Chapter 756: Maicite

Draebala, matin after the departure, Tariel, supposed to have been attacked, rises to a shyly woeful dawn. The battle of the angels, closely monitored by a few – upon entrance inside the town, were barred from vision, the remote viewing spell nullified. The mayor, earnest and in the know to what happened, vowed to aid his people the best he could. Sadly, such an exertion of strength and forcible alteration of reality shook the world's core. Not visible, rather, the changes were felt deeply; council leaders of the Eipea Empire and Aapith Nation were stumped to the prior activation. Caution lit the flames of belligerent leaders, no longer was it possible to stand by and watch, or so they thought, a good reason to battle. Such was the perpetual cycle of life.

"POPS!" resounded down the castle yard, the boy ran and leaped, easily landed atop his back and climbed onto the shoulders, "-Long time no see," he smiled.

"Good to see you," he returned patiently waiting for the remainder. Gallops mildly announced Vanesa and Saniata, the former, as sleep as could be, hovered to his leg and latched, "-no escape," she said.

"No escape," he chuckled, "-you look well, Vanesa," in a gentle motion, she hovered into a piggyback ride, "-we explore the town," she voiced.

"Greetings, pops," said the skimpily dressed Saniata, she threw her hips and halted, the rather short skirt had Igna shake his head.

"The fashion choices are yours to make, but still, I can't help shudder for the worse. There are animals out there."

"There's no need for worries," she gave a thumbs-up, "-I look good, and even if leches ever dare to approach, a simple spell should rectify their, you know, libidos."

"If you say so," he shrugged, "-listen, I have a few hours to spare, want to spend it at the festival?"

"Are you sure?" Vanesa's sleeping eyes widened, "-we going to hang out?"

"Of course we are," he genuinely smiled, "-you three are my precious children after all." 

"I bet we are," commented Saniata, "-who wouldn't love to have a beauty like me as their kid."

"Just because pops is being considerate doesn't mean you can say whatever you want with chest," fired Draconis, "-oh I'm sorry," he covered his mouth, "-I rudely said with chest, should have been with the ribcage." 

"No more fighting you two," he held an index finger, "-Saniata, you have room to grow, as for Draconis, stop teasing her," said a cheerful wink, to which, the boy grandly smiled, showing off his pearly whites, and especially sharpened teeth. A troublemaker through and through.

"The trip was good, I suppose?" echoed an inquisitive voice across the terrace. 

"You could say so," replied Intherna leaned against the balustrade, "-look at them having fun," she observed, "-the three devils love their guardians."

"Welcome back," wings retracted, "-Intherna."

"Lilith," she pushed off the balustrade, faced the newcomers, "-where's Gophy?"

"Here," came from Miira's shadow, "-I had a few things to handle up north. Tell us, Intherna, anything special happened?" they gathered around a lovely wooden table seated underneath a modest parasol. 

Mug in hand, she rose the drink to her nose and sniffed, '-mint, delicious.' 

"Care to explain?" interjected an impatient Gophy.

"Fine," she sipped, "-Draebala was one hell of a trip. We were teleported to a mountain, I managed to get this map, and we were around here. He used up the remainder of the death elements mana to unleash the Nevermore gate for one last time – our fears were true, the time inside lord Hades has truly shaken his core and very soul. We fought a legendary beast, Fenrir, who turned out to be Igna's long-lost companion. We've brought her to the Shadow Realm, should be on a trip with Adete, the two have a lot to catch up on. After that, we journeyed and fought, witnessed the ruthlessness of their world, and somewhat got entangled in a family feud. At the climax of the dispute, we sought refugees at a tavern, there, I confess I might have snuck outside of town and unleashed part of my powers to draw in demons for our quest. They took me by surprise and the town suffered, I couldn't fight to my fullest ability; shameful for one of the generals. One of 'em drew my blood, the fruit of Zem," mention of said item enthralled Miira and Lilith's pressed lips, "-he lost it," she laughed, "-Igna lost it and unleashed hell, the symbol of power reacted, believe me when I say this, no matter ranks or status, if he decided to reactivate the domain – and the one which is directly linked to the Shadow Realm, not the partial expansion, I doubt any to resist his will. I drowned and choked at the sheer intensity. The trip was worth the time, he trained and is ready to battle without magic, let's say he went back to his routes."

"Sound like you had a lot of fun," Lilith added coyly, "-I'm jealous."

"The fruit of Zem," said Miira, the table whelmed, "-we know the story, a foolish human who sought power and landed on the idea of tormenting living beings, extracting their soul, and combining it into the cursed fruit of torment. Tis said whoever takes a bite will be shackled by the emotions the sacrifices felt, regret and anger, a combination for disaster."

"If they've stumbled onto the ritual, what will happen to the people?" wondered Gophy, "-we should forget what happened and focus on the Shadow Realm. Continents and worlds are being born as we speak, their land inhabited by humanoids variants of the residents – the population grows, a monetary system must be applied."

"I've got it covered," said Miira, "-new policies and laws have been crafted to safeguard peace and promote self-growth. Let's turn the realm into the second Elysium." 

Half-a-day elapsed, the manor on the outskirts of the noble district rose, gates opened to an otherwise silent yard. '-Draconis fell asleep, Saniata's barely standing, and Vanesa, conserving energy,' he clambered against the hill, reaching the peak where Éclair stood in company of another.

"Welcome back, master," he waved.

"Éclair, have thee waited long?"

"Not too long," he added, "-here I present, Yuio, the new sister-system, her other self has been implemented and is in process of assimilating the data around the world."

"She seems shy to me," remarked Igna. The tan complexion remained, her horns vanished, the ears sharpened similarly to an elf, her canines followed suit. Freckles spanned from one cheek across the nose and to the other, her lips, tight and in a perpetual frown, watched. Her height, compared to Éclair, who stood the same height as Igna, was but shy a few inches.

"Not shy," remarked the same tone, "-confused is all," her left arm rose as if checking the time, a swipe across the watch summoned a holographic display, "-the technology is new and still, I know how to use it."

"Welcome to the new world," commented Igna, "-Yuio."

She dropped on her knees and bowed, "-master Igna, I thank you for saving the town and its people. You healed and revived the deceased. I regret not being able to bid the master and young master farewell."

"I doubt tis the last with seen of them. Draebala has more than meets the eye, we may yet to finish our journey."

*CRASH,* the lushly green grass yard boomed, smoke rose, a silhouette exited the cloud and leaped to their stead, "-don't forget me."

"Fenrir?"

"Yes," she winked, "-I won't make the mistake of leaving thy side ever again," her expression rang true.

"MY YARD!" exclaimed Éclair, "-MY BEAUTIFULLY CARED FOR YARD."

"Hold it together," he turned, pointed and snapped, the explosion disappeared – the fumes flourished into a vibrantly colored meadow, "-there, a makeshift garden."

"Master," Éclair dug his face into his elbow, "-the flowers are beautiful…"

"But you don't like them," he exhaled, "-fine," *snap,* the colors left for a vivid green, "-there, does it work?"

"Yes, uncared lawns are one of my weaknesses."

"More of an obsession," he added, "-as we were saying, Yuio is to serve as my secretary, correct?"

"Yes, master. I'll have her lead a branch of Raven's company, Kul's gotten into toys and gadgets lately. She'll work from Rotherham and oversee operations until I see her fit to serve us, acceptable?"

"Shouldn't be a problem."

The children were sent to bed, "-Master," said Éclair, "-once thee return, please visit lady Courtney, she has a few things to discuss."

"Understood," the teleportation circle activated – a beam shot upwards, floated for a few seconds, and grounded before the three skyscrapers. 

"Where are we?" fired a confused Fenrir, "-so many lights," she scanned profusely, "-is it night, wait, nighttime is this active… why are children out in the streets?"

"Calm yourself," he tapped her back, "-here's a summary of what has happened ever since the incident in Dorchester," a pocket reader, thin as humanly possible, shrunk to the size of a ring, "-touch the jewel and it should turn into a book."

"Alright," without time wasted, the book opened in her palms, her blueish pupils reflected the words. '-a chronicle of transpired events; good thing scholars have habits of writing and obsessing over the past.' 

"Fenrir, shall we go?" Thus, they climbed one of the most influential parties' buildings in Hidros, the Federation's emblem blazed against the secondary skyscraper, there, the office was dubbed '-financial trade center of Hidros,' countless renowned brands made their headquarters onto the many floors – stocks, prices, gold, and a new currency, trade of Maicite. The new element slumped researches of other countries – a catalyst for mana harvest and convergence has always been a statewide secret, the more efficient a nation's technology is, the cheaper is the cost to supply the buildings, machines, and daily lives with power. Throw in an ore that already handles 75% of the classified process and the world's power could shift. In theory, the discovery had potential to shake the market – as is with novelty, apprehension from rudimentary tests didn't make the element reliable for a kingdom to spend funds in an already broken economy. 

'The arm's trade won't last long if the Cobalt Unit keeps on rivaling our technology,' they climbed the lift, '-Maicite,' he smirked, '-problems must be squandered before they arise – I have strong reason to believe energy will become the next bottleneck. The more advantage they get, the more power will be required…'

"Young master Igna, please follow us," said a guard immediately out the elevator. 

"Lead the way," he said, Fenrir kept close, "-the ladies wait inside."

"Fenrir, could you wait out here?"

"Sure, do what is needed," she never once rose from the book.

'She's absorbed,' the handle clicked.

"Hello, nephew," said lady Elvira in the company of lady Courtney.

"Glad to see you're in good shape," the door clicked, '-the atmosphere's dense, what's this about?'

"How was the trip, Igna?" 

"Very good, actually."

"I'm glad," a timid smile kept on lady Courtney's face, "-your aunt has a few things to say, care to hear her out?"

'Okay?' he shuffled to the large desk, took a seat, and waited.

"Igna, it pains me to say, Phantom's not doing so great. The Federation requires us to spend more money than we currently make, the arms dealing market's plummeted since the Cobalt Unit's intervention. It looks dire, luckily, few of my investments and stakes in other companies have kept us afloat. I need your council," her fingers interlocked, "-the Elon Dynasty has been very helpful throughout our struggle, an investor of their proportion is an achievement on its own… per Elendor's actions, our relations rather strained. Our foundation may break if we're not careful. The reason why I ask for thy help is simple; your company, the Raven's, has built itself off nothing and grown into a behemoth in the world of gambling, not to mention, the narcotic trade is presided upon by thee. Phantom can't, as our agreement said, take over the company, it's yours, and honestly, we wanted to test thy might in a strenuously difficult region. You have control of the mayor, the investors, and the chief of police, the towns under Raven's complete authority, and I even hear the families have bowed to thy rulership, thus, I ask, help us climb the wall, another year and we're doomed, we can't keep up the reckless spending. War is expensive – without an advantage, tis lost."