As I ascend the stairs, for some reason I found myself practicing my next words. 'So hey! You have been marked by demon prince Baal which makes you extremely attractive to every male in existence, also sorry I let Jerald take advantage of you. If you wanted him, that fine too… I guess.'
I approach Madison's actual room, I hear muffled sounds from the inside.
"What should I do, Maddy?" Alexia whispers to Madison, her face buried in sheets.
I sensed my mana being sucked towards Madison, her condition appears to have worsened.
"I know he is trying to protect me, but this is just frustrating. I am older than him, I can take care of myself. He needs to focus on helping others, releasing big sis, fixing you or focus on himself. I am just fed up with people putting me above their priority lists when I am clearly not!"
An old memory flashes in my mind. A man covered in priceless treasures was reading an centuries Old Testament, he sat on a comically large throne which was made of ancient dragon bones it looked very uncomfortable. Many fascinating ornaments, rare elixirs and sacred doctrine lay in dust at the man's feet.
The emperor of the greatest human colony whom ruled every part of the world was a grandiose. Even with every realm, every creature and everything in existence was within his palm's reach, the emperor would show impulsivity to the most bizarre and uncontrollable thing. Such thing was me.
"Altaris!!!" His voice echoed in the empty dark audience hall.
The wall used to be sparkling white but the blood stains painted them red and caused early corrosion. No knight, servant or politician actually served the emperor, it was just me. The almighty emperor had the tendency to showcase violent outbreaks when a living being breathes for too long in his vicinity.
I swapped places with one of my million shadow and appeared in front of my master. The emperor casted his cold gaze at me and I instantly felt the weight of a thousand mountains on my back.
After gotten used to my master's way of conversing position, I always kneel before his gaze falls on me. "Altaris! Why did all the Gods in heaven suddenly disappear?"
I blink once to gaze straight into heaven using the mana field. It has been many centuries since the emperor decided to forbid from breathing, therefore to converse I simply think my thought out loud and the emperor openly read my mind as he claimed my body and soul as his in the very beginning.
"A rebellion you say?"
I hear the man laugh but I dare not to look up, instead I hand a suggestion.
"Hmm. No need for that. I need you here. With me. Someone else will deal with those arrogant fools. Ah! How about Asmodeus and Baal? Maybe Tarok could go as well? I summon Liliya later. But for now. I want you by side…"
Suddenly the door in front of me opened and Alexia walked out only to see a tear rolling down my cheek. Reading the situation far too fast, she jumped and hugged me. "Oh, Altaris. I am sorry. I am very sorry. I-I was selfish."
Her words go over my head. 'Why is she apologizing?'
"I should have realized earlier, I-I can help elsewhere."
I grab her face and hold it for a second. "Who told you that?"
Alexia took my question as denial, her eyes became moist again. "I can't?" Her voice was soft, submissive yet filled with anticipation.
I gently wipe her tears and ask one more time. "Who said that to you?"
"Maddy said to think from your perspective as well and I kind of knew it. But still, I want to help big sister get out of that foul place."
I listen to Alexia's honest thoughts only to push her aside and walk inside the room, a large amount of mana gets eaten by Madison's lifeless corpse. Alexia cautiously follows me. "Altaris, she is sleeping. Maybe we shou-"
I crouch next to Madison's corpse and she actually opens her eyes. The pupil had long whitened out, making her blind.
"See? Now she wants to play."
I look up at Alexia in disbelief then glance at Madison's body. "You can talk to her?" I ask.
To my surprise, Alexia confirms it. "Of course, I can hear her talk. You can't?"
An abused yet plausible thought appears in my mind. "Turn around now."
With a complicated, Alexia turns around and I hold three fingers in front of Madison's eyes.
"Now how many fingers am I holding up?"
Alexia furrows her eyebrows with her back turned towards me. "Is this some kind of stupid test? 3 fingers."
'She can see! But- Wait, how much can she see?'
With much difficulty, I manage to lit my index fingernail on fire but with Madison constantly eating my mana, the fire didn't last long. "Quick! I just used a spell, which element?"
Alexia panics and turns around but the fire was extinguished. "I-I don't know, I didn't saw it."
I point at the corpse on the bed. "Ask her."
"She says she don't know!"
Madison is probably blessed maiden of magic, her sense are still reacting to raw mana but sadly that is the only thing she could see. Besides that my suspicious was correct, the mark is altering Alexia's physique. It's making her more habitable, more comfortable for itself.
Madison is constantly absorbing large amounts of elemental mana but in return only releasing raw mana and Demons strive on it. 'It won't be long before her emotional starts to deteriorate. Is turning to the church my only choice?'
A sudden knock on the door, startled both me and Alexia. She opened the door and saw Mr. Red walk in with a grim expression.
"Why are you doing this to me?" His lifeless eyes stared right into my soul.
"Please let me save my daughter. For that I need your help."