Chapter 24: Time Well Spent
Chapter 24: Time Well Spent
Enyo opened her eyes within the ring on Indra's finger.
Originally, she'd planned on supervising his cultivation but after a few hours, she eventually dozed off.
It wasn't that she wasn't interested but watching people cultivate is really boring!
'I should check on prince Indra's progress.'
Upon exiting the ring, Enyo was surprised to see that her master was sitting cross-legged on the ground, not moving a single inch.
'He's successfully ascended to the mortal realm!'
She knew that her master could cultivate now but seeing it with her own two eyes was so incredibly heartwarming.
Not only that, he had somehow firmly stepped into the mortal realm without the use of pills or any outside assistance.
It appeared as though his talent was just as high as that of his parents.
Enyo looked at the ground in front of him and saw that the dark moon art had been opened and seemingly studied extensively.
She would not be surprised if her master had already understood half of the first technique by now!
After another moment of staring Indra finally opened his eyes and his lips curled into a slight smirk when he saw the look he was receiving from his lovely maid.
"You look a bit surprised, En-"
"PRINCE INDRAAA!!"
Before Indra could even say a proper greeting, Enyo threw herself at him and suppressed the urge to begin bawling.
She knew her prince did not like it when she cried, but she was just so emotional!
Even if Indra did not remember, she knew very well just how much his inability to cultivate had frustrated him in the past.
What caring maid wouldn't be teary eyed after seeing their master's long held wish finally come to fruition?
"I-I always knew you could do it! *sniff* I never believed when they said that you were a waste!"
'But I was a waste?' Indra found it amusing that his maid seemed to have forgotten how his sudden ability to cultivate came about.
"You didn't cry. I see my lovely maid remembers our deal."
The words 'lovely' and 'my' seemed to put a deep blush on Enyo's face. "Y-Yes..."
Indra finally stood up from the ground and stretched his body and was immediately able to notice a few changes.
After perfectly merging his inner element with his body, the vampire felt faster, sharper, and like he could perceive the world around him at a speed that was nothing short of horrifying.
"How long have we been down here?"
The poltergeist scratched her cheek in mild embarrassment. "I think it's been about three or four days but I'm not exactly sure..."
"Because you were sleeping?"
"...I'm terribly sorry, prince." Enyo replied with an apologetic bow.
Indra chuckled slightly before he started packing up all of the items that were left in the vault.
"It's time to go, Enyo."
-
Outside of the castle, it was already night time.
However, a party of about fifty men were outside preparing to break down the front door to the castle.
Around ten were in the mortal realm and the rest appeared to be in the beast realm or were mages.
"Do you think they could have returned?"
"It's impossible, right? They've been dead for centuries."
"Then how do you explain two whole parties going missing?"
At the head of the group, there was one cultivator in the overlord realm who had been designated as the leader.
"Alright men, do not separate from each other for even a moment! We don't know what sort of foul evil is lurking inside of here so we must remain on our toes!"
As the men prepared to storm the long ruined castle, a small bat flew over their heads.
A few higher level cultivators noticed of course, but seeing that it was alone and harmless, they did not pay it much attention.
As Indra finally felt the cool night air on his body, the worried voice of Enyo rang out in his mind.
'Prince Indra... are you sure you wish to leave so soon? This group should not pose much of a threat I could take them all out and give you more time to-'
'It's fine, I had begun to feel a bit cramped in there anyway.'
Truthfully, Enyo was the one who was the most worried about this sudden venture.
The stories she'd been told about the heroes had frightened her to her very core and she became terrified that the two of them would run into one.
If that happened, could she still protect her prince from one of those monsters from another world?
She had to make sure he lived to resurrect the vampire race and become king!
Suddenly, Indra changed from his disguise as a bat and resumed his usual appearance with the addition of two very large leathery wings.
"Come out here, Enyo."
'Eeep!'
The lovely poltergeist let out a startled shriek when her presence was requested so suddenly.
A purple mist left the small ring on Indra's finger and in a moment she appeared in the sky next to him.
"You called, my pr- Uwah!?"
As soon as Enyo was tangible, Indra reached out and began to pinch and pull her flawless cheeks. "Why do you insist on thinking about nonsense?"
"I-I'm not!"
"Lying to me now, are we? Your boldness seems to know no bounds."
"I-I would never!" Enyo was genuinely confused about where these sudden accusations were coming from. 𝙛𝙧𝓮𝓮𝙬𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝓮𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Indra suddenly released one of her cheeks before tapping her forehead and then his own.
That small gesture was all that was needed for Enyo to recall what she believed to be her master's most frightening ability.
"B-But I wasn't even touching you!" She argued.
Indra merely shrugged and gestured to his ring that was made of her bones. "Seems like this is enough."
Enyo began to have a downwards spiral.
Does this mean that her master can hear all of her thoughts when she's inside the ring?
Will her only moment of privacy be when she's incorporeal?
This is so unfair!
"Focus, Enyo." Indra tilted up his maid's chin so that the two of them were looking eye to eye.
"I do not need you to protect me. I'm touched by the sentiment but I'm more than capable of protecting myself or at the very least, making sure that I am very hard to find."
With Indra's skills in assassination as well as transformation, he could make the task of finding him a living hell for anyone who tried.
Enyo knew that, but still she had her concerns
Tayar was a very big and dangerous world where talented geniuses were killed off every day.
She merely hoped that her prince would not be one of them.
"And there is something else..." Indra began.
"Hm?"
"I know this may disappoint you, but I have no interest in becoming any kind of king." Indra had known this for a while, but he had never found a moment to voice it before this.
It wasn't that he did not have ambition, but becoming king seemed... undesirable.
He had no desire to rule, no patience to work with others.
Leading an entire race was the absolute last thing he wanted to do with his time.
For a moment, Enyo was so shocked she almost fell out of the sky.
She began to ask him if he was joking but one look into his eyes that were devoid of humor confirmed that he was not.
"So... you do not want to resurrect your race?" She asked shakily.
"I don't mind turning a few humans should the opportunity present itself." Indra replied with a shrug.
Enyo fell into deep thought.
If Indra did turn new vampires, they would not be pure blooded and their strength would be partially reduced.
It would take quite a long while before the vampires could return to their former power and glory.
"Are you disappointed?" Indra suddenly asked.
"Well... I would have liked to see you as king but I have already resigned myself to staying by your side in whatever path you choose." Enyo replied honestly.
"You know... you need not continue to act as my servant. Going forward you are not my maid and I am not your master."
"T-Then...?"
Indra suddenly clasped Enyo's face within his hands. "Just be my companion. There is no need for you to continue to pay homage to a hierarchy that no longer exists."
She wanted desperately to speak but the warmth of his hands on her face was preventing any words from forming.
"From now on, just call me Indra, okay?"