Chapter 309: Battle of the Courts
"A Half-Fae? Her father was a Fae?" The black cat meowed.
Fae were mischievous and self-indulgent beings. Especially male fae. They liked to jump to lower dimensions and ’taste’ the local cuisines.
’Erin’ covered her lips and chuckled.
"No. A male fae wouldn’t make that mistake. Her mother was a Fae."
"Well damn. He must be a hell of a bastard."
"I heard the same." Erin the same.
Female Fae was the opposite of male Fae. They were very wary of humans and did not like to wander from the Everlasting Wild.
"What do you want, Telara? Tell me." The black cat’s deep voice echoed.
Erin squinted her eyes. "In exchange for her freedom?"
"In exchange for her freedom." The black cat nodded.
"I can’t stop what she is going through. Her sense of Fae will awaken sooner or later. But I can exempt her from her duty in the Everlasting Wild. She won’t need to serve at the court."
"Get to the point." The black cat growled.
"You’re as impatient as always, Mater.
There is a ritual in this world. A Fey Ritual."
"Let me guess. The Hymn of the Battlefield?" The black cat smirked.
"Oh? So you heard about it. Yes. The Hymn of the Battlefield.
It is one of the most ancient Hymn in the Everlasting Wild. We use it to... settle conflict without risking the life of a Fae."
Fae lived forever. As long as they stayed in the Everlasting Wild. But in exchange for that immortality, it was very hard for them to produce offspring.
That was why Fae would refrain from killing one another except for absolute necessity.
Erin continued to explain. "I have some quarrels I need to settle with the Star Court. Find me one hundred men and one hundred women to fight in the Hymn of the Battlefield. They must be brave and they must be strong."
"This isn’t just a simple request anymore, Telara. It will require more than just Erin’s freedom." The black cat’s deep voice echoed.
"Fine then. What do you want?"
"I want... for the participants to retain their memories. I want a Fey item from you. And I want the commanding right for this troop." The black cat meowed.
"Tch. Tch. Tch. You want so much."
Telara caressed Erin’s youthful body. "Don’t forget that I have her. You are not in the position of negotiating."
"That is where you’re wrong, Telara. Accept my conditions now and this will be the end of it. Otherwise, I would be more than happy to respond in kind."
"What? What are you going to do? Aren’t you afraid that I will kill this girl?"
"You won’t kill her, Telara. She’s a Fae, even if she is only a half-blood. She’s an offspring that your kind so desperately wants. And even if you do, so what?"
"You don’t care about her?"
"I care enough to negotiate with you. But not enough to let you do anything you want."
"Heh. Even now you can surprise me, Mater."
’Erin’ placed her hand on the black cat. This little fur ball was once a notorious outlaw across multiple worlds. He might not be the strongest. But was always the most feared.
Mater Evol Heracy would do anything in his power to get back to his enemy. That was how petty he was. And people stopped messing with him just because they’re afraid of the trouble he would bring.
"I accept your terms. But I have my own conditions.
I also need three generals in this battle. They must be Rank-2 beings. Don’t bring me those mortals or Rank-1."
The black cat stroked his whiskers. Silence took over the room.
"Three generals." The black cat nodded.
Mater floated to Telara’s eye level. A hand and a paw shook.
Telara’s presence disappeared from the room as Erin fell to the floor. Evelynn caught her.
"Well. That was something." Selina said.
"What? You’re not mad?" Mater turned to her.
"Mad about what? That your ex-girlfriend came here? Or that you said that you wanted her body?" Selina smiled.
The black cat sweated profusely.
The goth girl rolled her eyes and picked Mater up in her arms.
"I already told you before. I don’t care."
"That’s why you’re my favorite!"
They laid Erin on the bed. The Fey Mark on her forehead disappeared and her body had returned to normal. But she would still transform to a Fae sooner or later. The process would only be much less demanding than being called by the court.
"Who was she?" Selina said.
"Queen Telara. Ruler of the Moon Court in the Everlasting Wild." The black cat meowed.
"What is the Everlasting Wild? And what is a Fae exactly?"
"You heard about fairy and elf?"
"Like in those movies?"
"Yep. You can think that Fae is the source of fairy and elf. They are, however, much more powerful than those movies depicted them. The Queen of a Court could easily invade our entire planet if she wanted to."
"Why doesn’t she?" Selina said.
"Because there is no fun in it."
The black cat regulated Erin’s Chaos and put her in deep sleep.
"That should be it. Now she just needs to rest." Mater meowed softly.
"I’m going to return to my room now." Evelynn said.
As she left Selina’s room, she spotted the girls gathered in the hallway with extreme curiosity.
"What?" Evelynn said.
"What were you doing in there, Jean?" Another female student asked. "Isn’t that Big Sister’s room? She’s scary."
"Selina isn’t scary. We’re friends. Very close friends."
"Can you introduce me?"
"In your dream, girl!"
The black cat began to plan for the Hymn of the Battlefield. Before leaving, Telara had given him the ritual to activate the Hymn. With his current power, he should have no problem controlling it.
However, he needed to find a hundred men and a hundred women as soldiers.
"I can advance Crow to Rank-2. Then Aurora, Crow, and Bash can fill the slots of the three generals. The two hundred soldiers, however... can be quite difficult."
Mater stroked his whiskers quickly. He couldn’t think of a way to do this.
He had a lot of mafia members in the Syndicate. But they were criminals. Fae liked their subjects to be pure, honorable, or at least had a good sense of morality.
The black cat walked back and forth trying to figure out a solution.
Selina was just using a wet cloth to clean Erin. She put her clothes back on and came to Mater.
"Are you worried?"
"Not really. Just trying to think of a way to get enough soldiers."
"I have a way." Selina said.