BXBX NOVEL Chapter 286 285: Shared Relief
Watching Mom move to the couch and collapse, yawning tiredly, I sighed as I began to think through what I should tell Miss Julie before I turned back towards Mom and asked her something.
"Hey, Mom... Ka\'Hondi was the one to place the Soul Bond on Kat and I, correct? Doesn\'t that mean that Ka\'Hondi should be able to tell us where she is?"
Glancing over at me, Mom grinned as she muttered "She really does have a brain huh~?"
Cracking her neck, Mom nodded as she ignored my glare, saying "In theory, yes, Ka\'Hondi knows where she is since they were the one to place the Soul Bond on both you and her. In practice, Ka\'Hondi will try and extort any and everything from you should you try and make a deal with them, and unless you have a foolproof line of question and enough to give up, the Arch Fiend we have chained in our basement will fuck with you until you go crazy from anger."
Frowning, I asked "Then what about beating the answer out of Ka\'Hondi? Isn\'t that something that we could do? Isn\'t that how our Ancestor managed to capture Ka\'Hondi? A contest of strength to subdue them?"
Scoffing, Mom raised a brow at me, as if saying \'What, are you stupid?\' before rolling her eyes.
"Listen, I know history was your strong suit, but you should know better than most that what\'s written in those books is biased, fairytale stories to soothe peoples egos and embellish the tales. Ka\'Hondi isn\'t just a Fiend, Jahi. Ka\'Hondi IS war. Ka\'Hondi IS death. There is no \'beating\' war and death into submission, no sweet words or pacts that could bind such a being to us. Not normally, anyways. Try as you might with your Light Magic, you\'re still centuries away from making Ka\'Hondi submit to you using force.
The reason such a being like Ka\'Hondi deigns to remain with us is because we offer entertainment. When the next Asmodia reaches 20 years of age Ka\'Hondi challenges them to a duel, selecting a host and determining if we\'re still worthy of housing them. For centuries now we\'ve kept them here because, whilst he is a Fiend, they have their own code of honor, and they made a pact with Durukti Asmodia, our founder. She was the only one to best them when they were in their true form, and she bound them to us, with the stipulation that they would need to remain here with us as long as the next generation could best their puppets.
So far, the only Asmodia that made Ka\'Hondi truly amiable... has been me. Now, however, they have their sights set on you. I can still exert my will over the Arch Fiend of war, wrath, and death, but they no longer answer to me as they used to. Instead, they focus on you. So, unless you wish to take the challenge a decade in advance, I would stay away from Ka\'Hondi. And trust me, you are nowhere near close to being capable of even standing in Ka\'Hondi\'s presence. You thought that Draconis you fought was hard? Before an Arch Fiend, a Draconis is little more than what a baby human is to you. Nothing."
My frown deepened as I listened to Mom speak, before I sighed as I sat on the couch opposite her.
Leaning into the soft cushions, I took a deep breath as I began to relax, before jolting forwards, gasping out loud.
Mom instantly sat forwards as well, and I could hear her voice echoing around the room with worry, but I was focused instead on what I had just felt.
There had been a sharp tug at the remnants of our frayed Soul Bond, a tug so strong that it felt like someone had reached into my chest, grabbed my heart and pulled.
Panting at the tingling feeling that permeated my body, I turned towards Mom and muttered "S-She\'s alive... Kat\'s alive... I-I j-just felt her..."
Gulping, a wave of relief swept over me as I fell backwards, my heart giddy.
There had been a small, black worm that had been crawling besides my thoughts, a worm that whispered \'Kat\'s dead\' to me constantly.
With how broken and fractured our Soul Bond was, it was a possibility that she was actually dead and gone, but I had been holding hope that she was alive; I was 90% sure she was alive, but...
There was always a chance that she had passed after being transported away, and I hadn\'t wanted to think about that...
Now, though, I knew for sure she was alive; there was no other way to explain why the frayed strands of the Soul Bond had just been jolted like that.
The only explanation was that someone had pulled on them, and that someone was Kat.
Bringing my hands up to my face, I covered my eyes as relief continued to wash over my body, tears forming in my eyes as I took jagged breaths.
She was alive.
Kat was alive...
Thank the Goddesses...
Not only was she alive, but she was searching for me, searching for a way home.
Uncovering my eyes, I smiled at Mom, who was looking at me worriedly, and said "You were right... she\'s alive and kicking, doing what she can to survive..."
Matching my smile, Mom reached over and ruffled my hair, saying "You doubted that? How\'d I know your lover better than you, hmm~? I\'ll make sure to tell her when she gets back~!"
Fake glaring at her, I turned towards the bedroom door that had opened up, revealing an exhausted Leone and Anput, both of whom stumbled over towards me and collapsed on either side of me.
Hugging them both, I whispered "I just felt Kat tug at the Soul Bond... she\'s alive and well, and looking for a way back..."
The two women instantly snapped out of their exhaustion, their eyes wide as they stared up at me, before I gasped again as I was enveloped in two tight hugs, Mom\'s laughter filling the room as I was sandwiched between them.
After a long morning of pampering and cuddling with the relieved women, we all got dressed, ate a quick meal, and made our way towards the place that Mom was staying at, where Miss Julie and Mother would be.
Most likely Mom wouldn\'t be able to come alone, so I wasn\'t surprised that they had accompanied her here, but I was also not looking forwards to telling my \'Mother-in-law\' that her daughter was missing...
Though, at least it would be slightly easier with definitive proof she was still alive; proof that I knew to be 100% sure of.
Reaching the Inn that they were staying at, I took a deep breath as I stood outside of their room, Mom standing behind me as she waited for me to knock.
Raising my hand, I rapped my knuckles against the door and waited, before the door unlocked and opened, revealing a woman who looked painfully like Kat.
The same droopy eyes, the same auburn hair, the same voluptuous figure...
Fluffy ears and furry tail, amber eyes, and a serious expression as she stared at me for a moment, before bowing crisply and moving to the side.
Entering, I took another deep breath as I nodded to Mother, who narrowed her eyes she watched everyone else walk in.
Everyone... minus Kat.
Miss Julie was already frowning, her nose twitching as she turned back towards me, before she began to shake her head.
Striding forwards, I grabbed her hands and pulled her gently towards the bed, sitting her down as I began to explain it all to her.
Watching as her amber eyes switched to those void filled blues, while her shoulders began to shake even as Mother sat beside her and held her, I felt my heart ache again as I had to deliver terrible news to her.
When I finished, she was glaring hatefully at me before turning her hollow gaze towards the floor, her hands clenched so hard that blood seeped from small cuts made by her nails.
Everyone was staring at her, observing her, and no one was surprised, least of all me, when she sent a crisp slap towards me, her mana enhanced hand slamming against my jaw and cracking the bone slightly.
Ignoring the metal taste of blood permeating my mouth, I simply bowed my head to her, listening to each of her sharp sobs with a heavy heart.
After healing myself, I tried to make a promise to her to search for Kat, only to be waved aside as she ignored me, Mother shaking her head slightly as she held the Dogkin closely.
Getting up, I left the room first, making my way down to the main room and getting myself a glass of wine to dull the pain briefly, the others joining me minutes later.
Mom was somber, her eyes unfocused as she gestured for us to follow her, each of us checking the straps of our armor and patting our weapons as we made our way towards the Sariel Compound.
It had... gone better than I thought; I left the room with just a shattered jaw, which was repaired easily enough.
Though, considering the hollow look in her eyes as she stared at the ground, I imagine Mother will be kept quite busy trying to care for Miss Julie.
She hadn\'t cried or screamed at me, instead falling into the same void she had before; unlike most, Miss Julie seemed to lose her emotions when something bad happened, instead of getting a surge of one or two negative emotions like most people.
How that might affect her was unknown, and I could only pray that she would be able to be soothed through this, comforted by the fact that Kat was still alive out in the world...
For now though, I glared hatefully at the lavish wooded compound before us, the compound that housed the Sariel Family.
The compound that would be swept clean today, and painted with the blood of those who remained behind; painted with the blood of idiotic, arrogant Elves who believed themselves higher than the rest of this Empire.