The Legend of the ruthless Empress Freya

- POV Freya -

That was it, we were in front of the Empire hospital which had grown since its creation because our city kept growing day after day. I didn't even have to check it out by myself because Gaya and the section Leaders took care of it perfectly. The building was quite big, made of white stones where a huge golden cross, the symbol of Commander Caipy, stood in front.

To enter the hospital, one had to cross a large garden that went all around the structure, serving as a serene place for the patients. There were benches, trees, flowers, and everything had been thought to offer an almost magical setting to those who had to stay there. After walking through the whole city, we had all finally arrived and it was now time to meet this little dragon.

"Please, follow me your Highness"

Caipy was waiting for us at the entrance and was no longer wearing her black Commander's clothes but had put on the white doctor's coat. Even so, I could see the brooch I had made for her earlier, hanging proudly on her collar as she led us. I hadn't been back to the hospital since its inception unlike Gaya and Shiro, so much like Kira, I was discovering new things.

Crossing the garden quickly, we went through the doors of the building to arrive in a huge room where a multitude of beds were hidden behind curtains. As soon as we arrived, all the doctors and soldiers who were not in the barracks stood in line to welcome us. Despite the size of the room, they had created a large corridor leading to another one where the rooms were inaccessible to the patients.

"We greet the imperial family !"

Nodding quickly, the entire family guided by Caipy headed down a hallway leading to her office and the various rest rooms reserved for the doctors. Gaya's little brother was not in the large room with the others and had been placed in my Commander's office. As the elf stopped in front of a door with her symbol on it, she turned to me while glancing at Shiro.

"Mmmh...your Highness, I've only been here since this morning but the doctors who have been caring for him for a month have kept me informed of the situation. I...the little boy's condition has worsened dangerously and...I don't know if it is a good idea to let Princess Shiro see him."

As I was about to answer, I felt my little moon hands grab my hand that wasn't carrying Tyle. Shiro was hiding behind me and squeezing my hand as hard as she could meaning she didn't want to leave us. I didn't want her to be left alone either but I didn't know the condition of the little hybrid dragon. Not wanting to traumatize her either, I found a compromise as I lowered myself to her level.

"Sweetie, you're coming with us don't worry, after all you were the first one to take care of him. However, let me go see him first with your mom and auntie, okay ? Can you hang back for a few minutes with Commander Caipy for me ?"

"Mmmh !"

Shiro nodded shyly as she hid her face behind her hands with her eyes on the floors but a small smile on the corner of her lips. Getting to my feet, I nodded to the beautiful dark elf who did the same before placing a hand on the handle and opening the door. Caipy's office was the largest in the hospital and as we entered, I saw the interior for the first time.

While in my office there were tons of books and files, here the room looked more like a laboratory. In the back there was a desk with dozens of herbal preparations and various ingredients as well as paper scattered everywhere. In this room, everything else was used for her research and experiments, where Caipy was the only one who knew what she was doing.

"This way."

As I looked around intrigued, the elf held out her arm pointing to the left side of her office. There, there was a bed hidden by curtains, a bed belonging to Caipy that allowed her to rest in place when she wasn't at the barracks. Shiro let go of my hand to go and stand next to my Commander while Gaya grabbed Tyle in my arms and Altaïs to put them gently on the sofa next to me in safety.

My wife then walked past before putting a hand on the curtain to open it but stopped before she even pulled the fabric. Her hand was shaking slightly, I could hear her heart beating and smell her change...there was fear, sadness, regret and anger. Grabbing her hand that held the curtain, I hugged her as her trembling voice rose softly near my heart.

"I...I haven't seen him in a week due to the pregnancy making me way too tired. I...he's not doing well Freya and if he's gotten worse like the Commander said, I..."

"Shhhh, I know my love, it's going to be okay, I'm here and I promise to do everything I can to save him."

At my words, it was together that we pulled the curtain letting my eyes rest for the very first time on this strange little boy. The moment I saw the little hybrid dragon, I was suddenly filled with anger, as I always am when I see the cruelty of humans. However, I didn't have time to give in to this feeling because Gaya at my side collapsed at the sight of him, suddenly fainting.

"A chair quickly !"

"Y-Yes !"

Caipy was rushing to give me a chair where I would sit my wife who couldn't bear to see her brother like that. Once I was sure she couldn't hurt herself, I would straighten up to look at the little being on the bed. I didn't know what he might have looked like a month ago, but it certainly wasn't like this. Of all the things I had seen in this world, this was the first time I had seen so much cruelty.

Gaya's little brother had skin that was turning black, he was skinny and his bones were sticking out everywhere. He had two broken horns, marks all over his body like burns, knife wounds or worse. Some of his flesh even looked like it had been removed and then sewn back on as if he were an experiment subject or an object. This little boy was only 10 years old and yet he had experienced and endured so much cruelty.

He was losing his hair, or at least the little he had left, because some of it had been torn out at the roots, preventing any possible regrowth. This little hybrid dragon had his eyes closed, was breathing with difficulty and seemed paralyzed. Under its eyes, black bags had formed and at the corner of its mouth, dried black blood was still present. At that moment, there was no doubt at all...this little one was dying.

- PING -

[Name: (unnamed)

Age : 10 years old

Gender : Male

Race : Artificial hybrid (Earth Dragon x Chameleon) -

Element : Chameleon's natural abilities

Lvl 2/10

HP : 500 / 1 500 (decreasing)

MP : 200 / 200

Strength : 15 (decreasing)

Defense : 20 (decreasing)

Agility : 18 (decreasing)

Stamina : 13 (decreasing)

Speed : 10 (decreasing)

____

Glancing at his status to see if there was anything I was missing, but no details of what was going on were there. For some reason, the system hadn't recognized him as Gaya's little brother, so I didn't have full access to his full status. As I got a little closer to him, Caipy came up beside me, whispering so as not to wake him.

"Your Highness, his condition is critical and he must have a week to live, maybe two at the most. His skin is turning black by the day as his organs are literally rotting away inside him. We have managed to slow the process down for a month or he would have died by now but the effects of our treatments are diminishing by the day. I...I'm sorry at this point and at the levels of our mage doctors, even light and healing magic are ineffective."

Organs that were rotting ? I had never heard of such a thing, but the more I thought about it, the more I sensed something that wasn't right. Closing my eyes and concentrating on that little body in pain, I could smell something different in his body. The smell of the blood was not the same and not to mention its color was far from normal, my senses were also detecting a huge amount of mana.

I had never smelled that kind of smell and the more I concentrated on it, the more I felt my nose stinging in a very unpleasant way. This little boy in addition to having tortured, had traces of substance in his body and mana that was not his own mixed with the surrounding mana. Could he manipulate it too ? I didn't know but what was certain was that I knew what was going through his body.

"It's..."

"Poison yes...he's been drugged for 10 years and his body little by little has become addicted to whatever is killing it. We...we don't know how this drug got into his body but it is disappearing day by day, causing his condition to worsen. The doctors have been keeping him alive for a month with decoctions but...but as Commander Caipy said, they are starting to fail."

Gaya had suddenly stood up and approached me while giving me a little more information about her little brother. She was still shaking a little but was able to look at him without fainting even though it must have taken a lot of courage. My wife had confirmed the presence of poison that must have been injected into him every day throughout his life to kill him instantly simply by not giving him his daily dose.

"Tsk ! Who are the real Demons of this world huh ? These humans are Demons..."

Getting a little closer to my wife's little brother, I could see the ambient mana inside him thanks to my skill "Mana Detection and Control". Closing my eyes, I could see it mixing with his mana, breaking little by little his circuits, leading to the degradation of his organs. Much like Gaya when I met her, this young hybrid was wounded to the core of his being.

"Freya, I can also feel what is flowing through his body and I think you can help slow the process down until we find a real way to heal him."

As I was about to speak, Kira's voice echoed to my left and it seemed she had been thinking the same thing I had during her silence. She no longer had that goofy smile on her face or that devilishly adorable look, but a serious, concerned face. My little sister was right, with the control I had over the ambient mana I was the only one who could extract it from his body.

"Mmh, I can remove the circulating mana and destroy it from the inside but it won't undo the damage done for so many years. If it does work, the battle won't be won because we'll have to find a way to save him. This process, on the other hand, is likely to be extremely painful and I don't know if it won't break him mentally and physically..."

I wanted to be honest with the people in the room even though the truth was hard to hear especially for Gaya and Shiro who had had time to get to know him even a little. Forcibly removing the ambient mana that had become lodged in him was like extracting a living parasite, it could save him as well as finish him off right away. It wasn't an easy decision to make, but for now it was the only solution.

"Ho-honey...if...if this is the only thing we can do...I...if this works we will have more time ?"

"Yes my love...we'll just have to find a way to heal his organs and body with more time than we have now."

"I-I...so...so do it...I trust you"

"Mmmh, it's okay..."

I had never done this before and having to deal with something like this with so much at stake and especially the life of my wife's little brother, was not easy. However, I was ready to do my best and do everything I could to save this little life that was not to leave us so soon. As I was about to order the presence of mage doctors to assist me, one important thing struck my mind.

"Gaya ? This little one has no name..."

"I...yes indeed. With all that has happened, your absence, the children...I...we only talked about him as my little brother...I am such an idiot, how could I forget..."

"Don't say that, it's okay...we'll have plenty of time to think about it later my love."

As I smiled at my wife, I raised my hand to place it on the almost black torso of the little boy when suddenly my little girl's voice reached my ears. Shiro, who had been silent, raised her shy and trembling voice to say only one word. In Commander Caipy's office, the little white-haired Princess had uttered the first name that came to her mind.

"Angel~"

No one needed to speak because Gaya, Kira and I agreed...this brother torn from his family, this little being who had been tortured and nearly broken by humans now had a name. The humans, those Demons who had spilled his blood, no longer threatened him directly, but their evil shadows still hovered by his side. However, he was no longer alone and at this moment the family he never had, our family, was going to protect and save him. This little boy who fell from the sky...Angel was going to be saved from his Demons.

___

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 recovered) - 20%.

- Wrathful Lucifer (7th Sin) - Master of the uniques Sins Demons (to unlock it, please gather 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 Nightshade

Daughter : Shiro Nightshade

Twins (son & daughter) : Tyle & Altaïs Nightshade

Little sister : Kira Nightshade (Greedy Fox)

Big sister : Kalaa Nightshade

Empire (menu)

Subordinates: 2239

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)

Défense :

- Ice demon wall (Lvl 6)

- Demonic Cloak (lvl 5)

- Pain Resistance (lvl 5)

Attack/Defense :

- Domain of the Ice Empress "Frozen Wrath" (lvl 3) - (under condition)

- Death Gaze (lvl 1)

Others :

- Humanoid form

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

- Ice creation (Lvl 6)

- Detection and control of mana (lvl 5)

- 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

Passives :

- Commander (lvl max)

- Natural Aura of the Ice Empress ]