The Fallen Vampire

As mentioned before, Sects are famous organizations within Tayar that are widely renowned for their depth of knowledge in the field of cultivation.

They are a bit like monasteries that are filled with monks of what most consider to be unparalleled power and talent.

No one knows the exact names of the sects, nor their locations, but there are confirmed to be no more than seven in the entire world, and their recruits are only brought in after a lengthy observation process.

There are an ocean's worth of stories in this world that speak of not only their depth of wisdom, but the wellspring of knowledge that encompasses all of cultivation.

In addition, it is rumored that some sects are actually integrated, with both human and fallen being counted among their numbers.

That fact alone makes them seem like a widely regarded fable to more than a few; a bit like the underwater city of Atlantis on earth.

After all, something like that could absolutely never be possible, right?

Therefore, it was no surprise that the hero of unbreakabke ice had dropped everything to go running after this nearly life changing discovery.

Taira, Enyo, and Keran alll glanced at each other discreetly.

Even without asking for confirmation, they knew full well that the young woman who'd led them to the sect had to be Aveena.

Now they understood why she was so upset over losing her personal belongings to the humans, and why she refused to tell anyone exactly what was in them.

Keran had also observed her showing signs of being in a depressive state on more than a few occasions.

No doubt, her mind was constantly focused on her true home, and the fact that she likely no longer had a place to go to.

"So... the humans have discovered the location of a sect..." Ayame said thoughtfully. "Where is it?"

"Amusi Mountain... There is supposedly a cave with a hidden trail that leads to the Sect. Instructions for navigating it are in possession of the hero..." Shin replied.

Ayame rubbed her chin thoughtfully, and didn't say anything for a long time.

Eventually, Leopold stepped forward and placed a powerful knee on the ground before he lowered his head.

"My Queen... forgive me for speaking out of turn but we cannot let these actions of the humans go unpunished! If you would only say the word, I will take the army to intercept them before they reach the sect lands!"

"No... you won't."

"My queen!"

Ayame smiled imperceptibly as she grabbed Shin by the face and squeezed his head until it exploded. "You won't be leading the army, Leopold. I will."

The lion-kin felt his ears twitch in disbelief as he stared at the werewolf queen in adoration.

"T-Then you mean...?"

"Go and get the men ready. We set out at dawn."

"Y-Yes, My Queen!"

Excited to fight beside his monarch after such a long time, Leopold ran out of the throne room like an excited child, clearly more childish than his overgrown appearance would suggest.

Once he'd left, Ayame turned back to the seemingly young man sitting on her throne like it was his own.

Taira wasn't even looking at her, and his eyes were closed as if he'd fallen asleep at some point during this meeting.

Coincidentally, his wife also looked like she was going to slip into dreamland at some point, as she was slowly blinking like she was trying to keep her eyes open.

A million thoughts passed through Ayame's mind all at once, but when she saw the eight swaying tails moving in front of her eye, she knew what she had to do.

Falling onto her knees, she lowered her head even lower than Leopold had just done a moment ago, and spoke with the utmost formality.

"This one... is elated to see the return of one of the supreme fallen. I am grateful that you have helped me return to my senses, and I hope my action in the future will appease you and our god Fenris."

"What are you doing?" Taira asked without opening his eyes.

Ayame seemed not to understand the question, and she looked up with confusion in her expression. " I don't...?"

"Am I someone that a queen should be bowing to?"

"Normally no, but you-"

"I am just a messenger, nothing more. No one that someone like yourself should lower yourself before."

Taira was trying to nip problems in the bud before they could even form.

He knew full well that Fenris wanted Ayame to have an indomitable and roguish attitude, and she couldn't do that if she was still treating someone like Taira as if he was above her.

He did not even have any noteworthy status at the moment or any mystifying feats to boast about.

All he had was a fancy name and a few hundred gold in his back pocket, meaning that there was no reason for Ayame to be acting like this.

And it was most definitely not something that Fenris would want to see, least of all from the woman who leads his beast fallen.

"So... I am free to act as I normally would around you then?" She asked for clarification.

"Obviously you-"

"Get the fuck out of my chair."

"Mother!" Keran complained.

"What? He said it was fine and he's been pissing me off since he first sat on it!"

Taira's usually stern face cracked into a small smile that made Keran and Ayame temporarily forget what they were arguing about.

He lifted his wife into his arms and carried her down from the throne gingerly. "No problem, since we have somewhere that you need to take me."

"And where might that be, brat?"

Taira looked over his shoulder and his red eyes met Ayame's yellow one in midair.

"To wherever my clan's artifacts are stored. I didn't interfere in this nonsense because I had nothing better to do after all."

"Oh... right then. My daughter will show you in a moment."

"Don't keep us waiting, little wolf." Taira called.

As soon as he left the throne room, Ayame and Keran stood around in a stunned silence as if they were allowing the earlier scenes to integrate with their brains.

"He has become quite the attractive man... Any progress on rekindling your relationship?"

"A-A little! Why?!"

"As I said, he is attractive. If you had made no progress I would have seduced him myself."

"What do you know about seduction you old brute?!" Keran roared.

"More than you, foolish brat!" Ayame fired back.

"Don't you feel any sense of guilt about planning to steal your daughter's first man?!"

"No?"

"Shameless! You're not Taira's type anyway!"

"Is that his name now..? Charming..."

Ayame suddenly looked down at her chiseled body that was riddled with old scars and muscles like iron.

It was far from the much softer and more pleasant looking body she had in her youth.

"...And you don't know what you are talking about... I am every man's type." She said firmly.

For some reason, Keran was getting the impression that her mother was trying to convince herself instead of her, and she elected not to comment further.

Just before she decided to run out into the hallway and meet Taira & Enyo, she suddenly felt her mother grab her wrist from behind.

"Keran... I'm sorry."