Chương 211: B3 - Chapter 43: Borrowed Time

The Empress studied Seth for a moment before shifting her gaze toward the two NEVAK representatives next to the contribution glowing ledger.

"I assume that if they allow you to participate in this war, you must be a legitimate citizen of Kastal," she said coolly, "despite the rather obvious Draerian blood running through your veins."

"Looks like it," Seth replied, his voice flat. Her eyes returned to him, and one hand settled lightly on the pommel of her ceremonial sword.

"Your existence still remains a genuine surprise to me. I was under the impression those savages systematically hunted down and executed every one of their kin who attempted to desert their nation." A faint smile touched her lips.

"They must have missed one."

"Indeed," Seth answered before stretching his neck.

"Unfortunately for them, that mistake might come back to haunt them." The Empress let out a sharp laugh.

"You speak as if you'll still be alive in a few weeks, Draerian." Her gaze hardened.

"You do realize your people do not fear the NEVAK in any way, yes? The moment word reaches them that one of their own is here, they'll march across this plain and kill you themselves." Seth didn't so much as blink.

"Informing them about my existence is the only way you found to stop me from crushing your people." Celess stepped forward from beside the Empress, hands curling into tight fists.

"If it weren't for the protection of the NEVAK, I'd take your head right now," she snapped.

"You are speaking to Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Freydis of Solaria!" Seth glanced over at her before tilting his head.

"And why should I care?" Just as he'd hoped, the question landed like a slap.

"She bleeds the same as everyone else standing here. That self-given title means nothing." The Empress' expression contorted with fury, and heat rippled through the air around her as wisps of blue flame danced across her robes and shoulders."

'Bleeds the same as everyone else'?" she repeated, her voice dangerously sharp.

"Is that a threat, Draerian?"

"More of a fact." Seth looked over toward the distant mountains lining the horizon.

"Though somehow you already seem to have forgotten that roar from a couple weeks ago." The Empress froze for the briefest instant before her composure returned, the reaction so subtle most would have missed it. But Seth saw it. And judging by the look of surprise on Celess' face, she did too.

"That wasn't just a warning for the Spirit," Seth added, turning his eyes back to the Empress and holding her gaze. A fresh portal rippled into existence on the left side of the neutral zone. A deep hum rolled across the battlefield as the gateway stabilized. Seth glanced over his shoulder. Elena and Marine had both shifted toward the newly formed Rift before their attention quickly snapped right back to the Empress and her daughter. Time to go.

Seth turned toward the portal before stopping mid-step to look back at the Empress one final time.

"You're right, I might not sit at the very top of the food chain. But neither do you." The woman's eyes widened, yet Seth gave her no chance to respond—he spun and began to stride in the direction of the new Rift. The hundred imperial soldiers currently gathering dozens of feet from the portal watched him approach. And something broke. Faces paled, hands tightened around weapons, eyes darted frantically from side to side. They looked like men who had just realized fate had singled them out for a death sentence.

Seth was the executioner. For one soldier near the front ranks, the pressure became too much to bear. His spear slipped from his fingers and clattered onto the ground. Then he turned and ran. Away from the Rift's portal. Away from Seth. He sprinted toward the main imperial army with all the desperation of a condemned man—but the Empress didn't tolerate such cowardice. Her expression twisted into something ugly. A spear of brilliant azure flame erupted into her hand, the violent heat warping the very air around it.

She snapped her arm forward, and the projectile crossed the battlefield with a deafening hiss. The fleeing soldier never even had time to scream. The spear struck him squarely between the shoulders and his body simply ceased to exist; flesh, armor, and bone, all consumed and reduced to a cloud of fine grey ash in less than a second. The entire neutral zone fell into a suffocating, absolute silence.' Nightmare,' Seth said through Link. The direwolf understood his intention right away.

A swirl of darkness surged from the teardrop necklace hanging against Seth's chest as Nightmare emerged, his paws landing onto the dirt silently. The colossal direwolf head of Dreadful Shroud then flared above, and a crushing wave of bloodlust swept across the plain. Soldiers on the empire's side froze. The men may have heard about the direwolf from the survivors of previous battles, but hearing and experiencing the suffocating presence were entirely different matters.

Seth strode forward while Nightmare prowled at his side, the direwolf's spell pulsing outward in waves that promised nothing but death. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Seth's eyes never left the imperial formation. He wanted to make sure the message was clear. The Empress might kill them if they tried to flee, but entering the Rift offered no better fate. Several soldiers visibly swallowed. Others clutched their weapons until their knuckles turned white.

A few looked as if they were moments away from crumpling. The Empress stepped forward once more before panic could finish blooming.

"At least you stand a fighting chance against him!" Seth noticed a subtle shift ripple across the smoky features of the Spirit in the distance. The formless face twisted into something that looked remarkably close to a grimace. The entity clearly found the Empress' behavior pathetic. And honestly, Seth couldn't blame it. From what he knew, the woman stood at the absolute peak of the Platinum Tier.

Yet here she was, publicly executing her own soldiers and desperately trying to prop up their morale against a single Iron Wielder. This was nothing but weakness. True power wasn't about proving your dominance. It was about reaching a point where nobody questioned it in the first place. Marine and Elena began advancing toward the portal, leading the tightly packed formation of the academy squads behind them. Seth's gaze swept across the approaching students.

Every one of them wore immaculate Rare- or Epic-grade equipment. Enchanted weapons gleamed beneath the morning sun, and expensive armor covered nearly every inch of exposed flesh. The sons and daughters of powerful Noble Houses. The future 'elite' of Kastal. And yet none of them carried the usual haughtiness as they looked at Seth. He could even see a barely concealed relief across the face of a few of them.'

They understand we represent their best chance of walking out of that Rift alive,' Nightmare rumbled through Link. Seth gave a nod in agreement. Despite the change in attitude, the newfound respect didn't bring him any satisfaction. These nobles weren't treating him as an equal because they had suddenly gained wisdom or humility. They were doing it because their lives currently depended on him. The moment the danger passed, he had no doubt they would return to treating commoners as they always had.

Forcing people to behave decently because he was standing nearby wasn't a long-term solution. Across the neutral zone, a heavy shield crashed against a breastplate as an imperial soldier violently shoved one of his kin back into formation. The man had apparently been attempting to retreat. Elena moved up beside Seth, her ebony staff strapped across her back.

"What did the Empress want?" she asked.

"She made it pretty clear she knows about my origin," Seth answered, his eyes leaving the enemy ranks at last.

"I think she was hoping it would scare me." Marine, close enough to overhear the conversation, tilted her head slightly.

"And it doesn't?" Seth glanced at her.

"Do I look scared?" Marine studied him for a second.

"No." Then she shrugged.

"To be fair, lately you haven't looked like anything besides annoyed."

"That's because of you," Seth muttered. Elena shot him a look, brow furrowing in a silent plea that begged him to please stop the escalation. Seth let out a quiet sigh and turned his attention back toward the portal. The swirling energy within the gateway intensified and collapsed inward before expanding into a churning vortex of light. The Warfare Rift was ready. Elena advanced next to him.

"Let's go." Seth moved Nightmare into the teardrop necklace and stepped into the portal with her. At the last second, he looked over his shoulder at the Empress one last time. Hopefully, that roar will make her think twice before telling anyone from Draeria about me. The blinding radiance vanished, and Seth emerged with the others onto a vast, barren plain. A massive stone fortress dominated the landscape behind them, the towering walls and battlements cutting a silhouette against the sky.

Ahead stretched miles of open terrain broken only by scattered forests, isolated clusters of rocks, and a large river on the right. The two squads from the academy quickly spread into a combat formation, Warriors and Guardians moving to the front while the support classes settled into the rear. Seth casually adjusted the fit of his gauntlets. Unlike the others, he knew there was no risk of an immediate clash.

In all the Warfare Rifts he had entered so far, the Spirit had never placed opposing detachments close enough to engage right away. At least not in the twenty battles he had fought. He looked at Elena.

"I'll go first."

"Alone?" Elena asked, planting the butt of her ebony staff into the dirt. A frown crossed her face.

"Why? Let us come with you." Before Seth could answer, Marine waved a dismissive hand.

"Elena, our renowned Seth here has been winning these battles all by himself," she said.

"I don't think he's in need of our assistance." Seth rolled his eyes. Even now, she somehow found a way to take a jab at him.

"I don't do as well in large-scale battles."

"Then let me come with you," Elena insisted, her emerald eyes meeting his.

"I'm not here just to stand behind and wait." Before Seth could refuse, Colossus's voice echoed through Link: ' I can protect her while we fight.' Seth let out a slow breath. At least if Elena came with him, he could keep an eye on her.

"Fine. You can come." His gaze shifted to Marine.

"Do you already have a communication orb so you two can talk?" Marine shook her head.

"No, but I have a free twin." Then she reached into her Endless Pouch, pulled out a polished crystal orb, and held it out toward him. Seth stared at the sphere for a moment before taking it and handing it to Elena. Marine pouted, though the teasing sparkle in her eyes ruined any attempt at looking offended.

"I wanted you to keep it... for future uses."

"Too bad," Seth replied flatly. Beside him, Elena shot Marine a glance, her lips tightening ever so slightly. Something flickered across her face. Yet whatever it was, it vanished before Seth could make sense of it. Before anyone said anything else, Nightmare burst out of the teardrop necklace.

"Let's get moving," the direwolf said aloud with his aethereal voice. Seth blinked in surprise, but the direwolf took off toward a distant cluster of trees right away, forcing him and Elena to follow and leave the rest of the academy squads behind.

'Why come out now?' Seth asked through their bond.

'To save you,' Nightmare replied. Seth frowned. Yet he was unable to ask what the direwolf meant before Elena spoke from beside him, "Did the Empress truly only talk about your origins?"

"Yeah." Seth's gaze swept over the distant brush, tracking the movement of leaves with the breeze.

"She practically said people from Draeria would eventually come to kill me."

"And you really believe that?"

"Yeah, I do. That's exactly why I've spent so much effort hiding my eyes until now."

"Then why did you stop?" Elena asked.

"Why reveal them all of a sudden?" Seth ran a gauntleted hand along his belt.

"I ran out of the potions that altered their color," he admitted.

"And honestly... I reached a point where I didn't think it mattered anymore." He felt a grimace cross his face.

"Maybe not my smartest decision. But I'll deal with whatever comes from it." Elena stepped over a root.

"What will happen when they finally come for you?" Seth remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know for sure," he finally answered.

"But there's a good chance I'll have to leave Kastal."

"And if they find you before you can escape?"

"I trust Mar—" Seth caught himself and looked over at her.

"The friend of my father. The man you met in Oskon." Elena fell quiet. He could tell she did not cherish the memory of the encounter.

"He certainly seems like someone capable of protecting you." Her lips turned into a thin line.

"Do you think you'll have to leave before the Iron Phase of the war ends?"

"I don't know," Seth answered.

"But before that happens, I'm going to hurt the empire as much as I can." A shadow passed through Elena's expression.

"I guess we will soon be far away from each other."

"I'll figure out a way to come visit you from time to time." Elena held his gaze for a few seconds, then a genuine smile appeared on her lips.

"Marine would be jealous if she heard that." Seth let out a quiet huff.

"Oh, please don't." The smile on Elena's face broadened. He shook his head and focused back on the winding path between the trees as the two of them continued to follow Nightmare deeper into the forest.