My Servant System

With both Arch Fiends making their stance rather clear despite not saying it outright, we mortals were left on our own, staring at one another and waiting for someone to make the first move, either as an attack or through dialogue.

Whether I wanted to hear said dialogue didn't seem to matter since I wasn't going to make the mistake of attacking first, which would place me at a disadvantage no matter how you looked at this current situation.

So I was sadly forced to listen to the cocky Elves as they smirked at us from a few rooftops away, neither of us wanting to break this stalemate just yet... something that gave them the time to speak and irritate me greatly.

"Well well well~! Look who the cat dragged in~! Princess, Marquess Asmodia~! 'Lady' Asmdoia, Begum~! Such important company known to me, and if I had to guess... Lady Lilith, no? My, I do apologize for not having more... adequate arrangements to make your acquaintance, but someone forced me out of the Empire..."

Jillian's voice was absolutely grating, and the noble arrogance that oozed from each syllable was perfected to a tee, highlighting her heritage and showing that she hadn't changed during her time on the run from the Empire.

"Mm... From what I heard, little Sariel, the reason for your Family's removal seems to be none other than your own fault? A shame as well, since I quite liked your ancestors; nice, kind Elves, much unlike you and your parents."

That 'warm' facade that Jillian was putting up cracked immediately at that, though it was but for a second as she gave the older Demoness a slight bow before saying "I suppose it twas our fault, yes. Apologies... though I don't agree with your view on me and my parents...", to which all of us just curled our lips in disgust, earning another twitch in the Elf's eye.

"Kind is not a word I would ever imagine using to describe you and your filth of a family, Jillian. Idiotic is what comes to mind immediately. Sheer, unadulterated idiocy that caused so many to die for no reason at all."

Her eyes landed on me immediately, narrowing in anger before glittering with raw need as she purred "Katherine... dear, your tongue is as sharp as ever~! Tell me, do you truly think me stupid~? It pains me to think that you do... though perhaps that is for the best, since it will make our time together all the better when you're on your knees as my slave..."

"Nice aspirations, but she's so damn weak and pathetic..."

Lady Fenyras' quiet whisper went unheard by the Elves, but I heard what she had said, offsetting some of the anger I was currently feeling with something far more manageable... for but a moment though as I instead listened to Jillian's lunacy.

"I've dreamed of this moment for a long, long time... I had hoped it would be just us again, but it doesn't matter; even with your newfound companions I don't really~ find myself all that worried... I've learned a great deal since we last saw one another, after all."

The wicked smile sent a shiver down my spine, and when I saw her eyes flick over to the side before returning to us I fought the urge to check it myself visually, so instead I unleashed a wave of mana all around us, searching for anything at all.

At first I thought she was just being deranged and crazy, but as the mana crept further over the rooftops around us I felt a wisp of Lust Mana nearby, just on the edge of my consciousness; that immediately set of warning bells in my mind, but I kept my face passive and pretended that I couldn't sense it.

"What~? Thought I was using some sneaky magic or something~? No, I wouldn't... I like looking into your eyes as I do my work... remember the last time, Katherine~? When I wanted to steal you away from this... cur..?"

Anput being quiet was relatively unsurprising, since she was one to allow me to confront my own enemies by myself, while Leone was just quiet by nature; Jahi being quiet though, especially after she was insulted like that... it was a little surprising, though considering how her fingers were trembling slightly around the hilt of her great sword I imagine that was just due to her rage.

Listening to Jillian attempt to use reverse psychology on us like we were idiots was somewhat insulting as well, though considering just how outnumbered she was I wasn't terribly surprised either.

Still, seeing that there were in fact three of those Lust Mana tendrils made me extremely concerned since it showed a high mastery of that kind of magic, which I had yet to achieve myself...

And whether it was connected to Ayla or Jillian was a whole different worry on its own, so I just ignored Jillian's prodding and continued to observe what was happening, all while I prepared my own mana.

All of it, whether it was my Elemental Mana, Lust Mana, or this new Fae Mana that was creeping through my veins now as well; I was just... swallowing my anger and letting this Elf enjoy listening to herself speak while she still could.

"When this is all said and done, I think I'll enjoy having a pet dog lapping at my feet wherever I go... I'll build a nice~ little doghouse outside and take real~ good care of you, I promise~! Might need more than just one because I'll-"

"Are you ever going to shut up? We're here to fight, dumbass. Or are you just stalling the inevitable because you know you're going to die here in a few moments? Can't bear the thought of being a failure?"

Jillian's expression crumbled again as Lady Fenyras' sharp words crashed against her, the Elf sneering at the Demon Wolf that was grinning at her like she always has; Jillian didn't even say anything back to her, which partially made me believe she knew what was coming and agreed with Lady Fenyras...

But it was someone like her, so whether that was the case or not was a complete unknown; what I did know though was that this was the teetering point, and with so many powder kegs of anger waiting to explode all around me we were all just waiting for that single spark to set things ablaze.

That spark might just end up coming sooner than the Elves were hoping for since I could feel their tendrils getting closer, and even though I wasn't as skilled with it as they were I could still disrupt this sneak attack, putting a halt in their plans.