Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

Chapter 556: The price of a boon

All eyes turned toward a woman dressed in flowing noble apparel; her lustrous golden hair fell past her shoulders to the middle of her back.

To say she was beautiful seemed like an understatement because she practically glowed with an indescribable benevolence—like she was above all mundane matters. Which made the look of worry on her face so striking because what could make this angelic-looking beauty, who was exuding a somewhat divine purpose, so distraught?

”Lady Victoire,” the blond man said with a bow.

The Mages bowed even deeper. They had dropped their hands, and their spell circles had vanished as they all backed up a bit in obedience to Lady Victoire’s orders.

”My Lady, these intruders...” the blond man started to say.

”Oh come on, Lincoln, I know who they are,” Lady Victoire said, ”And so do you, I’m sure.”

”Yes, my Lady,” Lincoln said, shaking his blond head, ”But my Lady...”

”You were with my Son on that day,” Lady Victoire said, pointing at Delia.

”Your son?” Delia blinked, taken momentarily by surprise.

”Yes, my son,” Lady Victoire said with a little smile and a twinkle in her blue eyes, ”Aurelius. Surely you see the resemblance.”

Lady Victoire sounded like she was jesting, but now that she mentioned it, Delia and the others did see similarities between her face and her son’s, making the relation clear.

*BOOOM!!!*

An explosion rent the air, and all eyes went to the Cube, which the collection of militants around it had just combined their magical might to strike at again.

Kaya and the others flinched, and Lincoln tensed, but Lady Victoire was unmoved. She just let out a sigh as she turned to face the ladies again.

”You say you’ve come to help. I won’t turn you away,” she said.

”My Lady...” Lincoln started to protest.

”They’ve faced this before. Well, one of them has,” Lady Victoire said. ”We’ve made no progress in getting Aurelius out, so why should I turn them away?”

Lincoln gritted his teeth but said nothing more and just bowed deeper and backed away from the ladies so he wasn’t at all blocking their path toward the sealing cube.

”Come on,” Lady Victoire said and glided away.

There was nothing about her gait that suggested she was actually walking. Her feet didn’t seem to touch the ground, and Kaya was sure she was actually suspended a few inches above the ground using the skill of flight that eludes all before the Eighth Circle and even then, is not always commonplace.

Kaya and the others shared looks and then hurried to follow after her.

”Again, how are we getting through the cube?” Eloise asked.

”Working on it,” Delia said through clenched teeth.

”Well, work fast,” Aylin said, ”I’m worried we don’t have much time left.”

Lady Victoire didn’t say a word, but the militants around the Cube stood down in their attempts to break it down and stepped away from it with deference to her.

”Have at it,” Lady Victoire said gracefully as she turned to the ladies and gestured at the sealing cube.

”Delia?” Kaya said.

”On it,” Delia said and stepped toward the cube. While the militants who had already struck at it so far awaited her to launch an attack, she simply closed her eyes.

’I know you can hear me!’ Delia yelled in her head as she had been doing all through the drive here,

’You’ve been intruding in my thoughts for almost two months, and now that you can actually be useful, you’re going to be quiet?!

What sort of god are you?!’

Nothing.

Delia wasn’t deterred, though. She knew Nyx was listening. She knew because of that darkness that had sprouted in her since the day of the Mid-Semester Tests.

Ever since Caius asked Nyx for an intervention so they could defeat Belron, and Delia was possessed by the Goddess’s divine backing, a darkness had sprouted within Delia’s psyche, and it didn’t go away even after the Divine backing left her.

There was a presence within the darkness, Delia was sure, because the presence was always peering at her with an almost lazy appraisal. It annoyed her, and she never shied away from showing her annoyance...

... But today, she needed that presence to pay her even more attention.

’COME ON!’ She yelled even louder,

’WE DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME! THE WORLD COULD END RIGHT NOW JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE BEING A BITCH!!!

IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?!’

The presence within the darkness flared in annoyance, and Delia knew she had gone too far. A pressure struck her mind, sending her into a violent shock that caused her entire body to tremble, and she fell to one knee.

”Delia!” The others cried.

”I’m—” Delia said, holding out a hand to pacify them, ”I’m- I’m fine.”

’Am I?’ She asked in her head. That pressure had almost shattered her hold on life.

”~You not only talk more than him, but you’re more impudent as well...~”

Delia froze as she heard the voice. It was the first time she had ever heard it. Even when she had been possessed with Nyx’s divine backing and in all the times she had sensed the presence within the darkness watching her, she had never heard its voice.

The best description for the voice was Death. Chilling, creeping, and leeching any tiny piece of vibrancy. The voice was death itself, plain and simple.

Delia gulped but held her ground. While the arrival of the presence had shaken her so much and she would have preferred a softer first meeting, she had still gotten what she wanted.

’I need your help,’ she said, and somehow the voice of her thoughts sounded hoarse from fear.

”~And you thought insulting me would inspire me to help you?~”

’You didn’t respond otherwise,’ Delia said, a little indignant.

”~And why should I? What makes you think you deserve MY audience?~”

’The whole world is at stake!’ Delia said, ’If you don’t help, it could all be over!’

”~So what? Worlds have fallen, and more will fall. What makes your world special and deserving of saving?~”

Delia struggled to conceive the idea of ’worlds’ in such a plural form and the idea that the destruction of this world, her world, was of so little consequence. So she pushed past that and focused on the issue at hand.

’You helped once!’ She pointed out.

”~Yes, because I saw a chance to stick it to Aether, that bitch.~”

’Then this is a chance to do it again,’ Delia said.

”~The circumstances are way too similar.~”

’What?’ Delia said, confused, and she could have sworn the presence within the darkness rolled its eyes at her for not understanding what Nyx was talking about.

”~I bested Aether in this way once already. I saved the life of her little godling apostle and kept her ridiculous rouse—whatever it is—going for however much longer. The thought of besting her the same way again just bores me.~”

’But...’ Delia started, unsure what to even say.

”~If you wish to entice my blessing, you’ll have to try better than that.~”

’I only need access into the Sealing Cube. That’s all I need. It’s one tiny favor...’ Delia said and continued in a falsely innocent tone of thought,

’Unless, of course, you can’t do it...’

”~You must truly have a death wish to taunt me!~”

’No,’ Delia said and braced for another wave of pressure attack to strike her mind, but she kept the innocent tone of thought as she continued,

’It’s just that all other attempts have failed against the cube, so it wouldn’t be anything against you if that’s something you... can’t do.’

”~You’re comparing me to your pathetic, paltry mortal powers?~”

Delia did a mental shrug.

’I just don’t see why you wouldn’t be taking the chance to show off your might if you could,’ She said.

Delia knew she was making a gamble but, for one, there wasn’t time to actually think of anything better. For another, she was willing to bet Nyx wouldn’t kill her just yet.

If the goddess had taken the time to plant her darkness in Delia’s mind and then watched her for almost two months, then there had to be more to it. And whatever that was, Delia believed—hoped—it would buy her enough grace to push a little.

Also, it would be so easy for Nyx to kill her. So, the fact that she hadn’t been killed already bolstered Delia’s confidence as a part of her mind, the one that commanded her insolence, kept prodding her to keep going.

”~You can’t trick me into helping you.~”

’It’s not a trick. I truly don’t see why you wouldn’t want to help if you could. For all your talk about worlds getting destroyed, you seem invested enough in this one to be watching me and speaking to me,’ Delia said.

For a minute, there was silence.

And then, when Nyx spoke again, her voice was slow and deliberate.

”~There is a price to pay to accept a god’s boon. Are you aware?~”

Finally, they were getting somewhere. Keeping her elation tempered, Delia said,

’What is it?’

”~Eternal devotion. Complete servitude to my Divine demands. By my will, you live, and by it, you die. In short, the price for my boon, you impudent mortal fledgling, is your soul.~”