Chapter 1167 - Familiar Aura
"Everything has been done. We can leave whenever you want." Sabbath smiled as Shiro nodded her head.
"Oh I never said I'll be joining you on this journey. I'll give you a tracker for you to get to the city and when you arrive, just tell them that you're here with my recommendation. Tell them what I told you and they'll accommodate you accordingly. Of course, this is me trusting that you won't over exaggerate the benefits haha." Shiro joked as there have been a few people that tried their luck with this. Of course, none were successful.
"I wouldn't dare. You're already extending a helping hand to us after everything that has happened. Plus, you've even resurrected us and gave us a second chance, I would need to be stupid to bite the hand that fed me. While I cannot serve you like I did to my Queen, I will not betray you for all the help that you have given us.." Sabbath kneeled as Shiro nodded her head.
"Mn, take this. It's embedded with parts of my aura so no monsters should approach you. This was made before I adjusted my class." Shiro smiled, throwing him an orb.
The moment she pulled out the orb, Sabbath could feel a spine chilling killing intent acting as a ward within the orb. Even though he had heard about what happened when she killed gods, sensing her killing intent was a lot different to hearing about it.
Catching the orb, he could feel his muscles tense up and lock into place. It took him a moment to adjust himself but at that point, Shiro had adjusted it so that it excluded them as the target for this intent.
Instructing him on how to use this orb as a key, Shiro watched as they left the city and started to venture towards Asharia.
"Welp that's a sign for us to leave as well." Shiro said, standing up.
"What's our next destination?" Iris asked curiously.
"The North Pole. We'll be travelling a little slower for you to kill some monsters and level up on the way. Though I will say that I sense something on the edge of my sensory range. It's rather familiar and if I know who it belongs to, I did promise a friend to help her out." Shiro smiled as she remembered what she told Niphim, the Empress she froze in time using her skill Averin. She promised that she'll try to help Arnea while thinking of a way to cure her fallen status. After all, the little sister would feel heartbroken should she be left alone by the big sis.
"It might get a little dangerous but at the same time it could be a good training moment for you two. While you are under levelled, I can guarantee your safety and it'll help you get used to fighting high level beings. Her aura is a little chaotic so I can assume that she's lacking a bit of control right now." Shiro added as they made their way towards the North where Shiro had sensed the aura.
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Shivering slightly, Arnea grabbed the rags that covered her body. The blood had long dried up making the fabric uncomfortable but it was a reminder of what she had done. Her rampages, her lust for food and everything she killed. All the people, the monsters, dead by her hand and consumed to satiate her hunger.
She could remember fragmented memories from before. A strange time where she was fighting with others. She wasn't rampaging like she was now, she was more in control. She could remember a red haired lady that was related to dragons, someone who could cause her to back off due to worries of her power.
Then there was this white haired lady. Someone who had constantly interfered with her. Someone her previous self wanted to kill badly but was never able to.
With the fragmented memories and emotions assaulting her mind, she felt lost.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of eyes lock onto her from afar. A familiar glare that sent chills down her spine. The aura behind that glare dwarfed her own and even in her state where she could start rampaging whenever to satiate her hunger, it told her to run!
Immediately transforming her body into something that was suited to speed, Arnea ran away. She was no longer in control, she was a passenger of her own body.
"Hm I was thinking that you would have fought me the moment I let you sense me but it seems like you want to run instead. Can't say that I'm a little disappointed but I certainly didn't think you were someone to focus on escaping." A voice rang out from behind her as Arnea looked back slowly.
Seeing the white hair flutter in the wind and the red eyes stare at her, Arnea could feel fear strangle her, stopping her from speaking.
Noticing this fear and slight traces of unfamiliarity within Arnea, Shiro wondered why that was so. She knew this was Arnea, the Chimera Empress that wanted to kill her on so many occasions. But these eyes did not belong to the Arnea she knew, they belonged to a scared girl who was being forced to do something she hated. It was the eyes of pure fear and confusion.
Staying silent, Shiro looked at her mutated body and saw something different. There was an aura hiding within Arnea, something fragmented and weak. Something that feared her with every part of its being.
"Ah I see… That certainly explains a few things. Arnea, do you mind if I toy around with whatever is controlling your body right now?" Shiro asked as Arnea was confused by her question.
"Oh don't worry, it's just that I'm a little familiar and it would be such a waste not to use him in this situation. I have two friends who need training you see? As much as I would like to free you right now, it's not often I get a chance like this. Oh also, I'm not going to kill you or torture you. I'm here to help at the behest of your big sis Niphim. She's safe right now and her request was for me to look after you despite what may have happened before." Shiro smiled softly as she patted Arnea's head.
Seeing Shiro's warm smile and her feeling her soft hand upon her head, Arnea could feel herself calm down a little but was still worried. She knew what her mutated body could do and she was worried that it'd harm Shiro. But most importantly, this was someone who could point her towards the direction of her big sister, she couldn't allow this chance to slip by.
"Again, I'll need to apologise for using you as training for my friends right now but I'll make it up to you." Shiro said as she raised her hand and snapped her finger.
Suddenly, a shard of ice shot up into the sky and exploded into thousands of fragments, each expanding into a shield that formed a barrier around the perimeter.
"I've sealed things off, I'll let the two of you deal with the thing trying to control her body." Shiro called out as she jumped off Arnea's back and disappeared.
From the shadows, two people appeared.
Both Nine and Iris could feel fear facing the mutated being in front of them but Shiro guaranteed their safety as well as using this time to train themselves.
"Same strategy as usual?" Nine asked as his hands trembled slightly.
"Mn." Nodding her head, Iris summoned her cards once more and drew three of them before applying the buffs to Nine.
Taking a deep breath, Nine threw his swords into the air and dashed towards Arnea.
Jumping up into the sky, he clasped his hands together and a formation appeared around him.
Seeing this, the thing within Arnea snarled as tentacles shot out in an attempt to pierce Nine through the chest.
However, the swords around him started to glow.
*BANG!!!!
Redirecting the tentacle away from him, he twisted his body and grabbed one of the swords.
Unsheathing the blade, Nine bit his finger and etched some runes onto the surface.
*BOOM!!!
Shooting the rest of his swords towards Arnea, he switched places and slashed towards her arm that was mutated.
With what Shiro had said, as long as he only targets the mutated parts it should be fine.
'She mentioned that there was a disconnect between her body and the mutated spots for now, as long as I hit the mutated spots the girl wouldn't be hurt.' Nine thought to himself while Iris was buffing his body.
Watching in the distance, Shiro raised an eyebrow as she realised what their strategy was.
"Currently her buffs are automated. She's set up her spell circle to cast reactively to what changes are happening to Nine while her main focus is on a purification spell. She already recognises that whatever is happening to Arnea needs to be 'purified' so that it will separate from her." Shiro muttered as she decided to give her a little help to gather the needed mana since she doubted the thing inside Arnea would let her activate the spell.
She had experience fighting it after all.
Waving her finger, a tier 7 magic circle appeared around Iris and started to gather mana for her.
Pausing in surprise, Iris accepted the help as the sky started to change.