**Liza's POV**
I was told from the very start of my life that vampires don't mourn their dead; they live and smile to honour them. I vaguely remember my species—my father being the servant of Titans—and how I was often a plaything for the younger Titans. It was a period of savagery. Our forefathers were created by God as a species with conscience, with mana to heal all our wounds, and ample control of our inner mana, hence a mastery of magic and a huge mana source. But then we got cocky, or so I believe, because God also created liches, many variants of them, and they were our natural hunters. This was the reason our forefathers sold themselves to the Titans instead of hiding like the elves. It was only after Lord First subjugated all Titans that we were set free, and the Hero chose to become one of us—a feat no other species has been able to perform. It was my greatest pleasure when I got the True Hero, Lord First, as my mentor. He made me who I am: the Witch of Annihilation.
Right now, I felt how I used to feel in front of those Titans—powerless. Our main castle was open, the gate as tall as 15 vampires standing on each other. The hall itself was dark, made of silver metal. It had four seats, one for each of us in the corner, and a throne made of the flesh of the Titan of Fate. The throne was dark red, radiating red lines as if trying to connect itself to the surroundings, only for those red lines to fade away. On that very throne sat Lord First, his legs spread apart, elbows on his knees, as we all knelt down.
My mentor was not cruel; he just needed to show his people and the world that he had returned. What better way than to have the strongest bow down to him? "Well, Hecate and Liza, brief me about magic and our tactical situation. After all, 500 years—oh, I mean 500 sun cycles—have occurred since my last visit," said our majesty, Lord First, as he shifted his pose. The arms of the chair accommodated his hands as his fist supported his face. It must be disappointing to deal with such trivial matters for one who can destroy the omniverse in six thoughts. Yet, our Lord didn't complain his benevolence knew no bounds
"Elfona, you better get on your feet, or I will charge you with treason—the old God regime type punishment," boomed our Lord. This had a sudden impact on the elven queen, as she straightened her back, her ears going down as she stood up. "Sir, I still think it was wron—" she was about to complete when something closed her mouth.
"Oh well, if it isn't Lord Koss. I see the Shadowfell family is still alive," laughed Sir Charlie as Lord Koss appeared from a pool of shadow. "Well, I can't certainly allow anyone to badmouth our glorious majesty. After all, we are all in your debt for freeing us from those pitiful Titans. These elves should be grateful that you, my Lord, exist, or else they would still be cleaning pots for those Elemental Gods we had," said Lord Koss, his voice deep as if trying to impress His Majesty. We were all being honest, trying to impress him.
"Liza, I ASKED FOR OUR MAGIC PROGRESS AND SITUATION," shouted Lord First, immediately making me realize I was overthinking.
"Sir, in the past 500 sun cycles, we have experienced a change in magical usage. Once a key to winning or losing a battle, now magic has reached households. Without the control of Gods, humans, vampires, and all sentient species started experimenting and evolving magic. As for our situation, ballistic magic or singular mage casting grand sage magic has been absent for a while. People have ignored the magic system our magnificent majesty taught them. They have turned themselves towards compound fast casting magic along with swordplay, making solo magicians rare and not useful. I myself have developed abstract magic," I stopped, gracefully showing off my achievement.
"Go on. I will learn abstract magic from you, but pray tell, what is so good about this compound magic?" said Charlie, his smile so glaring it reminded me of our old, simpler times.
I continued, "Well, compound magic consists of singular phrases that enable a linear flow of magic, allowing humans and subspecies alike to cast magic with the speed and efficiency of us vampires. It's overall better than flash casting when used by a whole unit, offering a variety of combination attacks. Individually, flash casting has a stronger effect, but humans rarely ever fight alone."
"And this forced vampires and elves to use compound magic as well. This must have happened not too long ago, as the so-called opponent knew what Grand Sage magic was," completed Lord Charlie, smiling at me the same way he used to many years ago.
"Hecate, you cover the political condition, and Lord Koss, allow Elfona to speak and breathe if you may," said Lord First as he stood up and walked down the stairs of the throne, reaching the place where we knelt, showing our fidelity. I heard gentle grasp of Elfona poor her she didn't have our mind she had a weak heart and she suffered due to the love she put I feel pity for her
"Yes, husband. There are two major powers along with us on this supercontinent. As told by you, dear, we still hold the most land. Regenspire, the dictatorship set by Lord Fourth, and the Holy Kingdom are still serving the God. But the problem with these two is that the dictatorship is conducting human experiments, which seem to yield interesting results, and the Holy Kingdom's technology. As they are both human-ruled nations, they are likely to help each other in a prolonged battle, hence forcing us to limit our magic usage by pressuring a treaty on us," said Hecate, still bowing down. It must be sad for a woman to be committed to a man who appears once every 500 sun cycles or more, but we can't blame our Lord the One true God is to be blamed and his accursed Omniversal engine .
Suddenly, I looked up at the face of our Lord. His red irises glowed with power, but these weren't his true colours; it was a symbol that he was holding back. "Well, the Holy Kingdom won't do anything to us. Ask them to send a convoy. I want to have a chat. Make sure they send someone who has the power of judgment. I don't like summoning nobodies who run away every time there is a demand. Also, don't forget to not mention me or anything about me. As for the dictatorship, I will mull it over later," said our Lord, his eyes pointed toward Lord Koss as he gently tapped my shoulder, signalling me to stand up and follow "Liza I would love to hear your analysis of that upstart Jerry's magical powers and skills" he whispered gently in my ears as his hand held me by waist it was moments like these that reminds me of how warm his hands and his way of treating me is....