Chapter 899 Chapter 898: Reinforcements
"You guys finally managed to get everything finished? I honestly thought this wouldn't be done for a few more days... that's impressive."
Jahi looked down at Anput and I, the two of us sprawled out over one of the remaining pelts and staring up at the ceiling with blank eyes, the mental exhaustion finally claiming us now that we had - like Jahi had so astutely observed - finished making and enchanting all of the gear.
New armor - cuirass, bracers, faulds, and boots - all enchanted with around four spells each, while the new weapons - swords, spears, and maces - were all enchanted with some simple spells of the element that their new owners utilize.
Everything was finished, and such a bountiful yield was something that came at the cost of our mental fortitude, though again, it was a bountiful yield for everyone, but also for me... mainly for me, since I got more than just some upgraded armor from all this.
The main benefit was the increase in my INT and WIS through hundreds of enchantments being placed down, as well as an increase in my CON thanks to the exhaustion my mind felt, which extended onto my body despite me not having done much that was physically tiring.
Getting 5 points in both INT and WIS and then 3 points in my CON was nice, and it made it easier to look at the mountain of gear positively instead of feeling a small amount of despair whenever it entered my vision...
"Yeah... we got a lot done in the last 40 hours... oh, go look at the shield leaning against the wall; it's yours specifically. An upgrade from the one that Anput made in the Dungeon..."
Waving the Demoness away, I sighed and closed my eyes, only to have something warm draped over them that made me moan softly.
"Take a few minutes and rest. You both deserve it... and besides, our 'reinforcements' should be arriving soon, so you need to be ready."
Leone's gentle voice filled my ears, the Vampire patting my hair before doing the same to Anput, who groaned as she sprawled out, occupying even more of the pelt and stretching out her muscles; we were currently feeling two separate exhaustions, since mine was entirely mentally produced whilst hers was overwork of her muscles from the forging and detailing.
And... we weren't really done either, since Anput still needed to get the cuirass' done for all of us whilst I still needed to enchant them with more care and love than I did the others, since they were going to be for us and not for some Demons I didn't actually know much about...
But, just thinking about that made my head throb painfully, so I just stopped and let my mind go completely blank, letting my body do its thing as I drifted aimlessly in that empty blackness, the mild panic that I would normally feel at such a familiar and harrowing experience being thankfully alleviated by the rhythmic strokes of Leone's hand on my ears, as well as the random chatter and other noise that filtered into my ears, reminding me that I wasn't dead, just... resting.
Even after all this time, that void that I had occupied scared me - not because of what it was, or how it felt, but instead because of what it signified.
I could actually admit that the experience there was a nice one; left with nothing but your thoughts playing on like a movie, with the ability to skip and jump to new or old fragments depending on your mood, it wasn't that bad, but being back there meant that I would have to leave this behind, and... that was what scared me.
When Kyoka killed me, I... was at peace briefly, able to relax and just... not care about what had happened, what I had done, but now..?
Now that I had Anput, now that I had Leone, now that I had Jahi?
Mother and the Countess, the Marquess, my two new sisters?
I... I didn't ever want to leave them behind, and that realization was a scary one; I don't think I had ever felt this strongly before, but now I do, and being reminded of that void where it was just ME and no one else was... terrifying.
Thankfully I had the Vampire to ground me and the Jackalkin's scent to remind me that I wasn't going anywhere, and that made it all the easier to just slip away and float in that shroud of darkness for as long as I was able to, though when I felt the warm towel be gently lifted from my face, I opened my eyes and let out a sigh, looking towards the smiling face of Leone as she whispered "They're here. And... it looks important, so wake up."
I sat up and stretched, with Anput doing the same beside me, only instead of a good yawn and a slight groan, my mate made various pops as she cracked her entire body, something that made me raise a brow as I watched her twist herself and moan almost orgasmically at how many of her bones were being 'stretched' and allowed to 'crack'.
When she finally finished, she just limply sat there for a moment, taking in the bliss for as long as she could before standing up, acting like she hadn't just sounded like a bunch of firecrackers going off all at once.
Standing up beside her, I made my way over to the table that had become the 'center' of Custodia, where Mary Ixan stood staring up in awe at an all too familiar red skinned Demon wearing a languid smile, whilst his warm brown eyes hid the slightly sinister nature that seemed innate in his Clansmen.
"Ah~! Miss Katherine, Begum, Princess! It's a pleasure to see you again~! I do hope that everything inside the Dungeon went well? Besides the obvious reports, of course."
Belian stood in front of us, the tall Head of the Beliali Clan looking us over before gesturing to the side, where a large group of Demons stood around, waiting for further orders.
"You requested aid, and considering the contents of the letter, well... we decided this would be satisfactory enough, no?"
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺