Chapter 641: The Progenitor is tired

[Realm: Álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

[Tin Palace]

Elena momentarily looked confused by Goiim’s words.

The expression lasted only a second, but it was enough to show that Goiim had caught her off guard. Until that point, Elena had assumed there was nothing left in the palace worth worrying about. The Deseruit Beasts they had encountered had been little more than obstacles, and the silence that followed their destruction had only reinforced her belief that they had already dealt with anything capable of putting up a meaningful fight.

“Friend? Who are you talking about?” the Legatus questioned, her brow drawing together as she looked toward Goiim. “There isn’t anyone else here besides us. At least, there shouldn’t be.”

“About the one hiding in the shadows,” Goiim stated.

Her pale, impassive gaze remained fixed forward.

She simply stared into the darkness stretching across the far end of the tin hallway, where the weak light behind them failed to reach. The corridor seemed to narrow the farther it went, its walls gradually disappearing into blackness. Nothing moved there and nothing could immediately be seen.

Yet Goiim was looking directly at something.

Elena’s gaze snapped forward, and her posture changed almost immediately.

The confidence she had carried moments earlier shifted into attention as she studied the darkness Goiim had been watching. Her eyes moved slowly across the corridor, searching between the warped sections of tin and the deeper shadows beyond them.

At first, she saw nothing.

Then two small points of brilliant blue appeared within the darkness; they were unnaturally bright.

For a moment, Elena simply stared at them.

They were eyes.

Her expression hardened.

She hadn’t sensed the figure before seeing them; that realization bothered her more than she cared to admit.

“I’ve been noticed; what a pain.”

A deep feminine voice followed from the darkness.

The voice was calm, but there was a trace of annoyance in it.

“I was hoping to take you out without any hassle.”

The words were followed by footsteps.

The figure emerged.

Goiim and Elena immediately took note of the scaled limbs first. Black scales covered portions of the woman’s arms and legs, giving them an appearance that was somewhere between natural anatomy and armor. Her overall shape was somewhat human, enough to make her immediately recognizable as a woman rather than one of the more grotesque beasts they had encountered.

And despite the inhuman details, she was beautiful.

There was nothing immediately monstrous about her face.

If anything, she looked almost unassuming.

Especially compared to the myriad of monstrous Deseruit Beasts scattered throughout the palace.

Elena stared at her, then she frowned.

“Huh?”

Her eyes moved from the woman’s face to the scales covering her limbs, then back again.

“The hell is that thing?” Elena questioned, furrowing her brows. “A Deseruit Beast?”

Goiim’s gaze remained fixed upon the scaled woman.

“That would be the Progenitor.” The revelation was delivered without emphasis. “The Deseruit Beast Progenitor.”

Elena’s brows furrowed even further; she slowly looked at Goiim. Then she looked back at the woman standing farther down the corridor.

Her expression made her disbelief obvious.

“That?” She did not say the word aloud with quite the same incredulity that crossed her face, but the thought was unmistakable. Nothing about her appearance that suggested the kind of monster capable of producing an entire species of Deseruit Beasts.

(“That chick is a Progenitor?”) Elena stared at the woman more carefully. (“I guess I’ve never actually seen one before, but something this dull is supposed to have mothered countless Deseruit Beasts into the world?”)

The idea did not fit with what Elena had imagined.

To her, the term “Deseruit Beast Progenitor” had always invoked something monstrous or ancient. Something so far removed from humanity that calling it a person would have been meaningless. She had expected something beyond man or reason that would immediately make the countless beasts they had just slaughtered seem insignificant.

Instead, what stood before her merely seemed simple.

Human enough to be mistaken for one.

Almost ordinary if one ignored the black scales covering her limbs and the somewhat unnatural presence surrounding her.

Elena’s eyes narrowed.

Goiim, meanwhile, seemed entirely unsurprised.

“I thought we needed to cause more havoc to garner your attention,” Goiim mused regarding the Deseruit Beast Progenitor. There was no apology in her voice.

The Progenitor’s expression shifted slightly, enough to reveal that the comment had struck a nerve.

“Believe me, you’ve caused enough annoyances.” Electra sighed.

She looked between the two Retorta Guild members with visible weariness, her blue eyes lingering briefly on the bloodied corridor behind them.

“This palace belonged to an old friend of mine,” she continued, her voice remaining calm. “Whatever you came here intending to accomplish, you’ve already made quite enough of a mess. I’d appreciate it if you did not ruin it any further.”

Elena glanced around.

Her eyes passed over the torn metal, the bloodstained floor, and the scattered remains of the Deseruit Beasts she had killed.

Then she looked back at Electra.

“With the shitty state it’s already in, I seriously doubt it matters what we do to it now.” She snorted as her gaze moved over Electra again. “And are you really a Progenitor? You just look like some chick with scales.”

Electra’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Yes.” She paused for a moment as her mouth curved into a minute dry smile. “Well, forgive me for not being an obnoxiously large monster.”

Her tone was flat, but the sarcasm was obvious.

“I suppose I should have made myself considerably larger, grown a few extra limbs, covered myself in teeth, and started roaring the moment you arrived. Perhaps then you would have found my existence more convincing.”

Elena’s expression remained skeptical.

Electra continued before Elena could make anything of it.

“But I am what the pale-haired one says I am.” Her gaze settled upon the two women. “Now then, why have you invaded my home?”

Goiim opened her mouth to answer, but Elena beat her to it.

“To handle you, of course.”

The Legatus stated boldly, without hesitation, taking a step forward as she spoke. Her confidence had returned almost immediately. She squared her shoulders and looked directly at the Progenitor.

“So don’t go—”

She never finished.

The movement that followed was so quick that Elena barely had time to register it.

One moment, Goiim was standing beside her.

Next, the Mortifer was directly in front of her.

Her gloved hand was already extended, fingers wrapped firmly around the scaled hand of Electra.

Electra had moved.

Somehow, she had crossed the distance between herself and Elena without Elena seeing her do it. Her body was now much closer, close enough that the extended claw of her free hand stopped only inches from Elena’s face.

The sharp claw hovered there.

Elena froze, her eyes widened slightly as she stared at it.

For once, there was no immediate insult or smug remark.

“Ah?” She blinked, her gaze shifted from the claw to Goiim’s hand holding Electra’s wrist.

The confusion on her face was genuine; she had not even seen Electra move.

Goiim, meanwhile, remained completely impassive.

“This is a bit above your paygrade, Elena.” Her voice held no panic despite the situation.

Elena’s expression shifted; she looked at Goiim, clearly not enjoying being dismissed.

Electra’s claw remained suspended near her face for another moment.

Then the Progenitor spoke.

“Hm.” Her bright blue eyes shifted toward Goiim. “I was hoping to take that one out.” Her gaze briefly returned to Elena. “She’s quite annoying.” There was no emotion behind the words, which made them all the more unnerving. It was as though killing Elena would have been a minor chore she would have preferred to finish before dealing with anything else.

“Perhaps you can let me kill this one real quick?”

Goiim did not release Electra immediately; her grip remained steady around the Progenitor’s scaled hand.

“Apologies, but she’s Morgan’s Legatus.” Goiim’s pale eyes remained fixed on Electra. “That woman may be ranked lower than me, but she can still be troublesome. More importantly, killing her without necessity would complicate matters for both of us.”

Electra stared at her; the claw remained extended for another second before Goiim finally released her hand.

Electra withdrew it without resistance.

She took a small step backward, creating a little distance between herself and the two Guild members.

Elena remained where she was; she slowly touched her own face, as if checking whether the claw had actually stopped as close as it had seemed.

Her expression was still bewildered.

Electra’s attention shifted toward Goiim again.

“Rankings.” Her eyes narrowed slightly. “And the mention of a Legatus.”

Something seemed to click into place.

“Ah.” Her expression changed. “You two are from the Retorta Guild.”

“That’s right,” Goiim confirmed without hesitation.

Elena was still staring at Electra, her earlier confidence somewhat shaken by how effortlessly the Progenitor had crossed the distance between them.

Goiim ignored Elena’s still-befuddled look entirely.

Electra looked between them for a moment.

“So that’s what this is.” Her eyes narrowed. “You came here under the Guild’s authority.” She did not sound frightened. “What do you want with me?” Her gaze settled on Goiim. “Is it because I mothered so many harpies? You’ll have to understand it’s more instinctual to me than on purpose.”

The question was delivered plainly, but there was an edge beneath it. She seemed to understand that her existence had consequences beyond herself. Her ability to produce Deseruit Beasts made her valuable, dangerous, and, inevitably, something that other powers would eventually take an interest in.

Goiim shook her head slightly.

“No.” Her answer came immediately. “This is more off the books.”

Electra’s eyes remained narrowed.

Goiim continued.

“There are currently people in these lands who may pose a threat to you and yours.”

Her pale eyes met the Progenitor’s brilliant blue ones.

“Not ordinary people,” Goiim continued. “Dangerous people. The sort who can create problems even for someone of your strength, particularly if they decide that everything connected to you is something they can use, destroy, or control.”

Electra listened without interrupting.

Goiim’s expression remained as unreadable as ever, but there was a little more faux seriousness in her voice.

“And because of that, I saw fit to warn you.” She paused for a moment and then added, “And to offer cooperation.”

Sorry I haven’t been updating to those few reading. I’ve recently moved and getting wifi is tedious. I only have slight connection to update once but I can’t consistently write just yet.