Sworded Affair

Chapter 154: Deep Time

Waiting for a prolonged period of time without anything to do was never particularly fun. So instead of doing that, Emma decided to sleep. It wouldn’t have been possible before, when her anima would drain with every passing second of having her abilities active, but now that the trait had no cost, only a toggle, she was confident it would work. She’d left Wolf, Ram and Heart toggled on for extended periods of time, after all, and never suffered any mishaps beyond minor damage to furniture, so this should be no different.

Sleeping in her armour remained an interesting experience; not quite the same as in a body of flesh and blood, but more a deliberate disconnection from the System’s simulated senses, followed by a period of floating in an empty void. Not particularly refreshing or useful, but still more pleasant than staring at a crater for ten hours.

[It’s the only way, unfortunately. Even leaving the area isn’t safe in these circumstances, not when there’s a chance any trap triggered just follows you as soon as Null Zone comes off. Then, you’ll be right back at the start again.]

System messages still display even without sight, Emma noted, before returning to her slumber.

—

[Princess Astaroth - Level 20 Warlock of the Deep]

A powerful upgrade, stemming from a magic item that by all rights Astrid should not have been able to wield at her level. But the System was fair, and those who committed to a path would find shortcuts readily available, if they were willing to pay the price.

Because the original was gone, her class was locked as it was when she was Astrid’s age. No EXP could be earned whilst taking on this form, no further growth was permitted; a static Level 20 simulacrum being the result. The price for access to this strength? Half of all experience Astrid earned, until she reached parity with her distant relative. It wouldn’t take much longer, given the opportunities of the new era; eventually, as she continued to level up, Astrid would outgrow the item. But until then, it remained a potent trump card, covering for weaknesses in her Warrior of Light class: weaknesses such as mass destruction.

As her transformation ended, the nearest demon sought to take advantage, lunging for her now unarmored form with teeth bared. Astrid grabbed the demon by the throat, crushing it with little effort.

“A little small, but I suppose you’ll do.”

Red runes began to burn across its thrashing form, before she tossed it back into one of its slower peers.

“Flood.”

The first demon burst like an overripe melon, splattering the second with putrid black blood. That demon, too, began to swell up at once, its thin runner’s build turning into a balloon in mere seconds, before erupting with even greater force to spread its seed far and wide. With every replication, the effect grew more pronounced, more potent and more widespread. In the first minute, thirty demons died, in the second, three hundred, and the third claimed the rest; victims of the horrifying power that is exponential growth, leaving Astrid as the last woman standing.

[Status condition: Flood resisted.]

“It still boggles my mind that this spell exists in the System library. Or that it was available for selection, even then.”

[Your namesake paid a steep price to unlock it; this prototype of the spell that made me a God. Nine-tenths of her lifespan in return for the power to bring her dynasty to its knees, toppling Magi far more senior almost overnight.]

“Just in time to die in the apocalypse, leaving the regency of Sweden empty,” Astrid pointed out, fighting down a spike of indignation that was not truly hers; an echo of the one she emulated.

[An unfortunate end. She had strong backers, and decent odds of crushing her remaining rivals and claiming the crown for herself. It was just bad timing, in the end.]

“So it was,” Astrid sighed. “So it was.”

The bat demons yet remained, having possessed enough wisdom to fly high into the air, thus avoiding the splash damage from her Flood. As the aftershock of the spell faded, they descended once more, eager to try their luck against her.

“For mine is the blood of the recessed, kin to all that dwell in the deep places of the world. Gaze upon my radiance, and tremble.”

[Curse of Kyrene activated.]

She was the centre of attention in that moment, as the taunt component of the curse activated. In the next, petrified stone bats began to rain from the heavens.

—

“Young master! Young master!”

“Don’t call me that, I’m no cultivator.” Marius Kimaris rebuked his new assistant with words alone; ordinarily, a slap would have warranted too, but he was still cursed, and this level of affront did not quite merit death.

“My apologies,” the man cleared his throat, pausing to bow a respectful distance away from him. “I bring news from the investigators.”

“Out with it then,” Marius waved impatiently; wishing his former assistant were still around.

Unfortunately, an incautious touch had placed him within the curse, so he’d be unavailable until that was fixed; yet another motive for a quick resolution.

“Our diviners have detected the use of System-based curse magic, originating in the south of Warwickshire. The mana signature corresponds to one Princess Astaroth, the final aspirant to complete the trial of the practitioner prior to the terminus.”

“Princess Astaroth?” Here, Marius had to admit to some confusion. “What’s she doing here? Last I heard, she was trying to consolidate power back home. I assumed she’d died along with the rest of the capitol.”

“This remains unclear, master Kimaris. Our men have her under reconnaissance, but have taken no further action pending your instructions.”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Marius groaned. “Bring her here, so I can get this bloody curse off of me! Weeks of non-stop penis jokes from both my brothers, weeks! I can only take so much.”

“Yes, master Kimaris. The retrieval squad shall be deployed by nightfall.”