Chapter 322 Purpose
SHIRO POV
‘A comfortable bed, a nice aroma, and a gentle breeze. Strange… I could’ve sworn I was in a forest when I last awoke.’, My first thoughts after regaining some form of consciousness led me to have some suspicions about my whereabouts.
I got out of the bed, then summoned Karma. We had to leave the little familiar back in Dhijan since that was the easiest solution to inn problems while travelling. With her contract, she could easily summon Karma from Dhijan and send it back if need be.
The dragon youngling, now the size of the average dog, sat resolutely and attentively.
‘Master!’, It sent an excited telepathic message to my brain.
“Were you watching through our shared vision?”, I asked.
‘Of course! I am always watching!’
Its response irked me in the wrong way, but I’d grown accustomed to Karma’s lack of interest in anything other than me.
“So you saw what happened to me before I passed out?”
‘Of course!’
“Elaborate then.”
Karma quickly explained how I got bitten by a snake and passed out. The moment I was unconscious, our shared vision was cancelled, meaning Karma knew nothing more. If Karma and I shared a better bond, the dragon might have been able to teleport to my location of its own volition, but I doubted it could think for itself.
“So, we don’t know where I am, huh?”, Saying this, I walked over to the window to see what was outside.
I was met with a scene of flattened earth and incomplete infrastructure. Beyond that, there was a sea of green, spreading as far as the eye could see. However, the most shocking part were the creatures right in front of the window.
Several groups of ogres and goblins were moving about in harmony, working on the construction of these infrastructures. Some were shouting orders in a language I couldn’t understand, whereas a couple were simply sitting and chatting with each other. There were even a few in armour walking around and keeping an eye on things.
I immediately crouched to avoid being seen, placing my hand over my mouth to muffle any screams that might come out, my heart performing gymnastics in my chest.
‘W-Where the hell did I end up?’, I asked myself, stunned by the scene.
I was in Larm at the moment. I’d heard from Senku-sensei that there was a group of ogres that lived in Larm and built habitable infrastructure, but they were supposed to be in the East. They were led by one of the tyrants of Larm. The war monger, Krull.
Unfortunately, Krull wasn’t what you’d call a kind person.
‘How am I still alive? Why am I still alive? Where are the others? Kana, Seiko, Daisuke, Akari, Jasmine and even those bumbling idiots… gosh, what’s happening?’
Many questions popped into my head, and the more I sat to think, the more the questions flowed. Rather than asking questions, I had to find a way out of here. Or at least, find the others.
‘No, no. The best thing to do right now is to escape. I can scout the area once I get a better idea of my current situation. Oh! This really is like one of those epic adventures father always talked about.’, My last memory of my father went as far back as when I was three.
He’d always describe tales of his adventures with his friends to me, before he disappeared.
‘Now isn’t the time for such thoughts. Get yourself together, Shiro!’, I slapped my cheeks, then walked over to the door.
On the outside, I could sense the mana signatures of two creatures standing outside. I would need a distraction if I wanted to escape.
“Karma. Burst through the door, then run in any one of the directions in the hallway.”, Karma listened to my explanation with rapt attention. “The guards will follow you and try to hunt you down, but if they get too close, I’ll just summon you back to my location. By then, I should at least be at the end of the hallway.”
I wasn’t even sure if there was a hallway. For all I knew, it was a one-way path the moment the door was opened, but I’d cross that bridge when the time came.
‘Which direction should I run in?’, Karma asked.
“Any.”
‘Which direction do you want me to run in?’
“Ugh… go left.”, I groaned, then leaned on the wall besides the door. The moment Karma jumped out, that was my chance.
‘Very well master!’, Karma responded, then ran right out the door.
I was originally planning on having a countdown, but the dragon went right into it, leaving me a bit baffled.
However, before Karma could even touch the doors, they opened up. Yet, rather than just landing on the ground outside, Karma hit something of a greater force than the door, then bounced right back.
The immovable force took a few steps forward and entered the room. It was a little boy, about the same height as me. He had neatly combed dark hair. The boy was in a butler’s uniform – a black suit over a white shirt, accompanied by a black vest and matching pants. His black shoes shined so brightly it was like they radiated light themselves. He wore an eye patch on his right eye, as well as fingerless gloves on his hands.
The boy looked at me with a smile, then bowed.
“My master as summoned for you, human. Please make your way to the reception room.”, The boy spoke politely, shocking me. I was so dumbfounded at the sight of a human boy that I was left speechless. So much so, that I apparently hadn’t spoken for quite some time. “Is there an issue? Or do you lack the ability to speak?”
“Oh, erhm, no. Yes. Um, master?”, I had no idea what I just spouted myself. Too many things wanted to come out at once.
“Yes! The great monster queen.”, He raised his hands innocently as he boldly declared this.
“Hm? Krull is a queen?”, I hadn’t heard that title being used for Krull before.
“Krull? Krull was a man. Are you confused?”
<Listen to me now, princess>, Before I could respond to him, Tora spoke to me.
‘Tora?’
<That boy in front of you. Run away from him. Run away as far as possible>
‘What?’
<He’s dangerous. Far too dangerous for you. It is in my contract to protect you, so I am giving you this piece of advice right now. Run>
‘Hey! You think telling me this can suddenly make me run away when he’s right in my face?’
“Who are you talking to?”, The butler asked. I could feel the warmth leaving my face the moment he said that. The butler closed the distance between our faces in an instant. His blood red eyes started to glow as a maniacal smirk crossed his face.
“Let’s bring that person over here.”, His voice and demeanour changed.
He reached his hand out to touch my abdomen. With his touch, I could feel an unusual surge of magic power within me.
<Ah! Tatsumaki Shiro, I am cancelling our contract. From henceforth, we are no longer partners!>
Immediately, Tora cried out in alert.
“What!? You can’t just do that! You are supposed to protect me! You promised!”
<I already did my job by advising you. I am not bound by contract to kill myself for you. Farewell.>
After that, I lost my connection to Tora. He abandoned me in the moment I needed him the most.
“Oh… he seriously cancelled your contract? That’s pathetic.”, He cursed, backing away from me. He then snorted. “Get a better familiar next time. The useless trash from the [Fairy Plains] are all bark and no bite. Once they see someone of comparable level they start to run away. Anyhow, please follow after me.”
I dropped to the ground, breathless. The butler marched towards the door, but stopped the moment he noticed that I hadn’t moved.
“I believe I gently asked you to follow me. Do not force my hand, human.”, He threatened, not even giving me a moment to think about my current situation.
Weakly, I stood up and followed after him. Karma walked over to my side and followed closely, but that didn’t register on my mind till later. All I could think about were the events that just transpired.
Tora left me.
Tora was my first familiar. I was 6 years old when I forged my contract with him. Tora was so immensely powerful that the next time I could get a familiar, I was 11.
Growing up in the Tatsumaki household, I was always alone. I’d always start out with someone, but in the end, I’d be alone. I never even got to spend time with the clan head. Dad left me at 3. Hiro left me at 6. The twins were taken at 12. Mr. Sotomura was now nowhere to be seen. Even a new familiar I acquired was taken before the day was over.
And right now, Tora. The most reliable entity in my life, had abandoned me. Maybe, my life’s purpose really is to stay in a tower. To rule the Tatsumaki Clan and birth the next clan head.
“I am the strongest, princess. Form a contract with me, and you will never regret it.”
Thinking back, I should have realised that this was a con. He came to me when I was sad and crying about how Hiro was gone. He found the perfect opportunity to trick me. To manipulate me. Like everyone stronger than me always does.
Damn it. I was stupid. I was really stupid. My punishment for my stupidity… my purpose in life, is to be lonely. Forever.
****
Harbouring such thoughts in her head, a great darkness begins to grow. This darkness starts to affect her fate. If the entity known as Tatsumaki Shiro is ever to acquire a [Sacred], this darkness would surely corrupt it and in turn, corrupt her.
And for the very first time since the World Forge Era, a [Chaos Hero] would be born.
_________________________
Day 121
We arranged for the humans to stay in individual rooms yesterday. Their food was delivered to their rooms and we had multiple guards stationed around to keep them doing anything stupid.
I had to keep the paladin, Seiko, with me as he simply regenerated from the stab to the head after a while. I could have chosen to poison him, but he had a really high resistance and I wasn’t merciless enough to keep destroying his brain over and over again just to keep him down.
So, I opted to keep him in my stomach till it was time.
There was a bit of discord that night with the guys. They all disliked the idea of me harbouring humans in Larm. First it was Neburis and Rulis and now, these guys. They were scared that I’d eventually let the human army steamroll and take over.
I couldn’t fault them for their worries, so I simply reassured them that I wouldn’t be allowing those humans to stay. They simply had to trust me. However, Reiman felt that he had to be present to keep me in line during the meeting, so there was no avoiding that. The other captains, well, generals, tried to do the same, but I resolutely refused them. They had other duties to attend to, whatever it was they did…
‘Aside from fighting… what are these guys for again?’
Which is why, today, in my office, I sat on a chair, faced with 10 humans and 1 elf. We were missing one more person.
Just as I thought this, the door to the room burst open with no grace, revealing Julian and Shiro. The vampire butler spread his arms wide open with a grin.
“Queen! I have arrived with the final human scum!”, Saying this, he waited for Shiro to enter the door before walking out. “I shall go attend to master Maou. Wherever he is…”
The doors slam shut, leaving Reiman and I alone with the outsiders.
“Since the final member is present, shall we start discussing your purpose in Larm?”, I started.
<A/N: It’s like the heat gets worse by the day. I called this arc the [Winter Zone], but we still haven’t seen snow… Maybe I should change the name, since the [Winter Zone] plays the tiniest role here. Maybe, a chapter or 2. Maybe 3? Idk, that fight will take a while. Yes! The nameless arc!
If you enjoy the story, please give me your powerstones, comments and reviews. :) >
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