Chapter 79 First Humans In Elysium

-- POV Freya --

I was quietly in my Imperial office checking on Gaya's work who had been taking care of the new arrivals for the past few days. Shiro, who was not attending classes at the orphanage today, was lying on the big soft carpet and drawing what seemed to be our family once our baby was born. Her little tongue was sticking out showing how focused she was and seeing her like that gave me courage to work.

Lia was busy managing the new staff that was now run by her and Triss so she wasn't there. The two half-humans were female butlers and took care of absolutely all tasks concerning the mansion. In addition to the soldiers on the second and third floors, everyone who came to see me had to go through them. Only my family, the section leaders, the commanders and those who worked here were allowed to move freely. The two young women were very efficient and good at what they did, which also made my job easier.

Today, not all the new people had been placed and housed yet, but everyone was working together to get them into a normal life as soon as possible.

Many wanted to join the different sections and our ranks would really grow. There were also people who wanted to open a business in the city but we still had not settled the question of money. There was one rule about money that I didn't want to break. The currency that would be used in the future would only be used to facilitate trade. There would be no discrimination based on money, everything would be accessible to everyone. I wanted citizens to be able to buy exactly the same things as their Empress. I wanted no poverty, no social classes.

*Sigh...so many things to deal with at once*

[The work is piling up, but once the search in the forest stops, the pace will slow down.]

*I know well..*

As I was considering the issue of money, Lia knocked on the door with a tone that indicated urgency.

"Your Highness ! An important message from Commander Luna's Lieutenant."

"Come in !"

As I agreed to receive it, I could see the half-rabbit opening the door, followed by a half-leopard man I didn't remember meeting. Every Commander had a second in command who was officially called a "Lieutenant" and I was scheduled to meet them in a few days.

"Your Highness !"

He bowed respectfully to me as he waited for me to speak before straightening up.

"What is your name ?"

The man's tail in front of me shook as it curled between his legs. I knew my natural aura and presence intimidated some but I didn't think so. The half-leopard raised his head before meeting my eyes and swallowing awkwardly. I waited for his response as Lia behind him urged him to answer.

"Lieutenant ?"

Coming to his senses, he straightened up in a military salute to introduce himself, not without some stuttering.

"Excuse me ! I...I'm Lieutenant Ash, second in command to...to Commander Luna of the Intelligence Section your Highness !"

"So tell me Lieutenant Ash, why are you here when your section is to the southwest ?"

As he told me in detail everything that had happened and what had been said, I felt my interest grow. I suspected that the day would come when we would meet different humans, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. Of course, I wasn't thrilled with the idea at all, but if it turned out that they were really on our side, the information that these two had could be very important later on. Contrary to what others might think, I wasn't a psychopath who couldn't stop killing. I hated humans, but if keeping them alive would allow my Empire to prevent destruction I wasn't going to ignore it. I was no fool, I knew how to lead, and I knew when I could give in to my bloodlust and when I couldn't.

As I thought about it after hearing all the details carefully, I waved Ash back to Luna. His eyes were closed as if he was waiting for my tantrum and opened them with a surprised look.

*Oi ! Does he really think I'm going to start screaming ?*

[Onee-san, it seems to me that the female commanders often tell their soldiers about your exploits in the Dark Forest. Don't you remember the nickname that's going around the barracks ? The dancer of the battlefield haha~]

*And ?*

[And so, in addition to being gripped by your presence and aura, people automatically associate your power, your accomplishments with a kind of...very tough ruler. Probably an automatism after being traumatized by humans]

Rumors and stories about me spread very quickly in the barracks and then spread to the city. I was quite proud of my reputation and it didn't bother me that the soldiers and citizens were trembling before me. However, I didn't want to be seen as some kind of angry and tyrannical Empress, because I was the opposite.

*So what the heck. I would never do anything against them so those who are afraid will change in time*

Deep down I knew that they all respected me, loved me and didn't have any bad thoughts about me, quite the opposite.

*Yosh ! Let's get to the bottom of this !*

Ash was gone and Lia was waiting for my orders at the door as I contacted all the commanders at once.

-- PING --

[Do you want to contact all the individuals in the army section of your Empire menu ? ]

[ YES/NO ]

*Kira sorry to ask this but could you not let them know you are here ? They don't know about you yet. Sigh...still something else to do*

[Of course onee-san, I understand. Cheer up !]

I was really annoyed to ask her this, but right now, I had to get this matter settled. As I sank into my seat in front of my desk, I felt my mind and Kira's mind connect with 9 others, going in all directions.

"Commanders of the Elysium army, this is your Empress speaking. We have a major emergency, please speed up your rounds and meet me in the throne room in exactly two hours by the time everyone returns."

Without even waiting for their responses, I cut the communication to stay only with Luna.

"Luna !"

"Y..yes your Highness ?"

"Your Lieutenant explained everything to me, you did well to warn me. Hurry back and pass by the hospital first as I understand there are wounded, I'll take care of warning Caipy. Make sure to cover their heads when entering the Empire, I don't want a collective panic from the citizens. You have two hours before you must report to the throne room."

"Hai !"

My messages were always short and almost one-sided because I wanted to get things done as quickly as possible. Kira on top of that had to keep quiet so there was no need to argue any longer, especially in a situation like this.

As I stood up, I took Shiro in my arms to give her a kiss on the cheek before handing her over to Lia.

"Have a good job mommy !"

My face had a big smile on it as my little moon said goodbye with her hand. As the door closed, my face instantly became cold and inexpressive as if I had become a completely different person.

*Let's go*

I was determined. If they were worth it and this was all the truth, I would let them live. On the other hand...if they disappointed me too many times, I would kill them without hesitation.

____

-- POV Alayna --

*Where...where am I ?*

"Luna, are you awake ?"

As my head ached and my body felt heavy, I could feel a presence near me. It was the elf woman who was the mother of the injured little boy and as I got up, she smiled at me.

*What...what happened ?*

Suddenly, two eyes came back to me as I looked around to see if my medallion was still there. We were in a fairly large room with many beds separated by curtains. The place was extremely clean and there was silence because besides me and this elf, there was no one else there.

"A..a hospital ?"

While I was confused, the woman beside me spoke up.

"Before I explain what's going on let me introduce myself. My name is Elen and I am Erkas' wife and I thank you again for saving us. As far as this place is concerned, we are in the Elysium Empire Hospital. Your human friend and my son are being treated in the operating room by the Chief physician while my sister and her husband are in the rest room with my daughter. Currently we are waiting before having an audience with the Empress which should not be long before..."

Elen did not have time to finish her sentence when a soldier entered the room. He was the same leopard man from the forest. If he was there, then so was the young woman with blue and golden eyes.

"Excuse me I..."

"Commander Caipy ! I've come to collect the humans and elves for the audience with her Highness !"

Just as I was about to ask where the one I was looking for was, another elf had entered the room through the door right next to me. She appeared to be a doctor, for she was dressed in a white gown tinged with blood. The soldier had greeted her with respect, so this Caipy must have been an important member of the army. Behind her was the little boy with his leg immobilized and the man who had saved me. He was covered in bandages and his right arm had no arrow left which made me breathe a sigh of relief.

"Please go get the others in the office, it's time for you to go. Don't keep her Highness waiting, the situation is complicated enough."

The matted-skinned elf handed us cloaks to put on so as not to alert the inhabitants to our presence. In all this confusion, the only thing I wanted to know was where this girl who had helped me was. As I was about to ask again, Elen stopped me with a serious nod.

So we went out to meet the ruler of the place.

____

We had only walked for 5 minutes because the hospital was right next to the barracks and the Empress's big manor. I had not looked at the city because I was much too tense and lost. We were now in front of a huge wooden door ready to enter. According to the soldier, this was the throne room where the army commanders and the Empress were. On either side of the door were two soldiers with bull heads, carrying spears that guarded the entrance.

"Open the door."

Under the orders of the leopard man, they were pushing the door that looked very heavy in order to let us pass.

"Follow me and remember, you are in the presence of the most important members of this Empire. Be respectful and above all do not do anything stupid in front of her Highness !"

Again I had no time to wonder, we had already entered the throne room. It was huge, with large pillars on each side, all decorated with a black, white and gold flag representing a wolf with two horns, a sun, a moon and a star. At that moment, I was wondering how I had gotten from the adventurers' cart to this beautiful, mysterious, eerie and terrifying place.

*It's...*

I was looking around when suddenly the feeling of being watched overwhelmed me. Looking straight ahead, I could see on each side of the red carpet, 10 totally different half-human women looking at us with suspicion. Among them was the one I was looking for.

*She's here...Luna...!!*

Unfortunately I didn't have time to be happy because as we approached, I was feeling worse and worse. I was sweating, my heart was pounding, breathing had become difficult and my body was shaking for some unknown reason. With a discreet eye I could see that the elf family was in the same condition, only the injured man was more or less able to resist.

"Your Highness, these are the elves and humans I told you about."

Luna had stepped forward to bow before speaking. At that moment, all the elves knelt down and automatically doing the same, I looked up to finally see who this Empress was. My eyes fell on a figure sitting on a huge throne made of black stone and ice. At a glance, I knew that it was this young woman in front of us who was responsible for our condition.

The Empress was in front of us and was looking at us silently without saying a single word. Facing her, we were all silent and speechless. She was a half-human wolf, but on her forehead there were two black horns that made me doubt her race. The Empress was as gorgeous as she was intimidating. Her beauty surpassed that of any human woman and her presence any great king. Her eyes were a vibrant, piercing, cold violence that made us all shiver. For those of us who met her for the first time, it was impossible not to cower and feel like ants in front of a wolf that could kill us with the blink of an eye.

"Welcome to my Empire !"

Her powerful, intimidating, cold voice shook the walls and gripped our hearts. I didn't want to die and the more time passed, the more I felt like I was standing in front of death itself...beautiful, mesmerizing, cold and deadly.

Thus began our audience with this Empress who now ruled the forest, uncertain of our future.

____

FULL STATUS

Name : Freya

Age : 0 years / Mentally : 25 years

Sex : Female

Course : Ice Demon Wolf of chaos - Adult

Race : Major Demon

Titles : Blessed by Titania, Goddess of endless Chaos and eternal frozen Hell.

Dragon tamer

Ruthless slayer

Level : 33/70

Exp required for next level: 100 / 34 000

HP : 90 000 / 90 000 MP : 45 000 / 45 000

Strength : 425

Defense : 421

Agility : 435

Stamina : 428

Speed : 427

Intelligence : 425

Charisma : 410 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 0

Married to: Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Empire (menu)

Subordinates : 387

Humans killed : 148

Elements: Ice / Chaos

Skills (all):

Attack - Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 5)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic aura of the empress (lvl 5)

Defense - Ice demon wall (lvl 6)

- Demonic cloak (lvl 5)

Pain Resistance (lvl 3)

Attack/Defense - Domain of the Ice Empress "frozen wrath" (lvl 1) - (under condition)

Others - Humanoid form

- Ice creation (Lvl 5)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring chaos (Lvl 5)

- Analysis

- Second soul (Lvl max) - unique

- Telepathy

Mana detection (lvl 1)

Passives - Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]