Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power Chapter 415: Meeting with Echidna
Previously on Killed Me? Now I Have Your Power...
Inara strolled solitary this time, accompanied solely by Oeil concealed beneath her eyepatch, leaving her other monsters behind.
Corridors formed from discarded snake skins flanked her on both sides, guiding her deeper into the heart of her castle.
Her footsteps rang with unyielding command, the echo of her boots striking the scaly ground resounding loudly in the confined area.
Though her exterior radiated serenity, Inara's inner turmoil raged fiercely. She was on the verge of encountering the pivotal figure who had shaped her very essence.
The being who bestowed upon her the title of Heiress of the Mother of Monsters, enabling her to cast off her ordinary snake princess identity and evolve into a superior entity.
Through Echidna's guidance, Inara had undergone a genuine transformation.
Unwillingly, a mix of reverence and dread clenched her heart tightly at the mere notion of Echidna.
For this reason, Inara had consistently shunned another meeting with her, even though she was aware it was possible.
Options had vanished now.
Foes unrelated to her own pursuits loomed threateningly close, like ravenous predators. She didn't require direct confrontation to sense their desire to tear her apart utterly.
"Well fuck those unknown bastards. I cannot goddamnit allow that," Inara whispered, her single eye twisting and shattered like fractured glass, "I still have many things to accomplish. Death is not an option. And it will never be one."
The Snake Princess clenched her fists hard, then came to a stop, reaching her intended spot.
Her gaze fixed on the tombstone ahead. Just as before, a horde of monsters—countless as maggots on decaying matter—were carved into its surface.
Those very creatures surrounded a woman perched upon a throne.
Recollections from her initial visit surged through her thoughts, yet Inara dismissed them firmly.
Reminiscing held no place at this moment.
She shut her eye momentarily, releasing a breath from her nostrils and lips.
Emerald vapor billowed forth, twisting, snarling, and bubbling as if alive.
Extending her right arm, she placed her palm firmly on the chilled tombstone face.
Mana remained unused.
Instead, she employed her blood, and the tombstone ignited in a vivid black-green radiance, engulfing Inara entirely.
...
Inara dropped to her knees amid an ocean of dark blood, her brows furrowed as she fought to dispel the disorienting effects of the harsh teleportation from her mind.
Such respite eluded her.
"Oh, my disciple has come to see me, at last." Echidna’s voice echoed across the domain of fallen monsters, prompting Inara to raise her head gradually, fixing her gaze on the alluringly wicked Mother of Monsters.
Echidna beamed with genuine warmth, as though delighted by Inara's return after so long.
Yet all Inara perceived were countless—hundreds, thousands, perhaps billions?—eyes piercing her very soul via Echidna's mouth.
Though transformed herself, Inara couldn't stifle a shiver before that vision.
"You have grown." Echidna continued, appearing thoroughly satisfied, "Blood indeed doesn’t lie. Oh, and the more you grow up the more you look more like . Wonderful. Truly wonderful. My dear snake princess, come and tell mother how have you been."
Perplexed by Echidna's odd phrasing, Inara swiftly recalled her purpose for this visit.
She rose unsteadily at once, the splashes of her movement rippling through the air.
Enveloping her form in her aura, she shielded herself from the toxic odor and the blood of the deceased monsters.
The stench proved utterly repulsive, akin to a sodden refuse heap, only intensified.
Overhead, a blood-red sky loomed, dominated by a massive, winking black slit eye gazing downward.
Inara blinked in surprise. This differed from her previous visit, she mused.
Did her increased strength allow her to pierce the illusion now?
Inara lacked answers. And speculation would have to wait.
"I greet the Mother of Monsters." Inara inclined her head respectfully, "and though I wouldn’t mind boring you with my life recently..."
"Oh, my lovely princess, you will never bore me with your life."
"...I have urgent things to discuss with you, master." Inara finished, leading Echidna to cock her head in understanding.
"Let me guess. The barrier is already down?" She remarked, her smile gentle.
However, Inara detected a sharp chill lurking beneath that expression.
"Yes." Inara affirmed with a nod, unsurprised by her awareness, "in at most three days, it would completely disappear. I have created my own barrier, but I know it won’t last long. That’s why I am here, master."
She peered intently into Echidna’s eyes. Regret struck the Snake Princess immediately. She averted her gaze, swore inwardly, yet pressed on,
"I need to know who I am fighting." Inara declared, "I need to know why I felt like they wish nothing but to completely destroy me, with not even ashes of me left."
"Well, my princess," Echidna snarled, "do you know a slave who wouldn’t wish anything but to destroy his slaver and the collar around his neck?"
"Huh?" Inara blurted, "what the fuc—! I mean, what do you mean?"
"It’s simple, my sweet princess. It’s very simple." Echidna murmured, tilting her head skyward, her tone laced with furious maternal warmth, "The created have forgotten the Creator. The beasts have bitten the hand of the feeding Master."
As Echidna spoke further, Inara's eyes grew wider, her heart pounding in growing horror.
Echidna brought her gaze back down, locking onto Inara's eyes profoundly.
And in that instant, she transformed.
Her form twisted into a mass of billions of mouths in every shape, size, and hue, all gaping wide.
Then she — — uttered.
Inara sensed the world crashing upon her as the enraged, splintered voices of the Mother of Monsters invaded her thoughts.
"The Falcon can no longer hear the Falconer." The Mother of Monsters shrieked, the realm quaking from her rage, "and for that, Inara, my princess, they need to die."
She bellowed with immense fury!
"THEY NEED TO DIE FOR BETRAYING THEIR MOTHER!!!!"
...
Meanwhile, within the Order of Orion, Sky underwent the ritual to claim his Third Scars.
The man had matured noticeably, his lengthy red hair bound in a ponytail, his eyes burning with crimson fire.
He presented a captivating figure, drawing adoring glances from Katy. Yet she wasn't alone; numerous others swooned over Sky, cementing his status as the Order's most adored individual.
This rang true.
Yet he was equally the most despised, owing to possessions that eluded the grasp of so many.
To them, Sky embodied the sky itself.
A presence visible yet unattainable, no matter their efforts.
Sky paid no heed to such matters. His focus lay instead on the scene before him—or encircling him.
Achieving the Third Scars in the Order of Orion marked a profound shift. Full acknowledgment as a key figure now granted access to forbidden sights.
At present, in the Room of Peerless Scars, encircled by his master and two elite Orion members, Sky examined the images gracing the chamber's walls.
Each depiction portrayed the identical monster type, though faint variations indicated distinct specimens. In essence, same breed, varied beings.
But,
"What is this?" Sky inquired, eyeing the images. His nostrils flared slightly, the aroma of charred meat permeating the space.
The monster stood towering, pitch-black, constructed wholly from bones. Goatish horns protruded from their skulls, thrusting skyward with keen points.
They donned garments woven from elementals, draping their frames like mist.
Every such monster bore a bow. And Sky observed them drawing bones from their own forms, elements coiling around them as projectiles.
"Oh, this?" His master replied with a keen grin, "I wonder, what does it look like to you?"
Sky tore his gaze from the images to confront him—no, all of them.
Cracking bone sounds filled the air as Sky watched his master and the two other Seven-Scars members morph into the very monsters shown.
His frame quivered briefly, and his master’s words drifted to him.
"This is our true form. This is our nature, how we were born."
"We are not human, Sky. We are BoneHunters."
"And it’s time for you to know the true face of our Order."
—End of Chapter 415—