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After half a day of traveling, we finally reached the outskirts of the Cilane Kingdom, where several small villages that attended the strange plantations that could survive the freezing never-ending winter were.
The moment we did, I generated hundreds of small flesh bats that flew through the sky, it was already night and due to the cloudy climate, there wasn't any light from the sun, in the villages there were barely some small houses which had a dim yellow light, illuminating the dark and cold streets.
I created these small flesh bats with Phantasmagoric flesh and bones, giving them the ability to change into a ghost. If the users aren't a ghost themselves or very experienced shamans, they wouldn't be able to detect them.
Half an hour later, I got the report from the nearby village, two pale-looking guys were wearing gothic clothes fighting who seemed to be two spies, while another Vampire was tracking down a young Centaur girl, who had a similar appearance to Sofelaia and Sofarpia…
After explaining the situation to the Centaur Twins, they immediately recognized the description of the girl, it was their little sister, the one who stayed in the Kingdom, hiding with her mother in a poor village, Aegina.
Sofelaia and Sofarpia were the direct daughters of the last King of the Cilane Kingdom, whit the "official" queen, both of them were already diseased and a complete stranger was now governing the Kingdom. Their little sister was the daughter of the King with one of his servants, who he had a love affair, the twins loved Aegina as if they were from the same mother, and the little centaur was raised with care… Until everything went down with the coup, the twins were exiled and the king and queen slaughtered, they didn't manage to bring Aegina with them, and the young centaur escaped to a faraway village while refuging with her mother.
It seems that she was the key to regain control of the Kingdom, as they had assumed the twin's death and several members of the "resistance", a group of citizens unhappy about the new regime, being a direct descendant of the King, her bloodline was that of royals, and if the resistance could manage to regain control of the Kingdom, she would be crowned as the new Queen.
She was assigned with two guards, strong spies of the Black Cat race, however, she was unaware of this, as the resistance had plans for her to first grow strong and confident, becoming a natural leader that would lead them.
However, things went into the worse direction when Vampires appeared and began to collude with the nobles and royal family members, offering their strength and the "eternal life" that they could grant, they asked for offerings themselves, being fed with the young blood of royal children…
It seems that a lot of nobles and royals had died like this, these people were the pillars of a Kingdom, and without them assessing the economy, politics and such, the Kingdom would slowly crumble into pieces and become a place filled with bandits.
The Vampires made things worse as they spread diseases and made the citizens sick, while also abducting innocents to feast on their blood and make the people grow paranoid.
After realizing who was Aegina, they immediately began their movements… And now, with Zehe at my side, I've caught two very fat fishes, and found one of the little girl guardians… It seems that we were too late, as the other was killed, beheaded by the male Vampire, whose name is Caedmon.
And about the little girl, she was running towards the resistance headquarters after being told by her guardians and protected by them, she was rather shocked by the news, but ran for her life with her horse lower half. Nonetheless, she was caught by the Vampire following her but was saved by the twins and Alice.
The twins, by working together, managed to surround the Vampire, while Alice attacked him from afar until he was torn to pieces by the three, I would have appreciated if they left him alive so I could ask him some things, but I guess these two that Zehe caught are enough.
The little Aegina trembled in her lower horse half as she tightly hugged her sisters, whose she hasn't seen in years. Just like the twins, she had emerald eyes and a long blond hair, while her horse half had light brown-colored hair, with a blonde tail.
"Big sisters! I can't believe my eyes! You two are alive?! Oh, goddess…! I've missed you so much… Ooh… Snif, snif"
"Aegina… I'm so glad that you're still alive…" Said Sofarpia.
"Don't worry, we are back… thanks to Master, we will be able to liberate our Kingdom…!" Said Sofelaia.
Aegina praised the strength of her two big sisters, who had evolved and become incredibly strong in Centaur standards, seeing how uncommon was for them to evolve, it was treated as a miracle if a young warrior managed to evolve and break his limits, becoming a higher and stronger race.
Meanwhile, Alice was on the back sucking on the corpse of the torn-apart Vampire, whose name we never knew.
"Hmmm~ It is quite delicious, but not as much as Master's blood~," She said, her appearance and Aura seemed even deadlier than the Vampire that was hunting down Aegina, scaring the young girl.
"W-Who is she…?" She asked.
"Ah! That's one of Master's wives, she is a Vampire… Don't worry, she is a good Vampire, her name is Alice" Introduced Sofelaia.
"Alice sama… perhaps it wouldn't be good to taste the blood of the Vampire in this place…" Said Sofarpia.
"Oh! Sorry about that, did I scare you, little angel~? Don't worry, just as your sisters said, I am a good Vampire! Fufufu~" Said, Alice.
Alice seemed to have good intentions, but her deadly presence still scared Aegina, who cowered in the back of Sofelaia.
I was watching these scenes unfold through my flesh bats, while I was healing the Black Cat while questioning the Vampires, who were being entangled by Zehe's Shadow Tentacles, and rendered useless of magic by my Anti-Magic Seals.
By using the [Overlord of Lust Heartwarming Assistance; Enhancement and Healing] Spell, [Loving Heal], warm pink-colored light was released form my hands as most of the wounds in the Black Cat were being closed.
There was some internal damage that needed some surgery to recover, or Amiphossia's Heavenly Medicine Magic, thankfully, Charlotte and Izumi created an upgrade from my Blood Potions, containing Amiphossia's Healing White Venom and her Heavenly Medicine-Attribute Mana.
The Potion did wonders, both healing the internal damage and leaving no scars at all, even giving him a boost in Stamina and other stats temporarily.
The Black Cat, whose name was Jerold. He had a handsome face, a long and flexible body with clear muscles, and an aura of righteousness on his eyes, which sparkled with hope.
"Incredible… my wounds… even the internal damage… Everything has been healed… What kind of potion may this be…?! It is some kind of concoction of the gods…? An Elixir!" He said, inspecting the empty bottle, which he had drink completely.
"There will be time for you to praise my potions, but for now, we must secure a safe place to do interrogations… I will also reveal my identity there. I've brought the two exiled Princesses, Sofarpia and Sofelaia, and I've come with good intentions" I said, while Zehe at my side smiled carefreely while maintaining the two struggling Vampires in check.
"Gyaaaah! Let me go…!"
"W-Why I can't use any magic?! What kind of spell have you used, fairy!"
"Silence, or do you want me to slice your tongues off your mouths?!" I said, intimidating the two with my Aura, which released a small shockwave of pressure, making the two trembled in fear like gelatin.
"Giiiih!"
"Gaah…!"
They passed out…
The Black Cat seemed intact, but his eyes were wide open, revealing his black irises.
��W-What was that pressure…? It felt like a giant monster just glared at me…"
"Its… A special spell of mine, that I learned in the fairy village…"
"An Unique Skill?"
"Yes, yes, that"
"Now, mister Black Cat, shall we get going?" asked Zehe, impatient to find a place with warmer temperature and perhaps a chime.
"Very well, please, follow me… Oh, where may lady Aegina be?"
"She has encountered with her sisters and one of my subordinates, so she must fine"
"W-What about the Vampire following her?!"
"He was killed by the three of them, torn to pieces"
"T-Torn to pieces…?! Such strength… Ahem… Alright, let's gather with them, and then I shall guide you to the resistance headquarters… it is in the middle of the village, bellow water well…"
When we moved where Alice, the twins, and the little centaur were, Jerold, the Black Cat, apologized to the little girl, talking about his incompetence as a guardian… However, Aegina didn't even know him, so she didn't know what to say, and her sisters interfered, they seemed to remember Jerold.
"The little cat from the slums… Is that you, Jerold?" Asked Sofelaia.
"S-Sofelaia-sama…! It was true, that voice, those eyes, that face… even after going through an Existence Evolution… you're still the same…"
"Have you forgotten about me, Jerold?" Asked Sofarpia.
"S-Sofarpia-sama! Of course, not…! I'm glad for you two to be alive…! To think that we have given up on looking for you two… the circumstances in the Kingdom didn't allow us"
"I'm also glad that you're alive… But your brother…?"
"H-He… Was killed, by the Vampires…" Said Jerold, pained.
I had already saved the corpse of the Black Cat and his head on my Item Box, I was planning on eating it though, but it seems that it would be more respectful to do a proper burial or to burn the corpse into ashes. Well, whatever it could give me, it wouldn't be so important, I've eaten so many spies that I don't think I can get anything from one anyways.
"I see… All of us have lost someone in these times…" Said Sofarpia.
"Aegina, where may your mother be?" Asked Sofelaia.
"Mother is in the house… Ah! But we need to go look for her, what if a Vampire…"
"On it," I said, as I transferred my vision to my flesh bats, Brontes and Rimuru managed to rescue the girl's mother while killing the Vampire that came to assassinate her. Rimuru gave her one of the special potions, and the woman was back to a very healthy state all out of nowhere, even the diseases and the injuries in her bones that came with old age were gone, she even felt younger.
After some minutes, Brontes appeared while carrying the large centaur with her arms, as if she were a light weighted princess. Aegina's mother was certainly charmed with Brontes's manliness in the way she carried others with her arms, but she also had a womanly beauty that came incredibly well with it.
"There it is, big sister, she has recovered thanks to the Potion… And for some reason, she hasn't stopped looking at me"
"Ah~ Brontes sama, you're so charming~ Like a prince!"
"Hmm… Well, I feel like you can stand on your own…" Said Brontes, releasing Aegina's mother to the ground.
Poof!
Thankfully, there was a natural bed of snow bellow her, so her fall was secure.
"Ah! My daughter!" Said the Centaur woman, rushing towards Aegina and hugging her tightly.
As she kissed and hugged her daughter, she glanced at the smiling Sofarpia and Sofelaia, and she began to tear up.
"It can't be… you girls…!"
"It has been quite a long time since we meet, Lady Galessa"
"Hm, I'm glad to see you alive and well"
The Centaur woman, whose name was Galessa, rushed towards the twins and embraced them. Although she wasn't their biological mothers, she raised them through most of their childhood as she was their maid. They were like daughters to her, and the twins, although they saved their emotions, also saw her as a second mother.
"I really thought that you two died, you know?! I missed you two so much! Aegina here did as well, we cried every night and hoped every night for your wellbeing! I'm so glad you two are alive! The goddess has really blessed me! Buaaaaahh"
Galessa, who had the appearance of a beautiful and mature woman, with brown eyes and blonde hair cried while embracing the twins, crying a river…
I suppose I can understand her feelings, I had six children as well, and not seeing them for a while makes me extremely sad…
After the emotional show was over, we carried on towards the resistance headquarters, while I received several alerts from my flesh bats, new enemies were lurking around, several Vampires were preparing themselves, it seems that they didn't take so lightly how two of their members were slaughtered in the middle of the streets, while two others were taken as prisoners… Perhaps there may be a slaughter fest incoming.
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[Bestiary]
[Centaurs]
A race of demi-human with the upper half of a strong human and the lower half of a horse, its subspecies, or other quadrupedal creatures, mostly mammals.
They were born after the Great Goddess of Beasts was given the task by the World's Will to create new races to fill in the gaps left after Genesis was split into Realms and barely any life survived.
Ova, the Great Goddess of Beast contains the genetic information of most animals before Genesis was destroyed into pieces, and as she mated with several Human Champions and Heroes, she gave birth to different species of beastmen, centaurs were also included.
It is debated by most demi-human and human societies if Centaurs should be considered beastmen/folk as they lack several parts that make beastfolk while also having their own distinct features.
Aside from their long horse-like ears in place of the human ears, their human upper half resembles a very healthy and strong human, the only difference between them and a human would be their ears and the lower half of a quadrupedal, most of the time of a horse or its subspecies.
The first Centaur to have been born was Morpheus, who was also considered the founder of the Centaur Kingdom of Cilane. Although the Kingdom has a population of mostly Centaurs of various subspecies, there are also several groups of other beastfolk races, which were welcomed by Morpheus with open arms in those ancient times.
Centaurs are adept at close combat, having strong physical prowess and speed due to their lower halves, although some species may be considered slower and it usually depends. Most of the time, Horse Centaurs, who are the majority, often use physical martial techniques and develop special training to increase their musculature. Their Evolutions often reflect knighthood or other warrior-like classes.
Centaurs have honest and firm personalities, and it's rare to find those who have strived outside of the path of righteousness. Centaur Paladins are born every century and are praised as the Goddess of Beasts Champion.
Some Centaurs are born with magic talent, but these are rare, and often belong to old royal and noble families, direct descendants of Morpheus. There is a legend about Morpheus wielding Life-Attribute Magic to create new species of cattle, plants that could survive the never-ending winter of living near the Icy Mountain Walls and other feats. It was proven that in the past, Centaurs were able to wield such magic, but it has been disappearing through the years, after countless generations.
The horse Centaur is the most common, who also possess a wide array of diverse races, there is Donkey Centaur, specialized in words but often physically weak, there are Zebra Centaurs, with stronger and faster bodies than conventional centaur, who used to live in savanna and the vast plains, but the remnants of them joined the Cilane Kingdom some hundreds of years ago, and there are Pony Centaur, who are considered as the Halflings of Centaur, smaller breeds with fast and light bodies and a great talent for magic.
The other, non-horse, subspecies of Centaurs were born from Morpheus's partners from other species or races, such as Dragons or even the children of his Beastmen siblings.
There are Deer Centaur, adept in magic with frail and small bodies, there are Sheep and Goat Centaur, who have small yet sturdy bodies, with long horns which they use to attack, but they often work as rural people, and there are Dragon Centaur, who has the lower half of a small dragon without wings, they are adept at magic but also possess amazing physical prowess, alongside this, they can spit Fire, their only weakness being their very low speed due to their heavy, scaled lower halves.
There have been reports of other centaur species, with lower halves of lions, tigers, rhinoceros, wolves, and more, but these have been lost in history. Some say that they are only myths.
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