Chapter 973: We are about to find out.
The training field north of Asgard had been built to withstand battles that would destroy any ordinary arena. The ground was formed from massive slabs of black stone reinforced with runes, the walls contained layers of draconic metal, and several transparent barriers surrounded the area to prevent stray attacks from reaching the nearby districts. Even with all those protections, cracks crossed part of the terrain, columns had been destroyed, and one of the side barriers flickered whenever another wave of energy struck its surface.
Lithara advanced through the center of the field with a wide smile on her face. Dark demonic energy covered her arms and extended around her fingers, forming curved claws that followed her movements. She attacked Albedo with a rapid sequence of strikes, alternating between direct slashes, feints, and small explosions designed to limit her escape routes.
Albedo blocked the first two attacks with a forearm protected by a layer of black energy, leaned away from the third, and answered with a side kick. Lithara crossed her arms over her chest and absorbed the impact, but was still pushed several meters backward. Her boots scraped across the ground until she opened her wings and stopped the movement.
"You are stronger," Lithara commented as she landed again. "Still quite rigid, but definitely stronger."
Albedo did not seem impressed by the praise. She extended one hand and created three spears of energy above her shoulder. The weapons fired almost simultaneously, forcing Lithara to leap aside. One passed close to her face, another struck the ground, and the third exploded just before impact, scattering black fragments across the area.
Lithara crossed the smoke before Albedo could prepare another attack. Her tail wrapped around the demoness’s ankle and pulled hard, but Albedo followed the motion instead of resisting. She used the fall to rotate her body and struck Lithara’s face with the underside of her boot.
The impact launched her into one of the remaining columns.
The stone shattered behind her.
Lithara remained among the debris for several seconds before pushing away a block that had fallen over her shoulder.
"That was rude."
"You tried to knock me down."
"It was training."
"So was that."
Albedo did not give her time to fully emerge from the rubble. She advanced with her wings spread, gathered energy over her fist, and attacked the point where Lithara stood. The Succubus Queen disappeared an instant before impact, leaving only a cloud of pink mist behind.
Albedo’s fist destroyed the rest of the column.
Lithara reappeared behind her and wrapped one arm around her neck, pressing a small blade of energy against the demoness’s throat.
"You lost."
Albedo moved her eyes to the side and observed the blade.
"You used illusion magic."
"I am a succubus. Did you expect me to fight like an ogre?"
Albedo grabbed the arm around her neck and tried to throw her, but Lithara dismissed the blade and moved away with a laugh. The fight had not officially ended, but both of them lowered their energy. The barrier around the field stopped flickering, and the few soldiers watching from a distance finally relaxed.
Albedo walked toward a table placed near the wall and picked up a towel. She wiped the dust from her face, looked toward Lithara, and asked the question she had been avoiding since overhearing the conversation in the office.
"Who is Apocalypse?"
Lithara stopped tying back her hair. Immediate amusement appeared across her face, as though she had been expecting the question since they left city hall.
"Are you curious?"
"I do not like unknown people appearing and claiming they have a connection to Strax."
"That sounds like curiosity."
"It is caution."
"Of course."
Lithara walked toward the table and picked up a bottle of water. She drank several mouthfuls before sitting on the edge, allowing her tail to sway slowly behind her.
"When I met Strax, he had a very powerful horse."
Albedo waited.
Lithara continued.
"A mare. Very beautiful, fast, and with a strange presence for an animal. He mentioned that he bought her from a merchant Samira trusted."
Albedo frowned slightly.
"Is that all?"
"No. I am only beginning."
Lithara placed the bottle beside herself.
"Apocalypse was not a normal mount. She knew how to cultivate."
Albedo took several seconds to answer.
"A cultivating horse."
"Exactly."
"You are serious?"
"Completely. She absorbed energy, strengthened her body, and clearly understood far more than any animal should. She also had a very strong personality. Proud, impatient, and slightly possessive."
"Of Strax?"
"Especially him."
Albedo crossed her arms.
"How does a horse learn cultivation?"
"It seems Apocalypse had a master before Strax. We do not know much about that person, but someone taught her cultivation methods, energy circulation, and probably a technique for developing intelligence. Even as an animal, she had already begun following her own path before she was purchased."
Lithara looked toward the sky for a moment, trying to organize her memories.
"When Strax still traveled by road, Apocalypse was one of the few mounts capable of keeping up with him. She crossed forests, deserts, ruined cities, and battlefields without complaint. She also attacked people when she disliked them."
"She attacked people?"
"She bit, kicked, or pretended not to understand commands. Once, she tried to throw me off a cliff."
Albedo raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
Lithara smiled.
"I was hugging Strax while we rode."
"I understand."
"Do not look at me like that. It was a perfectly innocent situation."
Albedo did not believe her, but decided not to argue over that detail.
Lithara continued the explanation. As Strax grew more powerful, his body had begun to change. First came his absurd physical abilities, then the elements, the partial transformations, and finally his complete draconic form. Traveling by land stopped being necessary when he could cross entire kingdoms by flying.
"So he stopped using Apocalypse as transportation," Lithara concluded. "It did not happen all at once. First, he began traveling alone on certain missions. Then he started using his wings over longer distances. Eventually, there was almost no reason to ride her."
Albedo looked toward the cracks in the field.
"She felt useless."
"Yes."
Lithara was no longer smiling in quite the same way. There was more seriousness in her voice.
"And the feeling of abandonment is the most powerful after hatred. Perhaps even more dangerous, depending on the person."
Albedo did not need to ask whether Strax had truly abandoned the animal. She knew him well enough to understand that he probably had not realized the effect of his absence. To him, Apocalypse had stopped being necessary as transportation, but she still belonged to the group. To Apocalypse herself, that change must have meant something entirely different.
"So she isolated herself in seclusion," Albedo said. "She continued cultivating until she obtained a human form."
Lithara nodded.
"That is the summary."
"How long?"
"Years."
"And no one went looking for her?"
"She made it clear that she did not want to be disturbed. Besides, Apocalypse was always independent. Strax believed she would return when she was satisfied with the result."
Albedo remained silent for several seconds. The idea of an animal cultivating for years merely to acquire a form capable of walking beside its master seemed absurd, but not entirely impossible within that group. Strax attracted people and creatures incapable of accepting weakness.
"Do you know what she looks like now?"
Lithara shrugged.
"No."
"She did not show you her appearance?"
"No. When we separated, I placed communication magic on her. A small mark, only so we could speak even if she traveled very far away. That is why I noticed when the connection changed."
Albedo moved several steps closer.
"Changed how?"
"Before, I felt something similar to an animal presence—powerful and intelligent, but still organized around instincts. Now the signature is completely different. More stable, much denser, and structured like a human."
"And you spoke."
"A little."
Albedo hesitated before asking the next question. Lithara noticed and her smile grew wider.
"Her voice is..."
"Very sexy," Lithara answered immediately.
Albedo fell silent.
Lithara placed one hand over her chest with an exaggeratedly innocent expression.
"I am partly responsible for that. During a particularly difficult period, I poured many of my lustful comments through that connection."
"Why?"
"Because I was complaining that Strax never looked at me, even though I was the Succubus Queen."
Albedo stared at Lithara as though trying to decide which part of that sentence was more problematic.
"You taught lust to a horse."
"I would not phrase it that way."
"That is exactly what happened."
"I was merely sharing my feelings."
"In detail?"
Lithara looked away.
"Perhaps some."
Albedo closed her eyes and breathed slowly.
"How much did she hear?"
"Years of complaints, fantasies, seduction strategies, criticism of Strax’s behavior, and very useful observations about the male body."
"You corrupted her mind."
"Or improved it."
"She was a horse."
"Now she is a woman."
"That does not make it better."
Lithara began laughing, and Albedo had to suppress the urge to resume training just so she could strike her one more time. Before she could answer, the communication magic hidden beneath Lithara’s skin warmed. The Succubus Queen stopped laughing and placed two fingers against the side of her neck.
A female voice crossed the connection.
It was soft, mature, and slow, carrying a natural confidence that did not need to rise in volume to hold attention. There was something elegant in every word, but also an ancient familiarity, as though the owner of that voice had waited far too long to finally say them.
"Lithara."
The succubus kept her fingers over the mark.
"Apocalypse?"
"I am close."
Albedo noticed the change in her expression.
"How close?"
Lithara transmitted the question.
There was a brief pause.
"I can see the towers."
Lithara raised her eyes toward the sky north of the training field.
Albedo followed her gaze.
At first, there was nothing but thin clouds, smoke from the factories, and Asgard’s great towers rising in the distance. Then an unfamiliar pressure appeared along the horizon. It was not hostile, but carried enough weight to make the animals in the nearby stables grow restless.
A white figure walked through the air toward the city.
Long hair moved behind her while golden details reflected beneath the morning light. Each step created a small platform of energy that lasted for several seconds before disappearing as soon as her foot left it.
Albedo watched the approaching figure and turned toward Lithara.
"Did you truly corrupt her mind?"
Lithara gave a nervous smile.
"We are about to find out."