The Next Day…
-
City of Llynun, Northern Gate—
Put!
Just outside the capital, Petra hopped down from the 'carriage', landing with a soft thump.
She stretched her tiny body as her arms reached above her head and her back arched in an exaggerated curve. A faint pop sounded from her small spine, and she let out a satisfied little hum, creating a cute noise as she purred. Her twin emerald ponytails swayed behind her as she twisted side to side, working out the stiffness from the day-long journey…
Ahead of her, the capital city of Llynun patiently waited.
Nothing had changed.
After finishing her stretch, Petra lowered her arms and lifted one small leg, first shaking it, then placing it forward with a comically overexplained theatrical determination!
She started walking towards the city gate!
Her hair fluttered in the wind.
She hummed as she moved, creating a soft, tuneless melody that rose and fell.
-
In the background—
At the same time as Petra marched, the massive 'armored train' let out a 'metallic' hiss as it unfolded! From somewhere within, a long, serpentine shadow slipped free, its segmented body twisting and turning as it emerged.
The Sea Spearing Centipede, a massive sixty-meter-long magic beast, pulled itself out of the armor-like artifact. It slid free segment by segment, and after it had fully emerged, it shook its body like a dog, spraying dust and stone everywhere!
It raised its head and slowly looked around.
And then—
Just like its little master…
It stretched!
Its long body arched upwards, rising higher and higher as if trying to climb the sky. Its dozens of legs flexed in sequence, each segment rippling with a terrifying power. The motion traveled down its spine like a wave, its armor plates shifting and overlapping with a low, grinding hum.
A moment later, swoosh! Boom—! It slammed itself back down onto the ground, then wiggled its butt enthusiastically. As the earth rumbled, terrifying the nearby patrol, it twisted into a vague circle, then began to carefully 'contract' its carapace.
Crack—crk—click—ca!
The body of the massive centipedes steadily shrank, its form compressing as it writhed and wriggled back and forth. In mere moments, the towering creature reduced itself from an overwhelming sixty meters… to a much more convenient six!
It craned its 'neck' to look at its body, then, in a very human-like manner, nodded to itself in satisfaction… Once satisfied, it lifted the front half of its body, rising about two meters off the ground, then looked around in confusion, 'blinking rapidly'.
The centipede 'sniffed' the air, twitching its non-existent nose.
After spotting Petra in the distance—
Swoosh! It dropped down and immediately began enthusiastically scuttling after her! Lilly and Luna followed close behind, jogging after it, and leaving the other servants to 'clean up'. In a few moments, all three had caught up to Petra, their expressions as if nothing had happened at all.
The trio trailed behind their little master, entering the city under the suspicious gazes of the guards…
-
In the background of the background—
Farther back, near the now-empty carriage-like train-shaped artifact, the ground rippled.
The servant girls moved with efficiency. They dismantled the artifact segment by segment, cart by cart. Without the Sea Spearing Centipede inhabiting its underbelly, it was now no different than a long line of special carriages that had been loosely connected, just without working wheels.
Seeing the ripple, a few of the maids stepped aside.
The ground behind them folded.
After a moment, this fold turned into a tunnel leading down. This tunnel continued to expand until it was eventually a few meters wide. A thin seam of light parted from its depths, revealing a narrow spatial corridor that shimmered like a hazy heat over cold stone.
From within, a small group of 'Workers' began to emerge.
These ants had been pulled from the Ant Army. They were smaller than the soldiers Petra usually used, appearing as a sleek, disciplined, and disturbingly organized team. They spread out immediately, locking onto assigned sections of the artifact without needing instructions.
Click.
Clack.
Chunk by chunk, plate by plate, the colossal construct was disassembled. Segments were lifted, rotated, and separated with mechanical coordination. What had taken an hour to assemble was reduced to manageable components in mere minutes.
Each piece was carried calmly into the spatial corridor.
One by one, until the clearing was clean.
The ants disappeared back through the tunnel, vanishing into the depths of the Verdelith Castle.
The remaining servant girls followed without a word.
As for the extremely diligent city guards stationed not even fifty meters away—
Cough-cough! They noticed absolutely none of it…
* * *
Petra had finally returned to the capital!
The moment she passed through the city gates, the sound washed over her like a wave. Music, laughter, and shouting voices overlapped, mixing with the distant tolls of ringing bells, storefront chimes, and immersing her in the lively chaos of the central street. Banners hung from balconies, streamers crossed the streets, and countless people moved back and forth, their steps quick, their faces bright.
Petra tilted her head in confusion.
She looked to Lilly—
Lilly explained that the seven-day festival should have ended, so it was finally time for the previously prepared grand parade to pass through the city!
Petra hummed, then continued forward with Luna by her side.
As they left the city gates, one of the gate guards glanced at Petra, froze for half a beat, then suddenly turned and hurried away, disappearing down a side passage.
Petra didn't notice him, but even if she did, she probably wouldn't have cared—
Mm, no, she definitely wouldn't have cared!
He was probably just some faceless cannon fodder that would never be seen again!
Hahaha! Definitely! Right? Right…
-
Petra entered the city…
Behind her, a few of the female butlers followed her from a distance, their presence barely noticeable.
These girls were Petra's 'shadow guards!'
That was the role she had assigned to them...
Along with Nebula, they often followed her from the back.
In truth, with their lightning element physiques and their unnaturally militaristic training, courtesy of Levy Lunabell, they were shockingly good at their jobs! These girls not only had unbelievably sharp instincts, but their reaction speed and stealth techniques were off the charts! Like all of Petra's servants, each one of them could fight above their level, and in addition, they had each been modified by Elli to accommodate some kind of adaptation ability, fusing it directly into their biology. This simply meant that they could adapt to any abnormal environments they were unwillingly thrust into!
Petra still wasn't quite sure about the full extent of what these twelve girls could do, but what she did know was that they were absolute monsters!
Elli had turned them into her own 'personal project', continuing to 'work on them', and as they were 'improved', it was quickly becoming undeniable that Elli was also a hidden big shot!
It should also be said that if their original families were ever to see them again, they would be horrified by what they saw! In fact, it was possible that they wouldn't even recognize them…
Anyways—! Petra was promptly pulled into the city...
-
They wandered around in the crowd until the main street opened into a much larger central square. Foreign music thundered as unorthodox displays filled the space. Food carts and patient peddlers waited along the outer rim, while pickpockets and shifty-eyed snakes swam quietly through the crowd.
Petra found a small stone ledge quietly tucked beneath a cloth awning, then dropped down onto her butt with a content little poof!
She shifted her butt back, finding a comfortable place to sit, then quietly looked at Lilly.
Her expression clearly read, 'Food when?'
Lilly didn't complain; she only nodded quickly.
As Luna promptly found a spot next to Petra—
Lilly vanished into the crowd, returning a few minutes later with several skewers of grilled meat, wrapped pastries, something fried, and something suspiciously salty...
Luna accepted her share with a cute frown, still sitting beside Petra, and watched the parade pour past in the distance. Lilly soon sat down, mirroring Luna on the opposite side of Petra, then snuggled in closer. The three little girls ate in sync while watching the parade.
Petra swung her legs back and forth, crumbs falling as she nibbled.
Nibble-nibble-nibble! Her big black eyes blinked!
She held out a skewer.
To the side, the big centipede jumped over and leaned down, its body swaying impatiently as it opened its 'small' mouth. Petra proceeded to feed it piece by piece—like one might feed a cat…
She giggled.
Crunch-crunch-crunch! Although it was quite cute, to an outsider, this scene sounded no different than a large bear trap opening and closing…
Crunch-crunch-crunch! The proximity of Petra's hand was enough to make any self-respecting adult break out in cold sweat…
Crunch-crunch-crunch! The overenthusiastic centipede swayed happily, its dozens of legs tapping 'softly' against the surrounding stone. Lilly leaned in closer, grinning widely as she clapped her hands, while Luna looked at this 'beauty and the beast', then down at the badly vandalized concrete…
She stuffed a cookie in her mouth and turned away.
She wanted no part of this!
-
Time passed.
When they were finally finished, Lilly collected the trash and scrunched it up before she darted off to throw it away. She returned a moment later with her sticky little fingers.
After that, Petra hopped up!
Then, they moved on…
* * *
Some time later—
"…Lilly, Luna?" Suddenly, a hesitant voice cut through the noise…
Petra and the twins turned around just in time to find a young man stepping towards them from behind. He emerged from the crowd wearing a simple blue and white robe. He looked to be around their age, perhaps slightly older, neatly dressed, and with an expression filled with confusion and worry.
His brows furrowed as his eyes locked onto the twins.
Ah! Petras eyes jumped! Was it finally time?
Petra hummed to herself, suddenly sensing some spicy gossip! Her 'story sense' had started to tingle! It had been a long time, but she finally smelt that sour scent of 'fate' again!
This meeting, she had been waiting for this since chapter six!
Her eyes mischievously swept past the azure bell on his chest, then, following a naughty little smile, Petra stepped back, pushing the two twins forward at the same time. Upon seeing the youth, unlike Petra's immense interest, Luna's eyes immediately darkened. She took a step back, once again aligning herself with Petra.
On the other hand—
Lilly, left in front, had her eyes light up!
"Cousin!"
Her voice came out as a sharp cry!
Instinctively, the Azurefell Family's youth, this so-called 'cousin', flinched. He looked around, slightly panicked, his eyes snapping to the shadows as he quickly swept the surroundings, then spoke in a low voice, "Please don't say it so loudly!"
He looked over his shoulder, then took a step forward and leaned in. He continued in a whisper, "Why are you still in the capital! You shouldn't be here, don't you know that the family is desperately looking for you? We're already 'on the clock', are you crazy?"
Luna crossed her arms, unamused in the back.
Petra tilted her head in confusion, 'on the clock…?' Mm, what did that mean?
Lilly just smiled widely, her naive face filled with excitement!
"It's ok! With the little master here, who can hurt us!" She took a comically large step to the side, dramatically dragging her foot, then grandly gestured with both hands towards the petite Petra.
Petra: "..."
Luna: "..."
One second…
Two seconds…
Three seconds…
Clap! After a moment to properly process, Petra 'proactively' posed! While placing her hands on her hips, she thought to herself, indeed! Who could hurt them when she was here!
No one! Not even the great gods! Nyhahaha!
Unfortunately, the youth, Nmo Azurefell, didn't seem to agree so casually…
He pointed at Petra.
"This is your fault! How could you take them back here!" He yelled in a low voice!
Petra snorted and turned her eyes to the side.
"Rude..."
"NO! You're creating the problem!" he hissed. "Do you think that the Four Great Families are just a joke? Each one of us might not look overwhelmingly powerful, but our history is completely beyond the understanding of someone small like you! Let's not even talk about the Great Guardian—just our own patriarch is an old monster who can't be measured with common sense!"
"We have hundreds of third and fourth-order practitioners! We have hundreds of years' worth of artifacts stockpiled! We have an unimaginable number of allies hidden everywhere! That old man on the street? The granny at the food stall? Either one of them could be one of our people! And even if—even if—you somehow beat the family, you'd still have to deal with the main branch overseas!"
"And after that? After that! The Hellion Empire! You don't want to start a fight with them, right!? Also, what about the calamities!? Aren't you supposed to be a hero!? What the hell are you doing!? Brat!!"
"Do you seriously have something wrong with your brain, little girl!? Do you have any idea how much danger you're putting them in just by walking around here!? There's a powerful curse running through our bloodline! Didn't they tell you!? My older brother said you somehow 'cured' the twins, but that doesn't mean it won't come back if you get too close to the family's main residence!"
He sucked in a sharp breath—
"And don't think I don't know—!"
—He didn't fucking stop! Holy shit! This brat kept talking for over ten fucking minutes! Wasn't he worried about attracting attention before!?
AH! After finally hearing enough—
Petra smiled super sweetly and slipped two fingers out of her sleeve.
"You seem to have a barking problem. I can help you with—"
Chop!
Luna karate chopped Petra on the head!
Petra stopped, crouched down, and pitifully rubbed her head…
Before this 'cousin' could say any more, someone shouted his name from across the street.
He stiffened.
"I-I have to go," he muttered to himself. He shook his head and looked back at Petra, "Just—please—leave, or hide… or just do something! You can't stay here, remember!"
His words faded as he jogged away.
Then… just like that, he was gone…
Petra watched him leave.
Mm, it seemed like trouble was already on its way…
* * *