Lethia’s Hatred
Not far from the mine where Aurora and Malik were, there existed a range of mountains. The mountains were covered with forests, all but the one that was in the center of the mountain range.
It was as if the mountain in the center had suffered a disastrous battle that left it barren and unable to sprout the dark plants from the ground. It had no forest, but it did have something else unlike the others Instead, the mountain was covered in a thick layer of darkness.
The temperature around the mountain was abnormal, quite different from the temperature of the other mountains. The mountain was even colder, so cold to the point where if an ordinary human were to even come close to it, they would die without knowing who or what killed them!
Many demonic beasts were roaming freely around the forests on the mountains as if it were their own domain, and they were the sole rulers of this domain.
However, on the top of the central mountain, there existed a beautiful city covering the entire mountain peak. The beautiful city was one of the most well-known cities in the lower lands... The mountain was known as the darkest peak, and the city at the peak of the mountain was the capital city of the vampire kingdom, Zaciki.
It was said that it was impossible to get to the capital on foot or through normal means. If they wanted to get there, they had to fly to Zaciki. However, even that was difficult. The darkness that shrouded the entire mountain and the cold that endlessly laid waste to it were some of the most difficult challenges to overcome in reaching the peak.
Not only would one have to overcome the cold and darkness of the mountain, they would have to deal with the vampires inside the Zaciki as well. If the vampires wanted, they could kill anyone in the air, as even the most powerful being in the air was at their weakest.
At the moment, an undead phoenix was flying above the forest mountain range, carrying a beautiful woman.
Even though the woman was flying high up, she didn't once show emotion of discomfort at such a high altitude. Instead, she looked calm, as if the cold and decreasing temperature didn't bother her.
The flying undead phoenix reached the central mountain and started descending. The beast landed on the ground right outside the city.
A group of vampire maidens and noble vampires were already waiting for the woman to arrive.
"Princess Lethia. You're as beautiful as always!" A noble vampire greeted the woman, trying to conceal the emotions he truly felt.
"And you're the same. A man who can't help but reveal himself like an open book. Can't you at least show some decency before me? It seems that all the noble vampires are all the same: lustful playboys who are incapable of keeping their things in check!" Lethia scoffed as she stepped down from the Phoenix.
"You flatter me. Princess." His smile didn't leave his face, keeping the impression that he didn't consider that an insult. However, that was only a facade. He felt rage rise inside of him, but he wasn't like Malik; he could keep his emotions in check unlike him. "I appreciate the compliment. Your so kind, Princess."
"Enough wasting time…" Lethia canceled her summon, and the undead Phoenix disappeared into thin air, returning to the realm of undead summons. "Since you're here to welcome me, I assume Father already knows of my arrival. I would like you to set up a meeting with him. Have it done as soon as possible."
"Yes, Princess. I'll do it right away." A vampire maid bowed and left—she left to inform the king of the princess's orders. After she left, the princess ignored the nobles and returned to her estate, not far from the central castle that towered over the city.
****
Five hours... Five hours have passed since Aurora released Malik from the zombie collar. During this time, she used it to improve her strength, which was helpful for defeating Lethia. For now, she only wanted to increase her strength as much as possible while avoiding using the entire army of undead since she needed as much as she could get.
Even though Malik was an advanced-tier vampire, she, on the other hand, was only a lesser-tier zombie. She was the weakest tier of zombies, just below the basic tier but not quite. She couldn't even fight Malik and possibly win, let alone fight Lethia, who was leagues above him. She needed something to fall back on in case of emergencies, and she could only rely on her own strength.
She brought dozens of zombies who held the most dark energy but weren't needed and laid them before her. She wasn't restricted by her devour ability and could devour dark energy from more than one zombie at the same time.
She closed her eyes and shattered several of the dark cores inside the chests of the zombies all at once. She started absorbing the energy from each zombie that poured out of their core.
Despite having a stronger core, the dark cores were absorbed in seconds before running out of energy. However, Aurora's magical strength grew at a pace unlike anything she had seen before.
She kept shattering more and more dark cores whenever the old ones ran out, not stopping even for a second.
****
Back in the city of Zaciki, Lethia was being led by two maids through the hallways of the grand and beautiful castle in the center of the city. Her father had once exiled her from the castle for her unruly nature, as a way to show that even his own daughter wasn't exempt from being punished.
Not only was she exiled, but she couldn't enter the castle without the consent of her father or an escort of maids that could stop trouble from starting. The princess might have been strong, but she wasn't the strongest; these maids were a prime example of that!
Though they were stronger than her, they still swore allegiance to personally serve the king. Every order given would be completed by them to the best of their ability. They could be considered combat maids.
As she was escorted through the castle, there were no words spoken between one another, leaving the castle in silence.
It wasn't long before they arrived outside the dark stone doors of the throne room, and the maids turned around, no emotion on their faces.
"The king has asked you to enter alone. We will be here, waiting for your return." The two maids opened the heavy stone doors.
Inside, a young man was seated on a beautiful throne, holding a glass of blood. A grin was spread across the lips of the young man, who looked to be in his late twenties.
The man had short silver hair and deep red eyes that could entrance the souls of thousands all at once.
"My daughter, Lethia." Kazimir finally looked at his daughter. "It appears you have been well."
"If you can even call it that." Lethia scoffed with no disregard for insulting her father. She didn't care enough to show respect to her father. She would rather not see him if that was possible.
"You never change." Kazimir shook his head as his grin disappeared, replaced by seriousness and coldness. "Now, where is Malik? Didn't I personally request that he go and see the progress you have made? Weren't you supposed to return in five days? Why are you here, and what did you do with him?"
"Malik... you seem to care about him a lot. In fact, it seems you care about him more than your own blood-related daughter, isn't that true?" Lethia responded as irritation and hatred flashed across her face for the first time. Her father was the only person she hated and couldn't stand the sight of.
She was only here and agreeing to listen to him because they both wanted the same thing—to conquer the highlands and take rule over the entire world. If it weren't for that, she would have left this mountain range a long time ago.
She regained her coldness, sighing, "To answer your question, I left him where he truly belongs, inside a mine as a pet. He tried to attack me, so I naturally punished him—a punishment fitting of his status, don't you think? Since he's no longer a noble but a measly pet, I decided to take his place and report my progress. Are you going to exile me from the kingdom for something as simple as punishing him?"
"I see... punishing you? Do think I would stoop so low as to punish you for punishing a sinful noble?" Kazimir asked. Instead of the furious response Lethia expected, she received a calm and collected one. It was as if her insults were nothing in his eyes. As if his composure could never be broken.
"Now that the casual chat is over, let's discuss your progress." He smiled. "You two may leave now."
The two maids who led Lethia bowed and left, closing the doors to the throne room behind them. Once they left, Lethia and Kazimir began their discussion over the progress Lethua had made towards their aim of conquering the highlands.