Chapter 645 (1/2)

“Sir, I think… I shouldn’t be deconstructed.”

This made the Autarch pause. Immediately, the strange instinctual compulsion to approach him disappeared. Thoughtfully, he regarded her and cracked his knuckles. Only after he had cracked every single finger did he speak. And then, it was only a single word. “Why?”

“I… I believe that my karmic abilities can be extremely valuable to the Wights,” Lucretia said slowly. Inwardly, she began feeling the rapidly growing pool of Aether in herself as she pulled more and more from Randidly. Unlike him, she would suffer rather dangerous repercussions if she let it remain unused for too long. But somehow, Lucretia didn’t believe that the peace would remain for much longer. “If I am deconstructed that would be an asset against the people of Tellus that you would no longer-”

“Bah, it is of no importance. The Wights will live and die no matter what you do.” The Autarch sighed. But then he turned back to Lucretia and squinted at her. “However… I cannot deny that I have sensed something about you that was beyond my understanding. To escape my gaze for so long… well, very few things have done it. By all means, please demonstrate your… karmic abilities. Perhaps there is some hope for your life, should your methods prove… novel.”

Lucretia’s lavender eyes flashed, but she maintained a strong control over her expression. It was not the time to allow him to see through her plan, even as the Autarch gave her the perfect excuse. His age seemed to hang over him like a weight. He looked at her with cold eyes as he raised a hand and beckoned her.

Instantly, that part of Lucretia that was so ready to die revitalized itself and urged her to unleash her most impressive Skill. She allowed a small smile to herself as she gathered the Aether and karma into her hand. ‘Don’t blame me if the demonstration proves deadly.’

Lucretia didn’t have a lot of time to prepare, as her instincts were slowly shutting down her ability to think of anything aside from returning to the Autarch once she recalled him. Combine that with the great fear monster that had rooted itself in her heart and Lucretia could sit still for a very short amount of time.

But there weren’t many things that she needed to prepare. All of the elements were already present. Lucretia dearly owed the Autarch for all that he had done for her; it was time to repay that debt.

With a flourish, Lucretia removed the dagger that had been fashioned out of the Judgement. Even now, after studying it for two months, she couldn’t make perfect sense of the capabilities it possessed. Not only did the Skill Level seem high, but the Skill itself seemed to be constructed at a higher tier. The frost it exuded invalidated every defensive Skill that Lucretia had tried it again. “For all you’ve done for me, Autarch… here is my greatest attack.”

Of all thing, the Autarch snorted and gestured as if to hurry Lucretia up. Her face twisted with a vicious fury and with her Aether empowered hands, she seized the powerful black thread that connected the two of them and she heaved upon it. The Autarch trembled.

But where one object slowly drew towards Lucretia, she also threw the powerful dagger towards the Autarch. The two objects were connected as though on a chain, and the thread began to flow much more rapidly towards her as the dagger approached the Autarch.

The Autarch’s eyes widened as he watched the dagger approach. It seemed some part of him finally recognized how dangerous a situation this was. He held up his hand, which began to glow golden with compressed power. This was Lucretia’s great worry; none of her memories covered whether or not the Autarch himself could fight. She did remember that the regular Propagators were rather weak when not surrounded by their dolls, but this was THE Propagator. This was the Autarch, the first who created the rest.

But as soon as the streaking dagger struck the Autarch, Lucretia felt a flash of relief. The attack drove the Autarch backward. He hissed in fury, but he couldn’t stop the unyielding momentum of that dagger empowered by Skills from another Cohort.

More and more rapidly the threads of fate flowed towards Lucretia. As she gathered them, she sensed something changing within herself. Even now, the Autarch maintained some control of her that she couldn’t escape. It was an influence at the level of her blood and hair. But now that she was gaining this karma-

Donngggg.

The thread halted abruptly, causing Lucretia to twist her mouth and pain. Some of the mental energy she was expending to gather the thread was shattered by that noise, making her cross-eyed. Cursing silently, Lucretia refocused, trying to understand what was going on.