Chapter 288: Old Enemies, New Friends

Before the worst revelation, Zae Zin Nim had been shocked for a moment when Omilaena had grabbed her. The other woman's touch had been so forceful, yet it didn't seem like she was reverting to her old self. Her hands had felt tense yet confident, touching her only because it was urgently necessary. And then she had explained, which washed away that petty discomfort.

Now they fled the building, hoping that they hadn't been seen and their presence would go ignored. Why was Anaelina here? Zae Zin Nim hadn't seen her since the battle at Rayakan, where she had hoped that Kai had scared the Silver Demon off for good. Maybe he had... which meant she had gone back home to Rosemount, gotten involved with this demonic sect, and now stood in their way.

They'd spent an entire year on Rosemount staying ahead of her father's cultivators, avoiding too many entanglements, slipping around bad luck... and now it seemed fate had caught up to them.

Just when Zae Zin Nim began to think they would escape the building, she felt the cool presence behind her. There were guards standing beside the doors, nothing special but enough to slow them down. They jerked to attention like puppets and shifted to bar the door.

"I thought I tasted someone familiar!" Anaelina approached them, still showing her sweet mask, but Zae Zin Nim remembered her tearing through everyone in her path for the fun of it. "Oh, it's little Hanelay Cloudspire... but that's not your real name, is it? I see you've found a new friend - won't you introduce us?"

Zae Zin Nim turned back slowly, keeping her hands ready at her sides. They could easily have killed their way through the next door, but that would only guarantee a worst case scenario. She didn't know the exact location of all the demons she'd seen before, so they could attack from any side.

"You don't look very happy to see me." Anaelina pretended to pout as she walked forward, still displaying herself wantonly. "But I'm actually glad to see you. All my struggles in Deadwaste were what earned me enough strength to rise here instead of being crushed."

"You'll forgive me for being less enthusiastic." Zae Zin Nim gave the smallest possible bow, not taking her eyes off the demonic art user. "If you really feel any gratitude, let us go about our business in peace."

"But what about that boy with you? Please don't tell me that he died, I'd be ever so disappointed."

Instead of answering, Zae Zin Nim pressed her spiritual sight until she pierced through to Anaelina's soul and saw that it had unfortunately grown more complex.

Name: Anaelina

Total Power: 530

Silver Demon: Spinel Rank (215)

Corrupt Yin Core: Level 32 (128)

Physique: E-7 (101)

Soul Level: 6 (36)

Devouring Yin (+50)

>

The fact that she was sitting at 530 Power meant that her strength had leapt immensely... but not as much as Zae Zin Nim and her allies had improved. Unless one of her new abilities, which admittedly looked rather ominous, contained some secret trap, they should be able to defeat her. The problem was that Anaelina was apparently a member of the Commonwealth Trade Guild, perhaps even the leader.

So fighting her meant fighting all the demons. She had several supporters with over 700 Power in the building and could summon more in minutes.

"Now I'm starting to feel insulted." Anaelina tilted her head back and her eyes shifted from merely pale to shining silver. "You don't want to talk?"

"Troulon tried to take me into protective custody," Omilaena explained as she headed east. "He's convinced that the great powers are just using this meeting as a pretext to kill each other and he wanted me to be safe. This is exactly the sort of thing I was worried about. There will be countless knock-on effects we can't anticipate."

"How did you escape?"

"Seduced him a bit and then fingernail poison." Omilaena waved her fingers, though there wasn't much playfulness left in her. "Never mind that. What have we heard from our Silver Demon friend?"

"Nothing." Zae Zin Nim could only shrug. "As far as I know, the meetings are still going on there. The elves at the embassy seemed calm and said she everyone was just conducting business."

"Not likely. Anaelina has had an entire day to react to our presence. Maybe she decided to ignore us or the meeting matter, but we can't count on that. Besides, I've burned our bridges with Troulon. I say we grab Kai and avoid this mess entirely. We need to-"

"Cultivator!" The voice roared around them and Zae Zin Nim whipped her head to the side, already knowing who she would see.

Lilaetiel crouched atop a nearby building, her eyes burning bright. She tossed a square piece of marble into the air and then jumped on it, beginning to fly after them. Her demonic cultivation fueled her ride to such speeds that she was on them in seconds, before Zae Zin Nim was prepared. The demon was reaching out already, her hands extending into qi-draining claws...

Zae Zin Nim struck the air with a palm strike, releasing a ripple of blue fire. It sent the demon tumbling backward, but Lilaetiel barely managed to catch her marble ride with one hand. Both plummeted before the demoness regained control, hopped back on, and continued pursuit.

The distance between them didn't close so fast now, so Zae Zin Nim hurled qi techniques at her opponent, barely caring about the city around them - the demoness was too strong to take lightly or worry about collateral damage. Lilaetiel continued to grin at her, no matter how much Zae Zin Nim forced her back, not even when she managed to strike her with a few qi attacks. They pushed the demoness back but seemed to be absorbed into her spirit, then she licked her lips and continued pursuing.

Abruptly the crystal ship twisted to the side, sliding in between two of the buildings. Zae Zin Nim fell and barely caught herself on the side. While she dangled, she saw Lilaetiel fail to slip between the buildings and instead crash into the side of one. When they reverted to upright she pulled herself back up, glaring at Omilaena.

"Was that really necessary?"

"Who told her about us?" The other woman looked even tenser than before. "Was it just a coincidence that she saw you?"

"What else would it be?" Zae Zin Nim asked. But Omilaena didn't say anything as they continued to escape the city, just compelled them to go faster.

Lilaetiel continued to dog them the entire time, willing to take any risk to get a chance at stealing cultivation. Her pursuit ended up curving their path slightly south instead of north after Kai, which could be a problem.

For a while it seemed like they had done it: they reached the end of the bright lights in the east. Beyond the reach of the First Crest's power there was only a region of white marble yards where markets were sometimes held. No... actually there was the Flaeren Dominion's army beyond that.

Had that been Omilaena's plan all along? The Flaeren Dominion was in theory a neutral party in all these conflicts and they were strong enough that even demons had to give them some respect. It might be off their course, but maybe the army tents were a new sort of safety.

Then Zae Zin Nim realized that none of that mattered: there was a line of enemies stretched across the marble, blocking their path. Lilaetiel hadn't been wildly attacking, she had been herding them. Anaelina stood waiting, yes, but even worse was the line of men and women in robes behind her:

Brightwind cultivators.

Their qi lashed out the next second, chains catching the crystal ship and pulling it to scrape against the white marble. Zae Zin Nim was thrown over the side and managed to flip to her feet in time to see a bright silver smile.

"We didn't get to finish our conversation earlier." Anaelina's clothing shimmered silver, constricting to cover her as she prepared to do battle. "I have some new friends who are very eager to meet you."