, realistically, the number should be about 1 billion, but we both know the casualty count is going to be far lower than that,” Aella said casually, her words catching the attention of the previously starry-eyed Grayson.

The current populace of the Earth is 14 billion. Aella still didn’t know a lot about this world. The true destructive power of things like nuclear bombs eluded her, but they couldn’t be that high. Back in her world, magic capable of leveling continents was reasonably common in warfare, yet the casualty count never surpassed 1 billion.

Things like radiation and explosives were also used frequently, giving Aella a good idea of the scope of such a war if no countermeasures were to be implemented.

“Wait, what?! What do you mean war?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!”

‘That one was delayed.’

“It was an ordeal. I’ll gladly elaborate later. For now, Mr. Magnus, you’re aware that the numbers I said are irrelevant, right?”

Aella had three goals to accomplish today. Especially since she only had one more day before she was sent back to her parents, and explaining everything to them would be its own nightmare.

The first was getting the two Naturalis on board with the whole Demon Lord idea. Considering they’re already not on excellent terms with the cult, that shouldn’t be hard.

The issue was her second goal. Convincing Magnus not to blow her head off. She also didn’t think this would be terribly difficult but more so a question of how much she would need to reveal about herself and her abilities before he backed off.

“Oh? What do you mean? By your own metric, are you saying a billion people dying is irrelevant?”

“I mean, when the choices are 1 billion or 14, then yeah. But no, that’s not what I’m referring to. What level are you right now?”

Curiously, Magnus narrowed his eyes at Aella, “158,” he answered.

“Okay, so bear with me here. When I was level 35, I met with this thing called the [Will of the World]. Do you know anything about that?”

Suddenly, Magnus’ eyes lit up in surprise for a few moments. Milliseconds, no, far less time even. That was still plenty for Aella to understand. He knew something about it.

“I might. As an SS-rank, I’ve gathered quite the assortment of knowledge over the years.”

Once again, Grayson’s head shot around, this time toward Magnus. It was a wonder that he didn’t get whiplash.

“You’re bragging needlessly. I know your Dragon’s element is knowledge. Whatever that entails.” Aella rolled her eyes.

Glancing up at Stormy, who rested on her head, Aella was a little sad in hindsight. She loved Stormy. For the short time she’s known the little embodiment of chaos, she’s grown very fond of him. That said, she couldn’t help but be sad that she got such a regular element.

Seraphina’s an exception in her mind because she’s a [Demon Lord Candidate] but in front of her was an old man with a Knowledge Dragon, a Japanese girl with an Idol Dragon, and some random kid with a Dragon he made completely himself.

Those are slightly cooler than just a Storm Dragon. Plus, he didn’t even have wind for the storm! She had to supply that herself!

Faded2Fate

Thanks for reading! A few things I want to say. Firstly, it'd be great if you left a review so I know what you think I could improve on. Secondly, if you could, leave a comment on elements of the story that you feel haven't been explained terribly well. There are things I leave vague intentionally, but also some things I feel like I'm just not good at explaining, so I'd like to know what needs more elaboration in the future. Lastly, I have no idea what I want for Aella's second dragon, so uh... Give me ideas that I can steal :3. Also, Happy New Year! Even if I'm ten days late because of my break!