Chapter 36: A Show Of Overwhelming Strength / Severed Bonds Reunite
The Royal Capital of Alphonvita was in sight, it made the journey all the more worth it. But it was not easy getting here, particularly for the other pair of twins. Kuroe and Shiroe had decided that they were going to become party members after they fully registered. And in doing so Liz and Beth were subjected to the training regime that their brothers and mother employed. Entering goblin nests to attack them at night time, ambushing passing by orges and orcs, soloing dungeons on their own within a time limit. All of these things whilst dangerous helped them level up quickly, they also ate fruit coming from Dark Matter Universe which increased levels even more. They hadn't broken their limits yet as mortals but they were strong enough to not be bothered by most things.
"I am glad we have reached here! It took so long! I thought I was going to die!"
"But it was fun wasn't it Liz?"
"Don't you dare give me that Kuroe! I almost died numerous times! We could have gotten here faster!"
"True but aren't you happy that you can subjugate a massive orc horde all on your own?"
"Firstly, fuck you. Secondly yes I am. I'm doing things heroes from fairy tales are doing but we were supposed to be here weeks ago"
Kuroe chuckled lightly as Liz pointed her finger at her, Shiro and Beth who were behind them watched with smiles on their faces. They had become really close. Maybe close enough that one day they would be introduced to their mother. It brought them joy that they liked them this much.
"Uh, um, what is going on over there"
Beth says as she sees something in the distance, soon they all see it. A group of four giants are walking towards the royal capital.
"I bet they are panicking aren't they?"
"It looks like they are!"
"No, you don't mean"
"...…"
"Each person gets to take down the giants before they reach the capital's walls! Instant recognition!"
This wasn't part of the script if one was wondering on the twins' part. Grabbing Liz and Beth by the arms they threw them at the giants who didn't notice them. With the speed they were going it was entirely possible they could have become fine paste on the bodies of the giants but due to being trained by Kuroe and Shiro they landed on their feet and immediately started running on their bodies. Liz took out the black bone whip which was gifted by Shiro which screamed sparks as she ran electricity through it, the giant which she was cruising across its body tried to swat her like an insect but she dodged that with ease digging deep into its body. It roars as it slows its pace and falls back.
All whilst it is doing this Liz is not stopping at all, the bone whip's is causing it enough distress that it screams out in terror. Like a dance she dodges its heavy yet fast hand movement and thrashing about, Liz finally jumps over its arching hand and vanishes for a brief moment appearing close to its eyes.
"Bone Hydra"
The bone whip divides itself into a 9 stretching whips that pierce through its flesh and bone. It falls to the ground motionless laid to waste by a human. Beth on the other hand is not giving the giant the benefit of the movement, she restrains it with massive roots that slices and dices through its body. The right arm is finely cut off causing the giant to roar in agony, it breaks free from its restraints only to be meant with the dead eyed glare of Beth who rides the root she sprouted from the ground and gorges its eye out. Not attacking her the moment it saw her was a mistake as Beth cuts off its fingers with her thin vibrating dungeon rapier, running up its right arm Beth surrounds herself in an aura of slicing wind as she becomes even faster cutting into the very bone of the giant with the mana that she had acquired in the short period she was with the twins.
The screams are heard as the guards of the royal capital watch this happen with awe struck gazes. Whilst in midair Beth grabs Shiro who jumps up to their height after catching up with them and throws her to the next giant which she slams into the ground. It struggles to get back from there as it is put into a chokehold, Shiro raises her leg to drop kick its skull in. Usually one would say this is impossible but the mana constructed just above her boot is roughly the size of the giant. She lands this hit which explodes into a burst of light shocking even Beth who was anticipating something of magical attack. But no brute force was her way and she completely erased the head of the giant through strength alone. Of course this will be covered up by Wynter but they wanted to have a little fun, Kuroe picks up Liz with her wires as she throws the both of them to the last giant whom she makes fine work of by wrapping its head in wires cutting into its flesh. Liz cooperating with her uses the Bone Hydra to stab into its skull with the wires creating a orange in a paper bag effect.
"Just who the hell are you two?"
Liz genuinely asked that out of nowhere, right before Shiro had the chance to answer her question with a smile on her face another giant magically appears out of nowhere with a raised club. With seemingly no time to react they had to prepare for the very worst but Wynter appears out of nowhere and cleanly bisects the giant. From top to bottom both halves of the giant fall in separate directions leaving the reeking smell of organs to fill the place for a time.
"Wynter you're late."
"Apologies my young Masters but it seems someone was interfering with the teleportation magic for a while"
"How strange. Does that mean someone wanted to display our power relatively sooner?"
"You bet their ass they did"
Wynter answered honestly meanwhile Liz and Beth were frozen in place. The whole situation seemed to be very strange to them, but to the people they met a few weeks ago Kuroe and Shiro it was almost an every day thing. As if they lived in a place where battle was essential to survive, there were questions to be asked but right now seemed to be not the time. Thus they had to hold back on those questions because of the group of people who were getting out of the royal capital to give praise to the saviors of the city. This was not by any means their plan but something was happening in the shadows. Whatever it was the two would have to discover what it was.
Arisa had been watching from the sidelines, she was at the second entrance of the city and was about to enter it before all of this was going down. She was both astonished at the combat prowess the twins and the strength of those who were with them for mere weeks, giants were by no means weak enemies that one could defeat as swiftly as under 10 minutes or so. One would need an incredible amount of power to do that which meant that there was someone pulling the strings in the shadows. Normally she was used to this kind of thing because she did have some fun doing that with some arrogant adventurers who thought their swords were justice or something like that. Putting them to rest in a slum like area where the rats and snakes of the underworld would sell their equipment for a quick buck was very fun. Arisa was dressed as normally as they were, it was accurate enough to be even associated with them like this.
Her initial plan was to introduce herself once they reached the guild and build a relationship with them through less shady means but it seemed that someone wanted her to become scared of associating herself with them. Too bad for them Arisa had come up with a counter measure and it was a rather simple one considering how broad their little shadowy figure working behind the scenes wanted to prevent their meeting together.
🌹
Bards were singing praises about them, all sorts of people had surrounded them thanking their heroic deeds, adventurers, knights and mercenaries alike were all amazed by their skills. The five of them entered the city like heroes instead of rookie adventurers which would make things difficult but for now Liz and Beth were taking it all in with smiles on their faces. Kuroe, Shiro and Wynter on the other hand walked through it with slightly depressed expressions because they didn't want to draw this much attention.
"There's nothing we can do about it. We just have to act like a genius group for a while before disappearing after we discover the food mother loves"
"And waste this opportunity to effectively have our hands in the deep roots of this nation? No."
Wynter had a point against Shiro's depressing remark, they just had to make a plan around it.
"Yes, mine sisters are amazing. Thank ye for recognizing their beauty. Aye I care about them"
The real unexpected thing had arrived. A person who looked exactly like Shiro and Kuroe was talking to numerous adventurers who had questions for her. She spoke like an old person much like Rem whom they met at a younger age, she was dressed in similar clothes too. Up until this point the pair and Yukiyo even never knew that there was a third child, they had thought that they were a perfect little family. A sense of completeness was found within Shiro and Kuroe as they watched her make her way towards them with a genuine smile on her face. As if the two stunned by what was happening she hugged them both and held them really close to her.
"I've found you my dear sisters. I never imagined in mine life that I would find those who were similar to me. I would have wanted to meet thee in different circumstances but it seems someone is making their moves in the shadows"
That hug did more than just unify lost pieces, it made them whole and connected. The Demon Lord pieces had become one had now they were all together a Demon Lord at its peak, the experience the other two had gained over the years had caught up with Arisa and now she also shared the same surname as they did. They were now truly in the sense of the word sisters.
"Are you the leader of this party of twins Lady…?"
"Nyxella pleased to meet you. We are just rookies trained by our old master"
Rookies who could slay giants with ease, were they the disciples of a retired hero who isolated himself after accomplishing his task of defeating a legendary monster somewhere? These were the convenient questions and now sprouting rumors that made their jobs easier. While Kuroe, Shiro, Liz and Beth had no reason to change their names, Arisa and Wynter had to keep their identities vague so no one could track them down via appearance and name alone. Wynter also understood as soon as she saw Arisa that she was one of her Master's children and accepted her as such. It was made easier with the fact actually. Of course there were some who wanted to test that theory out of their strength but a lot here didn't want to touch them regarding they could easily crush their bones if they were not too careful. As such only high ranking adventurers had to deal with them for today only.
That was how fragile the situation was at the moment, usually they would be tested one by one in separate scenarios but as shown with the giants they excelled at monster extermination what one wanted to know was their skill with humans or humanoid creatures that had intelligence. The format of the rookie test was slightly changed to accommodate these heroes, it was a party versus party affair. All of the adventurers homed in on the fight in the guild's testing grounds. One pair of twins and another of triplets was certainly something very unique and unheard of, it was the notion of this happening that made it all the more interesting to spectate.
"We'll see just how well you do with people like us"
Wynter was quiet and stared at the new sister Arisa who nodded in agreement what they should do. She seemed to get along with her in a way that was rather strange, immediately an arrow is shot at Arisa which Wynter blocks with a shield. Using the same thing that protected Wynter a few moments ago Arisa leaps onto it and dropkicks the archer before she has the reaction to do anything. All within that same timeframe Kuroe and Shiro have already made their move by ensnaring and knocking out the rogue and mage in quick succession. Liz and Beth, the relatively normal ones of the party immediately run towards the druid and monk of the group. Being as fast they are, the two don't even use their weapons and either slam them into the ground or punch them into unconsciousness.
"Wha-?!"
"Too slow"
Wynter had appeared in front of the party leader within the blink of an eye, she swings her sheathed sword down on him before he can even get the chance of attacking her. If this was a real battle then all of them would have died in rapid fashion, and this was just them holding back their actual strength. All of this took place in under a minute of time. That was how fast they were compared to the other rookies who would take a good 30 minutes to even put a dent in the instructor's armor. One would need to step into the realm of heroes to even keep up with them. Only A Rank adventurers would be able to stop them now. This fact was laid into the stone as they exited the guild as the party known by the name "Night Masquerade". They left for an inn which would become their base for the mean time.
After settling down it was now time to ask questions to their very new family member. Of course Liz and Beth had exited the room so they could have a tour of the capital.
"I existed before thee. I too was a dungeon monster born to be a leader but mine race for the longest time was Vampire Queen."
"So you're the origin point for us?"
"Not really. I can call myself the oldest sister amongst a trio of triplets."
Arisa folded her arms and looked at them, this was the proper explanation that she wanted to give to them. It made the most sense as well to them. But the overlying question still remained.
"No. I am just as confused as you are in regards to those giants popping up. There must be someone who was watching my movements and wanted to prevent me from meeting up with you and quietly return to the shadows."
"Other vampires?"
"Perhaps. But there are other groups at play as well so I am not sure"
"We'll keep an eye on them."
"In the meantime! We need you to go see Mama!"
"I am sure Mother will be delighted to see you Arisa!"
Arisa was grabbed by Kuroe and Shiro who were extremely excited to see what Yukiyo would think. They called upon the Dark Matter to open a Tear to wherever Yukiyo was at the moment.
"Back so soon? Or you just wanted to see me after a short while?Welcome back you two!"
"Mama we've found our lost sister and have become triplets instead!"
"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?!"
Yukiyo gave out a confused scream at what was currently happening. She was currently giving Shen a lap pillow whilst having a picnic with her. The fact that Shen didn't wake up from her screaming meant she fell into a deep slumber making her confusion more pronounced.