A/N - Thank you, Andy Abad, Rico, Ghostdexter, Mohammed Sheekh, M1ch4ek, & Vikas Sharma M, for becoming God of Velmoryn's Patrons!
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The Ten Commandments I had written were now displayed inside the temple, placed between the altar and the Tree of Life. Tekla had used Orrvyn's roots to form the stand, and I had noticed that the Crimson Guardian was responding to her with far more ease than before. Even after completing the task I had originally assigned it, assisting with the construction of the temple, it continued listening to her requests. And not only that, it was getting better at following them, making fewer mistakes each time.
Back when they had worked on the altar, which was a far simpler structure, it had taken Tekla hours just to get what she wanted. The Guardian had struggled to understand her intentions, forcing her to constantly readjust and clarify. But now, crafting the stand to hold the two tablets bearing my commandments had taken less than five minutes.
"Lucas, is it not beautiful?" Tekla strolled into the temple, her voice bright with excitement. "Look how divine our temple is…" She spun slowly, taking in the sight while Lucas followed behind her, as stoic and neutral as ever. The two of them were like fire and ice, or rather, joy and dullness, her overflowing energy constantly clashing against his drained, steady quiet.
"High Father will be so proud of me… No, how can He be proud of just this? We must improve the tribe quickly!" Her joy sharpened into resolve within a heartbeat, her tone shifting as if she had flipped a switch, while Lucas trailed behind like a man half-asleep, barely keeping up with her pace.
"Priestess, may I rest for a while? I need to train," he asked, fully aware that Tekla would likely release him as she always did, but another voice answered before she could speak.
"The priestess cannot be left without a loyal guard as she cannot protect herself when she communicates with… our Lord."
Mirion stepped inside, his massive axe strapped across his back.
"Tribe Warrior Mirion, no weapons are allowed inside the temple," Tekla scolded as she turned toward him.
Since the funeral, when Mirion had come dangerously close to blasphemy, Tekla's attitude toward him had shifted. However, I doubted it would last long as I could read her feelings like they were written out in front of me, and no matter how cold she acted, there was no one she loved more than her father. But she kept the act up, maintaining the distance between them.
"Tek… Priestess," Mirion corrected himself quickly. "I've brought him, as you requested."
From behind Mirion stepped the boy, nearly stumbling as he rushed forward and dropped to his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground with a little too much force.
"Priestess, thank you for summoning me!" he blurted, almost breathless, sounding far too formal.
"Leave us," Tekla ordered Mirion and Lucas, her voice softening as she approached and gently lifted Dirion to his feet. "I have a role for you to fulfill."
…
"How should we fight it?" I asked Elisabeth as we walked side by side. "Shouldn't we learn each other's fighting styles before going in?"
She had just finished her sixth potion and had equipped three rings. When I asked what they were for, she simply smiled without answering.
"I'll handle everything, silly. You just need to stay close and make sure nothing sneaks up on me while I'm busy. I might not be able to see it, after all," she said, her smile widening as she pointed at her stitched eyes.
Handle it alone? Just how strong are you?
I found myself studying her again, from her feet up to her hair. Other than that one moment when she had unleashed her black shadowy magic, I hadn't been able to sense anything from her. But at this point, doubting her was unreasonable because if she was lying, it would have been no different for her than walking straight into certain death just to keep pretending.
Elisabeth continued ahead without a word, either unaware of my gaze or simply choosing to ignore it. Then, without breaking stride, she pulled out yet another potion, this one filled with a thick, green, slimy liquid, and swallowed it with one gulp, her body shivering slightly as it went down.
"I hate this taste," she grimaced, as though she had bitten into something extremely bitter. "Did you manage to charge that necklace of yours?" she asked suddenly, catching me off guard.
"Wh… No, I couldn't," I admitted, unable to fully hide my surprise. I had only ever attempted it when she wasn't around, but somehow she had still noticed. I'd been trying to charge the necklace Aria gave me, channeling my mana into it the same way I had activated the memory stone, but the necklace kept rejecting it.
"It was recently given to you, wasn't it?" Elisabeth chuckled, her mouth curling again. "If you had owned it for long, you'd know it requires dark magic to charge. And before you ask, no, I can't charge it either. I'm not allowed to use accessories unless they're made by Father."
She reached into her portal again, pulling out a bracelet and slipping it on. It was silver, designed in a gothic style with sharp, impractical-looking ornaments jutting from it, and I couldn't help but wonder how she managed not to stab herself just wearing the thing.
"We're here," I said as we reached the stone arch connecting the circular hall to the chamber where the dragon waited. My emotions pulled in both directions - excitement and concern tangled together. At first, I had thought I might kill two birds with one stone: let the dragon weaken her while Elisabeth killed the beast, then strike when she was vulnerable. But seeing her confidence so close to the fight had left cracks in my plan.
If I tried and failed to kill her again, she wouldn't hesitate to end me. And if she truly was strong enough to take down the dragon with ease, then killing her might not even be possible at all. Worse still, if the god behind her made a move afterward, it wouldn't just be me who suffered. My true self would be at risk as well.
What am I supposed to do now?
The thought made me feel helpless as I pressed my hand to the center of the stone arch, watching the faint gray glow of the Constitution Essence seep from the cut on my skin.
The entrance shifted, its surface turning translucent, and without hesitation, Elisabeth and I stepped through.
The moment we entered, my body tensed. The dragon lay ahead, sprawled across the chamber like a mountain of flesh and scale. My grip instinctively tightened around the hilt of my blade as I raised the tip, already anticipating the moment it would lunge at us. My eyes swept the chamber, searching for shadows to use Phantom Step on, preparing for a fight that would mirror the last time I stood here.
And yet Elisabeth walked forward without the slightest hesitation, her steps slow, casual, as though she was simply taking a relaxing stroll through her garden.
But then everything changed.
Her steps grew heavier, not from the weight, but from the sheer pressure of the dark, shadowy mana that suddenly surged from her. The chamber thickened with it, the oppressive energy swallowing the space, warping the air itself until even my vision blurred beneath its weight.
"Oh, it's smaller this time," Elisabeth said with a smirk, facing toward the dragon as though she could physically see it.
Smaller this time? She's cleared this room before?
The thought hit me harder than the mana did. I was already stunned by the power she released, but now I began to realize just how badly I might have underestimated her.
The dragon hesitated for only a moment before snapping out of its confusion. It pulled itself upright, its massive body rising as it drew in breath, preparing the same blast that had nearly killed me before. The glow of crimson fire began to build within its throat as I readied myself, eyes already searching for the blind spot where I could use Phantom Step and slip into its shadow the moment it unleashed its breath.
But Elisabeth wasn't moving. She wasn't preparing to dodge. She was smiling.
"Oh, poor lizard," she said softly, her tone thick with mockery. "You're so inexperienced, you don't even understand that using fire breath against a high-level mage only turns your own power against you."
Her smile widened as a dark barrier formed directly in front of the dragon's mouth, wrapping around its snout like a basket muzzle. The moment the fire was released, it struck the barrier and rebounded instantly, spiraling back down its own throat.
I watched, barely able to process what I was seeing. The beast gagged on its own flames, its thick neck bloating unnaturally as smoke and heat fought to escape in every direction. But even after the self-inflicted damage, it endured, growling low as it surged forward and charged.
Elisabeth didn't flinch.
She's about to cast her magic. This is my chance.
I focused, activating Mimic Shell. My expectations were low. Two conditions stood in my way - whether copying a higher-ranked being's skill was even possible for me, and whether I fully understood the ability she was about to use. But right now, none of that mattered. Even if the skill went on cooldown after failing, she was still the only target I could attempt it on, and I already knew that it was safe - my targets couldn't sense it. Roy never realized I had copied his Phantom Step. Besides, regardless of the risk, I needed skills. Anything that might give me even a sliver of an advantage against Elisabeth when the time came.
I felt a faint connection form as she summoned a massive portal beside her. But just as the enormous creature stepped through, slightly smaller than the dragon itself, I sensed that Mimic Shell had failed. Whether it was the difference in our ranks or my lack of understanding of her magic, I couldn't copy it.
I sighed, disappointed, and glanced toward Elisabeth, watching carefully for any sign she had noticed what I'd attempted. But she remained entirely focused on the portal and the beast emerging from it. It stood on four legs, its thick black fur rippling as it moved, wings folding at its sides, and a head shaped like a hawk's, sharp and predatory.
"Kill it, but don't destroy the body," Elisabeth ordered softly, her tone calm, almost casual. Far too calm for what was happening in the chamber.
The beast lunged forward, intercepting the dragon mid-charge. The reptile tried to overpower it, but Elisabeth's summon had the clear advantage in both strength and agility. It sidestepped the dragon's snapping jaws with a sharp movement and bit into the exposed neck.
The fight ended before it had even begun. A loud crackling sound echoed as the massive body of the dragon collapsed to the ground, defeated.
"Stop," Elisabeth called as her summon prepared to tear into the corpse. "You can go now."
She conjured another portal beside it. The creature turned its head briefly, acknowledging me for the first time, though only for a moment. Then it glanced back at Elisabeth, clearly displeased at being dismissed without any reward, but it obeyed without protest and disappeared into the swirling portal, its long tail slipping through last.
I stood there, silent, still trying to process what I had just witnessed. The dragon I had brought her here to fight, the one I hoped would weaken her and open my chance to strike, had been bullied to death. Even if it was, as she claimed, smaller and inexperienced, it was still stronger than Kurraghal, the beast that had terrified the Velmoryns.
I'm way out of my league.
The realization settled heavily in my mind. Coming into this dungeon might have been a mistake.
"What are you waiting for? Go extract the essence. The sooner you start, the better your chances of harvesting something worthwhile," Elizabeth called, already sitting comfortably on the ground, pulling the cork from her bottle with her teeth.
"All right… thank you," I muttered, trying to keep my voice as natural as possible, masking the growing caution gnawing at the back of my mind.
"Silly Avenor," she laughed, taking a long sip and smiling as if she'd just quenched a deep thirst. "Why are you so tense? If I wanted to kill you, how exactly would you escape? You don't need to be afraid of me. If anything, I'm far more interested in keeping you alive…"
That smile again. The same lecherous curve of her lips that had a way of making the hair on my arms stand up each time.
"Why would you think that? I'm not afraid of you, but you can't blame me for being surprised after seeing how easily you killed the dragon." I deflected, already activating Crimson Rite. The life essence began forming in my hand when I heard the whisper, low and too close behind my ear.
"I almost forgot… what was the skill you just used on me?"
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