“I must say, there must be something special in noble dames. You don’t look at all like a woman who has grandchildren.” Orpal said while ripping off the last piece of her pants and taking a long appreciative look at her.
Jirni’s toned body was now exposed, her soft curves exalted by her petite body and covered only by the thick cloth of the underwear. Lith produced it, making her look like a gift from Orpal’s despised brother.
“Once I’m done with you, I’ll deal with Marth andWanemyre. I’ve played this same trick on her mother and the protective arrays of her house are already under my control. Mommy dearest will lure Wanemyre out of the White Griffon and I’ll have my fun with her as well.
“As for Marth, I’ve already discovered the secret clearing where the Dryads meet and when the next gathering will happen. I’ll kidnap his precious wife and give her back to him after I’m done with her. He loves that slut too much, and love is a weakness. Once Marth loses his head, killing him will be a child’s play.”
Orpal put his hands on Jirni’s shoulders, pushing her down to her knees. She didn’t even try to cover her chest or crotch, using her full might to resist for as long as she could.
“Stop fighting, it’s pointless.” He said. “Now, I have an offer for you. If you manage to satisfy me, I’ll allow you to live. You’ll become a member of my harem until you break or I get bored of you. Deal?”
“That’s it?” Jirni asked, her voice suddenly strong and confident again. “That’s all of your plans?”
“What do you mean that’s it? It’s brilliant!” Orpal replied.
“Thank the gods it is. Otherwise I would feel like a moron to have put so much effort into mine.” Jirni started to stand up, and it took Orpal all of his considerable strength to keep her down while the armor on his crotch opened right in front of her face.
“I’d rather die than let an obnoxious man-child like you lay a single hand on me.” Her right fist hit his exposed genitals, turning them into a pulp.
At the same time, her left hand grabbed his wrist, reversing the hold and throwing him through a wall and into the next room.
“What the heck?” Orpal’s high-pitched voice sounded feminine while Night repaired the damages.
Yet his shock would have made it shrill anyway. Both the Horseman and her host were shocked to see sparks of silver lightning burst from the short blonde woman in front of them.
‘What the fuck? Did Jirni have a Divine Beast shapeshift into her?’ Orpal asked.
‘Shapeshifting doesn’t change the energy signature nor the life force.’ Night replied. ‘That’s Jirni Ernas. A non-Awakened human with an orange core.’
‘Then how can she be so strong and where does the Life Maelstrom come from?’ Panda Novel
Night had no idea how that was possible, nor did Feela, Faluel, and Jiza Gernoff who had been keeping watch from a distance.
“Why the heck are we still here instead of intervening?” Faluel asked.
With Lith and Protector gone, she had dedicated her time to protect Jirni, just like she had promised to her Awakened counterpart of house Myrok.
“Because I knew there was something off.” With her blonde hair and petite figure, Jiza resembled Jirni. A Jirni who had undergone body refinement. “This might be one of the rare occasions when we can witness the legacy of Oghrom Gernoff.”
“What legacy?” Feela said. “Oghrom was a human with no bloodline abilities and Jirni is no mage. She has no access to his magical legacy.”
“Oghrom wasn’t a mage either. What he passed down to us is another form of magic.” Jiza said while tapping her forehead. “Now shut up and watch.”
Jirni was darting forward, her body coursing with silver sparks as her underwear came to life. The cloth turned into a black silvery liquid that reformed her Archon uniform.
She arrived in front of Orpal in the blink of an eye, yet the clothes were already intact again. He swung his fist at her to keep Jirni at bay, but she grabbed his wrist with her left while her right flickered in a flurry of jabs.
Each one of her punches was powerful enough to dent the Davross and so quick that Orpal felt the pain from the first jab only after being struck by the fifth. Each hit made him snap back, but the trapped wrist made him bounce back to Jirni who never stopped her onslaught.
“I must say, you are a careful planner and a thorough thinker for an idiot, but you are predictable. And I’ve been playing around predictable even before Elina was changing your diapers.” She said while a right uppercut shattered his jaw and teeth just like the night they had first met.
The black crystal on his chest emitted a strong pulse of darkness magic that forced Jirni to release her grip. Her hand was now like that of a dried corpse, without any sensitivity.
Another spark of silver energy healed it, returning the hand to its original condition.
“I must say, hearing from Raaz about your habit of explaining your plans to your victims gave me the idea. Like a spoiled brat, you can’t stop bragging when you think you are winning.” Jirni said amid pants.
Between the lack of sleep and the overwork, she was really tired. That wasn’t a part of her façade.
“I don’t think, I AM winning!” He stood up, recalling both his spear and his steed. “Your cousin told me everything I needed to know about you. The arrays are down, the Mansion is enveloped in Full Domain and I have my steed!”
“Wrong.” She said while drinking a tonic. “Dyta never fell for your tricks. She just helped me with my plan. First, she played hard to get. Then, she fed you a load of bullshit to make you feel confident enough to lure you in the open.”
“What bullshit? You are here, alone and defenseless.” Orpal said in outrage.
“Gods, how stupid can you possibly be?” Jirni laughed at him with scorn. “Who do you think spread those ridiculous rumors about Lith having a child and becoming Salaark’s heir?
“I did it because I knew that hearing about his happiness would drive you mad with envy. I knew that you couldn’t resist the temptation to ruin his honeymoon by attacking the weakest link of the chain, like you always do.
“Because under your pretty armor and despite all of Night’s trinkets you are still a coward.”
An awkward silence fell into the corridor as Orpal couldn’t deny any of her words and realized to have fallen for her trickery hook, line, and sinker.
“As for Dyta, she led you to the arrays’ control room, but only because I knew that unless you were certain of winning, you would have sent here your clone.” Jirni said with a predator smile on her face.
“At that point, I only had to wait for a night when Thrud’s attacks forced the Royal Guards away. A night when my husband also had to leave on a mission and my daughters had been spotted far away from here, working for the Council.
“Dyta didn’t have to warn me, I knew that the moment all the perfect conditions for an attack would present itselves, you wouldn’t resist the temptation to make your move.
“All I had to do, was prepare for your arrival and then let you talk. Now that I know of your plans, I have no reason to play with you any longer.”
