No, other races are not inferior.
Yes, I gave up on the people and empire that I created with my own hands.
No, I don't want another territory or care about the immortality I'm stuck with.
-From the profile page of the Tier 5 Angel, Mikhael Valoel, the Lost Seraph. Home Location: Unknown. Currently in self-imposed exile from the Holy Empire.
****************************************************
"Cyreus Hent, was his name then?"
Odd nodded in return. His mother was leading the way towards Cripclaw Keep and the dutiful son trailed behind her alongside Isonei.
"Do you know of him, mother?"
"Of course not, do you have any idea how many tier 4 knights work for Morcuck?"
Odd shrugged despite the fact that his mother was looking ahead.
"My sister says he's a non-combatant. He uses his [Henticle Affinity] you were talking about to perform minor space manipulation. He makes most his money taking extraction missions. Most tier fours have quite a bit of autonomy and act like loyal mercenaries for their factions to make a living and get a safe shelter in return."
Melisandra continued, "The octopus is probably here for our little straggler and is using the chaos you caused to save all the slaves of aquatic heritage and left the rest."
Odd wanted to ask more about just taking saving certain slaves, but he had a more pressing issue.
"Sister? Since when do I have an aunt? And how are you able to just talk to her like that?"
"Since, always? When two people come from the same parents they're siblings, don't be an idiot, sweety. And besides, I just texted her.."
"You know that's not what I meant, mom," Odd sighed.
"Marlina left the Underworld with me, but she became a Light Elf when I came back from an... unintentional trip. All she does now is sit around the tree, gossip, and plays with plants like the rest of her kind. She's... not the worst person, but only in small doses. And for I just talked to her? Another tier 4 ability, its called the Connection for a reason."
Melisandra looked back at Odd and winked at him.
Odd, sighed, he was far past ready for a vacation. Because of his perk, he couldn't get physically tired, but his brain felt like it was going to shut down. Maybe some place warm?
As if sensing his thoughts, Melisandra spoke out again, "Its okay to be a little rattled after nearly dying."
"I'm not!" Odd said, his voice raised.
Melisandra stopped walking and looked at her son. "How many tier 5's do you think are in this world?"
Odd didn't know where this was coming from, that lizard didn't get to him thaaat bad. He doesn't need indirect counseling or whatever she's trying to get at. Especially because his mother isn't the most qualified to be trying it.
"There's about 20 known ones in this hemisphere. We estimate there's around 60 worldwide."
The Living Ghoul looked up at her, "Where are you going with this?"
"Other than those 60 people, out of the billions of creatures on this rock," Melisandra paused. "There is no one worth putting in your eyes. It was a monster that was put down, just like the savages that you took care of over the week. In no time at all, you will be treating their leaders the same way. Until then, you have me, don't you?"
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The trio looked at the front entrance of Cripclaw Keep and watched as a bolt of 4-colored lighting rained down from the heavens and decimated the front gate.
"When... can I do that?" Odd looked upon the destruction in awe.
"Hmm, its a new one for me actually. Since it took me a half a millennium, you should be able to within... a couple hundred years or so?"
Odd swore to himself that it would take him far less. The fastest way to grow was through rigorous combat. Thankfully, that was something Odd found enjoyable.
Maybe just a short vacation instead of a long one.
A monotone, metallic voice echoed from across the entryway as they entered, "Another one? You should leave before the master returns."
Odd compared its strength with his mother's.
[Eyes of Providence] Activated
Name: Melisandra Meirvere
Titles: [Dark Lady of the Myriad Storms]
Race: Abyssal Elf, T4
[Stats]
Body: Mid T4
Mind: Mid T4
Soul: Low T5
Yin Lightning Affinity: Low T5
Righteous Lighting Affinity: High T4
Blood Lighting Affinity: Low T4
Lightning Affinity: Low T4
======
Name: Metal
Titles: [Celibate]
Race: Metal Slime
Body: Mid T4
Mind: Low T3
Soul: Low T3
Metal Affinity: Low T4
Where's the rest of them? The shiny, silver, humanoid shape was the only thing he could see. What about the necromancer or the leader?
Bzzzzt
Shing!
The battle lasted a few minutes, but to Odd, it felt like it happened in an instant. With the stat difference and faith in his mother, Odd believed nothing less than total victory and he wasn't wrong. The damage though? It was unexpected.
The walls around him weren't there anymore; metal spikes and charred holes took their places.
Odd blinked a few times to get a better look, the brightness of the multicolored lightning affected him a bit, but the sight was still a little shocking. The Metal Slime was smoking and splashes of what used to be his body were distributed hundreds of feet in every direction. The entire front end of the stronghold was creaking out in pain. Odd was surprised that it hadn't fallen over yet.
He looked to his mother and saw she was frowning.
Her body started to glow red and split off next to her. The dimly lit, red glow formed a humanoid figure with the shape of Melisandra's figure. It was just how she had described the appearance of an astral projection to Odd before.
Melisandra turned to her son, "Such a let down, whatever, lets take a look, shall we?"
With the nod of his head, Odd followed along to the Pitts and saw damage that rivaled the aftermath of his mother's latest fight.
Bodies of Goblins and Hobgoblins were in crumpled heaps, some were in small craters in the walls or broken against other objects in the room. Every dead Gob had one thing in common. A fist sized hole.
The tier 4 powerhouse that caused the prison break had drilled a wider orifice in every dead Gob. Some had their ear canals split open. Some had their eye socket demolished. Odd cringed when he saw the damage in some of their asses. The squid was more than a pervert. Odd never wanted to meet it for the rest of his life.
Odd let out the breath he had no idea he was holding. A group of former slaves were looking at the trio, their eyes filled with fear.
Isonei started walking towards them in a nonthreatening manner as Odd's mother kept walking, ignoring the group. The Living Ghoul noticed that none of them had a aquatic ancestry. Some were beast-like people, others were humans, and there were plenty of furry, avian, or reptilian humanoids as well.
"Looks like Cripclaw left and the necromancer was taken for its bounty," the elf's voice alerted Odd and he stopped rubbernecking the former captives.
"What? All that and he just leaves? What now?"
Melisandra shrugged as she strut down the halls in a purposeful direction, "Who cares? I'm just her for my stuff. The bounty is irritating, but I'll just add the squid to the list of people I'll kill when I get bored."
"That... That's it?"
"Yup," she popped. "That's it. But whats next for you, are you coming with me to the tree?"
She sounded very odd when she asked. It was like her voice went from demure, to uncaring, to sarcastic within one sentence. Odd was used to her Abyssal-ness, but the way she asked him made the little hair on his body stand on end in a state of alertness.
"Well, I don't really want to go that far from Cirrha... and it sounds kinda boring there... But! I want to stay with you mother."
"Forget it," Melisandra said coldly. "I figured it was the best option as well."
The only sounds Odd heard were the steady steps of him and his mother as they continued their way through the stronghold. Finally at their destination, Melisandra summoned a bolt of lightning from the sky that destroyed the doorway ahead of them.
And the wall.
And the rooms around them. Frankly, the elf obliterated most of what was left of the keep in a thunderstorm that literally came out of nowhere.
Melisandra snapped her fingers and pink lighting sprouted from them, only to pull a black band that snugly fit on her middle finger of her left hand.
In a flash, she was dressed in dark dress that split at the bottom and left very little to the imagination. Her already impressive figure that radiated with dignity made it hard for Odd to look up to her face.
Her red eyes glowed, lightening her violet hair, sharp features, and pouty lips.
Melisandra withdrew thousands Power Stones, threw them in the air, and sent bolts of red lightning between them and a small, piece of stone.
The air around it glowed with power before it receded, leaving a necklace with a round, black pendant attached. Odd knew rituals could create anything, but the process itself was a mesmerizing display.
[Eyes of Providence] activated
Name: Tracking Collar
Description: A person with a [Yin Lighting Affinity] can be tracked by anyone wearing this by the attuned owner(Melisandra Meirvere).
"Go with the fish, see the sights. Its not far and you can come back for the plant your'e so obsessed with. When you get bored though, you know where to find me."
Melisandra pulled a large, purple stone out of her ring and crushed it. In front of her, space split open, a purple rimmed portal to a dank, dark dungeon appeared.
Along with the wafting spell of decaying flesh.
"Hmm, I forgot I left him in there," the Abyssal Elf hummed an started to take a step through the portal.
"Wait!"
As if expecting the goodbye, the elf turned, foot still midair and looked to the Gob.
"Can I..."
"Spit it out, quit being a pussy, Odd."
"Can I..." Odd stammered. His face felt flush and his chest felt like it was constricting around himself. He finally spit out what he wanted to ask. "Can I use your last name?"
Melisandra lazily waved her hand and she walked through to portal. "Whatever, I can't stop you."
The portal closed behind her with the last word. Odd's mouth turned to a slight grin and he happily made his way to Isonei so he could ask to stay with her in her trip back. Hopefully she had a way to meet up with the other aquatic people.
Then, he had to go see Cirrha. At least for the night, he could convince Isonei to wait.
Odd paused before he arrived at the Pitts.
"All that money... I knew I should have asked for more help instead of a fucking name..." All along, that's what he wanted. Sure, he was happy she was okay with it, but what he really wanted was wealth or a little more help. She was so prideful of him doing things on his own that he chickened out last minute. He felt the spare change in his pouch as he grumbled and moved on, ready to be done with the day.