[????]
In a vast field with nothing but rock, sand, and unfertile ground, two silhouettes could be seen on the edge of a cliff, gazing at the endless horizon.
Above them, the dark sky was filled with nothing more than a large crimson moon, shining with an eerie glow.
Of the two silhouettes, the one standing on the front was a beautiful winged woman. She had three pairs of large crimson wings. Her long beautiful golden air flowed freely in the wind, while her apathetic scarlet eyes scanned this world with no life.
She was Dhalia Industria, the first blessed of Industria and also one of the first angels in existence.
Now though, after discarding her name, she went by the name of Nihil, a servant of the Mother Goddess of Chaos and the leader of the Wings of Freedom.
“Zwei, how is the situation?”
Finally breaking the silence, Nihil turned to face the tall figure behind her.
Zwei was a tall woman, easily reaching 190 cm, a height that when paired with her buxom figure, would make many drool at the sight. Even more so since what she wore was just a pair of short hot pants and a bikini top.
She had pale grey skin, and two black horns adorned her head. On her back, was a massive two-handed sword, its edges razor-sharp.
Ibuki Douji, the ex-leader of the Oni-tribes now known as Zwei scratched her head before groaning.
“Well, It’s pretty bad, I guess? The mother-daughter pair in Lustburg seems to have made more lasting damage than we had thought. Hahaha. To think that this bro-con Lilith became so much stronger. It’s shame I couldn’t participate.”
Nihil frowned, before releasing a sigh. She knew that Zwei was a complete battle junkie.
At the same time, she could not help but frown.
During their attack on Lustburg, their three weakest members had been dispatched, accompanied by puppets of Drei.
At that time, the mission should have been extremely easy. But it seemed that they had underestimated Lustburg too much.
As a result, not only was Zehn captured by the enemies but neither Drei nor Acht were left unscathed.
“A wound to their souls, was it?”
She murmured, the frown on her face growing deeper.
Soul attacks were something even someone at her level could not use. It wasn’t just a question of power, but an understanding of how to break the physical plane to attack the ephemeral.
“How bad is it?”
Zwei shrugged, “Well, that little coward got lucky? Even though his body is wracked by pain at least from what Eins said, he isn’t really at risk of dying. The problem is—”
“Drei.”
“Indeed. Acht possesses both a physical living body to protect his soul. As such, even though it’s slow, his body is nourishing his soul. What’s more, from what he said, it’s clear that the princess didn’t control her power.
But for Drei, not only was Lilith way stronger than her daughter, but Zwei is nothing more than a soul anchored to the physical plane by the power of grudge. His soul cannot heal by itself. The only reason he didn’t die was because of the distance between the phylactery holding his soul and his puppets.”
Giving a faint smile, she continued, “Anyway, he is fucked. Currently, if he even dares to use his Avatar, he would most likely crumble to dust after doing so. The only way to heal him would be attacking the underworld but...heh.”
Nihil pinched her eyes, even for her, attacking the underworld would be problematic.
It wasn’t just about the fact that Anubis was the first mortal to achieve the level of Demi-God.
The underworld was his territory. A very powerful territory formed after stealing and taking control of a part of the Afterlife Dimension.
Fighting a demi-god in their own territory was tantamount to asking for a beating.
Fleeing from it with Drei’s soul back then had already been a miracle possible because the Necromancer King had been absent.
Of course, since she was a dimensional mage, she was basically moving with her own territory every time. But she understood very well that if she declared war on Anubis, then her endeavor would become far more difficult to achieve.
“Not easy being the leader of a rebellion, heh?”
As she put her hands behind her head. Her posture was completely nonchalant, denoting her lack of care about the situation.
“Your wound aggravated, Drei is wounded, Acht is wounded, Zehn was captured. If Neun did not manage to take the sword away, then this whole mission would have been a fiasco — Say, are you still fit to be our leader?”
The atmosphere between the two of them became extremely tense, it was to the point where a fight could break out any moment.
Nihil did not find it strange.
Zwei was a wild beast.
If the Wings of Freedom could be compared to a pack, then Nihil was the Alpha and when the Alpha showed signs of weakness, a claimant would do its best to take its place.
The problem here was,
“Out of my sight.”
On those simple orders, Zwei immediately vanished, or rather, was teleported.
This was why it was unwise to fight a demi-god in his territory.
Now alone, Nihil once again raised her head to watch the crimson, deep down she couldn’t help but remember one fact, one possible weakness of the dangerous being that was Anubis,
“He has a daughter, right?”
[Astral realm, Phoenix Territory]
Currently, in the throne room of the phoenix, a rather strange scene was happening.
A vermillion-haired, golden-eyed woman wearing a long straight white robe with different kinds of jewelry on her neck, ankles, and wrists could be seen pacing around while she murmured to herself.
Not far from her, a woman with the same features was laying down on a reclining chair, observing the scene with relish while giving a faint smile.
“Still anxious?”
The woman, pacing in circles, Nephtys, stopped and pinched her brows, “I don’t know. He is supposed to come soon. I don’t know how I should welcome him. As the prince of Lustburg? As the grandson of Tiamat? As my future son-in-law?”
She couldn’t help but groan, “Isis is still throwing a tantrum and does not wish to see me.”
“Well, why are you making the situation so complicated? You know, it isn’t like the two of them will necessarily form a relationship aside from their contract. Worst case, if the two are really incompatible, we can just choose another Phoenix.”
Gabriel stood up and comforted her daughter.
“In the first place, the prince might not even want Isis. So everything would be a moot point if he refused, right?”
“How could he dare!? Isis is such an adorable girl, she might be a little strong-willed, but it’s what makes her so cute.”
Gabriel chortled before lightly knocking the forehead of her daughter, “You mostly mean she is a hot-head like how you were at her age.”
Nephtys flushed and massaged her forehead, “I am sorry. I guess I am a little too defensive.”
“Well, it’s understandable.” Gabriel’s eyes flashed, “A child born between life and death. A singularity born from a phoenix. Her very existence is a miracle of the like never seen.”
Nephtys shook her head slightly with a rueful smile, “It isn’t that. I do not care about how talented she is or how powerful she can become. Isis is my baby daughter, the fruit of my love. I would rather see her live a calm and free life than fight on the front-line while being embroidered in the game of the goddesses.”
A sad expression formed on Nephtys’ face as she said this but she did not fault her mother.
All the children of the divine beasts were born from a simple separation of their energy. Children, not born out of love but simply for the sake of it.
Even if after a while, the feelings of being a family could sprout, it could never be the same.
Meanwhile, Nephtys had never given birth asexually. Isis was her sole and only daughter, born from her union with the man she loved. The warmth she felt while her daughter slowly grew in her stomach was something she simply could not explain nor share.
For her, more than her duty as a servant of the goddess Castitas, or as the Phoenix Queen, her role as a mother was far more important.
If she judged that the prince of Lustburg was not suitable, then, even if she had to sacrifice her life, she would send her daughter back to her husband.
This was her duty as a mother.
(AN: You should read the special chapter Phoenix again, to refresh your memory about the four layers and of course, the Phoenix. Anyway with this chapter, we kickstarted the VOL 7: Phoenix. Let’s hope you will like it.)
