Devourer

Chapter 102: The Fall Part 14

I grimaced as I stared at the palace door. The walls were taken, the armies shattered. Most of the elite soldiers are dead. I had hoped to preserve them but in the back of my mind I knew the best soldiers wouldn’t surrender. Still I had hoped they would have proven useful. But their actions thus far have shown me that perhaps a blank slate might be in order. The loyalists are starting to look like a potential rebellion risk rather than a stabilising factor. 

Oh well they had their chance, I did tell them didn’t I?

Make the wrong choice and on your head be the consequences…

This was the final phase, we storm in and take the palace, rather straightforward overall. How ironic, all the scheming from both sides and in the end it devolves into a desperate melee in the halls of power. In the end it all boils down to brute force doesn’t it? All that fancy scheming and where did that lead? 

“Right here to this simple brawl…” I said as I stared at the door.

“What was that friend?” Cecilia asked from the side as we stared at the palace door. 

“In the end it always ends like this, at some point it just devolved into a brawl. It always does in the end…” I muttered as I channelled power into my hands.

“Speaking from experience?” Cecilia asked as she raised a brow. I could tell she was referring to if I was speaking from my stolen memories.

“Yes, sophistication. Such luxury. It all boils down to this when the chips are down.” I said as I released my spell into the door. It was a simple spell, just ether turned into a wave of kinetic force.

The force ended up blasting the enchanted mithril doors down. Mahaila told me there was an oversight on the design of this door. The hinges were a weak point so enough force will knock the door right off the hinges. I essentially used the large surface area of the door like a reverse parachute. I can still hear Mahaila’s disdain when she told me about the door. The Draconians were excellent architects, their structures were far superior to human buildings in every way. 

I heard screams of panic as the doors bowled inwards. When the doors landed with a  resounding crash I saw there was a formation of royal guards on the other side. Most of the royal guards ended up squished under the massive doors. Classic false of security but I’m not surprised that the door was clearly designed to inspire confidence. With its excessive width and height, fancy engravings on the mithril plated surface. The lords of this palace couldn’t even pony up the material to make the whole thing mithril, nor did they have the means to fully enchant it. I know what can be built and I know how, these pathetic stone huts that the humans call houses will be eclipsed by what I intend to do.

I smiled as I gazed at the shocked faces of the Volerian soldiers inside. I then opened my mouth before breathing a jet of crackling fire at the soldiers. This wasn’t my usual fire, I reduced the fire and upped the ether. I don’t want to accidentally burn this place to the ground. That attack ended up taking out most of the remaining guards. I knew for a fact that most of the soldiers were dead or hiding. Those in front of me were what’s left of those who still had the heart to fight. 

“Kill them all.” Cecilia commanded. The Wardens and Knight Enchanters behind me charged forward. The Wardens raised their two handed weapons and the Knight Enchanted enchanted their double sided spell glaives as they rushed towards the disorganised defenders. This won’t take long…

Cecilia felt that since this was a seat of power it might be more prudent politically for humans to seize the palace. Having monsters swarm all over it might be seen as despoiling this sacred place. The royal palace is seen as a sacred location seeing as many of the nations have long histories with their palaces being constructed in the distant past. I’m still going to do some serious renovating but I will need to consider this added factor as well.

The Elysian elites roared as they charged forward into the disoriented crowd of defenders. This large hallway was the most important area of the palace with regards to defence. The design of this structure was meant to inspire awe so this long hallway led straight to the throne room. A rather arrogant design choice, but not without reason. Tralis was once the seat of the Volerian Empire, so secure was this place that the palace was basically designed to accommodate dignitaries and had foregone defensive considerations.

The palace at Averlon for example was originally just a mere castle, thus its design offered far more defensive capabilities. This place on the other hand was designed for splendour which meant a big fat indefensible corridor leading right to the throne room. 

I did the fire breathe thing because I wanted to soften them up but going forward this body was a poor fit. I meant that literally, there was no way I was going to fit through the door of the throne room. I knew this of course which was why I came prepared. I honestly really wanted to try this out, this little project will certainly be useful when meeting other humanoids.

I turned to look at the body that was being held by a specialised creature that was following us. This body was expensive, it cost me twenty Grahanam Crowns to make. This was by far the most expensive creation but if it’s supposed to be a stand-in for me I can’t exactly skimp on the quality. I have appearances to keep up and all that.

I gave the command to the carrier creature to unveil the new body. It was quite beautiful honestly, covered in gold feathers with a crown of gold horns protruding the top of its white domed head. It was roughly humanoid in shape similar in construction to Legiana, with two legs, four arms and was larger than Legiana standing at more than two and half metres tall. But unlike Legiana the larger upper arms were tipped with blades much like my normal body. It also didn’t have tentacles on the back of Legiana’s head but instead it had gold feathered wings on its back. I felt the wings were a good addition since culturally most humanoids worship the Seraphim so I thought I would borrow some of their aesthetics. It’s not exactly angelic considering the Seraphim had white wings in contrast to my gold but it was still close enough.

I took control of the body and I felt part of my mind split off. I could still control my main body and honestly despite the practice this multitasking two bodies at once thing was still weird to me. 

“Are you ready friend?” Cecilia asked nonchalantly as she looked at my main body as if there wasn’t a life or death battle playing out in front of us.

“Yup.” I replied with my humanoid body and I saw Cecilia roll her eyes as she turned to look at my smiling humanoid body.

“Very funny friend.” Cecilia said with a smirk.

“You know I like to joke.” I replied, this time with my main body and Cecilia let out a small chuckle.

“Come, we have a royal family to capture.” Cecilia said this time keeping her eyes on the humanoid body.

“No fun…” I replied with a laugh from the humanoid body as I began moving forward.

“I’ll park my big body outside, I don't want to destroy too much of the furniture.” I said from my humanoid body as my main body turned and took off into the sky.

“You mean more than you already have?” Cecilia asked as she raised a brow and we walked over the collapsed door.

“Well… yeah…” I replied as I looked at the random bits of burning bodies scattered about in front of us. Well most of the bodies were crackling from ether since that fire breath was more of an electric storm than a fire attack. The fire was just more obvious.

“Come friend this won’t take long, Mahaila said the Royal Family were in the throne room ahead. It appears the rats didn’t try to scatter… well except for one…” Cecilia said with a shrug as we began walking forward.

“Yes, the second prince, he tried to sneak out and was torn to pieces by my hive. They didn’t know who he was and honestly I didn’t know either. I only found out when Mahaila sent her report in.” I replied, in fact when I tracked the memories there were so many from the various hive creatures I couldn’t even pinpoint which poor shit was the second prince.

“Still at least that’s one less headache. It would have been problematic if he actually escaped and sought asylum somewhere.” Cecilia said as she furrowed her brow.

“Have some faith, did you really think that fool could have gotten out? The report said he died the moment he left the palace walls. The secret tunnel he used was guarded from the start.” I replied as I turned to look at her. We must have been an odd sight, an Empress and a monster having a casual conversation while standing on the toppled remains of a mithril door. All the while this life or death battle raged around us. Cecilia had several adjutants guarding her even now so she was in no danger and honestly nothing here can even damage this body so I’m fine too. 

“Still worried?” I asked, my voice shifting to a more serious tone.

“Yes.” Cecilia replied curtly as she no doubt contemplated our demon problem.

“Nothing we can do about it now, let’s just get on with it. Come what may.” I said as I gave Cecilia a fanged smile and I saw her lips curl up slightly.

“Yes, come what may.” Cecilia replied with a small laugh and I saw her stress levels drop.

“Now then let’s speed things up shall we.” I said as I brandished my blades.

“Enjoy.” Cecilia said with another small laugh.

“Oh I intend to.” I replied and I shot at this group of Volerian Royal Guards. 

I saw the group turn to me in panic and I began by extending one leg before kicking one in the chest with full force. I watched as the breast plate caved in, his ribs powderised and his organs turned to mush. His body went barreling into the group of soldiers behind him knocking several of them off their feet.

“Mind if I join the fun?” I asked as I felt that old feral excitement inside me grow. Being big and crushing these insects was fun and all, but being of a similar size and doing it just felt so much more personal. It just hits so different…

“As you wish my lord.” the warden replied calmly before hefting his large great sword.

“Great…” I said as I let out a laugh and jumped into the fray. I slashed at one guard and my blade went clean through his magic reinforced golden shield. It was a nice piece of equipment but not nearly good enough. The shield fell away as the guard let out a cry of plain and clutched his now stump of a hand. Then with my other hand I slashed him across the waist and his torso fell over backwards. 

I sensed an attack incoming from the rear but then I sensed a Warden move forward to parry the blow. Before immediately counter attacking and pressuring the Royal Guard. I turned to look at the Wardens and Knight Enchanters. I have to give it to them despite their obvious human weakness. They were rather skilled. They knew exactly what to do and when to do it. I guess the reputation of the best front line heavy infantry and spell blades on the continent was not unearned. The best mages and archers would have to go to elves unfortunately. Humans just couldn’t compete on these two aspects with the elves. I have heard that the best light infantry were Mugummans but I’ve never seen them in action.

Another Royal Guard charged forward sword raised. As the swing came down I reached out and caught the sword. I closed my fist and the weakly enchanted mithril warped easily under the force. I pulled the ruined sword right out of his hand and brought the handle down onto his head. His helmet caved in as the sword’s handle buckled and the blade bent all the way into a right angle. I saw his skull shatter and he fell to the ground limp like a doll. 

I looked up and saw the two royal guards in front of me take a step back in fear. I heard a gurgle from the side and I turned to see the Warden from before sticking his sword into the gap of the armour at the throat. The Royal Guard twitched and the Warden extracted his blade to a fountain of blood as the Royal Guard collapsed. A well executed thrust considering the Warden was using a greatsword, so that wasn’t exactly an easy manoeuvre to pull off, especially considering the Warden was actually taller so he had to lower his body to do it.

“Not bad…” I said with a grin and the Warden turned his head to look at me in response. There was a noticeable absence of fear in the Wardens. In fact there was more respect than anything.

“Thank you my lord.” the Warden replied with a small nod.

“Heh…” I let out a chuckle before shooting forward at the last two Royal Guards. I raised a blade and did a simple thrust, the blade went through the magic barrier around the shield, the shield, the armour and finally through the body then right into the heart.

The last one swung at me but I just turned and took the slash to the face. Even though it was the enhanced attack [Reaving Slash] it just bounced off my domed head. I saw the confusion in the Royal Guard’s eyes at the sight of his attack just glancing off. I moved forward, grasped him with both hands and then opened my mouth. I bit down hard on his shoulder, the plate caved in and then I felt the warm wetness of the blood. I barely even felt the bones giveaway and for the first time in a long time I felt my mouth fill with that delicious red nectar. Being in a smaller body definitely had its perks, it allowed for a far more visceral fight. I clamped down with my jaw, then I pulled back taking a massive piece of the body with it and the plate tore off like sheet metal. The Royal Guard let out a weak gurgle before collapsing to the ground.

With that I looked around and saw what was left of the Royal Guards being finished off. It wasn’t that the Wardens or the Knight Enchanters were superior to the Royal Guards. All three were about evenly matched with each other. The problem was that the Royal Guards were horrendously outnumbered about three to one. Soon there was only one left as two Wardens and three Knight Enchanters approached. I could tell the Royal Guard knew he was going to die. Then I sensed magic from behind me and I saw this ice spear fly through the air and impale the unsuspecting Royal Guard. The force threw him back and he went tumbling back. Sure enough when I turned around I saw Cecilia with her hand out from casting that spell.

“Now then that is settled shall we enter?” Cecilia asked as she calmly walked up to me and right past the mutilated corpses on the floor.

“Yeah might as well.” I replied as we approached the large door. Cecilia waved her hand and the door was magically thrown open.

When the door opened it revealed six guards who had weapons raised. Cecilia waved her hand and the guards were instantly bound by chains. With another wave of her hands the guards were pulled together into a pile, then with a snap of her fingers a magic circle appeared around them and a pillar of flame appeared torching the guards.

With a final wave of her hand the charred and burning bodies were tossed to the side of the throne room like a pile of garbage. 

Huh someone’s in a bad mood, I knew she was stressed and I’ve seen when Cecilia’s upset about things. But I don’t think I have actually seen her being grumpy. I guess the demon thing kind of spoiled her great moment. The moment where Elysia overcomes Voleria was supposed to be this crowning moment. 

The demon’s presence would possibly mean this victory was handed to us on a plate. Personally I don’t really mind it, in my mind the real concern was what else these shadowy forces were meddling in. I don’t like being kept in the dark. But I suppose this was a moment Cecilia has been dreaming about for a long time. This demonic development just took the wind out of her sails and killed the mood.

I watched as Cecilia stalked ahead as she scowled at the final two individuals standing in the way of the conquest. The throne room was quite nice but also rather typical in design lacking the artistic flair of the throne rooms of Elysia. Your bog standard large fancy red carpet, banners on the walls, golden throne… yada yada, stereotypical throne room decor…

Princess Eissa was standing next to the throne with her brother and father. She looked extremely disconcerted, probably because I just pulled a demonic blob of ether out of her less than an hour ago.

I looked at the prince and he was a sorry sight, he was muttering to himself under his breath. The state of his armour was all over the place looking shabby overall and he honestly just looked like a mad man. Furthermore I could see that same dark presence inside him. It was stronger, far stronger, his entire ether core seems to be corrupted and cracked. 

I could hear his mad muttering all the way over here.

“Where are you? Why are you silent now?” the prince muttered out.

The king was slightly better, the dark presence was diminished but his ether core was still cracked. My best guess the king passed the worst of his possession onto his eldest son and the other children got the diminished version.

The king rose to his feet as he glared at me and Cecilia.

“The whore empress comes to…” the king began but I sensed magic from Cecilia.

The king and the prince suddenly froze and they were hoisted into the air by her magic. Cecilia flung them towards us and they ended up sprawling onto the ground in front of us. The king’s on the older side he’s going to need some healing… or a new hip bone…

Cecilia turned to look at me as she held them down with magic and I nodded giving her the indication that the demonic presence was indeed there. She then gave me the “we will discuss this later” look before raising them up and slamming down on the ground hard. This left them groaning on the floor from broken bones. 

“Take them…” Cecilia said curtly to the surrounding soldiers as they rushed forward to capture the two royals. Then she began to walk forward towards the very nervous looking Eissa. To be honest I’m curious if removing the possession caused any personality changes…

But, that’s for later, we’ll be talking to her in private anyway. There is one more thing however… I know Cecilia probably isn’t in the mood for it but I really wanted to make a snarky little quip. I mean honestly we just conquered a massive piece of territory isn’t this final moment a little anticlimactic?

Unable to bear it anymore I decided to say it…

Geez Cecilia you could have at least let him finish his dramatic speech…