Lilia and Brielle looked at the floor in confusion. Suddenly, the dark shadow under Zero's boots began to bubble and expand like a pool of black ink. It spread rapidly across the luxurious carpet.
THUD. THUD.
The heavy, terrifying sound of massive iron-shod hooves hitting the floor echoed in the room. Brielle instinctively reached for her sword again, her eyes wide with shock. Lilia gasped and took a step back.
Rising from the pitch-black shadow was Kaelith. Her midnight-black, heavily muscled Clydesdale lower body stepped onto the carpet, followed by her towering, sun-bronzed Amazonian upper half. She stood proudly next to Zero, looking down at the two human women with her sharp amber eyes.
"Impossible!" Lilia breathed, her jaw dropping as she looked at the giant. "A Centaur-kin? And she came directly out of your shadow?!"
Lilia quickly analyzed Kaelith's massive size and dark coat. "Wait... she belongs to the Equus giganteus tribe! There are very few of them left in the world! I heard a rumor that the tribe leader's daughter was captured and was supposed to be sold at this auction, but she mysteriously disappeared from the slaver's cart on the way to the Kingdom!"
Zero let out a dark chuckle. "You are looking at her, Lilia. This is the tribe leader's daughter"
Lilia was completely stunned. Zero had not only given her magic, but he had also somehow stolen a priceless, mythical giant centaur right from under the Kingdom's nose.
"You are right about the auction," Zero continued. "The rest of her tribe is being sold here soon. We are going to buy all of them"
Kaelith bowed her head respectfully toward Lilia and Brielle. "I heard everything from inside the Master's shadow," Kaelith said in her deep, resonant voice. "I know you are our ally now. It is good to meet you"
Lilia quickly recovered from her shock and offered a warm smile. "It is an honor to meet you, Kaelith. You can call me El, or Lilia. And this is my sworn knight, Brielle"
Brielle slowly let go of her sword, still staring at Kaelith in absolute awe. "A giant centaur... Lord Zero truly is a god," she muttered under her breath.
With the introductions finished, Zero crossed his heavy Abyssal Steel gauntlets. His glowing red eyes narrowed.
"Now, Lilia, I have a question for you" Zero said, his voice turning dangerously cold.
"Tell me everything you know about the Valerius Dukedom. It is deeply personal now"
Lilia blinked in surprise. "The Valerius family? Why?"
"Because I have already crossed paths with a boy named Julian Valerius in the Stratified Domain," Zero explained. "He is an academic student. He was incredibly arrogant, so I completely beat his pride out of him"
Lilia's eyes lit up with sudden understanding, and a cruel, satisfied smile spread across her face.
"Julian Valerius," Lilia scoffed, her voice filled with disgust. "The Valerius Dukedom is one of the strongest military noble families in the human continent. Because of their power, they are ridiculously arrogant. They truly believe the world cannot function without them"
She crossed her arms. "As for Julian, he is an absolute joke. He is a spoiled, lusty dog who only cares about chasing beautiful girls. In fact, he once tried to hit on me at a public event, thinking I was just a normal pretty girl. But when he finally heard my name and saw Brielle glaring at him, the coward realized who he had messed with. He apologized frantically and ran away like a frightened rat. He has never bothered me since"
Lilia's expression then softened slightly, turning into a look of pity. "He also has a sister. Her name is Seraphina Valerius. But she is completely different from him"
"Explain," Zero commanded.
"Seraphina went missing in a monster forest recently. No one knows where she is," Lilia explained. "Honestly, I feel so much pity for her. She is a very weak girl, only Rank F. Because of that, the girls in her academy class bullied her mercilessly. Her father, the Duke, is a cruel man who only cares about strength. He gave Julian everything—money, weapons, and support—while he completely ignored Seraphina. He treated her like trash and even planned to sell her off to marry some bastard noble who goes to the same academy"
Hearing how the family treated their own weak daughter reminded Lilia of her own dark past. Her new magical aura flared slightly as anger filled her heart.
"Zero," Lilia said, looking directly into his masked eyes. "Your enemy is my enemy. If the Valerius Dukedom angered you, they will have to pay the ultimate price. I will help you destroy them"
Zero held up his heavy, armored hand to stop her.
"You do not need to fight them directly, Lilia" Zero stated, his mechanical voice dripping with dark calculation. "I have a much better plan"
Lilia and Brielle listened closely.
"I will constantly supply you with my 100% pure healing lotions and elixirs," Zero explained smoothly. "You will take them, put your Valmont Family brand on them, and sell them to the Kingdom's armies. The Valerius Dukedom's military forces will quickly become completely addicted and dependent on your perfect potions. They will not be able to fight wars without them"
A terrifying, evil smile formed behind Zero's iron mask.
"And once they are completely dependent on us... we will cut off their supply," Zero finished. "We will let them bleed. And then, we will show them what true power really looks like"
As their conversation finally came to an end, Zero turned his massive, black-armored body toward the door to leave.
But suddenly, Lilia stopped in her tracks. Her sharp, intelligent mind had just connected two important pieces of information.
"Wait... Zero," Lilia said, her eyes widening slightly. "You said you met Julian Valerius in the Stratified Domain. That was the exact same day his sister, Seraphina Valerius, went missing in the monster forest"
Lilia looked up at his glowing red eyes, realizing the truth. "With the kind of terrifying power you have... did you take Seraphina with you?"
Zero stopped with his hand resting near the door handle. He slowly turned his head to look back at the alchemist.
"You are very smart, Lilia. You guessed right," Zero's distorted, mechanical voice replied calmly. "I brought her with me"
Lilia and Brielle both gasped. The entire Kingdom was looking for the missing Duke's daughter, and she was actually with Lord Zero this whole time!
"She told me she did not want to live in that place anymore," Zero explained, his voice sounding cold and uncaring about the Kingdom's laws. "She was treated like trash by her own family, and her father was forcing her to marry a disgusting noble. She wanted a new life. So, I gave her one. And just like I gave you magic, I gave her power too"
Brielle swallowed hard, almost afraid to ask.
"What... what kind of power did you give a weak Rank F girl?"
"I did not give her a mana potion," Zero answered smoothly. "I gave her an Ancient Bloodline potion. Because of that, her body was completely rebuilt. She now has SS-Rank potential, exactly like you do now, Lilia"
Absolute, mind-numbing shock hit the two women.
Brielle had to lean against the wall so she wouldn't fall over. 'Another one?' Brielle thought, her brain completely short-circuiting. 'He casually creates SS-Rank monsters like he is just handing out candy! He is building an army of walking natural disasters!'
Lilia stared at Zero in absolute awe.
Seraphina was known as the weakest, most pathetic girl in the academy. And now, thanks to Zero, she had the potential to become one of the strongest warriors in the entire human continent.
Zero pushed the door handle down, ready to leave the room.
"If I had not found her, she would have been eaten alive by monsters in that forest," Zero stated, his voice completely flat. "And her arrogant family would not have cared at all, because she was weak and useless to them. But she is not weak anymore. Now, she belongs to my domain"
With that final truth spoken, Zero opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, leaving the two stunned women to fully realize the terrifying and unstoppable power of the Master they had just sworn to serve
"Zero, where are you planning to stay tonight?" Lilia asked.
"I will just rent a room at a local hotel in the city," Zero replied simply.
Lilia blinked. She looked up at the massive, towering body of Kaelith standing right next to him. "Is... is she going with you? To a normal human hotel? Are you getting her a separate bedroom?"
"No," Zero answered calmly. "She will stay in my room"
Hearing this, Kaelith's dark, sun-bronzed skin suddenly turned bright red. The fierce, giant Centaur-kin looked down at the floor, completely misunderstanding his words. She nervously played with her long, dark mane, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
"I... I have no problem with that, Lord Zero," Kaelith whispered shyly, her face burning. "I have never been with a man before in my entire life... but if it is you, Master, I am completely ready to sleep with you"
Zero completely froze.
Brielle's jaw dropped, and Lilia quickly covered her mouth to hide a surprised smile.
"Where exactly is this conversation going?" Zero asked, sighing heavily behind his iron mask. "Do not overthink it, Kaelith. We are hiding in a human Kingdom. I cannot easily rent a separate, giant-sized room for a Centaur without causing a massive panic and drawing the royal guards. I just meant we will share the space. I will take the bed, and you can sleep right by my side on the floor so I can protect you if anything happens"
Kaelith's face turned even redder. She realized her embarrassing mistake and quickly covered her blushing face with her hands, too shy to speak.
Lilia let out a soft, polite laugh to break the awkward tension. She stepped forward with a much better idea.
"You do not need to sneak into a normal hotel, Zero," Lilia offered warmly. "Please, come stay at my private family estate. We are business partners now, and I am your loyal companion. My home is huge and heavily guarded. It is completely safe, and Kaelith will have plenty of private space to rest without anyone seeing her"
Zero thought about it for a moment. Going to the Valmont estate was definitely the smartest and safest choice.
"You make a very good point, Lilia," Zero agreed, nodding his armored head. "Let us go to your home"