Chapter 173 Game Of Lies I

[N/A: I am sorry for these days of absence. I took a few days off to spend time with my cousin who I haven't seen in 4 years. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting]

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- POV General -

In the north of the continent, in a forest called Syn, there was a large clearing where a tree made of crystal and water stood. However, although it had been standing there for years without ever collapsing, on a foggy afternoon, for the first time it began to tremble. Indeed, the small island on which it was standing was vibrating violently as if an earthquake was taking place.

The small island in the middle of the lake was the only one to vibrate and as the ground began to crack, the tree in its center began to glow. Suddenly, it disappeared, exploding into a multitude of white particles resembling thousands of small butterflies. The fog that fell over the forest was now white in the clearing and as the magic dissipated, a few shapes seemed to emerge from the center.

It was hard to see who it was, but the fog was slowly lifting, revealing two women, followed by dozens of people and a horse. For the first time in days, Empress Freya was finally back on the surface. After hours of surfacing, she, her sister and her soldiers were finally under the gray sky, the clouds and the faint rays of the sun that they had not seen for too long.

"But...*cough* ! What happened ?"

"I-I don't know, we just went the other way and came out the way we came in. I don't know why the tree disappeared."

"Is it again related to her Highness ?"

"Mmmh *cough*...*cough*...probably !"

The Commanders and Lieutenants were the first to speak as they looked around. The weather was gray, no animals were around, and the forest, previously full of noise, was now completely silent. Only the sound of the new arrivals, rose into the dull sky of this seemingly ordinary afternoon as in an instant the tree was gone forever.

The Empress and her sister were silent and did not comment at all on what had just happened, far too busy thinking. Several hours ago, Kira had jokingly assumed that Kalaa's time magic had not affected them because their perception of time had already changed. Now they were outside but had no way of knowing how much time had passed.

They stood there silently and watched the surroundings with special attention to make sure that nothing was near them. While the Commanders and Lieutenants fell into the grass, smiling and breathing in the fresh air, the Nightshade sisters watched. Always dressed the same way, their hair blowing in the wind and their eyes as purple as the most beautiful gemstone.

"Well Kira, I thought you would have been more excited to be out than you are now haha~"

"Onee-san...I'm more excited than you think but...you are the Empress and we are in the presence of your most powerful soldiers ! I have to rise to the occasion and at least save this side for our family time !"

Kira on the way back had practiced controlling her impulses of discovery, while keeping her eccentricity to a minimum. Of course, Freya didn't really care if her sister was up to the task because only her presence and happiness mattered, but the second Princess of Elysium didn't feel the same way. Much like Shiro, she was now touched by the desire to be as worthy as her older sister.

"Haha~ You are quite free to do as you wish little sister. Although I doubt you can repress this talkative young woman you are kufufu~"

"I....hmpf !"

As Kira crossed her arms and pretended to be offended and Freya smiled slightly, a strong wind began to blow. And then, suddenly, before the astonished eyes of the Empire soldiers, the Empress and her sister collapsed on the ground. By the time the wind had blown their black and gray hair, Freya and Kira had fainted. It had all been so sudden and as the breeze died down, two motionless bodies lay on the ground.

"Your Highness !!"

"Empress ! Princess Kira !"

No one knew yet what had happened, not even the two women involved. The nearest Commanders were already rushing in their direction, not knowing that it would not be possible to wake them up. The Empress and the Princess' minds were already far away, meeting someone they did not expect to see again soon...someone who would test their nerves to the limit.

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Just like the last time, Freya was in the middle of a vast space that seemed to be a sky as gray as the one she had left. The same gigantic mountain was in front of her and made her feel like an ant in front of its grandeur. But this time, the young woman with black hair was not alone because at her side, a slightly younger woman with silver-gray hair was watching the same mountain.

"Huh ? What ? I...what is this huge mountain ? W-Why are we floating in the air and...what's going on Freya ? Where are we ?"

Kira, still to the left of her older sister, had a face that was more than shocked because this was all she was seeing for the first time. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth wide open and her head was constantly turning 360 degrees. Freya, used to it, was not surprised and even seemed to be doing her best to keep her composure as she responded.

"We are in..."

"Welcome back Freya, you too Kira...right ?"

However, the she-wolf didn't even have time to answer, as a voice cut her off, coming from nowhere, from everywhere at once. This voice, Freya was the only one to know it and while Kira stretched her two fox ears, a woman emerged in front of them. As voluptuous as ever, with ocean blue hair and eyes as black as two Tahitian pearls...it was Titania.

As the Goddess finished her entrance, Freya looked at her silently without showing even a hint of emotion on her face. The discussion that was to follow was decisive, for the future of the Empire depended on the two sisters. Titania must not under any circumstances learn the existence of the new system and even less know that Lucifer was back, the young Empress was well aware of it.

The last time the she-wolf had been in front of her, the blue-haired Goddess had even managed to read her mind. Today, much had changed, but Freya had to be careful. If her mind was also being probed, she had to be absolutely concentrated not to betray anything. For the Empress, who could be very calm, this was not a concern, but what about her sister ?

So began a game of lies between a lying, manipulative Goddess and a tactician, ruthless Demon who was ready to do anything to discover the truth and take revenge. In this game of conspiracies, Lucifer was one step ahead after her discoveries and therefore had to keep the secret at all costs and not betray anything. Only her piercing violet eyes stared at the blue-haired woman with a disconcerting intensity as the Goddess spoke.

"First of all, I'm so glad to meet you Kira. I didn't think that..."

As Titania was finally out, she looked up at the vixen before stopping dead in her tracks. There were several things that left her speechless at that very moment when she finally met Freya's little sister physically. The Goddess froze as the same violet eyes stared back at her...eyes that would make any God or Goddess who knew the name Nightshade tremble.

Kira had the same and to top it off, those three tails and that single horn, Titania knew them well. The Fox Sin Demon of Greed was back and what's more, in the body of a young woman bearing the blood of the Nightshades. This combination had never been seen before and the blue-haired Goddess couldn't help but shiver.

Would Freya have recovered her memories bringing Lucifer back into her existence ? How come Kira had the same eyes ? Why was she now one of the most powerful Sins after Lucifer ? What had happened in that crypt ? Titania had a lot of questions that were starting to give her a headache. She had sensed that something had happened and now wanted to dig a little deeper.

"Ahem...excuse my moment of distraction. So I was saying that I'm glad to meet you Kira. I didn't think I'd see you so soon but I'm more than happy to know you have a body. Plus, you're really cute and I..."

As she spoke, Titania floated up to Kira before reaching out a hand to her face. The Goddess had a big smile on her face that looked very affectionate and could fool anyone but the two sisters. Just as her hand was about to caress the young vixen's cheek, a second one stopped it dead in its tracks before her skin could even touch an inch of Kira's face.

"Don't touch her."

It was Freya. The protective big sister had acted in a split second and neither woman had seen her. Freya had spoken in a calm voice, controlling her tone so that it didn't sound intimidating but still firm. Despite her desire not to sound suspicious, the she-wolf did not want to break the promise that swirled in her heart : you once laid your hands on Kalaa, you will never lay your hands on Kira.

Titania and Freya looked at each other silently as if neither of them wanted to give in to the other's gaze. The Goddess although surprised, was not more alarmed than that because she remembered the words and the gestures that she had had towards Freya during their last meeting. However, she did not want to give in but unfortunately, after a few seconds, lowered her eyes while Kira spoke.

"Hi Titatra...ahem...Titania ! O Great Goddess who allowed me to be born and whom I finally meet ! What a great honor to stand before you on this beautiful day of "I don't know when", near this great mountain standing "I don't know where", floating in the air "I don't know how". Allow me once again to thank you for this wonderful life you have generously given me !"

As she spoke these words, Kira bowed respectfully and excessively, her head to her knees, in order to hide the big mocking smile she wore. Freya didn't move an inch in the face of her monologue but was dying of laughter inside, unable to help but admire her little sister for her audacity. Of course, the only one who didn't understand was Titania, whose overinflated ego prevented her from understanding.

"I...well I'm very impressed by this kindness towards me haha~. It's true that without me you wouldn't even be here so in a way I'm kind of your mother haha~! Ahem...anyway, you can get up my child, the honor is shared."

"N-No I...I think...I'll stay like this for a while longer ! I...it's a rather interesting position believe me, my blood circulates perfectly, you should try it sometime O great pfff~ great Goddess Titatra..nia ! Titania !"

"Uh...why not one day...anyway do...do as you wish."

Kira kept the same posture because she knew that she could not help but burst out laughing if she raised her head. The scene was hilarious and the young vixen was clearly making fun of the Goddess but in such a way that it was difficult to detect if one did not know her. Thus, Titania, although finding Kira's behavior questionable and bizarre, had seen nothing.

"Titania. Why did you bring us here ? Last time I slept for a week, every second counts so please hurry..."

Freya had finally spoken, her voice slightly softer after having witnessed her little sister's little comedy show. She was now ready to speak and do her best not to arouse any suspicion while giving satisfactory answers. The Goddess who was also curious to know everything that had happened, raised her head seriously before answering.

"Yes it's true I have a lot of questions to ask you and although I don't know why your little sister fell asleep at the same time as you, I don't mind her being there. I'll try to be quick but I'd like you to answer everything I'm going to ask you, it's very important for your quest of power so be sincere !"

At her words, the she-wolf had almost frowned at the mention of the word "sincere", knowing full well that the blue-haired woman wasn't sincere at all. It all seemed to be a skit and the Empress was measuring how openly and unashamedly the Goddess was mocking her. However Freya almost perfectly contained her sudden urge to crush Titania's head and nodded as she replied.

"Sure, I'll answer honestly, but in exchange, could you be quick ? Again, we don't have time to sleep for a week or more."

Freya spoke of honesty, but for the first time since her arrival in this timeline, she was going to lie and play with a Goddess. As she spoke her words, the blue-haired woman wore a shocked face, filled with false empathy and tenderness. Once again, the Empress was about to receive news that she was not ready to hear, as she had been with every encounter with Titania.

"Freya my dear...last time I showed you the future and past of Kleisaria which explains the time you spent asleep. This time it's different, time is running normally so you haven't even been asleep for 10 minutes. However...you should know that you didn't stay in the crypt for a few days."

"How long ?"

"Freya my dear child...a little over a month has passed on the surface and in your Empire."

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FULL STATUS

Names : Freya / Lucifer Nightshade

Age : 0 years old / Mentally : 25 years old

Sex : Female

Course: Ice Demon Wolf of Chaos - Adult

Race : Imperial Demon

Titles :

- Demon Goddess of Primordial Blood and Death (former - until all powers are regained) - 20%.

- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the unique Sins Demons (to unlock it please collect the other 6 - 3/6 - (locked)

- Dragon tamer

- Ruthless slayer

Level : 45/70

Exp needed for next level: 0 / 46 000

HP : 170 000 / 170 000 MP : 85 000 / 85 000. BLOOD : 100 / 100

Strength: 560

Defense : 560

Agility : 566

Endurance: 563

Speed : 562

Intelligence: 560

Charisma: 500 (imperial she-wolf)

Attribute points to allocate : 600

Married to : Gaya

Daughter : Shiro

Little sister : Kira (Greedy Fox)

Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 1239

Humans killed: 153

Souls: 2/3

Elements: Ice / Chaos (Freya) - Blood / Death (Lucifer)

Skills (all):

Attacks:

- Demon Claws (Lvl 5)

- Bite of hell (Lvl 6)

- Infernal ice spikes (Lvl 6)

- Fighting techniques (Lvl max)

- Mastery of the katana (lvl max)

- Demonic Empress aura (lvl 6)

Defense:

- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

- Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense:

- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 2) - (under condition)

- Death Gaze (lvl 1)

Others :

- Humanoid form

- Demonic form (linked to the title so incomplete) - 20%.

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Storage of chaos (Lvl 4)

- Devouring Chaos (Lvl 5)

- Master of Souls (lvl 2)

- Lucifer's Threads of Blood (lvl 2)

- Healing Blood (lvl 2)

- Analysis

- Telepathy