46 Racing Toward the Academy (1/2)
Although Kilian spotted some faint similarities in the two's characters, never could he expect that Urag actually was Jezebel's father. In retrospect, Lena's heart teemed with envy. With a direct relative already settled in Kilian's mind, Jezebel now boasted an unquestionable advantage. In the race for the master's heart, how could she outpace her?
But as the information swirled in his mind, Kilian's eyebrows rose in confusion.
”Not right. He is not strong enough,” Kilian reasoned. Although Urag crowned himself Lord, Kilian believed that if a Fehl Lord he truly was, among them, he'd undoubtedly rank at the bottom. Otherwise, even with Ashera's support, his soul wouldn't be able to endure him.
How could he possibly sire one as powerful as Jezebel? With her powers and that dreadful blood potency, at the very least, she'd rank high among Fehl Lords. Perhaps her true strength already stood at the Fehl Prince altitude. With the way Fehl reproduction worked, for a 200 years old Fehl to have such strength and potential wouldn't be possible without two flawless parents.
Expecting Kilian's reaction, Jezebel flashed a smile and replied.
”My birth process is different from other fehls. In a form of genetic engineering, my mother removed all the lesser characteristics I should have inherited from my father, and replaced them with her traits. Moreover, although Urag ranks at the bottom of the Fehl Lord hierarchy, his seed is unique and multiplies the potential of the children sired by him.
For that alone, he has always been quite popular among fehl daemonesses. Or so I heard. By the time I was born, he already was my mother's captive. Apparently, he offended too many people and couldn't survive without her protection,” Jezebel seriously replied. There was only one way to permanently kill a fehl daemon—devouring.
Because Fehls' bodies were made of corrupted dra and magic, they still possessed that one weakness other races could exploit to end the immortal behemoths. However, typically only fehls could endure the consequences of devouring another fehl. For non-fehls, death, madness, or extreme corruption awaited.
”No wonders. I suppose the apple doesn't fall far from the tree,” Kilian nodded and lowered his eyes on the black-gold, semi-bangle watch adorning his left hand. Rotating a button on the side, Kilian activated a sky-blue screen within which a catalog of stored devices stood. Storage watches were typical commodities of Arcadia's nobility, with the quality and space available depending on the watch's cost.
Kilian's could store 15 cubic meters. There, among other miscellaneous things, a map of the Arcadian continent stood. Selecting it, Kilian summoned the map and unfolded it on the ground. Thanks to Jezebel's blood, Kilian had not only recovered 100% of his dra and strength but also saw his reserves increase by 35%. His physical abilities rose tremendously.
And with 20,520 dra at Kilian's disposal, resolving the present predicament didn't require too much effort.
Kilian's third, vertical eye opened with the dark-grey hue of Revelation. For one minute, Kilian analyzed the map with scrutiny, establishing both their current location and distance from the Imperial Academy. His eyes then rose from the map, alternating between Jezebel and Lena.
”This is how we're going to proceed. Because I can't take more than one person with me, the two of you will first hide in the Hellforge. I will open a rift to port Erlom, and from then we'll board a ship for the Imperial Academy,” Kilian explained. Even if he could draw a line all the way there, directly rifting to the Imperial Academy would trigger their space distortion radars and ring unwanted alerts. Therefore, they could only pay the exorbitant price of Erlom's ships.
The ladies nodded in approval. And after donning a new set of clothes from his storage watch, Kilian turned east. A massive quantity of dra burned in a sky-blue column as he pushed both his Eye of Revelation and Arcane Sight to the limit to draw an accurate path toward Erlom.
Without the clear line of sight, having never visited it beforehand, Kilian couldn't rift over there. After consuming 10,000 dra, he mapped the line, and the dark-grey eye turned crimson.
”Dimension Rift,” Kilian uttered, tearing open a three meters long space gash aimed at one of Erlom's shadowy corners. In tandem, Jezebel and Lena stood up, Kilian pressed his hand on their foreheads, pulling them both into the Hellforge.
He then dove into the space gash. It closed behind him and reopened in the selected alley of Erlom. Tapping his forehead, Kilian retrieved the ladies, wrapped his hands around their waists, and raced toward the port. Moving at maximum speed, Kilian turned into a wind squall that sent any potential bystander spiraling in the air.