“What’s a core slayer, mother?”

  I must have not hid the fear from my voice when she came over to me.

  “Where did you hear that?”

  “The [Marques] will be sending a requisition for it.”

  She winces, she knows I am listening into their conversations. She sighs.

  “It's a weapon used at the center of a dungeon to end their existence. My understanding is that it is plunged into the direct center of the dungeon and continuously vibrates until the dungeon shatters. It requires you to slay the core boss first.”

  So not an immediate death. More reason to hide the entrance. Perhaps it's time to surrender my title after all.

  “If they are going to that length then it won't be long till they have orders to slay me on sight.”

  She shakes her head, “I believe this is so he can negotiate from a position of strength, dear.” She thinks on that, then comes to a decision, “I will petition her Majesty to deny the request.”

  With that she leaves me alone in the adventurer guild. It's fine. It's only a few nights. A titter escapes.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 48 unallocated stat points

  Sister, how about we switch? I can feel your nervousness.

  -...No, I'm fine. I'm more versatile than you are at the moment. It's only a few days.

  Just remember our preparations for adventurers work just as well on knights. They won't get to our core.

  I feel her try to brighten up at that but it just becomes more morose. I didn't feel any better about it. They would pile into our hall until they flooded it with corpses and there is no telling if we could even stop them. Should they breach the core itself, Lea would be dead and we would follow after. We had no hope of beating a person who could survive that death trap.

  -You're definitely not helping.

  Sorry.

  -I think we should surrender our title to the roc.

  Don't want to be a lady of the plains anymore?

  -A fun thought but we can't protect ourselves.

  If we did that the mana interface would be wherever we create an entrance. I feel there has to be an entrance.

  -And the knights have our keys. Damn.

  I don't think it's time to reclaim our keys yet.

  -Nothing says we need them, we can just have an entrance open till we generate more.

  Now there is some thinking. Just three more weeks sister.

  I feel her nod and I continue fiddling with the interface.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 48 unallocated stat points

  I hear her approach the door. I open it before she can grasp the handle. I am already hugging her torso as she awkwardly walks into my room.

  “Hi sweetie. How have you been holding up?”

  Terrible but I got my void core to advance.

  She frowns at me, “You stopped talking.”

  I look at her wide eyed. I fuse with my arcane tail.

  “Sorry mom, I've been so alone and outside my tails that I was falling out of the habit.”

  She gives me a flick to the forehead. Then rubs her finger, rather annoyed.

  “Sorry, I went back to mithril bones for this form. Everything under the dress is scaled as well.”

  All my forms were at the moment. War footing. She gives me a squeeze and feels the hardness of the scales. It only makes her squeeze harder.

  “You're only eleven, you shouldn't be dealing with this.”

  No kidding. She asks a different question.

  “Is there anything new with the knights?”

  I shake my head, “Sir Ujan has been submitting all his reports in paper and Gregory has been assigned to help Dame Hecnae. I can only assume they think one of them is a mole.”

  I feel a ringing in my soul. Fucking hell, the bell.

  “Seems someone wants to have a conversation, mom.”

  -----

  I am on the throne next to Red. Attendant form for me, Maxwell mage for her. A little irked that I have to be in this form.

  We are in the conference room with both the viscount and the marques. Ericnae is with the marques while Yosef attends to the viscount. Lea acts as our attendant.

  “No [Countess] this time.” The marques inquired.

  “Mother had urgent business in the capital.” Red intones.

  There was a feeling of smugness from the knight commander.

  “Excellent.”

  He gets up and starts heading towards the arena.

  “Wait, what are you doing?”

  He continues walking.

  “[Marques]!” The viscount shouts.

  He wouldn't.

  -He is.

  “I suppose I am to submit or die then [Count] Ericnae.”

  He gives me a sad smile.

  Lea…stay out of this.

  But he will kill you…

  -----

  The door opens and he enters the core. Both of us enter the core as well. Twin spiders. I had not yet assumed this form, the blood tail. I was bigger than my sister. My chitten is blood red. I had mothers hair and her robe. Just one set of arms. The body was modest.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  -You look like her too.

  I give Violet a bittersweet smile as I watch her body die. My illusion doesn't need air but she does. I hold her close to me, sharing my empathy that her body lacks. I look back at the knight commander, his soul dwarfs ours. There is a path of shattered tiles behind him. I push execute for the custom cover spell…it fails. Can I not erase my existence in here? Damn.

  There are no words said, can't be said. The vacuum can't carry sound after all. I hug my sister and she returns it. A sword enters the ground in front of us. I look up at him and he is looking increasingly annoyed. He leaves with the sword embedded in the ground. It's awhile but he returns again looking even more annoyed. He cuts his finger and begins to write on the floor. The blood boils as he smears it.

  no way to leave?

  I look at the man confused. It just increases his anger. He becomes increasingly pained. Probably shouldn't have exposed a vein in a vacuum. He seals the wound but the damage has been done. He stares at us until he slumps over and dies.

  -----

  The knight commander returned to the conference in his under garments. I placed his gear in front of him. I drink some blood but not his. His blood is sequestered. I fear what would happen should I drink something so potent. Annoying to revive my body while my sister gets to prance around in an illusion. I am stuck in this form till it fully revives.

  “I'm unsure what the goal was there [Marques].” Red starts the conversation as the marques dresses himself .

  “Ah well, I was planning on having you at my mercy and dictating terms, but you immediately surrendered and I was unable to speak. Quite frankly I was expecting a battle. Why did you not fight back?”

  I look at him with annoyance. My sister joins me. Red answers.

  “Fundmentally, there was no winning solution, I defeat you and you are outside my instance incensed at which point I have to kill you outside which leads the entire Queendom to hunt me down. You defeat me and either I don't wake up cause you used a core slayer or things are worse in six days. Or the last choice you slaughter me and either the core slayer is used or we return in six days and at least I can have the high ground of calling you an asshole.”

  He laughs at the last part. It takes awhile before he calms, “So in the end, I'm not an asshole but we are still at an impasse. I was hoping to take your measure.”

  I made a snorting sound as Red continued, “You're still an asshole and I think you found it.”

  “I suppose I have. You are logical at the least, why have you taken this course of action?”

  We both sigh, I drink more while Red continues, “I told you I had no desire to be imprisoned and yet you have gone straight to imprisoning me. For what? Because I can create monsters that are below tier two? It rankles me that you decided this by yourself. I fear the danger that I am but you already condemn me for it.”

  He thinks on that, “I am simply following protocol established for containing valuable but dangerous dungeons.” He gets up and leaves, Ericnae follows.

  We are left alone with the Viscount and Yosef. He gives me a shaky smile. He speaks.

  “I assume the entrance will be removed from your old room then?”

  We both nod. No more meetings inside my dungeon.

  -----

  “Why the hell did you just give up?” Lea is shaking me.

  I look at her annoyed, “I believe you already heard my reasoning.”

  “The fuck I did, miss logically facing her death.”

  Violet looks annoyed as well, Said appears next to her. Guess having a spy is useless if they knew one existed. Said speaks, “Lady Crafter is ultimately a coward, she didn't want to eat the bear and lose her mind to the bliss.”

  I look annoyed at Said, Lea looks annoyed at me.

  “So the big bad monster who feeds off blood is afraid of devouring someone who greatly outweighs herself. I know you went and hid his blood as well.”

  “What? Do you figure you like to take that chance, Lea?” Just thinking about the blood makes my eyes go red. She steps back fearing what she is seeing. The skin on my cheek splits as an eye peers out. I can feel more open across my body. Violet hugs me.

  “Please. Stop.”

  I look at her and see the beady eyes of a rabbit emerge slanted at her brow. I see the distress and try to calm down. It takes a moment but I settle. The cuts close.

  “By the system, what the hell was that?”

  “The Ladies's blood carries the eyes of all her victims, it's a good thing the bear didn't cut her head off, else he may have gone mad.”

  “Sorry Lea, it's been a stressful few days.” I released my tail and willed myself to my smithy.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 48 unallocated stat points

  Soul raised to 1038

  Congratulations to Lindur. Was it Barbain who leveled or the dwarf herself.

  “Does it matter, you got your tribute. You should go claim more.”

  I look at Said, and huff out a sigh. She has a point, or is it I have a point?

  “Is there a point in making a distinction?” She giggles as she says it.

  Suppose not. I leave the guild hall room and appear next to Red. She was back to making [Drain Mana] plates. I nudged her shoulder. She looks at me and smiles.

  -Another level then?

  Level raised to 11

  Strength raised to 1022

  Agility raised to 1020

  Perception raised to 1063

  Constitution raised to 1029

  Presence raised to 1132

  Mental Fortitude raised to 1142

  Intelligence raised to 1209

  Soul raised to 1055

  You tied your supplicants closer to you

  Remaining soul 66

  Remaining soul 814

  I lose my balance and collapse. Stiletto legs are not conducive to agility bulk leveling. Red rubs my side.

  -That had to hurt.

  “More the lady's pride than her side.” Said squeaks in a sing-song voice.

  I have yet to go back to the hall to replace the invisible sticky thread. It did jack all to stop our latest intruder. I look at my vine hair, and it becomes metallic. Thin as hair. I removed a strand with a bit of void. I drag it across my skin. It cuts. Perhaps a bit of piano wire is necessary. My hair becomes transparent. I start making a bunch for Lea to grouse about.

  -----

  This is a daily reminder: You have 32 unallocated stat points

  Mags appears next to me with Violet. She is looking rather annoyed.

  I am about to have my ghost enter me when Violet stops me.

  -The blood tail, sister.

  I look up at her as she assumes her own version of it. Fine. The ghost enters my body and I grow to assume the eight blood red daggers of legs. While my sister's legs are rough chitin, mine have become angular…sharp blades. My blond tresses fall around my priestess robes. The robes themselves are stained in blood. Mags takes it all in and winces.

  “Sorry.”

  Even my voice is stained. Mags walks up to me and hugs me.

  “I wasn't expecting you to claim the slander of my enemies as an embodiment, Sara. All and all, you look rather dangerous there, why are you bigger than your sister?”

  “I don't know? It wasn't a conscious decision.”

  “Match?”

  I shake my head in the negative. I was unable to shift the form smaller.

  “I hope it's not linked to how you view yourself.”

  I laugh, “I am not being overwhelmed by feelings of monstrous loathing mother. If anything this form is like a coiled spring. Ready to attack.”

  “Not sure how I feel about that.” She gives a huff. It gets another chuckle out of me.

  I idly take a swig of blood from my bloodskin. Violet and Mags become alarmed.

  “What?”

  “Dear, you always separated when taking blood, but not this time.”

  “It is the tail associated with my blood core, it would be a poor form to be undone by blood.”

  “You don't mind returning to your kitsune form do you?”

  I shrug and my ghost leaves me. They both sigh in relief. I shift to my attendant form…a part of me longs for the other form…I take a breath.

  “How was your trip, were you able to prevent the deployment of the core slayer?”

  Mags grows more agitated, “The requisition was never sent. I'm not sure what Zind game is playing at.”

  “Figures.”

  We look at Violet, Said answers, “Lady Dungeon assumes the [Marques] knew we were listening and used the opportunity to get Magdeline to not be by our side. He was rather happy you weren't there.”

  “You met with him without me?”

  “In our dungeon conference room, it was a mistake. He used the opportunity to breach my core.”

  She is growing angrier, “Did you kill him then? It has not been six days since I saw you last.”

  I looked away, Violet was not forthcoming either. Said flitted away.

  “Sara.”

  It was Lea who said it, as if waiting to tell on me, “She had given up, too afraid to fight. She simply hugged her sister and waited for the end. That the [Marques] had no taste for slaughtering the unwilling is the only reason the dungeon isn't on a lock down.”

  Mags shudders and pulls us both into a hug. She whispers a question to me. “Has the burden become too great to fight, Sara?”

  I tear up, “It would have escalated and I didn't want to drink his blood…I fear I'd chase him down and end him if I did. Then it would be the knight garrison. I don't think I would have stopped. I don't want them to send you after me…”

  “I would have refused. You feared losing yourself more than death.”

  “Death, temporary.”