"Although we do have a problem, Thornhill son..." Lady Elyria said, but in a way more hushed tone than she has been talking.
"What is it my lady?" Zaja said with a concerned expression etched on his face.
He so desperately didn't want anything bad to happen to his sister Lira, so he took any sbd every word concerning his sister's location dear to his heart, paying attention to know if to be relieved or be even more worried.
"To ensure maximum safety of your sister... Lira, I installed a sought of 'watch dog' at the entrance to prevent unwanted guest from making contact with her..." Elyria said. "This means that she is safe, however we would have to go through the beast to get to her, because it was designed to never let go of its instruction up until death..."
Immediately the last few words came out of Lady Elyria's mouth, Zaja knew what infact she was talking about.
"The Three Headed Demon Dog..." He said with a from expression on his face.
The Three Headed Demon Dog was a specie of magic animal that specifically bred to receive one instruction and stick to that instruction for the rest of its life, therefore in this case; Lady Elyria's instruction to the creature was to guard the entrance to Lira's location no matter what or who came through.
That being said, the creature would need to be killed before they could have access to Lira.
And so, the matriarch and the vessel crossed concealed hallways, stepped into an underground, secret hideout. There a dark maze like structure stretched out, guaranteeing that anyone who didn't know the way in would get lost in minutes.
Elyria had no such trouble and led Zaja effortlessly through the maze and then towards a large clearing before a beautifully adorned door which Zaja assumed housed his sister.
Finally, he was about to be reunited with his long lost sister! The emotions got to Zaja's head and his eyes turned red in anticipation. However, he had to take care of one thing first...
"Where is the damned creature..." He said swinging his head from side to side calmly.
Lady Elyria hesitated for a few seconds before pointing upwards to reveal a massive figure falling from a height as if aiming to pounce on the pair.
The creature landed with a loud bang, almost crushing them, but they managed to swiftly evade its attack by side stepping. When the dust settled, Zaja looked at the creature angrily acknowledging that it was the only thing preventing him from making contact with his beloved sister.
It was a massive dog like creature with three huge heads that had baring, sharp fangs and a muscular body.
Zaja stepped forward, telling Lady Elyria to back off that he would handle it. The dogs immediately charged at him as if reading his mind and recognizing the intention to enter Lira's room, but he smoothly dodged the attacks with a swift, calculated movement.
Then he sighed boringly. "I don't exactly feel like cracking a sweat today, so I'm not going to stain my hands with your blood," he said directly to the creature.
Having had a massive cum unloading session with the Valthorne matriarch he wasn't in the mood to spring into physical action like his old days when he was under her slave seal.
He then skewed his mind and focused on pushing his Arcane energy outward.
"Come Forth... Naga"
He said, and just like that, a portal of red and black clouds with red lightning streaking across it tore open behind him. From the depths of the portal, a massive snake exploded outward and coiled around him like mamba waiting to strike.
It was just one of the twelve Red Veil Arcane Beasts that he has control over due to his innate mutation. The serpent was massive, easily large enough to coil around a room or tower over a human. When it exited the summoning portal, the air literally warped from heat and the ground cracked under its weight.
Lady Elyria took another step back in fear, even after seeing Zaja utilize his Shadow Sovereign Flame mutation to control the Arcane Beasts in the past on multiple occasions, she couldn't get over the terrifying sight of the creatures.
It's body was covered in dark obsidian-black scales, each one edged with glowing cracks of magma-like fire which pulsed like a heartbeat made of flame as it moved.
Up close, the scales didn't look reptilian as one would like to think, they looked forged, almost metallic as if hammered by a god in a living volcano.
Naga, being one of the Twelve Red Veil Arcane Beasts that Zaja had at his immediate disposal and also his personal favorite was a force to be reckoned with.
Over the years, Zaja had formed a bond with Naga due to the sheer amount of time he preferred to summon it. Naga had such destructive force that some times Zaja didn't even see the need to summon other Red Veil Arcane Beasts in his arsenal for extended periods of time.
"This is your first job since I returned, make sure to do well... End it," Zaja commanded with a thought.
And immediately the serpent uncoiled in a blur, attacking the Three Headed Demon Dog first, it's fangs were the length of short swords plunging towards the leftmost head. The demon dog twisted, visibly shaken by the serpents speed, it's jaws snapping shut on empty air as the snake's body whipped sideways, slamming the middle head into the ground with a crack that sprayed stone shards.
The right head saw and opportunity and lunged with its teeth shearing through the serpents tail. The serpent was instantly wounded by the right head upon contact but the right head didn't leave without a massive burnt mark across its mouth due to the intensive heat that Naga was exhuming.
But the wound knit itself shut in the blink of an eye, lava like skin covered it and returned the patch to its original look.
Zaja's eyes narrowed, Naga felt every bite as a distant sting and he too could feel the pain in his head due to the master-beast link between the pair, but the pain evaporated as soon as the wound healed.
'left head... Blind it...'
The snake's body obeyed and turned upward coiling around the left neck like a garrote. It's scales scraped against the dogs neck causing sparks to fly here and there. The left head flopped here and there with fangs gnashing, inches away from Naga's throat.
The snake's jaw opened, wider than should have been possible and clamped down over the dogs eyes causing a wet, sickening squelch to burst out.
Blood and thick smoke poured between the fangs as the dog howled through three of it throats. Lady Elyria pressed both palms against her ears shield the sound from bursting her ear drums.
'Quick!! Middle head, break the spine'
Naga immediately released the blinded head and whipped downward. It's body became a living battering ram, striking the dogs spine just behind the shoulders causing the vertebrae to shatter like a dry twig.
The middle head wasted no time to sag and it's tongue lolling, but the creature still stood with its legs trembling. Driven by the single command that was burned to its soul until it very last breathe: Guard.
The remaining two heads snapped in tandem, one caught the serpents midsection with teeth sinking deep into its scaled lava like side while the other aimed for Zaja himself! As if sensing the tether of will.
Zaja didn't even flinch at the incoming calamity, he just lift one hand and his fingers curled.
"Crush..."
Naga constricted tightly. With its muscles like steel cables around the dogs torso. Ribs cracked in rapid succession with a satisfying pop pop pop sound until the creature's breath came in wet, whistling and wheezing gasps. The head going for Zaja met only air as the snake's tail lashed out and wrapped the neck, then yanking it sideways.
Cartilage from the dogs body tore and tendons ripped apart. This was why Zaja's personal favorite of the Twelve Red Veil Arcane Beasts was no other than Naga, he appreciated the beasts brutality and hardcore rage in combat.
The dogs claws folded inwards as life left its desperate lungs and soon it's eyes were no longer moving.
Zaja let out a sigh of relief as he realized the Three Headed Demon Dog was no longer alive, Naga had done the work, although it resulted in a chamber filled with smoke that smelt like burnt flesh due to the constant heat Naga's body transfered onto the Three Headed Demon Dog.
The last obstacle was now taken care of, now Zaja could see his sister, Lira.
He immediately called Naga over and retired it into its summoning portal, stepped over the steaming carcass without looking down. His eyes still red, but now somewhat calm and fixed on the door that led to his prize.
"Open it," he told Lady Elyria.