The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

Chapter 208 The Paladin's Nightmare [Hell - Part XIV]

-- POV Saint Leto --

"ROAAAAAAAR !!! COME ON IF YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE DOWN A DRAGON !!!"

The underbred woman who just a moment ago was standing in front of us had suddenly changed into a gigantic and imposing dragon. Never in my life had I thought I would witness such a sight and as she roared, doubt filled me. This creature was very different from the half-human who had fought me, and my mana-boosted body could not help but tremble.

*So the stories were true...*

There were many writings and books in the great main church of the capital of our Kingdom Zalhythe about the many beasts and errors of this world, and as a Paladin, I had read them all. Of all the abominations of this world, the most dangerous and feared of our Organizations were undoubtedly those capable of changing form at will.

No human had yet unlocked their secret, but one thing was for sure, dragons were one of them, even qualified as a S++ level danger. I had read stories about them, such as their strength or their imposing and intimidating bodies, but nothing had prepared me for this moment. What I felt in front of this dragoness, the heartbeat that went through my body, this natural and human fear ... everything was new.

*Get a grip on yourself ! NO ! Run away !*

In only a fraction of a second, contradictory and uncontrollable thoughts dictated my conduct in my thoughts. Run away ? To stay ? Admit defeat ? To fight ? Until now I thought I would get out of it even if she had managed to hit me and break my divine hammer but I was not sure of anything anymore. Especially since I had to remember that this dragoness was accompanied by a monster even fouler.

For some reason, she had not regained her terrifying form and seemed even weaker than before. Her clothes were almost torn, her demonic mask broken at the mouth and her aura much less striking. Was it a decoy ? I didn't know anymore, fear invaded me, I was paralyzed, completely lost and as I felt my legs give out on me, a sharp pain crossed my right cheek.

"Remember why you are here !!!"

A great black veil crossed my eyes, my head began to spin and before I could say anything, I realized that Sir Myles had just slapped me. Thanks to his magic and control of his body mana, he had doubled in size and his strength had increased tenfold. I felt as if a horde of horses had trampled my skull, but the words he had shouted kept echoing in my head.

*Why am I here ? F-For the Church...for...his Excellency. To eradicate the vermin and promise a better future for all mankind*

When I had first seen this dragon, it had brought out my greatest fears and almost made me forget what I was fighting for. That filthy creature was far more talented than I thought, but I would never again fall as low as I did at that moment. Before I was a man, I was a proud Paladin of the Church of Humanity, capable of giving my life for a just and noble cause.

"A-....A-Approach...COME WINGED DEMON !!!"

Feeling a new vigor flow through me after shouting, I gathered the mana in my body again, amplified by the two rings I had donned. Not even giving Sir Myles a glance, I felt great power throughout my being as my confidence finally returned. It was decided, I was not going to return to the Kingdom without offering the head of that dragon to his Excellency as proof of victory.

*I'm going to kill that dragon, bring back its head and the little girl, and send the masked demon back to Hell !*

Concentrating all my mana once more, I conjured up my divine hammer and spear while ignoring the pain in my ribs. My mind seemed to burn, but the continuous flow of mana I sent to my weapons made them harder, heavier, sharper and deadlier. My body was also getting stronger and even if this state was only temporary, like Myles I had at least the strength of 10 soldiers.

"ROAAAARRR !!!"

As if in a sign of defiance, the beast roared sending the same chills down my spine but this one, I could move and my mind was clear. Moving my left foot forward, I took a powerful swing before throwing my long spear towards the dragoness with all my might. My mana strands connected to my two weapons allowed me to manipulate them with ease and I had a perfect plan to take her down.

"RRAAAAAAAH !!!"

For his part, Sir Myles was also throwing himself at the other Demon and I knew that these fights would only end when one of the two fighters lay on the ground. However, I didn't have time to worry about him because my own divine trial was facing me. I could feel the power of my spear in my arms and as it was about to hit the dragoness, a cocoon of earth formed around it.

*It's not over yet !*

My spear, although very powerful due to the element of light and my rings, went deep into this protection but without going through it. Unfortunately for the creature, my hammer of more than five meters in diameter was coming at a great speed behind it. Striking with all its strength the back of the spear, the cocoon could already see the first cracks of the impact appear on its surface.

"ROOAAAARRGGGHH !!!"

Then, with a huge crack followed by a satisfying roar of pain, the spear finally passed through the beast's more imposing than effective protection. My sharp weapon had gone through the shoulder of the dragoness behind throwing her backwards with force. It was my first hit and yet I already felt as proud as if I had already won this fight in an instant.

"HAHAHA~!!!"

A nervous yet proud laughter suddenly came over me as I continued to assault the beast with my divine weapons. It was wounded but had not lost its mobility and was still moving with ease despite the hot blood flowing from its wound. As my spear and hammer shattered the icy ground with each impact, I could see hard, compact dirt forming around its deadly front legs.

"MY TURN !!!"

The voice of the dragoness echoed once again making me jump as I still had that same feeling of several speaking at once. Finishing her sentence, she brought her fists down violently on my hammer before turning around and giving a powerful blow with her tail to the spear. This last action made her scales fly, the spear having cut her deeply once again but that didn't stop her.

Flapping its wings, the huge dragon created gusts of wind that didn't even seem to bother the other fight that was going on a little further away before flying straight at me. The same shivers and fear ran through me but this time I wasn't going to think about running away or even surrendering. Its jaw was wide open showing its sharp fangs, steam was coming out of its mouth, its nostrils and this vision was a nightmare.

"NO MORE GAMES !!"

Arriving at my height, I could smell its hot breath while the vile creature closed its jaw relentlessly on me in big slams. There followed a long series of dodges that I could only perform with my strengthened body making me faster. Its teeth were clacking, its claws were trying to lacerate me but the more time passed, the more once again it seemed to gain in power and speed.

*How is this possible !? It doesn't have a reinforcement ring !!!*

The same scenario that had happened before was happening again as I felt myself being invaded from all sides. My body was keeping up with each attack but my mind was slowly getting tired, unable to keep up. No matter how much I concentrated and tried to control my weapons at the same time, this huge beast didn't leave me any possible opening without the risk of being hit.

*Damn !*

The dragon's amber eyes seemed to glow with a thousand fiery lights, its powerful jaw was closing in on me, and as I jumped into the sky, something popped out of my back. A 5-meter wall of ice appeared in my back from nowhere, blocking any exit door. I only had time to turn my head to my right and see the Demon fighting Sir Myles smile slightly before reading a few words on her lips.

"You shouldn't have hurt my wife."

The next moment, a huge pain shot through my right hand as I realized with dread that my moment of inattention had been fatal. A spray of blood obscured my vision as my hand fell to the ground, separated from the rest of my arm. All I knew was that one of the fangs of the flying beast had stuck in my limb before tearing it off with a sharp headbutt.

"AAAAAARRRGGGHH !!!!"

This pain was intense, too intense and I felt my tears rise and run down my face as my body hit the ground. Luckily, the hammer that had arrived to my left hit the right side of the dragoness, throwing it farther away and giving me time to breathe. My body was shaking, I was extremely cold, my thoughts were confused and never had such pain gone through me before.

*Stop stop stop !!! N-No more ! I...I can't*

My hand was ripped off, my rings were gone, and as my body returned to its normal state, the pain kept growing. An urgent urge to vomit turned my stomach and my heart, which was beating wildly, seemed to be beating equally in my entire right arm. This wasn't what I had planned, this wasn't how it was supposed to happen, or at least not so fast. What had I done wrong ? Where had I gone wrong ?

"DON'T CRY, HUMAN. BE A MAN UNTIL THE END AND BEAR THE PAIN UNTIL THE END OF OUR FIGHT. THE WOMAN STANDS AND THE MAN CRIES ? TCH ! HOW IRONIC"

Once again, the dragon's voice echoed right into my bones pulling me out of my dark thoughts and insurmountable pain despite myself. It didn't scream, but its big powerful voice kept shaking the platform to the rhythms of the blows Sir Myles and the Demon exchanged. With its shoulder still bleeding and its tail slashed, this force of nature was already getting up, forcing me to gather my wits and respond.

"E-Easy to say for...for a filthy beast like you. Y-You have scales and I...I only have my skin to...          p-protect me from..."

"EXCUSES ! GO TELL THAT TO THE LITTLE DRAGON MUTILATED AND TORTURED BY YOUR DISGUSTING CULT. HE TOO HAD SCALES TO PROTECT HIMSELF ? YOU MADE MY LITTLE BROTHER SUFFER AND FOR THAT, WE WON'T KILL YOU RIGHT AWAY"

Its last words instantly made me tremble with dread as three of the words it had spoken particularly caught my attention. "My little brother ?" Images of that useless little thing flashed through my mind as something suddenly struck me. This beast and this thing both had the same hair color and they were of the same dangerous breed.

"DO YOU UNDERSTAND NOW ? IT'S OVER FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIEND. MY WIFE IS FINISHING HIM AND YOU TWO ARE GOING TO HAVE A BIG SLEEP BEFORE YOU WAKE UP IN HELL."

Was she talking about the torture they were planning to do to us ? Sir Myles about to be finished ? No way. As I thought this, a huge noise was heard to my right followed by a shrill, painful scream. In the distance, the Captain of the Knights had fallen from several meters high, dropped by the black-haired Demon before crashing to the ground violently.

"N-No...this...this isn't possible. I-it's a nightmare..."

The one who had brought me out of my frightened state was now embedded in the ice, his arms and legs dislocated and twisted in every direction. His armor was shattered and his veiny body was turning blue from the pressure of the fall. It had all happened so quickly, how could it be possible ? We were both leaders of our Paladins and Knights and yet it had come to this.

"DON'T LOOK AWAY FROM YOUR DESTINY, HUMAN"

Suddenly, a huge shadow passed over me forcing me to look up and see the dragoness charging at me. In a final effort, with my left arm I threw the spear and the hammer for a final attack hoping to impale it by using its speed against itself. However, roaring once again, forming its cocoon of earth and helped by the Demon, none of my weapons touched it.

*Shit shit shit shit !!*

The roar it let out slowed down my attacks, its cocoon blocked them and ice spikes exploded them instantly.  Finally reaching my height, all I could see were two crimson wings enveloping me as two cruel amber eyes stared back at me. The next moment, a new pain even more unbearable than the previous one went through me, as I fainted.

____

-- POV General --

Only a few miles away, while Saint Leto and Sir Myles were being captured by the ruthless Empress and her Queen, a figure was running. It was running along the paths at great speed, raising the earth and frightening the wild animals that had the misfortune to cross its path. Indeed, in the direction of the Dark Forest, a woman with black hair and violet eyes gradually turning to gold was running.

This woman was Kalaa Nightshade who was about to enter the forest to finally find the one who had been her target for months...Freya. She had dyed her hair black to go unnoticed and as she approached the signal that Shiro was giving, the colors of her eyes mixed. The natural purple of her family and the gold resulting from the little Time magic she had left mixed together, slowly making her unrecognizable.

"Finally..."

Kalaa Nightshade was about to meet Freya who was none other than her long-lost little sister but at this moment, was her target. They didn't know it yet but the two sisters were finally going to meet in the middle of this great war. Would Freya recognize her older sister ? Would Kalaa recognize Lucifer ? How could they when one had a masked face and the other had different eyes and hair ?

No one knew yet, but one thing was certain: the reunion would be intense.

___

FULL STATUS

Names : Freya / Lucifer Nightshade

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles :

- Demon Goddess of Primordial Blood and Death (former - until all powers are recovered) - 20%.

- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the uniques Sins Demons (to unlock it, please gather the other 6 - 3/6 - (locked)

- Dragon tamer

- Ruthless slayer

Level : 45/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 46 000

HP : 163 000 / 170 000 MP : 66 000 / 85 000. BLOOD : 100 / 100

Strength: 560

Defense : 560

Agility : 566

Endurance: 563

Speed : 562

Intelligence: 560

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 600

Married to : Gaya Nightshade

Daughter : Shiro Nightshade

Twins (son & daughter) : Tyle & Altaïs Nightshade

Little sister : Kira Nightshade (Greedy Fox)

Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 2239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos (Freya) - Blood / Death (Lucifer)

Skills (all):

Attacks :

- 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 7)

Défense :

- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

- Pain Resistance (lvl 6)

Attack/Defense :

- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 4)

- Death Gaze (lvl 1)

Others :

- Humanoid form

- Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 20%.

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Detection and control of mana (lvl 5)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Master of Souls (lvl 2)

- Lucifer's Threads of Blood (lvl 3)

- Healing Blood (lvl 3)

- Analysis

- Telepathy

Passives :

- Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]