The sound of a small explosion jolted Bree awake. She looked around in confusion momentarily, noting that she was in a massive bed; she pulled up the blanket and noticed her clothing.
"What the?" She looked down and found herself in a long purple nightgown with a glowing full-moon design on the back; after a moment, she managed to pull together that she had won the clothes during an Eclipse Event. She got out of bed and patted herself in confusion, "I suppose it is the softest thing I have," She decided before making her way out of the room, too tired to take much note of anything else in the room besides a large cat bed with several blankets and a giant bean bag with several long pillows laying around it.
"I must be in my Maid's room," she muttered sleepily, pushing the door open and walking out onto the second floor. She found no one around and brought her investigation to the first floor. Still half asleep, she simply flopped down the stairs and picked herself back up at the bottom, not even bothering to brush herself off as she followed the sound of Winnie yelling angrily at someone.
Bree walked towards the noise and found Winnie standing before a hole in the wall leading into what looked like the new Bathhouse she had had Zoey and Vi working on.
"I'm sorry," Zoey said without an ounce of sorrow in her voice, "But it was the only way to install the door; Mistress Bree created this mansion, and nothing she makes falls easy,"
"She's right," Bella agreed as she picked up some debris. Annie ignored Winnie entirely as she inspected the hole they had made.
"Mistress Bree is Sleeping," Winnie said irritably, "What if you awaken her,"
"Oh, it's too late to worry about that," Bree yawned.
"See," Winnie said before blinking and turning on the spot. "My Lady, you're finally awake!" Looking at her in a half-awake state, Bree vaguely noted that Winnie looked a bit messy.
"I am," Bree agreed. What blew up?" The maid's look of guilt made Bree smile. "Am I correct to assume that bit of wall, then?"
"We are so sorry," The three maids said in unison, actually sounding sorry, "We will fix it at once,"
"Just don't forget to install the door," Bree warned as she turned away, "I need some Coffee to perk me up,"
"Coffee?" Winnie asked in confusion before waving the maids to go back to work and chasing after Bree, "Mistress, how has your slumber been? Has the poison left your system fully?"
"Coffee first," Bree replied. I need a cup or two to wake up fully; otherwise," Bree was cut off by her yawn before continuing. "I might just fall asleep again." Winnie shot past Bree and bolted into the kitchen ahead of her. Bree opted to shamble slowly, hoping Winnie was getting the coffee ready for her arrival.
"Manfred," She called out; the Boar orc turned to her, having been in the middle of making a giant sandwich for Orion. "Halt all cooking procedures,"
"But Orion hungers most of all," The Giant cat whined; a Woman dressed in full armor proceeded to pet him, "No pets!" Orion demanded. The woman stopped, and he looked back at her as he pranced in place. "Ok now, pets,"
"Mistress Bree has awakened but has informed me that without something called Coffee, she is likely to fall back into her slumber,"
"Orion waits best of all," Orion decided, still prancing in place, "Mistress, wake up first, then Orion eats,"
"Boris," Manfred said, slamming down the knife he had been using to cut with, "Distract Lady Bree!" Boris jumped out of the kitchen and ran to intersect Bree, "What is Coffee?" Manfred demanded.
"You don't know what it is either?" Winnie asked in horror. "She said she needed one or two cups, so I assumed it was a kind of drink, but if you don't know what it is, then maybe it's a potion of some kind?"
"Excuse me," The Woman in the Armor spoke up, and all present in the room turned to her, "Coffee is indeed a kind of drink, it's fairly easy to come by, I'm sure there's a Coffee house somewhere in town if you…ask," The Girl's confidece quickly faltered and she hide behind Orion, who use his tale as a shile before eyeing.
"Orion, tell Silver I owe him an apology for calling him stupid. Sparing this girl was the correct thing to do," Winnie said as she turned her eyes yellow and began talking to Belin. Meanwhile, Manfred motioned the new girl closer.
"This Coffee, what does it look like,"
"Oh, I've never had it myself, but I hear it's a ground-up bean…" Manfred began writing everything she said down as she did her damnedest to recall everything she'd ever heard about Coffee.
Boris was easily stalling Bree but could also see she was falling asleep on her feet.
"Coffee," Boris replied, lying through his teeth "Of course Winnie just requested it for you, It should be ready soon, I'm sure,"
"In that case I'd like to stand by the pot, the smell should help me wake up," Bree said, punctuating her statement by yawning into her hand. Boris panicked slightly, but then salvation came when a mighty voice cried out.
"Mistress Bree!" the front door slammed open, and Belin ran towards them at high speeds, a cup with a dome like lid was in his hands. "Do not be silly," he declared, his eyes shining as he presented the drink to Bree "Why wait for a normal Coffee? You haven't yet tried one of Greenwaters special's, Our Green-Coffee, with mocha, green whipped cream, 4 teaspoons of sugar, and a pinch of pink cinnamon dust sprinkled over the top, Freshly made of course so it's hot, but if you prefer iced coffee that can easily be arranged"
Bree didn't say anything. Instead, she took the cup and took a long sip, licking the cream from her lips before letting out a sigh.
"I needed that," she said, her drink in hand. She noticed that Boris was thanking Belin, who waved him off. "It's perfect," she told Belin, who smiled.
"I'll have the recipe and the ingredients shipped here at once," he replied. "Boris, my good man, do come along. I'll need your aid in loading the supplies into your storehouse." Boris and Belin walked out, and while she was drinking, Belin's eyes began glowing yellow.
"Mission accomplished," He informed Winnie, "I'll have the recipe and the ingredients delivered within the hour," Still drinking her drink Bree walked into the kitchen and found Manfred hurriedly working away at making Orion's sandwich, Bree noticed the new comer, but before she could asked nearly spit out her Coffee upon looking at Winnie properly.
Winnie's hair was a mess, her suit was singed, torn, and all around a mess, her wings were a mess of uncared-for feathers, and she had dark circles under her eyes.
"My Lady," Winnie said with relief, "I'm so happy you're finally awake,"
"How long have I been sleeping?" Bree asked as she looked at Winnie in shock.
"One Month, two weeks, four days, and a little over nine hours," Bree nearly choked at Winnie's response.
"Why didn't any of you wake me up?" Bree demanded in pure confusion.
"Wake you up?" Winnie's confusion swiftly turned to panic, "Was I supposed to wake you up at a specific time!?"
"If the maids hadn't busted down that wall, I might have just slept forever," Bree cried back as she remembered some of the lore about Elves from the game. I don't naturally need to sleep, but if I do, someone has to wake me up, or I'll just sleep for eternity." Manfred stopped cutting, turned on the spot, and looked at Winnie demandingly.
"How did you not know that?" He demanded, "We only let her sleep because you insisted she need it,"
"I don't know anything about Elf Biology," Winnie shot back in defense. How was I supposed to know that out of everything in existence, the one thing that our Mistress has a weakness to was sleeping?"
"Isn't that your job?" Manfred shot back, "To…to know things!?" While the two were arguing, Bree pulled a bell out of her inventory and rang it to get their attention.
"It's all right," she said, returning the bell to her inventory. "Winnie, you're a mess. Go take a bath, get a change of clothing, maybe take a nap?" Winnie bowed and rushed to do as Bree told her.
"And who are you?" Bree asked, turning to the Woman scratching Orion again. She wore full body armor, and her face and hair were hidden behind her helmet. Her right shoulder pauldron had an insignia at one point, but it had been scratched to hell and back to remove it.
"I am Master Silver's humble servant," The Woman replied, kneeling to Bree. "I am Platoon member B-34," Bree looked at her momentarily before realizing she was dead serious.
"What kind of name is that?" Bree demanded in confusion. "Are you a golem or something?"
"I was born with an aptitude for magic," She replied. "My parents gave me to the church at birth; I was assigned that name after I was initiated. I was sent to Irenfell on the king's request for aid to kill Demon Lord Argit,"
"Oh," Bree replied before taking a sip of her drink. "I don't like that name; pick a new one." The woman stood in place for a moment before speaking up.
"I…I've always fancied the name Beth,"
"Very good, I name the Beth," Bree took a sip before holding her hand out and enveloping Beth in light, "Maximize, assign basic skills, exchange equipment for raw materials, equip Light Armor, equip staff, Iron Skin level two, Iron Will level two, Metal Magic level two," Bree put her hand down and after a moment Beth looked up at Bree, now wearing the same kind of armor Jaden wore, on her back was a Metallic staff with a snake head on it's end.
She no longer wore a helmet, and her face and hair were revealed to the world. Her hair was silvery white on the left and coal black on the right, her eyebrows matching the colors. She had soft blue eyes.
"Oh, you're adorable," Bree noted with some surprise. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to ensure nothing catastrophic happened while I was asleep." Bree left Beth with Orion and made her way out onto her front lawn. She figured it was around midday before she noticed Minerva and Sheepy sitting near the entrance laughing. She looked at what they were laughing about and smiled.
Inky was wearing an orange jumpsuit with his name written in the same spot where the maids had their names. He now had a fully formed body. He was short and had hair matching Minerva's length but fluffy like Winnie's. He was using it as extra support as it dragged on the ground behind him. He had four fingers on each hand and two toes on each foot. He proudly walked around, carrying a log almost as big as he was, like it was nothing more than a toy.
"I'm so proud," Minerva cried out. "our baby's becoming a tiny little man,"
"I know," Sheepy replied, watching Inky fumble before slamming the log down. She laughed as he picked it back up and tossed it around like a makeshift battering weapon.
"That's so cute," Bree agreed as she stood beside Inky.
"I know," Minerva replied before realizing it was Bree who had spoken. "My Lady!" Minerva did something that, so far, only Orion had dared to do. Bree barely managed to move her coffee out of harm's way before Minerva hugged her tightly. "I'm so happy you've finally awakened," she cheered.
"I noticed," Bree replied as Minerva swung her around just long enough for Bree to feel self-conscious that she was being pressed into Minerva's chest. "Aren't you worried about making Sheepy jealous?"
"Don't be silly," Sheepy laughed. "If she was doing it to anyone else, maybe, but we'd never stop one another from enjoying your company," Minerva set Bree down, and Sheepy took her turn to give Bree a hug. "Thank you so much for using your divine body as a shield for our little boy," Bree waited to be let go and was instead given a kiss on the cheek before being allowed to leave Sheepy's embrace.
Bree laughed nervously before making sure no one saw that, "Careful now, you'll go making everyone else jealous that I let you do that,"
"I understand, my Lady," Sheepy said before turning back to Inky and picking him up. Look, honey, it's Mistress Bree. Can you say hi to Lady Bree?" Inky's verbal response failed to convey any words, even with Universal Translation, but his actions made it clear that Bree wasn't the one he was focusing on.
"I do believe he wants your attention," she noted as she moved away from Minerva. Bree left Minerva and Sheepy to play with their child and went to the farm. Upon arrival, she found a less-than-desirable sight waiting for her.
"Leafy," She said, getting the nymph's attention. Leafolio was sitting among the plants; their broken limbs now had tiny vine sprouts. "What happened to your arms?" Leafolio looked at her; she watched as their stumps moved around for a moment before Leafolio just sadly shook their head.
Bree sat on the ground and lightly patted Leafolio's bushy head, "Would you like me to regrow them for you?" Leafolio shook their head, and Bree nodded. "I suppose it's best to let them grow back how you want them to; I hope you're able to give yourself a fine set of hands," Leafolio nodded, and Bree got up, leaving the Wood Nymph to recover in peace.
"During my long absence, if anything were broken or changed, I would like you to come and tell me now," Her message sent. Bree sat on the ground and took a moment to enjoy her Coffee. Leafolio slowly scooted closer to her until they were at the farm's edge and stared at her.
"My Lady!" Jaden called out as she rushed down the bride, "I am so happy to see you have finally awoken,"
"Jaden," Bree Greeted, "Did you come all this way just to see me, or has something happened to you while I slumbered?"
"I'm very sorry," Jaden said as she lowered herself to Bree, "A man in enchanted armor destroyed My Mace,"
"Oh, don't worry," Bree said calmly. I made several spares." Bree reached into her inventory and pulled out a mace, which Jaden accepted with gusto.
"Thank you, my lady. I won't let this one be destroyed." While Jaden was bowing, the front door opened, and Beth walked out with Orion behind her. He was eating a very large sandwich and proceeded to drop into a sitting position.
"Who is that?" Jaden asked as she looked at Beth.
"I am Beth," She replied. "I…I'm the woman Sir Silver spared,"
"Oh," Jaden suddenly looked interested as she looked her up and down. Having only ever seen her wearing the fullest of armor and having never heard her speak, she had thought she was just some sort of enchanted armor. "I might have to ask him if I can borrow you," Beth blushed as Jaden nodded. "You'd make an excellent addition to the Protectors." As Jaden began inspecting Beth, Daisy calmly made her way down the bridge.
"My Lady," She said with a bow, "I am happy to see you awake; when you have a moment, I would like to discuss the issue of the horses,"
"Happily," Bree replied; there was a moment of silence between her and Daisy before Bree took a sip and nodded, "Ok, I have a moment; talk to me, Daisy,"
"As per your orders, we did not kill a single horse during the fight that ended up putting you to sleep, but we are having trouble caring for all of them; with my original brethren and all of them put together, we have three horses for every one person in the town, it's starting to become a serious problem,"
"Oh," Bree got up and stretched, "I'll just turn them all into Minotorian Centaurs and have them go start their own town," Daisy looked scared at Bree's words, and she quickly added, "Not you, Daisy, I like you too much so you can only leave if that is what you wish, and with several weeks of notice prior so I have time to convince you to stay,"
"I wish to stay and serve you," Daisy declared instantly.
"Good, I will power them all up, but to a far lesser extent than I have to you; I think about the strength of an average monster should do," Bree took another sip of her drink before adding, "Daisy, gather up all of the horses, the ones who were original with you but who had no interest in serving me can be designated the leaders of their new town," Daisy nodded and headed out to gather the many horses under her care,"
"Beth," Bree said, turning to her newest follower. I would like you to sit next to me and tell me everything about Odren's plan to kill Argit." As Bree waited for Beth to sit next to her, she turned her gaze to Inky, smiling as she watched him play with his mother.
After several hours, Bree and Daisy were walking away from the large camp of Minitorian Centars that they had just finished setting up.
"Soon, they will build houses, and in a few months, they will be the first new town to join my nation," Bree tapped her staff as she walked. A magic circle surrounding the camp appeared, only to vanish within seconds. "And should anyone intrude on these lands with an intent to take it over, I'll be notified at once; if anyone who has one of these blades that can cut me happens to walk through, I'll make sure to confront them first,"
"I was unaware you could locate specific enchantments, my lady," Daisy responded with interest.
"Only if I possess them, and thanks to Annie, I now possess the enchantment," Bree smiled. "I should reward her, Silver too, come to think of it," Bree cut a walkway into the air, returning them to her throne room,
"I require everyone to converge in my throne room," Bree declared as she sat on her swivel throne and began mindlessly spinning while waiting for her followers to arrive. Daisy made her way away from the throne before kneeling to Bree; after a moment, her maids entered with Bella in the lead, taking their places around Bree's throne as she stopped spinning. Minerva and Sheepy came in holding Inky, with Winnie flying in behind them, looking far better than she had a few hours prior. Jaden and Beth came in with Orion and Silver in tow. Belin, Boris, and Manfred came in talking about Coffee; Bertram came in alone and held the door open; after a moment, Vi and Olu came in, helping Leafolio keep their balance as it clumsily moved around.
"My Lady," All who could speak declared as they kneeled to her. Sheepy stayed standing since she was holding Inky, and Leafolio did the same to avoid tipping over, "We are ready for your words of wisdom,"
"I have several announcements, but first, Annie, Silver, come and stand before me." Annie repositioned herself in front of the throne and kneeled while Silver ran up next to her and followed her actions. "Annie," Bree said. "Thanks to your offering of a sword, I can now detect the enchantment that could easily have killed me, and as thanks, I would like you to hold up your needle," Annie did as requested. Bree held up her hand and enchanted it. "For your work, I give your blade the same enchantment that can kill me: Absolute Severance."
"My lady!" Annie said at once, "Surely such an enchantment must be whipped from the earth,"
"Quite so," Bree agreed, "But at the same time, I dislike the idea of killing off an entire chain of magic, and as we have already seen, it can be countered with legendary defense items like your button, and I have at least one mythical shield somewhere in the basement." Bree sighed." Still, since it's just as capable of killing one of you as it is of killing me, I have no choice but to purge the enchantment. You, and you alone, will be the only one I give it to, as you are the only one I deem worthy enough to wield it," Annie lowered herself to a grovel as Bree added, "What more, with this enchantment mixed with your unique skill, you can now sever and reattach nearly anything,"
"I will use this gift with pride, my lady," Annie said gratefully.
"Now then, Silver," Bree turned to him, "I have named the woman you spared Beth, and she has already proven her worth many times over to me, and I'm sure she has earned the trust of the rest of you, just in case someone missed it, her name is now Beth, and because you spared her you may well have saved my life,"
"Of course, my…what!?" Silver jumped out of his kneel. His head popped off for a second, was caught by his cloak in the air, and landed neatly back onto his neck. "I did what now!" Everyone's attention was now firmly on Beth as Bree began speaking again.
"Beth had informed me that there are at least two members of the Holy Church and one Demon Lord stronger than me, even without the Absolute Severance Enchantment," Bree smiled. "Without knowing that I might have attempted to destroy the church and gotten myself killed,"
"Stronger than you?" Winnie looked worried momentarily before chuckling, "You mean stronger than you are right now, correct?"
"That is correct," Bree confirmed.
"Then, if you were to activate your ultimate skill," Everyone, save for Winnie and Zoey, looked surprised as the room filled with murmuring.
"You mean to tell me…" Bella said in shock, only for Zoey to cut in.
"Mistress Bree, as she is now, is in her absolute weakest state; at her strongest, her physical strength alone would make all of our power combined look like a toy,"
"Alright, don't oversell it," Bree said to Zoey, "But yes, I have an ultimate skill, but without knowing how strong they are at their base, I have no idea how effective it is, and activating it would probably result in the destruction of everything within my line of sight," Her followers began talking in awe, she tapped her staff and the room went silent, "But that is not why we are here, Silver,"
"Yes, my lady!" Silver replied, going back to kneeling.
"You saved this woman of your own accord, but her info is worth far more than what I expected; as of this moment, I officially declare that Beth is your subordinate, you are her master, and she will only serve you unless directly told otherwise by you or me,"
"Really?" Silver looked thrilled at the prospect of having more than just Orion working with him.
"Really," Bree confirmed, "Now stand before me, my maids stand as I talk, and know you and your two followers will stand by the entrance and be on the defense for intruders of any kind; you are my front guard, so I want you to guard the entrance to these meetings should we have another,"
"You heard the boss," Silver said. Silver ran to the entrance and stood in the center, with Orion scooping up Beth and taking his place next to him. Beth looked flustered at the whole ordeal.
"Next, Minerva and Sheepy, come before me, Winnie. Please hold Inky for them," Sheepy handed Inky to Winnie and became instantly fascinated by her feathers. Minerva and Sheepy bowed to her. "You must both be rewarded as well for saving my life, regardless of any thanks you have given me, it is now my turn to thank you,"
Bree stood up, "I try not to play favorites, and I typically succeed, but as a personal thank you for saving my life, I want you both to know that When he is grown up, Inky will be given a choice, not a command, to serve me however he pleases, and he will be permitted to pick from a selection of predetermined candidates and have two of them serve beneath him and when your child is grown and you are both ready to return to full working status, you will both be leaving your mundane gardening days behind and join under Bella as my new maids," Bree sat down and could hear Minerva and Sheepy both crying. The looks on their faces told Bree that they were delighted with their reward.
"Do not thank me," Bree said simply, "for it is my turn to say it. Thank you, Minerva, Sheepy, and you too, Inky. Do not kneel or bow when you return to the line. Stand with pride, just like my maids, just like Silver, just like honorable warriors who have earned their praise." Minerva and Sheepy picked themselves up and returned to their position in line, standing with pride as they took Inky back.
"And finally, Winnie," Winnie moved at top speed and bowed to Bree. You took charge while I was sleeping and are to be commended for that. As a reward, you may ask anything of me. It does not need to be asked now, but remember: You have one free request to make of me, no strings attached." Winnie thanked Bree and moved back into line.
"Good. Now that I have finished praising those who deserved it, we must move on to business. I will go to King Odren, leader of Irenfell, and make our decree a free nation. Should he attack again, we will declare war and destroy his country," Bree looked among her ranks, "If any are opposed to this, please speak now," Bree could see movement and spoke out about it. "Belin? Speak up now,"
"My lady," Belin said simply, "Odren will attempt to kill you, or he will send the Scarlet Knight to do it for him; she has killed a demon lord, slaughtered hundreds of monsters, and her armor and longsword are covered in so many enchantments it almost impossible to kill her. She's the reason Argit has avoided destroying the Kingdom himself,"
"Well, I've fought Argit and won, and he's the third strongest of the Demon lords," Bree smiled. "I'll happily take on this Scarlet Knight. I have no place in this world if I can't beat her." Bree stood up and took a deep breath.
"Bella," She said, turning to her maid, "Winnie, you as well; what I'm about to say will hurt, but it must be said, should I die, you two are to work together and take my place as leader," The entire room went dead quiet as Bree Spoke, "and should I perish then know that my last command is you go to Demon Lord Argit and form an alliance with him, you may swear to serve under him if you so chose or you two can decided who will take my place as leader," Bree mused for a moment, "Yes...all of you working with him should be enough to take down Irenfell, in the worst case scenario,"
The Room was dead quiet for longer than she liked, and the voice that Spoke up matched that mood in tone, "My lady, please don't say that," Bella pleaded, "Please don't speak of your death as a possibility,"
"I would be a fool to pretend I can't die and not prepare for it," Bree replied, "Now all of you return to your daily activities; if I'm not back by the end of tomorrow, assume to worst," Bree raised her staff before adding "and if this should be the last time I get to see you all, Just know that I love each and every one of you with all my heart and that I would gladly sacrifice myself in an instant if it meant saving even one of you, From Bella to Boris, you are all mine, and I shan't t let any of you go without a fight,"
Bree tapped her staff before her followers could insist one of them accompany her, and she found herself on the brick road that led to the City where she had met her three human friends. She didn't know where the capital was, but she could tell the place before her was not it, or at least hoped it wasn't.
"I can't teleport to a place I've never been before, but I can track people I've met before; tracking spell," She held up her staff and watched as it spun like a compass, locating the only person she knew who lived in the capital "Take me to Jacob Razzor," The blade of her spear pointed her due east. The spell told her that Jacob was several hundred Kilometers away. Bree rocketed across the sky like a shooting star; going at her full speed, she arrived at her destination within minutes. A massive city, easily four times the size of the city from before, was her final destination. The difference in quality was so immense Bree wondered if she was still in the same kingdom.
The previous city had been crumbling and stank of sickness and death; the capital was sparkling clean, and each building looked like it was made from the finest stone and metal. Luscious fields of flowers surrounded the city's border, and the entire capital smelled faintly of honey.
"I bet this city is home only to nobles and people who have or used to have positions of power," Bree could tell that Jacob Razzor was currently in the capital's centerpiece, a magnificently crafted building with a very odd design.
The entire Capital was surrounded by a giant wall with lush fields on three sides. At the farthest east end, there was a lake that looked perfect, most likely a man-made one. In the center of the Lake was a large island with a castle. She thought the lake might be a moat taken to a dramatic extreme. However, she had no place to mock since she had set her home up in the same manner.
"At least I used an actual lake, so point for me," Bree smiled as she landed near the city's main entrance. She turned her staff back into a ring while several guards drew their weapons upon seeing her.
"Halt," one of the guards demanded; Bree complied, "State your business,"
"I'm-" Bree's reply got cut off before she could properly start it.
"The capital is off limits to those of lesser descent and low rank," The Guard replied. "Return to whatever hovel you call home and never return,"
"I'm visiting from the nation of Melodia," Bree finished indignantly.
"Never heard of it," the Guard shot back, using his hand to point behind her, "leave,"
"I can not. My nation has taken ownership of Greenwater. I'm here about-"
"Then be honored that such a great nation has decided to use you as a base," Bree's eye twitched at being cut off again, "return and turn over all of your nation's resources to our men for the great war,"
"I can't do that," Bree repeated irritably, "Your forces attempted to kill us, so we had no choice but to kill every last one of them," Bree reached into her inventory and pulled out something Annie had given her along with the enchanted blade, she produced the head of Barney Razzor and threw it across the ground at them, the guards all stepped away in horror, his head had been preserved, but not until after he had started to ripen just a little.
"If I am not allowed to enter, then I shall accept this as an act of war and have my Friend Argit, the Demon Lord, join me as we reduce your nation to ash." The guards all drew their weapons, and Bree smiled.
"You know this man, and knowing his strength compared to yours, do you want to partake in this fight?" Bree gritted her teeth and changed her facial expression, fully wiping her carefree look away and replacing it with an annoyed one, although her eyes were only half open.
Being able to express her anger at the situation was the only reason she had come alone; she just didn't want any of her darling followers to see her blow a fuse, and them not being near her meant she had no reason to hold anything back, "Because this entire situation has left me in a foul mood and I will not hesitate to kill any who attempt to fight me," The Guards backed down, then one called out loudly.
"Fire!" A barrage of Arrows hit Bree to no effect; the archers on the wall hadn't even finished firing before Bree tapped her staff against the ground, engulfing the entire upper wall in golden flames. Before the rest of the guards could even turn to the fire, she pointed her finger at the one who had ordered the attack, and a bolt of green lightning shot from her fingertip. The man screamed for only a moment before his armor fell apart, steaming, revealing nothing was left of the one inside but ashes.
"I did warn you," Bree said as she extinguished her fires, "Now, let me in, or I'll have to assume you all want to fight me," Bree raised her hand, and green electricity began sparking out of it, singing the grass at her feet.
"Open the gates," The Guard who had told her to leave cried out. "Open it now!" The gates opened, and the Guards all flooded inside. Bree followed suit, humming a happy little tune as she walked past the armor of the one she had disintegrated. She picked up Barney's head and returned it to her inventory as she entered the capital.
Judging from the lack of reaction to her presence, she deduced that they had all run to inform the king that a powerful mage was attacking. She was in no hurry as she walked down the evenly paved road; not a speck of dirt or an out-of-place brick could be seen within the city's walls; even the potted plants were synthetic.
"Nothing but decoration," Bree decided. What a dull place." The town's natives were odd people, even comparing them to all she had seen in this world. She meant no insult by thinking it, but the men here made Gunter look like a supermodel. While Gunter had been a bit chubby, the men here were a sight to behold simply because it was amazing their legs could hold up their weight.
Meanwhile, the women all looked malnourished and so scrawny that a harsh wind might do them in. As she passed a few women, she heard them giggle. She heard a comment about her weight and found it funny, seeing as she had lost around twelve pounds during her month-long sleep and was only a few pounds away from looking malnourished herself. Her once round face now had some shape to it.
She thought she looked a tad ghastly and was planning to get the weight back as soon as possible.
The place where she had spotted Jacob Razzor looked like some kind of church, and it housed the only people who looked to be in shape. She thought about going in to torment Jacob, but she couldn't remember what he had looked like, so she decided against it.
Bree continued walking down the road, looking around at the well-polished city and disliking it and its inhabitants more with every second she spent within its walls.
Upon arriving at the bridge leading to the castle, Bree found the guards she had scared off all talking to a man who looked irritably familiar. It took her a moment, but she recognized that he looked exactly like Barney, only in golden armor, very well groomed, and with both of his eyes.
"Fools," He said irritably, "You should have fought to the last man. Show me this mighty foe! I shall cut them down with ease,"
"That would be me," Bree called out. The guards immediately scattered, and the man shook his head.
"Pathetic, bow before me, Arlow Razzor, and pray to the Holy One for my mercy, you bug-eyed freak."
"Again with the eyes," Bree muttered before speaking directly to Arlow, "You look a lot like your brother," Bree responded simply, "But you have both of your eyes,"
"Ah, yes, they mentioned you were the new leader of Greenwater," Arlow cleared his throat before speaking in an almost business-like tone, "effective immediately, you are no longer the owner of that land, by the power vested in my by Kind Odren I claim all your possession as mine as legal restitution for intruding upon the Capital, as penance for your crimes you will be handed over to the Chruch so they might burn the holly teachings into you and make good use of your magic, resist and you will die,"
"Oh, I'm sorry, but Greenwater is now the capital of Melodia, and as the ruler of a foreign nation, you have no legal powers over me,"
"Then you are to bow and declare yourself an ally of Irenfell; your town is to be used as a base for my brother and his subordinates Balphazard and Eva; you will provide them shelter and aid as they purge the monster menace from your lands. Once done, the people of your nation are to join us in arms against Argit, the Demon lord. Failure to do so will result in a war you have no hope of winning, Understood?"
"Balphazard was crushed to death by one of my Maids," Bree replied simply, causing Arlow to falter. "Eva was ripped apart and thrown in the lake to drown, and another maid beheaded your brother," Bree held out her hand and pulled Barney's head back out before throwing it at Arlow's feet.
Arlow said nothing and instead looked at his brother's head, gritting his teeth as he tried to hide his horror.
"They invaded my land with the intent to kill my people, so we killed them. Furthermore, I have allied myself with Ozama. I won Argits favor after I bested him in a one-on-one fight; now, can we stop with the pompous boasting and just-"
"Lies!" Arlow screamed as he drew his sword. Bree spotted the Absolute severance enchant and waited as he swung at her.
"Whatever," Bree sidestepped his swipe; before he could recover, she held out one of her fingers and pressed it into his side, "Knock back," Arlow was thrown into the air as though he had been shot from a cannon and landed on the opposite shore of the lake with a small dust cloud marking his landing spot.
Bree didn't bother to check if he was still alive, having used a levitation spell to hold his sword in place and promptly destroyed it the same way she had damaged Eva's blade.
Arlow was now out of the way, the sword was gone, and the random soldiers having scattered as soon as she had announced her arrival, she continued towards the palace, marking her victory with a single word, "Stupid,"
Bree was met with no resistance as she opened the door to the castle, inside she found the long throne room, in the middle of it was a large table, with what looked to be some kind of flesh colored blob eating at the table. She was about to look for the king before realizing that Irenfell had zero tolerance for monsters, she slowly turned to look at the blob.
It was the most disgusting man she had ever seen in her life. Every part of his body was covered in fat. His hands jiggled as though they were made of gelatin, as did the rest of his body with every movement he made; she couldn't tell where his salvia-covered chins ended as it and his neck looked to have become one, his skin and short black hair where greasy. She wasn't sure if he had a mustache or mold stuck to the top of his lip. Then it opened its mouth and showed off its black and yellow teeth as it sloppily ate a turkey leg, flicking spittle across the table.
"Oh, what the fuck?" She demanded in disgust, gaining the creature's attention.
"Guards," It demanded as it began getting to its feet; a circle lit up on his back, causing its body to gyrate most horrifically as it whipped spit off its face and instead smeared grease across itself; the spell was seemingly being used to hold the thing into a standing position so its legs didn't snap under what she presumed was the six or seven hundred pounds of its weight, "Intruder," A large number of men in armor flooded the room, all holding spears.
"I am the new owner of Greenwater," Bree declared, still visibly disgusted but doing her best to try and be polite, "I have come to complain about the attempted invasion of my land,"
"Kill her," the blob demanded, sensing no enchantments past the one holding the thing up. Bree stood her ground as the guards broke their spears against her skin. "Arlow! Protect your king!"
"Oh sweet creator, your Odren?" Bree had to fight not to be sick as she looked at him, "How could such a disgusting creature be a king,"
"How dare you! I am of pure-blooded descent," Odren held out his hands, and the little sausages that acted as his fingers failed to make a fist. The fat on his hands was reminiscent of someone stung by an entire bee's nest; it prevented proper articulation.
"You seem more like your pure lard than anything else," Bree replied.
"Arlow!" Odren repeated
"I broke that fool's sword and sent him flying to the other side of your pitiful lake," Bree replied simply.
"Summon the Scarlet Knight!" Odren demanded.
"Sir," One of the guards replied diligently, "you lent her to Generosity of the seven heavenly saints,"
"Use your bodies as my shield!" Odren demanded as he turned and began walking away at a pace she assumed was him running, presumably to an emergency escape route. Bree appeared in his path, and he halted his attempts to run away.
"I am here to deliver a message, not fight," Bree said irritably. "But I will kill you if you don't stop and listen,"
"T…then speak," Odren demanded, "As the king of this nation, know that I can and will declare war on your little town, and I'll make you watch as your people are cut down,"
"Yeah, sure, great; Greenwater is now the capital of the new nation of Melodia," Bree said simply. "Argit has given me all the land bordering your nation, so I am now your neighbor, and I am here to tell you that the armed unit you sent to my nation attempted to kill my people, so they have all been slaughtered,"
"You dare?" Odren demanded. Bree pulled back slightly out of disgust; every few words, spittle would slip out of Odren's mouth and fly through the air; she stepped back as he stepped forward to keep out of the splash zone, something he mistook as her being afraid of him, "I am the kind of Irenfell, and we have the protection of the holy church on our side, Monsters are fit only to server as a Humans servants or as a meal!" Odren stood his ground. "Bow before me and beg my forgiveness, or I will…"
Bree turned away from Odren and looked to his guards. Bree closed one of her eyes and then opened the other as wide as she could. Her pupil turned red, and instantly, everything within her line of sight was coated in red light. Their skin turned black as they all fell to the ground as nothing more than rotting corpses, their armor rusted, the brick walls behind them crumbling to dust, and the glass windows turning to sand.
Odren stepped back in fear as Bree returned her eyes to their usual half-opening setting.
"I just did that by opening one of my eyes all the way," Bree said. "Now shut up and listen before I look at you properly. I've known about you for a long while; I ignored you when Jacob told me you were the ones eating the Axol-lights; I ignored you when your little spy tried to kill me with a pillar of flames; I ignored you when I found out how poorly humans who had good relationships with monsters were treated in your country" Odren had gotten on his hands and knees and was apologizing with every apologetic word he knows,
"I'm sorry," Odren said. "I'm so very sorry; I'll never bother you again; please forgive me, I-"
"Shut up," Bree repeated angrily, "I want you to know I was going to continue to ignore you even when you raided my town a second time, but then I found out about this Absolute severance shit,"
Bree gritted her teeth at the memory of Inky crying as she was repeatedly stabbed; she wasn't upset at being stabbed, but instead of the idea of it being used on any of her followers, visions of Leafolio without their arms, Jaden losing her mace. The hundreds of ways things could have been way worse had things not barely managed to go her way flashed in her mind. "So remember this and remember it well: I don't care about your religion, worship away, I say; good on you for having that kind of belief in your life,"
Bree raised her foot and used it to force Odren's face into the ground, "But the next time you use your religion as an excuse to kill or hurt anyone I know, I'll kill you and everyone in this capital without hesitation," Bree pressed Odren's face into the ground harder before adding in a menacing tone.
"And if by some miracle, you actualy manage to kill one of them, you will spend the rest of your very long life in unending agony unlike anything you have ever experienced before," She stomped down, causing Odren to lose some teeth. Without warning her smile returned comfortably back on her face as she removed her foot from his face and walked away, leaving him groveling on the floor as she waved farewell "Don't ever let me see your face again,"
Without looking back, she cut a door in the air and appeared behind Bella, who was staring at her throne silently, staring at it while lost in thought, "Bella," Bree said, getting her attention.
"My Lady," Bella fell to her knees and Bree was once again pulled into a strong hug, "I have never in my life been so afraid of something,"
"Don't worry," Bree said as she was squished into Bella's chest, "I promise I have no plans to die anytime soon,"
"And I promise I shall never let any harm come to you for as long as I serve beneath you, my lady," Bella declared with determination as she squished Bree.
It took Bree several minutes to free herself from Bella's embrace. Upon being freed and welcomed home by all her followers, Bree exited her mansion, Bella determinedly following behind her.
Bree attempted to venture into the town again, only to be instantly met with something happening. A red blur flew across the sky and landed in front of her. Bella took point but groaned before stepping back when she saw who it was.
"Bree!" Argit cheered as the dust began settling, "You're not sleeping; how wonderful,"
"How do you even know about that?" Bree demanded in confusion as the Demon Lord walked out of the crater he had made on her front lawn. "And why must you land with the power of a small meteor?"
"I was hoping for a rematch, but you were napping every time I came to visit. And don't worry; none of the other craters I left are still here, so someone's filling them in," Argit smiled, and Bree simply looked over to Bella, who had probably been the one to fill the holes in from the way she was glaring at the Demon Lord.
"Well, I'm not really up for a fight at the moment, so…"
"Well, good news. I'm not here for a fight this time," Argit chuckled before nervously tapping his hands together. I need a favor. See, I was visiting the king of Maragon, that one monster nation with a chill human king I mentioned. Anyway, I was visiting them and name-dropped you. He wanted to meet you, so I'd like to know if you'd join me in visiting him for dinner tonight.
"How is this a favor to you?" Bree inquired, skeptical.
"He didn't believe I knew an elf, and we made a bet: if I win, I get his enchanted wind whip, and if he wins, I help him with some war or something!" Argit laughed. "Just imagine my flames fueled with enchanted winds!" Bree just looked at him bluntly. "Please?" Argit added, "Ah…oh wait, as the ruler of a new nation, it's important to make good relationships,"
Bree sighed and put her hand to her head, failing to think of a good argument as to why she should stay. "Give me five minutes. I have to tell everyone I'm leaving again," Bree looked to Bella, who looked back and nodded.
"I shall ensure your home is standing and everyone is safe until your return," Bree patted Bella on the knee, as her back was too high to reach.
"Atta girl, now let's go spread the good word of my departure,"