Ascension of the Monster Queen

Chapter 24: The one within Irza

"Do you mind if I ask which kingdom you all came from or who exactly are you working for?" Nessa asked and Lisa smiled.

"I believe we can tell you," Lisa replied.

"Yeah, there was no rule against that," Johnathan said and Rina agreed.

"Johnathan is correct, there is no rule against saying who you work for, it's a personal choice, we were hired by a member of the council in the kingdom of Nacuria," Irza said, and Nessa sighed.

"I take it a lot more heard of monsters, gathering as they call it?" Nessa asked.

"Yeah, the word is spreading, and people may perceive you as a threat sooner or later, well, if this place grows bigger," Irza responded.

"I'm pretty sure it's about to, my lady, another goblin village along the way, the last one other than this st us a message, they want to join us here, they're afraid I guess," Tehitos said and Nessa sighed.

"Invite them to come th," She replied.

"Huh? Are you sure about this?" Tehitos inquired.

"Yeah, I can't just ignore them now, can I?" She asked and he smiled.

"Will you take in more of them?" "Ar't you afraid?" Rina inquired.

"No, I intd to live out my dreams, and I will not let anyone stand in my way," She replied, and they exchanged glances before smiling.

"You are brave, that is something to admire, working hard to build a place of your dreams," Johnathan said, and Nessa smiled.

"You guys can stay as long as you want, I don't care what you report back to your boss, as long as you don't harm those here, I'm fine," She replied th tossed an apple from her pocket to Tehitos and he caught it.

"Thank you," He said.

"You are welcome, and please tell Zietaz to sd word to the next goblin village," She replied, and he bowed his head before leaving the tt and she wt to check on the dwarfs' work.

"How are things going Youthim?" Nessa asked as she approached him, directing the goblins on where to place the logs.

"My lady, things are going well, and we're moving faster than expected," He replied.

"That's great to hear," she said, and he smiled.

"What's the matter, you seem a little stressed?" He inquired.

"What I am thinking about might just be future issues, but there's no need to worry about that right now; keep up the good work and make sure to take your breaks; we're not in a hurry," She responded, and he chuckled.

"Don't worry, we know," Youthim said, smiling.

"I'll catch up with you guys later; in the meantime, if you need anything, just shout my name and I'll be there," She replied as a small goblin girl ran up to her and tightly hugged her.

"Please help me, my lady, my brother is bullying me," She said, and Nessa smiled and patted her on the head as her brother approached.

"Now, bullying is wrong; if you continue to bully your sister, I will have no choice but to punish you; do you want to be punished for a week?" Nessa inquired, and her brother pouted.

"No, I don't want to be punished, sorry," He said before running away, and Nessa chuckled.

"Are you all right?" Nessa inquired, and the girl smiled brightly.

"Yes, thank you very much, my lady," She responded th ran off and Youthim smiled wh Nessa looked up by the hill that overlooked the village and saw Irza standing there and smiled before going to him.

"What are you up to?" He turned a to look at her wh she asked.

"You're not from here, are you?" He inquired, and she smiled.

"How do you know that?" She asked, his eyes glowed bright orange, revealing a dark aura, and Nessa left staring at him.

[A dark force has be detected; the source could be a demon.]

'I see, he might be harboring a demon,' Nessa thought.

"How powerful is the demon, if there is one?" Nessa asked.

"Not stronger than you, master, but powerful ough to danger the home you're constructing," The system replied and Nessa sighed.

"I see, thank you," she replied, turning to face the young man.

"So which demon are you harboring?" Nessa asked and his eyes, shook before lowering his head.

"Ifrit," He responded.

[Ifrit is a powerful demon who is said to be merciless and whose main skill is fire due to him being evolved, he is gifted with earth as well.]

'Yikes, he is bad news, I can't believe he is real,' Nessa thought with a nervous smile.

"Would you mind explaining yourself?" Nessa inquired, and Irza smiled as he took a seat on the soft grass.

"I am a summon, I was summoned here more than a ctury ago by a demon lord called Varis Nascria, he is powerful, I don't know if he saved me from being slaved and sold, the world you came from was at war at that time, you are from Japan, right?" He inquired, and she nodded.

"Nice, back th I lost my parts, bombs were going off and before one could land on top of me, I was pulled to this world with burnt arms and legs, I barely had life force within me and the demon lord knew I wouldn't be able to survive, probably, Ifrit also needed a vessel, he doesn't have a body anymore and so I was offered to him, but Ifrit didn't want to take over my body, besides I don't have much time to live," Irza said, and Nessa's eyes shook.

"Great one," Someone called out, and Nessa's eyes wided as she suddly found herself standing in darkness, with flames flashing in front of her eyes, and out came a young man with a handsome face, muscular yet slim body, long hair tied in a pony, and fair skin

"I- Ifrit? Where am I?" She asked.

"Don't worry, I'm just communicating with you from within him; this is the space I'm in, within him, darkness, you are pretty," He responded, and Nessa lowered her head as Ifrit's eyes glowed bright orange and she th sighed and her eyes started glowing bright red as she looked him directly in his eyes and he smirked as she sighed, knowing that if Ifrit wanted he could have harmed the boy.