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After hearing everything Kajithe had to say, Daddy Sardine paused in thought. He nodded, conjuring a glowing orb from his hand and gently placing Kajithe’s spirit soul within it.
"You’ve done well, Kajithe! Rest here and slowly reform your spirit body. I will ensure the information reaches the Main Branch of our Family and Lady Khione."
He praised Kajithe for his efforts, assuring him that he could now rest and begin the gradual process of reforming his spirit body. The information would be relayed to the Main Branch of their family and Lady Khione without fail.
"T-Thank you...!"
Exhausted beyond measure, Kajithe whispered his gratitude before slipping into a deep slumber inside the crystal orb. Daddy Sardine’s Spirit Power enveloped him, hastening the regeneration of his fractured spirit body.
"No, wait!"
Just as silence settled, Kajithe’s eyes snapped open. He had heard screams. Two voices. Survivors.
"Daddy Sardine!"
He called out urgently to Daddy Sardine, who turned with a weary sigh, asking what was wrong.
"What is it now?"
"A Fairy named Katherine survived! And an Ancient Golden Koi, named Goldie...! They must be alive somewhere...! We need to rescue them. They were friends with Elayne and her family!"
Kajithe explained that a Fairy named Katherine and an Ancient Golden Koi named Goldie had survived. Somewhere, they remained alive. They had been close to Elayne and her family, and they needed to be rescued.
"...! But entering the Death Domain is risky! It’s almost a death sentence, Kajithe!"
"But...! They... although our time together was brief... they’re friends I cannot abandon."
"Hmm..."
Daddy Sardine hesitated. The Death Domain was perilous, nearly a death sentence for anyone who entered. But Kajithe insisted. Though their time together had been brief, they were friends he could not abandon.
After a moment of silence, Daddy Sardine nodded again. He conjured a massive, glowing ball of yarn that expanded outward, unraveling into dozens of vibrant, cat-shaped familiars woven from magical threads.
He sent them forth with a command to find the two survivors.
"Rainbow Yarn Cat Familiars, go find those two!"
"Meow!"
The familiars meowed in unison and darted into the Death Domain, weaving through the nether and miasma, searching for signs of life within the decaying forest.
Daddy Sardine watched them depart, then turned back to the orb. He had done all he could for now. It was time to move on.
The cats ventured into the Death Domain, braving the nether and miasma while searching for any signs of life within the decaying forest.
"I have done everything I can right now, Kajithe. I’m sorry, but we must go now."
"I... okay..."
Kajithe felt frustrated with himself.
If only he were stronger.
If only he hadn’t been so lazy and unwilling to help!
Perhaps if he had been more alert, he could have noticed that Clotho was stalking them.
It was his duty, and yet he had ruined everything!
"My son..."
Daddy Sardine sensed Kajithe’s worries.
"Don’t blame yourself for what happened. A power beyond your comprehension appeared and snatched our fortune. There was nothing you could have done."
"But even then...! Elayne and everyone else... they’re dead...! After everything they did, they were like our heroes..."
Kajithe cried inside the orb, overwhelmed by sorrow.
There had to be something he could do.
Anything!
"Ah!"
He looked at the skies, recalling something.
His sharp cat ears could help him listen to events unfolding and piece together what had happened inside the castle.
At one point, Elayne had told her daughter to run away.
Then he heard a distortion in space, a portal leading somewhere.
He had also heard that Elayne had a Domain on Earth, a sanctuary where Spirits could live peacefully.
Maybe...
Just maybe!
"I know a place where we could escape and take refuge, and we might even find some survivors there, Daddy Sardine!"
"Kajithe! I see... But... you don’t intend to merely survive, do you?"
"Of course not...! Whatever it takes, I will do anything I can to help the survivors avenge Lady Elayne! Such a kindhearted person...! She will not die in vain!"
"Hahah... you’ve truly grown, son."
Daddy Sardine regrouped with Queen Khione and shared what had happened and his plans. She was deeply shocked to learn someone as powerful as Clotho was serving their new enemy.
With King Oberon under his control and even a goddess serving him, this Alien God, the so-called "Demon King of Death," had become an immensely threatening entity.
This was compounded by the fact that not only those two but also literal Demons from Hell served him, alongside all his Undead!
Without their King and with Khione’s siblings still missing, the only option was to visit the villages, gather as many survivors as possible, and escape Avalon.
"To Earth, you say? I suppose it’s the only way out... the mortal plane is a dimension where other realms cannot easily exert their authority or warp it as they please..." Khione said. "Elayne created a Domain too, a sanctuary for spirits! Perhaps she sent her daughter there. I must find Elena and help her in this terrible time!"
Khione swiftly set off into the skies with Chloe after securing as many people as she could, while Daddy Sardine used a teleportation scroll to travel to the Main Branch of his Tribe, beginning preparations to escape before the Death Domain could reach them.
Meanwhile, within the Decaying Spirit Forest surrounding the ruined Palace of Fairy King Oberon, a weakened fairy crawled through the nether and miasma, her decayed wings rendering her unable to fly.
"Aaagh...! Aahhh...! Elayne...! Uuugh..."
She wept constantly in agony and sorrow, realizing her dear and beloved master had been killed cold-bloodedly. She could barely muster the will to live.
"Ahhh... Why... why...!"
As she cried, she suddenly noticed something.
A presence lurking in the shadows.
A being began pursuing her.
"Aahhh!"
She ran as fast as she could, but white spiderwebs ensnared her, preventing further movement.
"No...!"
A giant spider-like monster approached, its upper half a pale woman with white hair and sharp red eyes.
She glared at Katherine with a smile, revealing her giant, monstrous spider mandibles.
"Heheheh...! Lady Clotho was right...! There’s plenty of delicious food here..."
Katherine was terrified. This monster was unlike anything she had ever seen.
It wasn’t merely an undead, and it carried an aura of myth within it.
"An Arachne from the Realm of Olympus?!"
"Ah, yes, it seems you know who we are. That’s nice of you! Now, stay there. It’ll end quickly."
Katherine tried to muster her spirit magic, but the thick miasma and nether contaminated her body and spirit heart, rendering it impossible.
"You’re powerless here... I shall enjoy sucking your juices and devouring that crunchy, delicious spirit heart..."
The Arachne seized Katherine, opening her jaws and biting her neck, injecting deadly venom into her system.
"A-Ahh...! Uugh...! Ma... master..."
Shedding one final tear, Katherine slowly began losing consciousness, feeling her insides melting painfully.
"Now, I shall devour you thoroughly and—"
"MEREOW!"
"Wha...?!"
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