Chapter 287: Ikaris Rejoins The Fight.
"If this doesn't work, we're going to run, there's no way we can return without suspicion, it's the same as delivering ourselves to their arms for harvesting," Hudor stared at their outpost from a neighbouring moon and behind him stood Zara with her hand rested on a small hairpin resembling Cecelia's on a platform-like podium which stood before her.
"It was a gamble, yes; but he directly ordered the evacuation and gathering of all the Vatui forces hidden across the planet, and that girl went as far as showing us my sister, our leader conversing with the Godslayer in a setting with others, it's a gamble worth taking, I've long grown sick of hiding amongst my enemies." Zara admitted, a lot of us grew too used to the emporium over the aeons that we've been stranded here, I would love nothing more than to be ordered to destroy it myself."
"Of course, you'd say as much," Hudor scoffed, kicking at a small moon rock. "It's exactly because of that reason that your sister chose me to lead our people instead of you, Zara, you're far too impulsive and easy to anger-"
"My sister didn't choose you as leader, Hudor, she left taking care of her people in my hands and gave you a useless position to shut you up, you never stopped drowning on and on with your jealousy, so she did it to silence you," Zara signed smiling as the man slowly looked around at her and then at the thousands of people who silently stood behind them.
"We've all grown tired of your foolishness, but that's changing today, so I have no need to listen to you anymore, even if nobody comes and this turns out to be a trick by the enemies, I'd rather die than spend another day having you think you're leading me," She stared at him seriously. "You are incompetent."
"How dare-"
"I am Éloén Zara; Shadow leader of the Éloén Clan, my orders come only from my elder sister Éloén Cecelia, I have been secretly leading our masses the entirety of Cecelia's absence, Hudor, I'll say it again, you were never needed, you are incompetent as a leader, as a nobleman of the Éloén clan and as a Vatui soldier under our clan's name," She narrowed her eyes while Hudor's went wide.
"You're kidding, right?" Hudor asked fully turning to her and clenching his fists while she held on to the hairpin tightly and defiantly stared up at him "Zara, I've been leading for-"
"Stop it, both of you; is this how you had planned to welcome me?"
The two of them heard a voice and went mute as all eyes landed on a golden phenomena which appeared at their sides, and as the lights declined, three individuals came into view.
"Zara," Cecelia stared at her seriously. Her hair had a slight glow, but her eyes were menacing as she approached her sister and stood before her, then looked at Hudor with a smile. "If you were not discovered, then you did a good job, Hudor.
Don't let her words so easily affect you," She turned to Zara again and rested her hand on her head, seeing her little sister's hair slowly turn white as her green eyes shifted to black and then turned red. "Well done, Zara, thanks for keeping him in check all this time."
"Éloén Cecelia," Zara stared up at the taller woman and placed her hand over her chest. "Thank you for-" She stopped as her eyes landed on Ikaris behind her. "M...
Majesty!" Zara roared out passionately falling to her knees in shock while Cecelia stepped to the side, after Zara's exclamation the entire mass of people who had been observing silently fell to their knees again, and Ikaris watched surprised as she witnessed and felt a resonance as everyone's hair floated around their heads morphing into white and their eyes turned to crimson.
She felt it as well; a powerful link between herself and the people before her which caused her powers to almost manifest the same as theirs had, but all Sol saw was her eyes glimmer in crimson for a few seconds before returning to their usual glowing blue.
"We greet Her Majesty!" The mass roared leaving ripples of Vatui energy extending into the void around them.
"Well, there goes my surprise attack," Sol chuckled. "Are you sure you're up to it, Ikaris?" He smiled at her. "Previously, you didn't want to have their blood on your hands, don't you think fighting then now would affect you?" He questioned her decision one final time to test her resolve and she shook her head in the negative immediately.
"I thought they had nothing to do with me; I thought the Emporium was simply an empire that resented my kind, but the more I learn the less I feel for them, I have long dismissed them as innocent; they all deserve to die for what they've done to us, billions harvested and more than twice of the harvested Vatui have been killed overall after the war's end, Love, declaring war on them was the right choice, it simplifies and streamlines my intent and malice," Ikaris stared at the large planet in the distance.
"Then, have at them," Sol stood to the side with a gesture and Ikaris clenched her fist as her mana erupted like an explosion.
He withstood the initial impact of her mana resurfacing after months of being suppressed, but for Cecelia and the others who had not expected this level of energy suddenly surfacing they were blown off their feet as the moon was torn in two from her mana's manifestation.
[Divine arts have all exceeded the threshold into the realm of forbidden and unknowns]
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"It doesn't matter," Ikaris clenched her fists tighter and then made a swiping motion with her index finger in the direction of the outpost.
For a few seconds nothing seemed to happen and the mass behind her slowly arose to their feet confused, but a moment later Sol raised his hand and conjured a translucent barrier around the moon when the sun behind the planet violently exploded.
"It seems someone noticed everyone here," Ikaris stepped through Sol's barrier and into the void floating off towards the outpost and extending her palm.
"This should be interesting," Sol conjured a chair and sat while Alpha appeared at his side with a cup of coffee on a tray with some biscuits. "It's been a while since I've seen her fight.
"Who's this guy, isn't he too relaxed, I thought the Godslayer was going to show up but all we got was-" Someone was speaking from the crowd behind Sol causing murmurs and more whispers but Cecelia turned to the person, singling him out directly and gesturing to Sol with reverence in her posture and tone.
"You should be mindful of what you say; Master Vestic sees and hears all." She warned the man, and again everyone went silent.
It was odd, Vatui were by definition more powerful than their Godslayer counterparts or equal in most cases, but while they had not seen anyone of legend appear within their species before; the Godslayers had several legends of unfathomable beings being born into their strongest clans, and again in this age Sol had gained a name as such an entity of legend.
"Come on Cecelia are you trying to make them afraid of me?" Sol grinned sipping his coffee while Zara and Hudor stared at Alpha who had her eyes closed as she stood next to him in a maid outfit.
"Master Vestic..." Zara lowered her head in reverence as did everyone else. "Your presence has shaken the foundation of the Emporium and caused a great deal of hope to bloom within us after a long period of suffering between both our people, we thank you."
"There's more," Cecelia nudged her sister's side. "Master and Ikaris are wedded, and already have a firstborn," She wiggled her brows as Zara's eyes widened.
"Then... Doesn't that make him..." The woman fell to her knees and slammed her forehead on the half of the moon they occupied unaware that the lower half had been shot off into space because of Ikaris. "Your majesty-"
"That's enough," Sol responded seriously before anyone else followed in her example. "Let me explain my intentions as well as my drive and purpose," Sol took another sip and placed the cup on Alpha's tray, crossing his legs and sticking his hands in his pockets.
"I don't care for any crown, I hardly want to be the leader of anything, and Ikaris feels the same, you see, the time she spent absent she was in solitude, she has no memory of the Emporium and even after discovering her heritage she has decided to remain as she is," Sol explained.
"What?" Hudor stared at Sol's back.
"Ikaris wants to live a peaceful and carefree life where she is not bothered by the politics of her people or wars, I want the same thing, but before that, we have determined that the Emporium must be eradicated down to the last man, we aren't continuing a war that ended billions of years ago; we're waging a new war after they threatened our family, she isn't fighting for her sake, she's fighting for her daughter's."
Sol's words sunk in bitterly causing many of the hopeful gazes to dwindle.
"Does that mean the princess doesn't care about us any more?" Someone asked biting her lips in frustration.
"She cares," Sol answered without glancing back at them. "She's here because she cares, she's here because despite losing her memories of the Emporium, of her Vatui people and her life before my collective she has seen your suffering and heard your cries, she decided to come back after vowing to never fight again," He explained. "
"She will take up the mantle of your war angel," Sol accepted a biscuit from Alpha and bit into it with a hum. "Ikaris is your saviour, not me."
"Then what of you, Master Vestic?" Cecelia asked.
"Me?" Sol narrowed his eyes and smiled menacingly as his hair flashed gold and then returned to brown.
"The emporium isn't my fight anymore now that my wife has taken action; I will leave this up to her and the others who follow her; Ikaris has more than enough power to finish what I started, my purpose now lies in protecting the Grand Collective from Umbra, I have to put an end to him." He explained and she nodded in understanding, compared to an empire enslaving and killing people, an individual with the capability to end all life took priority; especially when said individual was targeting him first.
"Umbra?" Zara looked to her sister after seeing her slightly shudder at the name as well as seeing Sol's shoulders stiffen after he mentioned the person.
"If master Vestic is the light which can save us all, then Umbra is the darkness that threatens to destroy us all," Cecelia spoke briefly.
"I will explain later, for now I am interested in the power of Mana which Her Majesty discovered."
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