[TWS] Chapter 295 – Resurgence of the Old Masters

Asterios woke up with quite some weight pressing onto his entire body. He soon realized that the reason behind that was the chaotic tangle of limbs and bodies sprawled all around him. But, it turned out that he wasn’t the first to greet the morning as opening his eyes revealed two ladies lying together side by side while chatting in hushed whispers. A soft chuckle or giggle occasionally escaped their lips.

Casually sliding Grea’s bare ass off his chest to the right, miraculously not waking the raunchy demon woman up as she tumbled onto Miria and Selene with an unamused grunt, he rolled onto his left side and scooted closer to Tina. The petite Summoner girl gasped adorably as he embraced her from behind with his hands tenderly gliding over her soft belly after he became her big spoon.

“Good morning.” He kissed Tina’s hair dearly. “What are you two discussing so eagerly right from the morning?”

She nuzzled more into his touch and chest, releasing a satisfied sigh. He could spot a tinge of rosiness starting to bloom on her pretty cheeks, and the gentle, suggestive smile Silvia directed at them from the front was more than enough of an indication of the topic of their conversation.

“Nothing much,” Tina replied quietly. “Just how unbelievable our situation is.”

“Oh? Anything in particular?” Asterios asked, extending a hand to Silvia so she could bring herself closer to Tina and let him wrap his arms around them both.

“Just… I would have never imagined myself being this close with our princess… Not to mention sharing the same lover…” Tina admitted a tad shyly. “But… It’s kind of nice… Last night was nice…”

“I really enjoyed cooperating with you too, Tina,” the princess in question replied while resting their foreheads together. “I think we share a connection, and I don’t mean the one that binds us all together.”

Asterios chuckled and pecked Tina’s cheek. “Even I can tell that the two of you hit off just right. Almost if not equally as much as Miria and Selene do. And you have no idea how incredible you look together. At times, I have trouble determining which one of you is the real princess.”

She squirmed in his embrace while Silvia followed with her own, gentle chuckle.

“Tina’s been taught well. With a slight change of her hair color and some small facial adjustments, I’m sure she would be able to easily substitute me.” The princess grazed Tina’s cheek, then trailed her fingers down. “Although, these might pose an issue.”

“Ah! Silvia!” Tina hummed softly, pressing her lips shut as Siliva’s palms caressed her ample chest.

“For someone quite a bit shorter than me, you really have been blessed with an alluring figure,” Silvia commented with a smile, tenderly stroking Tina’s breasts.

“I agree.” Asterios parted the curtain of Tina’s sapphire hair and began placing fluffy kisses on the nape of her neck as his hands grazed all over her delicate tummy, teasingly inching down low, but just not far enough. “It’s a real shock you didn’t have a boyfriend during our time in the academy. You must have been swarmed with good-looking and smart guys.”

“I… Mmmm… Had eyes only for you…” she breathed out heavily.

“And I was clearly blind,” he added.

“Stop it… You two… Mmmm…” Tina whined.

Asterios met Silvia’s gaze and they chuckled together before letting the squirming girl go. He rolled onto his back and pulled Tina on his chest so that she rested on it with her front. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments as she caught her breath, and they both leaned forward to meet in the middle with a loving kiss. Silvia cuddled into Ast’s side and watched them with a warm smile, draping her arm over Tina’s waist and intertwining her fingers with his.

“I’m still angry.” Tina pouted after they finally parted, but then laughed as he pecked her nose.

“So… Do you still have eyes only for me… Or…?” Asterios raised a brow at her and turned his head to the left, meeting Silvia’s face.

The two exchanged a few affectionate kisses too while it was Tina’s turn to watch them.

“Well… I won’t lie… I do think I find Silvia pleasing…” she admitted with a small chuckle. “Does that… bother you?”

“Wasn’t last night enough of an answer?” He smirked at her, causing Tina’s cheeks to flush even more. “I’m happy to hear that you are getting along and it’s not just because of me.”

“But it’s still mainly because of you,” Tina interjected.

“Yes, even if it’s majorly that, I’m glad that’s not all,” Asterios continued. “While I see how there’s a cordial connection between you all, you can tell that there’s a link between Miria and Selene too. Grea is Grea and she’s horny for all of you all the time. As for Bryn, she’s still trying to find her place in this. It wasn’t long since we convinced her that she is truly beautiful.”

“There might be something to that. Especially regarding Grea,” Silvia said and made Tina chuckle. “I enjoy spending my intimate time with everyone here, but I feel most comfortable with Tina. And you, of course. Might be due to our backgrounds being so similar.”

“Maybe.” Tina smiled at her beautifully. “It should be true with Miria and Selene too. For Grea and Bryn, I think you might need to work twice as hard, Ast.”

He sighed ostentatiously, evoking some more laughs from the two noble ladies. “They seem to be warming up to each oth—ugh…”

A soft groan interrupted him and he closed his eyes. The girls frowned at each other and Tina glanced over her shoulder, finding the top of a certain red-skinned head decorated with a black horn popping up and down behind her butt.

“Hey! We’ve been in the middle of something!” she complained.

“Mwwhhhmmm… Mmmgghmm… Mmmm…” sounded in response.

“What was that?” Silvia snickered softly.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” Tina admonished the demon lady, pressed her thighs together, locking Grea’s head between them, and pushed them down, evoking another groan from Asterios. “And stay there until you finish!”

As she said, they stayed like that until Grea was done with her breakfast, coming up for air with a wide, salacious grin on her delicious lips. By that point, everyone had woken up too and they headed for the baths to take a quick dip together.

The girls cared for each other while Asterios cared for them and their time bathing was appropriately short. With Grea somewhat sated, she wasn’t up to any more mischief. Bryn’s feathers had ended up a little bit tangled after their very active night, but everyone helped brush them straight and return them to their former glory. Not without their Valkyrie friend shivering and sighing in bliss for quite a while.

After dressing up in their usual clothes, they shared a light breakfast in one of the open-air restaurants recommended by Selene and moved back to Ast’s realm. Ending up inside Glimmervale’s castle, they departed for the Garden of Sinners right away. Asterios took Tina into his shadow while Umbra transported Miria and Selene. They were curious about the speed between the two and decided to compare it with that little exercise.

Obviously, Umbra arrived at their destination first, but Asterios wasn’t that far off. He joined the beastfolk ladies with Tina after about thirty seconds. The Lord of Shadows commended him for his results, explaining that for someone barely learning about that movement technique, he was doing rather great. That black Dragon’s Heart was clearly pulling its own weight.

They headed straight for the descent into the underground part of the elven capital, entering the magical undergrowth. Spending just a moment between the mesmerizing, earthen streets, they soon reached Imadil’s smithy. Judging by the occasional noise and some interesting fumes escaping into the air from the massive, home-sized tree stump, the family of Spellsongs was hard at work.

The door opened easily and Asterios led everyone in. Bryn spotted the father and daughter duo in the far corner of the production hall, standing together by an island counter and clearly working on or examining something not too big. The group’s approach was noticed and the elves turned around, welcoming Asterios and the girls with wide smiles.

“Finally! I was pretty sure you were going to come back yesterday with how incredible the news Tina delivered was!” Imadil chuckled as his daughter crossed her arms over her chest with a smirk.

“We… got caught up in something.” Asterios smiled wryly as Miria and Tina giggled quietly.

“There was a celebration that would have been rude for Asterios to skip on,” Silvia added.

“Ah, understandable. You must have been quite tired after all the festivities.” Imadil nodded knowingly.

“Oh yeah, it was so damn tiring I could barely walk without tripping in the morning.” Grea snickered, evoking more giggles and chuckles from the girls.

Even Cynthia laughed a bit with them, directing a raised brow at Asterios. She might have caught on, but her father was clearly still oblivious.

“I always disliked those court galas where you had to dance your legs off. Part of the reason we disconnected ourselves from all of this.” He shook his head, the ladies barely holding in their laughter. “So, now that you are here, I assume you do have something for us?”

Asterios nodded but gestured with his brows at the counter behind the man. “And what have you been working on before we interrupted you if it’s alright to ask?”

“Tina briefly explained how your blood and spiritual energy can transform tin into that metal that was used in Miria’s blades, and that got us thinking,” Cynthia answered. “We’ve been tinkering with a few ores that have been deemed inefficient, weak, or even utter garbage in the past. If this is what tin turns into, then imagine the possibilities.”

“That’s exactly what’s been on my mind the entire time since we saw the transformation.” Grea snapped her fingers at the elf girl.

“We all know that’s not true,” the princess commented with a tiny smirk.

Grea rolled her eyes while Silvia and Tina hit a sneaky low-five.

“You prepared many more ores for Master to bleed on, then?” Miria asked with a slight tilt of her head.

“And lots of tin, of course,” Imadil confirmed. “We’ll be able to do so much more than just your weapons with a decent stock of this amazing Dragonsteel.”

“You should have brought a small batch first for us to confirm if this works here too,” Asterios commented.

“Asterios recruited the Lizardkin to be our general weapon suppliers with their Dragonsteel so you don’t need to mass-produce them for us,” Tina added.

“Mass-produce?” Cynthia glanced at her curiously.

“Just preparing for the future.” Asterios shrugged.

“Master is going to build a powerful army under him!” Miria beamed at them while jumping up and down.

“An army?” Imadil chuckled.

“That’s an exaggeration.” Asterios smiled at him. “But we do plan on equipping our allies with decent gear. You two have seen yourselves what kind of enemies I tend to run into.”

“Yes, Glimmervale’s protectors would certainly have had a much easier time defending it against thousands of monsters with blades of this quality. And with armor just as good, they could perhaps even have stood a chance against the giant dog monster,” Cynthia agreed.

“Well, we’ll focus on the more personalized projects, then.” Imadil patted her on the shoulder. “It’s always been our specialty.”

“Does that mean you will work with us further than until the weapons for the girls are ready?” Asterios asked. “What would that cost?”

“You are helping our queen, and thus our entire kind. It would be improper for us to demand anything from you at this point. Especially since you will be delivering the most crucial ingredients,” Imadil replied with a polite nod. “But, if you guys didn’t mind, we could ask for permission to share some of the designs and results with our people. After discussing each case, of course.”

Asterios exchanged a few glances with the girls and nodded back at him. “We don’t mind. I’m sure we would need to come up with some kind of a story as the weapons made for our allies end up seen and noticed, so with that we can use your skills, expertise, and fame as a cover.”

“No problem,” the man replied. “You can use our name as much as you want. We decided to come back so it’s a decently good time.”

“Yes. If we resurface with something entirely new, the effect will be even more strengthened,” Cynthia agreed with an excited smile. “When do we start?”

“I think it should be wise to begin with checking if the ore still transforms in this realm and work on the already changed one while it soaks in Asterios’ blood,” Bryn suggested. “He will need time to recover the loss even if we supply him with magic and sustenance.”

“Looks like we’ll be feeding our little pet lizard quite extensively in the upcoming days.” Grea grinned at him impishly. “Try not to get a pot belly, would you? Though, bouncing on it could be fun. It would be perfect to arch your back over.”

Tina elbowed her and caused the demon lady to stumble with a chortling groan.

“Where should we do it? It’s kind of busy here.” Asterios looked around the multiple workstations and equipment.

Imadil snapped his fingers and the girls gasped as all the devices, counters, machines, and other things lifted up into the air by an inch or two. Everything zoomed to the sides with a gentle sway and landed back on the ground. The middle of the workshop was now cleared and the ceiling was very high due to the building being shaped like a tree trunk.

Asterios wasted no time and morphed into his True Dragon form. Cynthia quickly brought a wide, ceramic dish with plenty of different ores stacked together. Grea commended their idea and the women held it close to his body as Miria, Selene, and Bryn did their usual thing. In just a moment, the chunks were sitting in a decent pool of draconic blood and the bowl was transported into a corner, not forgetting about Ast’s scale to serve as a spiritual energy source.

Then, they emptied Ast’s and Silvia’s rings out of the Dragonsteel Ore, passing the mineral onto the elf duo. Imadil and Cynthia were already fascinated by the chunk, clearly feeling the potential in them. Ast’s group watched the pair turn on and heat up massive, runic forges and kilns, carefully placing different amounts of metal inside. Only one of them was set up according to the instructions given by the Lizardkin blacksmith. The rest was definitely an experiment.

While the metal was being smelted, Imadil and Cynthia invited Ast’s girls to a more comfortable spot, serving everyone a good deal of chilled drinks and delicious food. Miria was curious which one of them had made it, but the man explained that they received regular deliveries from the royal kitchens not to waste their precious time working in the forge.

During the meal, the father and daughter duo conversed with each person individually. Rather than make it quicker and conduct an interview with two people, one with Imadil and one with Cynthia, they both talked with the same conversation partner. That allowed them to bounce ideas and thoughts off each other to achieve the perfect result that satisfied both elves. And it was very entertaining to watch the smiths in their animated trance-like little world.

Therefore, the girls experienced the mind scanning that Asterios had during his first meeting with the skilled pair, after Imadil and Cynthia swore not to reveal any of their private information and secrets to the others. Thankfully, no one triggered a troublesome reaction like Asterios had, and that whole part went by almost effortlessly.

Even after using their mind-reading artifact, Imadil and Cynthia continued to interview the girls. The question pool was extremely deep and personalized to each of them. Whatever the duo had seen allowed them to easily approach just the perfectly necessary subjects. Some might have been a bit strange and confusing, but no one had any doubts about everything they talked about being somewhat useful to the masters of the craft.

Each conversation took time, but no one minded it. Everyone was excited, including Asterios. They would be getting personalized weapons on an equal level as Ast’s Spellslinger from a pair of famous Spellsongs. The expectations were high, but the elves further fanned the flames of enthusiasm with their comments, monologue, and promises. It was hard not to get in the mood and be swept in their emotions.

Out of respect for the creator of her blades, and the fact that they were an heirloom of not just her family but the blacksmith’s too, the panthergirl decided not to alter her current weapons, and instead also receive a new set of swords. Or perhaps something else.

None of the girls really knew what they would be getting. The duo’s chatter kept constantly changing and they confirmed nothing. Only one thing was certain. The weapons would be perfectly suited for their new owners. There could be surprises, even though Imadil and Cynthia assured them that there was a high chance they would end up getting what they already are comfortable with.

Soon, hours had passed and the father and daughter duo started showing signs of exhaustion. They retreated to rest while continuing to bicker amongst themselves about the weapons and their craft. Asterios and the girls doubted that the pair would be getting much sleep in the upcoming nights. They were obviously going to be perfecting their ideas even in bed.

Not wanting to disturb their hosts or intrude on the magical smithy, Ast’s party returned to the surface and headed into the white palace. They wanted to check if they could get an audience with the queen, but the sentries brought them straight to one of Civienne’s meeting chambers, with the woman already waiting for them.

“Greetings, Your Majesty,” Asterios greeted the queen respectfully and they all made polite bows.

“You may forgo these pleasantries.” She waved her hand at them. “We are not in a public setting and it’s pointless to waste our time on those unnecessary phrases and gestures. We have a much more important matter to focus on.”

“How is the development of the cure going?” Grea asked, suspecting that the queen didn’t really mean the poison cult.

“Slow. Too slow.” Civienne shook her head with a heavy sigh, confirming that suspicion. “Even with everything Welrond provided us, all his samples and data, we are still unable to undo this chaotic mix of toxic substances. It’s extremely more difficult than solving just a single iteration of the cult’s poisons.”

“We will find a way,” Asterios assured her. “One way or another.”

“Yes! Master promised to heal your friend and he never breaks his word!” Miria hugged his arm and stared confidently at the queen.

“Our best bet would be to pin down the location of the cult’s main lab or headquarters and use all of their resources to further supplement the work of your experts, Your Majesty,” Silvia shared her thoughts.

“I believe you are right, and I spoke with Althea about the theory you came up with together yesterday, but we are making just as much progress with our pursuit as with the cure,” Civienne replied with a stone-cold face. “The investigation is moving, but it’s nothing praiseworthy. At least we don’t think they suspect anything yet. We’ve seen no movements proving that.”

“Then we can only wait,” Bryn chimed in. “We shouldn’t rush things. We will end up making a mistake and those can be damaging. Especially if that theory is true.”

“To think that True Dragons could be involved in this. And noctis working for them. Though, that could explain their insane decision in the past. We always wondered why their ancestors did what they did, and we might have finally found the answer,” the queen mused.

“Now that the Spellsongs have received our materials and are focusing on their craft, we’ll focus again on aiding the investigation however we can,” Grea replied, setting her fists on her hips.

“I appreciate this. Your shadowy friend has been a huge help in identifying moles and rats amidst our ranks. We haven’t yet done much to them so as not to trigger any alarms among their superiors, but there will be a time when we strike all of them down and extract as much information as we can.” Civienne skipped her head at Asterios. “For now, we gather as much as we can from observing their movements and interactions.”

“Definitely a good choice,” Selene agreed. “Meanwhile, we could also start building our forces, right, my Lord?”

Asterios chuckled wryly. “I guess we could.”