My Servant System

Chapter 288 287: Perilous Path

Kat PoV

Unaware that a wondrous bloodbath was happening in my name back home, I continued to lug my two ice boxes down into the stone pillar forest, the snow covered ground proving to be rather annoying to trudge through.

My leather pants and boots were utterly soaked, though after a few moments I cloaked myself in a thin sheen of ice and removed the moisture, deciding this small expenditure of mana was worth it.

The animals that wandered around the floor of this gorgeous landscape all avoided me, leaving a wide berth as they observed me from afar before returning to their previous hunts or migrations.

None stood out to me as monsters or unique animals; the wildlife was primarily wolves, leopards, rabbits, deer, and a few other smaller animals, all of which avoided me completely, either because they were afraid or they didn't wish to upset this new 'predator' that was walking around.

Thankfully the ice boxes were sealed completely, meaning no possible scent of meat was leaking through the lids, which might have attracted a few of the braver, or more desperate animals to attack.

However, everything here seemed rather wary of the skies, slinking around beneath trees and hiding amongst small crevices and caves that formed on the side of the stone pillars.

Most of the animals were lighter in color, with the wolves and leopards having near white pelts with streaks of gray whilst the rabbits and deer were completely white, with the deers antlers being bone white as well compared to the normal tannish white they were in more temperate climates.

These were the observations that filled my mind as I walked and walked through the forest, constantly checking the position of the sun and heading in the direction I had managed to yank from the Soul Bond that barely connected Jahi and I.

The Soul Bond used to feel like a rope tethering us together; a rope that allowed Jahi to bind me as she pleased through orders, and a rope that allowed me to understand what the Demoness was feeling.

That rope was now frayed around the edges, strands and threads from the rope no longer connected and no longer working as it used to.

If I had to wager a guess, the reason that the Soul Bond was so damaged was because of the scroll that Jillian and Ayla used to capture me.

Previously, back during the time in the Academy, Jillian had made it clear that she still had plans that revolved around me 'being hers', and in order for that to not backfire on her, the arrogant Elf needed to remove the Soul Bond that tied Jahi and I together.

Now, my interactions with Ayla were limited, but from the way people talked about her, and the small amount I knew about the Kameiel Family, she was likely a rather talented, rather smart Elf who might have been privy to ancient, forgotten magics.

The Soul Bond is an archaic thing that people know little of, mainly because the main way to create one is to have an Arch Fiend tie two souls together and bind them, hence the name 'Soul Bond'.

However, considering the kind of magic it was, there was most definitely a way to combine two people's magic together to achieve the same kind of effect; much like the Ritual Circle that Professor Kolia wished to tattoo onto Jahi and I.

Though, where that tattoo would allow Jahi to tap into my core and for me to tap into her core, the spell I was thinking of would be a one way, selfish thing, where Jahi would 'own' my core and could use it to bend me to her will.

Now, what if you were to study that line of thought thoroughly, and reverse engineer the Soul Bond as best you could?

You could likely find ways to damage, or destroy said Soul Bond and separate the two members of the Soul Bond from each other, effectively freeing the 'Servant', me, and leaving the 'Master', Jahi, without their loyal servant.

That must have been something that Ayla was looking into, and the fact that she managed to not only manage to find a way for that to work, but also to apply it in an already elaborate scroll that used other ancient magics meant one thing.

Jillian wasn't who we should be worried about; no, we needed to worry about Ayla.

Sure, Jillian is talented Elf who could likely go far on her own, but Ayla could take that talent and shape it into something insane, all whilst adding her own talent to it.

Whilst Jillian would be the physical boss that we would need to fight, the one pulling the strings would be Ayla.

And what's scarier, a Puppet or a Puppet Master?

Personally, I find the people who can control others so easily and so seamlessly to be scarier than the loudest, angriest, strongest person on the planet.

After all, you can gang up on a single person, or out number a group of strong people, but to take down a manipulator is rather difficult.

A favor here, a favor there, a promise here, a soothing word there...

That was all it took for them to amass more materials, money, and people than you could imagine.

Add onto that that Ayla herself is no weakling, and you have a woman who could likely get many, many influential figures wrapped around her fingers.

Whilst I was mulling over the potential cause for my frayed bond, I had traveled thousands of feet in this snowy wonderland, with the sun slowly descending towards the horizon.

As the forest grew darker and the predators began to prowl around, I made my way over to a stone pillar and created my ice cube, getting a fire started and settling down for the night, gnawing on a reheated chunk of meat before relieving myself.

The empty feeling inside me swelled as I released my lust onto the ground, and I amusedly noticed that, whilst my Arousal Stacks decreased, my actual lust grew ever larger.

Letting out a sigh, I collapsed onto the feathers and closed my eyes, wondering what kind of perilous path I was now on.

~~~

Julie PoV

My hand hurt.

After I had slapped Jahi, that was the first thing that I noticed; the bones inside my palm and my fingers all hurt.

Minute cracks had spread across each bone, and each crack sent a jolt of pain up my arm.

I could notice this pain, acknowledge that pain, but... I couldn't feel that pain.

It didn't hurt, didn't sting, it just... was there.

No, the only things that hurt were my stomach, and my heart.

My heart had a dull ache that worsened each time it beat, while my stomach...

Reaching down, I stared blankly at the bump before sighing, removing my hand.

Leaning back against the half dozen pillows meant to support me, I glanced towards the door, which led to where Ria would be hyper focused on her paperwork, to complete this upcoming weeks documents so that she could better tend to my needs.

I understood that, which is why I was alright with dealing with my hurts on my own for the moment.

Though, no matter how okay I was with my situation, I couldn't help but worry.

My baby girl was out there, somewhere, all alone...

I was a former adventurer, so I understood well that the world was an uncaring, dangerous place, especially for women.

Extremely so for women like Katherine and I; we were both well endowed women with pretty faces, meaning the amount of people lusting after us were always high.

Many men and women tried to get in my pants when I was an adventurer, and some even tried to force themselves on me.

They didn't ever try again, either due to the loss of a limb or loss of life.

However, I had a group behind me that would back me up.

Katherine didn't, and I could only pray that she could manage on her own.

I...

I hated that I didn't know if she was capable.

Despite being her mother, I knew oh so little about my daughter, about her likes and dislikes, her talents, what makes her happy, what she's capable of...

I knew next to nothing about any of it.

She's been in this world for roughly seven years, and yet I know so little about her.

I... I was a horrible mother.

I was so focused on making sure she had a safe environment to grow up in that I just... never tried to spend time with just her.

It's no excuse, but the only thing I can think of is the fact that she was such a mature child; she never cried, never whined, never threw a tantrum...

Nothing.

She was self sufficient, talented, and... mature.

Almost like she was older than she really was.

Was that why I was so alright with her leaving my side so early?

That I thought she was already in her teens when she hadn't even been a half decade old?

Was I that terrible of a mother?

Tears sprung to my eyes as I lay there, and a soft sob escaped my lips as I huddled my knees close to my stomach.

Did Katherine think the same?

Was she out there, alone, cursing us all for failing her?

I shook my head as I sobbed quietly, my heart aching further as I desperately wished for that to be false.

Surely not, right?

Surely she's trying to return to us all, and not just to Jahi?

W-Will she still treat me the same after all of this?

Will she acknowledge her two little half siblings?

Or will she spit at me and tell me to do better this second time around?

Am I able to do better?

Do I deserve to have this second chance to be a mother?

Will I fail these two just as I failed Katherine?

Sobs wracked my body as I laid in the bed, and eventually I cried myself to sleep, my mind fatigued, and my body exhausted.