All in all, our time out in the Dungeon and time spent training back at the Palace was immensely helpful for getting us stronger, and it had only been a month since I had gotten back to the Empire.
Already I was seeing a gigantic increase in stats, from mid 70's to 90's in just a months time; before, a handful of points in a single stat would take me multiple weeks to get, and that wasn't excluding any level ups I might have gotten.
Before the war, we simply never pushed ourselves as hard as we were now, and it was understandable; the worst we had to deal with was Jillian's pettiness that we thought wouldn't go past minuscule political attacks and the occasional hit squad; in other words, typical Noble attitude regarding not getting what they wanted and seeing someone else thriving that they deemed beneath them.
Now, however, we were surrounded by threats that were increasingly threatening with each new tidbit of information that we uncovered; an entire Noble Family gone and sheltered off to the West, the return of a race of beings that are above Mortals and capable of massacring hundreds in just an hour, as well as a monster or creature that has the ability to open Gates from here to the Labyrinthian.
Things weren't looking to stable right now, so we needed to focus on getting stronger and being capable of - at the very least - protecting ourselves and our family from this ever changing, increasingly dangerous world.
This meant that those stronger than us were pushing us to be better, to slowly scale the mountain that they all resided on and reach one of the many impressive peaks below them, where we could find some degree of shelter from the cruelty of the world.
First it had been the Empress and her wives, and now it was the Marquess; the sapphire skinned Demoness stood waiting in the living room, her arms crossed over her armored torso as she watched us say our goodbyes to the Countess, Mother, and the two little ones.
Her ruby eyes were hard as she steeled her emotions, donning the mask of a seasoned warrior as she focused entirely on what was to come, putting everything else on the back burner for the time being.
Kissing Mother's cheek, I smiled at her and whispered "I'll be back, Mother, I promise. I love you."
Stroking my cheek, she smiled at me before turning away, her amber eyes wet as she muttered "I... love you too, Katherine... Be safe."
She focused on Lakshmi in her arms, who was staring at her Mom and sister with confusion, wondering why she wasn't able to be in their arms.
As for Alessandra, she was resting quietly in the Countess' arms, watching everything happen in silence as we hoisted our bags onto our backs and stepped away, nodding to the awaiting Demoness.
ραndαsΝοvεl.cοm "Alright. We'll be back... sometime before the end of this month. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks. Take care of everything, Ria."
The Elf nodded, her sapphire eyes moving over us all before returning to her wife, who nodded back before turning, leading us out of the room without another word.
Waving to the two women and the two children, we followed behind the Marquess and walked through the halls quietly, with Nirinia joining us part way through, her own gear packed up.
When we reached the entrance of the Palace, the Marquess began to speak, gesturing to the awaiting carriage that was being pulled by four Draconic looking horses, while a Banshee acted as the coachman.
"Never speak of this place to anyone outside of our family, ever. Otherwise, I'll kill you, them, and anyone close to them."
The Marquess' red eyes were deadly serious, making each of us shiver before we nodded, her voice still low and sharp as her blade.
"Only myself, Ria, and the Empress know of this place, and it's to be passed down to you, Jahi, before it's passed down to whomever you elect as your heir. That means none of your other children can know of it either, unless they are tied to the heir in some way. This is something we keep close to ourselves... and Nirinia, you're only coming because I consider you family to a degree. Speak, and I'll make the Radhi Tribe nothing but a footnote in history. Clear?"
The Djinn nodded, her jade eyes meeting the Marquess' rubies before she had to look away, the pressure far too great to maintaining contact.
"Good. Get in. I'll explain on the way."
We exchanged glances before throwing our packs into the chests, climbing in after the Marquess and looking at her as the carriage lurched forwards.
"As much as I say I hate the Asmodeucian's, I have to admit that they were gifted in many ways, and one of the things that no one knows they were gifted in was Ancient Magics. No, I'm not teaching you any of it, since I myself know nothing about it. However, something that the people from millennia ago were good at was, apparently, opening and maintaining Gates. Things just... fell into line for the Asmodeucian's during the height of their power, and they found something incredible. A Gate that led not into the Labyrinthian, but somewhere else. They've done sufficient enough research on the Gate over those years, and it's the same as the ones for the Labyrinthian, but..."
Waving her hand lazily, the Marquess looked out the window at the passing city and sighed, before turning back and smirking at us.
"It connects to somewhere else, like I said. With some of the Ancient Magics that they found, they permanently opened that Gate and kept it linked to where it went. Of course, that's a surprise for now, but what you need to know is that they found a wonderful little place where we could - in theory - train an elite group of warriors far quicker than anywhere else. The process is simple, and honestly, if Lady Fenryas knew about it, I doubt she'd ever leave."
The Demoness continued to drag us along, her smirk maintaining its presence on her face as she rested her chin on her palm.
"When we get there, you'll see it in its full glory. Honestly, the fact that it exists is surprising enough, and I find myself enjoying my time there immensely~! This place is like a whetstone for warriors, and I do hope that you five will sharpen those edges further during your time there..."
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