NOVEL NEXT Chapter 68: Descent of the Secretary Bird
Violet didn’t immediately take action against the newcomer but instead slowly turned her head up towards the clouds.
At this moment the entire capital was in a state of mayhem due to the formation of a tribulation of the highest rank forming. Some didn’t have time to take that into account due to having to quickly react in order to avoid ending up like those who gazed toward the person adorned completely in yellow. One of the fastest to react was actually Prince Du Dong that quickly used a movement technique to end up in front of Vanta; pulling the oni into his bosom while he lowered his own head into her hair.
“Forget the competition and only focus on me…” <Du>
Having her head pulled into her fiance’s chest, letting her smell the alluring natural musk as well as feel the shapely muscles, Vanta already found herself caught by surprise. Her flusteredness only grew as the prince whispered seductively into her smooth black hair while tightly holding her. The oni was actually slightly surprised her partner was so physically strong which led their mind to wander and cheeks redden.
Visions of that prince and her kissing to make babies were filling her head with flowers making her only breathe heavier. Each breath carried the scent of ‘her man’ thus making her unconsciously wrap her own arms around the royal. Still her mind soon returned which resulted in her shamefully shouting out.
“W-what are y-!” <Vanta>
“That new challenger… I believe they’re not something you or I can deal with - being part of a royal family that strives off backroom deals I have a way to protect myself. Among those methods I carry a lot of spirit tools on my person. One of those happened to be a tool which protects me from the innate mental attacks produced by high-rank spirits since many summon them or demons for asassination if they are willing to take the risk…” <Du>
Saying that he slowly reached into one of the many things hanging off the pink sash only to reveal it to be a wooden amulet of beautiful engravings made to look like curling roots. A green gem filled with ‘mana’ from the west which was known for its suppressive qualities to other forms of qi - the gem however was cracked and mana constantly leaked out. Seeing this Vanta tilted her head in confusion.
“So it’s a little strong but it’s not as if that matters?”
“That merely appearing caused an Immortal ranked defensive treasure to be completely rendered useless. In order to do that it would need to be a high ranked Spirit Commander focused on their aura or Spirit Prince… If one of those appear then our entire empire wouldn’t be enough to slow them down without using some of the secrets and connections that my Imperial Father has hidden from prying eyes for millennia.
Due to having to worry about assassination or order some myself I have also done quite a bit of research into demons for myself and spirits my enemies may use. If I was going to give my guess on who they are… We are unfortunate and some crazy son of a bitch has actually summoned an avatar of {The Secretary in Yellow} who is one of the {Birds of Prey} that only needs to bow down to {The Faux God Empress Munzumira}!” <Du>
He spoke through gnashed teeth while only increasing the strength he used to hold Vanta as she went on.
It was obvious he was well aware of the danger of such strong beings, something many failed to realise, as a cold sweat completely covered his muscular body. Spirits may have been naturally weaker to demons yet Dong Du wasn’t one of those foolish young masters that underestimate the strength of non-humans due to having some small advantage. If the spirits were easily dealt with by some small time demons they wouldn’t have existed this long.
In fact the only reason the gods of the {Mortal Realm} still had any respect is because those that were smart joined {The Infinite Mother}’s pantheon. Comparing a demon or spirit that has ascended to godhood to a mortal that has ascended to godhood is akin to comparing an ant to an elephant. Even if thousands of ants gather together the elephant likely won’t realise it’s accidentally crushing them all.
To a {Faux god} their mere presence may as well be enough to bring down a {Mortal Realm} hence why all of them have their true bodies sealed away. Even then there are times when a foolish mortal doesn’t want to pay the hefty requirements for a demon summoning so goes to the ‘next best thing’. Thankfully they can only summon mere incarnations however even then they are far stronger than even a high-ranking god.
“Then shouldn’t I help her!” <Vanta>
Vanta immediately tried to pull herself away to charge down into the ring. Even if she didn’t get along well with her sisters, that was only an argument between oni. If there was one thing an oni didn’t like - even Vanta - that was a traitor who turned away from their fellows. Their ancestors found pride in jumping into conflicts for their allies and never turned away from a fallen brethren that needed a shoulder. Her & Violet fighting one another was different from fighting an enemy and an oni knew the difference.
Above all that Vanta knew that Violet (who was likely her younger sister) was younger than her thus how could she leave her to deal with the trouble alone!
The prince had spent time researching demons (as well as their shared ancestors) thus he knew about their proclivities. Thanks to that he was also quick in forcibly pulling Vanta back down into his embrace before she got a chance to gaze at the spirit. Obviously the first thing the moody oni wanted to do was complain yet the prince held her chin before pulling her face to his own.
Their soft lips pressed against one another while the oni automatically closed her eyes to savour the feeling for a moment longer. As if all else in the world faded away she could only focus on those lips which took her own so forcibly yet somehow she felt no rage. Instead her legs even grew weak as she left all her weight to the prince.
The warmth from those soft lips felt so addicting that Vanta couldn’t help but wrap her arms around the prince’s strong yet slender nape. Pulling herself in with the strength she could muster while she unconsciously raised her foot behind herself. After a moment Du finally pulled away only to see Vanta pouting with a crimson face.
“You would just get in your little sister's way, Vanta.” <Du>
Vanta began to growl while gnashing her teeth yet that didn’t stop the prince from continuing on.
“From what I heard you wouldn’t even stand a chance against her servants who are currently making sure to stay out of this girl's way. Even if you don’t want to run away we should stay here where we won't get in our way - plus if your sister can just survive for long enough the heavens will likely destroy that avatar. They've already corrupted too many minds to be able to get away with it.” <Du>
Hearing that Vanta continued to frown while panting, throwing her head from side to side with displeasure practically wrote across her body. The prince didn’t mind as the serious expression never fell from his face. Within their mind things had long distanced from the troubles involved with the presence of a high-ranking spirit.
<Damn she’s cute even if a little dumb… Originally I was only interested in gaining connections using her and she was the exact same with me. To think I would be interested in another women beyond just a toy - at least I wasn’t dumb enough to fall for someone that offers me no benefits though children may be difficult. I’m a little worried we’ll need to use whatever technique gave Vanta’s mother that monster…>
‘He’ soon shook his head however.
<She already made it obvious she doesn’t like women and this is just for convenience so there is no way th->
Their thoughts were cut off as the oni pulled her into another kiss however, unlike her usual dominant personality may hint, they didn’t take control. Rather it was more like Vanta was a horny bunny presenting to their mate. Hoping they’d get the hint and claim their body for a productive round of reproduction.
“Y-you better take responsibility after this and marry me in a big expensive fashion!” <Vanta>
Du blinked a few times before a confident smirk formed on ‘his’ face as he leaned in and softly whispered in the girl's ear.
“I thought you didn’t like girls like your sister Onyx?” <Du>
Seemingly deciding she wanted to get on with it before they inevitably died to one of the {Faux God} she didn't reply to Du. Alternatively she actually jumped to wrap her legs around Du’s surprisingly slender wait while pressing her lips against her fiance’s. Said fiance didn’t need any more explanation to claim the oni - both ignoring the screams and crying of the rich kids surrounding them as they got hot and heavy.
On the stage Violet spoke no words making the {Faux God} frown slightly while gently fanning their face at seemingly being ignored. Still they made no abrupt movements since nobody could truly sneak up on the demon - her instincts may as well be on the same level as Mother’s omnipotence and Munzumira’s time peering eyes. Just when they opened their mouths another voice spoke up instead.
“What do you think you’re doing here?” <Sohn-Tochter>
The voice in question actually came from right beside Slate & Ashue making them hurriedly turn to look towards the phoenix princess with clear surprise. Nobody really paid attention to the pair however as a heavy air formed around the entire area while flames erupted from four corners of the fighting ring. They arched up before meeting above in the air where a barrier of azura lightning formed between them to keep the monster contained.
“Ah you don’t need to mind this one princess ~!” <Secretary>
They spoke with all the nobility of an aristocrat while turning to give Sohn-Tochter an elegant bow yet that did little to change the woman's expression.
Then again nothing really had the ability to change her expression.
“You have already made a mess within the {Mortal Realm} so I think it is my problem - now what are you doing here?” <Sohn-tochter>
“Well some old men summoned me due to having some complaints then I decided to swing by here since I have no interest in what the other {Faux Gods} are up to. When given the chance to compare my legs with her excellencies’ fists, who could refuse? Thus I abandoned those old men and flew over here hahahoho~!” <Secretary>
After saying that they turned back to look towards Violet who still wasn’t paying attention to anything except the sky above. Seeing this, even the dignified smile on the Secretary's face trembled a little as they fanned themselves. They didn’t let that ruin their mood however as they walked up to Violet before delivering a standard front kick towards her.
Violet instantly stepped back yet even then a fiery yellow aura blade came from her foot to cut down the demon in the centre. Even with the surprise aura blade Violet managed to quickly guard her torso with her forearms only to skid backwards for a short distance before she pushed her arms outwards resulting in the blade shattering from the physical might. The {Faux God} didn’t rest as they kept pressuring Violet as their leg came down in an even more powerful axe kick followed by aura.
Obviously it was impossible for Violet to fall for the same thing twice so she beated the aura blade away with a left backhand. In return Secretary stepped forward before releasing a roundhouse kick to Violet’s left side - a fiery whip made from aura following to increase the damage dealt to her. However just like before she only did the bare minimum thus made no attempts to actually dodge the attack resulting in her flying into the barrier..
Back against the barrier all she did was raise her arms up to inspect the scratch across her forearms before gazing up to the sky once more.
“Spirit…” <Violet>