Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Familiar Faces
Chapter 1223: Chapter 1222: Familiar Faces
After that letter arrived - and we were promptly told of our fate for the foreseeable future - the mood inside of the Palace was shifted towards something far more... subdued, all of us lost in thought and coming to terms that we were - yet again - being sent out to a hostile area for who knows how long.
And this wasn't just any hostile area either; it was the Labyrinthian, which was supposed to be the most hostile area of them all on this continent, and a place that very few people came back from.
Not only that, but it was a complete unknown in terms of what was inside of it, where we could end up after entering, if there was anyone actually living inside of the Labyrinthian... besides Lilith, apparently...
On top of all of that we had just returned from something crazy, so hearing that we needed to head back out was draining on the soul, but also... well... to say I wasn't a little intrigued by this venture into the Labyrinthian was also a lie since it was just a fascinating place to hear about.
The things waiting for us inside of the Labyrinthian were going to be dangerous, but an abundance of dangerous, strong enemies was going to help us improve even more, and in my case it was a quick way to skyrocket all of my stats into a new atmosphere.
But whether or not we were prepared for this adventure into the world's deadliest 'dungeon' was an entirely different question, and it was one that had been answered by someone who wasn't actually here and didn't actually know us.
The hope was that Lilith wasn't leading us to our deaths just for the hell of it and also that both Lady Fenyras and Mom could help keep things evened out, but until we traveled there we had no idea what was going to happen.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
So that day the Empress sent a letter to the Duchy up north and requested that Draka make her way over to the Capital since she had been requested by Lilith, which was certainly going to be interesting since the Duchess was sort of overprotective of her only child, at least according to Mother Ria.
We had time to freely make preparations and come to terms with what had happened, and during that time I went ahead and requested a potent Wind Mana Crystal from the Empress to finish off my new Falcata completely with something that was going to emphasize this blade's flowing curvature.
Since we already had a large Fire Mana Crystal in our own storage I went ahead and nabbed that for the War Pick, wanting to turn the heavy weapon made for puncturing armor even more deadly as I superheated it's 'beak' to give it even more oomph going forwards.
Maybe even figure out a nice combo between the fiery War Pick and the chilly Falcata to create a nice dichotomy that I could use to surprise opponents and get around elemental resistances if we ever ran into any.
With time to kill while we soaked in this news I got to enchanting my weapons while the others went about their own preparations; Lady Fenyras simply retreated into the Inner Sanctum to get everything out of her system while Mom departed from the March to get her gear.
Jahi returned to the training grounds and resumed her workout while Anput cloistered herself away in the forge, hammering out new pieces of armor as she ensured that we had everything we needed for this surprise, and then there was Leone brewing high quality potions in abundance as her own Mother and Lady Igna aided her in this endeavor.
Time instantly switched from being filled with nothing but being quick to now it being flooded with activity... and being even faster than before, since the night came in what felt like minutes before that passed us by for dawn to make its glorious return.
Then the sun was right above our heads again, and by that point both the Duchess and her daughter had arrived, the Ice Dragon bursting into the Palace like she owned the place while Draka just walked behind her with curiosity, her eyes flashing with interest and recognition as she looked around before turning towards us.
The Duchess was as formidable and regal looking as always, her heavy white braid swaying in front of her face as she stormed towards the Empress with an icy expression, while her daughter just made her way over to us and gave us a small smile.
Her white hair and almost porcelain skin was even smoother than before, while those icy blue eyes finished out her brilliance that proved she was, in fact, a descendant of an Ice Dragon, even if she didn't have the scales on her neck or forearms like her Mother did.
"Hello again. It's been quite some time, Jahi, Leone, Anput, Katherine. I've continued to hear about the various... adventures of you four. Mother makes sure of it."
Extending her dainty hand, Draka smiled up at Jahi, not minding how the Demoness dwarfed her as she clasped the Dragonkin's hand and brought it to her lips, greeting her as she should... even if it was a greeting the three of us didn't want to see.
When she greeted both Anput and Leone it was Draka's turn to kiss their hands, and as I prepared to give her both a curtsy and take her hand she instead gently took my own and kissed it too, though she said "It has been some time, and yet I cannot help but marvel at the gem that Jahi managed to polish for herself."
It was a bit flattering, and if we hadn't known Draka for a little bit I would have been confident in assuming that she was trying to flirt with me, but knowing that the futanari in front of me was happily the head of a harem was enough to dissuade me, especially since some of those members of the harem were pregnant.
"I just wish we could have had a more normal time growing up, hm? But I suppose the blood we have running through our veins dissuades the notion of normality, so here we are."