Vol 4 Chapter 44: Time Magic
Sherry
"Sherry! Please come out! We need to talk!"
"Don't bother. Let her grieve. Just like I did."
A black cocoon stood in the middle of a forest, unbending like the hardest steel.
It was not a cocoon of a butterfly monster — far from it.
It was a cocoon of a heartbroken demon instead.
After receiving the dream from the Archfey on her lover's actions, Sherry fell into what could only be described as deep sorrow and unyielding rage at the same time. She ran away from the village, going straight into the fairy forest before creating the cocoon, made out of her hair.
It had been two days since then. Enough for Fran and Quania to check up on her.
Sighing, Fran turned to face her mother, resting her hands on her waist.
"Can you really trust what the Archfey says? What if she's just lying to torment the poor girl?"
"Oh? Do you prefer to believe that Hugo boy never cheated? Don't delude yourself. Human males have no faithfulness in their bones in the slightest."
"I still don't like you doing this kind of thing behind my back."
"This is for the best. After she finishes her grieving, she can finally grow up. That kid of yours is fond of her, right? Tell him to seize this chance. Marry her. Make her happy."
Fran fell silent.
Her mother was right. It would be better for Sherry to marry her son, both for her sake and his as well.
She knew how hard he trained every day just so he could be of equal footing to her. Sure, he still needed a lot of education in being a good husband but that's something she and her husband could give.
And besides, even without the cheating, there's the problem of human lifespan as well. He would grow old and die while Sherry was still in her youth.
"... It's her decision. I won't influence her in the matter," Fran replied, glaring at the older woman.
"That is fine. But do tell your son on this matter. I'll stay here and watch over her. You go back to the village."
"...Fine. I will."
When the younger woman left, Quania returned her gaze to the cocoon.
She had to ensure no naughty fairies came to bother her grieving.
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Hugo
Another round of storytelling later, and everyone was up to date with what the Heavenly Dragon really was.
As expected, they didn’t take it that well.
“That’s… that's horrible! You mean it was the Heavenly Dragon who created the Demon God? Just to keep the seal on the evil goddess?" Theo spoke.
"I am not familiar with the religion of humans but I know for a fact that the Heavenly Dragon is supposed to be the ultimate force of good." Tira followed. "To think that he's just a creation of the Progenitors… All those prayers… All that faith… All are merely used to keep the evil goddess at bay…"
"And you're telling us to take his side?" Felicia glared at Xaela.
"He is, unfortunately, a flawed creation — I shall not deny that. But it is still better than the alternative — letting the Goddess run amok."
"Really?" Felicia fired back. "Deceiving the world? Causing uncountable, immeasurable deaths and suffering by the creation of the Demon God? I'm not sure if He's better than that evil Goddess of yours."
Xaela fell silent, averting her gaze from the redheaded mage.
"... You're not the first to tell me that. Ilymhyrra — she said the same thing as well when she learned the truth."
Whoa, this is new. They have met before?
"Ilymhyrra?" Felicia raised an eyebrow. "That girl!"
"She came to me a millenia ago." Xaela continued. "To seek the truth in the death of a certain person. I… could not give her the reprieve she sought."
Sadness now colored the elf's face.
"Stop speaking in riddles! Who is this person you're talking about?!"
To my surprise, Tama entered the conversation. Huh, she's more invested in this than I thought.
"Aira, the village girl the Legendary Hero loved. The Heavenly Dragon manipulated Fate and gave her death, all for the sake of ensuring the Goddess' seal to remain intact."
Huh? Aira? I've never read that name in the history books.
"Hold on. I thought Arthur married Guinevere," I interrupted.
"Yes, he did," Xaela explained. "But he never really loved her. His only love had always been Aira. Or so Ilymhyrra told me. The two grew up in the same village. And Arthur — he had always been smitten by her, even before he took the mantle of the Chosen Hero."
….I see it now.
Her name isn't in the history books because she was a nobody. Not a hero or a princess.
The Empire wants Arthur to be their founding father. And so, it was unacceptable for him not to fall in love with their princess. So many stories and ballads have been written about their romance.
All of that are lies — lies to make the Empire look good.
"Was he coerced in marrying Guinevere?" I asked.
"I do not know. You have to ask Ilymhyrra for that. I do know that she failed to be a comfort to him, as the Legendary Hero, after siring an heir, quickly disappeared from the face of the earth. And Ilymhyrra — she believed he had taken his own life."
Gasps filled the room. A grim expression colored Felicia's face.
... And that's the end of the Legendary Hero. The savior who had saved humanity. The man that inspired countless other heroes in his wake.
Suicide. The most cowardly way to end one's life.
"So, why did the Heavenly Dragon feel the need to take Aira's life?"
"His fate calculations showed that if Aira were to be alive, it would lead to a future where he would be weaker. Too weak to keep the Goddess in check."
"In short, he wanted the Empire to exist so Milicis' religion could propagate. Is that it?"
She nodded weakly.
Shame. That was the emotion I saw on her face then.
She knew what the Heavenly Dragon did was wrong. And yet, she had to serve his side, all for the sake of her long gone masters.
"What do you think, Xaela? Do you think what he did was justified? That Dragon of yours… he's like a machine, isn't he? Uncaring… unfeeling… merely a tool to keep the Goddess in check."
"I…"
"As yourself. Not as a servant to the Ancients."
After a long pause, she answered.
"...I don't like it. Even now, after a thousand years, I still remember Ilymhyrra's expression that day."
I smiled, resting a hand on her thin shoulder.
"I'm glad to hear that."
Turning around, I then addressed Felicia and the others.
"You see? She's a good person. You don't have to worry about anything. She agrees that both the Heavenly Dragon and the Goddess are wrong. Which we all can agree with, don't we?"
"...I suppose you have a point," Felicia eyed the elf woman with suspicion. "Still, do I have to leave you alone with her? You know how I feel right? As your lover?"
Well, Hugo. Time to use that charm of yours to calm down this jealous woman.
"I know." I walked up to her and gave the brightest smile I could muster. "But Theo and the others… they need you to protect them. And besides, do you think I'll ever betray you? After all that we have been through? You even forgave me for lying to you on who I really was. You think I'll just forget that?"
Okay, that was definitely cheesy. But I just don't have any other ideas in my head.
She sighed. "You're right. I shouldn't be so selfish. Very well. I'll leave Milord to you." She looked at Xaela. "Keep him safe."
"Oh, before you go, you should know that the person that's coming is most likely Myrilla. She probably had heard about me from the other adventurers. I've told you about her before, right?"
She nodded. "Yes. I remember her. Don't worry. A dark-skinned woman with a pair of antennaes on her head — shouldn't be hard to find."
"And if anything happens—"
"We'll go straight into the dungeon. Though it'll help if Miss Administrator over there will just teleport us in." She glanced at Xaela.
With our plan of actions decided, we split up. I stayed here with Xaela while Felicia and the others took the return teleporter.
Xaela… she probably knows a lot of ancient magic. If I can learn from her…
My power… it's still not enough.
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Victoria
*spuuurttttt*
Victoria could do nothing as the penis in front of her sprayed its liquid all over her face.
She didn't even shed a tear. She just sat there with a blank look on her face.
"Good! Good! That's an excellent handjob you just gave him! Wouldn't you agree, orc?"
"Yes, ma'am. Her technique has improved by leaps and bounds when we first started. She is definitely capable of servicing her husband properly now."
The orc grinned as he faced the blonde woman. Ah, what a life. To think that a slave like him would receive such fortune… A buxom elf girl of his own, all ready to serve his sexual needs. How many times had he played with those enormous breasts of hers?
As with any orc, even one in exile, it was his dream to have a cute girl as his wife — someone that could take care of his sexual needs every day. An orc male's libido can easily take hold of an orc's mind, causing an orc to rape any woman he found on the road. To combat that, daily sex was pretty much mandatory. Back in his tribe, he could do it with the female orc, but since there was only one of her, he had to wait until his stronger brothers had their turn first. But now, he had this chick all for himself
He knew it wasn't going to last. But he'd be damned if he let that thought prevent him from enjoying her soft lips and hands.
Still, he couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. She clearly was the type that couldn't enjoy sexual stuff. Even after he made her cum by playing with her breasts, she still looked at him with such fearful eyes. Even though he already tried to be as gentle as he could be.
Elven woman. They really were as fragile as his chief said.
Suddenly, the door to Victoria's room opened.
"Oh, you're here, Mother? Ah, training Miss Worthless."
With a grin plastered to her face, Marlene walked over to Victoria.
"What a disgusting sight. And you too, orc. Wear your pants before I cut off that obscene member of yours."
"R-right away, Miss!"
Just one glare was enough to scare the orc into submission. Putting his pants back up, he could only wonder how the two sisters were so different.
Turning back her gaze to her sister, she then said, "Good news! It is now time for you to meet your husband! Tomorrow, we'll depart to Ixon."
"T-tomorrow, Sis?" Victoria's eyes widened, her voice shaking.
"Yes, tomorrow. Now that we are officially allies of the Demon Lord of Wisdom, they want you to be there immediately. Surely, you've heard the news of our victory."
"I have… C-congratulations, Sis!" Victoria forced a smile.
"Why, thank you!" Marlene smiled back. "Now that I have fulfilled my duty, it is time for you to fulfill yours. And don't worry. I'll be accompanying you." Shifting her gaze to her mother, she then said, "She's ready, right?"
"Ready, my dearest!" She giggled. "I've taught her all she needs to know to be a good wife!"
"Wonderful. Then, I'll leave it to you to prepare her for tomorrow."
As her sister left the room, Victoria began to sob.
Her duty… that's right… she had to fulfill her duty…
Like a knight… sacrificing herself for the good of the realm…
What higher honor existed?
And yet, why was she crying? Shouldn't she be happy?
If only… if only Sir Hugo was still alive… surely, he could explain this feeling she's having…
But he's dead. And nothing could change that fact.
Nothing.
---------
Hugo
"So, what are you going to teach me?" I asked as I walked with Xaela away from the teleporter room.
"Please be patient. Your wand is broken, correct? We should replace that first."
"Ah."
As we took a small moving platform into a large unmoving one, I asked her a question.
"This floor… it looks different from the other floors we had been in. What is this place anyway? This dungeon?"
"This facility has been used for many things over the ages," she explained in her usual flat tone. "From experimental gardens, monster farms, research laboratories, even residential areas. However, eventually, it was used as one of the eight stakes that kept the Goddess sealed."
"Wait, I thought the Heavenly Dragon was the one who sealed the Goddess."
"The Heavenly Dragon is the head. The facilities are its arms. They're all connected."
"By facilities, you mean World Dungeons? I believe there are only six of them though." Unless the books I've read lied.
"No, there are eight. Here. I'll show you their locations."
A map manifested out of thin air. It was the map of the three continents — the Southwestern Continent, the Holy Continent, and the Demon Continent. There, eight glowing dots could be seen scattered all over.
Wait, hold on…
My eyes traveled to two spots in particular. First, the far north of the Holy Continent. There, I could see a glowing white dot. The Forbidden Land. There's a World Dungeon there. No wonder no one knows it exists.
As for the second one…
Wait, seriously? There's a World Dungeon there?
There, on the far southern end of the Magocracy, maybe even into the hobbits' territory, was another glowing white dot.
And no one knows it exists. Hmm, starting to wonder if the Magocracy is intentionally hiding it…
"Out of this eight, unfortunately, two seals had broken off completely. Which is why it's imperative for the Heavenly Dragon to begin another Cycle. He needs more faith and prayers so he can repair the broken seals.”
“Broken? You mean the World Dungeon has collapsed or something?”
She shook her head. “Not necessarily. It could simply mean that the facility has lost its connection to the Network that supports the Heavenly Dragon. Tell me, Unchained One? Are you familiar with the concept of leylines?”
"Yeah, I've heard of them before. The lifeblood of the planet — rivers of Mana circuiting around every continent."
"The Network uses the leylines as part of its energy transfer system, with some facilities actively interfacing with the leylines of the continent it is located at. Other facilities act as a connector between continents, with one facility sending the energy into the Heavenly Dragon itself. It's hard to explain but you can think of it as a rune circuit that covers the entire world. That is the Network that allows the existence of the Heavenly Dragon."
...Yeah. That sounds complicated alright.
"So, how many seals must be broken before the whole thing dissolves completely?"
"... I'm not sure."
"Well, that doesn't sound good."
If the Goddess regains her full strength, she'll make my life a living hell. As well as everyone else I care about.
"Is there anything I can do to keep the seals intact?"
"No." She shook her head. "It's all up to the Heavenly Dragon. You can only weather the storm."
-------
She then took me to a treasure chest, sitting conspicuously in the middle of one of the floating platforms.
"There. Your weapon sits inside that chest."
"So, you can manipulate the contents of treasure chests inside the dungeon?"
"Yes. I make sure that it's attractive enough for people from the outside to willingly come into this place."
"A bait? Wait, don't tell me that you use dead adventurers to feed the Heavenly Dragon?"
She fell silent.
I was right.
"That's grim. But then again, the Heavenly Dragon isn't above doing such things to prolong himself."
I walked up to the chest and kicked it open.
"A staff?"
I reached over and took the metal staff. Surprisingly, despite its size, being as tall as me, it was quite lightweight. A teal orb was attached to the tip, shimmering gently the moment I grabbed it.
"I've seen you specialize in Wind magic. And so I gave you a Wind staff. Made by Zirconium metal and a flawless Windstone, it surely would enhance the strength of your Wind spells even further."
She spoke true. Just by holding it, I could feel the power shimmering through it.
I held it tight and cast a simple mini cyclone spell.
Only for a strong gust to explode right in front of my face.
"Gah!"
I held tight, nearly losing my grip on the staff. The wind wasn't stopping! It raged out of my control!
"Xaela! Run awa—"
I froze.
The wind had lifted the elf's robes, revealing to my sinful eyes her legs, tights, and her womanhood.
She wasn't wearing any.
I gulped, my perverted mind focusing completely on the beautiful sight. I could feel my trousers tightening in an instant.
She blushed, pressing her robes downwards. But the wind was unyielding. It began tearing the fabric bit by bit.
I have to stop it!
Returning my focus to the rampaging magic, I ordered the wind to die down.
And it did.
But not before leaving her robes in shreds, exposing a lot more of her smooth white skin than before.
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean that! This staff really is powerful!"
I gulped again. Damn it Hugo! Why are you leering at her when you already have Felicia?
With her hand, she covered her exposed left boob, though not before I saw the small yet enticing mount of flesh. Her right leg was completely exposed as well, all the way to her torso. I could easily see that no panties were present.
No bra… no panties… why is she so lewd under that heavy robe of hers?
"U-Unchained One, i-if you would excuse me, I would leave for a bit."
"Y-yeah, go right away. I'll wait here."
Beet red, the elf teleported away.
And once she did, I immediately unzipped my pants, adjusting my raging boner so it wouldn't be so painful.
Dammit, Felicia! Why must your trousers be so tight?
--------
Xaela returned with a brand new set of robes. Her cheeks were still flushed slightly, a sight that quickly stirred my perverted mind once more.
Damn it, why must she be so cute?
"Uhh, sorry for that." I gave a nervous grin to the girl.
"I do not mind. It is my Master's wish for me to serve the next Unchained One when he appears. And that includes…" She paused, looking away. "...giving him my body."
"...Huh?" Wait, did she just say—
"Yes, if an Unchained One has no lovers he can make children with, I was told to make it with him. It is necessary for your bloodline to propagate after all."
Holy shit!
She looked up to me. "But, seeing how you already have several lovers, my service in that department won't be needed."
For a split second, I actually considered grabbing her and telling her I wanted to make babies with her as well.
But, that idea quickly got shut down by my rational mind. Felicia and Sherry wouldn't be happy if I picked up chicks without their consent.
Especially when it's a beautiful girl like her.
--------
We then moved back to the 500th floor, to my surprise. She explained that the higher floors didn't have any monsters on them so we couldn't do our training there.
Well, that's a disappointment.
"Do you purposefully prevent adventurers from reaching the higher floors?"
"Yes. If they make it all the way to the 599th floor, I would hide the floor teleporter from them. I'll only give them return teleporters instead."
That explains it.
"And you only let Isolde pass because you saw her as one of the Heroes for the upcoming Cycle."
"That is correct. I had told her what she needed to do. And she thanked me for it, saying that she'd finally have a worthy opponent at last."
"Speaking of that, where's the Demon Lord right now?"
"On the 550th floor. You don't have to worry about her."
"Ah, I see. That's good." I still need to be stronger before having a rematch against her.
"Well, let us begin. Tell me, how much do you know about time magic?"
"Time magic? Not much. I thought it is the type of magic that is impossible to perform, even though it exists on a theoretical level, due to its immense mana cost and its insane complexity." I remember Marina telling me this a long time ago.
"I see. They're not wrong, necessarily. They simply hadn't possessed the necessary theorems to cut down on the complexity and mana cost.
"Wait, you mean, you can use time magic?"
"Yes. But only by tapping into the facility's power. Even with the Ancients' knowledge, time manipulation is still beyond most mages. Here. I'll show you."
She walked away a few steps, seemingly putting a distance between us.
And then, all of a sudden… with only a single blink...
She disappeared.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I looked back and sure enough, it was her.
It wasn't some hyperfast movement.
It was a genuine instantaneous one.
"That was a one second timestop. As time froze, I ran behind you and placed my hand on your shoulder."
My eyes widened.
Timestop! Imagine the possibilities! All the perverted things I can do with it! I could lift up skirts, grope boobs, and steal panties—
N-not that I would do such things, of course!
Maybe on Felicia… she definitely will like that…
...W-wait, why am I thinking?! Focus Hugo! Stop thinking with your crotch and start thinking with your brain instead! If I can combine Super Boom Cannon with timestop, I'll be unstoppable!
"T-teach me! Please!" I blurted out.
She shook her head. "With your limited mana, I don't believe you can cast any timestop spells. However, I do have other time spells you can use. Though they will still drain your mana for sure."
"Oh, come on! Why did you show me the time stop then?!" I huffed.
"Apologies. It's just the easiest way to display how time magic works."
Wait, did she just giggle a little there?
"Now, we shall begin by the simplest time magic. Haste. Like the name suggests, it's a spell that hastens your movement by speeding up the time surrounding you."
Oh, like the Final Fantasy spell. Yeah, I can use that for sure.
"Now, if you would look at this diagram…"
When she displayed the mana network I would need to conjure with my mind, my heart sank.
For it was easily the most complex network I ever saw in my entire life.
...This would take a while.
A/N:
The poll there is because we're rapidly approaching the point of no return for her. At least in Patreon, where there's only a few more chapters until the end of the arc. Hugo's trial is over. Well, almost. Still one last thing he needs to do.
Speaking of Patreon, I'm posting a commissioned cover for this story there. Still in progress though so only in sketch form so far.