Chapter 93: Chapter 92: Debutant
As Alisha shifted Carl’s head to her lap, stroking his head as she did when he was still her baby, Klaire turned away from them and everyone else.
It was a strange sensation that washed over her as she raised the scrap of soul up to eye level.
It smelled both revolting and utterly tantalising, the mouth of her body filled with bile as the mouth of her soul from salivated with anticipation.
"Klaire, I would just throw it to the back of your throat and swallow if I were you."
Klaire tried to follow Faylorna’s final words of advice but the scrap caught on the teeth of her soul-form, falling flat onto her tongue.
As Klaire wretched and choked it down, the others all gagged aside from Faylorna.
To her physical body the taste was that of rancid meat that had been left in the sun, but to her soul-form it was a delicacy to be savoured and the two halves were fighting for their opinion.
She was glad when she finally threw up in her mouth as the physical taste was actually an improvement and it helped her wash it down.
The moment she swallowed, a black mist like that of Faylorna’s true form engulfed her.
"Well, I admit I wasn’t expecting this. I do believe she is ascending..." Faylorna chuckled as her, Kyubi and Lillim took their true forms.
Even as Faylorna aired her hypothesis, Klaire’s flesh was blackening and the bones beneath were expanding and forcing it to split and fall off in lumps.
As their auras formed a barrier to protect the audience, Klaire howled like a newborn baby coming into the world. Klaire’s own aura was released as a reflex, colliding with the others with enough ferocity they had to release far more to contain her outburst.
"Remember when newborns were less rambunctious? This new generation is most unruly." Lillim huffed.
"I’m starting to forget the importance of things that once seemed sacred myself." Kyubi growled.
When her flesh and clothes had fully fallen away, the bones of everything but her head, neck, arms and hands turned to a whirling black mist that eventually gathered around her like a mourning dress.
"Well it seems my heir was eager for her debut... Let’s see how ready for her crown she is."
Faylorna moved through the barrier and antagonised the reborn Klaire.
Walking through the newly evolved girl’s aura should have been nothing to her, but it pulled at her like quicksand no matter how much of her own aura she released. "You were saying something about being weak a moment ago? Besides girl, your love still lives, whom exactly are you mourning?"
Klaire’s skeletal hands reached for Carl, she hesitated briefly when she saw them and again when she realised that her index finger alone was now the length of his body. then she ran the back of it from his head to his hip.
"Did she just ignore the barrier completely?" Lillim asked Kyubi the question in utter disbelief.
"I believe she did... Lillim, you know what this means?"
"Yes, you may have your challenge if you so choose."
As Lillim replied however something entirely new happened, a wave of fresh energy washed across the surface of Lugaria, one so unique that Nergal felt the need to arrive personally to investigate.
"Great-grandma, Nergal would like to visit, can I bring him over?"
"What!? Why would he need your help?"
"He said he can’t open a gate here for some reason."
"Yes, let him come, as an elder god and the creator of the banshee he has the right to bare witness."
Tiamutael let ferried him across through his private domain between realms, though when he appeared completely bewildered it became clear that Lillim and Kyubi simply wanted to record his expression.
"What the hell happened!? What is happening with that banshee? Is that Klaire?"
Power was still radiating from her in waves and she had begun to a single unyielding how that was reverberating across through everyone and everything on the planet.
"We are seeing the birth of the banshee who feasted on Dracula’s soul, even if just a scrap." Faylorna cooed, like watching a baby take its first steps.
"I know I said I would stay out of your affairs, but can I ask out of pure curiosity?"
"When Carl is in a position to answer that question, he will." Nergal was about to chuckle, but at that moment they all suddenly felt like the howl was ripping through their flesh and Nergal quickly focused on adding his aura to the barrier to protect the mortals.
Just as he did, the power she had been releasing gradually with the elongated howl came rushing back, threatening to drag them all in to become a part of her transformation.
Nergal’s eyes narrowed and he remembered his momentary thought about whether they were too dangerous to be left alive. ’I’m starting to think I should have seized the opportunity, I don’t think I’ll get another.’
Lillim chuckled, knowing him well enough to know what he was thinking, both back at the infirmary and now.
As the power final wave of power washed passed them and slammed into Klaire, two spine like structures burst out of where her shoulders would have been and her mist compacted into a more physical robe that had crimson highlights showing through the black.
She howled in what was clearly pain and swayed back towards Faylorna with a half-spin that let the crowd see her canines had also sharpened into fangs not unlike a vampire’s.
As Faylorna caught her on her own skeletal arm, the accumulated power settled and began to recede, making her slowly shrink back down to size. Predicting what the state Klaire would be in, Nergal turned his barrier opaque and black and turned to face the other way.
"Apologies everyone, I think it best we give them some privacy... Could you please take the mortals back to your home so your mother may retain her dignity?"
"Hmph, not because you asked." Tiamutael grunted with unusual animosity, before doing as asked, ignoring Alysse’s protests.
"Don’t worry, he’s a bit riled up after his Dad took control of his abilities." Lillim shrugged.
"Lillim, Carl still may be as cute as he was, but he is much heavier!" Alisha shouted.
"The girl is covered, so send the man in to make himself useful. Then he has a reason to come back to the house, I don’t want to explain to Klaire that we woke him up just to get his permission."
"Personally I second that..." Lillim mumbled, surprising herself with her own words.
Kyubi remained silent, she had known her feelings would never be reciprocated naturally, but now she felt that even the chance to fight for the right to express them had been lost permanently.
When Lillim, Kyubi, Faylorna, Alisha, Carl, Klaire and Nergal were together, they each tried to open a portal in turn.
"Damn, what did he do and not undo?" Lillim moaned. "Little one, please bring everyone but myself back home, including the guest... I’m going to take a look at the committee station, your father would want to rescue any isolated personnel."
"Fine, but I’m getting sleepy, I can’t do too much more without a nap."
"Of course dear, when we get back to you we will use the gateroom on Haven to send them home and you can get some rest... You’ve done very well today my great-grandson, your mum and dad will be very proud."
"Thank you, see you in a bit." As he finished speaking, he brought everyone bar Lillim back to Haven.
Lillim then headed to the station as planned and upon her arrival found two people panicking, who suddenly froze when they noticed her.
"Mother of demons, Lady Lillim, we are currently unable to allow any member of Carl Bashe-Reaga’s faction to use committee equipment."
"Yes, yes, I know. Luckily however, the opposite is not true, Carl has just defeated the vampire ruler Dracula. In the process, he did something that has blocked the power of every immortal being allied with him from opening portals, I came to see if you needed a way to return."
The men chuckled, assuming she was toying with them and not wanting to be seen as fools.
"Ah, so I assume whatever knocked our equipment out happened to yours and you resolved it. Yes, transport would be much obliged if the offer is free, but we have been told not to agree to any exchanges under any circumstances."
"I assure you it is "free", though I can’t take you directly there. I will need to take you to another world and then portal you home from there."
Lillim wasn’t simply going to so much effort out of personal care, or even on behalf of Carl though. What she really wanted was for them to report the situation, for it to get back to the variants and for them to reconsider what they think they know of his power.