Shadow Slave novel Chapter 1719

«Mom… moooom… mommyyyy!»

Effie patted Little Ling on the head and smiled.

«What do you want, dumpling?»

She was sitting in a comfy wooden chair, staring at the wooden ceiling absentmindedly. The little boy cuddled comfortably on her lap, hugging her like a little monkey. He looked up at her with his bright eyes and grinned sheepishly.

«Story!»

Effie laughed.

«Story? Which story?»

Little Ling was suddenly very thoughtful. He remained silent for a while, a comically concentrated expression on his face, and then beamed.

«Mommy defeating the giant!»

She hugged him and shifted slightly, then said in a deep voice:

«Alright, alright. Listen then! A long time ago, in a faraway land, six evil Saints imprisoned Hope in a tall tower. Hope was very lonely in the tower, and cried bitterly. So, your mom and her friends decided to defeat the evil Saints and rescue her.»

The image of the damp stone cell under the Chalice Temple flashed in her memory. The smell of blood, the whimpers of the other girls the War Maidens, driven to madness by the Demon of Desire, were slowly «training» to death.

The graveyard of swords surrounding the ancient temple.

She chased the ghastly memory away and smiled warmly.

«Noctis, the Wicked Warlock of the East! Uncle Kai, who was a brave warrior from the Ivory City back then! Aunty Cassie, who was a wise priestess of the Night Temple! And, of course… your mom, who was a little girl! These were the four heroes who ventured to rescue Hope. Oh, and there was someone else, as well. A nameless shadow who had escaped its master and became friends with Noctis…»

Effie only had a vague recollection of the shadow devil who had followed Noctis, but it seemed rude not to mention him.

Her adorable son giggled.

«Huh? What's so funny?»

Ling Ling giggled again.

«Mommy is not little! How can mommy be little?»

She smiled.

«I was a little kid once too, you know! Actually, I was a little kid twice. In any case, after we, the four heroes, met each other and swore to save Hope, the evil Saints learned about it and sent a messenger to scare us. It was a huge giant! As tall as a mountain, with a body made of polished steel… but your mom and her friends weren't afraid at all. That was because the kind priestesses of the Goddess of Life had taught me the secret art of slaying evil giants, you see…»

Effie continued to tell the fairy-tale version of her Second Nightmare, just as she had done a hundred times before. For some reason, this story was one of Ling Ling's favorites… maybe because the very idea of his mom being a little girl excited him endlessly.

She had no idea why, but looking back, it had indeed been a bit exciting. Effie had spent her actual childhood either in a hospital bed or in a wheelchair, so getting a little taste of what it meant to be a healthy kid was… special. Even if it was in the depths of a ghastly Nightmare.

Of course, she had removed all the distasteful parts from the story, replacing them with fantastical and exaggerated adventures. Flying ships, eccentric sorcerers, fire-breathing dragons, and a happy ending. The sugar-coated version of the Nightmare of Hope had everything one needed for a great fairy tale!

«…And so, Cassie dropped the flying ship right on the evil giant's head! Boom! Crash! Bang! The ship shattered into a thousand pieces, and the giant fell down, making the ground shake. Auntie was perfectly fine, of course — she had jumped away just in the nick of time and glided down with the help of her magical rapier. A huge shadow was still…»

Just then, the door opened, and a handsome young man walked into the room. Way too handsome, even!

Effie smiled at her husband and took and exhaled slowly, trying to maintain a relaxed expression.

«Daddy!»

Little Ling jumped off her lap and ran to hug his dad. Luckily, this time, he remembered to control his strength.

Picking the boy up, Ling's Dad smiled at him and then glanced at Effie.

He was hiding it well, but she could see that the smile did not reach his eyes.

«It's time?»

Her husband nodded, and then looked at the little boy in his arms.

«Hey, wolfie. How about you and dad go on a little adventure?»

Little Ling seemed to be torn.

«But mommy didn't finish the story…»

His dad laughed.

«The evil giant story? I'll finish it for her. Or, how about it? Dad has an evil giant story, too! There are really too many evil giants in the world, now that I think about it. This one was named Goliath, and only had one eye…»

Effie sighed, then rose from her chair and stretched slowly, Then, she followed her husband out of the room.

They were currently in their spacious, sunlit cottage. It had been built from natural wood by none other than him, and had a simple, cozy charm to it. The cottage was the centerpiece of the entire farm, which was a rather idyllic place.

A beautiful view of the emerald meadow opened from the front porch.

Of course, the meadow had transformed in the last four years. There were fields, vegetable gardens, barns, and livestock corrals. There were also a few other buildings, some of them hidden in the forest.

Most of these buildings were built of wood, but some included more advanced materials — the latter extended underground, and served a different purpose.

These buildings included barracks, armories, and all the other essentials of a military base.

That was because the Beast Farm often moonlighted as a dimensional carrier for the Wolf Army.

«Boss!»

«Boss is here!»

«Shall we go?» _{freewebnøvel.com}

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