146 Helces Dilemma (1/2)

Located in the middle of the Elven forest, a blonde Elf stood in an exquisitely crafted house located near the top of the trees. The house was well-hidden and placed in a strategic position such that one was able to see the vast expanse of the forest, but it would be hard for others to locate.

Not only strategically positioned, it had been laden with various spells, formations and traps. This was the house of the last remaining High Elf, His Majesty the King of Elves.

Helce knelt respectfully, her head lowered, blonde hair almost touching the floor. Though not a word was spoken to allow her out of her kneeling posture, the Elf remained without moving a single muscle nor fidgeting.

Her eyes were respectfully directed towards the ground, and her long ears trembled in anticipation and fear.

”Rise,” she finally heard. The voice was cold, emotionless, but it held the vestiges of the grace and majesty from the King himself.

Smoothly, the Elf moved out of her position in an elegant manner, rising from the ground, but maintained a bowing and respectful position.

”My King,” Helce murmured, wanting ever so badly to look at His Majesty's grandeur, but refrained from doing so. The last time she had done so, she received a deep cut to her face that could not be healed as a warning.

Though the scar she obtained was from overstepping her boundaries, she wore it with pride. In an odd, twisted sense, she felt happy that she contained the mark of the King, Zephyr.

His Majesty the King of Elves sat on his throne, but there was only himself and Helce in the room. Helce used to hope that she had been regarded as special by the King, but she knew better now.

She had been chosen out of so many not because she held a special significance in the King's heart, but because she had never once overstepped her boundaries, leaving the King alone where she should.

She did not touch him, did not dare to look at him for more than a brief glance. She carried out all of his orders to perfection, and most importantly, did not ever try and exert any influence over him.

Though the ministers of court tried to impeach the King for more heirs, His Majesty remained silent over such matters, as if it did not matter that he was the last High Elf, and last of the Royal lineage.

”Report,” His Majesty said shortly, but she was used to it.

”Things are progressing quicker than we thought. The filthy undead are doing their roles well and doing it quickly. Some of them are even going out during the day to wreck more cities and villages.

”A total of 159 of them have reached the Fifth Circle, 90 at the Sixth Circle, 41 at the Seventh, and 4 at the Eighth,” Helce paused, finishing her summary.

Though she could not see his expression, the atmosphere in the room grew heavier, and she knew that he was displeased. She reigned in her reflex to reassure him that more of them would advance to appease him. From what she had garnered, the last Elf who did that died a messy death.

Though she would not hate leaving the world from His Majesty personally killing her, she craved to stay at his side for as long as he would let her. She wanted to see His Majesty's face when she finally stood with him at the start of a new world.

”Bring that lich to me.”

Helce secretly grit her teeth. ”Yes, Your Majesty.” As displeased as she was with his decision, her voice was still soft and compliant.

Had it only been the strange habits of wearing excessively gaudy, revealing clothing and wearing obscene amounts of makeup that did not suit her at all, she could handle it. There were stranger things that she could have taken up, but the blasted lich had grown more and more delusional as time went on.

It became startlingly apparent when Helce made a random drop in to check over progress, only to find that the lich had taken to changing around random undead as her 'lover'.

Had she not stopped her, Helce was even worried that the lich might try to break into Cosmos City unnecessarily and before they were truly ready, trying to abduct her so-called lover.

To counter this, she had left behind a couple of capable subordinates to look after the demented lich. Sometimes, she wondered whether or not they had really brought the intended person back whole. The more she thought about it, the more it felt like the mind brought back had been fractured in the process.

Unfortunately, there were no other viable options available to them at this stage, and the undead were almost solely under her rule.

The other lich that they had managed to procure was only able to handle a pitiful amount of undead before he had overloaded and went insane, joining the roaming undead in their terror of the living.

Apparently, that the so-called 'love crazy' one that they procured the first time was gifted and excelling in the necromancy that was needed, and they could scarcely hope that they would be able to luck out and find another exceptionally gifted one.

As such, the Elves had no choice but to acquiesce to some of her less outrageous demands. However, the lich did not need to know that, and they made sure that they never gave a hint that she could obtain more should she try to push.