Chapter 636 Chapter 635: Mission Report
"So there's an entire... army of cultists hiding somewhere within the Empire? Capable of utilizing gateways and replicating Mana Batteries - albeit in fleshy form - preaching about the downfall of my Empire? I have to admit..."
Leaning back into her throne, the Empress donned a small smile as she looked down at us, her gigantic frame seemingly amplified by the smile on her lips as her presence filled the room, a myriad of emotions washing over us from just those small actions.
"I am rather curious about this all. How deeply ingrained was this Cult of Ambition? Where are they located, and why have my Wisps heard nothing about it? Is it truly inside the Empire, or just located nearby? Are they targeting us because they are discontent with the state it is in, or because they wish to witness the downfall of what I've built? So many questions, and yet... they know nothing."
She drummed her fingers on the edge of the throne, stroking her jaw and staring down at the slack corpse of the cultist, their mind fragmented from the mysterious Moon Magic that Lady Lorelei placed on them to extract some knowledge.
But, her attempts came up short as the cultist provided nothing for us to work on, unaware of the workings of the cult that they themselves seemed to manage; besides the general 'We're against the Empire', 'We number in the thousands', and 'We serve Lord Tza'Delira', all three of the captives we brought back provided nothing new for us whatsoever.
To a surprising degree as well, since their vagueness of everything was uncharacteristic of such a large cult, especially one beneath the rule of the Tza domain.
"However, you said that this Tza'Delira wished to free Tza'Yul from their imprisonment? Peculiar... Most Tza Fiends were rather happy that Tza'Yul was brought under my control, the power vacuum that it left behind allowing them to act freely without the looming presence of their Sedis. So what is it that this Delira wants from Yul..?"
The Empress seemed only mildly worried about the looming threat of an unknown number of cultists threatening her Empire, since she instead was more intrigued by the words that the Fiend left behind for us over in the Vulpine Manor.
"Additionally, the Cult of Ambition as a name... it's rather broad, no? Usually Fiends and their respective cults mirror one another; for instance, Sla'Caligo's cult would likely go under the name 'Cult of Twisted Desires' since she herself represents all the hidden, dark lusts that mortals possess. Is that correct, Katherine?"
Everyone turned towards me, and I blinked, to entirely sure since the Arch Fiend bound to me had made no mention of her 'cult' whatsoever...
"Rude! Not everyone is as bland and boring as that, Empress! You should know that~! Cult of the Black Roses, Cupido Infinitum, Nox Deliciae... Why go for something boring like naming it after myself? Sure, I'm lust incarnate and so~ desirable, but I'm not full of myself! If I was, do you think I'd be out searching for mortals to feed me lust, hmm? Actually... Oh, I'd love~ to be full of myself..."
Cali appeared behind me at the Empress' question, uncaring of how most in the throne room glared at her, which was only amplified as she made comments that were... par for the course with her, honestly.
"You were responsible for Nox Deliciae?"
The Arch Fiend just grinned as she stared at the Empress, who leaned forwards a little before sighing, saying "No matter, it's a thing of the past... Still, what is the reason for such a broad name? Most cults are proud to proclaim what they are..."
"Perhaps it's more than just that Tza'Delira? A collective of 'ambition' brought together under one banner, for one purpose? Wouldn't be the first time that happened."
Lady Igna was the one to suggest that, making the Empress sigh as she contemplated the words of the Dragon, before glancing at the Demon Wolf who just growled "If it is, then can I finally stretch my legs a bit? Been far too long since something crawled to my feet to die..."
"Fen... Hah... Chordeva, you mentioned that the Youngest Lady of the Renacla Family was the one to 'facilitate' the initial provocation? Mental manipulation, was it? Is that artifact still on hand, or was it destroyed?"
The Marquess shook her head, gesturing at me to hand the silver chain over to the Empress, the protection that Cali provided to me crowning me as the carrier of the artifact.
I retrieved it from my pocket and handed it over, the Empress clicking her tongue as she inspected the necklace for a moment, handing it off to Lady Lorelei a moment later.
"Ancient Magics. Moon Magic specifically. Likely an actual artifact, or the Cult has access to someone capable of wielding said magics... be it a Vampire or another Fiend."
Leone seemed intrigued by that, looking towards her Mother and receiving a nod as the two Vampires grew closer, looking at the silver chain that was bathed in a pale white light from Lady Lorelei's palms.
"Chordeva, Budan, my Wisps... stay behind. We have much to discuss. The rest of you, get some rest. Besides the emergence of this Cult, there is something else that will require your attentions, if you decide to accept it... We'll talk about it later though, so go; eat, rest, sleep. You need it."
I looked towards Jahi and Anput, the two women yawning at the mention of sleep before moving over towards me, quietly asking if we were going to have something heavy for dinner or something simple as we filtered out of the throne room, deciding to take up the Empress' offer without much contemplation.
We were tired from what had happened, and I was grateful for the rest since I could look over my gains from the excursion, which I had to admit I was rather curious about... there was quite the reaping of souls earlier, and while they didn't personally seem difficult to kill, that meant nothing in terms of experience, and with me being so close to crossing the threshold, I was even more curious if I would reach it tonight, or if I needed one last push to breach the halfway point to triple digits.
For now though, I accepted the hands of Anput and Jahi as we began to walk down the halls together, both of my hands enveloped in theirs as we slowly made our way back to the room, chatting quietly about what happened and discussing how Anput's gear worked, or how well our spells worked and so on, deciding that - while we wanted it - we would wait to do anything 'fun' until Leone was with us as well.
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