We ended up back inside the ruined spire, which, honestly, had somehow become our unofficial headquarters. It was tall, quiet and didn't have people constantly trying to either beg, fight, or accidentally die in front of us. The inside was still a mess with cracked stone, broken pillars and dust everywhere but at least it was stable enough to not collapse on us mid-conversation, which at this point, was a luxury.
Veneri set the girl down carefully on a relatively intact section of the floor. I leaned against a nearby column with arms crossed as he used Body Reconstruction on her. Her breathing was still uneven but it was better. Veneri had already stabilized her without making a big deal out of it. Her energy flow was steadier now, her pseudo-cores were no longer flickering like it was about to shut off permanently.
A few seconds passed before her eyes opened slowly. The moment she focused, her pupils shrank. She scrambled backward so fast it was almost impressive considering she had been on the verge of dying five minutes ago.
"W–Who are you?!"
"I'm actually impressed. A lot of people don't recognize you, Darling."
She flinched slightly at my tone. Her gaze was flicking between the two of us like she was trying to decide which one of us was more likely to kill her first. Veneri, meanwhile, looked completely unfazed.
"We are Divine Beings." Mortals rarely encounter us. Though the residents of Upper Rise have seen members of Dynasty Richinaria before."
Her eyes turned back to him and then she just… stared.
"You're staring," Veneri said after a moment, clearly noticing it too.
She didn't look away.
"Why?"
"You're handsome."
I actually choked.
I turned away slightly, coughing into my hand because I was not about to let that laugh come out fully. Veneri blinked once before he actually laughed. I hate to admit it, but that was hot.
"I appreciate it."
She didn't even seem embarrassed. If anything, she looked like she had just said a very obvious fact.
"Your name?"
"Ervadelle Nei."
"I'm Veneri. This is Phae."
I gave her a small wave.
"Hi."
"We are Divine Rank beings assigned by Dynasties Skyrover and Fedres. I'm from Dynasty Richinaria."
I narrowed my eyes at him slightly. I spoke telepathically in his mind.
'Oh? We're lying now?'
'Not lying, Phae. Omitting.'
'You're literally the Monarch of Richinaria. That's not "omitting,"'
'She won't trust me if I reveal that immediately.'
I snorted softly under my breath.
'Fair enough. You do have that whole "overwhelming authority figure" thing going on.'
He ignored me and turned his attention back to her.
"There's nothing to fear. I won't kill you and I won't return you to the crowd. I intend to help you."
That made her hesitate.
"Why?"
"Because you'll die otherwise."
"Wow. Straight to the point again."
She blinked, clearly not expecting that level of bluntness.
"And because you have value."
Her gaze dropped for a second before looking at us again.
"My name is Ervadelle Nei," she repeated, this time more firmly. "I'm the last pure descendant of the Nine-Tailed Fox."
"Wait. That doesn't make sense. Dynasty Fedres has Nine-Tailed Foxes."
She shook her head immediately.
"No. They don't."
"What?"
This is new.
"They have Nine-Tailed Fox derivatives but not the Royal bloodline."
Now that was new.
I leaned forward slightly and got closer to her.
"Explain."
"The Royal Nine-Tailed Fox lineage was abandoned. The first head of Dynasty Fedres had two wives. One was a Royal Nine-Tailed Fox. The other was a Royal White Serpent. He abandoned the Nine-Tailed Fox and made the White Serpent his Monarchess. The Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline was cast aside."
I stared at her.
"Okay. That is definitely not what the official history says."
"Of course it isn't."
I let out a short breath, shaking my head.
"Yeah, no kidding. According to records, the Nexus Heroes Skyrover and Fedres couldn't marry, so they arranged for their descendants to maintain ties between the Dynasties."
"That part is true," she said.
I crossed my arms.
"But the rest isn't?"
She hesitated before she slightly frowned.
"Why am I telling you this?"
"Because we're charming."
She looked at me like she wasn't sure whether to believe that or not.
"What do you want from me?"
Veneri didn't hesitate.
"I want to take you as a disciple."
Ervadelle was still staring at him like her entire worldview had just been flipped upside down and then stomped on for good measure and honestly, I couldn't even blame her at this point. Veneri didn't ease into things. He just dropped statements like they were absolute truths and expected the world to adjust around them.
"Why?"
"Because you have value. You're from a royal bloodline. You're a First Enlightenment Divine without support. And despite your condition, you survived this long. That alone indicates potential."
"I can't do that. I have something I need to do first. I need revenge."
Ah. Of course.
I exhaled quietly, already knowing where this was going.
"Dynasty Fedres treated us like we didn't exist. They knew about the Nei bloodline for years and did nothing. In fact, they've been trying to erase us since the Destras Cataclysm."
"That long?"
It was sarcastic when I said this, honestly.
"My mother and father were killed by them. They hunted us down like we were nothing."
I let out a slow breath, then pushed myself off the column.
"That's not happening."
"What?"
"It's impossible."
"How would you know?!"
I didn't raise my voice.
"Because if none of your ancestors could do it, what makes you think you can?"
"I'm not them."
"No. You're weaker. Dynasties exist for a reason. They're not just families of strong individuals. They're power structures built for millennia. People have been trying to destroy Dynasties since forever. Do you know what their efforts amount to?"
She didn't respond so I answered anyway.
"A grain of sand on a beach is all it amounts to. You can't erase something that big just because you're angry. And even if you somehow managed to pull it off, you'd wipe out the entire Therianthrope race with it."
That made her freeze just for a second.
"I don't care what happens to them. If they're tied to Fedres, then they can all burn with it."
"You're serious?"
She took a step back as her energy began to appear on her body.
"If you try to stop me, I'll fight you."
I glanced at Veneri.
"She's bold."
Her illusion dropped.
Nine tails unfurled behind her, each one moving slightly with a life of its own. Her fox ears rose from her hair, matching the tension in her posture. She looked completely different now. This wasn't a hidden street survivor anymore.
This was a Divine. Even if she was broken, even if she was weak right now, that presence couldn't be fake.
"Okay, that's definitely not subtle."
She took a stance, trying to gather what little strength she had left.
"I'll fight you."
Veneri looked at her.
"It's useless."
His Divine Presence dropped on her like a mountain. She slammed into the ground so hard the entire spire shook. Cracks spread slightly along the already damaged floor as the force pinned her flat. Her body trembled violently as the pressure crushed down on her from every direction.
The pillar beside me groaned ominously.
"Hey, don't break the structure! You can't fix it. You don't even have Magecraft right now!"
Just like that, the pressure slightly faded. It was enough for her to breathe. Her fingers dug into the stone as she forced her body to move. Her tails twitched erratically. Her energy emerged uneven bursts as she tried to push herself up.
"She's stubborn."
"Persistent," Veneri corrected again.
He reached into his inventory and pulled out a golden ice sphere. Even in its condensed form, it was overwhelming. The Divine Energy inside it was dense and refined to a level that most beings would never even get close to.
Ervadelle's eyes widened when she saw it.
"You want revenge, right? I can make you strong enough to pursue it. If you reach a level where you can challenge a Dynasty, I won't stop you. However, you'll follow my orders without question."
She stopped resisting.
"The path to that strength won't be yours to choose. You'll do as I say if you wish to reach it."
Ervadelle stared at the sphere and then at him..I watched her carefully, already knowing what she was about to decide. Ervadelle's fingers tightened slightly against the ground.
"Fine."