Chapter 15-403: Shadows at Sea, Part IV (1/2)
“We have something to ease your mind.”
“What is that?” King Oichio could not think of anything that would still the whirlwind of vengeance he wanted to inflict on the enemies of his Kingdom.
Whole Clans subverted to the Devourer and the Black Depths. Cults to the Old Ones. Hunters of their own people: cannibals, murderers, traitors, blasphemers and heretics of the highest order!
What was even grimly hilarious about it was that his vizier and his queen had not even known that each of them stood at the apex of their organizations, and had both worked together openly and against one another in the shadows, completely unaware that both of them were traitors at the heart of his Kingdom.
Their followers had certainly not been happy to have such knowledge taken from the pair of them, and the trails and leads were still ongoing. It was a bloody purge, and the taint it had revealed infiltrating his Kingdom and his people...
The light hand of his rule had allowed heavier and darker hands to come in beneath it and prey on his people. Guilt, blame, rage, despair, and pain all swirled around him, and he did not know where it was going to end.
“You are aware of the atomic bombs?”
The odd question made him open his eyes and glance at the horned, flawless features with the glowing Tattoos where should be eyes.
“Of course. Several were tested in waters not far from here,” he rasped heavily. “Mighty things, hinting at the powers of the Old Ones...”
“Lady Traveler is mapping the whole of the oceans, and the peoples of the surface are going to drop such weapons on all the places where the dark races of the waters dwell.”
Even the Dragon King of Lemuria had to pause as that startling information was given to him. “That... was why she was here?” King Oichio rumbled after a long moment of contemplation.
“She wanted to know the locations of your people so that the bombs were not dropped on them. The tritons gave us the information for the peoples of the Atlantic.”
He breathed in long and slow. “She has the information of where all such gatherings are, but she does not know exactly who dwells in each of them...”
“That is correct, Your Majesty,” Legion confirmed.
“The surface-dwellers... do they have enough such devices to do the job?”
“We have been told they have in excess of five thousand atomic weapons, split between all the many countries. The weapons are useless and even dangerous to them if and when the Shroud falls, so they are determined to put them to use before it does... and to prevent the lethal races of the ocean from pulling in their Patrons and causing even more trouble than they are now.”
King Oichio sat back, staring out over the picturesque view of his kingdom, contrasting it with the blood he could smell in the waters, and pictured what he could remember of those atomic tests.
A great explosion. A ball of fire. Massive shockwaves through the water, killing radiation sweeping through those close by.
Even underwater, the destruction would be immense. Super-heated steam would kill Deep Ones and Sahaug easily, and even those with demonic blood would not be able to resist such direct damage easily. Certainly their slave races and minions would perish utterly.
“You have... given her this information?” he guessed.
“Yes. There will be no such bombs dropped on any settlements of merfolk that the Kingdom is aware of.”
“But the foul things... they will die boiling in fire, at the bottom of the sea!” His big fists clutched at the thought and the irony.
“Yes, and vivic fire will feed them to the Land,” Legion confirmed calmly. “There is another, more personal thing to share with you.”
“Yes?” He caught subtle undertones there that made his blood start pumping despite himself, and could not help but look at the sinuous and twisting nine tails that flowed together so smoothly, but could separate and move fast enough, even underwater, that the crack of their movement was deafening, like the best parts of one strong tail, and nine octopoid ones...
“You are attracted to Our draconic Bloodline. We cannot pass it on, for the exact same reason as the Dagonic Bloodline cannot be allowed to exist.”
It took him a moment to process that. “Ah...” was all he could say with a glance at her. And yet, the fact did not repel him like it should. “You have... the option of passing it on?”
“We do not have a Bloodline unique to us. We can only pass on the Bloodlines of those we have Consumed... and the draconic Bloodline We have is not something We will pass on.”
“Does that not make you vulnerable to an elder of the Bloodline?” he asked, not at all repelled by her ability. He could look right at her and see her, after all... and she was directly telling him this up front, so he would have no illusions.
“We can de-emphasize the Bloodline as readily as We can indulge it. That is not an issue.” Her tails split and came back together with leisurely ease, making his heart jump with the sensuous ripples and control of it. “Also, I am an outsider, and it would not be wise to inflict upon them such a one as us. We will not give you an heir, and you need a Queen anew.”
He slumped slightly, his ambitions somewhat foiled... but he did not move his arm, and she did not pull away when his jade and gold tail slid familiarly against hers. The touch was electric, and he closed his eyes just to feel the tingles of it.