Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1060: End of the Road

Each step forward carried the weight of a sovereign who had no need for pretense. The air thickened, charged, and with every subtle motion of her fingers, lines of force began to spark into being. Thin arcs of light coiled between her knuckles, flickering and snapping. Her aura, once disinterested, now roared with menace, becoming an ominous pressure that made even seasoned warriors like Serika and Vex tense instinctively.

”M-mother?” Felicity’s eyes widened when she saw the magical force gather at her mother’s fingers. ”Didn’t you... Didn’t you return to your research? Why are you-”

Queen Morgana’s eyes slid to her daughter for the briefest of moments. There was no warmth in them. She did not answer.

The shift in the air was all Quinlan’s group needed. Chairs scraped stone, boots planted firmly, blades and spells alike readied.

Felicity lurched to her feet, panic overwhelming her usual composure. ”Mother! What is this?! Why are you... Why are you doing this?!”

Only then did Queen Morgana finally speak. Her voice was smooth and eerily calm.

”I’m afraid,” she began while her fingers started drawing arcane symbols in the air that now burned around her, ”I can’t allow your friend to leave.”

The words froze the air more thoroughly than any ice spell could.

”Quin!” Jasmine’s voice sounded from behind him, laced with panic. Quinlan didn’t need to look back. He felt it. The second presence, a killing intent just as vast and suffocating as Morgana’s, spilling into the garden like a flood.

”It’s her! The woman from the auction! The Adamantite adventurer, leader of the Scarlet Lilies!”

The figure emerged from the opposite side of the garden. Her aura clashed violently with Morgana’s in grim harmony. There was no conflict between the two auras; they merged perfectly well, bolstering one another.

”Lilith.”

The name left Jasmine’s lips as if it were a curse.

Lilith was the same woman who sat behind them during the auction, flanked by her adventurer teammates.

Lilith had no connection to the crown, at least not officially. There’d been rumors of her being related to Morgana, but they were nothing but gossip. Throughout their centuries of living, no concrete proof of blood ties has been documented.

Back during the auction, Quinlan and co found it a bit strange how an adventurer like her was bold enough to tell Felicity, the royal princess, to behave herself properly, but they chalked it up to her having been commissioned by the royal family before. She could’ve met and befriended Felicity when she was called to the palace. To begin with, adventurers weren’t exactly known for using the most proper of speech patterns.

But now, things appeared vastly differently.

”Auntie Lilith?! What are you doing here?? You never come to the palace during times of celebration!” Felicity gasped.

”I’m afraid I’m here to conduct business.”

Lilith stepped fully into the light of the garden now. Ebony armor traced with crimson etchings clung to her frame. Spikes and arcane patterns ran across her gauntlets, glowing with restrained magic. Her silver hair, streaked with pink at the ends, flowed against the dark steel, and her scarlet eyes shone brightly. Roses inked into her porcelain skin peeked through the gaps in her armor; they were half-hidden tattoos that only added to her dangerous allure.

(Picture)

She reached behind her and drew her famed blade. The sound of steel sliding free resonated like a funeral bell. The weapon was no ordinary sword; it was a conduit, a marriage of steel and spell, engraved with runes that blazed to life as soon as it touched her hand.

Warrior-mages were a true rare breed in Thalorind. Many had tried, countless combatants attempting to balance the path of blade and spell, but nearly all met ruin, either by having their bodies break under the contradictory strain or their path simply not allowing it. No proper class showed up that allowed them to merge the two paths into one, marking their combatant journey and their lives as failures.

There were only a handful who ever succeeded. Quinlan was one after his return from Zhenwu. He could already use martial spells before due to his extra classes, but now he was in perfect balance as far as magic and martial might were concerned. Lilith was another such person. A spellblade, to be specific, the apex of martial and arcane harmony. ＲâŊȎΒĘṢ

Her eyes slid across Quinlan’s back, then past him to Seraphiel.

”I always knew you two were weird, but I didn’t expect you’d even get my lunatic of an elder sister so invested. All I can say is...”

Lilith sent a side eye glance toward Morgana before sighing.

”Good riddance, kids. May the Goddess have mercy on your souls, for your mortal vessels are already done for.”

Morgana laughed while her aura flared. ”Weird?” she echoed. ”I don’t care about the elf, but calling this man weird doesn’t do him justice.”

Her eyes swirled, irises twisting into endless patterns as the magic she had been quietly feeding swelled to a violent crescendo. The air itself shuddered under the force.

Her voice dropped into a whisper that carried like thunder. ”I’ll get to the bottom of what he truly is once he’s strapped to my lab’s desk.”

That was all Quinlan asked.

The Hexwitch bit her lip.

Quinlan replied. His calm tone didn’t match the storm of killing intent swelling just meters away.

A chorus of resistance slammed into his mind at once, the voices of his companions overlapping in panic.

Aurora’s tone was brittle, but burning.

Ayame’s thought cut in, but he shut it down before she could continue.

His voice silenced them all.

His mind-voice steadied, becoming resolute.

His words trailed off as Lilith’s blade hummed, crimson runes flaring, and Morgana’s aura thickened until even the sun artifact couldn’t shine anymore. The air around them had become a vice, squeezing tighter with every breath.

That was when the confrontation was interrupted by a lazy, feminine yawn. ”Haaah... What a loud bunch. How is one supposed to get their beauty sleep like this?”

The sound came from right above Quinlan’s head.

The ancient creature stirred.