"Umm... Lord Seventh?!"
Lucy replied as she started calling out to Michelle, who abruptly dragged her away from the others. The group, of course, proceeded to observe with perplexity and interest. Their gaze was fixed on the seventh and Lucy, who were walking farther and farther away from them.
Michelle, of course, replied.
"Be patient, Jahad one; I will respond as soon as we are away from the Solomon’s prying eyes; even inadvertently, they see and hear things without your will. This body is feeble; therefore, I take the time to build up a hypothetical magic barrier to disrupt their natural conceptual interference with men’s desires."
"Ha, oh, wait... can you really redirect that degree of conceptual perception? "Not even my mother, much less my father, can do something like that."
"Oh, no, typically you can’t do this; Clan Solomon has a very unpleasant clan trait that allows them to see the secrets of others, which is why they are masters of perception, as well as a clan that excels at bribery and blackmail. I’m buddies with the 6th, so I know how to deal with them."
"To be honest with you, I am the only one who can accomplish this via the method I just mentioned; the essence of my ichormancy is to manifest reasons that I believe necessary. I have numerous techniques to oppose various clans and contingencies, but clan Solomon is one of those clans that I must be extra careful against since they have the ability to obtain the secrets of others by reading your desires."
"But enough of this pointless chit-chat; the fence has been set; we can talk freely now; although old Hector might be a little drained because of this, nothing a couple of hours of rest can’t fix, but still, that dimension they plan to send you guys in for this so-called exam, I honestly have my doubts about it. Sigh!! I just can’t help but worry for Merciless’s safety; I’m still not used to this whole sirining thing."
Michelle spoke to himself, expressing his sentiments. Of course, his remarks did not go on deaf ears, but Lucy was unsure how to approach Michelle in a serious conversation. To her, he may as well be the closest thing to God; that is how all vampires perceive their progenitors; scions are one thing, but primigenial progenitors are another.
Sure, she disliked the primigenials because of their prejudiced conduct against their species, but Michelle, based on what Lucy had seen, was different. Lucy had heard really horrific things about the third and seventh progenitors, in particular.
So it wasn’t an understatement to say Lucy was on edge; after all, Michelle was still portrayed as the monster her younger self regarded him as. After all, Michelle’s real gender is female; yet, Michelle was well known as the "Snake of Ouroboros," not because he could transform into an enormous snake but because his blood kept a powerful being known as the world serpent Jormungandr, asleep for all eternity. A terrifying monster that not even the progenitors could destroy, a being that lives in stasis for all eternity. A deity-like figure known as the "Annix of Balance," currently speaking, it resides at the deepest depths of Hellmoras ocean, and it is the strongest weapon Michelle has, a weapon that is rumored to be even greater than the seven weapons of Grace.
Even calling it a weapon would be an understatement; that monster in Michelle’s possession is indefinable. To wake it up is like untying a knot; the majority of the realms above and below will be in disarray if it does. It would be the beginning of another Ragarock all over again.
That was the reason why Lucy feared Michelle, because, while they were only tales, they could have driven anybody insane with terror. It was a terrifying thought, especially given what she knows about what else a progenitor is actually capable of on their own.
Scion progenitors, unlike primigenial progenitors, were significantly weaker. Their immortality was, of course, more inferior. Scions can resurrect from anything that hits them, but only if their blood is present. That is, they can regenerate from a single drop of their clansmen’s blood, as the progenitor concept exists within all the clansmen of a scion lineage. The death of a Scion Progenitor clan means the death of the progenitor itself because their survival is dependent on their Scion peers. Of course, this applies to all Saquat households, regardless of generation.
Comparing a primigenial progenitor ichormancy to a scion progenitor ichormancy was equivalent to comparing heaven and earth. A Scion is by all means unable to reach the wall of infinity that separated the first and second generations, much as there is a tremendous gap between a second and third-generation vampire.
Lucy, on the other hand, attempted to remain cool in front of Michelle, which was difficult. However, he soon began to speak, his eyes still looking forward as he and Lucy continued to travel deeper and deeper into the forest, which lasted approximately two minutes until Michelle stopped and said to Lucy.
"I will get right to the point, young Jahad. Do you want to become an Astella?!"
Lucy’s eyes widened as she realized she had never expected to hear this from the seventh progenitor in her life. Hell, she didn’t expect anyone from the seven original lines to even ask her such a question.
"Are you... are you serious?!"
"Dead serious. I don’t like beating around the bush, so please make up your mind quickly."
This was not something to take lightly; becoming an Astella candidate is exceedingly difficult in and of itself, but being offered the position by a progenitor is something entirely different. However, she looks at Michelle, scratching her head as she asks, exerting every ounce of bravery and pleading to Eos above that Michelle wouldn’t kill her because he finds her annoying.
"Um... aghhh... please excuse me, but why me? Aren’t Astellas and Margrives exclusively presented to the highest-ranking individuals? Despite being the granddaughter of the progenitor, I am not considered worthy of such a position."
When Lucy said this, Michelle just laughed, as if amused by her comments, and answered to her as such.
"Not worthy, hehehe... very hilarious, girl, you disguise it well, but you are before the third oldest vampire in existence; other progenitors may turn a blind eye, but even that fox thing cannot conceal the truth from me. I am beyond what she can comprehend; the others will not notice, but I did the instant I laid eyes on you. I desire you for my Merciless; having someone like you beside my kilde would bring my clan many benefits. Unlike the others, I hear five heartbeats coming from you, girl."
"Egh...
Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise, but she realized she couldn’t hide it any longer; this was, in fact, the truth. She was special in the sense that she was the only vampire to have been born with five Ichors, as far as she knew.
As such, Lucy sighed and just replied back honestly.
"I suppose not even Ophelia’s strength can fool a progenitor’s sight, ha? Hehehe... just my luck, I guess, but yes, I was indeed born with five different Ichor; their types are: two bio, two hex, and one conditional."
"There are only 50 vampires in the world that have more than one Ichor, as it is extremely uncommon to be born with more than one Ichor to begin with, either naturally or artificially. But three is something I’ve never heard of before. You are an anomaly among vampires. So much so that you are a unique instance, a vampire that appears once in every 1,000,000 vampires, which is definitely something to be proud of."
"That is why, Jahad one, I desire you. If I had to be honest, a child between you and Merciless would undoubtedly be a monster. And the way things are, it won’t be long until the power spectrum shifts. I can feel it; the dawn of a new age is approaching. At the current rate of advancement, the world will soon collapse into disharmony."
"And believe me when I say that I can sense when huge shifts are about to occur; I’m not sure who is causing this shift, but this spot appears to be one of seven spots I have sensed where the change will begin. Let’s just say I am preparing for the worst. I am a person who loves to prepare ahead of time; its one of my best qualities."
"I see, you were serious after all; you truly want me to be Merciless Astella. Hmm, he does have what I desire, but this is speeding up the process; I don’t even know him like that. Don’t get me wrong, being an Astella is fantastic, but it also means you won’t have any freedom after the ritual of eternity is complete."
Lucy responded, to which Michelle nodded his head in agreement.
"You are correct; an Astella is, after all, something deeper than marriage since it binds two people together on a meta-conceptual level; witches have soul links, whilst vampires have blood bonds. But we, the royal seven, share much more than just blood via our Astella bond. But I suppose you already know that, and to be honest with you, Merciless already owns an Astella."
"Although I did not pick that one, or better yet, that one’s mere existence alone makes her everyone’s Astella in a weird way. When you think about it, she is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, even inside each of my cells and yours, in my shadow, in the air, across all timelines, inside concepts—you name it, she is there, right? Hehehe. Knowing her, she is most likely laughing at our inability to do anything about it—how annoying that one is. Although I didn’t approve, I suppose it’s fine; that one appears to be obsessive about my Kilde, even more so than I."
"Merciless fate is beyond my control; the instant he merged with that monster, he moved from the domain of probability into the region of uncertainty. Great, first that orc thing, now my own kilde, hehe, but that woman’s manipulation of fate should be greater than that orc thing’s sponsor and even my own. Merciless cannot be influenced by fate, or better yet, she willed it to be so as her existence is just that: unbounded; honestly, what is your game, you crazy bitch?"
Michelle questioned himself out aloud, while Lucy stared at Michell with confusion. As she started to question herself as well.
’Ha... exist outside of fate, is that the reason why Ophelia saw his (EP) as a stament?’
’But Merciless already has an Astella; I wonder who she is. Hmmm, she must be someone extremely significant if Michelle himself flat-out said that he can’t cope with her. Still, me of all people as an Astella, I never imagined something like this would happen. In the vampiric language, Astella means "Existence-Bond." Only the royal families could make use of this unique bond.’
’A connection that is so absolute in its form that it is a state of being rather than an idea or a principle; it just is. It is a link that transcends all other bonds; to be an Astella is to be the essence of that person; you might even say you become the person’s will, and once created, it is like pouring a cup of rainwater into an infinitely large sea of salt water; there is no filtering it. As the link itself is unbreakable.’
’You might even argue it’s metaphysical in nature; often, the Astella system is employed to locate good brides, for the royal progenitors, or heirs. It is what pulls royal clans together, and it was created with the goal of forging an enduring alliance. But if I become Merciless Astella, my existence would be inextricably linked to his, to the point where if he dies, I will have no reason to live; this is essentially enslavement, and I do not want to become the Astella of someone I do not know in that way.’
’This was Lucy’s response; she did not want to bond with a stranger. But, at that point, she heard Michelle speak to her and responded accordingly.
"That is understandable, I guess; I am not forcing you, Jahad one; I am only offering you something; of course, hear me out."
"Haaaaa! Oh, you read my mind, didn’t you?"
Lucy asked Michelle, not shocked that a progenitor would do something like this, and Michelle just simply nodded his head while saying.
"Yes, but hear me out for a minute."
"Ok, I am listening."
Lucy replied, to which Michelle responded as such.
"I want you to form a contract with me."
"A contract?!"
Lucy inquired unexpectedly, not expecting to include contracts in the equation.
"Yes."
Michelle said.
"And what kind of contract do you have in mind? Just a heads up, by the way, Lord Seventh, I will not sign something I find vividly unfair; I just want you to know that."
"Unfair, heheh; quite far from it, in fact, the contract is simple to understand. This contract will endure for 150 years. If you fall in love with Merciless at any time in the moment of that time span and choose to become his Astella I will develop a weapon of your choice that can only be matched with the likes of the Grace series. If you do not fall in love with Merciless throughout that time period, I will still make a weapon for you. How does that sound? If this contract fails, you will benefit the most either way, right?"
Michelle surprised Lucy, as she had not expected this at all; this was essentially the definition of daylight robbery.
"Wait, are you serious? Will you actually create me a weapon of my choosing if I form a contract with you? And even if I don’t fall in love with Merciless, you’ll still construct a weapon for me using your ichormancy."
"Well, of course, I am a man of my word, Jahad; you have nothing to worry about."
Michelle reaffirmed Lucy, who was now deep in thought.
’I wonder what I should do. This is indeed a good deal. I wonder if I should ask my mother first before I do any...
But at that very moment, a voice enters her consciousness, just like Michelle enters Merciless’ mind when they communicate through their blood bond.
’Take the offer, child; this is an opportunity we should seize. I hate to admit it, but if we had a weapon built from this blue-haired monster, we could easily ascend to the top. And, aside from gaining the favor of the previous second progenitor, it will undoubtedly propel us to new heights.’
’Grandma!?’
’Yes, yes, it’s me; I’ve been watching closely from the moment you came to this place, and I must say that this talk involves not only you but the entire Jahad clan as you know it.’
’... I see... so do I have to become Merciless Astella?’
’For the benefit of the clan, certainly, but I will let you proceed with the contract at the very least, so you could choose whatever means you choose.’
’As you wish, grandmother.’
’Good, dont fail me now, child.’
With those words spoken, the mature woman’s voice began to disappear, allowing Lucy to float in her own thoughts as she glanced at Michelle and said.
"Alright, I will become Merciless Astella, however, only on one condition."
"Hmm, and that being?"
"Ophelia, that girl is significant to me in many ways; she is a crucial force in my life. As a result, I want her to become an Astella as well, connecting her to both myself and Merciless.
"Hmmm... that fox thing? Hmmmmm... *sigh* Fine, have it your way; I am glad we reached a conclusion, and what kind of weapon do you wish for?"
"A scythe; I am a necromancer, so its kind of my main weapon."
"I see... very well, then a scythe it is."
Updat𝓮d from freewēbnoveℓ.com.
"And when will the ritual begin?"
Lucy asked bluntly.
"After Merciless training, which should take 150 years in real life before he is finished, you still have time to get to know him."
"Is that so? Very well, then I will await your call."
"Great either way; here is your weapon; I did promise each and every one of you something right."
Michelle presented Lucy with a big flag pole with a completely white flag and a sacred golden fire blazing on it.
Lucy looked curiously at the flag; a weird aura was coming from the flag, and Michelle began to speak.
"K043-2 Prometheus Anchor; this flag is the most powerful resistance type weapon among the Prometheus series, allowing you to call Fort Prometheus army of 500 Gretaer golems onto the battlefield. But the ultimate power of this flag is something else: if it is displayed in a location you claim as your kingdom, everyone inside its borders will become completely immune to any and all types of reality warping."
"But be warned, if the flag is burned to nothing, it will take an entire week before you can use the reality anchoring properties of the...
But before Michelle could finish talking, a loud explosion in the background could be heard loudly and clearly.
*BOOOOM!!*
"What the hell?"
Lucy exclaimed in surprise as she peered into the distance and saw a massive smoke cloud in the exact area where she had previously been with her teammates.
"Let’s go, Jahad one; it would seem that thing went rouge. How amusing."
"Went rouge... agh, I will go on ahead."
With that stated, Lucy immediately acquired a set of gigantic bat wings as she flew into the air, and as she looked down from above, she was surprised by what she saw.
A giant red blob the size of a big building entrapped Zalena, Abadis, and Ophelia inside its stomach, while Jordan, Albedo, and Alucard stood on one of the limbs of the tall alien-looking tree.
This confused Lucy as she began to question herself.
"What the hell is going on? Why did Substance suddenly go rogue?"
