Chapter 3731: Three Steps (Part 2) "Those under a slave spell keep fighting under their imposed mask, and when their will is broken, they just surrender and fade away." Baba Yaga said. "That’s what always happened to my Horsemen’s hosts." "Epphy, instead, is not fighting Lith. She’s fighting with him. Everything they do for each other is because they want to, not because they have to. Otherwise, there would be no Manifestation, let alone Assimilation." "Wow." Silverwing took the words out of Menadion’s mind as she sat there in a stunned silence. "Yes." The Mother nodded, refilling her glass and emptying it just as quickly. "Wow." *** The following day, Lith went to visit Valeron before breakfast. It was a habit he had developed to have a brief interaction with the baby boy to save everyone further awkwardness at the table. "Hi, little fellow." Lith, Solus, and Kamila entered only after knocking on the door and only after Elina gave them permission. "How are you feeling today?" They visited him together to avoid prolonging their and his suffering. This way, he could send them off all at once. "Okay." Valeron muttered, lowering his gaze the moment the three adults stepped through the door. ’It’s not much, but compared to the usual "Go!" it’s a major improvement.’ Lith thought. "We are taking a stroll in the park with Elysia after breakfast. Would you like to join us?" Lith always invited the baby boy, and was usually met with a thrown toy or a firm denial. Valeron the Second raised his eyes to look at them as a conflicted expression formed on his small face. "Okay." Valeron nodded. "Okay as in you want to come with us, or okay as in you aren’t listening to a word we said?" Kamila found the answer too good to be true and refused to believe her own ears. "I listen." Valeron gave her a quizzical look. "I come." "Really?" Solus’ voice broke as she tried and failed to hold her tears. "Really." Valeron replied with a mostly deadpan voice. "Wah!" It was more than enough for Elysia. "Wah! Wah! Wah!" She kicked free from Kamila’s arms and bolted at the baby boy in her Tiamat form, forcing him to shapeshift into a Bahamut. "Wah! Wah!" She tackled him, and the two rolled on the floor in a playful tussle. "Wah! Wah!" Elysia held and licked the bigger Divine Beast, who held and licked her back. "Ely, stop!" Valeron giggled due to her tickling. It was impossible to keep a straight face while drowned in happiness and affection through the Dragon Scales. "Wah! Wa-" Elysia stopped abruptly, jumping back as if she had touched a live wire. "So-y. So-y." She lowered her head and whimpered in apology. "No sorry." Valeron stood up, took her face between his hands, and licked her snout. "No angry." "No?" Elysia looked at him, her small tail waggling in excitement. "No." Valeron didn’t want to waggle his tail back, but he had no control over it. "Ye!" Elysia tackled him again and curled around him in a bundle of love and scales. "Gods, they are so cute." Kamila sniffled, doing her best to suppress her sobs so as not to interrupt the babies, "This is real magic." Elina hid her face in Raaz’s chest, trembling like a soaked puppy as she bottled up her joy. "Women." Lith shrugged, wiping away non-existent dust from his eyes. "Indeed." Raaz hugged Elina and focused on her to keep his voice steady. *** Jiera continent, ruined city of Hervor, at the same time. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Orpal punched a hole in the solid stone of the wall of his bedchamber. The sudden turn of events in Garlen had spoiled his mood, and from there, things had only gotten worse. His plans had gone from clockwork to a ruined mess in the span of two messages. As more news reached Erion from Garlen and the Jormungandr in turn shared them with Orpal, his perfect life seemed to crumble in front of his eyes. "Let me get this straight." Orpal trembled in rage, hating the enchantments of Thrud’s palace for fixing the hole and making his fury as inconsequential as everything else. "Not one noble in the Kingdom believes Leech’s Valeron and Thrud’s Valeron are the same..." "Not one noble in the Griffon Kingdom, not one mage in the Gorgon Empire, and, well, the Blood Desert doesn’t count." Erion shrugged. "The people of the Desert trust the Overlord so much that if she says the sky is green, as long as they get their food, safety, and freedom, they believe her." "The Griffons and the Dragons have put a halt to all other future attempts on the mongrel’s life..." Orpal continued his rant. "Not at all." The Jormungandr shrugged. "Maybe, someone with a death wish and a deep-seated hatred for their own family might make an attempt on Valeron’s life just to bring their bloodline down with themselves, but I doubt they’ll find help or succeed." "And Leech has received compensation for the attempt?" Orpal snarled. "Are you telling me the only thing I achieved by manipulating so many powerful Awakened is making Leech richer?" "It’s quite an unflattering way to put it, but it’s as accurate as concise." Erion nodded. "So, yes, it was a bust. We should-" "Get out!" Orpal moved so fast that he seemed to Blink in front of the Jormungandr. "Now!" Erion left the room with utmost readiness and warned everyone not to get near the Dead King’s quarters unless he summoned them first. Of course, Jorl the Storm Griffon took it as an invitation and walked through the door while the Jormungandr was still relaying the message through his communication amulet. "What’s up, sore loser? I mean, besides the obvious?" Jorl caught the heavy canopy bed Orpal threw at him on the fly and sent it back with one fluid movement. "What do you mean?" Orpal intercepted the bed by the frame, crushing the enchanted hardwood under his grip before aiming his next throw at the Griffon’s crotch. "We both know you’re not angry because of the money." Jorl sidestepped, catching and tossing the bed with a touch as light as a feather. "You still have to work on your grip, by the way." The accurate judgment and aim of the Griffon stunned the Dead King enough to quell his anger. "Be honest with me." Orpal stopped the canopy bed from crushing his gonads and put it down, allowing the enchantments of the room to restore it to mint condition. "Could you defeat fourteen Awakened if they ambushed you?" "Depends." Jorl mulled over the question. "Are we putting ourselves in Verhen’s shoes, or are our hypothetical Awakened reduced to our level and have just a deep violet core?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢 Comparing himself to Lith always hurt Orpal, especially when he came out of it wanting. "Same, identical situation." He replied with the bitterness of an orchard of unripe lemons. "I’d be dead and buried." The Storm Griffon’s voice held no hesitation or shame. "A bright violet-cored Titania alone would be a tough client since her strength would be superior to mine. "The other thirteen Awakened would just have to coordinate their attacks from a distance to bag my corpse in a matter of seconds. One minute tops."