Chapter 174: You Have One Year
Matilda stood, a sudden jolt of pain seizing her as she swallowed the strange, glowing stone. The pain, though sharp and biting, was a testament to her unwavering resolve. It was nothing compared to the agony of her mission’s failure. Her teeth clenched, a low growl escaping her lips:
"This pain is nothing," she hissed through the agony:
"compared to failing this mission. My life depends on it!"
Madeleine watched, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes. The raw, unbridled energy radiating from Matilda was a wild storm, and Madeleine, with a casual snap of her fingers, calmed it to a gentle breeze. "I’ll admit," Madeleine said with a half-smile.
"You’re crazy."
"Thank you," Matilda replied, her voice a low murmur, a stark contrast to her earlier attitude.
"What? No witty comeback?" Madeleine’s brow furrowed.
"No... It’s just..." Matilda stood, her gaze meeting Madeleine’s.
"Out of everyone in this world, you are the only one who can help me. I am grateful." Her words were sincere, a rare admission for the usually guarded Blood Queen.
Madeleine’s eyes widened, a beat of silence passing before a peal of laughter erupted from her. She clutched her stomach, a torrent of amusement shaking her frame:
"Gosh!" she finally managed to gasp, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Don’t think I’m helping you out of good will! For goodness’ sake! You made a promise! That’s why I’m helping you."
Matilda’s frown deepened, but she held her tongue, allowing Madeleine her moment of victory. The two were a study in contrasts: one a whirlwind of focused ambition, the other a capricious force of nature.
After a full minute, Madeleine’s laughter subsided, her expression turning serious. She raised her hand, a tap in the empty air creating a glowing circle, a vortex of arcane power. Within it, she began to inscribe unknown, ancient words, each one humming with an unknown energy. The circle shifted, its light turning a sickly, eerie green.
"Your soul fragment," Madeleine began, her voice low and grave:
"It was residing inside your blood sword. But your sword was destroyed, and the one who destroyed it didn’t give your soul a chance to escape." The circle shattered, its light fading.
"I am sorry, but your soul is completely erased. I can’t bring it back." Her face was filled with a genuine shock, a rare sight for one so detached.
"Impossible!" Matilda yelled, her voice raw with desperation. "Can’t you replay the last thing or person the sword pinpointed?!"
"Slow down," Madeleine advised calmly, closing her eyes. She chanted, her voice a soft hum, and a mirror of pure light appeared before them. But what it showed was a blinding white, a void of nothingness.
".....?!" Matilda gasped.
"Huh?!" Madeleine’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then, a disembodied voice echoed from the mirror’s void:
["The bond in the sword was broken centuries ago. You can feed it to the seed."]
["Thank you,"]
Another voice, a man’s, replied, before the mirror went dark.
"That voice... I’ll never forget it," Matilda seethed, her rage a palpable force:
"It belongs to that xenon bitch! And it looks like she gave it to someone, but who?!"
"Yelling won’t help," Madeleine said, her focus already shifting. "If she’s the one, it explains why we can’t see anything. She must have blocked it. But the one she gave the sword won’t know how to."
Madeleine waved her hand, and the mirror flickered to life, showing Sunny and his companions.
"God wolf?!" Matilda’s shock was replaced by a different kind of awe.
"So handsome," Madeleine muttered, her eyes tracing Sunny’s form. "Wow, if I were still single, I’d have taken him as a boy toy."
"Why is he with my blood sword?" Matilda asked, her confusion warring with her rage.
["Mother... Is that a god-rank weapon?"] A woman’s voice sounded from the glass.
["Yes... but that weapon is filled with dark energies... It is purely evil."] An older voice answered.
They watched as Sunny raised the sword, his energy flowing into it. The weapon dissolved into a cloud of red particles, which then descended into the soil.
"He! That bastard used my precious sword as a fertilizer to plant a seed!" Matilda’s pure spirit energy burst out, a shockwave of fury.
"This isn’t any ordinary seed," Madeleine warned, her face grim:
"It’s bad we can’t see the seed, already planted." She shattered the mirror.
"I can’t bring back your soul," Madeleine offered, a new kind of seriousness in her tone, "but I can give you something just as valuable."
She snapped her fingers, and a stunning, god-rank sword, its blade glowing with an eerie red light, appeared before them.
"Don’t tell me this is your soul-sealing sword," Matilda said, her gaze cold and suspicious.
"Hey... I can’t help you get your soul back, and I know you won’t help me with the secret realm---"
"---Just stop there, Madeleine," Matilda interrupted, her eyes narrowing.
"You’re giving me this sword because you need undead. You’ll take the soul of anyone I kill with it. You think I’m that stupid to strengthen my rival?"
"Hey... This sword does more than that," Madeleine countered with a sly smile:
"With every soul captured, the holder will gain the soul’s full strength and energy. It’s like siphoning. You kill, I take the soul, and you take the powers. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?"
She leaned in, her voice a soft whisper. "You could easily reach your peak. I won’t be able to stop you then, right?"
Matilda’s eyes narrowed. ’This snake.’
She turned her gaze to the sword, her thoughts a whirlwind of calculations: ’Hate to admit it, but this is a good weapon. If I had used it to kill Joshua, all his strength would have been mine... What about I use it on Gabriel? No... He’s too valuable. I’ll have to go hunting.’
"What about Beasts?" she asked.
"Same."
Matilda nodded, a new plan forming in her mind. "I’ll rewrite everything that happened here, so my host won’t remember anything. I’m giving her back control, and don’t you dare ruin my plan."
She closed her eyes, and her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Madeleine watched as Matilda’s eyes opened again, but this time they were a piercing silver. The woman before her was no longer the Blood Queen, but her host.
"Get up," Madeleine said in a flat tone.
Matilda, trembling slightly, quickly rose to her feet. "Please help me." she pleaded, her voice a whisper.
"I can’t help you," Madeleine said, a cruel twist to her lips. "But I can give you this."
She gestured to the god-rank sword, its presence a heavy weight in the air. Matilda’s eyes widened in disbelief.
"Use it wisely," Madeleine continued. "That cosmic brain of yours will give you a description of its skills. In return, you will do something for me."
"What is that?" Matilda asked, her voice laced with fear.
"I need you to take over the whole lower world, and also get rid of God wolf... I also altered your energy, you are now one of the strongest in your world. You have one year to accomplish this task."
’One year...? With this sword, I can accomplish it in less than six months,’ Matilda thought, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt.
"Go now," Madeleine said, her voice a final command:
"Try to reach the god rank before going against the God wolf. He is already a Demi-god."
With that, she vanished, and the eerie flames died down, leaving Matilda in the cave.
"This... God wolf is a demigod?" Matilda whispered, her mind reeling.