Ch – 020 Vanessa Pt.2
"…send him in." said the Queen after a long time, her tone was a little different with a tinge of fear and anger mixed in. Her Kaisers all felt it and they all became a little curious at who this new person was.
The sergeant nodded his head and dashed back. Soon, the doors of the Throne Room were thrown open and six people entered the room. The first one to enter was a boy aged not more than 5 or 6 years old with golden blonde hair and wore a stylish white gown with golden silk embroidery. Along with that, he wore a pair of white gloves and a white mask was on his face. The mask was a smiling Greek theatre mask or better known as the comedy mask of the comedy-tragedy mask pair.
Behind the boy were five women, all dressed in partial metal armor, also wearing the same mask as the boy. The first lady beside Aiden was quite tall with long, exposed legs. Her armor, like all the rest, focused mainly on the chest area, the throat and the arms while only a small metallic skirt protected the abdomen and the upper legs. As for the rest of her body, it was either exposed or protected by leather armor like the leather gauntlets with exposed fingers and the greaves and the armor for kneecaps.
In contrast, her neck was quite well guarded with a semi-circular fan shaped metal plate covering the sides of her neck and back neck. Her face was masked but there was some clear distinction on her like the number '1' which was painted on one of her cheek. It was the same for her earrings. Yes, everyone wore earrings and masked and everyone one of them were numbered for some reason.
Other characteristic differences were their hair length and hairstyles and height and composure.
The first lady who followed the kid stood upright and was armed with a rapier and a longsword. The second and third women were very similar with the same height and hairstyles. They were a little different from the rest because their hair styles were short and colored pinkish-orange and not complete blonde like the others.
They were both armed with blunt weapons, the one numbered '2' had a Morningstar while '3' had a barbed flail.
The one numbered '4' was unarmed but unlike '1', '2' and '3', she was hooded and there were magical fluctuations around her clearly indicating that she's a magician. Her long golden blonde hair was tied in a long ponytail which hung gracefully on her chest armor. The last '5' was armed with a bow and quiver and was also armed with a rounded shield.
She too had a hood over her head but she was a little bit messier than the others. But other than the bow and arrow, she was also armed with a belt of throwing knives which was tied around her waist.
The shadow of the Queen stood up from her bed and neared the curtain, a small protrusion appeared on the surface of the curtains but she did not come out. Instead, her glowing eyes brightened and she asked in a frosty tone, "Welcome back, Aiden. Care to tell us where you went for the past week?"
The kid, who was none other than our Aiden, Aiden Archard, tilted his head and replied in a queer tone, "Were you worried about me, Your Imperial Majesty?" there was a slight sarcasm in his tone and everyone felt it.
"Mind your tongue—"
"Shut up!" the Queen interrupted one of her Kaisers and looked intently at Aiden. "Yes." She said, "I was worried about your safety. I answered your question so answer mine, now." She said in a demanding tone to which Aiden nodded vigorously.
"As should be nature of a gentleman. Well, you see, teleporting from Heavens is a little random so me and my sisters were a little … lost, you know what I mean right?" he said.
"Like how you teleported right into the Imperial Sanctuary and shocked the hell out of my grandchildren and the priest, yes I understand. But tell me, what are your … sisters doing here?" she asked, a little more apprehensive.
"Them?" Aiden pointed at the ladies behind him and waved his hand in a dismissive motion, "Oh! Don't worry about them. They are my protectors, you know."
"Protectors? I didn't know Heavens had that many spare Seraphim that they could just let five of them guard a little kid." She said, her apprehension turning into disdain.
Aiden shook her head and replied, "Oh! Not at all, only Alice, the one numbered '1' is a Seraph and she's not even an adult one. Except her, everyone else are Guardian Angels, the lowest order of angels but leaving their ranks," Aiden suddenly tilted his head, looked darkly at the Queen and said in a mysterious tone, "Lady Isabella, aren't you crossing your limits by looking down on the Heavens?"
"Blasphemous!"
"Who the hell are you to talk to her when standing in her own Palace, in her own land and empire!!" shouted Elías as he brandished his sword but before he could move a step, fwoosh! Like a gale, the one numbered '2' appeared a meter infront of him, her Morningstar pointed at his nose.
Shhiiinnnggg…
All the other Kaisers stood up and brandished their weapons, anger and indignation clear in their faces and in response, the ladies surrounded Aiden in a protective circle. The air turned tense and stuffy and a heavy aura descended onto the room, pushing on the Kaisers down but they were unaffected. After all, they were only second to the Queen and their power was unmatched in entire of Xerith.
"Stand down." The Queen said when she saw that none of them were ready to back down.
"But Your Imperial Majesty—"
"Stand down!" she barked at Jericho who was almost ready to break loose on the ladies but he was powerless infront of his Queen and thus he and others backed down.
After they all sheathed their weapon, '2' also returned back to her place, lowering her Morningstar and taking a place behind Aiden.
As for Aiden, he bowed down apologetically and said, "My apologies for the commotion, Your Imperial Majesty." This time he said with sincerity unlike his first time but Queen Isabella only frowned behind her curtains. "What are you here for, Aiden? What does the Heavens want from my State? If they demand something, I will make sure to fulfill everything, dot to dot. So why is Heaven insulting me in my own court?" she asked inquiringly, her initial anger diminishing but the show of strength did increase her apprehension.
From her inference and experience, she could easily see that the ladies beside Aiden were all in the Grandmaster realm in the Mortal Stage, far below her realm but what worried her wasn't their realm but their race. Seraphim are the highest-ranking angels in the entire Heavens and they are known for their battle prowess and valor. But along with that, they are also known for their suicidal mindset of throwing their life away for their superior, their Gods and Goddesses.
Even Guardian Angels can rain terror down on a bunch of mortals even if they are far below them in terms of Battle Qi rank or power and the sole reason for that is their bloodline.
Their most fearsome weapon is self-destruction, converting their potential into energy in the matter of milliseconds, they can lay waste to battlefields killing millions of both friend and foe. One of them self-destructing in here would surely cause the death of some but heavy injury to most of the Kaisers, severely decreasing her and Xerith's power. And that's only the tip of the problem.
For every death of a Seraph, the Heavens go wild and send hundreds more to avenge their fallen brethren and lay waste to everything they see. Not very 'angelic' true but who is so dumb enough to provoke the Heavens.
And looking at Aiden's comedy mask seems almost like a hidden message, 'think carefully' it seemed to say.
Aiden once again bowed down apologetically and replied sincerely, "My apologies yet again, Your Imperial Majesty but it is not time yet." He answered, saying in a roundabout way, 'Heavens don't want to tell you shit'.
"As for my demands… there is one. I want a House."
"O-okay, we can arrange for that—wait! You want a what?" she asked surprised at the sudden request made by Aiden. Even the other Kaisers were taken aback by his request, some looked a little angry still but most were surprised.
The Queen stayed silent for a while before replying, "I have several questions for one, why do you want one? Second, what can you give me and third, is this has to do something with the Heavens?" she asked slowly and patiently.
Aiden listened carefully and replied one by one, "Why do I want one? Because I want power. What can I give you in return? My allegiance to you. Is this has something to do with the Heavens? No, it doesn't. I'm only doing it because I was born once in Lexington under the Kingdom of Asteia and because I want to have a place strong enough to house my siblings."
"…The others of the 13 Angels of Solaris…" she said slowly.
"Yes," Aiden replied energetically, "You do realize what kind of power they possess, right. It would be bad if you want to make them work under one of your Kaisers and therefore, I can help in such a situation. Also, I have some unfinished business here."
"Like what?" she asked curiously.
"Like how some damned pest-worshipers destroyed my home and now I left homeless and my family scattered. I want to skin them alive and torture them by breaking their limbs, opening their wounds and sprinkling salts in them and baking them under the sun. Is this sufficient for your knowledge, Lady Isabella?" Aiden replied angrily.
She was taken aback by his tone and the words he spoke before replying crisply, "Isn't it unbecoming of an Angel of the Lord to speak of such blasphemies?" she said in a pious tone but was only teasing Aiden.
But Aiden simply sneered at her and countered, "Isn't it unbecoming of a Stray like you to speak the name of the Lord?"
"Heh…" Queen Isabella sneered and replied, "If I didn't become a Stray, I would've become a doll like those ladies of yours." She pointed at the 'numbered' ladies but Aiden shook his head.
"Ah! Nonono, they aren't dolls or simple substitute, they are actual ladies with a consciousness, mind and emotion. They just like to act cold when they wear the mask or are in a crowd. They have names too, like this one numbered '1' is called Alice, '2' is Carmel, '3' is Jadiel, '4' is Ashriel and '5' is Meleas. They are just shy" he said as he poked Alice but she was adamant and stone-still.
"Anyway, what's your answer?" Aiden asked calmly to which the Queen sighed and replied, "Unfortunately, I can't give you exactly what you desire. I can give you the permission to establish a House and the right to own an insignia but I don't think any of the nobles would want to join you. Not at first and definitely not if they see that you're in … the first level of apprentice."
Aiden crossed his arms and thought for a while before answering, "Well then, write a Letter of Order. You're the Queen, I know you can pull something like that. As for the place where you want to send me, it's all up to you if you want me, that is." He said.
There was a long silence before another sigh was heard. "Very well, you may leave for now. I will arrange a residence for you and your angels. Rest there until I finalize every aspect of your House and have some of my designers design an insignia for you. You will receive a letter from me when everything's over."
"Hmm. Very well, I will see you a few days later." He said as he turned back and was walking away when he suddenly stopped. He glanced back at the shadow on the curtains and said in a mysterious tone, "A piece of advice from your senior, Your Imperial Majesty Queen Isabella. Send a few more legion corps to the Southern border as soon as possible or else you might have some problems.
Now then, good bye!" he said as he left the room.
…
Aiden and the five angels left the Throne Room and followed a few palace maids as they went to their designated residence.
Their residence was in a whole different palace building but it was still lavishly furnished and fully packed with every necessity one might need. The building has 7 or 8 rooms where six were occupied by Aiden and his team while the rest were, for the time being, for the workers.
After being showed their rooms, Aiden immediately entered his room and jumped on his bed right after closing the door.
"Ah! Goddammit! I was so freaking nervous when those scary Kaisers unsheathed their swords, Shadow." He said as he rolled to a corner of his bed, opposite of which there was a big mirror.
In that mirror, a similar reflection of Aiden was created but it was a little darker and a little ominous. Even though the room was brightly lit by magical lamps and natural light, the world in the mirror was unusually dark and the alternate 'Aiden' in the mirror was a lot paler than Aiden, it's eyes as dark as the night sky and it's face distorted regularly, sometimes being funny, sometimes happy, sometimes laughter.
"Hihihi! Didn't I tell you, you would be safe as a duckling? Isabella is a Stray, she is inherently fearful of Seraphim so she wouldn't normally plan an attack on you in broad daylight infront of her Kaisers. But don't worry, Angels and Heavens are a great deterrent in any situation, not to mention your super cool, super rich and super powerful daddy. No one with a brain would dare to pick a fight with the Harbinger of Doom." The dark 'alternate Aiden' said with a creepy smile.
"I hope you're true." Aiden said as he laid on his back and said in a disinterested tone, "Status Window."
[Name : Aiden Archard (True Name : ??)
Race : Angel (Half-Angel) Rank : Senior Angel Bloodline : Bloodline of Seraph(Tainted)
HP : 300 Mana : 500
STR : 15 AGI : 12
DEX : 19 END : 11
WILL : 22 INT : 18
Title : <5th Angel of 13 Angels of Solaris>
Skills :
Physical :
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Magic :
1. Mastery of Flaming Construct (Rank-Basic)
1.
2.
3.
2. Grimoire Skills
1.
2.
Passives :
1. ?? : A strange entity is always beside you.
2. Evil Intelligence : Stokes fear on your enemies.
3. Angel's Benevolence : Increases effectiveness of all magic constructs especially healing construct.
Battle Qi cultivation rank : Apprentice level 2.]