Supreme Magus

Chapter 4403: Trial Run (Part 1)

"I see." Acala didn’t like being kept in the dark, but he could see from their partial mind fusion that Dawn was sincere.

She just wanted the undead Ranger to trust himself at least half as much as she did. She had put her life in his hands, knowing that he would rise to the occasion.

"Only one question?" Nyka echoed. "I have lots of them. Starting with why Dawn took action if the Master had already agreed to leave Batara and what the point of revealing her and Acala’s new abilities was."

"It’s all part of my plan, child." Baba Yaga replied. "Dawn agreed to act as bait for the same reason the Master agreed to set up a stage for us. Without the conflict, Dawn moving alone would have made Meln suspicious.

"He would have wondered what gave her the confidence to leave my side after what happened to Dusk and might have sensed the trap. Remember that he’s a coward, child. He never starts a fight unless he’s sure to win.

"Now, instead, he has seen Dawn and Zepho having each their own body. Zepho has revealed to the entire world his transformation into a Vampire who has no weak points, can endure sunlight, and can use all elements.

"It’s thanks to Zepho that Dawn now has a perfect justification to both rejoin the Undead Courts and travel across Mogar away from me. She has displayed a power so great that it allowed her to take on two of the Master’s Eldritch-hybrids at the same time.

"She has double the strength any of my Horsemen had ever had and a core superior to the bright violet. Unless Meln discovers the secret of the white core, he will never be on her level.

"Moreover, Zepho becoming a Vampire is a taunt Meln won’t be able to ignore. He and Zepho have the same undead blood coursing through their veins and are bonded to a Horseman, yet their standing is completely different.

"Zepho is the recognized king of the same Undead Courts that betrayed Meln and sold him to Thrud. He has proven to be a great warrior even without Dawn, and she has complete trust in him.

"All things that the Dead King’s inferiority complex makes impossible for him to ignore.

"He will feel overshadowed by Zepho, which will only exacerbate the envy Night has always harbored towards Dawn. With a bit of luck, they will fall into our trap without even noticing.

"Giving the Undead Courts a foothold on Garlen again is just the icing on the cake. Meln has sworn revenge against them as well, and now that they have resurfaced, he won’t be able to ignore them for long.

"Not after they will publicly swear their allegiance to the Horseman of Dawn." The Mother smiled. "I wouldn’t be surprised if Meln and Night were throwing a tantrum right now."

***

Jiera continent, ruined city of Tle’ket, at the same time.

Baba Yaga was right about the maelstrom of violent emotions that was ravaging Night’s heart. Envy, rage, and betrayal fought for dominance like lions tussling as they fell down a steep cliff.

No matter which one won, they would all die the moment they reached the ground below.

"That bitch!" Night snarled. "That fucking mama’s girl did it. After failing for millennia to achieve Manifestation like the rest of us mortals, she had to succeed now just to spite me and lick Mother’s boots!

"The only silver lining is that Dawn’s little stunt made her so arrogant that she fell for the Undead Courts’ flattery. They’ll betray her just like they betrayed us, and when they do, we’ll be the ones laughing!"

Night didn’t care about the Undead Courts. She considered them a failed project, and her host being the king of the Upyrs was enough to satisfy her ego. What truly angered her was Acala defeating the Breaker and Dawn’s technique to tap into her tower’s powers from a distance.

The Black Night doubted that Orpal would have survived the encounter with Orulm, with or without her help. Any wounds the Vurdalak would suffer would be permanent, just like the damage on her crystal or steed.

’That dumb bitch can now hide her tower and prowess whenever she wants.’ Night thought. ’The worst part, however, is that knowing it does me no good. I can’t replicate Dawn’s technique, not even with Dusk’s crystal.’

As for Orpal, he threw his head back and burst into a bitter laughter. He sounded so much more deranged than usual that even his most loyal Upyrs brought their hands to the hilts of their weapons, afraid he had lost his mind for good.

"Nicely played, Acala." He said with a wide, joyless smile. "You think yourself so much better than me, yet you are nothing but a fine gift ready to be unwrapped."

"What do you mean?" Night asked.

"I admit that I’d never fight someone like Orulm. Too much danger for no return." The Dead King clicked his tongue. "Yet I wouldn’t hesitate to take Dawn on even now. We knew about her Morning Star spell.

"It gives her the mass of a Divine Beast, but so what? We are a Divine Beast, and we also have Life Maelstrom. It’s more than enough to bridge the gap in our cores even if we fought one-on-one, something we won’t do.

"We’ll take her down with our army of Upyrs during the day, when her little undead servants need to take their beauty sleep. Doom Tide will strip her of the Light Mastery she’s so proud of, and Origin Flames will burn her host to cinders.

"We’ll drag your sister away from that old hag of your mother and feed on Dawn as we did for Dusk. This time, however, we won’t fail to absorb her mind. With the three Horsemen’s crystals fused into one, Light Mastery, and the secret of Manifestation, we’ll be invincible.

"Imagine us using Morning Star to double our mass. Imagine our power never waning, no matter the time of day. Imagine what would happen if Sunrise and Moonlight fuse as well and grant us the might of two mage towers!"

Night pictured all those things, and she loved what she saw.

"Mother will be so sad when we kill her favorite daughter." She said with a voice filled with mock compassion. "Remind me to pull Mother’s lips up into a smile after we rip her head off her neck and hang it on a wall."

***

Jiera continent, Maneka Region, inside the Black Throne, a few hours later.

After nothing more had happened for a while, the Dead King had ordered everyone to resume their usual duties. Jorl had discussed with Orpal the best strategies for capturing Dawn, learning much about what the Horseman could do.

He had been careful in wording his questions, so that Night had often ended up revealing part of her own abilities to explain how those of her sister worked.

Once the Dead King had dismissed him, the Storm Griffon had left the fortress of Tle’ket at the first opportunity, rushing to inform the Black Throne of the latest developments and share his worries with the cursed tower.