Chapter 118: I greet the Empire's Sun
The sounds of horses in the night echoed as the carriage proceeded, all was calm, Ziriel was calm watching time pass.
"Use the signal if something goes wrong..." He heard slowly from his memories, one of the mages he met because of Morgana, something he remembered clearly and never left his mind, his thoughts slowly drifted through that moment before dying while he watched time go by.
'Could it be... if I draw their attention... maybe...' No, that would be impossible, there would be no way to use that phrase as he did with Valentina's Shadow, right?
The signs of the past were still present, if Sylvia and Yriel were still in the White Tower, perhaps... just perhaps... She could regain her strength, at least from the White Tower.
Of course, it would be impossible in the current times for him to contact these two, only they knew that the code existed, and apart from Morgana and the old Dante, no one would know, it could easily be used to identify that Ziriel is Dante's mind in a new body.
'If I had these two by my side...' Of course, there was the possibility of Ziriel returning to his original appearance as Dante at some point, but no one would believe it if he didn't have proof, that would only happen if he brought Valentina and Morgana to the physical world.
'Voralith, how much longer until you become a physical being and stop being a Spirit?' Ziriel questioned, she thought of a plan.
'Soon, probably in one or two days, my humanoid form is almost stable already.' She mentally responded and Ziriel asked something that had been on his mind.
'Voralith, when you return, can I perform the spiritual familiar calling?' Ziriel had been thinking about it for a while, after all, if the contract between him and Voralith wasn't a spiritual contract, it meant that his soul could still enter the spiritual world so that he could make a familiar contract.
'I'm not sure if it would work, your soul has been overloaded for a long time because of your past life and the so-called "Legacies" you absorbed, right now they are still connected but hidden because you couldn't handle it. But you can still try, just don't expect it to be a high-ranking familiar spirit.'
'Is it possible for me to summon a certain Phoenix?' Ziriel asked, thinking of the Phoenix that pulled Valentina.
'Without knowing her name and the sector of the spiritual realm she inhabits, no, and if you're thinking of summoning that phoenix your mother has a contract with, I'm sorry, Igris can't be called by anyone other than the contractor.' She replied calmly, unlike the moments of war between them, Voralith takes all matters involving Ziriel's life and stability very seriously.
'Darn. At least I'll try to summon some Familiar, any can help.' Ziriel replied and she felt Voralith agreeing.
Ziriel still immersed in thoughts began to think about everyone who could help her and what steps she would take after killing Ethan, the first thing that came to her mind was going to Avalon and regaining the trust of the Witches to free Morgana, then going straight to Valentina who was really Ziriel's focus, after all, Valentina was more dangerous than Morgana, if she didn't calm Valentina's state of mind, she feared the end of the Vampire Kingdom, because knowing her wife, the mourning must have passed by now and now, she was training within the sealing to get out and erase this entire world, something Ziriel wouldn't doubt Valentina could do, only he knew how monstrous Valentina could be in a war, and at that time, she hadn't even fully trained the Grandmaster stage like now or used the Original Vampire Count Transformation, something Dante knew, but never saw personally because only Valentina and Vlad had the Original form, unlike the other Vampires.
'Morgana and Valentina can wait, it will be easier for me to use Velryna's capacity as Empress to get a private meeting with Lyriana Vortex, so I can find Sara and Nagasawa, with these three women by my side, convincing Alice Arcano may be much easier than trying to convince the Witches.'
'You're thinking too much about the future, you need to evolve your physique first and your martial arts, when you do that your cultivation core will stabilize completely, then you can level up faster, in half a year you'll be as powerful as before, but you'll have true power, not that confusing nonsense from thousands of different sources, power trained to the maximum.' Voralith's voice said this, it was true that if he trained as she instructed, he could indeed be comparable to the old Dante, but in a less confusing and stronger way, that would be a great advantage.
'Besides, you seem to be forgetting something.' Voralith said and appeared in front of Ziriel holding the Baby Dragon.
'This little guy here may not be a True Dragon, but he's still a Dragon, if he makes a Master and Servant contract with you, you'll have something very powerful by your side, Young one.' Voralith said, making Ziriel remember the Dragon that seemed overshadowed by the problems that have occurred, he still slept peacefully and would probably remain so for a long time, the poor thing suffered a lot at the hands of the thugs who tortured him, and he certainly wanted revenge, after all...
He's still a Dragon, and Dragons are arrogant.
"We're arriving." Velryna's voice entered Ziriel's thoughts and she opened her sleepy eyes and saw the scene she didn't want to see, the Imperial Palace.
"It's going to be a tough night." Ziriel said and began to prepare to get up, and Simon stepped out of the carriage first, alerting the guards to the arrival of Princess Velryna.
"Stay on guard." The responsible Captain said loudly and again Simon appeared at the carriage door.
Extending his hand calmly, he bowed and Velryna stepped out holding his hands, for a second Ziriel thought he would follow but he continued to wait and then, he extended his hand to her too with a smile.
"You might trip in that dress, Lady Ziriel." Simon said teasingly, but it didn't sound like teasing, but deep down Ziriel sighed 'I won't be able to get used to this.' Ziriel thought and held onto him as she got out of the carriage but it didn't last two seconds.
SWIN
Six swords appeared around her neck and Simon was pushed back, the Guard Captain looked at Ziriel and questioned.
"Who are you?" Unlike the weak knights accompanying Velryna, the imperial guard was made up only of the elite of the elite of the Kingdom, most of the knights were Sword Experts, some could even become masters like this captain, for them it was easy.
Ziriel sighed slowly and almost killed everyone by their incompetence in her presence, of course, it would be complicated but not impossible... if only one of them faltered...
"I am~"
"She is my companion, a close friend, and you're insulting her." Princess Velryna said leaving all the Knights at her mercy. "Put down that blade before I drive it into your heart." She
said firmly and one of the knights hesitated.
Ziriel crouched down and kicked him, sweeping his legs, in just a second she caught her sword in the air and pointed it directly at the Guard Captain's neck.
"There are two types of people, you know?" Ziriel said and then the sword began to touch his neck and a thin thread of blood flowed.
"Those who take orders and those who give Orders. For you, a dog of the Empire, what kind of person are you? I've counted four mistakes."
"First, pushing my master, a lack of manners from the palace." She said looking at Simon who was getting up.
"Second, Ignoring the princess's words, confirming that I am someone known to her." She said looking at Velryna who had a comic smile on her face.
"Third, You can't identify a force greater than yours, if it were someone with ill intentions you would be dead and the princess too" She said as she looked at the Knight who fell.
"Fourth, Kneel in front of Her Majesty the Princess." She said and kicked the Captain's knees making him fall to the ground in reverence, while the sword continued to be pointed at his head.
The place fell into complete silence, a simple lady had just defeated two imperial knights in just four moves, it was surprising even for them to see such a thing happen, the cold atmosphere fell upon them, they seemed like they were going to die from the looks Ziriel gave them, but it was all part of her act.
Ziriel threw the sword back to the fallen Knight and smiled gently "Imagine if I were an evildoer, right? I could even kill my favorite princess" She said pouting in a comic tone and Velryna started laughing again.
"HAHAHAHAHA" She laughed loudly, something she almost never did, but it was almost what? the third time Ziriel made her almost cry with laughter? Of course, she loved the performance.
While she laughed, footsteps came from behind her, not just one, but several and then a sound came that caught the attention of the Three;
Clep Clep Clep
The claps came and all the knights immediately knelt, bowing so low they could become floor inspectors, they were so close to the ground they were.
"It's good to see my sister is very well accompanied, by this... Miss?" He questioned, Ethan Smith appeared in front of Ziriel.
Ziriel, knowing everything, tried to restrain herself but for half a second saw her blade tearing his head off, and the blood spurting everywhere. 'Calm down' Voralith said calling Ziriel's attention.
"I greet the Empire's Sun, Your Majesty Ethan Smith" Ziriel said, bowing... For the first time, she felt the urge to die rather than bow to such a person, the simple greeting almost made her commit suicide just to avoid doing such a thing to such a disgusting vermin.
"And your name is?" He questioned, Ziriel had no choice but to say calmly. "Ziriel Azure, Your Majesty" she replied with a gentle, warm, and honest smile.
'You are an excellent actress, why bother becoming a man again? It matched perfectly.' Voralith mocked and mentally Ziriel wanted to strangle that Dragon.
"I see..." He began to think, trying to remember if he had ever met someone because despite being his first meeting, he felt something familiar... animosity... maybe because this faithful squire protected his sister?
He couldn't continue his thought because briefly, he was completely dispersed by Velryna's words.
"It's good to see you're in good health, my brother." Velryna said, making the atmosphere even worse. She did it on purpose, she needed to take Ziriel's focus off as quickly as possible so Ethan wouldn't be interested in her now, she needed to first establish herself in the palace, then they would start acting.
"I'm very well, I heard you were attacked by thieves, you must be exhausted, why don't we go in and accommodate you in the Empress's Palace?" He said with a gentle smile, Velryna laughed slowly and nodded.
"Sure, a bath is what I want the most." She said and held onto Ziriel's arms. "Shall we go?" Ziriel nodded and both walked ahead without even saying goodbye to the Emperor. Simon went too.
"Keep an eye on that white-haired woman, inform me if you see anything suspicious and I'll reward you." Ethan said and the present Knights immediately agreed and dispersed from the scene.
"Azure..." Ethan murmured. "Where do I know that name from?"
He couldn't remember, but years ago, the name Azure was quite mentioned in conversations among high-ranking adventurers.
A woman as beautiful as a mermaid, strong as a storm, and.... Destroyer like a great tsunami.