CHAPTER 930: LORELIA’S NIGHTMARE

Dusk Continent, Red Moon Valley, in the city of Lorelia.

The city was Lorelia’s fiefdom. The fact that Orion had entrusted her to guard a location with a cross-realm teleportation array spoke volumes of his trust in her.

Of course, the current Lorelia wasn’t quite ready for such a heavy responsibility. That was why Soraya, not Lumi, was stationed here to watch over her.

"Soraya, why don’t the master and the others bring the war to the continent?" Lorelia asked. "If they did, you and I could fight side-by-side again, leading massive armies, charging across the battlefield, and just... kicking ass everywhere!"

As she spoke, she made a tiny fist and pumped it in the air.

Soraya smiled, tying a butterfly-shaped ribbon in Lorelia’s hair. The little girl giggled with delight.

"If the flames of war spread to the land, wouldn’t it be the people of our Stoneheart Horde who suffer?" Soraya said gently. "The Alliance’s thinking is correct. Meeting the enemy at the gates is the right choice."

She adjusted the bow, but Lorelia, laughing and shaking her head, kept knocking it askew.

"But I want to go fight with the master!" Lorelia pouted. "Don’t you, Sister Soraya?"

Soraya nodded, then shook her head. Of course she wanted to participate in the war.

But the moment she imagined all the sand scorpions she had painstakingly hatched being killed on the battlefield, her heart ached.

As a race broodmother, she cherished her children. And yet, in moments of crisis, she knew she would sacrifice them without hesitation. It was a tangled feeling of love and loss.

As a broodmother herself, Lorelia could sense this emotion.

"Okay, okay, Sister Soraya, I pray the master doesn’t bring the war to the Dusk Continent!" she said quickly. "Is that better? Hehehe... Sister Soraya, do I look pretty?"

She wrapped her arms around Soraya’s slender waist, snuggling against her and being as cute as possible.

"Sister Soraya, I have to tell you, our Mistress has a butterfly hairpin, and it’s so, so beautiful," she chattered on. "The master gave it to her, and when she wears it, the butterfly’s wings actually flutter and sparkle. It’s the prettiest thing ever!"

Hearing this, Soraya finally understood why Lorelia loved butterfly-shaped accessories so much. In the little one’s heart, Lilith’s hairpin was the most wonderful ornament in the world.

"Aaaawn... Sister Soraya, I’m sleepy. I’ll come find you again tomorrow!" Lorelia let out a huge yawn. She felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness.

Soraya reached out to stop her, intending to ask what was wrong. For a being at the Alpha peak, especially a broodmother, such sudden fatigue was unnatural.

But Lorelia was already gone, darting away before Soraya could catch her.

That little one... she hasn’t been in any battles recently. Why does she seem so drained?

Though Soraya was surprised, she didn’t pursue it. This was the Dusk Continent, guarded by demigods and arch lords. It was perfectly safe.

In the deepest of the underground caves beneath Lorelia city.

Lorelia dragged her exhausted body into her main nest, her eyes already closed.

Her Nest was interesting; inside it, she had built a tent, an exact replica of the one she had lived in as a child. It was a perfect copy of Orion’s tent from Moonshadow Valley.

She crawled inside, collapsing onto the soft animal hides. Her entire body went limp as she instantly fell into a heavy, deep sleep.

She was in an abyss. It was dark, so very dark, like the black forest during the dark beast tides of old.

Where is this? Why is it so dark? An underground cave?

It’s so deep and black... what’s down there?

Lorelia opened her eyes. She was in that familiar, yet strange, place again.

Should I go down and see? But if I go down, what if the master can’t find me? I still have a mission from him!

She stared into the inky blackness before her, wanting to descend but held back by worry. The mission from Orion was just an excuse she told herself. The real reason she hesitated was fear.

Should I go down or not?

In the end, she couldn’t suppress the impulse welling up from within. She slowly began to crawl down into the dark abyss.

It was deep, and it was dark. Lorelia crawled for a long, long time. She rested countless times, and countless times she thought about turning back, but she couldn’t stop herself from continuing her descent.

After what felt like an eternity, she finally saw the flicker of firelight and heard the faint, distant sounds of roaring. She crawled toward the light, and before she knew it, she had crawled out of the abyss.

Lorelia looked back, confused. She remembered clearly that she had been crawling down, so why had she just come up from below? She couldn’t figure it out, couldn’t make sense of it.

But the roars of beasts outside drew her attention. She decided to stop thinking about it and crawl out to see what was happening. Yet, the further she crawled, the more familiar everything felt.

"Hey... this place... this place..."

"This looks like the underground fissure!"

"Here... and here... and over there... I’ve slept in all these spots!"

"Hehe... yay! I’m home!"

Lorelia was ecstatic. She hadn’t been back in so, so long. The underground fissure was the first home Orion had ever found for her, and she had always loved it.

Wait. There are beast roars coming from outside. Could the dark beast tides have come? Are dark creatures invading?

Where are my children? And where is the master?

Her mind racing, she scrambled toward the exit. Soon, she emerged from the underground fissure.

But the sight that met her eyes was not the familiar Blackstone City she knew. It was the smoldering, burned-out husk of Blackstone City.

Outside the walls, countless dark creatures were still swarming the city.

And there, hanging from the highest point on the wall, were the lifeless bodies of her master, Orion, and her Mistress, Lilith.

"Ma... Master..."

"Mistress!"

Lorelia froze. A long moment passed. Then, a heart-wrenching, soul-tearing scream ripped from her throat.

At the same time, a swirling, ethereal mist enveloped her entire body. She scrambled frantically up the wall, crawling desperately toward Orion and Lilith.

"Master... Master... Mistress..." she cried, gathering their bodies in her arms, calling their names over and over. But Orion’s body was cold, drained of blood, covered in wounds.

"No... no... NOOO!"

Lorelia wept, a hysterical, desolate wail of pure grief.

She didn’t know how long she cried. But when she finally looked up, her eyes were blazing crimson.

"Revenge... REVENGE!"

"YOU WILL ALL DIE!"

She lunged, tearing into the enemy with her claws and fangs.

At the same time, strands of silk began to pour from her body, anchoring to the city walls, to the burned tents, to the stone gates of Moonshadow Valley... soon, everything was covered in her silk.

As the webs grew thicker, her movements became faster, more fluid. Wherever her silk touched, that was her world. Her domain.

KILL!

KILL!

KILL!

KILL!

Lorelia descended into a frenzied slaughter. The silk she produced enveloped the entirety of Blackstone City, creating a defensive ward of her own making. Within this ward, she was invincible.

"DIE! ALL OF YOU WILL DIE!"

"FOR MY MASTER... REVENGE!"

She was lost to the slaughter, an endless, merciless storm of vengeance.

Titanion Realm, in the castle of Stoneheart City.

Orion’s eyes snapped open. He shot up from his throne, an expression of sheer disbelief on his face.

"That little girl, Lorelia... she’s advanced to Lord-rank!"

"And... she did it by forging her own Lord’s Stone?!"