Fate of Mirithia [LitRPG, Isekai]

Meera stepped out of the mirror and found Lainor sprawled on the ground. A group of sorceresses was coming towards them, no doubt wanting to hear the good news. But some also had frowns on their faces as they weren't supposed to be back so soon. They had hardly been gone for more than an hour; no assassination, especially one of this magnitude, could take this little time. If Meera were one of them, she would have serious doubts about the mission's success, and they would be right.

She didn't recognize any of them by name, but there were familiar faces among the group. She had seen some during the battle and saved a few of them. She put them out of their mind and looked to Lainor.

"You're going to be okay?" Meera asked.

He nodded. "Just tired. Didn't think that Raevan was going to be that tough."

"He wasn't so tough. You need to ask your new master to teach you a teleportation skill."

"Funny. I was thinking the same thing."

He held out a hand, and after a moment of consideration, Meera grasped it and helped him up. He pulled the cuff of his shirt down to cover his molten hand before the sorceresses arrived, but Meera was sure they must've noticed, as it was hard to miss.

"Did you kill him?" asked one sorceress.

"How are you back so fast?" asked another.

Meera raised a hand. "I need to talk with the princess first."

This did not sit well with them, as doubt flickered across their faces. They weren't idiots, no matter how much Meera wanted to think so, but she had other concerns at the moment, namely what message the Heirarch had wanted her to give to the princess. She wanted to reach into her Hoard Belt and retrieve it right now, but held off as there were too many eyes on her.

Telling this group could be devastating for the group's morale. They were already pretty down after the loss of so many of their sisters. If she told them that she had to tuck tail and run from their enemy, that might be the end of their campaign.

Meera headed for the princess's hut, which seemed to be fortified now. Two sorceresses stood guard outside the door, and another one was walking the perimeter of the building. At first, Meera wondered why, but the answer came to her quickly. They were making sure that the cultists didn't try to assassinate Rehia, just like they were trying to do to Elrasil.

"Halt, and identify yourself," declared one of the sorceresses.

"You cannot be serious," Meera replied.

"And is that a cultist with you?"

Her Mana started swirling inside her. After all that Meera had been through, she was not in the mood.

She stepped up until she was face-to-face with the sorceress and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then she let her aura flow.

"I'm not in the mood for such petty games. Now, it would be best that you run along and fetch Drurith, and Drurith alone."

The sorceress gulped and glanced at her partner, who had slowly taken a step back from Meera as well.

Meera snapped her head to the second sorceress. "And you, go wake the princess, and tell her, I've returned."

"Y-Yes, right away."

With that, both the sorceresses ran off to Meera's bidding, and Meera shut off her aura using Misidentify.

"Wow, where did that come from?" Lainor asked.

Meera smiled primly. "Part of my charm, I suppose."

They entered the princess's hut and found their way to the meeting room. They didn't have to wait long for the princess. As it turned out, the princess wasn't sleeping. She was in her sleeping clothes, but it didn't look like sleep had found her.

"I didn't expect you back so soon," Rehia said. "Is it done?"

"Let's just wait for Drurith. I don't want to have to explain everything again."

"Fair enough. Some refreshments in the meantime, then."

The princess whistled, and a familiar face appeared. Meera hadn't seen the new Sorceress of Mirrors in a while. Not since they arrived here. Given her low level, Meera figured, she had died in battle, but no, here she was, fine and whole.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Vasda," Meera commented.

"Yes, she's not strong enough for fighting, so I've relegated her to a more support role," Rehia said. "Also, she's spent most of her life as a maid, so why waste those talents?"

In other words, she had made her into a servant again. There was a part of Meera that wanted to smash the princess's pretty face, and another that was quite entirely indifferent to Vasda's plight as she had been spying on Meera, after all.

"Vasda, some refreshments for our returning heroes, and nothing for me," Rehia commanded.

Vasda bowed and left, then returned, not long after, with two glasses made of mirrors. Right then, the door opened, and Drurith had arrived, and not alone. She had brought her whole entourage, along with Firaan. One of whom was most definitely a traitor.

"I thought I had asked for Drurith alone," Meera said.

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"We don't follow your orders," Drurith replied, taking her seat.

Meera looked to the princess, who sighed. "Everyone, aside from Drurith, should leave."

The whole group stopped. It was like someone had pressed the pause button. As one, they looked to Drurith, whose expression was already morphing into one of rage.

"Princess—"

Rehia cut her off. "It's the dead of night, let's not quarrel, shall we?"

"Your Highness, then I must insist that you allow at least Firaan to stay. She is my equal in all matters."

Rehia sighed. "Fine."

The rest filtered out, but not before glaring at Meera. However, one was more noticeable than the rest—Kithra. The looks she gave her were borderline murderous.

"Now, let's begin," Meera said. "Unfortunately, we were not successful in killing Elrasil."

"What?" snapped Rehia and Drurith as one.

Seeing Rehia like this, who was usually a picture of calmness, was somewhat surprising.

"They were expecting us," Lainor added.

"Tell me everything that's happened," Rehia said.

So, Meera relayed all that happened once they entered the enemy camp, leaving out nothing from how they encountered Raevan, and then the Heirarch. Raevan's words basically stated that they were expecting them and knew they would be coming to their fight, as well as how they escaped.

Rehia sat back in her chair. "We have a spy in our midst."

"Hence the reason I didn't want the whole entourage," Meera said. "I'm sure one of the sorceresses is supplying news of our plans to the enemy."

"This cannot be," Drurith said, unbelieving. "Who would do such a thing? Go against their sisters to put them in such jeopardy."

"Technically, we were the only ones that were in jeopardy," Lainor said. "Other than that, if they've said anything else, we do not know, and since I've pretty much been extradited from the cult, I cannot even snoop around to find out who it was and what they've been whispering in the Elders' ears."

"You let me handle that." Firaan smiled. "If there is a traitor in our midst, I will find her."

"But discreetly," Rehia said. "We cannot let them think that we're onto them."

"Of course, Your Highness." Firaan tilted her head.

She was taking the news of a traitor much better than her older counterpart. It was amusing, considering it shouldn't have been that shocking, since Meera had taken down the cult with another traitor. That could have been what had rocked Drurith's world. That there would be another traitor amongst them must not have crossed her wildest dreams.

"And this message that he wanted delivered to me?" The princess asked.

Meera reached into her Hoard Belt and pulled out the bloody arrow that had Elrasil's message wrapped around it. Lainor's blood had also marred the page, but not too much that it would dissolve the message, or so she hoped.

Rehia took the arrow, not caring if she touched the bloody part or not. She unfurled the message and immediately, rage danced on her face. Before she crumpled up the paper, Meera took it from her and paused.

It was a beautiful drawing of a dragon. This was what he had been drawing when Meera was fighting Raevan. Meera couldn't help but think she had seen a similar dragon before. It stood on its hind legs, with wings and arms spread wide, and its jaw open wide in a fearsome roar. Lainor's blood had splashed in such a manner that it just made the drawing even more beautiful.

Lainor's eyes widened. "That's…"

Drurith snapped the paper from Meera's hand, and she drew slow breaths, trying to contain her anger. "He dares to mock us."

Even Firaan was pissed. "Oh, he should not have done this."

And then it clicked. The picture was of Akhessai. The way she had stood for centuries, while the sorceresses called it their home. He was indeed mocking them.

"There's definitely a traitor here," Rehia said. "He knows that I have promised the Spire to the sorceresses once the cultists have been dealt with. He's saying that since the sorceresses lost their home, they have come to take his. If he knows that much, then he knows everything that we've planned. He knows we're not strong enough to face his might."

"But then why did he say this was a message for you?" Meera pondered out loud.

That stumped everyone. No one had a response for that. Why would the Heirarch say that this was a message for the princess if he was mocking the sorceresses? It was clearly a jibe at the sorceresses, but then why would he say, 'give this to the princess'?

"The man is fucking with our heads," Lainor said. "He wants us to waste our time. One thing you need to understand about him is that he is beyond arrogant. He'll say what you want to hear while he twists the truth so much that you won't even realize that you're working for his benefit."

"Well, I don't doubt that," Meera stated. "He did try to get me to leave the fighting. Even said that he would call off his beast in the White Ember wasteland, all I had to do was leave the fighting behind."

Another comment that rocked their world.

"And what was your answer?" Rehia asked carefully.

"I never gave him one, but I would be foolish to trust anything that falls from his lips," Meera replied, and they all visibly relaxed.

Meera couldn't deny that there was a part of her that was tempted to at least try, but up there, she had no backup, and he could easily have the Glacidrak finish her off, and none would be the wiser. But if he really wanted to kill her, then he could've easily done so himself. Why let her go at all, then?

Then her eyes fell to the drawing of Akhessai, and she gasped.

"Oh, that arrogant fuck." She gripped the paper, and the more she looked at the piece of paper, the more assured she became of her deduction. She could practically see Elrasil laughing at them back in his Spire.

"What is it?" Rehia asked.

"He didn't just give it to us to taunt us," Meera replied. "He just gave us the answer to all our troubles." She slammed the paper down. "What was it you said, Lainor? That an archdragon could bring down the walls of the Spire?"

He nodded. "But it's only a rumor. I have no proof."

Meera jabbed a finger at the picture. "There's your proof. Elrasil, in his arrogance, gave us the answer himself that only an archdragon's flames can bring down the walls. He is laughing in our faces as he knows that no dragon, let alone an archdragon, will come to fight beside us, because of this."

Once again, she jabbed Akhessai's picture. The dragons hated the sorceresses with all their being because of Akhessai. Because Veridiana had killed and petrified her and then made her stony corpse her home for four hundred years. Elrasil knew all this because he had orchestrated all of it. She couldn't begrudge him the genius behind it all, but his arrogance would ultimately be his downfall.

"That asshole," Firaan cursed

"So our cause is indeed lost," Rehia said, deflating.

"Not quite. You only want to kill him for power or to show your brothers up or whatever twisted scheme you have cooking in your head. I need him dead because he's standing between me and the path to my brother, and I'll be damned before I let anything get in the way of my quest. Do you have the cube that I gave you?"

Rehia frowned, but nodded. She opened the drawer to her right and produced the cube that Munral had given Meera when she left for the Pale Mantle for the first time. The cube had only two images etched on it—a leaf on one side and a Kyldar on the other.

"Why do you need this?" Rehia said, rolling it towards Meera.

"Time to prove another rumor true."