My Servant System Chapter 288 287: Perilous Path

Kat PoV

Unaware that a wondrous bloodbath was happening in my na back ho, I continued to lug my two ice boxes down into the stone pillar forest, the snow covered ground proving to be rather annoying to trudge through.

My leather pants and boots were utterly soaked, though after a few monts I cloaked myself in a thin sheen of ice and removed the moisture, deciding this small expenditure of mana was worth it.

The animals that wandered around the floor of this gorgeous landscape all avoided , leaving a wide berth as they observed from afar before returning to their previous hunts or migrations.

None stood out to as monsters or unique animals; the wildlife was primarily wolves, leopards, rabbits, deer, and a few other smaller animals, all of which avoided completely, either because they were afraid or they didn't wish to upset this new 'predator' that was walking around.

Thankfully the ice boxes were sealed completely, aning no possible scent of at was leaking through the lids, which might have attracted a few of the braver, or more desperate animals to attack.

However, everything here seed rather wary of the skies, slinking around beneath trees and hiding amongst small crevices and caves that ford on the side of the stone pillars.

Most of the animals were lighter in color, with the wolves and leopards having near white pelts with streaks of gray whilst the rabbits and deer were completely white, with the deers antlers being bone white as well compared to the normal tannish white they were in more temperate climates.

These were the observations that filled my mind as I walked and walked through the forest, constantly checking the position of the sun and heading in the direction I had managed to yank from the Soul Bond that barely connected Jahi and I.

The Soul Bond used to feel like a rope tethering us together; a rope that allowed Jahi to bind as she pleased through orders, and a rope that allowed to understand what the Demoness was feeling.

That rope was now frayed around the edges, strands and threads from the rope no longer connected and no longer working as it used to.

If I had to wager a guess, the reason that the Soul Bond was so damaged was because of the scroll that Jillian and Ayla used to capture .

Previously, back during the ti in the Academy, Jillian had made it clear that she still had plans that revolved around 'being hers', and in order for that to not backfire on her, the arrogant Elf needed to remove the Soul Bond that tied Jahi and I together.

Now, my interactions with Ayla were limited, but from the way people talked about her, and the small amount I knew about the Kaiel Family, she was likely a rather talented, rather smart Elf who might have been privy to ancient, forgotten magics.

The Soul Bond is an archaic thing that people know little of, mainly because the main way to create one is to have an Arch Fiend tie two souls together and bind them, hence the na 'Soul Bond'.

However, considering the kind of magic it was, there was most definitely a way to combine two people's magic together to achieve the sa kind of effect; much like the Ritual Circle that Professor Kolia wished to tattoo onto Jahi and I.

Though, where that tattoo would allow Jahi to tap into my core and for to tap into her core, the spell I was thinking of would be a one way, selfish thing, where Jahi would 'own' my core and could use it to bend to her will.

Now, what if you were to study that line of thought thoroughly, and reverse engineer the Soul Bond as best you could?

You could likely find ways to damage, or destroy said Soul Bond and separate the two mbers of the Soul Bond from each other, effectively freeing the 'Servant', , and leaving the 'Master', Jahi, without their loyal servant.

That must have been sothing that Ayla was looking into, and the fact that she managed to not only manage to find a way for that to work, but also to apply it in an already elaborate scroll that used other ancient magics ant one thing.

Jillian wasn't who we should be worried about; no, we needed to worry about Ayla.

Sure, Jillian is talented Elf who could likely go far on her own, but Ayla could take that talent and shape it into sothing insane, all whilst adding her own talent to it.

Whilst Jillian would be the physical boss that we would need to fight, the one pulling the strings would be Ayla.

And what's scarier, a Puppet or a Puppet Master?

Personally, I find the people who can control others so easily and so seamlessly to be scarier than the loudest, angriest, strongest person on the planet.

After all, you can gang up on a single person, or out number a group of strong people, but to take down a manipulator is rather difficult.

A favor here, a favor there, a promise here, a soothing word there...

That was all it took for them to amass more materials, money, and people than you could imagine.

Add onto that that Ayla herself is no weakling, and you have a woman who could likely get many, many influential figures wrapped around her fingers.

Whilst I was mulling over the potential cause for my frayed bond, I had traveled thousands of feet in this snowy wonderland, with the sun slowly descending towards the horizon.

As the forest grew darker and the predators began to prowl around, I made my way over to a stone pillar and created my ice cube, getting a fire started and settling down for the night, gnawing on a reheated chunk of at before relieving myself.

The empty feeling inside swelled as I released my lust onto the ground, and I amusedly noticed that, whilst my Arousal Stacks decreased, my actual lust grew ever larger.

Letting out a sigh, I collapsed onto the feathers and closed my eyes, wondering what kind of perilous path I was now on.

~~~

Julie PoV

My hand hurt.

After I had slapped Jahi, that was the first thing that I noticed; the bones inside my palm and my fingers all hurt.

Minute cracks had spread across each bone, and each crack sent a jolt of pain up my arm.

I could notice this pain, acknowledge that pain, but... I couldn't feel that pain.

It didn't hurt, didn't sting, it just... was there.

No, the only things that hurt were my stomach, and my heart.

My heart had a dull ache that worsened each ti it beat, while my stomach...

Reaching down, I stared blankly at the bump before sighing, removing my hand.

Leaning back against the half dozen pillows ant to support , I glanced towards the door, which led to where Ria would be hyper focused on her paperwork, to complete this upcoming weeks docunts so that she could better tend to my needs.

I understood that, which is why I was alright with dealing with my hurts on my own for the mont.

Though, no matter how okay I was with my situation, I couldn't help but worry.

My baby girl was out there, sowhere, all alone...

I was a forr adventurer, so I understood well that the world was an uncaring, dangerous place, especially for won.

Extrely so for won like Katherine and I; we were both well endowed won with pretty faces, aning the amount of people lusting after us were always high.

Many n and won tried to get in my pants when I was an adventurer, and so even tried to force themselves on .

They didn't ever try again, either due to the loss of a limb or loss of life.

However, I had a group behind that would back up.

Katherine didn't, and I could only pray that she could manage on her own.

I...

I hated that I didn't know if she was capable.

Despite being her mother, I knew oh so little about my daughter, about her likes and dislikes, her talents, what makes her happy, what she's capable of...

I knew next to nothing about any of it.

She's been in this world for roughly seven years, and yet I know so little about her.

I... I was a horrible mother.

I was so focused on making sure she had a safe environnt to grow up in that I just... never tried to spend ti with just her.

It's no excuse, but the only thing I can think of is the fact that she was such a mature child; she never cried, never whined, never threw a tantrum...

Nothing.

She was self sufficient, talented, and... mature.

Almost like she was older than she really was.

Was that why I was so alright with her leaving my side so early?

That I thought she was already in her teens when she hadn't even been a half decade old?

Was I that terrible of a mother?

Tears sprung to my eyes as I lay there, and a soft sob escaped my lips as I huddled my knees close to my stomach.

Did Katherine think the sa?

Was she out there, alone, cursing us all for failing her?

I shook my head as I sobbed quietly, my heart aching further as I desperately wished for that to be false.

Surely not, right?

Surely she's trying to return to us all, and not just to Jahi?

W-Will she still treat the sa after all of this?

Will she acknowledge her two little half siblings?

Or will she spit at and tell to do better this second ti around?

Am I able to do better?

Do I deserve to have this second chance to be a mother?

Will I fail these two just as I failed Katherine?

Sobs wracked my body as I laid in the bed, and eventually I cried myself to sleep, my mind fatigued, and my body exhausted.