My New Life As A Kid Goddess: Book 3 - Kingdom Goddess Arc 2

Arc 2: Kingdom Goddess - Chapter 62

The brilliant light of the moon filled the dark sky as Neske flew, the cold winds below the clouds whipping around the wings of her bat form. From this far above the world everything looked small and insignificant, a view that enhanced her already strong superiority complex. The kingdom stretched out as far as the eye could see in every direction with forests, plains, and cities appearing like a patchwork quilt. Her goal was in sight however as in the near distance the Hiejeuk Mountains stood tall like the spine of the world rising up from the earth.

She had been flying for many hours by now, the journey from Vinedenne having taken half the night. Now the moon was quite low in the sky and the sun would be climbing up to take its place in only a couple more hours. The remaining flight would take less than an hour however so she had little to worry about, not that the sun could actually harm her thanks to the ring she possessed. The bright and unforgiving light was still horrible to witness and she hated it regardless.

Soon the vampiress was flying above the mountains, their rocky crags already covered with light layers of snow in some places and heavy blankets in others. It was there among this natural and unforgiving stone fortress of the land that her master's castle stood. She hastened her flight in order to be reunited with him that much sooner. Down out of the sky the giant bat swirled until her destination appeared in a small mountain pass.

There among the rocky crags stood a large castle hewn from the mountainside itself. It stood taller than any human construction with spires standing hundreds of feet tall, only held from toppling by the support struts that went into the mountain itself. Balconies and walkways stretched out to connect the many towers and the handrails were the only barrier keeping pedestrians from falling to the valley far below.

Surrounding the castle were the grounds with tall stone walls forty feet tall enclosing them in an impenetrable aegis. There one would expect beautiful gardens and hedge mazes, but this far up in the unforgiving mountains so close to the sky such things were impossible. Instead sparse scatterings of pine trees and ragged grass were the only vegetation to grace the silent monolith.

The castle and its grounds were devoid of life and no living thing could be found creeping there save for the rare incest down among the stones. That was not to say there was no movement however, for as closer inspection of the place revealed its inhabitants made clear the nature of its ruler. There wandering among the stone buildings and along the walls were skeletons, animated by foul magic and armed as if they were human guards.

Yes. This was Castle Korchok: a place where death held dominion. No living thing was welcome here and none would dare to trespass. Even the wildlife of the mountains avoided the place out of instinct, the undeath clogging the air more suffocating the closer one got to the castle itself. It was here the master of the dead lived and the one who the vampire woman called master.

Barthenor: The Demon Mage of Henjuk. A man who long ago gave up his humanity to continue living forever has an undead abomination, though he wasn't truly living at all. Now he was an undead creature known in legend as a lich, a mere shadow of himself in terms of body as a ragged skeleton walking. His magical abilities though, oh those were even greater than ever before, and even a creature as power as Neske had no choice but to submit to his power.

Neske knew he waited for her return there in his castle, her capture putting her report quite far behind expectations. There was fear in her cold dead heart for his reaction to her arriving so late. All she could do is hope and pray to death itself that she would be spared this day. With these thoughts consuming her mind she flew down to the second floor of the castle where the library was located. Her master would surely be there.

The vampiress alighted on the balcony of the library on her human feet after transforming out of her bat form. The castle was dark as always as everyone occupying it could see in the dark as clearly as it was day. There was however a small light here in the library, the glow of a single candle that assuredly meant the lich was in there. She stood nervously at the door debating what she should say. All the thoughts rolling in her mind were soon overpowered by the understanding that delaying further only carried further risk of punishment. She steeled herself and pushed the door open, stepping into the library and preparing for the worst.