The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

Chapter 146 Stone Guardians [The Crypt - Part XVI]

-- POV Freya --

I was the first to enter, and the mana was so dense that it was almost extraordinary considering how little there had been in the atmosphere so far. One by one we went through the door and now found ourselves in a completely black space where even our eyes could not make out anything. We had no idea where we were going, but my soldiers and horse followed me by the sounds I made.

It was strange because I could see absolutely nothing, only a deep starless night enveloping me as we went along. I wanted to be able to hear and feel everything so while I was still looking for clues, I reverted to my humanoid form. I couldn't see but I could feel my whole body change as for a brief moment I felt as if a part of me was being taken away.

I could feel my ears and wolf tail returning as my pointy ears disappeared. Again, tingling in my horns and on my face began to be felt as my tattoos returned to their original form and my horns shrank. It had only lasted a few seconds and as I took a deep breath, two voices at my back spoke up in the black void.

"Empress ! Allow me to enlighten us !"

"M-Me too, your Highness !"

Naïa, the young vixen who could manipulate the element of fire, was the first to speak and it was not difficult to sense the seriousness in her voice. Ralph, who could also produce a source of light with her glowing lava, was quick to offer to light our group as well. And so, while we were in unfathomable and sinister darkness, the light finally appeared near us.

"Commander Naïa, you will position yourself at the front, your fire is brighter and will be more practical in providing our direction. Commander Ralph, you will position yourself at the rear, that way you will have a full view of our group !"

"Right now !"

In this strange darkness, neither of my two Commanders' lights allowed us to see more than a meter around us, but that did not matter. More than a guiding light, it served to reassure anxious souls and warm hearts. For the moment there was still nothing around us but I was still walking at the head of the group, straight ahead and without hesitation.

"Walk straight ahead, follow my voice and the sound of my footsteps, and don't let anyone slow down ! We don't know what this place is and if any of you slow down, you might get separated and end up trapped here !"

"Yes, your Highness !"

As I spoke these words and everyone else responded, Inferno, who had been very quiet up to now, approached me. He was shaking a bit more than before and even though he couldn't communicate, he seemed to be suffering from something. Focusing on my stallion alone, I could hear his heartbeat quickening and his breath quickening.

[He doesn't look well...]

*Yes, but he was perfectly fine just now. I don't know what's wrong with him, nothing abnormal appears on his status and he's not in my system so I can't check with more details...*

As we walked I had obviously checked his information but there was nothing different. Inferno had been like this since my now obsolete title "Empress of the three Colors" had activated. However, his race "Mirror Horse" only allowed him to complete his race when his master evolved but that wasn't technically the case for me.

"Inferno...just a little more patience, I don't know what's going on with you but I promise I'll figure it out..."

At that moment I couldn't do much given where we were, but I couldn't help but worry about him too. Despite palpable fatigue, my faithful steed shook his head slightly before giving me a peck on the cheek with his muzzle. He was burning up and yet his flickering yellow eyes were screaming at me not to worry and that everything would be fine.

As I gently stroked his boiling muzzle, without warning, out of nowhere, a flickering white light appeared in the distance, far, far away. We had no sense of distance and even if I focused my mind on that place I could not distinguish anything. Fortunately, behind me, no one was lost and the whole group was together so I spoke again.

"It seems that the only place we can go is over there. Stay on guard, I am unable to detect anything, right now we are completely blind..."

"Don't worry your Highness, we know the dangers of this place and we would never let our guard down !"

Naïa, who was in front of me, answered seriously while all the other Commanders nodded with a proud and sincere smile. As I looked them all in the eye one by one, a slight smile appeared on my face making my soldiers' faces light up. Without saying another word, staring at the mysterious light, we began to move in its direction.

___

We had been walking for almost half an hour, and after feeling as if we had to walk forever, at last, the origin of the white light was visible. From a distance, I had been unable to understand what it was because its brightness hid everything else, but now everyone could see. This glow that we had been seeing for a while was actually coming from another door, this time a very small one.

It seemed to lead to a bright room, and although it was small, it was still possible for all of us to squeeze in. As we all stopped in front of this door that stood in the middle of nowhere, I signaled to my soldiers that I would be the first to go in. I still didn't know what to expect and I didn't want to put them at any risk, so after making sure they understood, I went through the door.

[Oh, for fuck's sake...]

*The last room...*

Kira had been quicker than I to speak up at the sight before us, and though I didn't let on, I was just as shocked as she was. In front of me was a huge cave made of black stones that covered every wall, breathtakingly beautiful. This huge space was empty, except for the presence in the middle of a pyramid made of stairs that went up to a kind of pantheon from which white light came out.

This pyramid was surrounded by a very wide abyss, and although I was not standing over it, it must have been deep enough that no one could come back from it. In front of one of the staircases were three huge stone stands with gigantic stone creatures sitting on them like stone guardians. Looking quickly at three statues, I identified what seemed at first glance to be a griffin, a snake, and a fox, all of which had the distinction of having a single horn on their foreheads and being of the same size.

*It should be good for the others...*

As I whistled to let the others know they could come, I began to look around to see if there was anything interesting. I could hear the others coming in and one by one, each one exclaimed loudly, unable to hide their shock just as Kira had a few minutes ago. Paying no attention to their words, I stared up at the pantheon rising into the sky, squinting my eyes.

"There's nothing else here but this huge structure, we have to move on !"

The Commanders, Lieutenants, Lynn and Inferno at my words, began to look at what was sitting in the middle of this huge cavern. As I moved forward, my 10 best female warriors came to stand beside me with a serious look on their faces, holding up their fists and weapons ready to fight at any moment. The Lieutenants stood behind their Commanders and then Inferno and Lynn closed the march.

"Remember, no matter what happens, protect each other and keep a cool head no matter how much you tremble. I don't want anyone to die, and I promise to do everything I can to protect you."

"Yes, your Highness !"

Just before we moved on, I had said those few sentences because something told me that we would soon be fighting someone or something. For my part, I was also ready to fight and take any of my forms depending on the situation. Glancing briefly at Inferno and Lynn, I could see the young woman looking around as my horse nodded slowly.

"Well, let's go !"

"Hai !"

This cave was the largest I had ever seen, even the one my wife was sealed in was not even a third of its size. As we moved forward almost as a formation, I noticed that the room was perfectly round and that on the floor a huge circle seemed to separate two areas. I didn't really know why but it was enough to make me more vigilant.

[It's eerily quiet, nothing on the horizon and yet even though I'm in your mind, I don't feel safe]

*So you have this feeling too ? The good news is that there seems to be enough ambient mana to allow me to use my Creation skill a bit better*

[That's true, but be careful onee-san, the mana flows around here are very variable and uncontrollable. If you decide to use it, keep in mind that you might suddenly see your creations collapse]

*Yes, don't worry, I won't...*

I had not finished my sentence when a sound like a heartbeat suddenly came from the pantheon. We had just passed the line of the circle, and as we stopped, the beating became more and more muffled and rapid. And then, with a final loud noise, a shockwave from the middle of the room shook the entire cave as my heart suddenly raced.

"Aaaaaaah !!!"

As the walls stopped shaking, for the first time I fell to my knees and clutched my head as an excruciating pain invaded my brain. It was like being stabbed in the head with a knife as blurred images appeared in my mind. Once again, my Demon form manifested itself as my screams sent everyone into a panic.

[Freya !! Damn, this form is a curse ! Freya ! What's happening to you ? Please answer me !]

"Empress !!"

"Your Highness !!"

Never before had I screamed like this, and as I tried to calm myself I held up a trembling hand to my soldiers so that they would not worry. My head was spinning, I was in agony as blurry images flooded into my brain beyond my control. I couldn't see anything, but I knew that they were memories and that inserting them into my memory was very painful.

"I...I'm fine..."

[Are... are you sure ?]

As I slowly rose to my feet, trembling, strands of red hair in front of my sweaty face, I looked up at the pantheon to see that it was changing. The light, which had been white before, was now red and gave the cave a bloody atmosphere. I didn't even have time to respond to Kira when a cracking sound echoed and as my eyes dwelt on the source of the noise, one of my hunches turned out to be true.

*I suspected that...*

In front of us, the three statues were slowly cracking one by one, revealing the animals that had been trapped inside. The more the stone crumbled, the more a powerful aura emanated from these creatures which, combined together, were far more frightening than that of the Nightmare Demon. There wasn't much time left before they were released, and a deadly battle involving everyone was soon to take place.

"Soldiers...no...my friends, our fight for truth and strength will begin in a few seconds. Remember what I told you, keep a cool head, look out for each other and most importantly never forget that your life is more important ! I will analyze these three creatures and make a plan to defeat them in the meantime get ready !"

"Y-Yes !"

I didn't have time to consult them on a plan, I was the only one who could think at an incredible pace and at that moment time was running out. My head was still hurting badly but I put the pain aside to concentrate on what was going to happen. As I looked up at the three large creatures, I used my analysis skill to figure out what they were.

____

[ Race (unique) : Prideful Griffin (Demon)

Element : Fire

Rank : n°7 (7/7)

Lvl 35/70

HP 90 000 / 90 000 MP 45 000 / 45 000

Strength : 398

Defence: 362

Agility : 300

Stamina: 336

Speed : 319 ]

____

[ Race (unique) : Envious Snake (Demon)

Element : Acid

Rank: n°6 (6/7)

Lvl 40/70

HP 100 000 / 100 000 MP 50 000 / 50 000

Strength: 431

Defence: 456

Agility : 500

Stamina: 456

Speed : 520 ]

____

[ Race (unique) : Greedy Fox (Demon)

Element: Illusory Lightning

Rank: n°5 (5/7)

Lvl 45/70

HP 110 000 / 110 000 MP 55 000 / 50 000

Strength: 546

Defence: 500

Agility : 587

Stamina: 656

Speed: 529 ]

____

In a second I had looked at the status of these three new Demons and at that moment a huge bloodlust was escaping from my body. We were about to have a fight to the death and that excited me to no end but I did not forget my duty. There were three of them, we were 19 fighters and the next few minutes or even hours were going to be very hard for us.

The Lieutenants were no match for even one of these creatures and my Commanders, though at a lower level, could perhaps together take down the weaker one. My 10 best warriors were almost all level 25 now and if they emerged victorious, I was sure they could evolve. Turning my head with a murderous and serious look, I was ready to explain the strategy I had established in a moment.

"Listen carefully...

___

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 ]