Chapter 67 67: The World Map

— — — — — — After going several days and nights without sleep, Claudia didn't crash for some epic revenge-nap that lasted fifteen, twenty hours or more. Six hours. That was all she needed. Once her body was back in shape and battle-ready again, she opened her eyes, did a quick wash-up, and stepped out of the tent after lifting the curtain. "How was your rest?" Veyron asked casually. "Not bad." Claudia's voice was clearly more relaxed than before. "I can't remember the exact details, but something tells me I had a really good dream." Veyron—who did remember what kind of dream she had—just twitched the corner of his mouth. He handed her a black lotus with nine seeds and twenty-seven petals, prepared especially for the Seventh Fortress, and briefly explained the uses of the petals and seeds. Claudia silently repeated his instructions in her head. Then, the black lotus—now spiritually linked to her—merged into her body. A lotus-like mark appeared on her forehead. "Alright, I'll leave things here to you. I've gotta move fast and drop off the rest of these at the other fortresses before heading to the Holy City." With the lotus delivered, Veyron didn't stick around. He said goodbye and took off, flying northwest toward the Second Fortress. The seven fortresses of the Seven Shields Alliance were laid out on the map in a crescent shape, guarding the northern Holy City and its surrounding residential zones that housed millions of civilians. (A/N: Image) From the First Fortress in the northwest tip of the crescent to the Third Fortress hugging the mountains on the eastern tip, the layout from left to right was: 1, 2, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. The First Fortress was led by Alicia Arcturus, captain of the Iris Knights and heiress of the prestigious House Arcturus—nicknamed "The Princess of Iris." The Second Fortress was commanded by Alicia's cousin, Prim Fiorire, also from noble blood, known as "The Princess of Pure Innocence" and also as "The Tigress of Ur." The Third Fortress was led by Kaguya Sanada, head of the priestess faction. And known as "The Hot-Blooded Priestess." The Fourth Fortress was run by Maia Belnades, a former wandering mercenary chosen by her fellow mercs after the Great Catastrophe and the invasion of the dark gods. The Fifth Fortress's leader was Luu-Luu, a half-dwarf chieftain blessed with both overwhelming strength and the nimbleness typical of her kind. The Sixth and Seventh Fortresses were previously led—at least in name—by Claudia, captain of the Holy Knights, and the high elf Celestine Lucullus, said to be the reincarnation of the goddess. After the evil god's invasion, Celestine acted on a divine oracle she received from the goddess Larentia just before falling into slumber. She traveled to the Black City—once an enemy of the Seven Shields, now protected by the same divine barrier—and there, she met with the Queen of the Dark Elves, Olga Discordia. United by a common enemy, the two sides set aside their past grudges and joined forces to shelter the millions of pure-hearted girls whom the goddess had teleported into the area between the fortresses and the Black City. Celestine chose to stay in the Black City, now seen as the new Holy City by the survivors. With her absence from the Seventh Fortress, Claudia brought her knights there and officially took over leadership—a role she had already been handling unofficially. As for Claudia's original post at the Sixth Fortress, it was handed to the former Holy Knight Captain—her sword master and a holy knight who had vowed to serve the goddess. All 7 fortresses were connected by high walls averaging 30 to 40 meters, varying slightly with terrain, so they weren't that far apart. Even though the Seventh Fortress was wedged between the Second and Sixth, making it the middle point, Veyron still had to take a bit of a roundabout route to deliver the lotuses to all the others. Thanks to Merlin's boost spells—speed-up plus flight—he managed to visit the other six fortresses and deliver their respective black lotuses all in under a day. With the prep work done, the next step was obvious: head to the Holy City and meet the goddess—or rather, the goddess's reincarnation, Celestine Lucullus. — — — "Welcome to the Black City, my lord." In front of a towering black castle crowned with a massive red gem at the top, a dark elf girl in full armor bowed deeply in the highest show of respect among her people. "I'm Chloe, servant to Queen Olga Discordia." "Following the will of both Her Majesty and Lady Celestine Lucullus, I've been waiting here to receive you. The city has already—" "That can wait," Veyron interrupted. "What's more important right now is meeting the two of them. Are they available?" "Absolutely," Chloe nodded. "Two days ago, Lady Celestine's divine power reawakened and delivered a new prophecy concerning you and another white-haired lady." "After that, she and Her Majesty entered the temple dedicated to the goddess here in the Black City. Before entering, Her Majesty made it clear—if either of you arrive, I'm to guide you to the temple immediately." Veyron nodded, "Then lead the way." "Please, follow me." Chloe led Veyron past the gate and paused briefly at the entrance to a road paved in white tiles. She turned to him with a serious expression. "While the queen originally built the Black City as a safe haven for dark elves rejected by the rest of the world, the soil here, specially tailored for our kind, also benefits other demon races to a degree—an objective truth we can't ignore. "The tension with the original Seven Shields came mostly from this unintentional effect. Over the past hundred years, the Black City became the de facto stronghold for demonkind up north, while the rest of the world remained aligned in the south. "Seven years ago, after the queen and Lady Celestine met, they combined their powers to seal the ancient curse covering the city and the lands within hundreds of miles. They restricted it to within the city walls." "That allowed the surrounding area to become livable for other races... but it also made the city itself extremely hostile to any non–dark elf. "Even the strongest warrior in the world would suffer permanent damage after staying inside for more than thirty minutes" "So once you're in, please stay on this white path—it's been marked by Lady Celestine." "Stray from it, and... well, just don't." . . .