The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

Chapter 145 The Decision [The Crypt - Part XV]

-- POV Freya --

"Light and...darkness...beyond the door lies the truth."

The young Lynn had spoken these words without regard to those beside her and was walking towards the doors with an admiring look. She could clearly read the inscriptions that adorned them even though no one else but me understood their meaning. Everyone was silent and at that moment I was sure that this writing, this language, came from the demons, which explained Lynn's knowledge.

*Mmmh I can't wait to have a little chat with her kufufu~*

[Uh onee-san it won't be an interrogation okay ? So... try to control yourself]

I was still in my demon form, which I could instinctively make disappear at any time as I could with my humanoid and wolf forms. I watched the young succubus and as I smiled dangerously, she snapped out of her trance-like state before hastily turning towards us. She hadn't realized that in her fascination she had forgotten everything around her.

Turning to the Commanders and Lieutenants, Lynn had a confused and embarrassed look on her face as she realized that they were all watching her with interest. In front of everyone she had uttered a most mysterious phrase and everyone was now asking questions. The young succubus didn't dare say anything more and while I was still staring at her without a word, I walked towards her slowly. When I was a few feet away, Lynn suddenly turned around and faced me.

"Y-Your...I..."

Her very light red, almost pink eyes looked into mine and at that moment Lynn froze. Only a few seconds had passed and yet she had gone almost pale and was trembling. Suddenly, without warning, her body began to move on its own and the next moment she was kneeling before me as if carried by her instinct. I could not look away from her eyes and the intensity of mine seemed to subjugate her.

[Onee-san ?]

I didn't answer as that same feeling of familiarity awoke in me as I looked into her eyes. Unconsciously I had moved closer to her and now had my fingers lifting her chin. I had been intrigued by this sensation but it was actually her demon side resonating slightly with mine. Finally looking up, in front of me all my soldiers had also bowed to me. As I looked up, the sight made me proud and once again I couldn't help but smile.

Once again, that singular excitement, that feeling of being important, of being respected and powerful, ran through me, giving me the shivers. Why did this shape seem to bring out sides of me that I didn't know existed ? I didn't know, but even if I liked this feeling, I had no desire to change, and even less so in front of my subordinates who had also become like a sort of family to me.

*Damn...I still have to get used to it...*

[I...I don't know how you don't literally turn into a demon. What's going through your red mana is far from normal, it's like...a cluster of vices pushing you to do whatever you want. I'm not affected, but I can feel those demonic urges strongly enough to know that...you're really amazing]

Apart from Kira, I had no voice in my head haunting me, whispering atrocious ideas, but the effect was not much different. I was as if thirsty for blood within me, increasing my impulsiveness, my fighting madness and my desire for domination. It didn't happen all the time, and though the feeling remained when I was in this form, sometimes it intensified.

[Breathe onee-san, you're doing great. Don't let it get to you, and I'm sure it won't be long before you can let go of one of the doors anyway. That should lessen the effects of this form]

My little sister was right and was always there to help and advise me even if some truths were hard to hear. She was the one who always kept my head on my shoulders and there were many times when she had stopped me from doing something stupid. However, Kira wasn't going to be on my mind for much longer and I had to start accepting that idea which, deep down, scared me a little.

Breathing softly, this aggressiveness that was invading me calmed down slightly, allowing me to act more in accordance with my personality. Staring at everyone for several seconds this time, I straightened up before raising my voice, which began to echo throughout the place. With my soldiers so loyal and brave, I didn't want to drag things out any longer. We had to get through one of those doors and get home.

"Soldiers ! You must have a lot of questions about what's going on just like I do. Since we descended into these depths we have yet to find answers but something tells me we are getting close. There will be enemies, no doubt more powerful than those we have faced before, but we will return to our Empire alive ! Even if the sunlight no longer warms our hearts and the moonlight no longer soothes our souls, we will conquer this place I would make mine !"

During our time here an idea had occurred to me. Once this place was completely explored and cleaned up, I wanted to use it as a kind of base. I don't know yet what we could do there and it all depended on what we found and if it was possible but it was in the back of my mind. So it all started with conquering this place and for that I needed the strength of my companions.

At the end of my sentence they had all stood up with their hands over their hearts, their eyes shining with determination as I loved to see them. My satisfaction only grew as I practiced holding back my red aura that was constantly floating around me. My soldiers still wouldn't look me in the eye, still too intimidated, but it wasn't hard to see that they agreed with me.

[I guess it's time to go]

*Mmmh*

As the Commanders, Lieutenants, and Lynn waited, I turned once more to the two doors. As the young succubus had said, there was light and darkness on one side and no one knew which was the right answer or if there was even a right answer. We stood there, motionless, our heads raised towards those giant structures and we had to make a decision.

"Lynn, you who seem to be able to understand these inscriptions, what door would you take ?"

I hadn't bothered to turn around and ask the question, and the reason I'd turned to her was because her opinion at that moment was more important than anyone else's. When you think about it, the idea of covering the tree with its mana was hers and something told me that Lynn could be of great help. Waiting patiently for an answer and after a few seconds her trembling voice finally answered.

"I...I have no idea your highness I..."

"Earlier you said 'behind the door lies the truth', what did that mean ?"

I didn't want to waste time and I wanted Lynn to tell me clearly if she could help us or not. The young succubus had sensed this eagerness and seemed to be thinking as fast as she could to give me an answer while trying not to faint, this time from stress.

*I won't forget to thank her...*

[It's important yes, especially since you seem to scare her to the point of fainting pffhaha~]

Lynn already seemed to be very shy at first, protective by nature and quite innocent. She was one of those who feared me as much as they respected me but I seemed to awaken something different in her. While I was still waiting, the young succubus' small, soft voice finally rose quietly in the room.

"I...it was simply one of the sentences in the story I told you about. The little girl in the story ends up...standing in front of a mirrored door reflecting her deepest desire. But...it's just an old tale, I...I don't know what it's really useful in this situation...y-your Highness."

"Thank you, Lynn."

We had all heard what she had said, but this time, unlike her directions to the tree, Lynn had only mentioned one door out of two. As I thought about it, I could already hear the others behind me starting to figure out how to choose. The Lieutenants were the loudest and while I remained silent, I could hear their arguments.

"It has to be the door to the light, we're still not going to go through the one mentioning death, are we ?"

"This may be the door to darkness, after all in the second room it was also the answer."

"Yes, but perhaps we should stop thinking about this notion of light and darkness and choose by ignoring it."

I was deep in thought, but what Kurumi had just said brought me out of my reflective state instantly. I had been thinking about Lynn's words, especially about the door hiding a deep desire, and the words of Nixia and Naia's Lieutenant had opened up a new avenue for me.

- The light will guide you wherever you wish to go, illuminating your steps and accompanying you until your last breath, so that the day may be reborn and your ashes shine in eternal glory.

- You who are not afraid to die locked in death, enter the darkness and embrace your destiny, whether it is good or bad, radiant or evil, living...or mortal -

Rereading the inscriptions several times in my head, I ignored the words light and darkness and concentrated only on the meaning of the rest. The others seemed to be doing the same thing, and gradually one thing became clear to me. I didn't even have time to point it out before Ralph and Luna were already doing it.

"But, I feel like it's really only about death in one message...

...the first one that at first glance seems the most reassuring...

That was exactly what came to mind and I was more than happy to see two of my Commanders come to the same conclusion. In the first sentence, it was certainly a question of light, but the notion of death was much more present than in the second, which spoke of darkness. Moreover, the description of the black door, although gloomy and disturbing, was the one my instinct had chosen.

[Onee-san, no one has ever said anything about dying after going through the gates. Given the way this place has worked since we got here, it's quite likely that the choice of doors will influence our future encounters. That said, it's theoretically impossible for one of them to kill you.]

In any case I had to make a decision and dragging it out was not going to work in our favor, time was passing so quickly and I had decided to go through the black door. My soldiers all looked at me without saying a word, seemingly waiting for me to make my decision so we could finally face what lay beyond. Taking a deep breath I spoke.

"Those who are willing to go through the right door, raise your hand.."

I was certainly the Empress, but I didn't want to impose my choice on the others, and even in my demon form I managed to keep that side of things. The best scenario would be for everyone to agree, but I was aware that some might choose the door representing the light. To tell the truth, we didn't base our choice on much, just a few theories heightened by my instinct.

[Let's hope we can all finally agree]

*I hope so too...*

My long red hair floated around me cradled by my ever dense and vibrant red aura as I waited patiently. The hands began to rise little by little and the first to do so were obviously the Commanders, followed by the Lieutenants. As I watched the scene, I gradually noticed that I had been wrong, as almost no one hesitated before taking their position.

[Pfffhaha~ onee-san, it seems like we had underestimated the faith and unwavering trust they have for you again...]

*Yes...but still, I'm having trouble getting used to it...*

Before me stood all my soldiers and not a single one had voted for the door of lights. They all had a determined look in their eyes and as I had said I could feel in their slightly trembling eyes, a sincere and pure trust in me. We had known each other for a while now but their loyalty always surprised me. In my former life, such a situation could never have been possible and some shadows of my past life remained.

Shaking my head slightly, I shook off these dark thoughts before being overcome by that impulsive feeling once again and turned back to the black door. I was moving forward slowly when suddenly, to my right, my stallion who had been standing back appeared beside me to support me. However, Inferno seemed a bit strange as I could see him wavering as he struggled to keep his eyes from closing.

[What's happening to him ?]

*I don't know, maybe fatigue...*

While talking with Kira, followed by my horse and then my soldiers, I passed a hand without hesitation in the shadow of the door. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to wonder more about my horse because the next moment, the mana in it started to panic. A violent wind was rising, making us struggle not to fall before we finally entered the door.

What would we discover ? Would this be our last room ? Would there be creatures beyond those we had already faced? Soon, we would know all these answers and especially if we had made the right decision.

___

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya / L??????

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Unique title (locked): ???? - 10% [ To unlock it, the host must reach 100% ]

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell (crossed)

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Empress of the three colors (crossed)

Level : 40/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 41 000

HP : 150 000 / 150 000 MP : 75 000 / 75 000 BLOOD : 100 / 100

Strength: 560

Defense : 560

Agility : 566

Endurance: 563

Speed : 562

Intelligence: 560

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense - Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 10%.

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Detection and control of mana (lvl 6)

Master of souls (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]