Chapter 21

The chaos that unfolded in the orphanage had already subsided that the children’s bewilderment had practically become non-existent that same evening over a bowl of soup and delicious meat. As Esia was dining with the rest, she had a slight sour expression. Frianne noticed it and asked.

“Is that magician of whatnot still on your head?”

“Yeah.” Esia briefly replied. “I’m sure he would return and do something unnecessary.” She continued

Frianne had a slight jolt of fear when Esia’s expression changed for but a moment.

As the night grows colder and the children drowsier, they decided to head for bed. Everyone had been tucked and signs of their sleep had been confirmed by the three adults, so it was their turn to head for bed. Frianne and Aniem had gone further down the corridor where the earlier mana traces were and entered the room. Esia had climbed the stairs and also headed for bed.

The windows were frosted and nothing could be seen from the outside, nor could the people inside see the outside. Those who were watching the movements of the orphanage at a distance could not do anything. They packed their belongings and left that spot.

Only minutes later after they left, the room that they were spying on, Esia’s room, emitted a small light that could be discerned from the outside. And after a second, the light disappeared. Silence had befallen the orphanage yet again.

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“Gaman, I’ve finished deboning and cutting everything.” Teiyninya shouted from a distance away covered in blood. “Should I harvest the Evealoras?” She asked.

Altafaigaman, who was hauling something indescribable threw them into a pit with a grunt.

“Not yet.” He answered Teiyninya’s earlier inquiry. “Lady Eiulj will be arriving shortly. We should wait for her commands regarding the Eveloras.”

“Alright. I’ll start handing the medicines out then.”

Gaman agreed and replied with a short nod and an mm-hmm.

Moments later, the whole dungeon had gone silent. Those who were screaming from other cells had closed their mouths and even those who were screaming in pain were overcome with something that was even greater than what they were experiencing now.

“It looks like Lady Eiulj had arrived.” Altafaigaman spoke to himself and left the room to greet her.

He entered a series of rooms and finally ended up in the familiar room with a single strong light at the centre coming from the ceiling and tables under that light.

“My Lady, I’ve come to report.” Altafaigaman kneeled and bowed as he was about to declare.

“Just stand. I no longer work for Her Majesty. Heck, we are considered equals so why bother with all the formalities? I’ve told you many times to address me as such.” Eiulj declared, slightly irritated.

“Sorry, my Lady. It’s become a habit.” Altafaigaman stood up and apologised.

With a sigh from Eiulj, she urged Altafaigaman to continue with his report.

“The bodies with no longer any use or value had been fed to the saivaks and Teiyninya had completed the preparation for the next shipment of goods. She is administering medicines to those who are left.

“Alright. After she finished, call her immediately.” Eiulj turned towards the table once more. “We need to hurry with preparation. There’s a high chance we need to abandon this place.”

Altafaigaman was in shock. The dungeon she had spent years building considering her poor mana level.

It was possible to make a room or even a building with magic but it would depend on the amount of mana of the caster and how the structure was layered and hidden. Eiulj had a low level of mana, thus creating things using magic and even forming the internal layout of the dungeon took a tremendous amount of time and effort. And it being designed as a separate world attached through the real world with a myriad of spells to keep it hidden made it even more cumbersome for her.

It was possible to compress the world and make it more mobile, but again it would take a huge amount of time and mana. The amount depends on the content of that space. It’s like carrying a bag filled with items. The less items in it, the less effort and time to prepare and vice versa. In the case a space was demolished while there are contents in it, they would be sent to the void which is an empty space with no substance. It would feel like falling in an endless pit without even feeling air or heat in there, essentially being close to death.

Seeing as to how they might be discovered with all the watchers and even a magician who seemed to be skilled at detection, Eiulj had commanded the other two demons to empty out other rooms so she could remove them.

“Start transporting the Evealoras out of the dungeon. Theres a carriage northeast of the wall entrance. Dramda should be waiting for both of you.” Eiulj had now given them a new set of instructions to follow.

“Lady Eiulj, what about your other research materials in the other rooms.” Teiyninya asked.

“Not all that important. The Evealoras are the priority here. Now move. And only move at the dead of night, preferably when it’s snowing. And don’t be caught or I will kill you before even entering here.”

As Eiulj said her last statement, the two gulped deeply, thinking she would really kill them before even reaching the entrance. So, they had left the room and started carrying bodies with the Evealoras growing out of them.

“Well then, Veyrr.” She ecstatically looked upon Veyrr’s body filled with cuts and stitches everywhere. “It’s time for my lovely assistant to help me in collecting data.”

“y....” There was a faint sound coming out of his mouth. Esia leaned in to get a better hear of what he’s saying and asked to repeat it. “... Why... Mother Esia... are you doing this...?”

His body still had some meat and fat in it, no signs of malnourishment. But his eyes were slightly opened and black and tired, his lips were slightly dried, and his body could not move even if he tried. Eiulj grabbed a nearby chair and leaned closer to Veyrr’s ear.

“You see, Veyrr, I am not your Mother Esia. I have never been. I borrowed her body.”

“But why... do you hurt me... I thought you... will protect the... orphanage... the children...”

Eiulj was slightly surprised by what Veyrr had said. It sounded as if he was a mature adult rather than his usual child-like words and sentences. But even so, Eiulj replied back with a more serious tone.

“Yes. I am protecting the orphanage, even now. I protect the children, Frianne, and maybe even Aniem.”

But... I, too... am your child, right?”

“You were my child. Now, you are my assistant. Your race are people who holds their promises, who would even feel a great amount of guilt by the lightest of promises bring broken. But you did not grow up in that kind of environment. Sooner or later, you would tell people about the entrance you saw. How you saw me enter. So, that was the time I, Esia, decided to hand over the custody to someone else. And here you are, not as a child of the orphanage, but as my dear assistant. Do you understand so far?”

It might be too much information for a young child like him, but it caught Eiulj by surprise once again as he agreed to her question.

“Moving on then. You want to know why I do all these? I say it’s for a better future. The medicines I make and distribute, the infrastructure designs I implement, and even the plants and animals I introduce in certain environments are things that I have done for these few millennia to make a better future. The imparting of knowledge is what I do essentially.”

Eiulj had gotten up from her seat and continued speaking.

“Like your hand here that was cut, buried, frozen, and even festered had joined your arm once more. Although it took some time cleaning it, but now it looks as if it was never even cut. Well, that’s enough of that. I’m running out of time.”

Eiulj poured a bottle of her medicine over Veyrr’s wounds and it immediately sealed up. The places where some of his fat had been exposed had been sealed. Veyrr, who had a once expressionless face, writhed in agony, shouting from the pain he felt upon the liquid touching his wounds.

“I had experimented on adult Foiyrams before but rarely for children, even more so for devils. Although I don’t receive as much data as compared to back then, these are better than anything. And what intrigues me most is your horn. I could play back a certain time in the past for some time and even dispel any spells that has been cast.”

As Eiulj voiced her thoughts audibly, she reminisced of when Veyrr’s horn glowed a bright light and dispelled the spells around the area, and that included Eiulj’s human disguise. She had two large horns coming from her head, and behind those horns were other horns, and another one. It looked like it was stacked on one another while stretching backwards. Hexagonal scales were revealed on some of her skin like her cheek, neck, and some parts of her forearm. There were no wings coming out of her back but there was a tail that dropped behind and tore some parts of her clothes. Her hair was dark grey in colour with light violet eyes and fangs when she gaped with surprise. And when Eiulj touched the horn out of curiosity, images of her earlier actions flashed through her head for a brief moment.

Now, Eiulj was using her experiments on Veyrr, trying to obtain as much data as possible before things would escalate to the point where she can’t even enter the dungeon. As she watched Veyrr writhe in pain, she was thinking of her next possible moves to avoid or even kill the magician.