pappabearbooks Chapter 1295: Unexpected Enemies
Chapter 1295: Unexpected Enemies
Chapter 1295: Unexpected Enemies
Skullius remembered every detail about his trip to Maqi - as his possessed self. Since his intent for coming here wasn't nearly as daring as what he had had in mind last time, he was determined to ensure that his approach didn't trigger the egos of the Maqians; that was all too easy to accomplish with the right amount of cockiness, after all.
He made sure to descend quite far from Maqi's capital and that he would be spotted by hidden sentries. (They weren't so hidden before his natural divine senses.)
The Maqians embraced nature almost as much as the Sif, only, they did in their own way. They valued the land more than its produce - trees and all forms of vegetation. This fact was embodied by the sentries who rushed to receive Skullius and Elita as soon as they landed.
They had been disguised as anthills in a woodland nearby, absorbing and expelling mana as they waited and watched. All four of them held a Class that Skullius found most interesting - Shamanic Mage. It was the same Class the old hag, Umbett, who had accompanied the Ode to Opungale, possessed.
The four approached calmly. They were dressed in beautiful hides that might have looked no different from cotton shirts and pants from a distance. The pressure of Incandescent Stagers roared from their bodies.
One of them, a short man with a long neck, looked Skullius dead in the eye.
"What do you want here... creature?" he asked.
There was less malice than Skullius would have expected. It seemed the man had recognised his strength. At least, he was poised not to start with hostility when faced with something he didn't quite understand.
This made matters easier for Skullius. He didn't have to face slap before getting down to business.
He had been about to give the short man an appropriate answer when his extraordinary senses traced the shape of another one of the sentries, a woman with long, brown hair and small, sharp green eyes.
Skullius' mind whirred. Suddenly, he was in a hall of ice where millions upon millions of souls were caged in huge, frosty blocks. He was looking upon a familiar soul, bound like the others, only, he felt it resonate with his.
THRUM. THRUM. THRUM!
"MY LIEGE!"
Beyrmir's voice woke the Hybrid Warmoth up. Everything returned to normal.
Again, Elita was giving him a curious look.
'Dammit!' Skullius thought, seething. This was ridiculous. Again, Doom Factor 2 had been triggered, and just because the Maqian woman he had seen had brown hair, like Camilla's!
'Thanks, Beyrmir,' Skullius said to the Apostle.
Beyrmir had retreated back into his master's body after they had started descending. He acknowledged his master's gratitude with a sense of unease. This wasn't going to be the last time his master needed waking.
Elita would have asked if Skullius was alright, but that wouldn't do with enemies about. That would make him look weak, especially in front of the Maqians. They had noticed how oddly Skullius was behaving just now.
Before everything got too awkward, Skullius spelled his identity to the Maqians in a very simple fashion.
A vast, dark shadow pooled at his feet and a great, glowing jewel appeared over his head, shining with a piercing, but limited light.
The great hall, made of dry mud varnished in some way to be smooth and shiny, almost like glass, was gorgeous. It had three layers; the first accommodated the First Horns palace guards, all female Incandescent Stagers, the second layer, higher than the last, held sixteen of the First Horn's personal guards and the last, the topmost, held a large, earthen bowl with a large, fat tree growing in it.
The First Horn nested within, looking down on his two guests.
When Skullius and Elita entered the great hall, his eyes turned to them instead. The two
before him did the same.
...!!!
Skullius' eyes widened to the limit, and then they turned cold.
"You," he hissed.
"Me? Have we met before?" the man skullius was glaring at said with a cool, calm smile. He narrowed his eyes at Skullius' 'sun and shadow', however. "Ah, I see. Time works wonders."
The broad-shouldered man with long, dark hair and sharp, almond eyes that released a piercing grey light chuckled.
The other man by his side, much younger in comparison, not to mention smaller, looked at
Skullius with intrigue.
"We meet again," he said.
The Hybrid Warmoth scowled at him.
The potent power of Undeath hidden within the young man was too distinct for Skullius to
miss.
'I knew that damned necromancer had another card up his sleeve!' Skullius thought. Fulgardt seemed delighted by Skullius' reaction.
"Ah, of course you know my partner too. How fortunate," he said and then he turned to the
First Horn. "I suppose this was whom you were referring to? The man you made a deal with
previously?"
The First Horn simply frowned at this.
Fulgardt wore a sinister grin, one that made Skullius want to puke.
"Well now. How shall we resolve this?" the Immoral said.