The Crimson Tale of Conquest

The first thing Lucilla noticed was the throne. An obsidian black throne with six points sticking up from the backrest. Six flames burned above each point, giving the illusion that the chair was spewing fire. The throne was also on an elevated platform at the back of the room making it overlook the large hall, making it so whoever sat atop can see everyone clearly. Lucilla also noticed that she stood on top of a long carpet made from gold and black material that led up to the throne.

The large hall was made from large black stone bricks, with silver braziers holding more hell fire in them. The braziers were mounted on every other pillar that lined either side of the hall. There was even a singular ornate silver chandelier located in the middle of the ceiling. The Pillars that didn't have fire brandished black tapestries with two scythes crossing each other and a single pale blue orb over a light blue flame. The entire area was tinted a light blue, yet it didn't feel like this was because of the fire itself. Looking out the windows the outside looked just as blue as the inside.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Lucilla asked out loud. There wasn't a single soul in sight, and the Goddess that called her here wasn't even present. She couldn't help but feel a bit annoyed by this.

"Ah, sorry for being late, I had some business to take care of." The welcoming voice of Ovana reverberated through the hall as she appeared next to her throne.

Next to the Goddess was a much shorter figure that stood at 213 centimeters, still making them taller than Lucilla's height 175 centimeters. The person wore a dark grey robe that covered their entire body including their face, which was hidden behind a hood. Their long robe similar to the dress the Soul Goddess wore seem to fade away like sand the closer it got to the bottom. Their short blue hair the same turquoise color as Ovana's peaked through their hood as well, making it the only detail Lucilla could make out.

Lucilla's eyes were drawn to the large scythe the person was holding close to themselves. Despite not being able to see their face, she could almost feel their eyes boring into her. She also noticed that she couldn't get a scent off of them. Not just them, but Ovana too. Not their body odor, but the unique scent that comes from ones Mana.

"Ah, I should probably introduce you to my sister here." Ovana said as she gestured towards the other person. " Say hello to Veris the Goddess of Death."

"Uh... hi." Lucilla waved awkwardly towards the Goddess. She got a single head nod in return for her efforts.

"Don't mind my sister, she's shy." Ovana said cheerfully. "So shy in fact she had me remove her throne from here so she could just hide behind me whenever we have to use this room."

'That just sounds antisocial to me.' Lucilla thought to herself as she watched Ovana laugh to herself like she just told a funny joke.

Before she could comment on it however, Veris was kneeling directly in front of her inspecting her short swords. Lucilla didn't even see her move, one moment she was at the end of the hall next to the throne and without even a gust of wind she seemingly teleported in an instant. After standing there frozen in shock for a few minutes, Lucilla looked towards Ovana for guidance.

The Goddess in question just smiled before addressing her sister. "So, what do you think?"

"... You were right. It's dormant and faint, but definitely there."

"Thought so. Anyway, we'll deal with that later." Ovana turned back to Lucilla. "Please excuse my sister as she prepares your weapon."

"What are you talking about?" Asked the monster woman completely lost. Instead of answering, Veris once again suddenly change positions, but this time was holding her twin blades.

"Now would you like a Halberd or a Scythe?"

"...." Lucilla stared at them blankly.

Veris apparently taking this as an answer, started covering the swords in Celestial energy. The golden glow of the Gods covered the blades, combining them and shifting their form into a large scythe. Lucilla wasn't sure where the extra mass came from, since her two swords wouldn't be able to make a scythe that large on their own. The black weapon with a purple edge was roughly the same height as her.

After she was finish, Veris very slowly moved towards Lucilla to hand her the scythe. Considering she was basically teleporting this entire time; her slow movements temporarily caught the crimsoned eyed woman off guard. Once she recovered, she took the weapon from Veris, holding it awkwardly. Her aloof expression showed mild confusion as she stood in the middle of the throne room with a weapon, she had no familiarity with.

"Don't look like that. That scythe and the halberd is slandered issue for our enforcers." Ovana spoke brightly. Veris standing behind her again.

"... Do all Proxies for the Celestials have to do stuff like this?" Lucilla asked.

"No." Ovana answered.

"Wh-" Lucilla started before being cut off,

"Sorry, but that's all the time I have. I'll send you off on your first assignment!" Ovana declared clapping her hands.

Lucilla wanted to yell at the stupid Goddess, but before she could even make a single sound, her surroundings changed again. She stood under a massive gate where the scenery on one side was tinted blue and the other a deep crimson. Standing in front of her was a large man with leather wings, red skin, and large gray horns. The white of his eyes were black and he had golden Irises. He stood four and a half meters tall, which was about the same size as Nielia. The devilish man turned in her direction and smiled, showing off his mouth full of sharp teeth.

__________________

A woman with a broad sword made of bone swung down at Lucilla who tried avoiding the attack. She tripped over her scythe however and the sword dug into her shoulder, making her drop the weapon to the ground as she fell. Rolling to the side Lucilla deftly avoided getting skewered by the womans follow up attack. She managed to pick herself up from the ground with her undamaged left arm and glared at the woman.

Her right arm hung at her side limply, unmoving as large amounts of blood fell to the ground below her. Her breathed hard with ragged breaths as she used fire magic to culturize her wound. She gritted her teeth in pain, determine not to lose consciousness, even as her vision blurred. Without her weapon she would be unable to harm the woman in front of her unless she used magic.

She had already used up most of it earlier since this wasn't the first person she's fought today. Her clothes were torn and covered in grime and blood. She had similar culturize wounds covering her body indicating she hadn't even had time to heal. Large amounts of her blood had already been lost, already and she would die soon if she didn't get any rest.

"Are you sure you're qualified to be here girl?" The woman mocked. "I didn't realize Ovana had such a weak dog guarding the gate leading out of Athrem."

Lucilla growled in response. In an attempted to recover her lost mana she tried calling forth the power of the Celestial energy inside her. There wasn't a lot but considering how potent it is compared to mana; she would have more than enough under normal circumstances. Lucilla has yet to successfully do this in combat, however.

A golden aura started to surrounded Lucilla, as she deftly avoided the woman's attacks. She ducked under on swing of her sword before rolling to the side to avoid a kick. Jumping up onto her feet she put some more distance between them. She only ever managed to make use of the Celestial energy in practice and needed a lot of concentration for its use.

"Gauh!" Lucilla cried out as she felt her inside start to burn. "Fuck, I... messed- uhg!"

She didn't get to finish her statement for the woman managed to get close to her while she was distracted by her pain. She kicked Lucilla square in the torso sending her flying. She rolled across the ground before coming to a stop. She didn't move, she could feel her organs melting, as she laid on the ground in agony. Her body was being torn apart unable to handle the raw power.

The woman slowly walked towards her. Lucilla could do nothing but watch as she lifter her blade of bone over her head. That was the last thing she saw before she died.