Chapter 431 - Sakuya's Familiar (Patreon)

For the crowds outside the Biome to be able to see and hear the happenings inside the Biome, transmitters of information from the inside were necessary.

The way Ducal House Crowe did that was by using crows.

Observers from the Church were more like bodyguards than actual observers. The black birds were the true observers. They were like security cameras with wings. These birds were a unique breed, a specialty of House Crowe.

Viers was watching one such crow in silence and it was doing the same.

Too many eyes, Viers thought. As an introvert he didn't like crowds and as a villain, he liked to do things mysteriously, far away from the public eye.

But it was inevitable in a stage as grand as this. He couldn't complain, since this was the result of the choices he'd made.

“Avel, what’s wrong?” Croix approached and saw him lost in thought. A dead monster was nearby.

“Nothing. How is it?” He asked.

“It’s out. The badge didn't register the kill.”

“So we now know the range more or less… Quite generous, but not as much as I’d like. I wonder if killsteal is a thing,” Viers mused.

Round 1 was still at an early stage. As it developed, groups would butt heads against one another for the kill scores.

But will it be that simple? Viers doubted.

If the Biome infestation was that simple, why would Duke Crowe arrange all of this instead of scouring the Biome with his far greater strength?

“Master?” Boram was puzzled.

“Wondering what surprises are waiting for us?” Ciel asked.

“You too?” Viers raised an eyebrow.

“In my experience with strong people who have lived a long time, they liked to do things in a roundabout manner, even though there are simpler ways to do things,” Ciel shrugged.

While Ciel and Viers exchanged understanding nods, Croix and Boram looked at each other with a bit of confusion.

“We’re wasting time. Shall we hunt?” Croix said.

“Sure. But watch out for the trap, Prince Croix.”

“The trap, Lady Valentine?” The prince asked.

“Your Victa. It’s easy to rack in kills and raise our score but watch out for your Victa expenditure. We’re just at the beginning of the Prix. Who knows what’s in store for us.”

“Urk…” Croix grimaced.

“Well, we are still in better circumstances than most. Ciel has her superior Victa regeneration, Boram’s physical strength doesn't cost any Victa, and you have your dragon,” Viers illustrated.

“And you, sir?” Croix asked with a smile.

“Me? I’m just a poor wandering Pathseeker,” Viers said deceptively.

“A water-lightning double affinity Pathseeker,” Croix added.

“Heheheh,” Viers chuckled.

Ciel, who knew Avel’s true identity as Viers, did wonder about that. Viers should be a water and soul Pathseeker. Where did his lightning come from? Having three affinities was almost unheard of, the stuff of legends. Even none exist in the Silver Legion. So how?

Boram who had followed his master for much longer knew his master's lightning was thanks to Futon. The young cloud elemental could do more than simply throw lightning if he so wished. Since the lightning was another's ability, his master didn't use a lick of Victa, which was a very great deal.

If he goes with Faiya, he could use fire instead. Master’s depth is truly astonishing.

Having your familiar to do battle for you was one thing, but using the ability of your familiar as smoothly as his master did if it were his own was another. Boram, who had an education in the best academy of the continent, found out through his classes.

In Croix’s case, he couldn't use Falmerion’s dragon fire as his own fire.

“Alright gang, let’s exterminate some pests.”

Viers, who sensed Ciel and Boram’s minds were going places, changed the subject.

“Umn, let's,” Croix walked ahead beside his dragon. Falmerion needed to grow a bit more before he was at a suitable size for riding. Of course, he only allowed Croix to ride him, barring some special circumstances.

“Still,” the prince spoke after a few steps. “Bonded companions are really convenient, huh? Why don't you three have them?”

“Yes, but it’s not that simple,” Ciel answered. “It’s not only about the matter of rarity, there’s also compatibility. Usually, familiars must be bonded while they are still very young. There’s the matter of growing them too, which costs resources.”

“Even for your family, Lady Valentine?” Croix asked.

“It’s like finding a destined partner, Your Highness,” Ciel patiently smiled. “I’m still waiting for the right partner… Although, the Goddess seems to arrange for me a significant other before the other kind of partner, fufufu.”

Ciel chuckled while giving Viers a sideway glance. Viers stopped a snort. She was having way too much fun with their sham relationship.

“When they grow up, it’s not unheard of that they rebel against their partner if the bond is not strong enough or the familiar becomes too strong. That is why having only one is the norm. The exception is the tamer-type Pathseekers with their Profound Codex. They can control many monsters to fight for them,” Boram added.

Meanwhile, Master has three familiars. Perhaps Zerri will become the fourth. Amazing…

“Hmm. May you all find your suitable companion soon,” Croix said. “Oh? The ground here feels different.”

“A Power Spot, as expected,” Viers looked around. “More cockroaches around these sites of power are also as expected.”

“Let's clean up and extract the benefits,” Ciel readied her Arte. “I think this is an enlightenment-type Power Spot.”

Power Spots had different varieties. Some produced exclusively special resources, some increased Pathseekers’ skills and understanding of certain things and many more.

Shortly after the battle began, they saw an anomaly in the distance.

“What is that?”

“Black clouds?”

“...No, those are swarms. Insects.”

“Cockroaches? That’s not good. Look at the size of that swarm. New enemies?”

“Compared to the usual cockroaches, they seem to be much smaller. Other people's abilities perhaps?”

“Interesting,” Viers murmured. He sensed Farley’s card and the other three in the middle of that swarm of insects.

***

“This is… quite surreal,” Paina smiled nervously.

“Apologies,” Sakuya lowered her head.

The four women were in a protective bubble, in the middle of hundreds of thousands of bronze insects.

Locusts.

Earlier, Sakuya revealed her familiar. It was a locust the size of her finger.

“This is Kiki, my familiar. I bonded with it in Yamato.”

The locust was metallic brown and lethargic. Strangely, the senses of the other three couldn't sense the Rank of this locust, which was very unusual.

“What does it do?” Clarissa asked.

“Kiki, wake up. Eat,” Sakuya whispered.

The locust then seemed to awake from its slumber. It opened its wings and vibrated furiously. But instead of taking flight, it did something else.

“Ohh!”

“Is my eyes deceiving me?”

The other three were surprised. The locust, while vibrating, became two locusts.

They didn't stop vibrating. From two to four to eight to sixteen and so on.

“We should assume defensive measures now,” Sakuya said.

In minutes, there were hundreds of bronze locusts around them. At some point, they flew as a swarm and assaulted a cockroach monster. The horde of locusts tore the horse-sized monster apart. They ate it from the inside and out. After they gorged on their prey they vibrated again, doubling their number several times.

Some tried to approach the four women but the bubble of water prevented them from getting close and the swarm moved on, looking for another prey.

What the cloud of bronze categorized as prey weren't simply the cockroach monsters. Grasses, leaves, meat, skin, all were eaten.

“Kiki is a Bronze Winged Locust King. One is a swarm and a swarm is one. They have been known to cause famine since ancient times.”

“Famine…” Farley repeated.

“Yes. It seems like fate,” Sakuya smiled.

In the Book World, Viers called his group the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Viers was Death.

Jaime was War.

Izabella was Conquest.

Sakuya was Famine.

“In the aftermath of our clan helping to control the locust plague on behalf of a daimyo, I found this little one here. It took a liking to my wood affinity mana and became my familiar. I named it Kiki, from the word kikin, which means famine.”

“Impressive. So you can unleash famine at will now?” Clarissa looked impressed.

“Not exactly. Kiki is still weak. Rank 1 at your standards. To grow, he needs to eat a lot. Its power growth is also much slower than other monsters. Still, against these monster cockroaches who fight us using their numbers? No matter how many they are, Kiki will eat them all.”

After turning the surroundings barren, the swarm moved. Husks of cockroaches lain lifelessly.

“We should follow them, so Farley’s badge can record the kill,” Sakuya said. “Against Rank 2 Kiki can still manage. Against Rank 3 we’ll need to soften them up. Rank 4, I don't think Kiki can damage them no matter how numerous he is.”

As the other three looked at the scene of carnage as a locust plague shear cleaned a place of its biomass and biodiversity, they got shivers. The much bigger cockroaches were powerless against the quantity of the locusts.

“Famine… How terrifying,” Paina said.

“I blame him. This is his fault, somehow,” Clarissa shook her head.

If this was a cartoon, there would be a visage of Viers in the sky, giving a flash of smile and a thumbs up.

“Wait a minute, Kiki won't destroy the Power Spots in this place, won't he!? Duke Crowe won't like that,” Farley realized something.

“I… think so?”

“Sakuya, why the question mark? You worry me. By the way, you can control your familiar, right? Right?” Paina pressed.

“Eeehh…” Sakuya weakly made a sound and moved her hand.

“What does that gesture mean? So-so? You can so-so control it!? What if it turned on you? Should you think deeper before you unleash a potentially deadly catastrophe?” Paina raised her voice.

A hand landed on Paina’s shoulder. It was Farley.

“We’ll deal with it when the time comes. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity to let her familiar graze. Sakuya created a massive opportunity for us, let’s not waste it.”

Farley reinforced the bubble of protection and followed the swarm.

Clarissa gave an encouraging slap on Sakuya’s back before turning to a person who walked behind them.

“There you have it. This isn’t against the rules, right miss observer?”

The person from the Church didn't reply. After Farley’s group moved far enough, the woman talked to herself.

“If I didn't know any better, I’d say she’s a disciple of Lichzen or Teorph’s cult. Kids with this much power run about unsupervised… How worrying.”

***

The happenings inside the Biome were transmitted outside. Sakuya’s actions were highlighted.

“Heeeh… Oba-chan uses her familiar,” Yayoi commented. She was watching the Grand Prix along with the rest of Viers’ group in their rented house.

“Would you like some tea?” Jessica brought along a tray with steaming hot tea cups.

“Thank you,” Yayoi took one.

“Incredible,” Gwen commented happily. “Sis’ score rose so quickly, approaching the top rankings!”

With how dramatic the performance of Farley’s group was, the commentator of the program had no choice but to highlight it. However, they were unable to get a shot of Farley’s group which was now hidden completely by the growing swarm.

Their crows would get eaten by the locust if they got too close. One already fell victim. Thankfully, there was a recording about the beginning of when Sakuya ordered her familiar when it was just one. If not, there might be a lot of misunderstandings now.

Some people already plan on recruiting the masked Sakuya for their own organization. Some made plans to get her familiar, with or without her consent.

However, it didn't take long until the audience’s focus shifted to other groups.

The 93 groups inside the Grand Prix were the elite of their generation. There were many outstanding ones.

The cockroaches were having a bad day.