CH13.1

The vampire countess was a work of art; her skin was so flawless it felt forbidden to touch; she dressed in armor that matched her red eyes, and the way her lips pouted upon seeing me tormented my self-control. Her son dick looked between us with an air of suspicion I could cut with an energy blade, and the man next to her with the pencil mustache took a defensive step to intercept me. Guards grasped their weapons in front and behind me.

All of them were strong enough to pose an actual threat, and an army was a nightmare, honestly, if they hadn’t attacked my home.

Sages, I wanted to smile in sheer catharsis at being able to know that word, unlike my original. Clone privilege was real, or maybe it was AU privilege. Either way, I would hold it close to my heart and never let it go. Dropping my façade wasn’t happening in a room full of predators. I had to keep my face nice and placid.

My home was well protected with innumerable defenses field tested by generations against all forms of mutants, mages, and my world’s version of vampires. If I thought these vampires were a threat to my defenses, I would have left when they discovered my farm and firebombed the area.

While my redundant systems had been tested, my patches handled the remaining batgirl swarm with impressive grace. The army will be no different. Even if their magicians attack with all their might and skill, my defenses will warn me, and I will adjust long before they crack my fence.

So why leave my home the center of my power. I wanted to rub their noses in it. Under the balance accords and the grace period, they couldn’t do a thing to me. Once I returned, I had all the blood I could need to work with the further fortify my location.

I wanted to laugh at them and show that no matter what they did, I had won.

My other reasons were far more logical. I lacked information, and this gave me the opportunity to spy on the other side and mark important targets. Dick, for one, was a target I would take out in the beginning; he looked dangerous, and I could feel the energy radiating off of him like a boiling sea of blood ready to spit typhoons and tidal waves. The woman who must be the leader and Dick’s mother felt like the depths of an ocean filled with hungry predators and an environment even I couldn’t survive within. The man beside her wasn’t like either of them; he didn’t practice blood magic; no, from him, I felt a howling wind tunnel. By far, the fallen hero was the most dangerous player.

“It seems Zena will not be attending this meeting.” A messenger vampire whispered too low for normal humans to hear.

Did they think I couldn’t hear them? The other humans in the room hadn’t reacted.

“Welcome, Atom hero of the angels and defeater of Maeve. My name is Elizabeth. I am a countess of the northern lands of this great queendom.” Elizabeth said.

No family name, laying on whatever titles they could scrounge together for me, and hyping up the state if only a little. I was going to love this meeting.

I didn’t really understand the protocol, but Dick bowed to one knee while I stood.

This place kept human slaves like military rations, and the only men here were a half-breed and the father of the half-breed. The bloody womb the half-breed came from was in charge, and I could feel the pitch to join the winning side coming.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect when you waved that flag around my border. I half anticipated a trap and prepared myself to turn this place into a burning crater. This feels like a nice setting if not for your fallen hero thrall.” I said.

“How dare you throw such a crude accusation at my mother? She would never make her lover a thrall, a mere entity to draw blood from. If we weren’t under a flag of peace, I would,” A hand sign from the vampire countess shot the man up.

“You’ve had your reaction. Will you treat this outstretched hand with the respect it deserves, or will you continue to spit on it,” Elizabeth said.

I might need some lube before she tries to fuck me in the ass.

“I’m a simple man with simple tastes. When I see something I want, I take it; when I see a group that pisses me off, I let it be known.” If she didn’t like spit on her outstretched hand, how about horse shit. All of this was doing them a favor by giving them a chance to woo me onto their side. I wanted to see their ass-kissing skills it seems I was mistaken. No, they expected me to lube up their asses before they fucked me. “The town was in danger of reprisal because Gray decided to attack your chimera, and as his friend, I backed him up. I had no choice other than to attack; otherwise, you would have butchered the town. Instead, it seems you’ve taken the citizens to act as field rations.” I said.

“Do you expect us to starve while we wait you out? The grace period will end, and then all of the world will come done on you.” Elizabeth said.

That was a threat, but not necessarily from her, and already, it was worth this song and dance. I could turn my back and be satisfied. Liquid energy based upon my own signature was uniquely qualified to assist in my training. Breaking the 1000PL limit will be possible. I could even go higher and possibly take them out a few days before my grace period ends.

If I was going to win, I needed to dip into technology that was rather ghoulish. I was going to take those corpses and install a servant artifact in their heads. I needed numbers, and this army was happy to throw them at me. My fence remained entirely stable, but numbers were needed to complete tasks, and running off my personal energy would only make them easier to control. After all, I was the only sage in this world.

With a little metal and blood magic, I could fabricate long iron barrels that would make entire canvases to write my seals. Two months was not a lot of time, but who said I couldn’t make use of the resources I had to make any invading armies quickly change their mind.

…

The mind of an irregular was a truly strange thing. Elizabeth was certain in her presence that a normal hero would bend or break. Still, Atom seemed completely unbothered by her monstrous aura. He watched her like a queen might watch a passing youngling. He tried to hide it, but she caught glimpses of how his mind worked by his micro-expressions. She hadn’t frightened him; he merely altered his plans and fully believed they would see him through this storm.

Atom believed that two near queen class monsters, both of their armies, partners, and children, would be no match to his plans after a measly two months or possibly less. This was her true intention; she wanted to know if he would try to flee, jump ship, or, worst of all, happily bunker down and weather the storm. Irregulars were given the title because the natural flow of the world and even the laws of balance didn’t apply to them.

“I was glad we had this talk. I needed to see what I was dealing with to really put things into perspective. Don’t bother escorting me out. I know the way; see you in 60 days.” Atom said.

“Wait, boy, I don’t like how you looked at my wife.” Her brave Jack threw a glove at the hero. It hit the man’s chest and burst into flames before falling to the ground in a pile of ash. That was made from minotaur leather. It should be able to hold up to magic from a tier II hero. “I challenge you for the honor of my wife,” Jack said.

She felt whispers from the dark and looked on as ghastly shadows rose and fell from Atom’s ink-black arms. White veins bulged obscenely under torchlight. Someone had cursed an irregular, and he hadn’t gotten it looked at by a priest.

“You should go and get that looked at by a priestess. I’ll send one over as a part of our truce. Such darkness can often alter our decisions.” Elizabeth said.

“I’m not cocky enough to fight a fallen hero of your strength right now. Just wait, and I’ll surpass you probably in a few days. It’s been a while since I had a goal to work toward. This is going to be fun. As for the priestess, sure, go ahead, I’ll let her in.” Atom said.

She noticed right away that he didn’t promise to let her out. Vampires with any form of light magic were rare. Still, she was prepared to let it go to keep an irregular from going completely crazy. The longer the darkness sits, the more likely there was to be permanent damage. Was all this attitude the darkness? Yes, late-stage darkness infection was especially bad on humans and could cause them to act completely insane. It was the natural light within them rising to challenge the darkness, causing them to act like human teens going through puberty. She remembered Richard’s puberty and looked at the hero with a small amount of pity.