1954 Nineteen (Part 2)
'Maybe he's even the Master they are talking about. That or he's the bravest man on Mogar.' Tryssa had no idea that Lith was simply ignorant.
Names that would scare a wiser and older man were just cringy to him.
She couldn't afford to underestimate her opponents anymore so she took a long look at Lith with Life Vision. He was the second weakest of the group after Elphyn, but that could be explained by a cloaking ring.
Tryssa ignored her sight and focused on her nose, smelling a faint trace of Eldritch Abomination from him.
'I knew it! As long as they are in human form, their power is suppressed but they can't hide their smell.' She thought, finding no joy in her discovery.
"What are you exactly?" Tryssa asked Lith. "Before I go back to the Council, I need to know who we are dealing with."
"I'm nineteen." He gave the flabbergasted Fae thumbs up without moving from his chair.
Tryssa racked her brain to make sense of those words, but to no avail. Every famous monster, Abomination, and Eldritch had a nickname that represented their madness, not a mere number.
For a second, she assumed that it might have been the mysterious Eldritch's body count, but then she realized that two digits weren't something even an Awakened would brag about.
"As in there are nineteen more of you? Or is it your position in this Organization?" Self-duplicating or ranking was the only logical explanation.
"No, as in I'm nineteen years old." Lith shook his head as he stood up.
He released his violet aura while unfolding his four wings and opening his seven eyes.
"I am probably younger than most of the hotel staff, but I reached this level on my own. I am no legacy heir. I Awakened and developed on my own until the Garlen Council found me."
"Imagine what I'll become tomorrow." Lith stared at her, opening his face-mask and letting small bursts of Origin Flames come out.
Tryssa furrowed her brows for a second before her eyes went wide in surprise.
'Great Mother almighty!' She inwardly reassessed the threat level of each one of the invaders. 'If what this guy says is true, then he might be the second weakest of the group, but he's also the scariest.
'Elphyn has Menadion's legacy to back her while the others are old monsters who built their power through the centuries. Their strength makes sense. Reaching the violet so soon and developing a unique bloodline it's unheard of, instead.
'He's wearing no cloaking device and I can tell that his physical prowess is at the level of a Divine Beast. I can't believe that someone who is less than one-fifth of my age can kill me with the flick of a finger.'
The Fae had come to the Winged Boar hotel to intimidate and humiliate the arrogant Shadow Dragon who had dared to demand an audience with the Council instead of requesting it.
Yet she was about to leave the building after having been scared to death and thoroughly humiliated. The Final Smile had played her like a fiddle from the beginning and exploited her ignorance to corner the Council.
On top of that, every single member of that unlikely group made her look like a child who threatened adults while throwing a tantrum.
"You'll receive the Council's answer within the next 24 hours as per your request. I can't do more, I'm sorry." Tryssa needed sheer willpower to turn around and walk out of there as slowly as she had entered instead of running for her life.
"I suppose that you're also like Bytra and Theseus." Dolgus stared at Zoreth with suspicion. "You are a clone who has devoured her original, correct?"
"Wrong." The Shadow Dragon shrugged. "I'm exactly the monster you think I am and even though I'm not proud of some of my past deeds, I'm not ashamed of them either.
"I did what I had to survive and I owe no explanation to the likes of you. Be grateful that I devoured my clone, because she would have turned Mogar upside down just for the fun of it."
"How can you say that after what you did to the Kingdom and to countless people?" Rage and Life Maelstrom coursed through the Griffon's body with greater intensity with each word he spoke. "You-"
"She's my wife and savior." Bytra stepped in front of him. "I don't care what she did in the past, now she's a better person. Those like you who have no idea of the hunger an Abomination suffers their whole life and the things that it forces us to do just to survive has no right to judge her."
"She's also part of my family, in a way." Lith said. "Attacking her would mean facing all of us. Even in the ridiculous case you win, everything we have done so far would be meaningless.
"Verendi's Council would keep the Mouth, the Organization and the Garlen's Council would lose some of their best warriors, and Theseus would have no place where to go. The only person who would be grateful to you would be Thrud."
A tense silence ensued while Dolgus mulled over his chances of victory and the consequences of his actions. He kept circulating the Life Maelstrom and weaving spells for a few seconds before letting them fade away.
"Fine, but whatever happens next, don't count on my help. I'll protect Theseus and Elphyn, but that's it." He said.
"By the way, there's something I don't understand." Lith said as everyone went back to their human form and dispelled the cloaked area. "Your power move was amazing, sure, but the Council will never give up on such a precious artifact.
"Based on what you said earlier, I assumed you had an ace in the hole. Something that would force their hand. Yet aside from showing off you achieved nothing."
"You wish." Dolgus said, having a hard time believing that someone so powerful could also be so young and naïve. "By revealing her true identity, she has given the Council the grounds for a killing order.
"Our Eldritch 'friends' here are all wanted in Verendi, especially Theseus. Tryssa may have been scared witless, but her master won't miss the opportunity to attack you on sight in the name of justice."
"Is he telling the truth?" Lith couldn't believe that Zoreth had made such a stupid mistake.
"The two of you are right, but you are also wrong." Zoreth said as a cruel smile appeared on her face. "As I told you earlier, we Abominations don't hide nor cower. It was all intentional.
"I introduced myself as a member of Garlen's Council and I didn't strike first because I can't afford to ruin all of the Master's hard work. If they attack us, however, ignoring our rights as members of another Council, they'll give the Organization the grounds to retaliate.
"Verendi can't attack us without Garlen's approval, but they'll never give it. If they don't follow protocol, once we strike back, Garlen will consider the issue as between us and Verendi.
"I demanded an audience with the Council because Verendi is too big to search it in a brief time. Because this way, not only will Bytra and I have the perfect opportunity to test our new powers against a worthy enemy, but we will also have free reins in Verendi once the problem with Thrud will be dealt with."
