《Until Death? (Refleshed Version)》 Chapter 1 ***The World*** ***Ascathon*** So here I lie, my body broken and on the verge of death. It was a good fight, I guess, but in the end, I fell. Just like the many who I killed. Wincing, I try to sit up, but my body doesn''t obey. Something must be broken because everything beneath my chest feels like it isn¡¯t there. Maybe that¡¯s a blessing. Coughing, I expel blood from my mouth, but there is a steady trickle coming up my throat. When I breathe, there is a rasping noise as if there is water in my lungs. It''s definitely blood, seeping in because of the internal damage. That last blow did me in and all the healing in the world won''t work because I was struck by my own weapon. Note to self: The next time you come up with something that causes incurable wounds and cuts through souls like a hot knife through butter, make sure that it can¡¯t be turned against you by any random deity. As time passes without me getting any better I slowly come to terms with the fact that I won¡¯t make it much longer. Breathing becomes harder and my vision is already blurry. What a nonsensical fate. To drown in my own blood right at the dawn of my victory. Strange¡­ somehow I remember dying like this hurting more. It¡¯s not the first time that I was stabbed by a spear and bled out. Hardly a new experience to an immortal deity. But this time it feels like slowly drifting away. Must be the lack of oxygen. Not that there is much left for me to do anyway in this burning ruin of a world. To have this happen to ME! A God! Aren''t Gods supposed to be all-powerful, omnipresent beings? Then why am I lying here, giving up? Seems like the mortals got their concept of gods wrong. I may be close to all-powerful, but I am far from knowing everything. Otherwise, I wouldn''t be here, about to croak my last breath. Some distant part of me takes note of the fact that I am babbling as my thoughts drift here and there, but I don¡¯t care. There isn¡¯t anything I can do. I am well and truly out of options. If there just hadn''t been that stupid Myrm who had to make things complicated. If I just hadn¡¯t become emotional, maybe I wouldn¡¯t have gone on a rampage. But is it really surprising that things go south when you put a Deity of Chaos onto the same world with one of Order? Even if Myrm hadn''t attacked my followers, it was just a question of time until we would''ve been at each other''s throats. Fire and water just don''t mix. I try to recall when exactly things went south. At first, we interfered with the world just through our divine rules, given to the people who believe in us. Or should I say believed? I think there aren''t any mortals left. When the gods fight it''s pretty much an apocalyptic event. We probably should have never started to share power and knowledge with our followers. Once that practise was started, things getting out of control was pretty much a certainty. It was a steadily developing process of enhancing our followers, giving them ever more capabilities of committing cruelties which turned into a holy war the likes of which the world had never seen. No, I am pretty much certain that Myrm threw the first stone by desecrating one of my temples with his presence. Or was it a tomb? A shrine? Damn! It was so long ago that I don''t remember clearly. Or is it the oxygen deprivation? Going further back, maybe it wasn¡¯t even our fault. It was the World Enchantment which forced us to fight for the mortals¡¯ attention. And who placed this curse on us? The Council. Yes, if anyone is to blame, then it¡¯s the Council. Another series of coughs wracks my ruin of a body and I feel my heart flutter in my chest. Pretty sure that it won''t take long now. I shouldn''t have slowed down my fall with the last of my power. Had I done nothing, it would have gone *splat* and the dying part would be over and done with. Off to the next reincarnation. Continue the wheel of death and rebirth. Then I remember the faces of my enemies and have to chuckle. Back then, when I was consumed with righteous fury, I didn''t take conscious notice of it, but their faces were priceless when I brought down the wrath of god. The sky darkens and I blink my eyes, noticing that my vision isn''t working quite right. It''s blurry, but it can only be the clouds. They must be slowly rolling over the horizon by now, covering the whole world in smoke and ash. Dropping a moon on the world tends to do that. It''s so dark. I think I will sleep for a while, so I close my eyes. ¡°Up!¡± Something hits me in the side, and I open my eyes wide, feeling the pain again. ¡°Wake up! Or I will kick you again, asshat!¡± ¡°Oh, Seria!¡± I cough out. She is looming over me in all her blonde glory... and a scandalously short skirt with a white, frilly hem. ¡°What is my... most...¡± Despised! ¡°...beloved Goddess of Life and Death doing in a place like this?¡± I take a deep breath before I can speak again. ¡°Could you be so kind... and finish me off? Everything hurts.¡± To be honest, I wasn''t expecting that she would be the one to show up. If anyone, I was waiting for a full task-force from the Council of the Seven. I even had a nice speech prepared for them. Well, the chances of talking myself out of this situation are close to non-existent, but I would have at least been able to explain myself.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Why are you even here? Is the Council... too afraid to show up? Or... even better... have they decided to send you as their messenger?¡± I smirk. ¡°They are... just a little too late to join the party.¡± Sadly, if they sent Seria instead of showing up themselves, then it means that they have already decided on a sentence. Surprisingly quick. Normally, it takes them centuries to come to a consensus. Another coughing fit wracks my body, and I may have ''accidentally'' turned my head towards the beautiful goddess, spitting a little blood onto her silken legs and the silver high heels she chose,fitting to the rest of her white outfit. Her eyes widen as she inspects the damage to her shoes. ¡°Kyaaa! Look what you have done to my Manolos!¡± She steps back, retreating to a safer distance. ¡°I am sorry... but I think that''s not within my control.¡± Barely able to move my bloody arm, I reach for her. ¡°I will wipe it off.¡± Her reaction is immediate, and she kicks me again, going for the kidneys with the expertise of a kick-boxer combined with the medical knowledge of centuries. I want to roll away, but that¡¯s a little hard to do with a broken spine. Instead, I take the hit in stride and ignore the pain. At least I try to do that. Instead, Seria¡¯s leg gets sullied with another splosh of blood. ¡°Ah, and there I wanted to use my last bit of magic to cast a cleaning spell on you...¡± I mope when I recover. ¡°That¡¯s what I get for being the antagonist. People don¡¯t believe me¡­ even if I truly want to do something good.¡± Seria doesn¡¯t reply immediately. Instead, she seems to be pissed, silently fuming within her own mind. I guess the reaction is justified. After all, she is a Goddess of Life and Death for this realm. Well¡­ was¡­ there shouldn¡¯t be any work left now that I destroyed the World Enchantment that bound our pantheon to this realm, inadvertently killing all the mortals and gods who stood in my way. I am also quite sure that I gave her a headache by causing a mass extinction event. There isn¡¯t much I can do about it, but to plead guilty. ¡°Keep your magic to yourself!¡± She waves an educational finger at me. ¡°You have to live long enough for me to tell you the divine judgement of the gods for what you pulled down here, Ascathon! Then I have to gather Myrm''s soul for judgement!¡± Seria sure is pissed. And when I tell her about Myrm she will be raging. I tell her anyway. ¡°You know that I blew Myrm up? There isn¡¯t much left, including his soul. The little bits and pieces are probably strewn around half the continent. I got him point blank with Chaos Magic. Blew him to bits¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± she grumbles. ¡°I¡¯ve watched the fight. That doesn¡¯t save Myrm ¨C or you ¨C from the Council¡¯s judgement. Even if it takes a millenia, Myrm''s soul will be repaired and given proper punishment. The both of you will be punished. El Shaddai was very clear about that.¡± Ah, the Council leader himself spoke a decree? That¡¯s why they were so quick with a decision. I guess that there is no helping it in that case. Seria has an ugly job to do if she has to reassemble Myrm. Not that its possible to do so, I made sure of that. Sucks to be in her shoes. It would take some very skilled soul mages to undo the damage I did to Myrm¡¯s soul within a reasonable amount of time. ¡°I don¡¯t think that you can revive Myrm for him to be judged. That would come close to a true miracle,¡± I reply. Though, it¡¯s Seria who I am talking about. She is a very strong deity and her divinity is closely connected to the manipulation of souls. Maybe I am wrong in my assessment. If anyone can do it, then it¡¯s likely her. ¡°What exactly did you do to Myrm¡¯s soul?! I can''t sense it anymore.¡± She looks around the vicinity as if expecting Myrm¡¯s ghost to just float about. ¡°The Chaos Magic likely sliced it to pieces¡­¡± I huff, trying to breathe, but this conversation is quickly using up my last reserves. ¡°Will take an eternity to heal him, unless someone finds the pieces and puts them back together. Hrhrhr¡­¡± Damnit! Even my evil laugh sounds pathetic! What¡¯s an evil god worth if he can¡¯t have a good villain¡¯s laugh? I cough again, but this time there is no blood, just a dry rattling in my lungs. It seems like I am finally bleeding out. At this point I can¡¯t wait to move on, revelling in at least a little victory. While it¡¯s impossible to destroy an immortal¡¯s soul, which is a metaphysical container for someone¡¯s memories, it¡¯s quite possible to damage those memories. Souls are per definition immortal and will recover from any damage over time. My thoughts derail and my consciousness starts drifting off again, but I don¡¯t care. Inevitably, I start thinking about what¡¯s ahead of me. The journey through the River of Souls, the great Void between Worlds and Dimensions. Its filled with the souls of the dead. They just float there, dormant and sleeping. Some maybe forever, while they forget more and more of their lives. And maybe, if they are lucky, they drift near one of the countless worlds of the multiverse and get sucked in, being reborn into a new life. The faster you are reborn, the more you can remember of your previous life. So if you want to remember anything of your past life, you have to be reborn fast, or you need a very strong soul that¡¯s capable of enduring the eternity of drifting without memory loss. How lucky that I am the second kind. Wasn''t always a god, though. She throws up her hands. ¡°Great! So you really tried to dispose of Myrm for good. That last spell of yours looked like something nasty. I have no choice, even if it takes some time to bring Myrm back, I have to do it.¡± The idea that all my efforts might turn out for naught slowly seeps back into my brain. ¡°Are you sure that it¡¯s worth the effort?¡± ¡°Oh shut up! Didn''t YOU hear? The Council of Gods has judged your case. Both of you will receive your divine punishment. If El Shaddai says so, all the gods in the multiverse will help to piece Myrm back together.¡± She shakes her head in dismay. ¡°Even if it¡¯s just to tell Myrm that she gets her soul cut to pieces and tossed into the nearest Void Zone. That¡¯s how Divine Judgements works. HEY! Don''t slumber off!¡± ¡°Argh!¡± She kicked me again! Damn, I''m beginning to hate that goddess. Almost managed to drift off. Why does it take so long for this fucking body to finally die? I don''t even have the power to answer. Why does the fucking Council even care enough to meddle with us? What do they stand to gain? Or is it just because of principle at this point? ¡°Whatever. I''ll just get it over with. Ascathon, Divine Being of Magic, Divine¡­ ah, and so on and so forth, you know the rest.¡± She waves her hand, dismissing the formalities, probably because she can see that I won¡¯t last much longer. ¡°The Council has found you guilty of bringing great, unnecessary suffering over the lesser beings you were put in charge of. ¡°The punishment is being stripped of your divinity. You will be reborn into a place where you can learn from your mistakes and reflect on what you have done. I cast you out into the River of Souls to a proper place of punishment.¡± I blink as the wheels in my head try to catch up with her words. Normally, I am quicker, but lack of oxygen tends to make me a little slow. ¡°Wait, what¡­ stripped of Divinity?¡± I didn¡¯t even know that is a thing! I want a re-evaluation of my case. Get me some higher authority! Oh, I forgot¡­ the Council is the highest authority. She sighs, ignoring me. ¡°Puh! What a uselessly long speech, don''t you think so too?¡± Sadly, I can¡¯t answer. My sight is narrowing to a tiny dot, turning dark at the edges. ¡°Noh¡­ now¡­ wha¡­ abou¡­¡± I wheeze, trying to find out what she meant with taking my Divinity. Just great! First, my body doesn¡¯t want to give up my soul, and now it decides to croak when there is actually something important going on. Things that affect my afterlife are pretty important in my opinion! Seria bends over me, furrowing her forehead. ¡°Hey? Are you still with me?¡± She nudges me with her toe, proving an incredible amount of insight in choosing the exact spot she kicked earlier. The mere touch sends an entirely new wave of pain through me, hinting at a ruptured kidney. The pain quickly causes me to change my immediate goal. Oh, by all the gods let me die already before this barbaric woman kicks me again! I don¡¯t even care about being a god anymore. I also won¡¯t reflect on my actions. Not in the least, even if they send me through a million of the worst reincarnations they can come up with! Chapter 2 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** I was reborn in the year 1932 a.C. (after Creation) on a planet which the inhabitants just referred to as ¡®The World¡¯. Because of how reincarnation happens to work, I wasn¡¯t fully aware of my past until my body gained the ability of independent thought, so my memories slowly started to return bit by tiny bit. It¡¯s a happy circumstance that immortals aren¡¯t reborn as babies with their full personality intact. Though, toddlers with the mental capabilities of an adult are still pretty creepy in my opinion. In my case, it took some time, but as my memories returned I eventually managed to work out most of what happened to me in my past existence. At least I hope so. How would I know that I forgot something if I don¡¯t remember forgetting it in the first place? And therein lies the crux of why even immortals should avoid dying at all costs. The memory loss just isn¡¯t worth it. As for me, I was relatively puzzled once most of my old personality had returned at the age of four and I started trying to make sense of what was happening around me. Given what I remembered of my judgement, I would have expected some kind of horrific reincarnation as a slave or some measly peasant without any hope of rising through the ranks of society. I could also have reincarnated as a girl. Not that I would have had a problem with that, though I prefer to be male. Nonetheless, after a few hundred reincarnations I learned to roll with the hand that fate deals me. There were also no malformations on my body and I even understood the local language, so things were well as far as I am concerned. All in all, I had gotten away pretty lightly. Given that I was reborn as the prince of a powerful nation, the whole situation felt hardly like a punishment. Had Seria screwed up somehow? I could hardly imagine that a goddess of her calibre would fuck up something so simple as putting a soul into a new body. Unless ending up with ''that'' kind of parents counts as a punishment. My dad, King Nicol of Tirna, turned out to have a habit of doing irresponsible things to his only son. Like picking me up and throwing me up into the air, just to catch me again. Or sending me on a merry-go-round until I was just on the verge of puking. In fact, I already did so once or twice, given my new body. Unfortunately, being whirled around like on a carousel means that the centrifugal forces are arrayed against me and I ended up sullying myself instead of my father. Yes, that¡¯s how much force he used when he sent me on a merry-go-round ¨C as he likes to call it. I can¡¯t wait for the day when I am large enough to reach his nuts before he manages to pick me up¡­ Sadly, scenes like this happened on a daily basis: He would storm into the room after a hard day of doing his kingly duty. Then he would scream, ¡°Who is my dearest son!?¡± With a target acquired, I would be picked up and treated like a hostile football player. Thankfully, there was always my mother who soon came to the rescue with, ¡°Give me my child! You can''t do that with a baby!¡± ¡°Oh, sorry, sorry. Here you go.¡± And I would be returned to a proper caretaker. On the other hand, my mother isn¡¯t exactly a role model either. In the stories, you always anticipate that the king and queen of a country are too busy to take proper care of their kids. Then you end up with a spoiled or neglected prince. Not so in this case. Queen Ireth of Tirna was a mother hen who didn¡¯t leave me unattended for a single second. Even if she was busy with work, I had to stay close, even if there were more than enough servants to take care of the country¡¯s future. Hence, I started thinking of Mom and Dad as the MotherHen and the MadKing. The only thing that was even more worrying was that everyone treated me like I was more than just a prince. My parents looked at me like I would be their salvation and the servants behaved as if they were in the presence of a hero. Frustratingly, given my current physical state, I could hardly request a proper explanation. That¡¯s why I decided to ignore the current state of affairs and to learn everything I could about my new world, hoping that with time the answer would reveal itself naturally. So I bade my time and twiddled my thumbs, reading what books I could get and keeping my ears open without revealing my capabilities. Long ago, I had learned the hard way that revealing my identity to my mortal parents, or trying to be some kind of genius child, almost never resulted in something good. So it happened that one day, I was being carried by my mother along the palace¡¯s hallways while she used the portraits there to introduce me to some family history, incidentally also giving me some hints about the world¡¯s political state. ¡°Oh, my. And this is Nicosar the 8th, little one. He¡¯s your grandfather and is currently away inspecting the borders to Stricc.¡± I study the picture of an old geezer who was so far strangely absent from my life. The man on the picture looked strict and wore a military uniform with more medals than I managed to count before mother continued onwards. It suddenly occurred to me that up until now I only had contact with my parents and some selected servants. ¡°Later, you should know all of your predecessors by name. All forty-seven of them,¡± Ireth explains, unaware of my inner monologue. ¡®Really? I will have to know them all by full name!? Well, isn¡¯t that a giant pile of useless knowledge!¡¯ I moped internally. The family seemed to be very important in this world. What a pain! But back to my earlier train of thoughts. If we have so many relatives, then where are they? Is there a point to being kept isolated? It''s been four years since I was born and Mother rarely left me out of her sight. Let¡¯s say that I found the way Ireth was treating me a little strange. Normally, I would have expected someone to treat a toddler like¡­ well, like a baby you know? It would be normal if people talked to me in baby-talk, but Ireth started teaching me as if I were an adult right off the start. It¡¯s like she is trying to indoctrinate me and expects me to understand every word. Hell, the way she explains everything feels like she expects me to start asking questions any second now. Well, sorry for not fulfilling your expectations and not answering. I could talk, but forming a word that doesn''t sound like baby talk is just a no go with this body. And babbling some barely comprehensible words is just beneath my dignity.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Again, my thoughts returned to the fact that I am being held isolated. The matter just didn¡¯t allow my mind to have a rest. Ireth never lets me out of her sight. When there is an important meeting, our Head Maid has to be in my room all the time. At my current age, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to leave me alone for an hour or two. It would be sufficient to keep someone close enough to hear me scream if there is a problem. Taking care of a child twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week will just spoil it. Once, another maid had to take care of me, because the Head Maid wasn''t available. The girl who jumped in as a replacement was a nice person and even read books to me, but something came up and she had to go outside for a short while. Fate had it that mother came back just at that moment and found me alone in the room. Judging by her aura, I almost expected that the poor maid would be a head shorter the next day. Thankfully, I got her to calm down by playing the happy child. Still, she was furious and I hope that I never manage to arise her ire like that. The maid is still working at the palace, but she never got to take care of me from that point onwards. It''s a pity since the woman was my type. I won''t complain about having a mother who actually cares about me, but it still creeps me out! Let¡¯s just hope that she isn''t the type who reaches for the knife when she is denied. I¡¯ve seen many things in my time and it¡¯s undeniable that there are many diseases of the mind that can catch a personality on the wrong foot. At least her preaching allowed me to learn about this world¡¯s circumstances. Being around the country¡¯s leadership all day gave me all sorts of important insights into the government¡¯s workings. This world has three large continents which are divided into two great Empires. The two larger continents are connected by the third, smaller continent which functions as a land-bridge between them. The smaller continent incidentally also has a large mountain-range which is so high that it¡¯s impossible to breathe properly at the peak. The people call this natural barrier ¡®Heaven¡¯s Peak¡¯, and it is incidentally also the border between the nations which control the two main continents. The eastern continent is occupied by the Stricc-Nation and the west belongs to the Tirna Kingdom, which I am currently living in. Surprisingly enough, the world as a whole is populated by various races from all over the multiverse, like our head maid, who is an elf. Still, we are apparently all one people, and the different features are only a symptom of their bloodline. As an example, it¡¯s entirely possible for what I would call an elf and a beastkin to have children, and their offspring would develop features of either bloodline. This isn¡¯t the only thing that¡¯s strange about the world and its people, who I came to call Chimerans in my head. It¡¯s the best way to describe this mixed race as a whole. But it¡¯s not only the people. Even animals and plants seem like all sorts of strange, mixed breeds. There are so many different types of chimeras in this world and I am starting to believe that whoever created it spliced all types of races together in order to create a single one. Strangely enough, there seems to be no discrimination against the various bloodlines. That little fact caught me off-guard. The main animosity between Stricc and Tirna seems to come from a dispute between the ruling families. The whole setting reminded me in an uncomfortable way of my old world. Could it be that Seria artificially created a whole world, just to hold some kind of mirror in front of my face? That would be an absurd amount of effort, though many little things led me to believe that this world wasn¡¯t entirely natural. But if I am not wrong, then where does the punishment part come into play? The longer I thought about the whole thing, the less comfortable I felt with this reincarnation. Maybe Seria didn¡¯t mess up at all, and I have yet to learn the true extent of her deviousness. I return my attention to my mother¡¯s tail which she used to point at one of the portraits. The picture shows her, Ireth of Tirna the First, 24 years old. It took me some time to realize it, but my mother seems to be some kind of demon. At first, I thought those dragon-like horns curving out beside her head are some sort of royal tiara. They sure look that way. They are black and polished enough to the point at which they are sparkling like obsidian. If Ireth hadn¡¯t accidentally scratched up a doorframe with her horns, I would have kept thinking of them as some sort of crown, especially since I myself seem to be a pretty normal human toddler. Let¡¯s just say that the whole biology of this world is still escaping my comprehension. Not to forget that one incident when Ireth picked me up with her tail, carrying me upside down into the throne room while having her hands full with a pile of documents. The head maid was following the queen with tears in her eyes, complaining that this wasn¡¯t the proper way to present herself in front of the servants. I shared the head maid¡¯s opinion, but not because it wasn¡¯t ¡®proper¡¯ to treat me in such a manner. Being carried upside down like luggage was no fun, so I started to cry. Admittedly, in a certain way, my mother¡¯s horns look cool. In combination with her black hair, almost white skin and those red eyes, Ireth can look really frightening when she is angry. My father is Nicol of Tirna the 5th, 26 years old. He looks mostly human, except for him being a giant of a man with more muscles than brain. I have seen him pat one of the guards on the back once. The poor guy flew five meters before a wall stopped him. He is still on a sick leave by the way, so I am not all that sure about dad being human. He must have the blood of some giant running through his veins. I gulp, imagining Nicol squeezing me a little too much, or using a little too much strength when he throws me up into the air. I should be happy he didn''t already crush me on accident by now, given how hard it seems to be for him to control his own strength. Regarding myself, my new name is Angrod of Tirna the First and¡­ well¡­ at my age, I obviously don''t have any accomplishments beyond being a good, little toddler. Our head maid is an elf by the name of Rose and there was nothing extraordinary about her as far as I could tell. She had a lean figure, which meant there wasn¡¯t much to watch in the boob-department. Her hair was brown, giving me the impression of a pretty ordinary wood-elf. There really aren¡¯t many people who are close to me. I wasn''t introduced to society yet. Despite myself having a pretty easy life up until now, this world wasn¡¯t perfect. Tirna and Stricc were looking back at a long history of border conflicts. The Heaven¡¯s Peak was a valuable source of important minerals and therefore a never-ending source of conflict for the two nations. The ongoing quarrelling had only stopped in the recent past since my parents had taken control of power. They were cool-headed and managed to negotiate an uncertain peace with Stricc. According to the current peace treaty, we are sharing the resources fifty-fifty. Stricc is in dire need of the minerals for their weather control system and terraforming efforts since most of their nation would be desert without it. Tirna requires the materials for the bottomless hole of their developing magitech. Stricc is constantly complaining that valuable resources shouldn¡¯t be wasted on frivolous magitech. Strangely enough, the machines which are turning Stricc¡¯s deserts into fertile fields are a creation of that very magitech, and happen to be one of Tirna¡¯s most important export articles. This dependency on resources was the cause of why they started fighting over mining rights and borders. That was over a hundred years ago and no one remembers who fired the first shot that started the conflict. The situation got out of control and they went at each other''s throats. I feel for them because it reminds me of the circumstances which brought me here. But in their case, they managed to make peace, just a month before my birth. The situation is still dangerous since the cold blood of such a long war doesn''t go away overnight. There are many parties who are very unhappy with the current treaty. Come to think of it, is that how Seria fucked up? She just checked in on this world, saw that there is a shitty war going on, and reincarnated me in a position which would make it hard to turn my back on the people of this world? Only that she didn¡¯t predict that they would make peace right after her departure. The theory seems sound. If I am right, then I have time to relax until Seria decides to check in on me. As gods happen to operate, that could happen tomorrow or in a hundred years. My thoughts return to the present when Ireth reaches the end of the hallway and shows me a big picture with her and my father. Each of them holds a little child in their arms. By the look of it, they are four or five years old. Hey, I have siblings? Why didn''t I meet them by now? ¡°And those are your big sister and your older brother. They would have been six and seven by now. If they hadn¡¯t been assassinated by some bastard!¡± She presses me to her chest, her fingers digging uncomfortably into my flesh, but I don¡¯t dare to complain. ¡°I will never let that happen to you. If I get my hands on whoever is responsible, they will wish they were never born!¡± she sobs. Rose approaches from behind us, offering Ireth a handkerchief. ¡°Here, Your Majesty. Wipe your tears.¡± Okay¡­ I guess the question of why I am being isolated from the public is answered! Note to self, be quiet and don¡¯t protest about being pampered until you are able to protect yourself. It also explains why Ireth is an overprotective parent. Good thing that I am still playing mute. Otherwise, I would have surely said something stupid and hurt Ireth. Chapter 3 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** I did a pretty good job at keeping a low profile for four whole years, but at the age of five I just couldn¡¯t hold back any longer. Not to mention that playing a drooling idiot was hard and complicated work. When I started to form coherent sentences, mother and father were overjoyed. They even threw a party just for the three of us. Admittedly, that made me feel a little guilty about leading them on. In the end, I had to show at least a little of my true capabilities ¨C even if it put me ahead of the curve ¨C or I would have gone insane. Of course, asking detailed questions about the exact political state of our country would have been a little strange, apart from the stuff which I overheard anyway because I was almost always with Ireth. But stuff like, ¡®Why do we always have to stay in the palace?¡¯ or ¡®Are there no other kids?¡¯ ¨C those were legitimate questions. Okay, maybe not the last one. Sometimes, I did stupid things, but I wasn''t that stupid. The last thing I wanted was for my parents to feel bad for me and set me up with a playmate. That would have been torture, so I carefully avoided mentioning anything about being lonely. Today, I was currently very busy ¡®playing¡¯ with the wooden cubes that Rose had brought me. They weren¡¯t the normal children¡¯s toysI initially thought them to be when Rose presented them.In truth, they were a magical training exercise for gifted children that was camouflaged as a game. Each cube had a little enchantment embedded inside it that would react if a young individual with talent focused enough attention and mana on the object, causing it to float on its own. The enchantment itself was attached to a little gemstone inside the cube, so this toy was by no means something a commoner would have been able to afford. To say the least, I was overjoyed at such a present. The game is a welcome excuse to exercise my magical muscles and so I made it an important point to spend at least five hours a day playing the game ¨C to the satisfaction of my parents, of course. I was very thankful to Rose for bringing me this toy. It would have never happened, hadn''t she caught me one day flexing my magical muscles.She walked in on me while I was animating a doll. Seeing my talent, she decided to test my aptitude with the cubes. The whole magic-thing was already out of the bag by then, so I had no real excuse to keep playing dumb. My mother is a very attentive person, so she wasn¡¯t all that surprised at this revelation. She already had an idea that I am ahead of other children. Luckily, she decided to attribute my rapid development to the fact that I was always surrounded by people who allowed me to learn things, with Rose doing her best to tutor me in her free time. I was so lucky that Rose and Ireth had a genuine misunderstanding about who taught me magic. Rose thought that it was Ireth, showing off spells in her free time, and Ireth thought that Rose decided to up the game and taught me a spell. For the moment, I was safe, but if they ever realized that nobody taught me anything about the mystical arts my game would have been at an end. This morning, we were in my mother¡¯s office and Ireth was watching me from the office table as I tried my best to hold as many cubes as possible afloat. I failed more often than not to levitate all ten of them, but that was to be expected. This new body of mine had to be trained up from level zero. Rose is currently standing watch at the entrance, waiting to aid the queen if she needs something. The office itself is as large as a normal person¡¯s living room, the furniture elaborately carved from expensive wood. Even I ¨C as a former god ¨C regard two hundred square metresof office space as a little large for the purpose. At least there is more than enough light, given that a whole wall of the room is taken up by a single, large window front. Though, I admit that I don¡¯t exactly know what an average commoner of this world would regard as normal living space. The ceiling is high enough for a second floor and half the space is taken up by shelves which hold all kinds of records that are relevant to governing the country. Despite the flourishing magitech of Tirna¡¯s society, the people of this world haven¡¯t yet made the leap to computers. They have calculators and a version of a magical engine, but nothing that is more complicated than a simple finite-state machine. A positive point was that the people had already developed an understanding of non-magical science. As far as development and invention are concerned, this was a golden age. According to my current understanding, Tirna is right at the beginning of the industrialisation age. Many artefacts and machines of today are hand-crafted by specialists or small teams of artificers. Slowly, a smile spreads on my face. I can''t wait to get myself some influence to steer this world''s development where I want it to go. In my previous life, I had made a big breakthrough right before I died, and I couldn''t wait to proceed with my research regarding Mana Crystals. If I did it right, I would be able to challenge the gods, even if I wasn''t one myself. I just hope that my death didn''t cost me some vital memory. The rest of the day, I mostly spent bugging Rose with teaching me how to read. It was an adequate excuse to learn something about the world, especially since Rose had the convenient habit of just grabbing some scroll or book on the many shelves in the office. Luckily, none of them were genuine children''s books. This meant that each time Rose read ''stories'' to me, I acquired a satisfactory amount of knowledge regarding this world¡¯s history, geography, and other basic knowledge. I wasn¡¯t too worried about math, physics, and magic ¨C since the former me was an expert on those fields. So I mainly relied on my slowly, but steadily returning memories. The fact that I had never regretted expressing my wishes a little early was also due to my roller-coaster dad. Let¡¯s just say that I have a huge dislike of being moved suddenly in unexpected directions. Sighing, I drop the wooden cubes, feeling a little woozy after expending all my mana. Being reduced to a mortal mage with a limited mana pool feels horrible after being a god for so long. I blink. Or should I say that having the memories of a god feels horrible? Thinking about this too deeply will probably get me into philosophical territory which I don''t want to venture into. When I reached divinity it came with a huge boost to my mental resources and capabilities, along with access to all the mana I would ever want to wield.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. I press my lips together, frustrated. I have to stop whining about my former self. It¡¯s a fact that I am weak right now and if I want to regain my power, I have to train to my utmost in order to increase my mana pool. Maybe I can even boost myself with some artefacts once I manage to piece my jumbled memories together. Then I''ll reinvent some basic weaponry. My face scrunches up involuntarily as I stare at the cubes in front of me. Another possibility would be to sacrifice a few people to strengthen my soul. But I abandon the thought as soon as it comes to mind. Not to mention that my parents wouldn¡¯t allow it, there are strict regulations on necromancy. Once, my mother ordered a sizeable part of the army to hunt down an individual who had transgressed into the arts of forbidden magic. Using a sacrifice to empower myself would be a last resort. There are a lot of ways to steal mana, or using the energies that linger in the environment. As a former practitioner of soul and mind magic, drawing energies from my surroundings should be easy if I have a focus. A stupid grin appears on my face. With a focus that is attuned to mybody, I could probably pull off a flying toddler. It would be easy to evade my father¡¯s brutish grasp. Fly baby! Fly! Evade the roller-coaster dad and cast some candy creation magic. Now that I am imagining it, it freaks even me out? Let''s not do that or I might end up locked in a tower until some princess comes to my rescue. ¡°He is doing it again,¡± Rose whispers. ¡°Doing what?¡± Ireth looks up from her work, searching the room. ¡°That creepy expression. A child of his age shouldn¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Angrod! Stop that!¡± Ireth shakes her head. ¡°Sometimes, I really want to know what¡¯s going through your head in a moment like this.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I reply sheepishly and quickly rub my cheeks, trying to regain control over my facial muscles. I may be an immortal, but being inside a child¡¯s body has certain effects on me that I don¡¯t particularly care about. For one thing, controlling my expressions is harder than I remember it to be. Damned biology! Suddenly, there is a loud ''boom'' and my heart makes a leap up into my throat when an explosion shakes the palace. A moment later, something crashes against the office¡¯s window-front, going up in flames. The explosion outside lights up the room as bright as a bonfire and impacting debris is repelled by magical wards which flare up with bright, blue light, reinforcing the window¡¯s physical structure. Ireth was up in an instant, throwing the office table aside with one hand. A brief instant is enough for her to reach my side and pick me up, retreating away from the window before I manage to take another breath. I had never before seen her move that fast. Rose had summoned two daggers from nowhere and was anxiously studying the window front. The magical wards had taken a heavy blow but held, and I already pitied the poor fellow who would have to clean up the sooty mess. Once Rose was sure that there would be nothing coming through the glass, she turned and opened the door to the office. She whispers something to the guards who were waiting outside. Returning her attention to the queen, she gave us a slight nod. ¡°There is nothing extraordinary outside. Should I go and check what this was all about?¡± Ireth took a deep breath but didn¡¯t move from her position, keeping her body between me and the window. ¡°Just tell them to send someone to check out the situation. There is no need for you to risk yourself, Rose.¡± Nodding, Rose gave the guards according instructions and closed the door, locking it. Then she proceeds to the windows and after taking a brief look outside, she closes the curtains. ¡°It seems like someone tried to fly an old airplane into the palace. The machine likely shattered on the palace¡¯s outer shields and some fragments managed to penetrate.¡± ¡°I thought the palace is safe from suicide attacks!¡± Ireth complains and returns to her office chair, still holding onto me. She sits down, pulling me onto her lap. I myself am still a little too baffled to complain about being treated like a comfort doll, so I just shut up, especially since I can¡¯t contribute anything to the situation. ¡°We are perfectly safe,¡± Rose replies calmly. ¡°The outer wards aren¡¯t intended to block a physical attack like that. Their purpose is to set off any attack magic and break up projectiles before they impact the palace''s actual defences. As it stands, this seems to be either a rather poorly executed attempt on our lives, or a test of our defences. It didn¡¯t look like the palace suffered any actual harm.¡± ¡°Great!¡± Ireth grumbles. ¡°I am so sick of these underhanded attacks, Rose. Two months ago it was poison. We were lucky that the kitchen staff found out before any of it reached us. If those cowards would at least show themselves, whoever is responsible. I would twist the necks of those bastards. It¡¯s been a while since they tried something so bold.¡± ¡°Language, Majesty.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Ireth looks up and pats my head. ¡°I hope Nicol was in the throne room?¡± Rose just smiles. ¡°I am sure of it. There would have been no reason to be outside the palace right now.¡± There is a knock on the door and Rose opens it after taking a look through the door''s spy-hole. Nicol quickly enters the room, waving for a group of guards to wait outside after having made sure that there is no damage to the office. ¡°You are all alright,¡± he sighs and walks over to the window, taking a look behind the curtains. ¡°Those bastards knew exactly where your office is, Ireth. I can hardly believe that they hit this exact spot just by random chance.¡± ¡°We should move the queen''s office to one of the underground levels. Just in case,¡± Rose suggests. Ireth reaches for Nicol when he comes closer to take her hand. ¡°Do you think that they found out about Angrod?¡± The king curls down the corners of his lips, showing his displeasure. ¡°I wouldn''t rule it out. We''ve spent a great deal of effort on keeping our son a secret, but there are many eyes and ears in the palace. I assume it''s just a question of time until the prince''s existence becomes public knowledge.¡± ¡°If those bastards take another child from me, I''ll have the aristocracy executed as a whole! No matter if it hits innocents,¡± Ireth swears with such fervour in her voice that it causes goosebumps down my neck. ¡°Now now.¡± Rose tries to calm the situation down, gesturing with her hands. ¡°If we start a random witchhunt without proof it couldset off the civil war you were fearing all along.¡± ¡°What does it matter?¡± Ireth asks. ¡°If we do nothing, they will get us sooner or later. As long as they leave no tracks it''s just a question of time.¡± Nicol pinches the bridge of his nose. ¡°It may be that they didn''t know of the crown prince and just were after you to get to me. But you are right. Maybe it''s time to show the noble houses that an attack on the king and queen has repercussions.¡± ¡°What!?¡± Rose babbles, clearly afraid of doing something rash. ¡°We can''t-¡± Nicol raises his hand to cut her off. ¡°We won''t do anything that''s directed against a particular noble house. What I can do though, is to loosen a few laws and tighten others. I always wanted to do something that would make life harder for those with aspirations for the throne. At this point, I don''t really care anymore about keeping them happy. The weaker their position becomes, the better. Eventually, they will make a mistake or lose the necessary resources to launch such attacks without making their identity known. I''ll meet with the nobles and make it clear that I want rolling heads. If I promise a suitable reward, those who are against the peace will have a harder time finding supporters. At the very least they will have to be more careful about who they are speaking to.¡± As the adults were talking, I sunk further and further into my mother¡¯s lap, hoping that they would continue to stay oblivious to my presence. This was the first time I had been present to such a discussion, and I didn¡¯t want to spoil the possibility of gaining knowledge. Apparently, I was deep in shit. Given this new information, I concluded that there was apparently a group or even several groups of people who were unhappy with the current regime. Unhappy enough to have killed my older siblings and to launch several assassination attempts in order to kill off the royal family. Had I underestimated Seria? Was her idea of divine punishment to reincarnate me to one life after the other, each one more dangerous than the next? If I just died often enough at a young age, several times in a row, I would eventually even lose my immortality. ¡°I hate the gods...¡± I mumble involuntarily. Ireth doesn¡¯t lose any time in pinching my cheek. ¡°What did you just say, young man!? No insulting the Goddess! Do you understand!?¡± ¡°Mh¡­ donh¡­ leh¡­ meh¡­ go¡­¡± I flail helplessly at my mother¡¯s hand but to no avail. Her fingers could as well bepliers of steel. ¡°You are too harsh on him, Your Majesty,¡± Rose interferes. Yes! I don''t deserve punishment! ¡°How could he know anything about Tirna¡¯s religion if we never brought him to a temple?¡± Religion!? What? No! Don''t give me that shit! Like I would ever pray to anyone but myself! ¡°It may be time to rectify that!¡± Ireth proclaims. ¡°Rose, do you think it¡¯s possible to clear out one of the temples and have a proper baptism ceremony for our son?¡± The king purses his lips. ¡°I am sure it would be possible to arrange something anonymous...¡± Chapter 4 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** So it happened that on my fifth birthday I would be granted the doubtful honour of being officially introduced to this world''s religion. Strangely enough, my parents weren''t big believers. Up to the point that they didn''t even share this world''s lore on religion with me. Yet, this particular ceremony apparently had to happen for one reason or the other. My father and my mother would ritually hand my soul over to some stranger they had never actually met. Or at least something similar would happen. It was the same game in every world. People never ceased to baffle me. Who in his right mind would hack off an arm and hand it over to some stranger? There was no doubt in my mind that the whole ordeal would be humiliating from the beginning to the end. The day had started with Rose shooing me out of my bed with the first rays of sunshine. Then she personally saw to me getting dressed, so that I would look prim and proper for this event. She had acquired a blue miniature suit which fit me perfectly. Internally, I bemoaned the waste of effort on such a fine piece of clothing. There was no doubt in my mind that she had gotten my measurements and ordered some poor tailor to make the suit. Given my current rate of growth, the thing would be obsolete within the year. It was highly doubtful that there would be a chance to put the suit on a second time. Rose herself was already clad in her black maid-dress, which had certain similarities with a uniform. Apparently, the dress-code didn''t apply to servants. My parents also hadn''t held back when they chose their religious regalia. Nicol was in a black and white suit, stitched with golden patterns while the white parts dominated the outfit. Though, I had a sneaking suspicion that the outfit was chosen for him by my mother, who was fussing over the correct alignment of Nicol''s attire like some seamstress seeing to a proper fit. Unlike on other occasions, the king didn''t wear the medals and pendants which showed the importance of his office. The two of them had said something about showing up at the temple anonymously. Their idea of anonymous was clearly a farce of trying to look like the average young nobleman who wanted to introduce his child to the church. Ireth herself was dressed in a matching white dress which covered her tail rather well. A fitting women''s hat with a veil hid her face and her horns. Personally, I had no experience with what a nobleman should look like. There was no other choice but to trust in the king''s and the queen''s judgement. I am sure that Rose would have spoken up if there was an obvious problem with the attire. My parents chose a red vehicle with six tyres as transport. The strange abomination between a limousine and a carriage was slim and looked sturdy at the same time. The whole backside provided a compartment with enough room for eight passengers. The driver had his own compartment at the front. The windows were mirrored so that nobody could take an easy look into the car... carriage? The others called the thing a car, so I decided to go with that. We got inside and Rose took the position of the driver while several guards in casual clothes got into their own transports. Nicol''s idea of staying incognito was clearly to have enough bodyguards with him to repel anyone who might come close enough to recognize our faces. Then we were off and I got my first real look at the world which I had so far only seen from the palace''s windows. The capital city, Tirn, is a bustling metropolis with about five hundred thousand citizens, a respectable number for this world''s economic development. There were many people on the streets, most of them using the public transportation service, a railroad system that was running in parallel with the normal street. Cars like ours were a rarity, and I noticed us overtaking several old-fashioned carriages, which reassured me in my assumption that this world is right at the start of the modern age. While magic was used in daily life, techniques for mass-manufacturing of artefacts were still new and not widespread. I also noticed that most houses are made out of red brick, probably to keep a unified theme for the whole city. Over the course of the whole drive, I stayed glued to the window like some schoolkid. My parents probably thought that I was overwhelmed from getting to see the city from up close, but I was more interested in what kind of circumstances the common folk was living in. From my vantage point, I didn''t notice anyone who was obviously having a hard time surviving. There were people whose clothes made it clear that some were richer and others less wealthy. But even those who I spontaneously identified as common workers looked like they were doing well enough. From searching my memories, I knew that there were worse societies to live in. Our journey didn''t take long, and soon enough we halted in front of a building that looked like a mixture between a cathedral and a Tibetan Temple. The bodyguards didn''t waste any time and quickly cleared a straight path to the temple, which was when Rose opened the door and we got out. I was quickly ushered into the temple, Ireth pulling me along all the way. I judged that my parents were probably afraid of a sniper or another suicide run. Once inside, we entered a large cathedral, and I was immediately impressed by the delicate artwork on the walls and windows, but only until I realized that the pictures were telling a story. My story. To our left, a large window made out of coloured glass showed a great Cataclysm and the clash between two mighty powers, tearing the old world asunder. Some ingenious enchanter had enchanted the window with an illusion, making it look like the two opposing sides were moving towards each other as we walked past and changed our point of view. In the centre of the artwork were two faceless figures who stood opposing each other while the world around them was torn asunder by crackling lightning. Between those two supposed gods were dozens of falling warriors, struck down by the lightning between them. Two armies were in the process of clashing in the background, one side showing demons and zombies, with people and angels on the other. Right ahead of us, a wall-painting showed the aftermath of the battle. Both sides had slain each other, leaving a wasteland of bodies on a sinking continent. An angel-like figure loomed above the battlefield, a judgemental expression on her face. I knew that person. Even if I hadn''t recognized her on the picture, the large marble statue to our right was quite clearly a depiction of Seria, Roman-style. She was holding out a hand towards the room, like granting a blessing, and I felt strong magic from this artefact. It radiated power into the entire cathedral, likely a mind-alteration spell that had a calming effect, inducing a feeling of serenity in the onlooker. Though, without a closer look, I can''t be sure. Seria''s statue was clad in a toga and had four wings spread out behind her. One set of angel wings, and one set of a more demonic or draconic nature. This puzzled me a little since I had never seen Seria wearing anything other than a basic human shell.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Of course, that doesn''t mean much. A god with access to the wonders of a whole multiverse has no problem with finding access to a myriad of ways to change his or her body as it pleases them. I just stand there, rooted to the floor while I try my best to make sense of the situation. No matter how I look at this setup, the depictions of Seria spell nothing good. Should I turn around and bolt, screaming bloody murder? ¡°No need to be intimidated, Angrod.¡± Ireth pushes me forward. ¡°The congregation is just a simple ceremony to introduce young people to society. A priest or priestess will speak a few words and you will get a simple prophecy from the goddess. You will also get a memorial tablet that shows your potential. Many people like to keep it as a memento. On rare occasions, Goddess Seria herself shows up to give her approval.¡± ¡°It''s really no big issue, Son,¡± Nicol chortles. ¡°Although, when I had my own congregation, I got the prophecy that my third child would have a great destiny.¡± My danger-sense is tingling louder and louder. I want out of this place! ¡°You too?¡± Ireth stops. ¡°Strange. I got told that something good would happen on the congregation of my third child.¡± ¡°And I am out of here.¡± Turning on my heel, I make a 180 and head for the exit. ¡°Not so fast, young man!¡± Ireth grabs me at my collar, yanking me back. She quickly bends down, pulling my clothes back in order. Smiling, she takes my hand and pulls me towards the line of people who are waiting for their turn with the priestess. ¡°I have to think about this. This could have a huge impact on my life you know?¡± I fumble for something to say, but nothing comes to mind that would extract me from this situation. Should I throw myself onto the ground and start screaming? Children tend to do that when they are unhappy with something. I am quite sure that my parents wouldn''t have the experience to deal with such a situation since I was always such a good little boy. Maybe they would turn back and leave, afraid of making a scene? On the other hand, Ireth is quite the fury. By causing a scene, I might just earn my first educational slapping in this reincarnation. We join the row of people which contains parents with their children. Assuming that they are here for the same reason as us, this introduction to society must be a public event. In front of us, the children are made to touch clean metal plates after some ceremonial words by the priestess, while the parents kneel down to the statue. Judging by the priestess'' aura, I assume that she is using some form of divination magic, which I am no fan of. I was always of the opinion that knowing the future causes nothing but trouble. Depending on the form of divination, you would either have to be a masochist or a player who likes games of chance. The line shortens until it''s the turn of the pair in front of us and I get a first good look at the ceremony. ¡°Duke Garber Rosenquarz and Duchess Hertia Rosenquarz. We bestow upon you the blessings of the Goddess Seria. May your child, Listfell Rosenquarz, be judged by the gods so that we can choose the best path for the future. May your lives be happy and prosperous.¡± The priestess holds out a metal plate and the girl touches it. The process takes a few moments, but eventually, a soft, yellow light envelops the metal plate and the girl''s hand. Furrowing my forehead, I tilt sideways in an attempt to study the complicated spell which interacts with the girl''s aura and then carves some runes into the plate. I can''t read the result of the divination from my position, but the family in front of us seems happy enough because their faces light up. My skeptic behaviour must''ve been improper because Ireth pulls me back into line. The Rosenquarz family steps aside, allowing us to approach the priestess who takes a scroll which is handed to her by an assisting acolyte. She almost makes a double-take, her eyes widening upon reading the scroll. But she quickly catches herself, putting on a forced smile. Ireth pushes me forward and my parents get to their knees next to me. Then the priestess holds out a fresh plate for me to touch. Pulling a face, I put my hand onto the item, hoping that nothing bad would happen. Seria might be a bitch, but I doubt that she would use nice mortals like my parents for a petty game of punishment. Ireth would likely be the one who would suffer the most if something happened to me. ¡°King Nicol of Tirna and Queen Ireth of Tirna. We bestow upon you the blessings of the Goddess Seria. May your child, Angrod of Tirna, be judged by the gods so that we can choose the best path for the future. May your lives be happy and prosperous.¡± The already familiar yellow glow envelops my hand and I can feel my skin prickle. The light traces runes into the plate, carving out words.
Name: Angrod of Tirna
Titles bestowed by the gods: First Prince of Tirna, Fallen God, Little One, Saviour, Doomsbringer, Great Soul, Blessed by Seria
Potentials:
-Divine rank Soulmage -Saviour of the world -Destroyer of the world -God
My eyes bug out as my parents and the priestess stare at the plate in grave silence. Great! The thrice damned thing spilled the beans! Seria must have set this up! I knew that this wasn''t a good idea! In the worst case, I will be treated as some kind of monster now. And if there is enough time to think, they will surely find out about my past. What if they piece together that I was involved in the religious story on the walls? Will I be burned on the stake? Sorry, Nicol, Ireth, you are nice people and great parents. Seria fucked this one up big time and you don''t deserve me as a child. There must be a way out of this. How could I fix the situation? I don''t know how my peaceful life could get any worse. A sudden rumble and a loud ''CRACK'' from above startle me. A flash of light blinds everyone and I throw myself onto the ground, following a gut instinct. What the fuck is going on!? Blinking tears out of my eyes, I look up. There is a heavy presence in the room, pushing down on my very soul. The feeling is so very familiar, indicating that someone powerful is here. ¡°Hiiii!¡± I can''t help but let out a terrified squeal at whom I see! If I were an adult, I would be embarrassed over my behaviour, but as I am now I have no qualms making a scene. A shining and sparkling Seria is hovering above us, the Goddess of Life and Death, clad in a toga of the finest silk with wings and an angelic aura on top! GOOD ENTRANCE! But... but... please choose a better fabric next time! With her radiating like a lightbulb, people can see everything through that piece of nothingness. Figure, nipples and all! Seria... you should also shave if you dress like that! Everyone stares at the Goddess, agape. It''s not entirely clear whether the silence is thanks to their awe of being in the presence of a superior being, or because a weirdo teleported into their church. The present clergymen throw themselves to the floor, grovelling as if they were training that exact move their entire lives. Wow, that goes too far. I never expected Seria to create a cult with such devoted followers. Guys, have at least some self-respect! Being a god is nothing that you couldn''t achieve for yourselves if you would just work hard. Seria smiles a most charming smile as if she was an angel who couldn''t hurt a fly. The display immediately offends me. That deceitful snake! She is perfectly fine with kicking dying people who are on the ground. Don''t smile like that! I fight the urge to wave a defiant fist at her, but the pressure of her aura puts me in my place. In my current state, I am no challenge for her. Waving a hand, she lets go of a sheet of paper which slowly flutters towards us while she fades away. Now, THAT can''t be good! I have to get rid of that! Reaching out, I cast Fireball! Nothing happens. Huh? Fireball! Damn! Trying again, I futily attempt to destroy whatever message of doom was delivered by the wicked witch! Zap! Hocus Pocus! AARGH! My mana is gone and there isn''t anything in the vicinity either! Is it a side-effect of her aura, or did she do that on purpose? The message flutters towards us and I make up my resolve. If need be, I will jump and grab it, then eat it! Almost! Almost! Come closer! I hop up and down, exercising my body with every ounce of strength at my disposal. My fingers almost reach the paper when my mother''s hand shoots out and snatches the prize away from me. I want to cry! Ireth holds the paper out in front of her so that Dad and Rose who came up from behind can read it too.
Hi, your most beloved and worshipped Goddess here! I have watched this world for some time and I am unhappy with its current state! To help you, I have blessed your child with a great soul. Don''t dare not to be grateful! But I don''t think it''s good to intervene too much by my holy self, so I give you this prophecy for the two paths this child can take: -Leave the stupid guy to himself and he will conquer the world, most likely destroying it in the process. -Get him to marry the first princess of Stricc and the both of them will lead the world to a better future. I am sure you both will be able to educate him properly. ? Sincerely yours, Goddess of Life and Death!
¡°But there is no first princess of Stricc,¡± Rose breaks the silence. I break out in a cold sweat while Mom, Dad, Rose, and the priestess stare at me. There is still a heavy silence throughout the whole cathedral. After a minute of silent staring with me as the focus, I can''t take it anymore, so I decide to break the silence. ¡°I choose option one then!¡± Ireth reflexively reaches out, smacking me over the back of my head with enough force to rattle my brain. Eyes wide, I reach up, feeling the growing bump. Eh?! Mother hit me?! That was the first time! I am seriously mentally injured here. Are we now in the territory of violent education!? ¡°Well, I guess I can count this as the worst day of my life,¡± I state my earnest opinion. Chapter 5 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** What do smart mortals do when they are confronted with a perverted god-like entity? They freak out and run for the hills! And that¡¯s exactly what my parents decided to do after Seria¡¯s departure, once the shock had worn off and their brains started working. My progenitors didn¡¯t speak. Ireth bent down to pick me up, carrying me like some pirate abducting an unwilling female, much to the protest of the priestess who had more than a few questions. Nicol deflected the woman¡¯s questions with an authoritative ¡®No comment!¡¯. Then we beat a hasty retreat, Nicol and Ireth sharing a silent understanding on what had to be done. Followed by Rose, we rush out of the temple while the bodyguards run interference on the few witnesses. Dashing out of the temple, we quickly enter the car and Ireth dumps me into the seat, sitting down next to me. Nicol sits down on my other side, while Rose starts the mana engine. And off we go with screeching tires! Being pressed into the seat, I marvel at the car¡¯s power. Given this world¡¯s state of technology, I didn¡¯t expect the acceleration. ¡°What the fuck was that!?¡± Ireth half shouts once the door is closed. ¡°A god?¡± I reply with a questioning tone, trying hard to keep down my breakfast. Oh, I forgot, I didn¡¯t get any over this whole ceremony business. Then I realize that I slipped into my adult, sarcastic persona, so I try to counteract my slip up with childish innocence. ¡°Aren¡¯t they supposed to be all shiny and lightly dressed? You said that she could show up.¡± ¡°That was a joke!¡± Ireth snaps. ¡°What do we do now, Nicol? There is no way that we can keep this under the lid. There were just too many people in the vicinity and I doubt that they would shut up about the Goddess showing up! I mean, there are reports that Seria showed herself in physical form, the last reported appearance was three hundred years ago!¡± Dad raises his hands to calm Mom down. ¡°There is nothing we can do about it at the moment. I am sure that our people are doing everything that¡¯s possible to mitigate the damage¡­¡± After a moment of thoughtful silence he adds, ¡°Aside from silencing them.¡± Eyes widening, I look up to him. Eventually, I have to remedy my opinion of him. So far, I know him only as the foolish, slightly irresponsible rollercoaster-dad. I guess it shouldn¡¯t surprise me that he has a dark side. An iron rule I learned long ago is that everyone who has power also has one or two secret coffins in his cellar. ¡°Mitigating the damage won¡¯t do us any good. I was confident that we would be able to shut up a priestess and a few nobles regarding the ceremony. But once the word gets out about the Goddess showing up, people will request details. It¡¯s only a question of time until word gets out that we were in the temple. Anyone with a brain and the pieces to the puzzle will figure out that we have a secret heir to the throne.¡± Ireth pulls a face. ¡°The patriot faction will freak out once they realize that the royal bloodline is unbroken.¡± ¡°Leave those warmongers to me.¡± Nicol turns his attention to me and I shrink back into the seat, looking down at my dangling feet. Intellectually, I know that I shouldn¡¯t be intimidated, but there is something about Nicol¡¯s gaze that sends goosebumps down my spine. ¡°I think that there is something you have to tell us?¡± ¡°I do?¡± I look towards mother, hoping that I might be able to play the two of them against each other, but something in her eyes tells me that it is only wishful thinking of mine. Ireth snorts and holds out the metal plate with my name on it. ¡°Don¡¯t take us for fools, young man.¡± Damn! I didn¡¯t even notice when she swiped that damned thing! I bet those inscriptions will haunt me for the rest of this life. ¡°The ways of the gods are unfathomable,¡± I mumble, hoping to sound mysterious. ¡°How should the ¡®little me¡¯ know the thoughts of the most powerful of all nippleflashers.¡± Ireth raises a finger. ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that about the Goddess!¡± Ignoring Mom, I search for Dad¡¯s assistance. ¡°But I am right. You saw it too, Dad. She didn¡¯t even have underwear.¡± Ireth gasps and Nicol just presses his lips together. ¡°It¡¯s not within our ken to judge the ways of the gods, even if we are the rulers of this land. I suggest you quickly forget what you¡¯ve seen today.¡± ¡°Nicol! Angrod knows something!¡± Ireth protests. My father just shakes his head and closes his eyes. Then he massages the bridge of his nose with both index fingers. ¡°I believe in Angrod. We haven¡¯t raised him to be stupid, at least I hope so. If he knows something that could help us, he would share the information.¡± I nod towards my father, feeling suddenly a lot more respect for Nicol. It isn¡¯t often that you meet someone who is willing to extend unquestioned trust towards another person, even if it¡¯s a family member. ¡°That being said,¡± he continues. ¡°The situation has clearly changed, leaving us no other choice but to accelerate our timetable.¡± Why can¡¯t I shake the feeling that an accelerated timetable sounds ominous? ¡°We have to contact the rulers of Stricc and ask them to go along with our plans. Ireth, I¡¯ll leave that to you. On the same account, I¡¯ll use all our assets to strike out as hard as possible against the patriot faction. Everyone who we have hard evidence against goes into the bonfire. Nicosar didn¡¯t waste the last five years hunting down those bastards. Even if we won¡¯t get all of them, it might as well buy us the time we need until Angrod is old enough.¡± Again this patriot faction. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± As far as I know, the patriot faction is a group of people within the house of nobles. They are actively supporting the idea of restarting the war with Stricc, even after my parents bent over backwards to stop the conflict. Nicol is always complaining about the Patriots causing trouble. Ireth pats the top of my head, smirking. ¡°Don¡¯t worry that young head of yours. If you are unwilling to explain this tablet, you also shouldn¡¯t worry about what the adults are planning.¡± I purse my lips, thoughts racing. ¡°If it¡¯s about that foolish prophecy, then don¡¯t worry. Haven¡¯t you read Sage Plio¡¯s scientific paper on divination and time travel? Such things are per definition not to be trusted.¡± Nicol chuckles. ¡°We know. But that doesn¡¯t change the fact that Ireth and I have been working towards a permanent peace for a decade. With you, it¡¯s finally within reach. We were planning for you to marry the first princess of Stricc since you were born. That¡¯s why we hid you from the public eye for as long as possible. Preferably, we would have continued to do so until we are ready to announce our alliance with Stricc.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°The Patriots have been dragging their feet because it looked like the royal line would end with me. With my death, they could have forced Ireth to take another husband, or taken over as soon as our power base was sufficiently weakened. By hiding you, we forced them to focus their attention on manipulating me. But once the nobles find out that there is no chance for any of them to take the throne legally, they will do anything to kill us.¡± Ireth continues. ¡°If we honour our treaty with Stricc and reunite the two bloodlines, both Tirna and Stricc would be under one political power. It¡¯s why both the Striccs and our family have hidden the fact that we have two kids of fitting age, both first in line to the throne of their countries. This alliance won¡¯t only offend anyone who is in favour of war, it will also alienate those who were hoping to eventually match their kids with a prince or a princess.¡± ¡°Stricc also has its issues with people who would rather have total war than being ruled by what they think of as the enemy.¡± Nicol sighs. ¡°We have to move quickly and make this whole affair public before the vultures gather. I think I can sell this with Nicosar¡¯s help if we present the nobility with a done deal.¡± I think my jaw dropped halfway through the conversation. What¡¯s this madness supposed to mean? Arranged marriage? ¡°No.¡± I shake my head. ¡°I am too young to marry!¡± ¡°Of course you are, silly!¡± Ireth runs her fingers through my hair. ¡°We will just draft up the contract and then you''ll have all the time you need to get to know her. Given today¡¯s prophecy, I am sure that there is a way to make things work out.¡± Did you listen to me? ¡°I am not going to marry the princess of Stricc!¡± Ireth turns her head, looking down me. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I-¡± Nicol clears his throat. I look at him. ¡°Son, I know that I didn¡¯t have the opportunity to teach you, but there is a time for everything. A good ruler knows when to argue.¡± I blink. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s think this through.¡± He scratches his chin. ¡°You are about to oppose your mother in something with which she won¡¯t budge a millimetre.¡± Furrowing my forehead, I nod. Where is he going with this? ¡°This is an enclosed space, and you are sitting right next to her.¡± He looks around. ¡°You always should have an escape route.¡± I nod again. ¡°So there is no way to run once negotiations don¡¯t go your way.¡± He closes his eyes and nods gravely. ¡°Negotiations won¡¯t go your way.¡± I look back to Ireth who is just smiling at me. There is no doubt that they are playing ¡®good cop, bad cop¡¯ with me. At the same time, it¡¯s undeniable that he has a point. My current position is undefendable and I have no ace up my sleeve. Playing the petulant child will get me nothing. First, I have to find a bargaining chip if I want out of this deal. ¡°I need time to think about it,¡± I answer diplomatically. ¡°Do that,¡± Ireth replies sweetly. ??? Things calmed down after the temple incident and for a short while everything was good. Life almost felt like the old days when I was sequestered away with my mother and Rose, reading books and playing magical games all day long. Looking back, I might¡¯ve had a serious case of denial. Instead of planning my escape and living on my own, I lazily wasted time inside my comfort zone, waiting for the slaughterer to come. The years of being taken care of by a maid and a motherly figure had made me soft before I knew what was happening. Another problem was that the whole affair would have taken more time than I had available. There was also the little fact that I was kind of anxious about the dissidents and whether Dad would manage to pull off his coup against the enemies of his rule. My parents also didn¡¯t exactly bother with keeping me in the loop regarding hidden operations and negotiations. While I had insight regarding the regular politics of the kingdom, Ireth never exactly took me to secret meetings with the high and mighty. So it kind of came as a shock when, one day, my parents suddenly packed our seven things and boarded a private plane to Midhold, a major city at the foot of Heaven¡¯s Peak. It happened to be located right at the border between Tirna and Stricc. During the war, it was practically ground to dust, conquered by one side, then by the other, until there was nothing left to fight for except the strategic location. After the war, it was rebuilt bigger and better than ever. The plan is for it to become the central trade point for the continent. Over the last few years, both countries had channelled enormous resources into the city and the surrounding countryside. Trying to profit from the policy of their leadership, nobility from both sides had taken holdings in Midhold, assuming that both Tirna and Stricc wished to control the place as it always was a strategically important location. Due to this, the city of Midhold had experienced an economic boom like few cities in the region. Nobody truly understood that the ruling families of both Tirna and Stricc were building up Midhold as a future capital city for both nations. Right after our arrival Ireth and Nicol ran off to have negotiations with the rulers of Stricc. They wanted everything to be perfect when they introduced me to the princess. That left me in Rose¡¯s competent care, joined by a heap of bodyguards. ¡°To say the least, I am more than a little surprised that my parents allowed us to go just like that,¡± I mumble as Rose helps me out of the car. The wind blows her brown mane into her face and she uses one hand to tug the strands behind a pointy earlobe. ¡°Ireth wants you to get outside once in a while. She is afraid that you might become disconnected from society. That¡¯s also why you will be going to a private school here in Midhold ¨C once everything is ready. The rulers of both countries are setting everything up so that youths from both sides can learn and work together. The point is to learn seeing past the cultural differences.¡± She takes me by the hand, guiding me towards the zoo¡¯s entrance while the bodyguards form a circle around us. ¡°First, we have to assure that the property can be defended against a terrorist attack. This is also a completely new city, so there is quite some work to do regarding dissidents. We have to figure out their networks before they can use their advantage and hurt us.¡± ¡°That sounds like an excursion to the local zoo is a really bad idea,¡± I comment while we leave the car park and enter Midhold¡¯s famous zoo through the main entrance. ¡°You are partly correct.¡± Rose nods and smiles at the elderly cashier as we pass. ¡°This is actually an operation to make things a little easier in the future, but I wouldn¡¯t complain if nothing happened. I am not getting paid enough to be right in the middle of it.¡± It takes me a few precious seconds to digest Rose¡¯s words. ¡°You mean that we are being used as bait to draw out the enemy!?¡± ¡°In a sense. If they are reckless, they will try something. But don¡¯t worry. Ireth and Nicol have seen to it that we have more than enough backup, should we need it.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She looks down at me. ¡°What surprises me more is that you seem completely fine with it.¡± ¡°With what?¡± I ask, not getting her meaning. ¡°With the fact that they are negotiating for a future wife for you. Arranged marriages aren¡¯t unheard of among the aristocracy, but nowadays the practice is pretty much outdated,¡± she explains calmly, guiding me by the hand towards a fenced area. ¡°Hah!¡± I snort. ¡°You know, at first I was pretty miffed, but the more I think about it, the more I hope to turn this into an advantage.¡± ¡°How so?¡± She raises an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°Well, I was pretty worried about being forced into a marriage with someone who I dislike, but this princess will be a little girl.¡± I shrug. ¡°So I thought that it shouldn¡¯t be a problem for someone with my intellect to ¡®educate¡¯ her. Who knows, I might even be able to turn her into a decent wife. Have you seen the pictures of Stricc¡¯s queen? She is a looker. If her daughter inherited even half her mother¡¯s looks, then I am pretty much set once I take care of her personality.¡± Rose purses her lips. ¡°You are aware that no normal person your age would have such thoughts, right? Not to mention, what you just said is creepy.¡± Right! I think I got a little too comfortable for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that it¡¯ll be years before anyone can truly talk about this marriage. Maybe there will be unquestioned peace by then, so we can sweep the whole matter under a carpet and forget about it.¡± And if not, there is still the little fact that I¡¯ll have a lot more options once this body has matured. ¡°I am sorry for being bad at adjusting to your peculiarities, my prince. I know that the Goddess¡¯ appearance must mean that you are special and important. The whole thing really shook me up and I am not entirely certain how I should act around you,¡± Rose apologizes. ¡°You realize that talking to you isn¡¯t anything like talking to a child?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± I ask. ¡°No, your mind is just too mature for your age. You are also able to concentrate far longer on something than any of your peers.¡± She presses her lips together. ¡°You slip up from time to time, and I think you are far from knowing everything, but it¡¯s pretty clear that, given what the goddess said, you are an adult soul inside the body of a child.¡± I decide not to comment on that observation. Rose isn¡¯t stupid and she is around me at least as much as my mother. ¡°Its fine, just treat me like you would any other person.¡± That would be the least awkward way of dealing with the situation. ¡°Oooh? Then let me ask for an explanation of the ¡°fallen God¡± title on your graduation plate? Which God were you before? And why did you fall? I never really believed in gods before that incident with Seria herself.¡± Rose sends me a sharp look. ¡°Ahaha! I am no god, no idea what you are talking about. The Goddess must have made a mistake there.¡± My smile freezes again. I had this stupid conversation already several times with mother and father. There is no way that I would explain the multiverse and reincarnation to them. Even if they knew, what would they do? If a deity from the Council shows up we would all be crushed within an instant. ¡°You are a bad liar. Don''t smile while telling lies, Angrod. You can be seen right through when you do that.¡± She mumbles something to herself, unhappy at not having her curiosity satiated. ¡°Being the prince of this country is obviously a great punishment from the standpoint of a god. I will make sure to observe your actions very carefully from now on. If you are unwilling to share details with me, that¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t come back later and expect me to put my hand into hot water for you. I have my own suspicions about your former self, and I think your torment hasn''t begun yet.¡± Rose has a devilish look on her face, her red lips curling upwards. ¡°Rose, you are frightening me! If I were a normal child, I would cry just from seeing that face of yours!¡± Though, she has a point. She is thinking without a doubt that I am one of the figures who was fighting in that scene of the apocalyptic war. After the incident, I researched the matter, but there wasn¡¯t much aside from religious hocus pocus that¡¯s not even close to the truth. Something that really irks me is the war scene on that window and how this world came to be. Did Seria rebuild the old world? Somehow, I can¡¯t believe that. The effort must have been enormous¡­ and the continents are all wrong. There are also two completely new moons in the sky, and apart from the blue sun, there are no other stars visible in the night sky. A mystery. ¡°Anyway. Look at that monster.¡± Rose distracts me by pointing at the creature on the other side of the fence. Wahaha! What¡¯s this? They have a Hippogriffin here! The horrifying creature is a mixture between a hippo and an eagle. I take a look at an explanatory sign.
Hippogriffin: The Hippogriffin may look funny, but it''s an efficient hunter. While it isn''t very fast on all fours, it can fly and is very robust. The Hippogriffin hunts by flying as high as possible while searching for proper prey. As soon as it has found something appropriate, it takes careful aim and lets itself fall, smashing the prey from above with its whole bodyweight. Being caught unprepared to evade, there isn''t much chance of putting up any resistance. Whole parties of adventurers were reported to fall prey to a single Hippogriffin. If travelling by foot in Hippogriffin territory, it is advised to always have someone watch the skies. ¡­
¡°Okay!? That''s one nasty method of hunting.¡± I study the creature, wary of an attack. The thing has to weigh at least five tons. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t there be some sturdy metal above its enclosure to prevent the monster from flying?¡± ¡°Oh, no worries.¡± Rose waves a hand. ¡°Its wings are clipped, otherwise it would be way too dangerous to keep such a creature in a densely populated city. What do you think, my prince? It''s a cool animal, right!¡± ¡°Ahem, yeah.¡± I am honestly not sure what I think about that. It might be a dangerous predator, but clipping its wings also isn¡¯t nice. The Hippogriffin turns towards us, sizing up Rose through the fence, then looking at me with hungry eyes. As if I was just the right size for an afternoon snack. Actually¡­ forget what I said. Clip the wings and cut its tendons! ¡°Can we continue? I don¡¯t like the way it¡¯s looking at me.¡± Rose laughs and we continue the tour, slowly exploring every part of the zoo. The creatures get stranger and stranger with every specimen. I was already acutely aware of the strange bugs and plants in the palace garden, but most of these things are chimeras in the truest sense of the word. This world is crazy! ¡°Let''s go for the next one.¡± Losing interest in some sort of zebra, I point towards a circular pen that was lowered into the ground, feeling strangely excited. At some point, Rose fetched a map of the area, and we are about to get to the felines. I always liked cats. At the next stop, about five meters below us, there is just a lot of sand in the pen. There seems to be nothing inside. Having the wind taken out of my sails, I study signboard. Maybe the cats are being fed and we can come back later.
Razorclaw: A dangerous predator of the east. Relying on its shape-shifting abilities for camouflage, it lies in wait and attacks everything that moves, as soon as the prey is close enough. Its natural habitat is the sandy dunes of Southern Hemalise, where it often hides beneath the sand or between rocks. Hemalise Mages often try to bond with a Razorclaw, as it brings much prestige to their family if the mage in question manages to achieve the feat on his own. The high magical resistance of a Razorclaw makes it extremely dangerous towards anyone who attacks a family member. Unfortunately, bonding with a Razorclaw takes time, and having two hundred kilograms of angry Razorclaw right in your face isn¡¯t an experience many survive. ¡­
¡°Fireball!¡± ¡°Windblade!¡± I felt the spells a split second before their casters could shout out the incantations. Just by reflex, I put up a barrier. ¡°Area Shield!¡± *BOOM!* There is an explosion as the unexpected attack hits my weak barrier and breaks it effortlessly! But it was enough. Instead of the spells exploding right among us and our ten bodyguards, they are set off early. Still, two of our men are engulfed by fire and a third is cut down by the Windblade as the shock wave sends people flying. The world is spinning as I am thrown backwards by the gust of hot air! Given my immaturity, my hasty barrier couldn''t stop both spells. ¡°Iron Skin!¡± Switching tactics, I rely on what I know of internal magic and channel everything I have into the outer layers of my body. I am far from being an expert, but even I learned the basics of using Ki. I hit the ground with my head and tumble, remembering too late that I should have curled up into a fetal position. Luckily, my landing area is softer than expected! Checking whether I still have all my appendages, I sit up and search my surroundings for the attackers. Hmmm... this is sand between my hands? And the walls¡­ was I blown into the Razorclaw pen!? I shudder, as something breathes hotly down my neck. ¡°Fuck!¡± Slowly, I turn around. Fuck! Fuck! Fuckedi Fuck! I am so dead. ¡°Ahem, those are really big teeth and sharp claws.¡± Maybe complimenting the thing that rises out of the sand behind me is a possible way for coexistence? The creature shakes off the sand, revealing a ridge of sharp spines along its neck, much like a porcupine. Which idiot labelled those things as felines!? Even the fur seems to consist of countless little needles. The Razorclaw doesn''t seem to consist of anything other than claws, teeth, and pointy spikes! ¡°Hi?¡± I wet my lips, ignoring the noise of fighting outside the pen. ¡°You are a nice, big kitty. We can be friends, right?¡± The Razorclaw seems to think differently and growls at me. ***The World*** ***Rose*** Getting to my feet, I draw my daggers and plant myself between the Razorclaw pen and the rushing attacker. I should get Angrod out immediately, but if the attackers aren¡¯t dealt with, I would just turn my back on one threat to face another. If I haven¡¯t already failed my duty. How did these bastards manage to set up this ambush? I thought our mages were divining every possible angle of attack. I am barely back on my feet when the first of the assassins reaches me. There are several of them rushing me and our bodyguards. Two veer off to intercept me, while the others run straight past towards where Angrod was pushed over the railing of the Razorclaw pen. There are too many to stop them all, even the guards have their hands full. ¡°Everyone who doesn''t need to hold down the guards, go for the prince!¡±, one of them screams. ¡°Bastards!¡± I scream and probe the defence of my opponents. One of my opponents turns around and heads together with others for the pen with the Razorclaws. ¡°No!¡± Having only one enemy to hold me back, I rely on my bloodline trait, straining my muscles to come at him with supernatural speed. Hacking at his face, I simultaneously bring up my knee to kick his groin. No time for fairness! Jerking away from the pain, he manages to slice my cheek with his dagger, but I ignore the surface wound. As he folds, I drive my long, slightly curved dagger through his left ear and into his brain. Pushing the cadaver to the side, I channel my mana into my other dagger and throw it into the back of the assassin who turned his back on me. I realize with a sour feeling in my gut that these people aren¡¯t even properly combat trained, and that we were overwhelmed only thanks to their numbers. Within the next second, I and four of our bodyguards are the only ones left standing. ¡°PRINCE!¡± I rush for the pen and take a look over the fence, fearing the worst. Amidst the artificial dunes is a scene of carnage! Everywhere are bodyparts and blood ¨C and I sink to my knees, searching for a child¡¯s body. Then I see the prince, sitting beside a Razorclaw which is gnawing on a dead assassin, pulling the guts out of the dead man¡¯s belly, slurping them up like noodles. A litter of baby-Razorclaws is bumbling around among the corpses, almost cute in a terrible kind of way as they try to get their own piece out of this feast. Only one of them, the smallest, doesn¡¯t seem to have any interest in food. Instead, it decided to roll up into a little doughnut on the prince¡¯s lap. ¡°Get me OUT! These things are fucking scary!¡± he screams with tears in his eyes and blood all over him. I hold out my hand to stop him from doing something foolish, like running away. ¡°D- Don''t move! They only attack movingprey or anything that¡¯s running away! We will get you out as soon as possible!¡± I shout. Oh by the goddess thank you, he is alive! Maybe the Queen will not rip off my head today! ¡°I know! I read the fucking sign! That doesn''t change the fact that I will have nightmares for weeks!¡± ***The World*** ***Angrod*** I am back at the royal embassy where my parents set up quarters, and surprisingly enough, I am alive! By the River of Souls! I thought I was a goner when I looked down the throat of Mama Razorclaw! But then all those brave assassins jumped down into the pit and distracted the thing with their bodies as they came at me. After they drew its attention, the big Razorclaw mowed them down like grass. I will be sure to give them a memorial for saving me. They are true heroes! Had they just stayed outside the pen, I would have been so dead! Trundling along the embassy¡¯s hallway behind Rose, she suddenly stops and turns around, eyeing me warily. Or rather the thing in my hands. Stretching out her hands, she gestures with her fingers. ¡°Give.¡± ¡°No!¡± I press the kitten to my chest. ¡°He is my familiar.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t even ask how you got to learn a Familiar-Bond spell, but you can¡¯t meet the rulers of Stricc like you are looking now. I¡¯ll take care of your familiar and you quickly make yourself presentable. You can have it back afterwards.¡± I caress the soft, white fur of the albino Razorclaw, hesitant to give him away. Or maybe her? I have to check before I choose a name. Rose shudders. ¡°How can you pet that thing if it could turn its fur into needles any second? The queen will hang me once she finds out what happened.¡± I grunt, feeling bad for Rose. She is right that Ireth and Nicol will sever a few heads when they learn how badly their operation went. I doubt they would have set up my excursion if they believed that there was a real chance of me coming so close to dying. ¡°I am sorry, Rose¡± I hand her the little monster and run off to clean myself and put on new clothes. When I return barely five minutes later, Rose is already playing with my familiar, offering it a finger to play with. I want to comment on her awfully quick change of opinion, but she immediately compliments me on my speed and ushers me onwards towards the embassy¡¯s living room where we greet my parents. Ireth gives Rose a deadly glare, apparently having somehow heard of the minor disaster. At least she didn''t see me in my previous state, covered with blood and guts. She would have freaked out. Ireth gestures for us to stay put. ¡°Wait here. We will go and get the Striccs. And a little present for you, Angrod.¡± She smiles at me. So we wait. ¡°Do you know what they meant by ¡®present¡¯, Rose?¡± I ask. ¡°No... hic,¡± Rose answers with a miserable voice while petting my familiar. ¡°I¡¯ve seen that expression on her in the past. Ireth only looks like that when people are about to get fired!¡± I pat her back. Mother can be really scary sometimes. Rose didn''t get beheaded physically, but mentally she was chopped to pieces just by eye-contact. ¡°It will be okay. As soon as I get the opportunity, I will tell her the heroic story of how you saved me from those things!¡± I point at the kitten in Rose¡¯s hands. Then I wince. ¡°Okay. Maybe not that one. We will show her its mama.¡± Aside from my parents, Rose is something like family to me, so I won¡¯t let her hang over something that was planned by my parents in the first place. ¡°If you get fired over something that Father made you do, it would be a dick move.¡± Rose smiles at me, thankful for the pep talk. Then the doors open and my parents enter the room, interrupting my moment with Rose. They are followed by the rulers of Stricc, who I already know from pictures and magetech recordings. I was also present when they greeted each other at the airport, but everything was just hush-hush, and I got led away by Rose and the other servants right away. Arthur Stricc looks older than my father and leaner, but his face shows a confident expression. There is a little scar above his right eye, hinting that he isn¡¯t above violence. Unlike my father, who has just two little stumps above his ears, a single horn is jutting out of Arthur¡¯s forehead, showing his demonic bloodline. Katrine Stricc looks very similar to my mother, just that her horns are blue instead of obsidian black. She is small, but incredibly beautiful, with a lean face and curves in all the right places. She also shares her hair-colour with her daughter. A little redhead of a girl of about my age is with them, led by Katrine¡¯s hand. Ireth takes the lead regarding introductions. ¡°Let me reintroduce you. This is my son, Angrod, the first Prince of Tirna. And these are the rulers of Stricc. Arthur Stricc and Katrine Stricc.¡± Mother pulls me in front of the girl so that we have to confront each other. Halting in front of the girl, I narrow my eyes, stretching out my senses. That aura seems so familiar. I also know those eyes, but from where? ¡°And this is the First Princess of Stricc. Celes of Stricc, your fiancee!¡± A heavy silence falls on the room as Celes and I lock eyes with each other, neither of us willing to back down or look away. Tilting my head, I study the strange absence of any mana around the girl. She could as well be a magical dud, but given everything I heard about our bloodlines, that¡¯s practically impossible. Unless¡­ a master practitioner of internal magic would be able to pull in all his energy, conserving all of his power. Then I remember. ¡°Myrm!¡± ¡°Ascathon!¡± We call out each other¡¯s identities at the same time, only to have silence settle onto the room once again. My eyes wander over Myrm as I try to make sense of the situation. Myrm, God of Order is now a little girl. Opening my mouth, I point at him¡­ her¡­ but nothing intelligent comes to mind. Then I crack and start laughing from my heart. ¡°Bwahahah. HAHA, AHAHAHA!¡± I can''t hold it anymore. I stand there and laugh as I point at the princess who was dressed up in a pink princess-doll-dress. Seria really pulled a stunt with this one. ¡°AAARRRRRGGH!!!¡± Myrm screams, her voice pure humiliation, as he/she? Tackles me with her whole body. Both of us go to the ground with her on top. Still laughing, I notice something shiny in her hand, as she raises the h¡­ h¡­ HAIRPIN!? *STAB* *STAB* *STAB* ¡°OWWWW!¡± I howl in pain as both pairs of parents separate us. But not before I got a fistful of Celes¡¯s red hair ripped out. ¡°I will get you back for that!¡± I scream. ¡°You are dead! You hear me! Dead!¡± Myrm did more damage in five seconds than twenty assassins which couldn''t even scratch me! Someone holds a hand in front of my mouth and I bite! Then my mother howls, while a similar scene happens across from us with Arthur and Celes, only that she buried her hairpin in his thigh in her attempt to get to me. ¡°Enough!¡± Nicol bellows, giving me a slap strong enough to return me to my senses. Ow! It hurts! I am bloody all over again, but this time it''s my blood. What a day! Slowly, with both Celes and me subdued, the room returns to normal with Ireth nursing her hand and Arthur delicately pulling a hairpin out of his flesh, then studying the thing like it was a murder weapon. ¡°I think your torment has begun,¡± Rose whispers from her spot at the entrance, eyes wide after witnessing two toddlers laying down the carnage. Chapter 6 ***The World*** ***Celes*** ¡°Let me go!¡± I flail impotently at my mother who is holding me in a headlock. ¡°If I just had a properly proportioned body! Ascathon would be dead right now! I would have nailed my hairpin straight through his eyeball into that stupid brain of his!¡± Switching position, Katrine grinds one of her knuckles into my temple. ¡°Aiieee!¡± I let out an agonized shriek when she hits that exact spot where a vein can be pressed against the bone of the skull. My mother mercilessly massages the spot like an expert, popping the vein back and forth underneath her knuckle. No matter how much mana I circulate through my skin, in my current form I can¡¯t even begin to prevent or mitigate that kind of damage. I buck against her, but she doesn¡¯t let go no matter what I do and after suffering her punishment for over twenty seconds, the fight goes out of me. Both my parents carry me over to a chair and tie me to it with a rope, coiling the strongcord around me. They tie several knots just to be sure that I won''t escape. The process continues until I look like a tied up caterpillar and can¡¯t move aninch. Katrine¡¯s stern expression tells me that she is pissed and Arthur looks like he¡¯s about to bend me over his knee. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s enough, Love.¡± Arthur gestures for Mom to step back and proceeds to cast several barriers and binding effects on me, pumping enough mana into the enchantments to pin down several mages of average level. ¡°You have some explaining to do, little miss!¡± Katrine waves a finger at me threateningly. I don¡¯t answer. Instead, I clamp my jaw shut and focus mygaze on my knees, ignoring the trickle of blood that¡¯s running down my forehead. Ascathon ¨C that bastard ¨C managed to rip out a fistful of my beautiful hair! He must have torn the skin in the process. I blink the blood away and circulate my mana through the areas which are hurting the most. He also got a good kick in as a parting gift when we were separated, though I doubt he noticed it with all the flailing around. I am no good with healing magic and head wounds bleed like a bitch, but circulating my mana may help the blood to coagulate faster. Katrine sighs. ¡°Heal!¡± A wash of invigorating mana floods through me and I feel the little aches on my body vanish. I notice that Ireth and Nicol gave Ascathon a similar treatment to the one I received, just with the little difference that they also gagged him. Seeing that, I smirk. Having us secured, our parents step up to each other. ¡°I am so sorry. I really thought this would go over better,¡± Ireth apologizes, wringing her hands. Arthur shakes his head. ¡°There is no need. We assumed that something like this could happen. It just means that we have to be extra vigilant from now on.¡± ¡°I suggest some radical educational measures,¡± Nicol hisses out from between grinding teeth. ¡°Ah, so they are really reincarnated souls, justlike the Goddess suggested. Do you think all the religious stories are true? Because if they are really the primal forces of Order and Chaos, I don¡¯t see how this arrangement will ever work out.¡± Katrine gestures at us. ¡°I am more worried about the fact that neither of them told us the truth,¡± Arthur mumbles. ¡°It''s not like we gave them anything but love, at least I hope so. But if there was any doubt before, then there is none now. They even used the names of their past identities.¡± My father looks at me, a plagued expression on his face that hurt me far more than any physical punishment. I look down, feeling ashamed that I never trusted my parents enough to tell them the truth. Maybe this wouldn''t have happened? If they had known about the spawn of evil, they wouldn''t have tried this setup! ¡°It will work!¡± Ireth proclaims with confidence in her voice. ¡°There is no ¡®else¡¯. They are our children, and no matter their past, their education is in our hands.¡± I look up, shocked. What''s wrong with that woman!? How could anyone come up with ''that'' conclusion after such an incident!? Her expression changes, turning cold and sending a shiver down my spine. ¡°It just means that we have to re-evaluate our methods and answer their excesses with a suitable response of our own.¡± She looks at her son and then at me. ¡°Maybe we should discuss this where they cannot overhear us.¡± They file out of the room, leaving me alone with my arch-enemy. All I can do is to shoot the glare of death at him, but Asca¡­ Angrod doesn¡¯t even acknowledge my existence. His eyes are fixated on the wall as he chews on the piece of cloth in his mouth. Come to think of it, from where did they get the rope so quickly? Did they store it nearby, just in case something like this would happen? A slight movement draws my attention, and I notice that the maid stayed in the room, managing to perfectly blend into the background. ¡°Hey, you!¡± I address her. ¡°Free me!¡± She shakes her head. ¡°You got Ireth angry, and I already screwed up today. If I am not already going to be fired, freeing you would mean that she sees to my execution!¡± ¡°What!?¡± I gasp. ¡°What kind of screwed up bitch is that woman?¡± I look at Angrod who is still brooding. Should I feel sorry for him to have ended up with such a mother? I don''t get the time for anything else, because that¡¯s the moment when the door opens and our parents return. Arthur and Nicol don¡¯t say a word as they pick Angrod and me up, chairs and all. Then we are placed back on the ground, facing each other with the window front to my left and the door to the right. Ireth claps her hands together to gain our attention while Nicol takes the gag out of Angrod¡¯s mouth. ¡°Alright, kids! Your first lesson will be to live and to let live. You two are going to settle your dispute here and now ¨C with words. Take whatever time you need.¡± I snort, my defiance rekindled by that woman''s proclamation. ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen!¡± ¡°Oh, but it will,¡± Mom says as she casts a mana suppressing Hex on Ascathon and me. ¡°Because you are going to stay here until you have agreed not to harm each other. You won¡¯t leave the room until you¡¯ve sworn an oath on your souls that you will live together like civilised people.¡± ¡°I can wait.¡± Angrod smiles. ¡°If need be, you will stay here until you grow a beard,¡± Ireth doubles up on her threat with a sweet voice. Something in Angrod¡¯s expression changes, telling me that he thinks his mother is perfectly capable of pulling through with such a threat. Nicol clears his throat. ¡°Listen, you two, I don''t know how much of the religious mumbo-jumbo is true or not. Or if Seria is just pulling us over the table. But as long as you aren''t talking to us, we have no choice but to operate on assumptions. Which means that you two are going to learn to deal with each other. Whether it''s your past or the here and now, you two are two sides of the same coin. There is no ''one without the other''.¡± With that, they leave the room, allowing me to continue needling Ascathon with my eyes. He ignores me. I try to move, but the tight bindings make it impossible and as time goes on, I become more and more fidgety. My current body has a serious case of ADHD. It''s almost impossible for me to sit still for hours on end.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Hours pass, and he continues to ignore me! Damn! This is the worst torture they could do to me! I have to do something, even if it means talking to him! ***The World*** ***Angrod*** As we are both constrained to our chairs, there isn''t much to do, so I bide my time, going through mental exercises. After the disaster of our introduction, the decision of forcing us to interact came as a shock to me. Honestly, how could our parents ever expect us to make peace after what just happened? If anything, it''s only proof that coexistence would be a bother at best, eternal torture at worst. Throwing us into a pit and to wait until one emerges would have been kinder. And those ropes... I get that they are afraid of us killing each other ¨C rightly so ¨C but they bound us like in a bad bondage movie. On top of that, they laid down enough magical restrictions to immobilize an adult magician of considerable strength. And telling us that there would be no getting out of this without us making peace... I am afraid that Ireth really meant it! It has been seven hours and they didn''t even check on us. I have a serious problem by now, but I will not humiliate myself by pissing into my pants! Never! I will die before I do that. Judging by the way Myrm is fidgeting around, she has the same problem. I just have to be the one who endures longer and I''ll have at least won a psychological victory. I am fine with not speaking to each other, but this is slowly getting ridiculous. The first two hours, we just stared at each other until Myrm broke eye contact to look out of the window. I feel like I won that one. Then I started counting stuff inside the room, just to kill time. For example, there are 2334 dots on the ornamented ceiling. 789 squared timbers used for the wooden floor ¨C at least I think so. That carpet in front of the door is annoying the heck out of me. I hate carpets! There are 543 books on the shelf behind Myrm and 13 birds flew past the window while we were sitting here. I am out of stuff to count. Oh, our parents are devils! Will they let us starve here if we don''t talk? They wouldn''t, or would they? No, we will die of thirst first! How can I get out of this? I take another look at Myrm. Katrine Stricc healed her. I was so close to taking her scalp as a trophy! Once, I was reincarnated among a tribe of really ingenious people, and they taught me a way of ripping off an enemy''s scalp without using tools. It''s all about the right angle and abruptness of force. I sigh. Why is Seria doing this? Does she really intend to turn us into political leaders who are forced to work toward a common goal? I dislike being destined to fulfill someone else''s expectations. Do our parents plan to set up a permanent residence in Midhold? They really intend to set things up, so we have to live together. ¡°If they have enough power to do all of this they should have unified the continent and left me alone!¡± I complain towards myself. ¡°I am not the problem! The people who can''t leave others the fuck alone are!¡± ¡°The rule of this world''s nobility is absolute obedience to the leading house by bloodline. Holding up the traditions and royal governing system is of utmost importance to those families. If our parents told them to follow another country, there is a high chance that it would end up in open rebellion. By having us marry, they can fulfil the prophecy and declare their houses as one. It would be an easy way to unite both states.¡±Myrm smiles at me innocently. Did Myrm just talk to me? Without threatening my life!? ¡°Oh, and I am sorry, I overreacted. If I had managed to keep a cool head and get rid of you in a clean manner, we wouldn''t have to endure this. I''ve heard earlier that you got attacked by assassins? Too bad that they didn''t manage to do their job.¡± Her innocent smile turns cruel and she shows me her teeth. ¡°TCH!¡± I almost forgot that this is Myrm! This is no cute little girl sitting there. Think! It''s A GUY! I want to smack my head into something. ¡°Keep that dirty look to yourself! Just tell me why you laughed like mad at me! Does this dress really look that bad?¡± Myrm asks, looking down at herself. ¡°I knew this colour was too childish. It makes me look like some fairy tale princess.¡± The gears in my head stop. Why does he care about the colour of the dress? The most important point is that it''s a dress, you idiot! You are a girl! Could Myrm really swing that way? ¡°I laughed because you reincarnated as a girl! You have to be very unlucky for that, but it happens sometimes. I guess Seria had a hand in it,¡± I muse. Myrm looks at me agape. Then she closes her mouth, opens it again, closes it. Did I say something silly? Why do I get such a reaction? ¡°I WAS ALWAYS A GIRL YOU MINDLESS BASTARD! Oh Hell! We were at it for millennia and all the time you thought I was a man!?¡± I blink. ¡°What are you talking about? You were a perfect man! Always in full body armour and fighting some stupid battle for justice and order! And all your followers advertised you as a male god!¡± She surely doesn''t want to tell me that I got her gender wrong all this time. Could it be? I think Myrm never actually took his helmet off in my presence. But I should have noticed at some other point when I was talking to the other deities... though... I guess I wasn''t all that sociable... Would they have pointed out my mistake if anyone ever noticed? I guess not, given my reputation. They would have done everything to have to endure one second less in my presence. ¡°They were idiots who got my gender wrong when I took over the position from my predecessor! All the other gods knew I was a female in truth. What''s wrong with you?¡° She starts crying. Oh! Hey, stop that! You''re making me look like the bad guy! ¡°You are an enemy of all womankind! Not every female has to be a big breasted exhibitionist like Seria who wears transparent dresses!¡± She is now in full bickering mode! I don''t even understand how she made that mental leap! ¡°What are you thinking of me!? First, I don''t really believe your story, and secondly, I am perfectly fine with women who have small chests!¡± I can''t let such an accusation stand! A nice ass to grope is more than enough for me. ¡°I have no expectations of an old, perverted, idiotic, anti-feministic geezer inside the body of a child! I am sure you have the best time getting off on your mother, every time you reincarnate!¡± she rages. ¡°Hold it! If I am a geezer, you are a granny! How old are you really!? Maybe you are some hag even twice my mental age! Of all people, you have no right to accuse me of being a geezer!¡± I can do nothing but respond in kind. ¡°I have seen you look at Seria''s ass often enough! You are surely one of those guys who have perverted fantasies around the clock!¡± ¡°Every unbound guy who has a normal brain would turn his head at someone with a figure like hers! Well, be happy that I killed you then! I did you a favour! Most fortunate thing that could happen to you. When I look at your mother, you should have the best genes for the future.¡± Her eyes widen. ¡°Oh my god! You will even go for your fianc¨¦es''s mother. Will you try to bed us at the same time?¡± NO! No, no! That''s not the way I meant it, you stupid bitch! What''s wrong in her brain? There must be some misrouted connections up there. ¡±What do you take me for? Have you ever seen me behave like that!? You, as my dearest enemy, should know me at least enough to acknowledge that I am not some skirt chaser!¡± She silently thinks for a moment, sorting out her memories. It takes some ''Mh-ing'' and ''Ah-ing'', but she finally concludes, ¡°I''ve never seen or heard of you being with anyone in all that time. Though, I am pretty sure that you had least some action with that harem of succubi who you kept at your beck and call. Even a god isn''t above mortal pleasures. Or, do you have some sort of mental problems? Gods should have minds like everyone else.¡± Ahem... I don''t know how to reply. She squints her eyes at me and starts grinning. ¡°I don''t think its because you are something like an epic hermit who has forsaken all worldly desires. Does it have something to do with that title of yours? Little One? Kekeke! I wondered about that.¡± How does she know!? Has she been through my stuff while I was with Rose at the zoo? ¡°NOOOO!¡± I screech with all my might. ¡°It''s surely not like that. It''s because my mother always used it as a pet name. And how do you know my titles?¡± ¡°Oh you are a momma''s boy, I understand. So after my mother and me, you will go for yours too? Or have you already checked that off your list? I must admit that I am a little worried now.¡± She looks up at the ceiling, looking contemplative. She wants to set me off balance. I close my eyes and inhale sharply to center myself. ¡°Myrm! Stop making me do things like that in your mind! I am just a guy who doesn''t like to boast about his relationships. In my opinion, I am a decent fellow! I am not someone who likes to bed every woman who crosses his path. I like my relationships to be mutual. Regarding my social reclusiveness, it''s just that its hard for me to find someone with whom I can have a normal conversation.¡± I am exhausted now. This bickering wears me out. ¡°Stop calling me Myrm! Myrm was a god! I am Celes of Stricc now.¡± She says it like she lost something dear. Her admission makes me pause. I can understand her loss, as I lost the same thing. ¡°Then you have to call me Angrod of Tirna from now on.¡± We stay silent for a long time. It''s the unpleasant ache in my loins that finally forces me to offer an olive twig. ¡°Can we call a truce, for the time being?¡± She gnaws on her lower lip, concentrating hard on something. ¡°Don''t misunderstand. I still hate you down to the bones!¡± Celes glares daggers at me. I have no complaints if she hates me. ¡°Believe me. Your feelings are mutual. Let''s just get out of here and stay out of each other''s way. What do you think?¡± Please say yes. I have to pee! She nods. ¡°Let''s try it.¡± Together, we call for our parents and wait. After an eternity the door opens and Katrine enters the room. Ireth follows after her. ¡°Have you two made any progress?¡± Katrine inquires with a raised eyebrow. ¡°We promise not to kill each other!¡± I call out, barely able to hold back, and Celes nods. ¡°No wounding, maiming or other forms of violence?¡± We nod again and Katrine looks at Ireth. My mother sighs and waves her hand, dispelling the Hexes that were placed on us. Katrine summons a Force spell to her fingertip and cuts through the ropes. The moment the rope falls to the floor I jump up and dash out of the room, down the corridor to the bathroom. As I reach for the doorknob I get shoved by something from behind and fall over. ¡°Argh!¡± ¡°Girls first! Have you learned nothing about manners!?¡± Then there is a door being slammed shut and the click of a lock. I start crying. ¡°I want to kill something! Anything is fine as long as it dies slowly and in pain! Then I''ll revive it and kill it again!¡± Chapter 7 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** I squash one of the strange ants, its carapace resisting my finger for a moment before it yields to the pressure. Sniffing, I realize that I made a mistake. Whatever these things are made of, they stink like a city''s sewage drain in the summer''s heat. Absentmindedly wiping my finger in the garden''s grass, I look up at the blue sun, wondering about the strange nature ofmy new world. There are a sun and two moons, but there are no stars at night. Without the moons, it would be pitch black darkness once the sun is down. Then there are the creatures of this world, all of them looking like failed experiments. Add to that Seria''s religion... and I don''t know what to think. Is this planet the same one where Myrm and I had our fight? It would seem so, but it''s impossible to believe. Why would Seria go through all the trouble of rebuilding a whole world? Ghost meows next to me, the Razorclaw kitten expressively wrinkles its nose and gives me a look that clearly says: ''Don''t dare to pet me with that stinky hand of yours, or I''ll bite that finger off.'' Message conveyed, my familiar rolls itself onto its back and stretches out all four legs, enjoying the sun. Sighing, I pick up a stick from a nearby bush and search for some insects. Then I return to the strange anthill, continuing my investigation ¨C which includes squashing ants and feeding caterpillars to them. Eventually, I decide to poke their hive with my stick, watching the ensuing tumult of ant-bodies flood outside in a vain attempt to defend their home while others start repair-works. Well, they aren''t real ants. I just call them that because they behave like ants and seem to fill the same ecological niche. In reality, they look more like little crabs. If I were proficient at it, I would start a research project to study the genome of the critters of this world. It''s sick how seemingly familiar creatures fulfil an entirely different role. There is no question that it would help to know if something that looks cute is deadly in reality because of some poison. I suddenly realize that what started out as an earnest investigation quickly turned into a cruel game of torment for the victims of my interest. I smirk. This almost feels like I am a normal boy. This is what children my age are supposed to do, playing with bugs... I grumble, the previous high of feelings quickly forgotten. In truth, the whole situation feels like a great step backwards. Playing the game to its ultimate conclusion, eventually, my parents should stop and scold me for hurting a living being. But my mother doesn''t really care about my actions. She is lying in a chair in the middle of the garden, enjoying the sun just like Ghost, my familiar. A few weeks have passed since we settled into Midhold''s embassy, joined by the Striccs. The large complex has two main parts, of which one belongs to my parents, and the other to our allies. There are two large buildings which are connected by several bridges made out of metal and glass. Safely sheltered between them is the large garden which exists for recreational purposes. To be honest, with the size of a football field, it''s more like a park. My eyes stray to Celes who is reading a book with her mother. I have a strange mixture of feelings regarding her. On one side I clearly remember what we did to each other and I want to kill her for it. On the other, I promised her and my parents a truce. It would be all too easy if she were the one to break that truce, but up until now, she did nothing that could be interpreted as a violation of the essence of our agreement. There was a verbal jab here and there, but nothing on the scale of attacking me with that hairpin of hers. Come to think of it, I''ve never seen her without that deadly weapon. She always has it with her, carrying it in a ponytail-knot on the back of her head. Maybe I should make a habit of carrying a knife or some other weapon, just in case. I return my attention to the raging crab-ants, finding a little bit of glee in causing destruction and chaos among them. I know that I am being creepy but it feels nostalgic. Playing with the life of lesser beings, having them move on my whim. It''s like in the good old days when I was a god. That feeling of superiority over lesser beings. Knowing that they can do nothing against me ¨C aside from shooting stinky excretions all around their lair. Suddenly, the wind turns, and I get a full nose of their otherworldly scent. Gasping, I have to retreat a step, beaten by nature. ... how low have I sunk? Feeling stubborn, I ignore the smelly attack and return to my previous position. Being a menace to these creatures distracts me from my headaches. I have had a migraine for quite some time now.It started out slowly but turned worse day by day. By now, it''s an ever present ache in my head. A pulsing pain that keeps me from sleeping properly. Yesterday, it got so bad that I told Ireth about it, but she only studied me and smiled, then told me that everything was okay and that the pain was normal for someone my age. A sign of growing up. All the pestering in the world didn''t get her to reveal what was going on. Celes notices my campaign against the stinking menace and puts down her book, then comes over to take a look at what I am doing. Rose is watching us while doing some gardening, trimming a large rosebush. ¡°You know that you are the worst scum ever for doing that?¡± Celes complains when she sees me stabbing the anthill. She wrinkles her face in distaste. ¡°Also, the look on your face is creepy!¡± She crosses her arms and looks at me like I am some kind of dirt on her shoe, unwilling to come any closer. Probably because she smells the crab-ants. ¡°Why do you do that anyway? Do you get some kind of sick kick from that?¡± For a moment, I play with the thought of throwing a fistful of crab-ants at her, but I dismiss the idea. It would be dangerously close to violating our agreement, and Celes would surely lose her shit. She''s kind of a loose cannon. ¡°Not really, but I have had those headaches for a while now. They won''t go away, despite casting all kinds of healing spells on myself. So I am in a reaallllyyy foul mood right now.¡± I huff and point at the anthill. ¡°And well, they are the ones who are unlucky enough to serve as my chew-toy.¡± ¡°It''s a real blessing for the people of the multiverse that you are no longer a god! After hearing this, I am convinced that you never deserved the job. I am sure you relieved your pent up emotions in the same manner when you were a god. Only in that case, real people had to suffer for it!¡± She pulls a face and touches her temple. ¡°But I feel those headaches too. Maybe we have caught some kind of disease? It sickens me to think that I should have something in common with you.¡± I can''t argue with that. Admittedly, she hit the mark. ¡°Oh my, children sure grow fast.¡± Katrine gets up from her bench. She was watching us while enjoying the greenery. She walks over to Celes and before her daughter can react, Celes gets snatched up by her mother''s tail and has her head inspected. I wisely avert my eyes, not wanting to look like a peeping tom for taking a look beneath a woman''s skirt. Really, can''t they have themselves dresses made that take the tail into account? It''s not like they are lacking the money. I sigh upon seeing Katrine''s casual treatment of her daughter. My own mother is like that too. Everyone, who is weaker than her, is treated like a puppet.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°My cute little daughter is growing up! Having your horns come out. It won''t be long before you two can be introduced to the public,¡± Katrine declares.¡°A few weeks at most, then the transformation will set in.¡± ¡°Ho... Ho... Horns?¡± Celes is flabbergasted. ¡°Angrod is getting his too,¡± Ireth informs Katrine proudly, looking up from her book. ¡°The bloodline is running strong in them.¡± ¡°Wait. What?¡± I drop my stick and retreat from the anthill, awaiting an explanation. ¡°Yes! Around the age of five, everyone undergoes a transformation. Some people get horns or tails like us, depending on how strong the bloodline runs through their veins. When the bloodline is especially strong, further changes can occur. Although, some family lines only go through minor changes.¡± Ireth gestures at our maid. ¡°Like pointy ears. Rose is an example of that. The various bloodlines also give all sorts of traits which show your latent ability. People with the horns and tails of the royal families, are known to possess extraordinary strength and mana reserves. Rose has superior hand-eye coordination and speed. ¡°Celes seems to have inherited the royal bloodline very strongly, like my Angrod. My husband¡¯s royal blood isn''t that strong. So if you don''t shave his head, you can''t see his horns very well.¡± She nods sagely. ¡°I always tell him to shave and go for bald in order to stop the rumours that I married outside the bloodline, but he just doesn¡¯t listen.¡± She sighs. ¡°Males of the royal lines have horns and slit pupils, if they have inherited our blood strongly. Females have horns and grow a tail if their blood is strong. The fact that both of you are already starting to change surely means that you will both go through the full change. Kya! I can''t wait! Celes will look cute with a little tail!¡± Her mother hugs Celes even tighter and the girl turns all shades of red in her arms. I can¡¯t help but cheer on the woman. Yes! That''s it! Crush her with your stupid strength! Katrine must have the same control problems as my father. Wahaha, I can almost see Celes¡¯s eyes pop out. ¡°Ta... Tail?¡± Celes¡¯s expression turns desperate. It seems like she doesn''t favour the idea of a tail. I can understand that. If you reincarnate with a hugely different body from your first, you always have an uneasy feeling about it. On the other hand, it¡¯s just a tail. There is worse stuff out there. I suddenly notice that my vision is a little blurry. Hmmm, slit pupils mother said? Shit! Blinking and squeezing my eyes shut, I try to focus my vision, but that only makes it worse. And then my eyes start hurting too! This world is crazy. Is there nothing like normal biology here? Hippogriffins and stinky crab-ants! Not only the animals are fucked up, but the people are too! While I am occupied with myself, one of the guards enters the garden. ¡°My Queen! Your father has arrived and will be here shortly! He expressed that he wishes to see you as soon as it is convenient.¡± ¡°Oh, okay!¡± Ireth gets to her feet in order to follow the guard and Katrine drops Celes. My archenemy immediately gets to her knees and crawls away from her mother, sweat on her forehead. ¡°Whoho, that looks creepy, did she break some of your bones? With that level of creepiness, you would instantly get employed to most horror movies!¡± I comment with a grin on my face, annoyed that my hampered vision doesn¡¯t allow me to enjoy my enemy¡¯s humiliation. Celes just hisses at me like an animal, and I take a cautious step back. She has already proven herself to be a hothead who charges in at the slightest provocation. ¡°Children!¡± Katrine chides us, noticing the hostility. ¡°Be nice to each other. You can meetAngrod''s grandfather for the first time! I heard that he spent a long time hunting down Tirna¡¯s revolutionaries, so don''t spoil this moment.¡± Turning, she rushes off to greet our elder. ¡°Heal meee...! Angroood!¡± Celes crawls towards me with tears in her eyes, holding her shoulder! I turn my attention to her and notice with shock that her arm looks somewhat dislocated. Note to self, don¡¯t allow Katrine to hug you under any circumstances. ¡°Nope! You should learn some healing magic for yourself. That shoulder sure looks dislocated.¡± I won''t help her. I still hold grudges against Celes and the parents will surely heal her once they return. If she is in pain a little longer, this will make my day! ¡°You know that I was never good at healing! It''s just not my forte. If you don''t heal me, I will do something you won''t like for sure!¡± She is wriggling on the floor in pain by now. ¡°If those parents from hell do anything to you, I will also look away!¡± I sigh. As nice as it is to see her suffer, a little help against the adults would come in handy. ¡°Fine, but you owe me one if I do this!¡± I stand up and grab her arm, pushing her with her belly onto the floor. Then I place a foot on her shoulder blade and start pulling. ¡°WHAT?¡± Celes complains. ¡°Just use a heal! This is barbaric!¡± ¡°Never said I would heal you in a manner that won''t hurt! And besides, using advanced healing magic would burn out my measly mana reserves. No offence, but you aren¡¯t worth adding mana fatigue to my headache,¡± I explain casually. ¡®SNAP!¡¯ ¡°MMGGNGNMMMN!¡± Celes bites her teeth together and hits the ground with her free hand. She refuses to scream. Very brave, but pointless in my opinion. ¡°Heal!¡± I patch her up with basic magic, something she could have done by herself if she had had the courage to set her shoulder by herself. ¡°Hmm. Your mother¡¯s hugs sure are equal to the love she feels. Why didn''t you tell her that she is hurting you?¡± ¡°Because she would feel bad about it. She is already worried about showing affection as it is, and I like her too much to forsake that.¡± Or you are just a masochist? I shrug and help her to her feet. ¡°Anyway, it sure felt good to step on you. I could make a habit out of this. Maybe we can do this again some other time?¡± I muse to myself and nod. She lets go of my hand and wipes herself as if she touched something slimy. Her glare tells me that my worth just dropped another step downwards. ¡°Let¡¯s avoid doing that.¡± Then she furrows her forehead. ¡°Just now it sounded like you also never met your grandfather. Why is that? We are five, going to six by now! Most of my relatives at least paid a visit to the main family.¡± Celes pushes a strand of red hair out of her face. ¡°Well. As far as I know, my father¡¯s parents are dead. And my grandmother, from my mother¡¯s side, is dead too. They all died together with my siblings in the same attack. Some kind of suicide bombing I was told. ¡°The official story is that my grandfather, Nicosar of Tirna, went for a complete inspection of all fortresses and border crossings, suspecting that the murderer came over the border. It looked like the guys who were responsible for the attack came from Stricc, soNicosar tried to find out how they got through the border control. There are about 4000 minor checkpoints, fortresses and towns along the border. If you take a day of your time for each one, you have your hands full for quite some time. ¡°The truth is that he used the story to go undercover. My parents knew all along that the border was a ruse, aimed to distract from the real culprits who were most likely dissidents from within our own country.¡± Celes nods, satisfied with the explanation. ¡°It still feels pointless with the current changes in policy, he could have stopped his mission and returned earlier.¡± Just at that moment, mother comes back. A geezer with grey hair is with her. He has the same horns as her, though one of them is broken. Behind him, a racoon¡¯s tail is slowly waving left and right. Nicosar also leans onto a walking stick, which he puts down at seeing us. ¡°Hahaha! My grandson! How much I wanted to see you!¡± He grins as he walks over and picks me up to hold me in front of him with powerful hands. That grip! I have a bad feeling about this! It reminds me of Nicol. ¡°Grandfather! I greeEEE eee EEE eee EEE eee EEE!¡± He threw me up! I turn at least five somersaults before I get caught by one foot again, my face only centimetres away from the ground. Oh, no. Now I know from where Dad got his roller-coaster habits. Upon noticing Celes, Nicosar drops me to the ground where I start retching. I am not well, not well at all! Being flung into the air like some toy is my weak point! But the disorientation overshadows the pain of my headaches. Damn it! Now I am tempted to ask him for more. ¡°Hahaha! You will have special training from tomorrow on, grandson. I will make a real Tirna noble out of you! Who do we have here?¡± He starts over to Celes who takes a step back and looks at him with a wary expression. Suddenly, he kneels down and massages her hips, pinching her sides a little. Grunting in appreciation, he stands up again. Celes herself is frozen solid and doesn''t move a muscle. For a second, it seems like the world around her is standing still. I hold my breath, anticipating the eruption of Mount Celes. ¡°Hmm, yes, yes. That''s good! The potential is there. You will be able to have many heirs. We need many of those.¡± He nods earnestly. PUNCH! ¡°Ugh!¡± STAB! POP! ¡°aaAAAieeee!¡± Drop! STOMP! KICK! KICK! KICK! It was so fast, I almost didn''t get all of it. As soon as he stood again, she punched him in the groin, seeing her target just at the perfect height for a five-year old. Unsurprisingly, Nicosar went to his knees, folding over like a twig. At the same time, she unsheathed her hairpin from her stuck-up hairdo and stabbed it into his left eye ¨C which was now within reach. With the other hand, she popped out his right eyeball, relying on inner mana manipulation for superior strength, far beyond what a child like her should be capable of. While Nicosar went down completely, covering his eyes and squealing like a pig, Celes dropped the eyeball and then crushed it with her right foot in an imperious manner. It was almost like saying that this man didn''t even deserve laying his eyes on her. That done, she started kicking him with her left foot. There was not even the slightest hesitation in her reaction! Phew! I am so glad that our parents negotiated a ''no violence'' contract between the two of us. Then my mind starts working again and I realize what Celes did! This could become a real diplomatic issue! I can already see tomorrow''s headlines in the newspaper: ''Stricc Princess permanently blinds valued military leader of Tirna!'' ¡°AAAAhahAhahAHAHAHAHAHAHA!¡± Nicosars scream transforms into a mad laugh as he and all the blood dissolves into white mist. Reforming behind a wide-eyed Celes, completely unharmed, the old codger throws her over his shoulder like a kidnapper. She struggles, but can''t resist his strength. I quickly re-evalute my opionion of him. This guy is bad news! Seeing his attention turn towards me, I try to run, but get grabbed by the collar of my shirt. ¡°Blergh!¡± is the only noise I can produce as I am abruptly pulled backwards. ¡°This is good material, Ireth! I will be sure to make real nobles out of them. Then we will have no issues introducing them to the other houses!¡± Chapter 8 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** Celes and I are sitting next to each other in the embassy¡¯s study, facing Nicosar who is waving a chalkboard in our faces. ¡°I feel humiliated,¡± I mumble and Celes nods. She looks at me, disbelief written all over her face. ¡°Do you think that he is for real? Or is he just trying to mess with us?¡± ¡°Come On! Say it with LOVE!¡± Nicosar closes in but stays well outside Celes¡¯s range. I smirk. ¡°Even if he is just messing with us, he learned his lesson when you went to town on him.¡± Celes reaches for the chalkboard, but Nicosar is too quick and pulls it back. ¡°Ah, ah, ah! I won¡¯t make the same mistake twice. Why don¡¯t you make it easy on yourselves and take an active part in your lessons?¡± Too bad. It was too hilarious when Celes managed to snatch the chalkboard out of Nicosar¡¯s hands and bashed him with it. Looking down, I study the heavily enchanted chains around Celes¡¯s and my ankle. They are connected to an iron ball, ensuring that the two of us can¡¯t run off in different directions. ¡°Angrod is my ONE and only ONE!¡± Nicosar chants in a creepy voice. Upon getting no reaction, he addresses Celes again. ¡°Say at least: I love you! For starters!¡± ¡°I l- l- lov- y- ou. I guess,¡± Celes stammers with a cramped up face while looking at me. ¡°Okay. We will work on the stuttering. The expression comes second,¡± Nicosar states, grinning at having achieved at least a small victory. ¡°Now you Angrod! Say: I love you! I would lay the world at your feet if you asked me for it!¡± Nicosar¡¯s eyes gleam feverishly and he wriggles his body in a creepy way. ¡°I shove you! I would slay the world and throw the cadaver to your feet, so you trip over it!¡± SMACK! Ow! Nicosar hit me with the chalkboard. Again! My head already hurts so much from the approaching transformation and now that old bastard is using violence on me. Wincing, I reach for my temple and massage it. I think my brain is splitting apart! Nicosar looks at the broken chalkboard and sighs, then drops it onto the pile of broken chalkboards in front of my feet. Our lessons have been going on since this morning and the pile has grown until it almost reached my knees. He takes a new chalkboard out of a chest and scribbles something onto it. ¡°Okay. Let''s try that again.¡± He faces us and nods to me while waving the board.
??????????????????? ?¡°I LOVE YOU CELES!¡±? ???????????????????
Tears are dripping from my eyes, but not because I am crying. My tear ducts started leaking ever since the whole transformation-thing began, blurring my vision. There is nothing I can do about it. I know that giving in to Nicosar''s spiel is just the first step to my doom, but by now I think it''s easier to say a few damned words than to endure this torture any second longer than necessary. ¡°I love you Celes,¡± I whisper, giving up. I don''t want to get another board smashed onto my head. It just makes my headaches worse. There is an aching pain as if someone is slowly pushing two screwdrivers into my eyes, while a mixer is mashing up my brain! ¡°YES! That''s the emotion! You got that across just right!¡± The pervert wipes the board and steps in front of Celes, scribbling something. Celes blushes and looks down at her legs which are almost completely covered by another pile of broken boards. ¡°M- my dearest one! Take me here and now!¡± Something in her voice touches me, and I have the sudden urge to rip off Nicosar¡¯s head. Oh my god! What am I thinking? Protecting Celes? That¡¯s a big no-no! The headaches and the stress are at fault, impairing my decision making. Yes! That''s it! ¡°Oh! You are starting to get damned good at this! Hmhmhmm. We should start working on the physical part too?¡± Nicosar muses to himself. That causes me to freeze up. What do you want to make little children do, you sicko? ¡°What''s the point of this anyway, old pervert!? I thought you wanted to train us!¡± Celes asks with empty eyes. ¡°Am I not training you? On your graduation party, you two will have to be convincing enough for the guests. You will be scrutinized by every noble with a name and power. There can be no doubt that this thing between Tirna and Stricc can work out, or chaos could be the consequence!¡± Nicosar states, his creepy demeanour suddenly gone and replaced with total earnestness. ¡°If one of the larger houses manages to make a convincing case that this bond won''t work out, they could try to seize power. That would mean civil war for both Tirna and Stricc. You two have to be the perfect pair to the public and present a united front as the future rulers of the world!¡± ¡°What about our physical training?¡± Celes asks. ¡°We are children. It''s not healthy to be locked up in a room all day.¡± ¡°Pfff! No need for that! Both of you have royal blood. That means that your bodies are the strongest you can get in this world and you will always be in top condition. But the strongest bodies in the world won''t help us if we are poisoned or bombed by some asshole. Also, with everyone running amok, we can''t be everywhere. So, you two will be here until you can convince everyone that you were made for each other.¡± Nicosar stops his tirade. Then he puts on a smile and waves the chalkboard in our faces. ¡°I will train my magic like mad! And then this pervert will burn!¡± I mutter to myself. I am really, really mad right now! Nicosar is going a step too far in this! ¡°Hahaha, you are a hundred years too early for that!¡± Nicosar grins. Celes forces a smile to her face, then looks at me. ¡°We will see, Angrod, I would gladly give you a hand against the pervert!¡± I regard her, thinking. She is my enemy, but Nicosar is also my enemy. I also already have a truce with her, but none with Nicosar. It goes against my principles, but this indeed might be a case of the enemy of my enemy being my friend. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°YES! A mutual goal! The first step on your path to love!¡± Nicosar cheers, seemingly not noticing that he is the one we intend to team up against. That was the last straw! Who does he think he is? This guy needs to be taught a lesson! ¡°On a second thought, yeah, let¡¯s do this!¡± Shifting my eyes, I look at Ghost who is sleeping in the corner of the room and whistle. The little Razorclaw perks up upon hearing me. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see what the two of you can do.¡± Nicosar rubs his hands together, preparing himself for an escape attempt. I return my attention to my grandfather. ¡°Oh, you have no idea what I can do.¡± ***The World*** ***Ghost*** Looking deep into my Servant¡¯s eyes, I feel his mind touch mine and rub all the right spots, promising a thorough cuddling session. It doesn¡¯t take long to consider the offer, and I accept. There is a particularly itchy spot just behind my ear that¡¯s in dire need of scratching. Getting up, I stretch and waddle over to him, eager to receive the promised present. While he is talking with the large two-leg, his mind nudges my attention towards the pieces of metal which are dangling on the large two-leg. They are all shiny and twinkly, but more importantly, my servant sends me a mental picture of how one could play with this toy and receive a lot of tasty food. The mind-picture also suggests that it makes interesting sounds when the toy is moved around quickly. Almost like p- p- prey! ***The World*** ***Celes*** I bite my lower lip as the little kitty¡¯s attention wanders back and forth between Nicosar and Angrod. It¡¯s so cute and I really want to pet it, but the stupid animal never even looks my way. I already tried several times to gain its affection, but nothing worked. If nothing else, I have to admit that the little bastard is a loyal critter to his master.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Then, with a screech, the little furball jumps onto Nicosar¡¯s waist, hacking and clawing away at the set of keys on the old man¡¯s belt. Gasping in shock, Nicosar tries to slap the little monster away, which suddenly turned from a lovely furball into a little porcupine with an identity crisis ¨C thinking of itself as some kind of butcher¡¯s tool. Razor-sharp claws sink easily through Nicosar¡¯s blue uniform, while little teeth sink into flesh, entirely too close for comfort to the old man¡¯s jewels. I wince as Nicosar¡¯s slap doesn¡¯t achieve the intended effect. Instead of slapping Ghost off of him, he hits the Razorclaw¡¯s fur and his hand stays stuck. The beautiful pelt of fluffy, white hair turned into countless needles, each about ten centimetres in length. And Nicosar impaled his palm on several of them. Screeching like a girl, he wrenches his hands away, breaking off some of the needles. Amongst the chaos, Angrod reaches out and Nicosar¡¯s keys fly into his hand. Quickly, my accomplice gets up and unlocks the cuffs which chain us to the big iron ball. I am out of my seat as soon as the chain is off. ¡°Quickly! We have to get away before he can do his mist-thing and reassemble himself!¡± Running towards Nicosar, I leap and bring both my legs forward, hitting his knee with a satisfying ¡®crunch¡¯. His leg folds the wrong way and the pervert¡¯s scream takes on a new level of urgency. I quickly get back up and flee the study. Nicosar topples sideways and Ghost jumps off, following Angrod and me. We run down the hallway, then up a set of stairs into the servant¡¯s quarters where we hide in a storeroom. Thankfully, Angrod picked up his familiar once we were outside the study. Otherwise, a set of bloody paw-prints would have led Nicosar right onto our trail. Sinking down onto my ass, I catch my breath. ¡°That old codger is raving mad!¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Angrod sits down, leaning against the closed door of the storeroom, while Ghost starts cleaning his fur from the blood. The kitten looks like someone dumped a litre of blood onto it. ¡°You probably shouldn¡¯t use your familiar like that,¡± I suggest. ¡°What if he gets hurt?¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Angrod knocks his knuckles onto Ghost¡¯s forehead. ¡°Razorclaws have an exoskeleton beneath that spiky fur. I¡¯ve read up on it after getting him. He can take a lot before he is hurt.¡± I raise an eyebrow, studying the purring animal. ¡°Do I want to know what they hunt to be in need of such a physique?¡± Angrod just pulls down the corners of his mouth. ¡°Nope.¡± I sigh. ¡°So, what do we do now? I am already bored.¡± ¡°Now we wait and hide until Rose is back. And then we beg her to hide us even longer!¡± Angrod reaches for his head and winces. ¡°Say, has the pain been getting worse for you too?¡± I touch my temples and my backside, right above my ass. ¡°Yes! I learned to endure it, but it¡¯s almost unbearable by now. How about you?¡± ¡°I-¡± He blinks, tears running down his cheeks. Then he reaches for his temples and suddenly starts twitching, a tremble running through his entire body. ¡°Angrod?¡± Was he hurt when we escaped!? Then I realize that it¡¯s the transformation. ¡°Damn it!¡± Why does it have to start now when we are hiding in some closet! Katrine told me to come to her when it starts. I get up, but a bright flame stabs down my spine. It¡¯s as if someone rammed a hot iron into my backside. Then I feel something breaking through my temples and I scream. Crawling towards the door, I try to open it, but I can¡¯t get high enough without toppling over. After the third attempt, I give up and decide that we just have to ride it out. Worst timing ever! ***The World*** ***Angrod*** Of course, the plan of hiding ourselves eternally didn¡¯t quite work out. Thankfully, a maid found us. The next few months were a nightmare! It wasn''t just the board-treatment and us escaping Nicosar on a regular basis. Though, I have to admit that Celes and I got quite good at working together. We had dancing lessons, smiling lessons, lap-sleeping lessons, oh, and not to forget the BIG-HUG lessons in which Celes tried to crush me with her brutish strength. She apologized afterwards, saying that she has no control over her strength. I am really afraid that she will eventually become strong enough to do it for real. Sometimes, even Nicol and Arthur joined Nicosar¡¯s insanity. At least they are better people than Nicosar, but its still far from fun being taught by them. I felt a little masochistic for enjoying my father¡¯s presence, but he is usually busy with matters of the state which means that I don¡¯t get to see him as much as Ireth. At the dancing lessons, Celes and I initially made a sport of trying to step on each other¡¯s feet. Sadly, I have to admit that there wasn¡¯t much conscious effort necessary on my part. I am just bad at dancing. I know, it¡¯s hard to believe, but I never intended to trip Celes into the anthill, having her swarmed by stinky crab-ants. Thankfully, she believed me after I prostrated myself. The last thing I wanted was for our cease-fire agreement to break. The fact that she isn¡¯t actively trying to kill me is the only thing that makes our co-existence possible. After two months, Celes and I were desperate enough to try to kill Nicosar ¨C several times ¨C but we never succeeded. Be it a fatal injury or poison, he just turns to mist and heals up in an instant. The both of us are speculating that Nicosar has some high-level illusion or cloning technique. It''s not magic, but some kind of innate ability he got from his raccoon heritage. One time, I blew up an entire room with him inside. We thought we got him, just to be caned from behind by his walking stick. That was the day we learned that it¡¯s a deadly weapon in his hands. By now, I have realized that we won''t get him. At least not until we have grown-up bodies. He is several levels above us. Like that, the time went by and I lost track of the passing days. Nicosar was drilling us from morning till night with four hours of sleep a day! It was worse than a military boot camp. So it was after a particularly bad day that Celes sat down next to me on the couch in the study, after our evening meal. Holding her hairpin, she pulls a nail file over the metal with an audible ¡®sratch¡¯, sharpening it while muttering something incomprehensible to herself. Suddenly, she turns to face me. ¡°Angrod, I can''t take it any more!¡± Her chin quivers as if she is about to start crying at any moment. Wary of this unexpected development, I edge away from her. I am really not sure if she is for real, or if she is testing her acting skills on me. ¡°Hoh? And what do you want to tell me with that?¡± I sip from the soft-drink which I took with me to the study. ¡°Let¡¯s run away together!¡± ¡°PFFT!¡± I almost spit out everything, thankfully catching most of the liquid with my hand. It takes a second to gather myself and to clean up the mess with the paper of some cheap magazine. ¡°I don''t get it. Why do I have to join you for that?¡± ¡°Because, if you stay here, it will fulfil the prophecy and you will destroy the world. If you are with me, I can have an eye on you!¡± She looks at me. ¡°You know Seria very likely just made that up? She is a strong god, but even the Council has problems with such detailed predictions?¡± I don''t buy that story. ¡°And who judged us? Despite having better things to do?¡± Celes reminds me. ¡°Who started the whole affair by killing my minions?¡± I shoot back. ¡°Why should I do anything you ask of me?¡± She twists her mouth. ¡°For what it¡¯s worth, I didn¡¯t tell my people to start the war. They acted on their own, but I know that there is no way to prove it, and you have no reason to believe me.¡± I think shortly, then shake my head. ¡°You are right that I don¡¯t believe you, but it doesn¡¯t matter whether I believe you or not. Those things happened in the past and we can¡¯t change any of it. Anyway, I wont run, since I happen to like the possibilities that happen to come with being a prince! What happens if I run away in this body? I doubt anyone would take us seriously! ¡°Aside from that, where do you want to go? Everyone can recognize us from afar as royalty! I don''t think you will manage to hide those things on your head for long. Think it through!¡± I point at the two horns which are crowning her head. They did a real growth spurt since they broke through the skin. Starting at her temples, they curve backwards close to her head while splitting up in an admittedly cool pattern. It makes them look like some sort of adornment, but there is no way that people wouldn¡¯t recognize them for what they are. ¡°There is no way to hide that!¡± She winces and touches her horns, remembering the horror we went through thanks to hiding in that stupid storage room. Instead of being knocked out by a sleeping drug, we had to suffer through two hours of the worst pain imaginable before a servant found us. My own horns are a little boring compared to hers. Starting at my temples, they curve straight back above my ears, splitting upwards thrice, like a crown, before the tips stop a little behind my head. If I wanted to, I could probably wear a hat to hide them. No chance with hers, though. My eyes also changed to slit pupils and turned golden. In addition, my canines lengthened somewhat, making it clear to anyone that they shouldn''t provoke me into biting them. Celes¡¯s tail wriggles beneath her yellow dress and draws my attention. She shifts uncomfortably, sitting on it to keep it still. ¡°You really don¡¯t want to go?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Can I see it?¡± ¡°See what?¡± ¡°Your tail,¡± I point. ¡°You''ve been hiding it from me ever since we had our transformation. Did something go wrong with it?¡± ¡°No!¡± She holds down her yellow skirt and fans it out on the sofa, making sure that I don''t get an accidental glimpse. ¡°It¡¯s inappropriate for a girl to show off her tail. That¡¯s all. You should know that!¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Ireth and Katrine have no problem showing off their tails. Come on, show me. We are living together. I am bound to see it sooner or later.¡± Celes presses her lips together. ¡°Promise not to laugh.¡± I nod For a moment, it looks like she would rather continue her spiel, but then she shifts her dress and reveals a long, black tail. I start smiling like an idiot but claw at my face to get my expression back under control when Celes turns angry. Then I clear my throat. ¡°Ahem! It¡¯s¡­ cute.¡± And it is, just like the ones of Ireth and Katrine. But where their tails end in pointy little arrowheads, Celes¡¯s tip is a little more round and formed gentler. It¡¯s still pointy, but certainly not an arrowhead. It rather reminds me of¡­ ¡°Pfff!¡± I can¡¯t hold it anymore. ¡°It¡¯s an Ace of Spades!¡± Whip! ¡°Ow! Stop that!¡± The witch just hit me with her tail! ¡°Hmpf, can''t help it! It tends to do that when I am frustrated,¡± she declares high and mighty. Whip! Whip! Whip! ¡°Ow! I am sorry! Stop it!¡± I block her with my elbow, barely able to hold back my laughter. Hell will freeze over before I believe her that she has no control over her appendage, but I¡¯ll forgive her in this case. I did laugh after all. ¡°Come to think of it... why do you know Seria¡¯s prophecy regarding me in such detail?¡± I ask. ¡°My parents told me,¡± she answers without hesitation. ¡°And why did you know about my title back then? Little One?¡± She hesitates. ¡°I heard it from your mother.¡± ¡°LIAR!¡± I call her out. ¡°Okay! Okay! I investigated your room before our first meeting and found your plate.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I have no bad conscience about it. There wasn''t anything interesting anyway. You are a hermit after all. Just books about magic and science. Do you know that it''s not normal for a guy to hide an encyclopedia under his bed?¡± Celes looks at me with pity in her eyes. ¡°There I wanted to try the girl¡¯s search through the guy¡¯s room ¨C and what do I get?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Apart from that stupid title, Not... A¡­ Thing!¡± It''s on now! ¡°Why am I treated like I have to be some kind of pervert. I have never done anything to deserve this! For all the time I can remember, I have been a nice guy! Fuck it! In my first life, I was even a monk!¡± I shouldn''t have said that! ¡°A¡­ MONK!? Nooow eeeverything is clear to me!¡± Celes grins from ear to ear! ¡°Don''t dare to say something about it! It was a good, nice life!¡± I pause at a new thought. ¡°But if I learned anything from that, living a life of abstinence didn''t get me anything! Those who live their lives as pure perverts are right! No matter what you do, you end up in bad situations anyway¡± I nod to myself. Whip! Whip! Whip! ¡°OW!¡± ¡°Don''t you dare go down that path! As you are already a sadistic idiot, you would lose the last decent point you have!¡± Celes glares at me with hateful eyes. But my thoughts derail completely. ¡°Hoho, maybe I should start right here and now? We are stuck with each other anyway! No loss there, so why haven''t I jumped at the opportunity! You are not really usable yet, but for a test-run, it should suffice, as my body isn''t at its height either!¡± I close in and have a nice feel, groping her. Whack! She slaps me and we go down while wrestling with each other. Something shatters and we roll over the floor. At that moment, the door opens and we freeze. Ireth, Katrine and Nicosar step in. ¡°This isn¡¯t what it looks like,¡± Celes gasps. I am trying to choke Celes with one hand, while she has both legs around me in a suggestive position. With the other hand, I hold her left, which is armed with a hairpin. Using her free hand, she is trying to release herself from my hold. Her tail is entangled around my upper body and neck, trying to choke me in turn. ¡°HoHo!¡± Nicosar puts on a stupid grin while opening one eye wide. ¡°The training didn''t progress like planned,¡± Katrine states. Mother just looks at me with an accusing expression. Celes drops the hairpin and pulls me closer, hugging me! ¡°Wahaha! What are you talking about! My darling and I were just exploring new ways of communication, isn''t that right, my love? So older and wiser people shouldn''t interrupt the young!¡± A shudder runs down my spine! Okay! This! Is! Creepy! ¡°Play along, idiot!¡± she whispers. I hug her in turn and set us in a straight position. ¡°Yes, we just found out about each other''s good points! This is really a big misunderstanding! No need for more training!¡± Celes nods at my chest! ¡°We will see how long you two can keep that act up! Then there will BE punishment. One way, or the other! Both are wrong! You forget that you''re still children!¡± Ireth stabs her finger at us, sealing our fate. Seeing no way out, we both start crying. Chapter 9 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** The days of being sheltered and trained for our future role in society continued in blissful ignorance of the outside world. Our parents did everything within their power to shield us from any exposure to the political factions of the nobility. Whether that was to our own or to their benefit, I couldn''t say, but I wasn''t opposed to taking a vacation from the political schemes of those who thought themselves to be powerful. There were the times of Nicosar''s dreadful instructions, but overall, Celes and I enjoyed a pretty good life. One could have it worse than to get acting lessons four hours a day. When the day of Nicosar''s approval came I almost couldn''t believe it. It felt like we had walked the trail to hell and back. Unfortunately, it also meant that our parents had no further reason to sequester us away from society. They organized a large party to celebrate our tenth birthday and invited members from all noble houses of both countries. The whole thing wasn''t just only meant as our introduction to the public. It also meant that we were ready to visit a semi-private school in order to get a degree and to mingle with our future subjects. ??? I twiddle my thumbs, waiting patiently with Celes in one of the embassy''s private rooms. The festivities are about to start, but Rose saw to it that we would only run around the house once all the guests had undergone a proper screening. In light of the regular attempts on our lives, I couldn''t find faultwith taking precautions. Nicol, Arthur,and Nicosar are also with us. They preached for more than an hour about how important it is to show a good face to the public. This would be our first official appearance and first impressions stay with you for life. "I have a really bad feeling about this," Celes states from her spot on the couch. She is sharpening one of her hairpins. Sometime along the way, it became ahabit of hers. Whenever she is anxious, nervous or bored, she starts playing with her toys. Probably a way to deal with her inability to sit still, though I doubt that the simple metal will last long under that kind of stress test. My eyes are drawn to her weaponry. The hairpins got an upgrade since we were toddlers and are now more like little knives or daggers! As I watch,sheredoes her hair, using the sharpened objects as decorations. ¡°I still don''t get how you don''t cut off your hair each time you do that,¡± I comment, more than a little bewildered by the act. ¡°It''s all about the proper mana circulation,¡± she explains casually. ¡°I...¡± My voice trails off. Wouldn''t she need to circulate mana through her hair to achieve a strengthening effect? I wouldn''t even know where to start doing that. Hair is dead matter without mana channels. The most I can do without my god-aura is some lesser form of stone-skin. She grins at me, clearly feeling like the superior being. I shrug my shoulders, unwilling to admit my shortcomings. ¡°It''s not like I couldn''t achieve a similar effect with a Stone-Skin spell.¡± ¡°Yeah... but you would have to recastthe spell at regular intervals. And using a spell also wastes a lot of mana,¡± she counters. I decide to change the topic, aware that I couldn''t possibly win this argument. ¡°Why do you have a bad feeling anyway?¡± "It''s because my third-grade cousins and their family will be at the party. I heard from my father that their families are pestering the throne to have one of them marry me. It''s been going on ever since they found out about me, but like with you, my parents always refused them access. If I am correct, then they will try to petition directly to me as soon as I am introduced to society.¡± She pulls down the corners of her mouth. ¡°I just hope that they aren''t too distasteful when they offer me a marriage.¡± ¡°I suppose that you will face the same problem,¡± my father informs me with a solemn expression. ¡°No, thanks.¡± I wave my hands. ¡°One arranged marriage is more than enough.¡± Celes scratches her cheek. ¡°There are two cousins of mine who aren''t too different age-wise. Their names are Sarda Meltheim and Senda Meltheim. They should be aboutfourteen and nine years old. Their parents are Mara and Odlef of Meltheim.¡± ¡°According to Katrine they are sure to cause a ruckus,¡± Arthur informs us. ¡°Please do your best to resolve any situation as smoothly as possible. I don''t want the headlines of tomorrow''s newspaper to report some sort of catfight.¡± Nicol shakes his head. ¡°Unfortunately there are people like that from our side too. Angrod, please be wary of the Tulhelm family. Marta Tulhelm and Vaida Tulhelm are their leaders. Iris Tulhelm is a nine-year-old daughter of theirs. They control a large area in the north of Tirna. ¡°It''s hard to keep their power plays in check. If it weren''t for their excellent ability to have others do their dirty work I already would have gotten them for treason several times, but somehow they always come out clean after the investigation. It''s mortifying. In case of a rebellion, I am sure that they would stand in the front lines. If I could, I would execute the whole bunch on suspicion alone.¡± Wow, that''s the first time we have heard so much about politics from our parents. Is the end of the world nigh? Then again, we are about to be exposed to the upper society, which means that nine of ten people have more in common with rats and cockroaches than with decent human beings. Arthur gives me another piece of advice. ¡°Ah, yes. There is also a high possibility that someone will challenge you to a duel if they get the chance. As long as there isn''t a five-year difference in age, they can do it. It''s an easy way to kill you legally! The old code of honour is still in effect among the nobility, so don''t give them an opening by insulting someone.¡± He nods to himself, trying to think of other possibilities of how this could go wrong. ¡°If they challenge you anyway, just refuse! Refusing will cost you a little reputation, but so be it. As long as you stay alive it''s fine.¡± Arthur wears a complicated expression as he tries to think of other things that might turn out to be important. ¡°That''s barbaric!¡± I complainbut wave my hand to dismiss their concerns. ¡°Don''t worry. As long as they don''t force me to fight an adult, I will see to it that I am never challenged again.¡± Celes''s expression turns worried. ¡°I don''t like the sound of that.¡± Nicol scowls. ¡°Listen, young one. You won''t start a fight out there!¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± I nod. ¡°But I will end it.¡± ¡°Hahahaha.¡± Nicosar starts laughing heartily and pats Nicol''s back. ¡°Don''t worry, son. I''ve seen what Celes and Angrod can do at their age. If our enemies can¡¯t pull some fighting genius out of their hat, then Angrod is in no danger. I highly doubt that any child close to his age could beat him in a fight.¡± ¡°I am not worried about him,¡± Celes mumbles. ¡°I am worried that Rose won''t be able to get the stains out of the carpet in the banquet hall.¡± She looks at me. ¡°Try not to kill anyone. Don''t forget that the idiot who might challenge you is a child.¡± Arthur tries to laugh off the matter, joining Nicosar. ¡°Don''t worry. I am sure that we are overreacting. Challenges are an old tradition and hardly used in this day and age. If they try to play that card they won''t get any credit for it from the other houses. And it''s not allowed to deal killing blows to a defeated opponent in a duel, but accidents can happen," he finishes. I grumble to myselfwhile looking out of the window. And there I thought that this evening might actually turn out to be interesting, but it¡¯s all about good, old mortal power plays. "If they are really stupid enough to try something, they will be used as pincushions. I wonder where I should stab first?" Celes¡¯s expression turns scary. ¡°We could also lock them in a room with Ghost and switch off the lights.¡± Arthur sighs at the antics of his daughter, then turns his attention to me. "Please! Just refuse any duels! They are sure to have some nasty trick, maybe even send someone far older than you. Remember that the maximum age difference is five years." Normally, Arthur would be right, but I don''t believe it. An older opponent might have a superior body, but I don''t think that a teenager would be as adept in using magic. As long as I am allowed to use spells, they will show up with fists to a gunfight. Even though Nicosar praised us, the truth is that Celes and I have hardly shown anything of our true capabilities. In the worst case scenario, I would just curse my opponent with something nasty. "Talk of evil and it is bound to appear. And don''t scare the children, they can look out for themselves. Let''s make our entrance. The guests are surely waiting by now." Nicosar ends the discussion and gestures for us to get going. We get up and make our way towards the festival hall. When we enter, I find the large, normally empty ballroom transformed. Now there are dozens of tables and a large, free space for dancing, enough to house about two hundred guests. Impressed, I follow my father¡¯s lead towards a podium. As soon as we step onto the stage where Katrine and Ireth were waiting, a huge amount of people bow to us. Rose is also there, patiently waiting for something that requires her intervention. I take the chance to survey the room with its nicely decorated tables, laden with the finest food. Above the dancing area, the chandelier which was up until now always covered in sheets of cloth is revealed, its gold and diamonds sparkling in all colours of the rainbow. Silently, I admit that whoever set up this party did a fine job. ¡°Guests! The rulers of Tirna and Stricc welcome you to the festivities! Let us celebrate the joining of the ruling houses and thank them for upholding the peace. Today, they introduce to you their heirs. Prince Angrod of Tirna and Princess Celes of Stricc!¡± Rose declares with a strong, clear voice. I force myself to smile and wave to the masses, trying to project kingly confidence, just as Nicosar taught me. Celes also smiles and does a curtsy. Our efforts are rewarded when the masses begin to clap, though I suspect that they would have followed the social protocol even if we had made idiots of ourselves. Suddenly, I don¡¯t want to be here any longer than necessary. Stupid events like this are the worst. I am sure that everyone down there is either a boot-licker or wants us dead. ¡°Then let the festivities begin!¡± Nicol announces and motions for the people to socialize. The masses start to disperse as some people head towards the food and others gather in groups to socialize. On a smaller stage in the corner of the room, a small orchestra starts playing music while some couples use the chance to dance. My parents lead the way off the stage and we start mingling with the crowd. Well, as far as it is possible. Everyone gives the king and his guards at least three meters of space. Our parents nod at us, then head off into the crowd to test out the political waters with the other adults. Surely, they will be busy with entertaining some important people. ¡°I will be off too. Haha, there are many skirts to be chased!¡± Nicosar rushes off leaving Celes and me standing alone in the rain. There are only the four guards who were tasked with our protection, though they are holding a respectful distance, making sure not to be in the way of anyone who might want to approach us. ¡°Hum!¡± Celes grabs my hand and leads me to the dancing area. ¡°We will dance! As long as we do that it will be hard for any idiots to approach us. The less we interact with other kids, the fewer chances for problems to pop up!¡± She is right, they would have to be extremely rude to disturb a dancing couple, so I follow her without question. ¡°Good plan.¡± And so we start a silent dance, smiling at each other. I notice that several of the younger people are throwing careful glances at us. They are clearly waiting for a chance to approach. ¡°We will get wrinkles at a very young age with how much we have to smile,¡± I joke jovially. ¡°That seems to be our fate, my love,¡± Celes answers, playing her role perfectly. ¡°You don''t have to play now. We can''t be heard at this distance anyway," I reply with a lowered voice. We are at least five meters away from any of the other dancers and the music is loud enough to mask our voices. ¡°It¡¯s preferable to stick to our roles, at least as long as we are near people. Just in case.¡± Again, that heart-warming smile. I wish someone else would smile at me like that and actually mean it. Shrugging, I decide to play along and we continue dancing. We are at it for as long as the music lasts. Sadly, it¡¯s a constant of the multiverse that all good things must end. When the musicians take a well-deserved break the people stop dancing. Most join one or the other group of talking people, while others raid the buffet. Celes and I wander off to a quieter area of the hall, hoping that we won¡¯t attract too much attention from the wrong characters. Luckily, most of the other children are too shy and stick to their parents. My companion sighs at my side. ¡°This is boring, as expected. It surely doesn''t feel like this party is meant for us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t jinx it. I am sure that our enemies will make a move when they see the chance. And regarding their reservation, what do you expect? To them, we may be the heirs, but we are also just kids.¡± I shrug. ¡°I doubt that it would be taken well if any of the adults approached us without our parents present. That''s why they left us alone. And their children...¡± I study a girl who is holding onto her mother¡¯s skirt. ¡°Well, they are children.¡± That¡¯s when Celes spots a group of girls and boys around our age and pulls me with her. She sure likes to do that. ¡°May I have a word in this? I am not a pet!¡± I complain.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Hush! As you said, we are children. So wouldn''t it be strange if we aren''t even trying to mingle with our age group? Besides, the kids of today are the patriarchs and matriarchs of tomorrow. It doesn¡¯t hurt to have a good relationship with them," Celes argues. ¡°And I think that I recognize those. They are the offspring of one of Arthur¡¯s supporters. I¡¯ve seen them in pictures. We should associate ourselves with some allies before the crown''s enemies can make a move.¡± I understand, but talking to children while being mentally ahead of them is a pain. I won¡¯t say that I am above childish behaviour, since hormones are hard to overcome. Still¡­ Pulling a face I follow Celes, but slip back into my role when she looks back at me. ¡°Hi, I am Celes and this is Angrod. Can we join you?¡± Celes opens the conversation with the group as we reach them. ¡°S- sure. I am Margerie Cygnus! This is my big brother Stephen Cygnus. We are from Tirna,¡± a little girl of around seven introduces herself and pats the boy who is lurking next to her on the shoulder. He bows to us and introduces himself. ¡°I am Stephen.¡± Both of them have fox ears and tails. Right now I want to know their bloodline abilities, but I am not sure if it would be rude to ask. ¡°I am Sven Hjavars... from Stricc,¡± another boy introduces himself shyly. He is younger than us and has elven ears. Now that I see him from up close I also recognize him. Celes meant him when she mentioned that she recognized some faces, since he visited once with his father. The both of us only got a glimpse of him in the reception hall before Rose shooed us back to our studies. The next girl has a cat tail and fluffy ears. She boldly grabs Celes¡¯s hands to introduce herself. ¡°Tanja Morden here! I amfifteen and also from Stricc! Oh, I wanted to talk to you. I have heard so many rumours about the two of you. Is it true that you have already kissed? How is it to live with a boy? Have you already been in his room? Is it true that the goddess herself...¡± My eyes widen as a waterfall of words spills out of Tanja¡¯s mouth, threatening to drown Celes. I allow myself a devilish grin as I notice Celes¡¯s flustered expression. She surely found the right person to quell her boredom. With the older girl¡¯s relentless verbal assault, Celes doesn¡¯t even get the chance to answer as she is bombarded with a never-ending stream of questions. ¡°Whoa! Are you a meanie?¡± Margerie comments upon noticing my expression. ¡°What do you think about the party? Boring is it not? They really could have set up some games for us kids.¡± I blink and nod upon noticing Rose¡¯s obvious omission. ¡°Yeah, reading a book or playing a game would be more interesting. I suppose they want us to show that we can behave like adults if we have to.¡± ¡°You like reading books? At your age? I like reading the "Science And Magic" journal. It¡¯s from Midhold¡¯s new university! Every year they publish a whole book about their achievements.¡± Margerie starts hopping up and down. ¡°I-¡± I wet my lips, trying to find an appropriate answer. ¡°Isn''t that quite the heavy stuff for someone at our age?¡± ¡°Oh, no problem. We from the house of Cygnus are all very smart from birth! Eidetic memories. I''ll have to show you my laboratory if we ever get the chance! Currently, I am researching a way to levitate stuff without magical devices. It would lessen the strain on resources and the conflict potential between our countries,¡± Margerie replies, smiling broadly. Anyone, help me! There is a bloodline for perfect memories? What are these children!? I notice that I have a prickling feeling in my hand. Celes still has it in her grip, while she smiles at Tanja Morden who is still talking. She hasn''t gotten out a single word with the lanky girl. Worse, her grip on my hand is turning tighter and tighter like a vice! I look down and notice that my fingers are turning blue! ¡°Celes?¡± ¡°Yes, Angrod?¡± ¡°I really like you, but any further and my fingers will fall off. Control your strength!¡± Celes looks down. ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± She abruptly lets go of my hand, which was exactly the wrong thing to do! IT BURRRNNSS!!! ¡°H- H- Heal!¡± Thank the multiverse for this spell! ¡°Honey, I am so sorry!¡± Why are you grinning then? Witch! ¡°Hahaha, you two are funny.¡± Morden is unfazed by the little drama. ¡°Wow! You can use healing magic without a full incantation!?¡± Both Cygnus siblings look at me like they found a new lab rat. Wringing my hand, I hide it behind my back. Judging by their faces, it¡¯s better if they don¡¯t find out that I have no need to recite spells. Constructing a spell-matrix in a half-assed way like I did just now was just to lessen the burden on my concentration. ¡°Hahaha! Yeah, my only good point! My magical affinity is pretty much through the roof for people my age. At least that¡¯s what I was told. Could I excuse myself for a moment to get some cold water over it?¡± With that, I run off to leave Celes to her doom. As soon as I am far enough away, I walk slowly to the toilets, no haste here. My guard follows me at a respectful distance. As I walk, I take another look at the party. Our parents are still talking to the same group of people and they don''t look very happy. As I think about it, I reach the toilets and lock myself inside one of them. Taking my time, I do my business, considering whether it would be feasible to spend the rest of the evening in silent isolation. Unfortunately, my guard knows where I am, and people would come looking for me if I stayed away for too long. With a heavy sigh, I finish up, nonetheless taking my time. A few minutes later I am back at the party, returning to the spot where I left Celes. She is still there with the other kids, but two new faces are with them. They are two boys who look almost identical. Two red horns are stabbing straight upwards out of their grey hair, then sharply angle forwards. Their faces are haggard, meaning that they are likely enduring a lot of stress. One of them seems to be about my age, while the other must have at least three years on me. With those Horns, they are royalty for sure. They are facing off with my companion and her friends, which tells me that the newcomers aren¡¯t exactly welcome. Celes looks really pissed, but her guards apparently don¡¯t deem it necessary to intervene. Judging by her body-language, anyone else would think that Celes is happy with her new acquaintances and perfectly fine. But the fact that she is playing with one of her hairpins tells me that she is planning murder. If I¡¯ve learned one thing about Celes during our time together, then it¡¯s to back off as soon as she touches her stabby toys. Our new friends from earlier look unhappy. As the oldest, Tanja is taking an aggressive stance, while the intellectual twins back her up. Sven, the youngest, is hiding behind all of them. While the two newcomers aren¡¯t openly threatening, they are breaking etiquette by standing entirely too close to Celes. ¡°Come on, we just want to take you to a small date where nobody else can disturb us. Nothing harmful in it,¡± the older boy pressures. ¡°I am sorry, but I am already with company,¡± Celes replies nonchalantly, tilting her head. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a step back? You are a little too close for comfort, considering that we don¡¯t even know each other.¡± While the younger backs off a step, his brother doesn¡¯t get the hint. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we want to spend some time with you.¡± Okay, that¡¯s enough. I should step in and stop this before Celes turns the poor children into shish kebab. I close the distance and rudely insert myself into the discussion. ¡°Hi, I am back! Were you lonely without me?" I ask Celes. For a moment, I play with the thought of annoying her by kissing her cheek, but that would probably end up with bloodshed, given her current mood. ¡°Oh! You two have to get to know my fianc¨¦, Angrod! I don''t know what I would do without him." She grabs me and places me between herself and the two boys. They don''t look happy. ¡°Hi! I am Angrod.¡± I wave a hand in greeting. ¡°I am Sarda Meltheim,¡± the older one introduces himself and I notice that he has snake-eyes, just like me. ¡°Senda Meltheim,¡± the younger one says. He has normal eyes and averts his gaze when I make eye-contact. Dismissing him, I decide that the leader is this Sarda fellow. To break the following silence I ask, ¡°So what did you want from my most beloved fianc¨¦e?¡± ¡°It has nothing to do with you. We just wanted to take her on a little date and a dance, that''s all. Maybe a short walk through the hallways to have some privacy,¡± Sarda explains while sizing me up. His expression tells me that he doesn¡¯t thinkmuch of what he sees. I nod, smiling patiently. It¡¯s unfortunate that I have to play the nice guy here. Otherwise, they could have Celes and be gone for all I care. Though, it¡¯s likely that they would turn up dead in some closet, given their currentbehaviour. Did Sarda¡¯s parents send him to pester us? ¡°I am really sorry, but I can''t allow that. She is my fianc¨¦e after all. It would look bad if she were to be seen with other guys without a chaperone. There¡¯s nothing to be done about it,¡± I explain calmly. ¡°You want to order us around?¡± Senda asks. Suddenly, Celes tugs frantically at the hem of my shirt. Ignoring her, I try to solve this mess peacefully. ¡°If I have no other choice and you continue to be persistent in being a nuisance, I will have to request your immediate departure. The party must go on after all and having someone around who spoils the atmosphere is no good.¡± I reply carefully, hoping that relying on my status as the prince isn¡¯t too rude. Celes pulls me backwards to her side and whispers, ¡°You can''t order nobles from other countries around! Have you forgotten Nicosar¡¯s lessons in etiquette!?¡± Oh! I suddenly remember the old codger saying something about heeding the line of command. Which means that Celes shouldn¡¯t give orders to anyone from Tirna, while I should avoid ordering around anyone from Stricc. If I remember correctly, being given orders by the nobility of another country is a grave insult. ¡°They can make a duel out of that!¡± Celes whispers. ¡°Naah¡­¡± I shake my head. ¡°We are just kids. They wouldn¡¯t do something so stupid!¡± ¡°HAHAHA! NOBODY FROM TIRNA CAN ORDER ME AROUND! I DEMAND A DUEL TO REGAIN THE HONOUR THAT WAS TAKEN FROM ME!¡± Sarda screams for all the world to hear and the whole hall goes silent. Looking confident, he points at me with a flourish. ¡°Then again, he was probably coached by his parents to do this all along,¡± I comment, speaking to myself, only now realizing how stupid I was for making assumptions. ¡°That¡¯s what I get for trying to protect these fools.¡± The other kids go pale. ¡°Stop talking to yourself and give me a proper answer, or are you too afraid to fight me?¡± He sneers. ¡°What a pathetic wimp. And something like that is to become the future king!¡± I shrug. ¡°Oh, okay! But I refuse to take responsibility for any resulting damages. Killjoy, I didn¡¯t even get to taste some of that fantastic food before you had to go and spoil the evening.¡± Hearing quickly approaching steps, I notice Nicosar who is running up to us with two bunny girls in tow, their plentiful chests bouncing with each step. I can only gape at the scene, admitting that I have absolutely no idea how someone his age managed that feat. Did he pay them off? Are they hired companions for the evening? ¡°What do you kids think you are doing?¡± he asks red-faced. ¡°Accepting an honour duel?¡± I reply with a question of my own and look him straight in the eyes. Our parents come up to us with fearsome faces. The people who were with them follow close behind. Comparing the two brother¡¯s horns with the adults, I make the assumption that they are the parents of the idiot brothers. It¡¯s also quite the giveaway that they seem to have expected the situation and are grinning. I was right to assume that this was a planned drama. Is it only aimed at costing us face, or is Sarda supposed to kill me? Looking at the older boy, I try to assert whether he is capable of pre-planned murder. He looks like nothing more than a bully, but I already misjudged people in the past. Better to assume the worst. I suddenly realize that I am really mad at stepping into this proverbial pile of shit. If I hate something, then it is politics. If I hate something more, then it is playing games like this one. Nicosar shakes his head. ¡°The honour duel has been announced and accepted. Clear the dance floor! Bring some training weapons!¡± I raise an eyebrow, wondering why the old codger specified training weapons. Earlier, he announced his confidence in me and now he wants to protect me? I give a mental shrug, it¡¯s not like his reasoning matters. Nicosar probably chose them because they are dull. ¡°I demand real swords! It is my honour,¡± Sarda states. ¡°I want two!¡± I follow happily, raising two fingers which flabbergasts everyone. Looking me in the eyes, Nicosar just nods. Servants and guards rush over to clear the area. Swords fitting our size are brought and Sarda and I take positions in front of each other while the crowd backs off to the side of the ballroom with the dining tables. The geezer steps between us and looks at everyone while I play with my swords. They are short like a gladius, but the blade isn¡¯t so wide. Furrowing my forehead, I wonder why anyone would have miniature long-swords like these at hand. Further proof that the mastermind wanted someone to get hurt? An honour duel might not be to the death, but accidents can happen. Sarda takes a fighting stance, but I just stab my two swords into the dance floor and put my hands into my pockets. Some people laugh, thinking that I want to provoke my opponent. They don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming. While I requested my own swords, I am a mage. If I can avoid it, I don¡¯t even touch close combat weapons. Back in another life, the most I did was some hand to hand combat as a monk. Maybe wielding a staff or a knife from time to time. ¡°Are the both of you ready?¡± Nicosar asks.¡°The fight lasts until one party gives up or is unable to continue.¡± ¡°I am ready!¡± Sarda calls out, then Nicosar looks at me. I concentrate and both swords lift into the air. There is a gasp from the crowd as both weapons slowly start rotating. Putting more effort into the force magic, they spin faster and faster until nothing more than two shining circles can be seen and a humming sound fills the hall. It¡¯s like I¡¯ve summoned two razorblades to my assistance. Telekinesis of that level doesn''t take that much magic power. I never understood why some mages just use their power to throw huge rocks at the enemy or try to directly move a heavy person, collapsing completely exhausted afterwards. It''s just plain stupid if you could just drive a light, sharp object at high speeds through the enemy. Tilting my head from side to side, I roll my shoulders as I test my control over the weapons. Then I give Nicosar a thumbs up. ¡°Ready to slice and dice, grandfather!¡± Nicosar needs a second to snap out of his stupor but jumps out of the way. ¡°Go!¡± One of my weapons shoots out at Sarda, but misses him as he dodges. Proceeding forward on a straight trajectory, it dices one of the tables instead. The idiot at least has some survival instincts. Strangely enough, he seems unimpressed and grins as he advances on me. Does he think himself in the advantage because I just lost one of my weapons? Suddenly Sarda jumps forward at incredible speed, surprising me. I barely manage to move my second weapon between him and myself to block him. He tries to get past, but his weapon impacts my impromptu shield with a ¡®clang¡¯, throwing a shower of sparks. Without risking his arm being cut to pieces he won¡¯t get past my defence. Pushing my shield forward, I force him to retreat and reach upwards, pulling the chandelier from its socket in the ceiling. Sarda only manages to dodge because of the screams from the watching crowd. Jumping sideways, he rolls off on his shoulder and suddenly vanishes, leaving me without a clue on his whereabouts. Had I been a normal child, I would have lost at that moment. But instinct and old memories take over and I spin my swordshield around myself, assuming that Sarda either used some short-range teleportation, or can become invisible. Something bites into my cheek and there is another impact of steel on steel, showering my face with sparks. Scowling, I reach up and my fingers come away covered in blood as the now visible Sarda retreats back to a safe distance. Grinning, he points his sword at me. ¡°Do you yield?¡± I press my lips together, angry at myself for allowing this oversight.He may be a child of high society, but even children can kill. If they are taught so from an early age they are even better killers than many trained soldiers. ¡°I think that I am done playing around,¡± I comment without emotion and reach out with my mind. There is the ¡®ding¡¯ of a sword impacting wood, and then the slight vibration of spring-steel that struck something with a lot of force. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± Sarda¡¯s scream echoes through the room, sounding like music in my ears. I pulled my first sword out of the sliced table and shot it at him. Entering his calf from behind, the sword nailed Sarda¡¯s left foot to the dance floor. Still screaming, he goes to one knee and drops his sword. Reaching out with telekinesis, I pick the weapon up and rotate it. Gesturing downwards, I send the weapon up to the hilt into the floor, pinning his other foot and immobilizing him completely. I walk up to him and take a boxer¡¯s stance. Dodging a flailing arm, I close in and plant a good right hook in his jaw, sending teeth flying thanks to circulating a little internal magic. I am by no means as proficient as Celes at this skill, and I would lose horribly should I ever try to challenge her on that field, but I know enough for a little mortal self-defence. He tries to protect himself as I rain blow after blow down on him, splitting his lips and landing a good punch on his right eye. Thanks to the way he is pinned, he can¡¯t go down and roll up in a ball, which leaves me all the time I need to work out my aggression. Phew! It¡¯s really hard to educate children these days. Modern societies just pat the heads of murdering minors, saying they can''t be held responsible for their actions. I don''t believe that! He tried to murder me! Did he think I was just some small kid three or two years younger than him? Easy prey? Punishment must be dealt accordingly. As I lay down the law of what to expect from challenging me, the hall is strangely silent. Only the meaty whack of my fists can be heard as the adults observe the scene in horror. I ignore them. What did they expect? That we would roll around on the floor and have a little childish brawl? Noticing that Sarda is only protecting his face, I sweep out with a low-aimed Mawashi-Geri, landing a hit on his kidney. Satisfied, I notice something give and rest assured in the knowledge that he would be pissing blood for at least a week ¨C at least without a greater healing spell. Someone pats my back. ¡°Dear, don''t grin like that. You are scaring the people!¡± Stopping, I turn sideways and find Celes standing next to me. My immediate instinct is to snap out, asking why she is disturbing my fun. Then I remember just in time that we aren¡¯t alone. ¡°Oh, sorry. Honey, I was a little caught up in my emotions. Hahaha! Seeing him hit on you was something I couldn¡¯t bear to see!¡± Celes nods, her eyes flicking to my victim. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ so sweet of you. But I think he suffered enough.¡± Frowning, I look at Sarda who isn''t much more than a bloody something. As I watch dispassionately, he silently slips backwards onto the floor. I raise a finger. ¡°Just one thing! For scientific reasons¡­ and I want a trophy of my first duel.¡± Grabbing his collar, I pull him back up and sink my fingers into the hair on the back of his head, testing my hold. Let¡¯s see if I remember how to do his. I give his scalp a good yank... and people start screaming. Chapter 10 ***The World*** ***Celes*** Some people laugh when the little prince lets go of his weapons to face Sarda. ¡°What is he doing!?¡± Katrine shakes my shoulder, looking furious. ¡°Didn''t we tell you not to fight any duels!? Sarda is a well-known prodigy in sword combat! He will kill Angrod!¡± Our parents quickly came to me when the whole fiasco started and took me away from the centre of attention, demanding an explanation of what happened. I sigh. ¡°It isn''t Angrod''s fault. Sarda practically forced the issue. All Angrod did was to tell him to fuck off after Sarda proved himself to be a pestering idiot.¡± Patting my mother''s hand, I try to reassure her. ¡°Don''t worry. The only one who will get hurt is Sarda.¡± It doesn''t help. My mother, Ireth, Nicol and Arthur are looking at me as if I am insane. Their mortified expressions make it clear that they expect to lose a child in this confrontation. Earlier, they expressed their trust in our abilities, but I suppose that they aren¡¯t immune to their own fear. Then Katrine''s eyes are drawn to the conflict as the swords next to Angrod lift into the air, seemingly by a pure act of will. The hall falls silent as Angrod shows off his unexpected magical potential. The people were shocked to begin with, because of the rude challenge, but now the silence is complete except for the humming of the two rotating swords. ¡°Go!¡± Nicosar jumps to the side. Before Angrod''s show of power, many people already expected a simple execution to unfold in front of their eyes. Now, things aren''t that certain and the crowd is drawn in as Sarda manages to dodge the first attack. Some cheer, while others gasp in shock. Someone among the crowd mutters his hope that this would turn out to be an evenly matched battle, only to have that hope crushed seconds later. A quick exchange of action and reaction, and I myself have to gasp in shock when Angrod almost gets beheaded due to Sarda''s surprising abilities. Luckily, Angrod decides that the time for playing games is over and gets his opponent with an attack from behind. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!¡± I wince as Angrod goes to town on Sarda, proving himself to be the bloodthirsty sadist I always suspected him to be. The adults are too horrified to even move a muscle. Everyone is pinned to their place as the torture unfolds. Or should I call it a public execution? Though, I have to admit that Sarda wouldn''t have fared much better with me, had he kept pushing the matter. In any case, I would have been much more sensible about teaching him a lesson. I would have done it in a private environment instead of making a show. A storeroom without any witnesses would have sufficed. Looking up to our parents, I wait for them to stop the cruelty, but they are just as shocked as our guests, unable to comprehend how mere children could create such carnage. Okay, that''s enough. I have to stop this before someone dies. Pushing past the people barring my way, I enter the duelling area and pat Angrod''s back. ¡°Dear, don''t grin like that. You are scaring the people!¡± He turns, looking at me with a feral expression, then his eyes flick to the crowd and he remembers where he is. His expression changing, he slips back into his role. ¡°Oh, sorry. Honey, I was a little caught up in my emotions. Hahaha! Seeing him hit on you was something I couldn¡¯t bear to see!¡± I nod and quickly check if Sarda is still alive. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ so sweet of you. But I think he suffered enough.¡± Sarda slipped backwards onto his back, lying down in an awkward position. At least he is still breathing. Then Angrod raises a finger. ¡°Just one thing! For scientific reasons¡­ and I want a trophy of my first duel.¡± Before I can stop him, he hauls Sarda back up and grabs the hair on the back of the boy¡¯s head. My mind refuses to compute what happens next. There is a wet, sucking sound and ¡®plop!¡¯, and then, suddenly, Angrod is holding a sizeable piece of Sarda''s scalp in his hand ¨C with the upper portion of Sarda''s head nothing more than a bloody skull! Letting go of Sarda who is writhing in pure agony, Angrod allows the boy to fall back to the floor and as people start screaming in horror, the prince spreads out his trophy in an attempt to judge its worth. ¡°It might make a good wig once it¡¯s dry.¡± Then we are pushed aside by concerned helpers and a group of healers who are intent on saving what can be saved. Ireth steps next to Angrod and raising a hand she slaps his trophy out of his hands. Grabbing his ear, she pulls. ¡°What do you think you are doing!?¡± ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow!¡± He holds onto her hand, trying to stop her from ripping off his earlobe. ¡°I made a statement! Now people will think twice before challenging me to a duel.¡± ¡°They will also think that you are insane!¡± Ireth counters while getting blood onto her dress. ¡°Look at your cheek!¡± Finally, she lets go of her son. ¡°Just a shallow cut.¡± Angrod downplays the matter and shrugs. ¡°I think his insanity was never in question,¡± I mumble and gesture at Angrod¡¯s cheek. ¡°You should heal yourself. I can see your teeth when you talk.¡± ¡°Really!?¡± His tongue sneaks out of the wound in his cheek. ¡°Dmamn! Ou mare mright!¡± While our parents are horrified by the action, I can only marvel at how exceptionally long and flexible his tongue is after his transformation. The genetics of this world is flabbergasting and incomprehensible to me. There is no way that this could have developed naturally. Why would a male need such a tongue? Though, there might be some interesting applications on the female anatomy. Ireth knuckles Angrod over the back of his head. ¡°Stop that! You will widen the wound!¡± I also slap myself. And then again for good measure. Angrod looks at me, looking concerned. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Driving out evil thoughts!¡± I reply matter of factly. How could I even think of that!? ¡°Okay. Playtime is over!¡± Arthur claps his hands together. ¡°Get back to our private quarters! Nicol and I have to sort out this mess! It would be better if you aren¡¯t here to cause any more trouble.¡± Angrod bends down to pick up the scalp, but Ireth lifts him bodily off his feet before he can do so. ¡°Let that be! Maybe the healers can reattach it!¡± ¡°No! Rose! Get that! It¡¯s my memento!¡± Angrod yells while Ireth carries him off. My eyes wander to Rose who shudders as she looks down at the bloody piece of skin and hair. I purse my lips and pick up the scalp. Normally, I wouldn''t care for it one bit¡­ but it¡¯s Sarda¡¯s. If the healers have to regrow his skin completely, it will itch like hell. And it¡¯s already off, so I might as well keep it. ¡°Don¡¯t, princess! That¡¯s icky!¡± Rose steps forward, trying to take the piece of skin from me. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s okay.¡± I quickly follow Ireth, avoiding Rose¡¯s hands. ¡°Sarda doesn¡¯t deserve getting it back.¡±A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Rose grumblesbut follows us dutifully. ¡°I just hope that the rumour mill won¡¯t get too bad regarding what happened today.¡± ¡°Rumours?¡± I ask as I follow Ireth. ¡°You know how the peasants can be. Today¡¯s debacle wasn¡¯t only witnessed by a bunch of nobles. There were at least twice that number of servants and guards,¡± Rose explains calmly. ¡°The fact that you were the only one to stand up to save Sarda¡¯s life won¡¯t be forgotten. The very one who he mistreated!¡± Rose was right. Days later, I was mortified to hear the rumours of the gentle flower, the only one capable of taming the magical beast! The bloody horror of a prince, the slaughterer of his peers. The servants and the common folk feared the day that the princess of Stricc would no longer be around to stop the mad prince of Tirna. ***The World*** ***Angrod*** It took some time to mend my cheek, even with my mother¡¯s help. Eventually, cleaned up and restored, we were allowed to return to the party. Upon entering the hall, I note that Rose¡¯s maids did a fine job at cleaning up the mess. Aside from the damage to the chandelier and the scratches on the floor, nothing reminds the unknowing eye of the previous battleground. Kneeling down, my mother corrects my outfit, then hugs me, whispering into my ear. ¡°I am glad that you are alright, but you will pay for that chandelier once this is over! It was a family heirloomfrom my grandmother which I had transported here ¨C all the way from our castle in Tirna¡¯s capital!¡± She squeezes me and lets go, then gets back to her feet. Surveying the ballroom, she bristles. ¡°At least the fucking Meltheims took their leave. That gives us the chance to get some real negotiations done.¡± Studying the hall, I notice that there are fewer people. If I had to guess, I would say that at least a fourth of the nobles took their leave. It¡¯s also noticeably quieter compared to before.Even though the music is playing and the people are talking, the atmosphere seems more relaxed than before the duel. Arthur and Nicol notice us and come over, excusing themselves from their respective company. Ireth bows slightly to Arthur when he reaches us. ¡°I am sorry for the behaviour of my son, he should¡¯ve known better than to cause an incident like this.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. In fact, this seems to have worked out in our favour,¡± Arthur states while obviously trying hard not to grin. ¡°Odlef Meltheim bowed to Nicol and me in public, apologizing for the scene his son had caused. He and a whole bunch of his followers excused themselves.¡± Nicol steps over and starts patting my head. ¡°Good work! Odlef looked like he just bit into something sour. Best face I have ever seen. It was a good decision to leave you to Nicosar.¡± I sigh in relief, thanking the multiverse that at least my father approves of my actions. Ireth looks down at me, voicing silently, ¡°That doesn¡¯t change anything. You were ordered to refuse a duel and you broke the chandelier. I will make sure that you never again give me such a fright!¡± I try to look for help, anyone! When my eyes fall on Celes, she wears a satisfied expression and her tail waves from left to right in a pleased manner. Witch! I helped you and now you revel in the fact that I receive all the chiding!She got me into this in the first place, by setting me up against those two! It was she who placed me between herself and the two brothers instead of handling the situation herself. ¡°Guys, I will go back to the kids who I befriended earlier. If there is nothing you need me for?¡± Celes informs us and walks off after having confirmed that her presence isn¡¯t required. ¡°How about letting Angrod go, so he can enjoy the rest of the party?¡± Katrine asks Ireth. After a moment of consideration, Ireth gestures for me to get out of her sight and I happily excuse myself. With nothing better to do, I decide to follow Celes. On my way, I notice that the people are giving me more space as I walk past them. Before the incident with Sarda they gave Celes and me about two meters, but now they keep to a safety distance of at least five metres. I quickly find Celes and the other kids at the buffet. ¡°Celes, you ran off without me! I felt abandoned!¡± I grin as I walk up to them. ¡°Angrod! I thought you might be hungry, so I went to get you the stuff you like the most!¡± She holds out a plate and I eye the food warily. Indeed, it is stuffed with all the food I tend to like. Furrowing my forehead, I take the peace offering, finding it strange that Celes would pay attention to what I like to eat. This is the witch we are talking about, so where is the trick to this? Finding no reason to refuse, I take one of the summer rolls and have a hefty bite, savouring the taste of fresh vegetable, meat, and a hot sauce. Sticking to my role, I nod in appreciation once I swallowed. ¡°Thank you, Celes. What would I do without you?¡± I continue eating, abandoning the thought that Celes might have poisoned or oversalted such delicate food. It tastes wonderful. If it turns out that Celes did anything to it, I would have to avenge not only myselfbut also the cook for having his creation violated. ¡°Hahaha, Angrod, you sure went nuts on that guy!¡± Tanja Morden restarts the conversation. The other kids put up forced smiles and look at me warily. It¡¯s like they suddenly think of me as some sort of dangerous animal. ¡°I just didn''t want to give others the impression that a duel with me would be without consequence by going easy on Sarda,¡± I explain. ¡°If I allow them to think that there is no downside to challenging me, they would turn duelling me into some sort of sport. I have no time for that.¡± ¡°Thank you, Angrod. If it weren''t for you, I would have had a seriously bad time,¡± Celes states, appreciating my involvement. ¡°Thank you for taking the fallout.¡± I glare at Celes. She was about to stab Sarda with her hairpin. Thinking about it carefully, I might¡¯ve even saved the bastard, but nobody else sees it that way. I sigh and continue listening to the conversation between Celes and the kids while eating my food. It turns out that the Cygnus siblings are recognized geniuses. Their family owns the most famed schools, universities and research institutes and they are strong supporters of the crown. Even though they hold no official title, their deep involvement in Midhold¡¯s educational system bought them the invitation to this party. Tanja Morden¡¯s family governs the land on Stricc¡¯s side of Midhold. During the war, her people were infamous for having the best assassins and intelligence networks. I learn that Sven Hjavars is a childhood friend of Tanja¡¯s. His family has an amazing history of high-ranking military accomplishments. But when I look at the shy little boy, I don''t really believe it. Apparently, his predecessor¡¯s got a dud when Sven rolled for his genetic heritage. As we talk, the party slowly comes to an end and we have to say our goodbyes. At the end of the day, having made only four new acquaintances, I somehow feel like I was avoided. Celes and I return to the embassy¡¯s private area, but I am left feeling like I''d forgotten something important. Soon afterwards the whole family is gathered upon Nicol¡¯s orders. Yes, strangely enough, I came to regard Arthur and Katrin as family members. ¡°I can proudly inform you two that you are going to be enrolled to Midhold¡¯s most prestigious private school!¡± Nicol lets the bomb explode! ¡°All things and the minor mishap considered, you did very well at the party. I must admit that I had a few sleepless nights, fearing that it would be too soon to expose you to society. Or that you would start fighting each other. It would have crushed all our efforts for peace. But after today¡¯s performance, nobody will believe that you two can ever be separated.¡± I pull a face. Oh, Hell! I want to lie down and die. ¡°So, next month you will join the Midhold Private School. Everything is already arranged thanks to the Cygnus Family. It''s a highly regarded school which takes its students through all educational levels, including university. I hope you two won''t let me down!¡± Nicol raises a glass of wine, looking proud of himself. All I can do is to let out a deep, mental sigh. What are they thinking of us? The reincarnation process is messing with my memories and new ones pop up every now and then, leaving me with the feeling of having a d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Even so, right now I have access to what feels like several lifetimes of memories. Give me the final test for the university and I will start teaching the idiots who call themselves teachers. But I stay silent. Maybe going to school once more would turn out to be a nice experience. It¡¯s like having an extended vacation. Lying low until I can be sure of my knowledge and power also isn''t the worst idea, taking into account that the crown has quite a lot of enemies. For a while, I stay in my own world, allowing my thoughts to flow while sitting on the sofa. Then I notice that all the others have left and that Celes is standing in front of me. ¡°Angrod, I have to tell you something.¡± She crosses her arms in front of her chest, looking defensive. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Thanks again for taking the fallout of this mess. Even though I could have managed alone, I think that I didn¡¯t express myself properly earlier.¡± She offers me a hand. ¡°Okay.¡± I take her hand and shake it. ¡°I hope you won¡¯t forget it too quickly.¡± ¡°Stupid hermit!¡± She leans forward and kisses me on the forehead, then leaves the room. I am too stunned to react. Reaching up, I wipe the spot where she kissed me, feeling it tingle. What was that? Could she... NOOOO! Stop it! I shake my head vehemently. She is trying to mess with my fucking mind! Jumping out of the sofa, I drop to the floor and hit my head againstthe carpet in an attempt to smash the forming thought out of my mind! Rose enters the room. Carrying Ghost, she looks at me with a bewildered expression. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°No! Everything is fine!¡± I get back to my feet and point at my purring familiar,not wanting myself to be the subject of interest. ¡°And why does it suddenly look like the two of you are the best of buddies!? When I got him, you didn¡¯t want to touch Ghost!¡± Smirking, Rose shrugs. ¡°Turns out that razorclaws have two kinds of people. Those who give them food, and those who are food. Making sure that he is well-fed is enough to be categorized as a friend.¡± She squeezes the purring cat and puts him down. Then she leaves the room. ¡°Come here, Ghost.¡± I really need some cuddling after Celes¡¯s attempt to manipulate me, so I hold out my hands, gesturing for him to come to me. Ghost looks at me, then towards Rose. It only takes a moment for him to decide to dash after the maid. I just remain standing there for a whole minute, trying to process what just happened. ¡°TRAITOR!¡± Chapter 11 ***The World*** ***Celes*** I am running through a white place, an endless, white plain. There is nothing but me in this place, but something tells me that I have to run. It feels like the River of Souls, that dimension between life and death, on the pathways between the worlds of mortals. Something feels wrong about what I am doing, but I don''t know why. Shouldn¡¯t only gods be able to traverse this place? And right now I am mortal. So why am I here? Confused, I hold my head, suddenly realizing that I have horns and that I am an adult. Feeling my curved horns, thinking that they are somehow wrong, I clarify that I am an adult demon. I am Celes, the mortal, not Myrm, the Goddess. Then other memories flash through my mind. Memories of an infernal place, a life where I was called... Isabella. No. That¡¯s not right, and yet it is. Trying to get a grip on what¡¯s going on, I look down at myself, at Isabella¡¯s body. Am I Myrm? Or am I Isabella? Am I going insane? How did I come to be here!? My memories are just a mashed up pile of fragments. I... I was fighting. Yes, I was fighting that bastard! And I was winning! Then he turned against the world and I tried to stop him. I jumped right into his spell to save the mortals. I thought I could take it, but I was wrong! The pain was unbelievable as everything went red and I could feel my soul being torn apart! I could have dodged it so easily. He didn¡¯t even aim the attack at me, yet I am sure that he knew I would try to stop it. It hurt so much, but... but why am I here now? ¡°Are you yourself again, Myrm?¡± Turning, I suddenly face Seria who is floating above me like an avenging angel. Her set of angel and demon wings spread wide. ¡°S- Seria? What happened? Why are we here?¡± ¡°You fought with Ascathon. And he killed you,¡± she replies in a motherly tone. ¡°Yes, no.¡± More memories flash through my mind. ¡°He did and yet he didn¡¯t. I tried to save my sister and that girl¡­ and then that other god struck me down. He was one of my own subordinates!¡± Clawing at my temples, I try to understand what¡¯s going on! Why was I killed by one of my own subordinates!? ¡°What''s happening to me!? I am not this Myrm, and being Isabella at the same time feels wrong! I don''t understand.¡± ¡°Your soul was torn apart, it took me quite a while to piece you back together,¡± Seria explains in a calm tone. ¡°It might take some time for things to make sense.¡± Then she smiles. ¡°Just rest and try to heal. You have some time before the Council will start asking questions.¡± The Council? Yes, that¡¯s right! The Council! ¡°They must have judged us! That¡¯s why we are mortal. But why? What do they care about one world or even the gods we killed?¡± We messed up their experiment, but does that really warrant such a harsh punishment? ¡°They are the rulers of the multiverse. What does one world matter to them? They don''t move a finger at the fate of worlds! Such matters don''t concern them!¡± ¡°They don¡¯t care about a small world or the fate of a few deities.¡± Seria floats towards me until we are on eye-level. ¡°Oh, my Myrm. You are the same as Ascathon. He didn''t understand what you two did wrong either. Such ignorance of your own power.¡± Seria¡¯s expression turns sad. ¡°They wouldn''t care if you destroyed a universe. That happens everywhere, at all times. Worlds are created, worlds perish. Entire timelines unwind and new ones spring forth. The multiverse is a place of wonders and those who are able to explore its myriad paths are called immortals and gods. Even though they are just children bumbling about in a little sandbox at their creator¡¯s behest.¡± She suddenly seems to grow larger, more threatening. ¡°Everything dies and is reborn again. The Council is angry at you because they think that you two have the power to end those who should reign supreme forever. In your last battle, you felled each other and those around you and had I not intervened, you wouldn¡¯t have been back for another eternity. Ascathon¡¯s weapons and your hands killed that which cannot be killed. You encroached on a power that was thought to be only the Council¡¯s.¡± Her expression turns wolfish and she smiles, revealing sharp fangs. ¡°For the first time in living remembrance, they are afraid. They want to know how you did it! They want the secret behind the Mana Crystals!¡± Shooting forward, she is suddenly right in my face and grabs my shoulders. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get it!¡± Opening my eyes, I sit up in my bed, sucking in a sharp breath. Hyperventilating, I take notice of the fact that I am drenched in sweat and back to being a child. Looking around, I realize that I am back in my room, safe and sound. ¡°F- fuck that shit! That was one hell of a tail-curling nightmare!¡± Fumbling around in the dark, I exchange my nightgown for a new one and check my body, making sure that everything is as it''s supposed to be. Then I take my body pillow and sneak over into my parents¡¯ bedroom, dead set on taking advantage of being a child for as long as possible. ***The World*** ***Angrod*** ¡°I want to visit Culture and Art!¡± Celes proclaims, pointing out the classes on our schedule. ¡°But that''s boring and of no use!¡± I voice my feelings on the matter. ¡°We should visit important stuff, like Basic Magic Theory.¡± ¡°What use is a basic magic lesson to you?¡± Celes twists her face in confusion. ¡°Don¡¯t you already know much more than they can teach?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the perfect class for me. I can sleep and still ace the test!¡± I nod, very proud of my thinking. ¡°Culture and Art are different on every world. It would mean that I have to actually put effort into my education. No, thanks.¡± ¡°So you are lazy! Do you want to waste your school life sleeping?¡± Celes huffs, clearly dissatisfied with my reasoning. I sigh and continue studying the letter we got from Midhold¡¯s dean. One week after our introduction to the upper society we are on the school grounds and about to register for our lessons. For the first time, we are without guards or parents looking down our backs, but only because Midhold University''s school grounds are walled off from the rest of the city and heavily patrolled by security guards. They place a lot of effort in making sure that their charges are protected, as most of the students are from wealthy families or noble bloodlines. Nicol didn''t understate when he mentioned that it was a highly regarded school. Midhold University is big enough to lose yourself without a map. It¡¯s only thanks to the documents that we are able to find our way. There are areas for each grade so that the younger students don''t get in the way of older ones. To advance a school grade we have to complete at least nine lessons, earning nine credits in total. Mathematics, Language and Basic Cantrips are fixed lessons for us, but we have to choose at least ten lessons to fill out the day. One could go for the bare minimum of what''s necessary, but that would be stupid. It would result in being held back, should we fail a subject for any reason. Which means that we have at least seven lessons to our choice. Our problem is that Katrine and Ireth instructed us to take the same lessons and I am not in the least interested in the stuff Celes likes and vice versa. ¡°Fine. We throw a coin and whoever wins gets to choose first, then we take turns. That means that the winner has four choices, while the loser has three,¡± I suggest. ¡°Never! I know how good you are with telekinesis. You would just influence the coin to your advantage!¡± Celes rejects, shaking her head vehemently. ¡°Tch!¡± I click my tongue. There goes an almost perfect plan. ¡°Hah! I knew it!¡± She looks at me accusingly. ¡°Fine! We both choose three and take the last one at random,¡± I propose, not wanting to waste any more time than necessary. ¡°How?¡± Celes tilts her head, considering the idea. ¡°We write some scrap sheets and draw one blindly.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Celes bites her lip while thinking. ¡°That¡¯s a possibility, but it still feels like you would be able to influence the outcome.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I shrug. ¡°What do you suggest? What would be sufficient so that you don¡¯t accuse me of cheating.¡± ¡°We will ask a random person to name one subject. Maybe a teacher would be a good idea?¡± Celes purses her lips. ¡°Yeah, I like that idea.¡± ¡°You don''t trust me at all, don''t you.¡± I try to look hurt, but the witch ignores me. ¡°Oh, I trust you, my love! I am sure that you would take every chance you get to make your life a little easier. Unfortunately, in this case, it would mean making my life more miserable. So let the war begin. I will start!¡± ¡°Art!¡± ¡°Rune Magic!¡± ¡°Culture!¡± ¡°Science!¡± ¡°Close Quarters Combat!¡± One moment! ¡°You just want to beat me up! You know that I hate getting up close and personal if I can avoid it.¡± She smiles. ¡°That''s not a subject, but if we ask Nicol he could have the headmaster introduce it. Beat Up Angrod! Hm.¡± ¡°Fine, then, Magical Combat Training!¡± ¡°Now you want to beat me up!¡± ¡°Fair is fair! So, who do we ask for the last one?¡± I look around, searching for someone suitable who seems like he can spare the time.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Over there! The gardener!¡± Celes points at an older man who is tending to a flowerbed. ¡°That guy is sure to name nothing intellectual. You want to trick me!¡± I complain. ¡°We need a teacher.¡± ¡°Fine, we stop that teacher over there. HEY! Professor! Can you help us, please!?¡± Celes runs up to a random guy and stops him. ¡°What?¡± The elderly man stops, holding onto his suitcase. Aside from his reddish skin, he looks completely human. There are some deep laughing wrinkles in his face, making it seem like he is the approachable type. ¡°We want to choose one last subject for us to take together, but we cannot decide what to take. So we want someone else to choose for us. Would you be so kind?¡± Celes asks. Suddenly, the old guy starts grinning like the devil, giving me an entirely different opinion of how those laughing wrinkles came to be. ¡°You two are a pain in the ass, to disturb me for something like this! But no worries, I will have you two join the worst lesson a first-year can take. MINE! Take the Mystic Arts Lesson. Be there the next time, or I will come and get you! I know your faces and you have horns! Not hard to find you.¡± The old guy pushes past Celes and continues on his way. ¡°That went well,¡± I comment. ¡°Why does it feel like we have problems now?¡± Celes asks me. ¡°Your fault.¡± ¡°WHYYY!?¡± she screams. I just shake my head and check the lessons on our applications. ¡°Let¡¯s get on with it. We still have to register at the administration office.¡± The following registration process wasn''t worth mentioning. We found the responsible office and gave them the required documents which we had gotten from our parents. The lady in charge just took everything, checked the papers for completeness, and sent us on our merry way. I am just glad that there is no need for us to stay in the university''s dorm. Rose said that she would take us to school every morning and get us in the evening. As we make our way to our first lesson ¨C strangely enough it''s Close Quarters Combat ¨C we meet a familiar face. ¡°Celes! Oh, I wanted to see you! You take the same lessons!?¡± Tanja Morden jumps Celes and shakes the princess¡¯s hands. Linking arms, the catgirl pulls Celes towards the large, open field where the lesson is held. ¡°T- Tanja. Why are you here? Aren''t you older than us? What are you doing in a lesson for first-years?¡± Celes asks. ¡°Oh, no problem at all. The instructors take everyone who wants to join and separate them based on their abilities. There are kids from the age of six, up to fifteen in this class. Many of the older students rejoin every year just to train their bodies,¡± Tanja explains. Celes gets dragged to the girls'' dressing room by Tanja, giving me some peace at last! While they change, I walk over to the boys¡¯ area and also put on some sportswear, all provided by the university as it turns out. I even got a key for my own wardrobe, though we were instructed not to leave any personal stuff in there because the servants would replace the sportswear for washing. Dressed up, I take a look at the very spacious training area, noting that boys and girls alike got uniform sport suits in a neutral blue. Unsure of what to do I watch an instructor who is busy with teaching some kids the utter basics of hand to hand combat. There wouldn''t be much sense in joining the lecture, so I refrain from approaching them. A few small fighting arenas are further down the field, likely intended to limit the damage to the surroundings, should two stronger opponents wish to test their abilities. I assume that there will be some kind of show-fight to judge our skills at the end of the year. ¡°Is that you, Angrod?¡± I turn around and find a cute girl of about my age standing in front of me. She has silver hair, wolf ears, and a tail. Sky-blue eyes are looking up at me. Despite her cuteness, I am at a loss, unable to recognise her. ¡°I am sorry. Do I know you?¡± ¡°No, you don''t know me yet, but I have seen you at the party a week ago. You were so cool. I hope we can be friends!¡± She closes in and links arms with me. ¡°My name is Iris, by the way,¡± she informs me nonchalantly. ¡°Ahem, okay?¡± I reply, feeling uncomfortable with the sudden skinship. What''s up with her behaviour? Is she just trying to be nice? If we were a few years older, I would call the way she is going down on me slutty. Maybe she just wants to be friends? But Iris... that name sounds familiar. Didn¡¯t Nicol mention something about an Iris? Suddenly, someone body-checks into Iris from behind, sending her stumbling. She lets out a cute squeak and plops flat onto the ground, dirtying her tracksuit. Celes is suddenly next to me. ¡°Don''t rub yourself all over him!¡± ¡°What''s wrong with you!?¡± Iris screams while getting back to her feet. ¡°Just protecting my territory!¡± Celes shoots back. Territory? I raise my hands, trying to calm her down. ¡°Celes, she was a little intrusive, but is this really necessary? Becoming aggressive is a little much when we don''t even know her.¡± Though, I am thankful that she removed the slutty child from my arm. Celes turns to face me, smiling sweetly while playing with her hairpin. ¡°Honey, keep out of girls'' business, and I won''t interfere in boys'' business. Do we have an agreement?¡± My eyes wander to the hairpin, making the decision easy. Good luck in your next life, slutty wolfgirl. I only knew you for less than a minute. That''s not enough to risk my head for you. Stepping aside, I wave my hand with a flourish. ¡°She¡¯s all yours.¡± I already was on the receiving end of Celes''s hairpin, and it''s like being the victim in one of those slasher-movies. ¡°Celes, you should probably know that-¡± Tanja runs up to us, but is interrupted by the bellowing voice of an instructor. ¡°What is going on here!?¡± ¡°She gave me a shove for no reason!¡± Iris complains to the instructor who is running up to us, seizing her chance immediately. ¡°You touched and dirtied one of my valuables, horny wolf!¡± Celes accuses right back. The two of them start bickering like two old hags trying to stake out their territory while the instructor is at a loss for words. Tanja finally arrives at the scene. ¡°We should stop them!¡± I turn to face the older girl. ¡°What am I to do? I don¡¯t really want to get on Celes¡¯s bad side. Weren¡¯t you supposed to be with her?¡± ¡°She dashed off faster than I managed to follow when she saw you with Iris,¡± Tanja waves her hands, trying to catch her breath. ¡°That little devil is fast when she wants to be.¡± Finally, the instructor who is a middle-aged elf puts down his foot, stopping Celes and Iris. ¡°We don''t use violence outside of a match! I hope you two will understand that. Attacking another student outside of a duel is inexcusable!¡± ¡°Then I will have a match with her! I want revenge!¡± Iris screams at the instructor. No! Slutty wolf girl, you are digging your own grave here! I raise a hand in an attempt to stop them. ¡°Excus-¡± Morden tugs at my shoulder, interrupting me. ¡°Angrod, we have to stop them! That''s Iris Tulhelm. She is feared for her brutality and is incidentally also the best newcomer in magically assisted combat! Celes will be hurt if she fights her!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think-¡± I try getting a word into the conflict, but Celes is faster. ¡°Fine with me! If I win, you keep ten meters distance from Angrod!¡± ¡°Then, if I win, the same goes for you!¡± Iris taps Celes on the collarbone, leaning in threateningly. Nooo! You are within the reach of her hairpins when she is angry, Iris! Don¡¯t do that! In any case, I somehow have to stop them from escalating things further. ¡°You two! Duels aren''t fought for such a vain reason! And you, Celes? You are a newcomer? You can''t just fight an advanced disciple of the master on the first day!¡± The instructor steps between the two girls. That once more rings all my warning bells. Instructor-san! Don¡¯t step between two fighting females! Doesn¡¯t the guy have any life experience!? ¡°Where can we fight?¡± Celes looks up at the instructor. ¡°Haven''t you heard me?¡± The instructor starts to get angry, shaking his finger at the girls. ¡°Do I have to send both of you to the dean on the first day of school!?¡± ¡°Let them fight!¡± A stout man with a raccoon tail walks up to us after having observed the conflict from the sidelines. ¡°Everyone has to learn their lesson! Some lessons are harder than others. Better they deal with their problems in the ring than on school grounds!¡± He gestures towards one of the free arenas further down the field. ¡°Step into the arena.¡± ¡°Master!¡± The instructor bows to the newcomer, making it clear that the racoon-guy is his superior. ¡°Aaahh...¡± I let out a sigh, waving a hand at Tanja who is still trying to hound me into stopping the entire fiasco. ¡°I don¡¯t even care anymore. Just let happen whatever happens.¡± The little duelling arena is a circular pit which was lowered into the ground. Its wall is reinforced with bricks so that no random rainfall would crumble it. The whole setup is about twenty metres in diameter and five metres deep. In absence of a magical barrier, it¡¯s the best way to protect the surrounding area from random spells and misguided skill-shots. Without a word, Celes and Iris make their way down into the little arena, taking a steep staircase. ¡°We really have to do something, Angrod!¡± Tanja Morden shakes my shoulder, looking anxious. Nodding, I step up to the raccoon guy who was called master by the instructor. Given my experiences with Nicosar, I bow to the man, not wanting to raise the ire of someone who is almost impossible to kill. ¡°Ahem, Master? I guess?¡± ¡°I am Teacher Tongord to you. I supervise this lesson,¡± he answers, watching the two girls down in the pit. ¡°I think it would be prudent to call a healer. Given their behaviour, I think that one will be needed, Teacher Tongord.¡± After a moment of thought, I add, ¡°A good one!¡± Tongord looks at me with a raised eyebrow, but then he waves at the instructor who stayed nearby. The man quickly dashes off after having received the hint. In the meantime, Celes and Iris have taken positions inside the arena. Legs wide, Celes just stands there with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Iris took a praying position with her legs right next to each other and her palms touching in front of her face. ¡°You may begin!¡± Tongord calls out. Suddenly, Iris explodes with magical energy and disappears, creating a sparking after-image in my vision. Her blue aura is visible to the mundane eye like a magical torch. Then she reappears right in front of Celes who didn''t even twitch. CRACK! With the sound of breaking bones Iris plants a perfect uppercut on Celes''s chin, sending her straight up into the air. Iris follows her victim with another burst of crackling energy, making a reappearance above Celes. With a backward spinning kick her left foot impacts Celes in a terrifying blow, changing her trajectory back down into the arena. Finishing her teleportation combo, Iris appears on the ground before Celes can impact the floor. Screaming her fury, Iris hits Celes with her other fist. Spinning like a broken doll, Celes is sent into the arena¡¯s wall. The ground shakes and Tanja gasps in abject horror as a whole section of the arena¡¯s wall collapses on top of her friend. ¡°Oh, no! I could hear the bones break! Why haven''t you stopped this, Master Tongord!¡± Tanja cries out, turning her rage against the so-called master. ¡°Hmmm. I honestly didn''t expect them to be so unevenly matched,¡± Tongord answers. Narrowing my eyes at the older man, I take note of the fact that he matched a supposedly superior student against a newcomer like Celes. During the match, he didn¡¯t even flinch or try to step in. Thinking of the enemies of the crown, I decide to keep a very close eye on this fellow in the future. If Iris was ordered to approach me, her behaviour, combined with Tongord¡¯s leniency, would suddenly make so much more sense. Was it an attempt to kill Celes? If so, they did a piss-poor job at it. ¡°We have to help her!¡± Tanja turns to jump down into the arena where Iris is still standing on one leg in a crane-position, supposedly some martial arts stance. But I know better. Reaching out, I hold Tanja back. ¡°Don¡¯t go down there. You might get in the way.¡± Tanja looks shell-shocked and Tongord¡¯s expression changes from a superior smirk to concerned neutrality. ¡°But Celes may be-¡± I shake my head, interrupting her. ¡°All Iris did was piss Celes off. And you don¡¯t want to stand in her path when she is pissed.¡± I already did that once, and I died for it. Then there is a tremor and the ground shakes a little as the pile of debris above Celes is blown apart in a cloud of dust and bricks. ¡°Oh, Iris has done it! Celes is angry! Poor little Iris...¡± I shake my head. Tongord and Tanja look at me like I am mad. Celes walks out of the dust cloud. Coughing, she dusts off her shoulders with her tail while walking towards her opponent. Iris is still standing where she landed after dealing the last punch. Her eyes widen as she sees Celes slowly approaching, smiling and assured in the knowledge that her opponent can¡¯t run. The wolfgirl turns around, partly hopping on her good foot, partly limping away in an attempt to protect her broken foot from further damage. With Iris being too slow, Celes reaches her and grabs her good foot, dragging her squealing opponent off her feet. I wince when Iris¡¯s remaining appendage breaks with a snap as Celes whirls the girl around in an overhead arc. There is an audible ¡®WHAM!¡¯ as the girl impacts the ground. WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! Celes slams Iris three times into the ground like a child playing with a toy. After a few seconds of confirming that there is no more movement, Iris gets tossed over Celes¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I guess it¡¯s a blessing in disguise that Iris lost consciousness,¡± I comment, clicking my tongue. ¡°I have dealt with the disturbance, honey!¡± Turning, Celes smiles and waves at us as the arriving healers jump down into the pit. ¡°How? How is that possible?¡± Tongord asks, flabbergasted. At this point I have some explaining to do, I think. ¡°Well, the simple version is this: Celes is a magical idiot! She has almost zero ability to sense external mana.¡± Even as a god she knew just the most basic spells. Tanja looks at me, still shocked. ¡°How the hell does that help her beat up a top-rank body enhancer!?¡± I shrug. ¡°What she has though, is godlike control over her internal mana flow. Some people call it inner power or just Ki. She is a master in manipulating it. It is a far more advanced version of what Iris did with her aura, sending sparks all over the arena. Iris wrapped herself in her own mana to enhance her physical abilities. But in the process, she lost control of a sizeable portion and it burst out as energy. We, as bystanders, could feel and see it. All of that was just wasted power. ¡°We could feel nothing from Celes who was doing the same. By coating herself with such a thin and tight layer of mana, Celes enhanced herself the same way as Iris, but much more efficiently, turning herself almost immune to most physical attacks and spells.¡± That''s why I had such a hard time against her as a god. I had to pull off a fucking planet cracker just to dent her defences. ¡°In other words, she is a martial artist who uses mana to her advantage. Or a simple brutish idiot as I would describe it. The only thing Iris did by hitting Celes with her full power was breaking her own arms and leg.¡± Looking down into the pit, I smile and wave back at Celes who seems very proud of herself for beating up that not so innocent girl. Chapter 12 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** When I return my attention to the rest of the training field I realize that the fight gathered quite a number of spectators. Upon noticing the short but noisy battle, many students and instructors came over to see what was going on. ¡°That''s a splendid technique, little princess,¡± Tongord compliments Celes as she climbs the steep stairs out of the arena. Staring at Celes in silent awe, our friend Morden is speechless for the first time since I met her. While gnawing at the inside of my cheek, I watch Teacher Tongord who is still trying to regain his composure. He just called Celes a princess. I think we never actually introduced ourselves to him, nor did Tanja reveal anything regarding our identities. Which means that he just gave away the fact that he recognized us before the fight. He knowingly risked the princess¡¯s life, or at least her health. ¡°Nothing worth mentioning!Iris was pretty weak.¡± Celes is dusty all overbut still talks big while shaking her hand dismissively. ¡°Don''t you have someone here who can put up a little resistance?¡± ¡°Hmm. I will have to put you into the special class. There is no way I can let you fight normal students,¡± Tongord replies while massaging his chin. ¡°So, no worthy opponents? Then I will take you as a training partner, Angrod! No need to completely waste this lesson.¡± Celes looks at me with a devilish grin spreading on her face. ¡°No, thanks! I will pass.¡± There isn¡¯t much to think about. ¡°I would be nothing more than a punching bag for you!¡± I refuse! There is no way I can stand up to that brute without my spells. But she grabs my hand and pulls me down into the arena. The healers already ran off with Iris on a stretcher, speeding as if the girl¡¯s life depended on it. ¡°No need to hold back! I allow you to use spells.¡± She plants me on the exact spot where Iris started the previous duel, then walks to the other side of the arena. As we stand in front of each other, I start buffing myself with every spell I can think of. Agility! Strength! Stone Skin! Shield! Vitality! Inner Peace! Regeneration! When I am ready I nod at Celes. ¡°Aren''t you overdoing it a little?¡± she asks. ¡°It¡¯s not like I¡¯ll try to kill you.¡± ¡°Any less and I will die!¡± I complain. I am not a masochist and if I don¡¯t pull out every trick in the box, ending up like poor little Iris is an assured outcome. When Tongord gives the signal to start, I immediately teleport to the arena¡¯s damaged section and Celes appears in the spot where I¡¯ve previously been. She looks around, confused for a mere moment. It¡¯s all the time I need to reach out with force magic, stacking brick upon brick around me. Using the debris, I erect a small cocoon of stone and fuse everything together with a bit of earth magic and barrier spells. There is a muffled ¡®thud¡¯ from the outside and I notice some drain on my mana, but it¡¯s affordable. Outside my defensive formation, Celes begins a steady rhythm of punching my shield. ¡°Come out of there! That¡¯s cheating!¡± ¡°You said that I am allowed to use spells.¡± Sitting down, I make myself comfortable in a lotus position. ¡°Just keep pounding away until the lesson is over. If I don¡¯t attack and only maintain my barrier I can keep this up all day.¡± Outside, Celes howls and doubles her efforts. Bunkered down and safe, I have no desire to go outside and risk a beating. Judging by my past encounters with her previous self, I would say that we are evenly matched. Celes might not have access to any fancy spells, but her martial arts more than makes up for that weakness. Even now, I have no doubt that letting down my guard would instantly result in her shattering my little fortress. Celes keeps working out until we notice the bell which signals the end of the lesson. In the meantime, only the impacts of fists and feet on my fortress echo over the training field. When Celes finally stops her relentless assault, I drop my defences and ignore the glare she is giving me¡­ or that most of the arena is gone due to Celes¡¯s efforts. Bunkering down was definitely the right choice. ¡°Good fight!¡± I compliment her and offer my hand. Bunkering down was petty of me, but I am sure that a real fight would have gone out of control pretty quickly. After all, we are children and easily excitable. ¡°Fine!¡± Celes takes my hand and shakes it. ¡°Next time, you aren¡¯t allowed to hide behind your magic.¡± We climb out of the arena and I notice that the spectators dispersed, probably bored or frightened away by Celes¡¯s relentless assault technique. Tongord waves two papers at us. ¡°These are the registration forms for my special class! Fill it out and go there in thefuture! No need to have you two destroy one of my arenas every lesson.¡± He looks down into the arena which can only be described as a hole with debris inside it. Celes¡¯s tamper tantrum caused quite the destruction when I refused to fight her in the open. ¡°You two are both awesome! Next time, I want to train with you!¡± Morden is still waiting for us and has apparently recovered from her previous shock. ¡°No problem!¡± I give her a thumbs up. ¡°The more the merrier.¡± And the more punching bags there are for Celes, the fewer punches she has for me. I certainly won¡¯t turn down any idiot who wants to join us. Celes nods. ¡°Yes! Its good to have more opponents. It will be a greater challenge!¡± So I alone wasn''t enough for her! I want to cry. On the other hand, I shouldn''t complain since I didn¡¯t really fight her. The girls run off to the changing rooms and I follow them a little unmotivated, taking the path to the boys¡¯ area. Will this be my new school-life? Being beaten up on a regular basis doesn''t sound like fun at all! After changing, we meet up to visit the Mathematics and Arts lessons. On the way, I share my suspicions about Tongord with Celes and we decide to stay watchful around him. Mathematics didn''t turn out to be anything special, just the regular stuff that gets taught in every world. In Arts we had to draw a picture, which got Celes really motivated. She seems to be a natural and got a really neat painting ofa rural countryside done in the time it took me to draw a stick-figure. Maybe she was an artist in one of her past lives? I myself can proudly announce that I at least tried to introduce modern art to the world! My stick-figure had huge similarity to a Rorschach test. I was sure I would change the world until our teacher, Jeniva Guger, shattered my delusions. She even asked me why I sullied her lesson with my presence. Talking like that to a blossoming talent is just wrong! How can a teacher say something like that to a student! For exactly ten seconds, my body got the upper hand and I almost started crying. Thankfully, I recovered before I made a humiliating scene. Then I played with the thought of burning down Guger¡¯s workshop, but the lesson ended before I could think of a feasible plan to make it look like an accident. So the hours went by as we cycled through various classes until we stood before it!If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The door to the mystic arts classroom! I press down the handle and enter first. Just three students were waiting inside. And strangely enough, I know them! ¡°Oh, hi! Angrod and Celes, you take this lesson too? Wow, you are brave!¡± Margerie Cygnus calls out to us. Next to her is her older brother, Stephen Cygnus. A row behind them is Sven Hjavars, who waves at us. ¡°Hi, nice to see you! And why are we brave? Because of taking this lesson? And why are you here, Stephen? I thought you were older than us?¡± Celes asks, stepping inside. ¡°I am here because I am already retaking this lesson for the third time!¡± Stephen announces proudly, unashamed by the fact that retaking a lesson three times in a row with our educational system seems stupid. He should have just taken another class to get his credit point and admitted that Mystical Arts isn¡¯t for him. Stephen continues, ¡°And you are brave because you signed up for a lesson which you are guaranteed to fail. So you won''t have the freedom to fail any other lesson this year,¡± Stephen explains while looking like he has bitten into a lemon. ¡°Then why did you retake this lesson for the third time!?¡± I ask. ¡°I hate to give up. I will take this lesson until I pass or die of old age!¡± he replies nonchalantly. ¡°I havea perfect memory, so it¡¯s no problem to get my necessary credits in other classes.¡± Wow. That''s what I call determination! ¡°So, could you explain what the Mystic Arts are about?¡± I inquire further, taking the seat next to him. ¡°The Mystic Arts that mister Samarin teaches are about all kinds of things. From the state of the world to magic rituals and science. Samarin is very smart and he teaches whatever you ask about without caring about any curriculum. And that''s the problem! At the end of the year, he will ask you some stupid stuff you never heard or talked about. If you give a satisfactory answer you pass, otherwise you fail,¡± Margerie explains. At that, the door opens and Samarin enters the room, smiling. ¡°Oh look what we have here. One, two, three, four, five people are willing to take the trial! That''s a new record! Normally, everyone who hears about my class applies for something else at the last minute!¡± He walks up to the teacher¡¯s desk and places his suitcase on it, then sits down. ¡°As for introductions, I am Samarin. You can ask me anything you want and I will teach it to you. Now please introduce yourself with your name and a single sentence regarding your person.¡± Margerie takes the lead and we continue from right to left. ¡°Margerie Cygnus. I will be famous for solving the world¡¯s resource problems!¡± ¡°Stephen Cygnus. I wish nothing more than to pass the test for this lesson, even if I die trying!¡± ¡°Sven Hjavars. I just want to listen,¡± someone whispers. ¡°Angrod of Tirna. I will rule the world!¡± ¡°Celes of Stricc. I will save the world!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Samarin narrows his eyes. ¡°Now that I look at you... I have heard rumours in the hallway. It was about a horned devil who beat a student half to death and then fought a second devil like a fury, destroying one of the arenas completely. I hope it has nothing to do with you two?¡± Celes and I answer in unison. ¡°I don''t know what you are talking about.¡± Celes slides her chair closer to me. ¡°Angrod is my most beloved fianc¨¦! Why would I ever want to fight him? Absurd!¡± ¡°Honey, I am sure that nobody with a working brain would ever think that we would fight over anything!¡± I put an arm around her before I know what I am doing. DAMN IT! FUCK, NICOSAR! After years of training, playing my role is like a reflex! Seeing our reaction, Samarin shrugs. ¡°Well, in any case, I have to start the lesson. What should we talk about?¡± ¡°I want to know about the goddess Seria! There is something I find strange,¡± Stephen calls out. ¡°Hoh, what is it you find strange?¡± Samarin lifts his eyebrows. ¡°We believe in a single god, the goddess Seria. That goes for the whole world. But there are some strange inconsistencies in our beliefs. Even though there is only one goddess, when we receive our prophecy at the age of five, the priest says that ¡®the gods¡¯ will judge us, as if there would be many of them.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, that''s something even I can''t answer for sure. What I do know is this: The goddess Seria appeared to us on several well-documented occasions over the centuries. Every time she decided to reveal herself, her revelations had a large effect on our world. Mostly, she just gave us orders or warned of a calamity. ¡°However, there are times when mortals like us could talk to her for a while. In most cases, those people were seen as her avatars. From her words, we can conclude that she is not the only god in existence and that this world is just one of many. Some wise people are of the opinion that other worlds may have other gods too. Though, if they exist, they haven''t shown themselves to us. We may never know the reason for that, as we seem to be alone in the universe.¡± Alone? Hardly. But I can understand how the people of this world came to think so. They don''t see any stars when they look up into the night''s sky. Just their two moons. I might have to solve that little mystery before I can turn my attention to other matters. Seria might have done something to ensure that Celes and I can''t flee. Samarin looks at Celes and me. ¡°On the other hand you are a very lucky person, Stephen. Because two of the very few still living people who had contact with the goddess are sitting right next to you. If the rumours are true.¡± ***The Past*** ***Seria*** I am standing on the smouldering remnants of a broken world. There are no survivors. Judging by the state of the planet, it will take a long time for it to heal, if ever. As I take some steps through the molten rock I leave behind glowing footprints, studying them with a bemused expression. Maybe someone will wonder about them in a million years? I snicker to myself. Simply willing myself to another place above this dead rock, I reappear high in the air and take a deep breath. The sulphuric air and temperatures where the fight raged the strongest would have killed any other living being, but not me. Stretching my wings, I savour the clean air of the higher altitude. I don''t even remember a time when I wasn''t like this. But I am sure that there must have been a time like that. A time where I was frail and mortal. A time during which I was alive... a time of joy, a time of wonder, a time during which a little bit of love was enough reason to be happy. But I don''t remember such a wondrous time. Is that why beings like me start playing with the lives of those who can''t oppose us? Is it just because we become too bored with our existence? So we start rolling the dice of life, just to see what happens? I think it is a pretty pathetic reason. Looking down, I study the broken landscape beneath me and decide to do a bit of remodelling. Once the world is liveable again, the place where I just walked will likely be a nice valley. Only that mountain would block the view on the planes beneath. Flicking a finger, I obliterate the mountain, blasting it completely apart despite having used nothing of my true strength. Yes, in a few thousand years, this could be a nice place. Maybe I will pay a visit if I am still around. ¡°What are you doing here, Seria? Playing around!?¡± I turn around and take notice of the Council member who sought me out. He is one of the few who like to change their looks, but he always sticks to his tanned skin and the brown hair which make him easilyrecognizable. ¡°Tjenemit! How nice of you to pay me a visit! How is it at the Council?¡± I smile a splendid smile. ¡°The Council is doing fine! I came to check on your job! Have you dealt with them like ordered?¡± Tjenemit asks. ¡°Oh, what do you think of me!? There is no way I would disobey the Council! They are suffering in a Void Zone, like in one of my personal hells. There is no way they will bother you ever again.¡± I float closer and link arms with him, pressing my chest against his arm. Tjenemit is a Council member and my direct superior. Luckily, he is also easy to manipulate. ¡°Hmm. I hope so. When can I see them? Will it take long to break their will?¡± He grabs my ass! Bastard! Sometime I will rip out your heart for this. ¡°Oh, I am so sorry!¡± I pat his shoulder. ¡°If I had known that you want to see them, I wouldn¡¯t have thrown them into a Void Zone. I think it would be counterproductive to let them out, even if it¡¯s just for a short while.¡± Massaging my lower lip, I try to look like I actually want to help. ¡°I guess that I could lead you through the pathways into my Void Zone. As you know, it¡¯s dangerous to lose oneself there! If... if you really want to take the risk, we can try?¡± Yes! Follow me there and I will have the perfect excuse! If he fails to inform anyone else, it would bea subtle way to simply vanish one of the Council members. Unfortunately, he pulls away from me. ¡°No need for that. I hope you can show us some results soon!¡± ¡°Soon?¡± I ask, winking with my eyelashes. ¡°You know, it took me several decades to break when I accidentally entered a Void Zone.¡± ¡°We have time. It¡¯s not like decades or even millennia matter to us.¡± He disappears, apparently declaring this discussion as finished. Scaredy-cat! I wipe off my ass, feeling sullied where he touched me. ¡°Yes, my slave-master! Oh, how I enjoy doing the Council¡¯s bidding! We all can have an eternity of peace together!¡± I burst out, losing control of my persona as the Council¡¯s loyal dog. One day far, far in the future, I will break this frozen state of reality. Everyone will be allowed his own choice once more. Whether he chooses to live, to die, to be a god, a mortal, or to be reborn. Everyone will have a choice. But not yet... The Council isn¡¯t to be taken lightly. I¡¯ve already spent a little eternity on my plan, and it won¡¯t hurt to wait a little longer. They, and all the others have to be ready before we can make our move. Chapter 13 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** I start feeling a little uncomfortable when all the attention focuses on Celes and me. Nobody says a word, as if they are expecting us to impart some great wisdom on them. What? Stupid idiots, I will not start revealing the secrets of the multiverse to them here and now.They would forget all of it anyway oncethey die, so where is the point? Let¡¯s not even talk about the deeper mysteries of the elemental dimension, those would just shattertheir minds. Celes is the first who can¡¯t takethe silence any longer and decides to give them the official explanation. ¡°Don''t look at us like that. Yes, the perverted goddess happened to show up at our ceremonies. Apart from turning around the priests¡¯ heads, nothing of interest happened. She gave us a stupid smile and disappeared again.¡± ¡°Hoh? But shortly after this incident, the diplomatic exchange between Tirna and Stricc increased to another level and a year later the joining of the leading houses was announced. How do you explain that?¡± Samarin asks. ¡°When I met my cute, little Celes I just knew that she is my future, hahahaha!¡± I laugh, trying my best to sound genuine. ¡°He was so bold, even though we just met! It was like my pure beauty had stabbed his heart!¡± Celes covers her cheeks with both hands and actually blushes. Bitch! She stabbed me for real! Samarin doesn¡¯t let go of the topic. ¡°Still, I find it strange that-¡± I cut him off, deciding that enough is enough. So I lower my voice to a tone and earnestness that¡¯s totally unbefitting of a child my age. ¡°Do you really want us to spout out secrets of state which belong to both Tirna and Stricc? Who do you think you are, a mere teacher, trying to poke your finger into a diplomatic powder keg?¡± Samarin coughs, clearly lost for words by the sudden change in my demeanour. The silence that permeates the room now is of an entirely different nature. I nod whenSamarin fails to come up with a proper reply. ¡°Anyway, I fear that we know nothing more than you already do.¡± The teacher clears his throat when it becomes clear that we have said our piece. ¡°Well, I still expect great things from you. To continue on, Stephen, it was those talks with the goddess which led us to the conclusion that there must be more than one god.¡± Luckily, Margerie¡¯s next question changes the topic completely. ¡°What do you know about levitation? Tell me all you know!¡± With that, a painful conversation between Samarin and Margerie ensued. It didn¡¯t take long for me to lose interest, my mind drifting to other things. Their discussion is old knowledge to me. From time to time I notice Stephen looking at us as if we could be the key to some of his questions and I find myself disliking his curiosity. Celes quickly gets bored of the magitech-talk and starts scribbling in her notebook. Curious about her pastime, I try to steal a look but she slams the notebook shut before I can see anything. ¡°It is bad taste to spy on a woman,¡± she whispers. ¡°I didn''t think of it as spying?¡± I reply. Honestly, I just wanted to take a look. Celes gestures towards Samarin and Margerie who are drawing magical circles and formulating corresponding calculations on the chalkboard behind the teacher¡¯s desk. ¡°Why don''t you give them the answer to their question, stupid hermit. I am not into this stuff, but even I know that if they follow their current train of thought, the cute Margerie will be old and grey before her wish comes true.¡± ¡°I am not a fountain of knowledge for charity cases. I want something for my marvellous help,¡± I answer, waving my hand in the air. ¡°I know that this is nothing more than one plus one for you, so send my friend Margerie on the right track. If you do, I will owe you one. And I want to talk to you about something important after school.¡± Celes returns her attention to her notebook and starts scribbling again. ¡°Can you explain to me what you two are talking about?¡± Stephen butts in, having apparently listened in on our conversation. ¡°Nothing in particular. Just be glad that the great ''Me'' will offer your sister my assistance!¡± I stand up and head over to join the two ignoramuses. Having the witch owe me one can''t be something bad... I hope. Samarin and Margerie filled the left side of the chalkboard with many formulas and designs for a theoretic magic device that should levitate itself and an object placed above it. Their idea is to use acushion of summoned air to hold itself aloft. Their design aims at being very cost-effective, not needing most rare elements and materials that are necessary for magitech. A nice idea, but not really a good solution. A steady stream of air like in a hovercraft would be required. The necessary magical circuit to construct such an artefact isn''t much different from the onethey would need to levitate something directly. Well, at least resource-wise. Margerie seeks something that eases the strain on the resources of this world. Everything comes down to materials that are hard to get. Stuff like Yttrium, Scandiumwhich is hard to extract, metals like gold, rhodium,and iridium. An artefact lacks the nervous system and therefore the mana channels of a living being. Hence, the artificer has to use various metals to regulate and direct the flow of energy as precisely as possible to mimic the creation of a spell matrix that results in a permanent effect. So if we use a magic circuit, it has to be a very small one. The rest has to be pure science. Hmm. I walk to the unused part of the board and scribble down a simple circuit to control the temperature. A plain cooling system, but it should suffice to keep the temperatures of a less efficient circuit in check. I don¡¯t have any desire to do all the optimization myself. Scribbling down a formula to check my memories, I verify the circuit. Yeah, like that. They just need a tenth of the elements normally needed for a direct levitation circuit.The spell effect just has to span the entire object we wish to levitate. All they need is a small introduction to superconductivity, easily achieved thanks to the cooling system I just designed. Some materials of that category need ¡®rare earth elements¡¯, but they just need them in a highly diluted form. Should be easy enough to get. I sink into my own world as I do my best to reinvent a levitation platform from my jumbled memories. The funny part is that this will work with some completely common materials like aluminium or lead, once they get the operating temperatures under control. Thankfully, I don¡¯t have to come up with this completely on my own. Some of my previous worlds used similar machines for transportation. The principles are so basic that I burned them into my memory. Maybe I will give them a little prototype design to connect the dots. Like that. Hmhm. ¡°Lalala.¡± I start singing and bite my tongue when I realize that I am behaving like a child drawing flowers onto the pavement.Still, this feels so nostalgic. Just like my old times as a teacher, with the difference that there are no stupid students who interrupt me every few seconds. Doodling away with my chalk, I don¡¯t notice the passing time until I hear the bell which announces the end of the lesson. Damn, I wasn''t completely done. Anyway, Margerie should be smart enough to correct the bugs and missing parts of the design. I finished the rough outlines of the artefact and it isn¡¯t like the artificers of this world are completely incompetent. They can solve a few things on their own. After putting down the chalk, I turn around and find Margerie, Samarin and Stephen looking at the board as if it contained the holy grail. It¡¯s almost as if they understand the formulas which I shared so generously. Normally, my audience doesn¡¯t understand the mystical knowledge I impart on them. At least Sven looks at the board as if itdepicted a pretty picture, totally uncomprehending, and therefore restoring my faith in people. Yes. That¡¯s exactly the look of a student whose brain capacity doesn''t suffice to understand my divine greatness! At least there is one normal person in this room. ¡°Next time, get yourself someone who actually understands how to design a spell-matrix before you start designing artefacts. Ah, and don''t bother me with the details! I hate those!¡± I turn to leave the classroom and Celes follows me. The princess is still writing in her notebook and didn''t care about my ingenious solution to the problem, having complete faithin my ability to solve the problem. I am not sure if I should feel flattered or ignored. ¡°So, care to explain to me why I had to help them in this matter?¡± I ask Celes while we walk to the next class. ¡°It¡¯s a plan to save the world! Isn''t it obvious?¡± Celes answers while she is still concentrating on her own work. ¡°Yes, but I could have made a fortune byselling this. Why should I give it to someone elsefor free? If you hadn''t said you would owe me, I never would have done this!¡± She doesn¡¯t look at me, her eyesfocused on that damned notebook. ¡°That''s the problem, stupid hermit! You are already in the highest possible position, assured that you will have any resources you could ever wish for, and you still just think about grabbing more, more, more. That has always been your problem. What do you need money for if you are already the heirto the king?¡± ¡°Sometimes I ask myself how people like you ever became gods. It is illogical to rise that high without the motivation to grab every bit of power you can get,¡± I complain. I am beginning to dislike her attitude, and worse, I hate that notebook. The rest of the way we walk in silence and during the other lessons we don''t talk either. The remaining classes are just stupid introductions and no teacher callsCeles to attention for having her eyes elsewhere. Well, I hope the witch doesn''t have something troublesome in mind. She has already been at it for half a day and I have a creeping feeling that her behaviour spells a bad future for me. I play with the thought of breaking off my horns and runningaway to live my life as a normal civilian. Sadly, there are my eyes, so I would have togougethem out. No good! Magic to change my appearance is hard to entertain. There is also this irrational issue that I actually developed feelings for the rest of the family despite their shortcomings. Aside from everything they did, they are just trying to be good people and prevent a war. Save for Nicosar. I wouldn''t cry a single tear if someone told me that he had a heart attack. I guess that I have to wait and see what the future has in store for me. ??? At the end of the day, we are back at the school gates. A luxurious, black car with mirrored windows stops right in front of us and Rose gets out, but I know better than to think of it as a simple car. My father turned out to be quite the nerd for transportation on four wheels, showing me the newest limousine he acquired especially for us. It took us half a day to go over all the different safety features and reinforcements which essentially turn the car into a tank. ¡°Did you two have a nice day?¡± Rose asks, smiling.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°It wasn''t so bad. I took care of a nuisance and made some plans for the future,¡± Celes comments while getting into the car. ¡°In the forenoon, I was almost beaten up and in the afternoon I gave away something precious,¡± I followCeles into the car while giving Rose the bare facts. ¡°Oh, my little lord is very generous!¡± Rose closes the car door for us and gets back into the driver¡¯s seat. Surprisingly, Celes stops her scribbling and turns her attention to me. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say so on school grounds, but nice job with shutting up Samarin. I didn¡¯t know whether I should laugh or reprimand you for being so rude to a teacher.¡± I wet my lips, uncertain of how to react to her change of attitude. ¡°Thanks, I guess?¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± She nods. ¡°But you probably botched any chance that he might¡¯ve given you a positive evaluation at the end of the class.¡± Leaving me to my darkening thoughts, she returns her attention to that damned notebook. ??? We had dinner with our parents and I decided to retreat into the study to play with the new toy which I wished for as a present to enter school. An engraver¡¯s toolkit and various raw materials to make my own artefacts. While working on rebuilding my power, I actually think that this day wasn¡¯t so bad, everything considered. Celes got her own present, an alchemy-kit, and seems to be occupied with whatever she has in mind with it. The longer she is off my turf the better. ¡®BAM¡¯ The door flies open and Celes storms into the room, shocking me. I was so surprised that I almost slipped with my engraving tool. Admittedly, doing engraving work on the couch of a study isn¡¯t the smartest idea, but it worked out for me and was reasonably comfortable. She spots me and closes the door, locking it with a ¡®click¡¯. Looking up, I can¡¯t help but stare like a deer caught in the headlights. Did she justlock the fucking door? Did she find out what I am making? I have to hide the amulet somehow. Knowing no different solution, I decide to sit on it. Celes plants herself in front of me with her ominous notebook in her hands. ¡°I want to confess!¡± she blurts out. ¡°WHAT!?¡± Did she mess up with her alchemy kit and kill off her brain? ¡°I- I- want to...¡± she mumbles something incomprehensible. ¡°Pardon me?¡± I relax a little. It doesn¡¯t seem to be about my amulet or confessing her love, so I should be relatively safe. ¡°We are stuck with each other, so I have made up my mind.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°I want us to make peace, stupid hermit!¡± ¡°Ahem¡­ Okay.¡± I squint my eyes at her. ¡°Didn¡¯t we already do that?¡± She sighs in an exasperated manner. ¡°I don''t want to live the rest of this mortal life full of stress, so be grateful that I consider this! What I mean isn¡¯t a simple truce between us, but a new beginning. An attempt to let bygones be bygones and look into the future.¡± I pack away my tools, sensing that this is one of these female ¡®we have to talk¡¯ moments. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I have made plans for us!¡± She shows me her notebook, her tail curling behind her in a curious manner. ¡°Plans? For us?¡± I may have been wrong and this situation is direr than I thought. It¡¯s never good when a woman is making plans. Have I missed something important about our relationship? Hmm. Nope. Don¡¯t think so. ¡°Here, I have planned everything!¡± She sits down on the sofa next to me and opens her notebook, allowing me a look. ¡°Our whole life together and the future of the world.¡± ¡°Together?¡± I know that parroting her doesn¡¯t make me look like the brightest person in the world, but that woman has to give me some slack. Especially when dropping a bomb like that. Is she actually considering to go through with our parents'' plan? ¡°I know. We have a lot to work on in our relationship, but we will be stuck in the current state of affairs forever if we don''t act, so I decided to take the first step. I¡¯ve gone through various scenarios of how we could manage our relationship. From blowing off the whole marriage thing to having secret affairs.¡± ¡°Ow, wow.¡± I raise my hand. ¡°Hold your horses, lady. Aren¡¯t we a little too young to think of stuff like that? Ten years may be nothing to a god, but it¡¯s a long time for a mortal. There¡¯s no telling who we might meet or what might happen. Don¡¯t forget that Seria could come down on us at any moment.¡± Celes looks reluctant, but she nods. ¡°Of course, you are right, but I am planning for a worst-case scenario.¡± Sooo¡­ I am a worst-case scenario? She continues, ignoring my hurt expression. A man still has his pride. ¡°If we don''t make plans for the future, we can''t have children. It¡¯s that easy. Why are you looking at me like that? Did you bang your head somewhere?¡± ¡°CHILDREN!?¡± I blurt out. ¡°Have you everconsidered what I think about following our parents¡¯ wishes?¡± Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°Yes, and this is the only viable path that leaves us with as few complications and heartbreak as possible. I don¡¯t want to turn into an old hag who has to live in the same house with her worst enemy. I don¡¯t want to consider what might happen if we don¡¯t go through with our parents¡¯ plan. I certainly don¡¯t want to sneak around the embassy, hiding some lover who warms my lonely nights because I can¡¯t have one in the open. The easiest way to solve all our problems is to do our best to team up and tackle the future together.¡± That was¡­ quite the speech. Even in my abject horror at the idea, I can¡¯t help but be intrigued. I take the notebook from her and skim through it. The room is silent, just the open fire in the chimney at the wall opposite from us sizzles a little. Normally, it would be lunacy to have a fire in a study, but everything in here is warded. She is watching, waiting for my response. Everything is there, with date and time, from the moment I take this book into my hands. Ways for us to build and improve our relationship. From the current state of the worldto the state it ¡®has¡¯ to be five, ten and fifteen years from now. The development of economy and culture. Changes in society? Healthcare and education policies? Tax-management? Now that''s what I call a control freak! Ten years and a few months from now, we will have our first time in a certain position. Hm. Hm. So that''s how she likes it. Ooh, you are so dirty. Sigh, the cute little girl next to me is just a shell. I knew it, but having the proof on paper destroys every last illusion of innocence I had about Celes. And there are at least three children planned, one as the main heir and two as reserves? She is so cruel, I want to cry. Who has kids, thinking of them as nothing more than reserves? They are planned as spares from the very beginning! Being labelled as a spare even before being conceived... What bothers me is that we will do it just three times? I know it is childish, she will just write a new one but... ¡°I want to rip it!¡± ¡®Snatch.¡¯ ¡°No!¡± Aw! She tookthe notebook back. Anyway, my brain is still in short-circuit mode. I have to order my thoughts. How did it come to this? We were enemies for centuries and now the witch wants to forgive and forget out of nowhere? I am not ready for this! We are just ten years old! ¡°What is it? If you don¡¯t like something, we can make some sort of compromise.¡± She takes out a pen to make changes. My thoughts spin as I try to find a way out of this situation. The window? No. Throwing myself out of the first floor wouldn¡¯t solve the problem. Besides, they are reinforced. I would just bounce off. Then I have an idea and turn to face her. ¡°First of all. We may have been living under the same roof for about five years, but that doesn¡¯t mean that you can force anything to happen between the two of us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but love is something you have to put work into. I think that if we start working on it now, we could build up something similar to a decent life? I hate the thought that the perverted goddess will win in the end and succeed in punishing us.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Imagine us being old and grey on our deathbeds while laughing about each others¡¯ deaths! And that after a life of scheming against each other while pretending to be the perfect couple.¡± Okay! That is a disturbing thought and it may come uncomfortably close to what Seria intended for us. I will admit this. A lifetime may not be long for us, but it would still be extremely disturbing if our lives would take that route. ¡°You are sure that you don¡¯t just want to find someone else for a liaison and be fine with it,¡± I ask. ¡®Whack!¡¯ ¡°Ow!¡± The witch hit me with the notebook! ¡°That''s absolutely not possible! What if we get found out! Worst outcome ever! You and I are old enough to know that a lasting relationship needs more than hormones and sex. Are you some kind of pedophile child abuser? I am the only possible partner in this world anyway! Even an old grandma is too young for you!¡± O. M. G. I never thought about it like... that! ¡°A- anyway, I wouldn''t get it up with you in any case. The whole discussion is void,¡± I explain. ¡°Uh... I... if... I think... we... could ask... our mothers for... h- help?¡± Celes suddenly turns red all over her face. ¡°WHAT ARE YOU THINKING OF ME!?¡± I scream. ¡°I even tried to arrange everything as much to your liking as possible. I made great concessions here! See? It''s hard for me, but doing it three times is absolutely necessary for three children. I know you don''t like doing it, but this world doesn''t have invitro fertilization. I looked it up. Inventing it would probably take too much time. You are a monk after all.¡± I cover my face with my hands. My head aches with slowly pulsing waves. What is going on here? ¡°No parents. Whatever misunderstandings you have about my sexual preferences, wipe them out of your mind. Or stop messing with me. If I wanted any relationship at all, it would be a normal one with a normal amount of intercourse. The other problem is the notebook!¡± ¡°F- fine! If you can do it more often, more children are possible! But the notebook, what''s wrong with it?¡± She looks down at the notes. Hah!? More children? No! Now I am sure that she is messing with me! ¡°You set the exact time and date for delivery in there! I know you¡¯ve been a god of Order, but are you some kind of machine? And we are like fire and water!¡± I have a serious headache now! ¡°It''s fine to have differences. We can watch out for each other¡¯s weaknesses. I don''t expect it will work out from one moment to the next. First, we need to understand each other.¡± ¡°That sounds toogood to be true? What is your plan? How did you even get this idea?¡± Igestureat the notebook. She presses her lips together, then bites into the lower one. ¡°It¡¯s hard to say this.¡± ¡°Just do.¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest. After a moment of thought, she confesses. ¡°It¡¯s the dreams!¡± Then she spills everything, how she keeps having these weird dreams of Seria which as well could be memories. As a whole, her dreams don¡¯t make much sense, but they seem to indicate that Seria might not be entirely on the Council¡¯s side. Normally, I would say that Celes is turning nuts, but our situation is a little unique. And Seria was capable of messing with souls. There is no way to tell what she did to us in order to take our godhood away. I wouldn¡¯t outright accuse Celes of going off the deep end, at least not without a proper check-up. Which needs equipment. Equipment which I don¡¯t have. At least not for another two or three decades. I may have been silent for a little too longbecause Celes continues. ¡°Without me, you would be stuck to be alone for all eternity. And I don''t want the world to be destroyed. I am living in it after all! It almost ended today, when the perverted wolf girl dug her claws into you! I decided to give you a chance!¡± She is the same goody two shoes as in the past¡­ throwing herself in front of certain death to save a world.Back then, she could have easily escaped my last attack. And now she is trying to do it again. At least from her point of view. I think about the situation while the fire in thehearth sizzles nicely. I still don''t understand her reasons completely. What''s the problem anyway? You die sometimes, resurrection, death, resurrection, death, it goes on and on and there is no way out. So why does she even care about this puny world? It''s just a prison for us anyway. The only reason why I don''t ram a dagger into my heart is that Serialikely has safeguards to catch my soul and set up this whole scenario again. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Suddenly Celes nudges closer. Too close! There has to be some space between us for comfort! ¡°That you are a masochist?¡± I shrug. ¡°That this will never work out.¡± Suddenly, something wriggles around my hips, up my torso,and around my neck. It¡¯s creepy enough to send shivers down my spine. ¡°Celes?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°What is your tail doing?¡± I want to fight and get her off of me, but I am still sitting on top of my amulet. ¡°Oh, I have to put it somewhere. I hope it doesn''t inconvenience you. And as long as I have a leash on you, you are less likely to run away,¡± Celes answers cheerfully. ¡°So, why do you think that this won¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Is that why you locked the door?¡± I ask. ¡°You think that I would run away?¡± ¡°Nobody will leave this room until you have given me an answer!¡± Celes informs me. ¡°You shouldn''t try to adopt the educational methods of our parents.¡± What will happen if I really try to run? ¡°Then choose your answer wisely!¡± she huffs. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± I sigh, deciding to play my trump card. ¡°Celes, this relationship that developed between the two of us, it¡¯s like a love-,¡± her face brightens, ¡°hate relationship.¡± It¡¯s suddenly like someone dumped a bucket of cold water onto her head. ¡°Oh.¡± I nod. ¡°I hate to break it to you, but over the past years you became to me like a loved and hated... sister.¡± Her eyes widen and she coughs. Then she coughs again, throwing up a smidgen of blood, but she quickly pulls out a handkerchief to cover her mouth. She coughs again, staining the white fabric. Blinking, I touch her shoulder, surprised at the effectiveness ofmy verbal attack. ¡°Celes? Are you okay? Should we call a doctor?¡± Then this damned discussion would be finally over. She raises a hand to stop me. ¡°It¡¯s fine! It¡¯s fine. I was just so surprised that I¡­ I think I broke one of my internal mana channels!¡± Ouch! I wince. I did that once when I played with the thought of becoming a martial artist in a world with cultivators where everyone only trained their inner Ki. That hurt like a bitch and I decided to use plain old magic. Blastingenemies with fireballs and force blades is effective enough. Cleaning her mouth, Celes takes in a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s alright, just a minor setback. Might cost me a month of training, but I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Darn! Is she really not letting go of this topic? Drawing in another deep breath, Celes concentrates on me. ¡°I understand, but it shouldn¡¯t be an insurmountable hurdle. So, what¡¯s your position on at least trying it step by step?¡± ¡°F- fine. We will go on dates and try to make this work out. If it does, good! If not, the worldcan burn for all I care! But there are requirements! First, if I ever get the idea that you are trying to regulate my life, this whole thing between us is void! Second, if we find someone else, we also stop. Third, get rid of that notebook! It''s just too detailed!¡± I gesture at the accursed thing in her hands. ¡°The notebook!? I don''t want to! I have put my soul into it!¡± she complains. ¡°No agreement until the notebook is gone!¡± I will not budge in this! This is my last hope. She will surely not comply with this! She put so much effort into this fucking thing. ¡°F- F- FINE! Then we have an agreement!¡± she throws the notebook into the open fire at the wall. As it starts to go up into flames, she pulls out some kind of list and ticks off an item on it. ¡°Step one is done, just a few more until it gets interesting.¡± Her eyes have a strange fire in them, causing me concern. I have seen that look a few times on Katrine''s face. The first time was when she bondage tortured us into agreeing not to harm each other. ¡°Why does it feel like I just lost a fight?¡± I am not happy here! Not happy! ¡°Oh, darling! Don''t think of it as losing a fight, but opening a new path to the future! Sometimes you have to give away something in order to gain the thing you want.¡± Her tail tightens down on me and Celes puts on a disturbing smile. Chapter 14 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** ¡°I wish you a nice day, little masters!¡± Rose smiles and waves at us as we pass through the school gate for another day of school, carrying our backpacks. I smile and wave her goodbye. Our first week turned out to be a full success, developing into exactly the kind of vacation I envisioned. My ¡®sister¡¯ heads towards our first classroom, so I hurry to follow her, trusting that she knows where to go because I am too lazy to look up what¡¯s first on today¡¯s list. We walk in the direction of the schoolyard when we notice three students who are lying on the floor. Two of them are twitching from time to time and the third has foam at the mouth. They look like they are alive, despite their pitiful state. ¡°A bio-attack on the school? Is it poison?¡± I fear the worst and step away from the other children. In this young life, I have already survived three direct attacks on my person and probably several more which my parents prevented before they came close. Celes is unimpressed and walks up to the kids, probing one with her foot ¨C getting no reaction. ¡°That¡¯s no poison. It looks like they were electrocuted with a taser.¡± I want to ask them what happened, so I join Celes''s side. ¡°Heal!¡± Strange. They show no reaction to my healing magic? Admittedly, I am just an amateur who memorized a healing spell without knowing what it actually does. But it¡¯s a high-grade one, so it should have at least some effect. ¡°They aren''t wounded, so I think you are wasting your mana, Angrod,¡± Celes comments. ¡°The electricity knocked them out. Hm. I have seen this somewhere before. But I can''t remember.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you are getting senile in your old age,¡± I tease her. If someone sits on as many memories as we do, he or she is bound to forget a lot of stuff. One can be happy if he manages to remember a few things of his first reincarnation. ¡°Hahahaha¡­ Muahaha¡­ Hihihihihi¡­¡± Crazy laughter from the schoolyard draws my attention and Celes and I look at each other, then we start running in the direction of the mad laughter. When we reach the schoolyard, we are confronted with a picture right out of a horror movie. Multiple students are lying on the ground. They apparently fell were they stood. And in the middle of it all is¡­ Margerie? A small disc-shaped device is hovering about ten meters above her and she is dancing beneath it with her hands raised high up into the air like some pagan worshipper. Then she notices us and lets out a jubilant scream. ¡°Hohoho! Celes, Angrod, I am so happy! You won¡¯t believe it!¡± the culprit calls out with a heavenly smile on her face. Then she dashes over and bulldozes into me, giving me a big hug. ¡°Angrod, I can''t thank you enough for those designs! You are a genius! I thought my quest would take me a lifetime and you solved my problem in half an hour.¡± ¡°Haha, no big deal. More importantly, what happened here!?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, Yes! Was there an attack!?¡± Celes follows. Margerie smiles. ¡°Oh, no. I was just testing Angrod¡¯s prototype design. I made a few changes here and there to maximize the output and added some functionality. This is a completely new branch of science for this world! Who would have thought that some materials have such miraculous properties if you just cool them down enough! ¡°After Angrod gave us the hint, I stormed one of my parents¡¯ research labs and enlisted all the workers, researchers, and materials for this project. They didn''t have anything productive to do anyway. So, as of today, we have the first levitation-device which isn''t dependent on ridiculous amounts of rare materials! ¡°Though, there is still a little safety issue, as you can see. No problem, though. Some bugs have to be expected after just one week of development. The strong magnetic field it emits seems to paralyse most living organisms I have tested so far. I need to find a way to dampen the output.¡± I gape at her. Well, that¡¯s what the regulation circuit was for! Wait, could I have forgotten it in the end? Let¡¯s see¡­ I am sure that was about to draw it when the bell rang¡­ Damn it! Margerie continues. ¡°But that''s no issue! For the time being, I used a very simple control circuit! Do you want to test it?¡± ¡°Ahem, why don¡¯t we switch it off for now until we get rid of the bugs?¡± I suggest cautiously. This one is dangerous. She offers us a device which looks like a remote control. I know that I shouldn''t, but the child inside me can''t resist. Taking the controls, I fly a few circles and a small loop with the device. It is very easy to use, almost like flying a drone. Well, it¡¯s a drone. It must generate a really strong magnetic field to hold itself aloft like that. I didn''t expect that Margerie could put this together over the course of a few days. Suddenly a few teachers enter the schoolyard. They don''t look very happy. ¡°Give me that!¡± Celes grabs the remote control, plucking it out of my hands. Under her command, the device does a U-turn and flies with a buzzing ¡°SSSsssmmm¡± directly into the group of teachers. They twitch and fall to the ground, taken out just like the students. ¡°Let''s run before they catch us!¡± Celes suggests. ¡°Yes!¡± I come to the same conclusion. The last thing I want is to earn a corrective detention class. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Margerie retakes control of her drone and deactivates the device after landing it close to us. She picks it up and then we run for it because a group of people is already coming our way. ¡°That was funny!¡± Margerie proclaims in one of the hallways a few minutes later. Now that I have time to look at her, I can see that she looks really tired, despite her demeanour. ¡°You should probably rest. You don''t look like you are in a good condition,¡± I advice. ¡°Rest? Rest? How can you talk about rest now! There is so much to discover! What other secrets are hidden in your head!? You just walk up to a chalkboard and revolutionize our science in thirty minutes! What happens if you really put some work into it? Haaahaaa...¡± Margerie is now panting, looking like she is about to drool on the floor. It makes her look like a dog who is happily waving its tail, looking up to its master! ¡°Ahem! Margerie, you should really take a rest. Your behaviour is strange. I will bring you to the infirmary-room.¡± Celes grabs Margerie at the neck like a kitten and walks off, pulling the smaller girl with her. Margerie tries to get free, but the mad scientist doesn''t have the brute force that¡¯s required to resist someone like Celes. ¡°We''ll see each other at special class, Angrod. Tell the teacher that I will be a little late!¡± Celes calls out while turning around a corner. ¡°Noooo! I have to dissect his brain! There is so much to leeeaaarrrnnn!¡± I hear a howl which is slowly growing weaker as the two of them increase their distance to me, leaving me alone on the corridor. I suddenly realize that my convenient Celes-guidance-tool is gone and that I don¡¯t know where to go. Grumbling, I rummage through my school-pack to find the booklet with the class-guide. A minute later I am finally able to find my way to the so-called Special Class. Speeding up my steps, I try to make good on the lost time. It would make a bad first impression to be late. The special class turns out to be held on a training field that¡¯s close to the normal one, only that it¡¯s not as neatly maintained. After changing my clothes, I arrive at my destination. Just seven students and teacher Tongord are present. I know five of the children. ¡°I am sorry, but Celes will be late,¡± I inform Tongord upon walking up to him. ¡°Oh, the prodigy is late? Hrm. It¡¯s no problem. We would have odd numbers with her.¡± Tongord nods. He turns to the rest of the students, swishing his raccoon tail. ¡°Introductions! We have two new students. One of them is already here, Angrod of Tirna. Unfortunately, our second newcomer, Celes of Stricc, will be late.¡± He points out the various kids who gathered to greet me. ¡°This here is Tanja Morden, Sven Hjavars, Iris Tulhelm, Gabriel Rosenquarz, Sarda Meltheim, Senda Meltheim, and Sandra Andros,¡± Tongord introduces me to the people. As he points to Sarda and Senda I give them a happy smile, making sure to show all my teeth. Two more punching bags for Celes mean fewer punches for me! This is a good day! For some reason, both of them take a step back and Iris also keeps a respectful distance. I am amazed at this world''s healing magic. Just a few days ago, Iris had all four limbs broken and some other injuries. Then I take a closer look at the two new faces. Gabriel Rosenquarz is very human-like. His skin is reddish and he looks to be about eight years old. His physique is sturdier than mine, but far from what I would call fat. He simply has strong bones. I wouldn''t be surprised if someone told me that he is related to teacher Samarin. Sandra Andros is a genuine bunny girl with blonde hair and big, fluffy ears! Yes, there is no other way to describe it. A bunny girl through and through. She may be only ten, but it looks like she is already starting to develop her figure. Though, I don¡¯t understand why she would choose to wear a skin-tight bodysuit for training!? Everyone else uses the school¡¯s blue tracksuits. ¡°Unfortunately, we have a huge age gap, with Sandra and Sarda being the oldest, but that shouldn''t be a big problem. We have only the strongest of the strongest here anyway! But to give you a better training I will have to know your fighting styles! All of you will have a test fight with me once Celes is here,¡± Tongord explains. ¡°What are we allowed to do?¡± I ask, unable to hold back my curiosity. ¡°Everything is allowed as long as you do it from a range no bigger than fifty meters!¡± Tongord answers. ¡°Can I cast spells too?¡± I am confused. I thought close combat lessons were all about martial arts and use of close range weapons? ¡°You can cast every spell you can manage to cast. Don''t confuse this class with something stupid like magical combat or martial arts classes! Standing in fixed positions, casting spells, or to use just your fists and feet, has nothing to do with real combat. In my class, you will train for real life! Everything goes as long as you don''t try to snipe the opponent from a ridiculous range.¡± Tongord crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Thanks for waiting, guys.¡± Suddenly, Celes speaks from right behind me. I turn around. ¡°Good that you managed to find the way.¡± Tongord points at me. ¡°Actually, that reminds me! I know almost nothing about you. I already asked myself why a mage character fought her in such a strange way. Though I have to compliment you for holding your ground against her with nothing but enchants and a barrier spell! I can''t wait to learn about your abilities.¡± I grumble to myself while Tongord walks onto the open field. I dislike and distrust the man, so I will refrain from showing him my full power.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Celes notices the Meltheim brothers and gives them a sour look. Iris is also branded with a devilish grin, which makes her back up a little more. Using the chance, Tanja walks up to us and starts a conversation with Celes. ¡°Okay. The first hit counts! You are first, Gabriel!¡± Tongord turns around and walks to the centre of the field. Gabriel walks very carefully towards Tongord and as soon as he reaches a distance of about fifteen meters, he suddenly thrusts out his hands and a jet of flames shoots into Tongord''s direction. But the teacher just jumps and evades while closing the distance. The student swings his flame-thrower into Tongord''s direction, but he just turns to mist as Gabriel is about to hit him. Reforming above Gabriel, he falls down and flattens the smaller student under his weight. ¡°You depend too much on your ability. You should have countermeasures in case someone is able to avoid your flame attacks. Next!¡± Sarda walks up to the teacher, relying on the same sword-skill I already saw him using against me. He puts up a better fight but looses in a similar way. His speed gave him the ability to avoid the same fate as Gabriel, but it didn''t change the outcome in the long run. After eight tries, Tongord caught him and threw the boy to the ground like a world-class judo artist. After this Senda puts up an incredible fight while using just his bare hands and feet. Just from watching, I can tell that he is much stronger and faster than Sarda! So why did his family send the weaker one of the brothers against me? I am confused! I don''t get an answer, as the geezer calls an end without touching Senda. It seems like he has seen enough. Or is he going easy on the boy? It would be in line with my suspicion that Tongord is playing for the other team. Celes and Tanja have a nice chat about martial arts in the meantime. Tanja seems to be a martial arts maniac. She is all over the stuff, forcing Celes to tell her everything about inner mana manipulation. Then Sandra Andros goes for it. As the teacher approaches her, she suddenly jumps up into the air and remains there thanks to a levitation spell. Using her hands for assistance, she casts an altered form of a blizzard spell, encasing herself inside a little tornado of dust and ice shards. The spell is so powerful that it shreds an area of ten square metres around her. When Tongord tries to get close, she moves herself and the entire tornado forward, catching him. It¡¯s like Tongord ran face first into a combine harvester. His body simply dissolves in a spray of gore, blood, and pieces. I raise my hands in triumph, wanting to cheer Sandra on, but Tongord¡¯s body reforms above her, posed for an attack from above. Sandra was waiting and performs a somersault, kicking the teachers head with impressive leg strength, snapping it sideways! While Tongord''s limp body falls to the ground, Sandra makes a perfect landing like a ballerina. ¡°I think that I am in love,¡± I jest and Celes pokes me from the side. The teacher''s body dissolves again and reforms right in front of the bunny girl. He congratulates her, calling it quits. ¡°Sucks! That raccoon has the same ability as grandpa! In the first few fights, I hoped he does the mist thing beforehand to avoid injuries! But he seems to be immortal too,¡± I complain. ¡°The ability of those with the raccoon heritage is a very powerful one! It allows them to turn their body into mist and reform themselves in any form they like. They are able to regenerate from almost anything. Their attack power may be lacking, but you have to kill them so many times that it is almost a given that they will get you at some point. Their only restriction is their mana reserve. If they run out, they are easy prey!¡± Tanja offers a nice explanation. As expected of a noble House which is famed for their intelligence network! But why is she talking about our teacher as prey!? ¡°I am next!¡± Tanja calls out cheerfully and runs out onto the field. While she closes in on her target, she suddenly falls into her own shadow, disappearing into the ground! Tongord takes a defensive position and looks at the ground. Suddenly a knife stabs out at his ankle from his own shadow. Having anticipated the move, he jumps up and with a short incantation, he releases a shock-wave against his own shadow. Landing again, the game starts anew. Tanja seems to be some kind of fucking ninja! If she starts to pull out the shadow clones I will walk around on my hands for a day! After five minutes and a few injuries on Tongord''s side, he calls an end again. Tanja emerges from the ground and returns to us. ¡°You did very well!¡± I conclude. ¡°Hahaha, not really. It''s true that I had the upper hand, but that''s only as long as I have mana. If we had played this game for another ten minutes I would have lost because Teacher has much more mana than me. The same would probably be true for Sandra. We can''t kill Tongord often enough to drive him into a corner.¡± ¡°So, how many times do I have to kill him?¡± Celes asks. ¡°Huh? I don''t know? I never got him to admit that his mana is low. He never shows any indication of that, even after dying dozens of times in a row,¡± Tanja answers, chewing on her lower lip. What did she do to the guy!? Iris is next. As the fight starts, she uses the same strategy she employed against Celes. Coating herself in mana to enforce her power, she gives Tongord a terrible beating. It lasts for about ten minutes, but then she runs out of steam and gives up. The geezer is still standing, even though he should have died over ten times! Then Sven is up against Tongord, handling two knives, one in each hand. The boy who is smaller than me moves so fast that there are just flashes to see. Tongord is holding his ground with defensive magic, like stone skin and shield, but he is unable to counter Sven''s speed. As much as Sven has the upper hand on the offensive, he lacks the needed power to penetrate Tongord''s defence. After a few minutes, Sven is completely exhausted and throws the towel. I am impressed, I didn''t think the timid, shy boy had such potential. ¡°I will go!¡± Celes confidentially walks up to Tongord and starts the fight with a head-on approach. Storming in, she tries kicking Tongord in the chest, jumping high. Smiling, he evades by ducking beneath her kick. Celes turns in the air and thrusts an open palm at the ground. While she is being pushed up by the recoil, the ground dents in around Tongord and he is flattened like an insect! Oi! She watched too many eastern martial art movies in some past life! No sane martial artist would get such an idea by himself! That was the Open Palm of Buddha! While Tongord dissolves, Celes starts hammering out the same attack in quick succession, not giving Tongord any respite. The stream of attacks holds her up in the air, while the crater with Tongord inside it becomes deeper and deeper. After about forty seconds of hammering blows, Celes lands again in front of us. ¡°Whew! I think that''s my limit for now! I hope the geezer is a goner. I dislike zombies.¡± Celes has sweat on her forehead. In about forty seconds she hammered out eighty Palms. ¡°I am fairly certain that you just violated some copyright,¡± I comment, hoping that I¡¯ll never end up on the receiving end of such an attack. Was she holding back when we had our training fight? Catching on, she turns around and gives me a wink. ¡°Who says that I am not the original inventor of that technique?¡± Suddenly something crawls out of the crater! ¡°Cough, We need to have a talk about destroying the fighting grounds little miss!¡± Tongord gets to his feet and folds his arms in front of him, a nasty look on his face. ¡°Hii!?¡± Celes runs up to Tanja and hides behind her. It seems our time with Nicosar caused some kind of trauma inside her. I understand her. Seeing Tongord standing after all of this causes a shudder to run down my spine, even though Tongord hasn''t done anything to us! Yet. He hasn''t done anything yet. Yes, that''s the correct way to think about it. You are right, Celes! All raccoon geezers are some kind of monster cockroaches! Touching my chest, I feel for the hidden amulet beneath my tracksuit. It was finished just two days ago and I might already need it. I walk up to Tongord and put my hands into my pockets, not wanting to give away the fact that I am cheating. I don''t really have a good idea of how to fight him either. How do I fight a guy like him without a huge difference in strength? For starters, I pick up a small stone with telekinesis and accelerate it, aiming it directly between Tongord''s eyes. ¡®Splash!¡¯ A cloud of red goo exits the hole in the back of his head and the falls backwards like a felled tree. Who ever said that I need to throw big rocks at someone to kill him? But I know this won''t work. I did that already a few times to Nicosar and it just made him angry. What I achieved, though, is to incapacitate Tongord. Now that I have won some time I need to put up some defences! ¡°Shield! Stone Skin!¡± My preferred defence skills. Tongord is already done with healing up, small wounds being no problem, even if a vital spot was hit. He sits up. ¡°Somehow it disturbs me that you fight with your hands in your pockets! I was at your introduction party and I know your abilities are no joke. I want to correct your manners!¡± Tongord complains to me. ¡°I am sorry, but it is my style of fighting. There isn''t much my hands can do that my mind can not anyway,¡± I answer. ¡°Then I want to see what happens when you use your hands!¡± a voice says from behind me. I turn, but Tongord already struck at me, breaking my shield. ¡°What I wish is thunder!¡± I call out as Tongord grabs my collar. Holding the spell matrix in existence, I channel my mana to convert it into electrical energy. Sparks of electricity run over my skin and lash out at Tongord, scorching his skin and constricting his muscles. We both light up like a Christmas tree and are blown away from each other. I fight to stay conscious. Thanks to that body of mine the lights didn''t go dark completely and I manage to land on my feet. ¡°Heal!¡± Yeah, that feels good. Much better now. This was a little bit risky, but electrical attacks are the only thing I didn''t already try on Nicosar. I sit up and see Tongord coming my way. ¡°That ability is just a cheap cheat!¡± I scream. ¡°Then use your hands. If you don''t I will find ways!¡± Tongord is almost on me! ¡°Fine!¡± I scream and hold out a hand to him in a gesture as if I would grab him. ¡°Force!¡± Tongord stops in mid-step and is lifted up like being grabbed by a gigantic hand. Argh! Not good, this is tiring. It''s the reason why I find this fighting style stupid. I strain myself again and smack him in an arc into the crater which Celes created. Upon hearing the nice sound of an impact I strain myself again and close my hands in front of me, which makes it easier to create the effect I wish for. The earth around the crater starts moving and piles up to bury Tongord beneath it. After a nice little mound is formed, I push down with all my might to compress the matter as airtight as possible. If he turns to a gaseous form to heal, then what happens if he is caught inside an airtight prison six feet under? Only once I am sure that I succeeded, I relax and go to my knees. ¡°Haaah, haaah, stupid... way... to... fight...¡± I am exhausted now. ¡°Yay! We won! The geezer is no more!¡± Celes runs up to me and picks me up, shaking me happily like a doll. Stupid strength monster! Tanja, Sven, and Sandra run up to us too and cheer! Suddenly, a part of my burial hill moves and a hand thrusts upwards! We all go silent. ¡°Uum, isn''t the class about to end?¡± I ask. All of them nod and we make a run for it! ¡°Don''t leave me behind, I am out of power here!¡± I scream. Celes turns around and grabs me by the neck, pulling me with her over the rocky field. Ow! Ow! On second thought, just leave me with the monster! ***The Pathways*** ***Seria*** I walk through a white nothingness. But when I concentrate, I can see currents and paths which allow the gods to instantaneously walk the limitless places of the multiverse. When I reach out, I can feel them, and if I grab one, I get carried away to the place it leads me to. It would be impossible to grasp all of them with my mind, but instinct tells me where each of the countless pathways ends. When I search for a place I want to visit the right thread simply jumps to my attention. Inside this network, I can see the dead zones. Places where a soul can neither move forward nor backward. If a god loses himself in one of those, he may never find a way out again. With no path to guide you, you are damned to wander there forever. That''s why the others fear those places, but not me. At least not anymore. A long time ago I got lost in one of them. I don''t remember how long I wandered there. In the end, my mind knew nothing but white darkness and I gave up. I sat down and just watched the nothingness surrounding me. But then I saw it. The place wasn''t truly void of pathways. They just flowed so slowly, so faintly, that I had to remain still and silent for an eternity in order to become aware of them. Half delusional, I found my way back, but the multiverse had changed when I returned and I didn''t like it. The path I walk on ends and I step onto a world of crystals. Spanning out in front of me is a shining city, populated by beings who are beyond comprehension. Above me shines a blue sun which is dancing a deadly dance with a black hole. This is the Crystal City, the Council¡¯s seat of power. Like megalomaniacs, they decide the fate of all. They wield the greatest powers under all the gods, but in my modest opinion, I think they can only wield their influence because they have this city at this special place. The centre of all things, the place where all the pathways meet. Nobody knows whether it¡¯s their place of origin or the place where they ultimately end. Though, most of the scholars lean towards the former theory. At some point in long forgotten history, something created the pathways, causing them to spread out from here. Unfortunately, the Council took control of this important place and the very first law they decided upon was for their rule to never end. Greedy for power, they strike down anyone who threatens their rule. A step is enough to transfer me into the city and I walk through the streets, watching gods who are just empty shells. They walk around and talk, but their souls are dead. They are too old to remember what it feels like to truly live. Unlike me, they are unaware of their dead emotions. Having abandoned their ambitions, they just go on to exist and don''t care about anything but their continued existence. That is not enough for me. I step into the great hall in the centre of the city. From here the council officially rules them all and presents itself to the public. All who step in here just blindly obey in awe. ¡°Seria!¡± an ethereal voice calls out to me. The Council sure likes to play games. Hiding and just speaking with a voice from the heavens... do they already believe themselves to be even above other gods? ¡°I am here to answer to your summons.¡± They sure like it if I flatter their ego, so I¡¯ll continue to do so for as long as it benefits me. ¡°We heard from Tjenemit that you wandered the Void Zones?¡± ¡°I just take a look from time to time in order to satisfy my curiosity,¡± I lie. ¡°We also heard you couldn''t show him the fallen ones?¡± What the heck did he tell them!? Does he want to create trouble for me? ¡°I threw them into a Void Zone. Only I can wander it, as I already know it well from my past missteps. I keep them there, caged in nothingness. I already explained to Tjenemit that I would take him there if he wishes it. But there are still risks! I can''t guarantee anyone''s safety who accompanies me on such a voyage.¡± I bow slightly, locking my eyes on the ground. ¡°So he refused?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Ooh, it seems like the Council is at it again, playing its own games of power. That makes Tjenemit even less worthy of the role which he wishes to play. Did he brag to the others about playing the inspector and failed to show up with results because he was too afraid to follow me? ¡°We will talk about this again. You may go now.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I answer. Deal with your internal problems first and forget me in the course of it. That would be best. Hopefully, they will need quite some time to sort this out, whatever their games are. Chapter 15 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** It was a relief that Tongord didn''t come after us. We fled the training grounds and headed directly to the Art class. ¡°What''s up, Angrod? You seem a little more than tired!¡± Celes asks while we are waiting for the teacher to show up, reading my mood perfectly. ¡°I just thought about something very disturbing regarding Tongord,¡± I mumble, a little downcast because of the revelation I had after our fight. ¡°Yes?¡± She tilts her head, waiting for me to explain while we are sitting among the other students. I decide topresent my train of thought step by step. ¡°He seems to belong to a pure raccoon lineage.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Today, We killed him at least a hundred times within an hour and it didn''t even disturb him.¡± At least not as far as I managed to observe. ¡°Yes.¡± She nods, following so far. ¡°And Tanja said that his regeneration ability depends on his mana pool.¡± I spin the thought further. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How many times do we have to kill our own old geezer, who inherited the traits of his raccoon heritage and the strength and mana boost from the royal heritage?¡± I question. According to my mother, cases like Nicosar are rare. Normally, a child between people of two different bloodlines inherits the traits of either one or the other. Is it even possible to kill Nicosar if a normal raccoon is already nigh immortal? He may as well be the ultimate being in this world, aside from Seria. Celes doesn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead, she falls into a contemplative silence. Finally, ruffles her hair in despair. ¡°We will never be able to take revenge! Aah! Why did you tell me this!¡± Celes starts shaking the disillusioned me. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to be theonly one to have his hopes crushed,¡± I reply, downcast. Guger enters the room, noticing our antics. ¡°Stop playing around and prepare for class! What''s the The Insult still doing here?¡± She glares at me. Why is she still calling me The Insult! I take out my painting from where it was stored beneath my desk. While everyone else continues working on their project, I just stare at my masterpiece. Why can''t Jeniva appreciate what I want to give to this world? Modern art is the holy grail for every artist. He or she doesn¡¯t need any skill. They just have to put some dots and lines onto the picture and they get the big money for it. There¡¯s no need for talent and just for five minutes of work, people call you the biggest artist of the century and throw money at you. Maybe I am no big painter, but there is other stuff I can do! She wants something that looks real, so she will get something that looks real! I take my Rorschach painting of a stick-figure and start ripping the paper to confetti, then I mix it with water until I have pretty good mush. Hehehe. Now I will create a sculpture of Jeniva, using telekinesis. No big artistic talent needed here, I just have to imagine her. An easy task for the great magician Angrod! I just have to think of those legs and this stupid short skirt which almost shows off her panties! And those stockings of hers should be banished to the underworld! Those hip-movements should also be forbidden from school! She can''t show off like that in front of children! Then the tight jacket which emphasizes those humongous cow... things! I wonder how much milk she can give? I should write a thesis about this! She violates every law of physics by not losing to gravity. Hmmm, maybe she uses some gravity-defying underwear? I have already seen the strangest things in worlds with magic. Who knows what the women of this world get up to. Then there is her hair, which she wears as a pony-tail, going down to her hips. The horsetail and horse ears are just a formality now. Hah! Maybe the suit is a little bit tighter than in reality, but I can fix that! Yes, yes, that looks good! Very good! Very sexy, and close enough to the real-life model. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Now that I think about it, isn''t it a bad choice to give her a figure of herself to redeem myself? Won''t my intentions be misunderstood? Worst case, I come across as some horny boy who just visits the class because the teacher is sexy. Suddenly, a shadow falls onto my figure and I look up, dread running down my spine at seeing Guger¡¯s expression. ¡°Hello, Mrs. Jeniva! Do you need something?¡± ¡®Whack!¡¯ ??? I open my eyes, groggily remembering that suddenly the lights went out. Why is the world upside down? ¡°What happened?¡± I ask, realizing that I am being carried on someone¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Oh, you recovered your consciousness! Good. You can walk by yourself again!¡± Celes answers and sets me down on the floor. ¡°Oh... ahem... How long was I out!?¡± I try to stay upright, but everything is swaying. ¡°Jeniva broke her pointing stick on your head, then she confiscated the perverted figure. I thought it would be a waste of time to carry you to the infirmary. You would have been alone there with Margerie. She doesn''t seem to be in her right mind at the moment, so I took you along to the next three lessons and dropped you into your seat,¡± Celes explains. ¡°My innovative art got confiscated? But it was as close to reality as I could make it! I think I will never manage to pass this lesson. I guess I have tobe lucky with Samarin''s question at the end of the year.¡± I drop my head. ¡°Strangely enough, she gave you a positive evaluation on your first art. Maybe I should change your nickname from stupid hermit to perverted hermit!¡± Celes answers. ¡°Really!?¡± Oh, thank you Jeniva, maybe I have some talent after all. ¡°She still said you would have to learn to paint one way or the other. Otherwise, she won''t let you pass.¡± Celes has a sarcastic smile on her face. Ugh. Not good. I am not a painter. ¡°Sooo, which lesson do we have next?¡± I ask. ¡°We will have rune magic,¡± Celes answers with a displeased expression. Good, hehe. If I have problems with a subject, she should have them too! So we will see teacher Mirgurd Salar again. He seemed to be the boring type, with nothing but magic circles in his head. Mirgurd is a young, but sick-looking fellow with angel wings on his back. He is the first person I met who has such a drastic trait. I mean, come on. Wings? When any decent magician can use levitation to fly, wings are nothing but in the way. They can¡¯t even function as a second set of arms. During our first lesson, Mirgurd did nothing but recite an introduction to his lesson¡¯s contents. Rune magic is all about the correct use of runes to create the desired effect. It¡¯s possible to combine multiple runes into a design that, once supplied with power, creates anenergy matrix that casts a spell. Boiled down to the basics, it is really nothing more than a simple programming language. We enter the classroom upon arrival and find pure chaos there. Mirgurd has papers all over his desk and on the floor. It looks like he is searching for some documents. As we enter together with other students, he looks up and counts us. ¡°Good, good. Everyone here. No injuries!?¡± he asks into the room. ¡°Why should we have injuries?¡± Some random studentasks while we take our seats. ¡°Haven''t you heard? There was a terrorist attack on the schoolyard this morning! Multiple students and four teachers were paralysed with a strange new weapon! They couldn¡¯t move for over an hour! Everyone is in an uproar. Nobody knows why anyone would test new weapon technology on the campus. Because there is not the slightest hint of its development, people are saying that a political party must be involved,¡± he explains excitedly. I try my best to keep my expression as neutral as possible. Celes also refuses to give away our knowledge of the whole case. Thankfully, the teacher doesn''t go deeper into the matter and starts handing out some sheets instead. ¡°I have a difficult problem here, two incompatible runes which are to be combined via multiple connection patterns. If you paid attention yesterday, you should be able to solve it.¡± Mirgurd hands out the sheets and immediately takes up his searching activities again. It seems like he is the type who drowns his pupils in work so that he can spend time on his own interests. Ilook at the sheet and ponder over it for a moment, then I scribble the answer down and draw the required circuit. No big deal. It¡¯s the same as connecting two variables over a few logical commands. Having solved the question, I turn to look out of the window to my left. Unfortunately for Celes she is sitting to the left of me and I notice that her eyes are not where they belong. I grin like a devil and lean with my elbow onto the desk to cover my sheet. She looks up at me with a grim expression. Suddenly I get poked in the ribs by something pointy. While I twitch away from her tail, she snatches my paper and starts outright copying it! ¡°That is cheating,¡± I whisper. It''s unfair; why can''t I cheat in Art class? Should I snitch on her? But she hasn''t done anything really harmful to me since the contract. Wouldn''t that be a violation? Seeing a god of Order cheat is also quite surprising. Celes might not be as rigid in her ideology as her former self. I am not against cheating per se. Cheating is not against the rules as long as you don''t get caught. Yes, that''s my opinion on the matter. Suddenly Mirgurd looks up from his sheets, taking the decision of whether I should snitch or not from me. ¡°Miss Celes, this practice is not meant to copy the work of another student!¡± Has the guy got eyes in the back of his head? He stands up and walks to our desk to take my sheet. After a short nod, he puts it back down in front of me. ¡°It''s wrong anyway. Next time, copy from someone else.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°Huh!? Angrod wrong with magic? Is the end upon us?¡± Celes asks, furrowing her forehead at the paper with my solution. I arch an eyebrow and take another look on my sheet, inspecting it closely, but I find no mistake. ¡°Um, can you explain what I did wrong?¡± I ask Mirgurd. The teacher sighs and answers, ¡°You mashed both runes into each other. They have to be put beside each other and then you properly connect them with connection patterns.¡± ¡°Why should I do something stupid like that!? You would have to create an interlacing connection pattern around both runes to make sure that the energy flow doesn¡¯t affect the spell matrix. Each connection would have to be calculated individually. What a headache! It is much faster to connect the runes directly, fold them over each other, and then use some minor correction patterns to fix the two remaining open connections!¡± I blurt out before I can think. Mirgurdlooks at my sheet again with big round eyes. ¡°You can fold runes?!¡± he asks and starts mumbling to himself. Oh? It seems nobody had this idea in this world. Damn! Fucking backward civilisation! I lost money again! Celes tugs at my elbow, perfectly reading my expression. ¡°Don''t worry. If you hadn''t spilled it, I would have. It''s such a basic idea, even I know that much.¡± Should I worry or be happy that Celes seems to understand me better than I do her? The rest of the lesson was used up with finding a believable explanation for Mirgurd on how we made the most important discovery ever ¨C by misunderstanding his teachings. That was a real pain in the ass, especially because he tried to make it look like it was originally his idea! I wanted to strangle the stupid fucker more than once in the process of it. At least Celes and I will now be known as the creators of a completely new way to draw magic circuits. The last lesson of the day turned out to be mystic arts. We enter the classroom and are greeted by Margerie, Stephen, Sven and Samarin.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. At least there are not so many people here. ¡°I already heard that you guys slipped another piece of important knowledge!¡± Margerie states when we sit down next to her. ¡°Yes, that''s two times within a month!¡± Samarin joins the fray. ¡°You two are sure that you know nothing about gods?¡± Stephen follows. Even the timid Sven confronts us with a curious look. ¡°Nope! Nothing we can do! We already explained that it was a pure misunderstanding. Mirgurd is a failure as a teacher, so we misunderstood him,¡± Celes explains. I nod and take a seat. ¡°What are you doing here anyway, Margerie? I think you should sleep!¡± I complain. ¡°I have slept enough! Here! Sign this!¡± Margerie deposits a big bundle of papers in front of me. ¡°What''s that?¡± I ask cautiously and start reading. It seems to be some kind of contract. ¡°To summarise the whole juristic nonsense, half of everything I gain from the knowledge which you shared with me is your property. The same is true for every discovery you may help me with in the future. I would feel bad if you don''t sign it,¡± Margerie explains, sounding very generous. ¡°No need, Margerie. I already paid him!¡± Celes smiles. ¡°You will need it all to advance further in any case.¡± ¡°Ho? I want to know those plans in detail?¡± I quip. Normally, I would sign in a heartbeat, but Celes is right. It¡¯s better to have her in my debt, and I can always use my otherworldly knowledge to make money. ¡°It is simple. You will further Margerie''s family in any way you can. They have the facilities to carry out the necessary research. In their names, we will raise the technology of this world to the needed level, so no more resource problems! No contracts needed. I have already talked to our parents about everything. The people here already know about your talents with magic, so there are no security problems. Dad has already checked everyone.¡± I look at the others to make sure that Celes meant everyone in the room, but it seems like I didn¡¯t misunderstand her. ¡°What an honour. To be in the eyes of the royal family. It''s like I am suddenly much more than a simple teacher.¡± Samarin claps his hands together. He shouldn''t be that happy about having his background investigated! ¡°You sure are starting to take big leaps here. When did you set all this up!?¡± I ask Celes. And what makes her think that I am okay with it? ¡°I have more than enough time to make plans while you have your nose inside a book. Creating the necessary infrastructure won''t happen overnight anyway, so we have to start as early as possible. If we are lucky, all our problems will be solved by the time we are twenty, or a little older.¡± Celes pumps her fists, nodding to herself. Hah!? Could it be? The muscle brain was not only setting up a plan to change the world, but is also already in the process of putting it into motion? ¡°Uh. I haven''t heard anything from my parents, but if it¡¯s in accord with the royal family, I can''t voice any complaints.¡± Margerie puts away the documents. ¡°So what do you know about the gods?¡± Stephen keeps pestering me. Having had enough, I turn around and snap at him, ¡°They are all bastards! You create a little havoc and they throw you into hell! Explanation enough!?¡± He leans away from me, surprised by my outbreak. Celes pats my head to calm me down. Then she gives Stephen another evasive answer. ¡°I am sorry, but it seems like you will have to stick around and wait for Seria to show up. Maybe she will answer your questions.¡± ¡°Hm. In any case, let''s start the lesson!¡± Samarin gestures for the class to calm down. While Samarin, Stephen and Sven join a conversation of their own, Celes starts editing her strange new list of ¡®Things to do¡¯. I know that I ordered her to burn the notebook because it was just too detailed, but I can hardly forbid her from making any plans at all. Actually, having someone who takes care of the boring stuff could turn out to be nice. Margerie holds out a writing pad and a pen. ¡°Write down everything that¡¯s in your head!¡± she orders with a strange fire in her eyes. I sigh and take the pen. ¡°What do you want to know.¡± ¡°Everything!¡± Everything! Like I could do that. Even I am not entirely certain what I can do. Most of my inventions aren¡¯t memorized solutions. I have to reinvent a lot of things when I draw upon my memories. Knowing the basic principles doesn¡¯t help with designing a computer ¨C for example. I doubt that I could pull a laptop out of my pocket. ¡°We will concentrate on the stuff which reduces the strain on resources for now. Please point out which economical areas cause the biggest problems. I suppose transportation is a big factor?¡± I don''t want to waste my time here. ***The World*** ***Celes*** Another successful day of school finished! As we approach Rose who is already waiting at the school gate, I check another point from my list of ¡®Things to do¡¯. Our maid curtsies, presenting her new black and white dress to us. ¡°How was your day, my little masters?¡± she asks and smileswhile opening the car''s door. ¡°We had to run away twice!¡± I reply. ¡°Nice dress! Did you commission a new design from the royal tailor?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Rose answers with a satisfied chirp in her voice, throwing back her white-blonde hair. ¡°It¡¯s nice of you to notice. Wearing always the same design became boring, so I ordered a few different ones to switch things around.¡± ¡°I gave away ¡®many¡¯ precious things!¡± Angrod grumbles while he enters the car. ¡°How generous,¡± Rose answers and rolls her eyes while closing the door. ¡°I want to see him laugh, at least once.¡± She winks at me while I walk around the car to enter from the other side. Once everyone is inside, Rose gets into the driver¡¯s seat and starts the car. I take a look out of the window as we leave the campus and yawn, tired fromthe day¡¯s work. Then I return my attention to my list and tick off a point which I missed earlier. Angrod was more cooperative than I expected him to be, but I probably shouldn¡¯t push him too far, or he might lock up and consider active resistance. Deciding that it¡¯s time to build some kinship, I scoot over and lie down, using his thigh as a pillow. I feel him tensing up, so I poke an acupuncture point to force him to relax. ¡°Celes?¡± he asks with a brisk voice. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°There has to be some distance, for comfort!¡± he states with an expressionless mien. ¡°Endure it. I do it too,¡± I reply, making myself comfortable and fake falling asleep. Unexpectedly, he starts stroking my hair, giving me at least some hope that turning him to my cause isn¡¯t entirely impossible. ¡°When we are at home your parents want to speak with you two,¡± Rose speaks up. ¡°About what? Do you have an idea?¡± Angrod questions her. Rose shrugs while turning the wheel, steering the car through a roundabout. ¡°I am not sure, but apparently it has something to do with the plan which little Celes put together.¡± Angrod doesn¡¯t prod any further and we spend the rest of the short drive in silence. Once we arrive at the embassy Angrod shakes me and I stop faking, a little miffed that he did nothing but touch my hair. I gave him a perfect chance to have a little fun and he didn¡¯t take it. Ten minutes later, we are both in front of our parents in the embassy¡¯s living room. They are in highly official regalia and seem a little stressed to me. Nicol and Arthur are even wearing their crowns, telling me that some important meeting must have occurred today. ¡°We have to inform you two to be more careful in school from now on. Try not to let people know that all this new knowledge comes from you. We are already trying to cover it up as much as possible,¡± Nicol informs us with a grim expression. ¡°What¡¯s the problem?¡± I ask, turning concerned at their demeanour. It¡¯s not like I got Angrod to reveal new technology without speaking about it with our parents. If it turns out that there is a setback, despite notifying our parents beforehand, it would be highly disappointing. ¡°The problem lies with those who don''t like the idea of reduced needs for rare resources! I heard you have a class together with the Meltheim twins? And a Tulhelm is there too?¡± Arthur questions us and I nod. Sarda and Senda Meltheim, as well as Iris Tulhelm, share Special Combat classes with us. ¡°The Meltheim and Tulhelm families are the biggest providers of rare elements. They have big stakes in several of the largest mining companies. It¡¯s one of the reasons why they belong to the pro-war faction. If their respective countries gain control of the mountain ranges on the central continent, they would be first in line to reap the benefits. The publication of the new design for a levitation device by the Cygnus family put a real dent into their finances. Not only will it undercut their argument for war,but they will also lose money if the economy is less dependent on those resources. They will still own the market, but the yearly demand will go down for sure,¡± my mother explains. ¡°Eventually, they will also lose their political power.¡± ¡°So if there are more inventions of that sort, they will try something to stop it,¡± Angrod concludes. Ireth takes over, smoothing her dress. ¡°They are already moving materials and equipment around in disturbing ways. It smells like they are up to something. We also can see that they are coordinating their actions, trying not to get in each other''s way. They both control a bigarea of the northern part of the central continent. Together, they have a problematic amount of control. We lack influence in that geopolitical area.¡± ¡°But¡­ the Meltheims are from Stricc¡­ and the Tulhelm are native to Tirna. If they are strong supporters of their respective war-factions, it would make no sense for them to team up.¡± Nicol lets out a long sigh. ¡°Celes, it would be nice if politics were that easy. Our political enemies are faced with the unification of both Tirna¡¯s and Stricc¡¯s royal families. It has taken some time, but Arthur and I expected them to team up at some point. So please, be more careful at school. It¡¯s more likely than ever for them to go after you. I don''t think they are ready to try something at this point, but it is better if we don¡¯t underestimate their determination.¡± He ends the explanation with a grim expression. ¡°Have you taken a closer look at Teacher Tongord from the Special Combat class? I don¡¯t trust him.¡± Angrod narrows his eyes. Arthur nods. ¡°We had to cut a few corners, but we¡¯ve traced his family connections. His line is related to the Tulhelm. I know it¡¯s bad to judge someone by blood relations, but in this case, it¡¯s better if we are safe rather than sorry. I will push the school to put someone else in charge of you, though I can¡¯t promise that it¡¯ll happen quickly, if at all. We can only apply pressure through the Cygnus family, but they themselves are only owners of the university and can¡¯t give direct orders to the school¡¯s administration.¡± After everything is said and done we have dinner together. The mood is a little dampened, but that¡¯s only to be expected when you are told that someone is after your life. Having eaten, our parents return to their work, leaving Angrod and me behind. As usual, the hermit avoids striking up a conversation and picks up one of his books, then he saunters over to the couch and makes himself comfortable. I don¡¯t understand his attitude. How can he be so relaxed in a moment like this? Approaching, I try to get him to talk to me. ¡°It sure is the same wherever you go. There are always those who aren''t of the same opinion.¡± ¡°That''s the way it is. Don''t tell me you ever found a world in which there wasn''t some sort of conflict?¡± he replies without looking up. I search my memories, but there is nothing. There are peaceful places and lives in my memory, but even in those, I heard about a war on another continent. There is no world which is a hundred per cent peaceful. ¡°No. You?¡± ¡°I stopped counting a long time ago.¡± He shrugs as if the matter doesn¡¯t concern him. ¡°How old are you?¡± I sit down next to him, trying to find a topic for conversation. He purses his lips, considering the question. ¡°I don''t know exactly. It doesn''t make much sense to count years. Most worlds have their own flow of time. The most you can do is to count your lives. There is also the little fact that we aren¡¯t in possession of all of our memories. Who knows how old we truly are?¡± ¡°Oh, so I have lived about 1230 times until I became a god and you?¡± I press the topic while I try to think of something else to say. He sighs and finally puts down his book. ¡°Maybe a little bit more, maybe a little less. I really don''t remember. There was a time when I got mad at the multiverse and tried to destroy my soul in every way I could think of. It seems like the memories will always come back after a few years. In the end, a soul always slowly recovers, even if it takes time.¡± ¡°I had a similar time once.¡± I massage my chin in thought. ¡°Everyone goes through phases like that. Seria helped me get over it and thanks to her training I got stronger and reached godhood. Unfortunately, the Council became aware of me and gave me an occupation.¡± I huff. ¡°Which led to all of this. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed a simple immortal.¡± ¡°Hrm.¡± He grunts and picks up his book again. Leaning over, I use his thigh as a pillow. ¡°Not again!¡± he complains. ¡°Yes, again!¡± I mumble grumpily, deciding that we should at least get used to each other¡¯s presence. Closing my eyes, I try to sleep. It doesn¡¯t take long until he slowly wriggles out from under me. Wondering what he will do, I keep playing dead. Unsurprisingly, he retrieves my list out of my pocket to read it. I bet he expects some kind of murder plan, but he will be sorely disappointed. My list only includes actions and steps which should allow us to experience a proper life! Trying my hardest not to smirk, I imagine him reading the sheet of paper which includes things like furthering the technological advance, making peace and starting a new life, leaving old grudges behind, using him as a lap pillow, sleeping together, and doing some¡­ naughty stuff. Damn, I almost drooled. Why does it take so long to grow up? I hope he doesn¡¯t judge me, but a girl needs some romance in her life. I am not a nun. He harrumphs. ¡°Those are all clich¨¦ romance situations¡­ she messed up her head¡­ must have gulped down too many bad smut romances, comics, cheap movies or whatever she did!¡± Huffing, he returns the list to my pocket. ¡°Today, I will have to lock my room or I won¡¯t be able to find any sleep.¡± What!? Any other guy would be happy to find a girl like me! He leaves the room silently so as to not wake me up. Sitting up, I glare at the door through which he left the room. He promised that he would play along and try to make this work. Maybe I have to become a little more proactive. I start planning everything I need for a raid on enemy territory. So it happened that ¨C exactly at eleven p.m. ¨C clad in my nightgown and armed with a pillow and blanket, I stepped out of my room and tiptoed over to Angrod¡¯s quarters. The embassy was dark and I had to rely on circulating some mana through my eyes to enhance my vision. Arriving in front of his room, I try opening the door, but the bastard really locked himself inside his room! I put down pillow and blanket to remove a set of lock picks from my pocket. Kneeling down, I start fiddling with the locking mechanism. It will take some timesince I am not exactly proficient at this stuff, but as I often say, with time comes training and with training comes skill. I am at it for over a minute, biting my lower lip, when there is a noise behind me. ¡°Ahem!¡± Turning around, I look up at a dark figure who is looming over me. Palm pointed upwards, the figure casts a Lightglobe to illuminate the hallway, forcing me to cancel the vision-enhancing effect on my eyes. Squinting and trying to shield my eyes from the light, I recognize the figure. ¡°Hi, Mom.¡± She doesn¡¯t answer. Instead, Katrine looks down at me with a judgmental expression. Looking down at myself, clad in a flimsy nightgown and trying to break into a boy¡¯s room, I realize how this must look like. ¡°This isn¡¯t what it looks like. I wasn¡¯t trying to kill him or anything like that. We were just planning an innocent little sleepover¡­¡± I realize that I am babbling and decide to shut up. ¡°You are ten!¡± Katrine whispers. ¡°Even if Angrod and you are promised to each other, that¡¯s not the proper age to sneak into a boy¡¯s room! What if Ireth found out about this!? I would die of shame!¡± Raising her hand, she casts some spell and brings it down on me with a mighty slap¡­ Despite putting up a hasty defence, I feel myself spinning comically and then the lights go out. Chapter 16 ***The World*** ***Angrod*** Yawning, I unlock the door and leave my private room, upon which my mouth stays open as I take in the scene. Right in front of my door is a trail of blood. Surveying the area, I find an arc of blood spatters decorating the white wall next to my door. I tentatively raise a foot from where I stepped into the blood on the floor and give a quick mental ''thank you'' to the multiverse when I realize that the blood is already dry. My morning-socks weren''t sullied. Did someone get murdered right in front of my door? I am no stranger to mayhem, and this scene gives the impression that someone had the main artery of his neck cut. I follow the trail to Katrine''s and Arthur''s private rooms where it ends beneath the door. Wringing my hands, I wonder whether an assassin made it into the embassy and started killing people left and right. Placing an ear on the wooden door, I hold my breath and listen. ¡°Repeat! I won''t sneak into a boy''s room until I am old enough!¡± ¡°Uhuuhuu¡­ I think you broke it!¡± ¡°I will break other things too if you keep refusing to listen to me. By the gods, I swear that I¡¯ve never met someone as stubborn as you.¡± ¡°But I haven¡¯t done anything wrong!¡± ¡°There we go again. I can keep healing you all day long if it has to be, young miss!¡± It sounds like Katrine and Celes are in there. Massaging my chin, I follow the bloody trail with my eyes, slowly piecing the puzzle together. Celes must have tried to implement one of the stranger points on her stupid list. She tried to sneak into my room, but Katrine caught her. I just wonder whether I should feel sorry for Celes, especially since she got herself into this mess entirely on her own. Well, maybe if I hadn¡¯t locked the door? I close my eyes and shake my head. If I hadn¡¯t locked the door, I would currently be sharing Celes¡¯s fate. Turning to walk away, I stop when my eyes stay stuck to the trail of blood. Sighing, I turn back and knock on the door to Katrine¡¯s private quarters. Celes is a real pain in the ass, but she might be the only one in this world who will ever be able to understand me and what I lost when they took away my godhood. Only Seria herself knows how many centuries or lifetimes I may stay stuck on this ball of dirt. Oh, how low has a former deity of Chaos fallen to help a god of Order? The door opens, and Katrine looks down on me, quite obviously surprised at my presence. I smile. ¡°Please don¡¯t be too hard on Celes. She is a real hellion and quite messed up in the head, but I seriously doubt that her intentions are ever truly bad. Maybe you should try talking things over, instead of torturing her. Try to work through her wicked train of thoughts? There is this strange list which she always keeps in her pocket. You might want to go over it with her.¡± Tapping my wrist, I indicate that she should think about the time. ¡°Ah, and please don¡¯t forget that we have to go to class in forty minutes. Thanks!¡± Bowing, I excuse myself and head down to the kitchen for breakfast, leaving behind a baffled Katrine. I shudder at the thought that this woman would ever become my mother-in-law. It¡¯s the first snowfall, announcing the beginning of the winter season at the end of our first school year. I accomplished a lot of work with Margerie during the past year. We created a solid scientific foundation for the development of the world''s economic structure. There will always be strife and competition, but I would like to think that thanks to my intervention, a war might no longer be necessary due to economic reasons. Tongord is still training us really hard, putting his own life on the line in the process. Even though the Cygnus family applied pressure on the school''s administration board, they didn¡¯t replace our teacher, arguing that they would first have to find a suitable replacement. Ah, the woes of bureaucracy. At least Sarda, Senda, Iris, and Gabriel weren¡¯t bothering us too much. They somehow ended up forming their own little clique during combat lessons. On the other side are I, Celes, Tanja, Sven, and Sandra, who is a nice girl ¨C if you get to know her better. I don''t think that I would call Sandra a friend like Tanja. We are classmates and good acquaintances. It''s hard to build up any sort of relationship with someone who I see just for training and who dashes off as soon as the lesson ends. Strangely enough, the Sarda group never made trouble for us, keeping their heads down. Celes calls it the silence before the storm whenever we discuss our situation. Stephen stopped pestering us about gods because we kept refusing to answer his questions. His interest switched to helping his sister making use of everything I taught her. Margerie never asked where my knowledge comes from. My guess is that my parents shut Margerie up by having a word with her parents. Everything else followed the daily rhythm of going to school, listening to lessons and going back home. There is only one little problem. Celes and I will fail this year! It is the end of us! Our parents will twist our necks and pop off our heads for sure! I will fail the Art class and Celes has no chance to pass the test in Rune Magic. Her marks are just too bad and her understanding is non-existent! We sure broke our own legs at the beginning of the year by choosing the wrong subjects. Failing one subject wouldn¡¯t be a problem, but we also chose to join Samarin''s class, which is said to be a sure fail. That means that we won¡¯t achieve the necessary credits to advance to the next year. In absence of a solution to my problem, I retreated to the schoolyard in order to consider my options. There has to be a possibility. Maybe it¡¯s possible to take the test for a class I didn¡¯t join and get the remaining credit point that way? Passing Art is just out of the question. In the evening, there will be one last test. Everyone has to bring something of great artistic value to Mrs. Jeniva. It sucks that I don¡¯t even have an idea. I could present her with another statue, but she already made it clear that she isn¡¯t a fan of magically crafted items. As the snowflakes dance down from the sky, I start shaping the snow with my mind, starting out with a snowman. Thanks to a whole year of training, using a little Telekinesis for this task puts almost no strain on my body. While shaping the snow, I allow my mind to wander, drowning myself in memories of a better time. Instead of just a snowman, I quickly end up with a whole scenery from the deepest parts of my memory. Memories rise up from a time long gone, when I loved a fine woman and had a big family with her. She was the first person I ever really yearned for whenever we were separated. I still remember her cooking. That was before I became a god. When we died after a long and good life I searched for her for many lifetimes, trying to get her back. But how do you find someone who doesn''t remember her past life? Finding one soul among countless billions... without any hint on which world she was reborn... It is an impossible task. ¡®BOOM!¡¯ An explosion shakes me out of my dreams and I jump up. I think it came from the front gate? At first, I want to check out what happened, so I walk into the direction of the explosion, but soon I am stopped by a crowd of screaming students running my way. Seeing them, I realize my folly. Never run towards a battle. Run away! Damn it, this world is just too peaceful. My instincts are getting unreliable. ¡°The school is under attack! Everyone to the shelters until the security can solve the situation!¡± A teacher herds the students towards the main corridor with the entrance to the underground shelters. I know where the doors are, having passed them on a daily basis, but I have never been inside. Originally, they were built during the war. The school decided that having a safe place for the students might be a nice idea, so they left the underground shelter intact and built the school and university on top of it. I fall in line with the other people, trying to find someone I know. Unfortunately, I had been alone in the schoolyard and have no idea where my friends are. We arrive at the shelter where several teachers are protecting the entrance. Recognizing Samarin among them, I approach. ¡°Have you seen Celes, Tanja, Margerie, and Stephen?¡± I ask him about the very few people who I care about, wondering at that moment why I would include Celes on that list and name her first. I don''t bother to ask about Sven because I don''t talk to him much ¨C though he is a good friend of Tanja''s. ¡°The Cygnus siblings are inside. I don¡¯t know about the others. Come on and get inside!¡± Samarin answers, gesturing with his hand. Crap! Two people to search for. I turn around and run off, leaving a yelling Samarin in my wake. ¡°Where do you think you are going!?¡± ¡°To search for my fianc¨¦e and my friend,¡± I call behind my back, hoping that Samarin isn¡¯t stupid enough to follow me. I have no idea how combat-worthy the old man is, but he strikes me more as the scholarly type. He isn¡¯t a fighter. At first, my search is aimless, but I quickly realize that the school is too large to find anyone within a reasonable amount of time. Where could Celes and Tanja be? They were together when I walked off to mope on my own, so they must have been waiting for the last test to start. I return to the schoolyard which is now void of people, realizing that the two girls like mingling with other students in the cafeteria. Walking slowly, I hear fighting from the direction of the school gate. If Celes was alone, I would expect her to head directly towards the battle, but she is with Tanja. Celes wouldn¡¯t be stupid enough to involve her friend in a full-blown battle. Still, they must be cut off somehow, or they would have escaped to the shelter. The most likely place to search is still the cafeteria. Maybe the attackers had a second entry point and my friends are pinned down. If I were to plan a terrorist attack, I would have one strong group attack the main gate to create havoc and draw the attention of the defenders. Meanwhile, I''d have another, or even several groups, go after the real target of the operation. I have no illusions that this isn''t aimed at either killing Celes or me. While walking over the schoolyard, I pick up two fists of snow. With a little concentration, I melt the snow and freeze it again, forming twelve little icicles. I am about to enter the building with the cafeteria when a black-robed guy drops down from a window on the first floor, landing just five metres away from me. He is carrying an unconscious student and looks like some cross-over between a mummy and a ninja thanks to his outfit. Upon noticing me the robed guy drops the student and reaches for something beneath his robe. Not hesitating, I flex a mental muscle and propel one of the little icicles in his direction. It sinks into the man¡¯s left eye and punches through, showering the snow behind him with blood and brain tissue. For a second, the guy just stands there, until his body registers the loss of control and he drops down to his knees without a sound. Toppling forward, he lands face first in the snow. I walk up to the corpse and confirm his death. I died too often because I thought my enemy is a goner. Always check the enemy first and the ally second! That''s an iron rule which I had to learn the hard way and I am never going to break it. Seeing the brain through the hole where a part of his skull was blown out of the back of his head, I rest assured that this man no longer poses a threat. Turning my attention to the unconscious student, I find something amazing. The girl who was about to be abducted was Iris. Strange, I thought the attackers belong to her faction. So is there another party involved in this game? What to do? The noises from the school gate are dying down, so some side is loosing, meaning that I don¡¯t have much time left if the attackers are winning. I hope I won''t regret this. I pick up Iris and carry her over the shoulder while I hold my icicles in front of me with telekinesis. Then I enter the building with the cafeteria. Thanks to my bloodline it¡¯s no bother to carry a person who is lighter than me. When I arrive at the correct hallway, I look around the corner and see five robed people and a man in the grey uniform of a teacher at the entrance to the cafeteria. Two are casting Fireball spells into the cafeteria, while another two are backing them up with shielding spells. The fifth guy is shooting with something like a musket. Those five look exactly like the one who had Iris, but I note with a frown that the teacher is actually Tongord. Suddenly one of the casters drops backwards, a familiar hairpin sticking out of his forehead. Using the chance, Tongord ducks past the casters, entering the cafeteria. Finding myself having to choose between being careful and taking action, I decide that I should not leave Celes on her own longer than necessary. She may be able to fight Tongord, but there is no telling how much the raccoon was holding back during our lessons. Dodging Fireballs at the same time might make all the difference Tongord needs. Using the disturbance, I jump around the corner and unleash all of my projectiles on the enemy. Taken from behind, two enemies are hit in the head and are taken out instantly. A third receives an icicle to the knee and drops out of his cover and into the wide doorway. Having lost his protection, another hairpin ends his life a second later. The second shield-caster drops to one knee and loses his concentration because of the icicle which penetrated his flank. As he tries to pull out the shard, I feel how his mana flow is disturbed by the injury. His magical defences evaporate. Reaching out to his brain, I use telekinesis to pop some important blood vessels, a very clean and cost-effective method to get rid of someone who hasn''t paid attention to his magical protection. Twitching thanks to the inexpert lobotomy I performed on him, the last opponent drops to the ground. Carrying Iris, I quickly walk up to the entrance and take a careful look around the corner, feeling no need to be the next one with a hairpin in his head. Celes is having a stand-off with Tongord who has a sword in his hand. Tanja is lying next to a tilted table, one of many in the burning cafeteria. There are corpses everywhere, turning the place into some scene from Dante''s Inferno. It looks like Tanja got hit with a Fireball, burning her hand and the side of her face. She is holding her belly and sobbing from the pain, blood welling up between her fingers. It looks like Tongord stabbed her. Stepping into the cafeteria, I lower the unconscious Iris from my shoulder and, holding her up by her silvery hair, place one hand on her throat. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough,¡± I yell, not bothering to hide the fact that I am pissed. ¡°Angrod?!¡± Celes calls out upon seeing me. Tongord turns around, looking at me. He seems surprised upon seeing Iris but quickly calms his expression. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to be?¡± I shrug and close my fingers around the girl¡¯s throat. ¡°What does it look like? I think my parents mentioned something about you being related to her? I wonder what her parents would think if she came home in a casket?¡± He presses his lips together and turns to face me, seemingly having lost all interest in Celes. ¡°You are just a child. You can¡¯t do it.¡± I reveal my sharp teeth. ¡°A child who just killed a handful of men. A child who would have killed you several times if it weren¡¯t for that cheat of yours.¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. His eyes flick to the corpses at the cafeteria¡¯s entrance. ¡°They won¡¯t get up again, no worries.¡± I tighten my fingers around Iris¡¯s throat. Tongord points his sword at Tanja and Celes changes her position to intercept him. ¡°I could kill this one instead.¡± I stop smiling, trying my best acting skills to look as shocked as possible, then I drop Iris and jump forward in a seemingly desperate attempt to assist my friends, abandoning my hostage. Smirking, Tongord turns to face me, bringing his sword forward for a thrust, aiming at my heart. Yelling, I hit the blade with my right arm, pushing it aside and cutting myself in the process. The blade bites deep into my flesh, cutting muscles and tendons, but stops at the bone. Tongord is too surprised and too sure of himself, so he reaches for me instead of increasing the distance between us. That''s the problem with an almost godlike healing ability to rely upon. Even if he could avoid being hit easily, he prefers to take the hit if he can land an attack in return. It''s exactly what I just did. It only becomes a problem if your opponent has a trick up his sleeve that renders the healing advantage meaningless. Reaching for the amulet around my neck, I rip it free and slam it onto his chest, channelling a generous amount of mana into the runes and circuits which I engraved on it. Within a moment, a spell matrix is formed that would have otherwise taken me minutes to cast, melting the circuits within the amulet and igniting Tongord¡¯s grey robes. Shaking my burning hand in a frenzy, I push away the mana and close my mana channels before the curse can backfire. Then I duck and roll away from Tongord who is screaming and slapping at himself in a vain attempt to put out the spreading fire on his torso. Scrambling to my feet, I scream at Celes. ¡°Pick up Iris! I''ll take Tanja.¡± ¡°Heal her!¡± Celes screams at me with tears in her eyes. Tanja is seriously burned and breathing heavily. I put a hand on Tanja''s forehead and concentrate, feeling how my mana flows into Tanja''s body to repair the damage. Channelling my only healing spell, I concentrate on her lungs first, then the wound in her belly. Reaching beneath her shoulder, I pull the larger girl to her feet and guide her towards the exit, making a generous circle around Tongord who is screaming and writhing on the floor, his whole body aflame. Parts of his flesh dissolve and reform as he tries to heal himself, but the flames stay attached to him, hungrily consuming every bit of power that is offered to the curse. We reach the exit, leaving Tongord¡¯s screams and the spreading fire behind. The cafeteria was already burning when I arrived, but now the flames are spreading, consuming everything. Depleting three-quarters of my mana, I stop my healing efforts on Tanja who is now unconscious, so I drag her with me. I can see that she can breathe easier now. Not wanting to become completely defenceless, I patch up my cut arm, only making sure that I won¡¯t bleed out. ¡°For the moment I can''t do more, but she is out of immediate danger. At the shelter, the healers can patch her up completely.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Celes eyes are red from crying. She became very good friends with Tanja during the last year. ¡°What¡­ what did you do to Tongord? And why did you have Iris?¡± she asks me while blinking. ¡°I picked her up on the way here,¡± I answer. ¡°And regarding Tongord, I cast Soul-Fire on him. Unless he finds a way to heal up and disenchant the curse, he will burn until he is out of mana.¡± ¡°Good! I hope he dies! He was with them when they started killing everyone in sight. I tried to help, but there were too many of them.¡± ¡°It''s okay, Celes. You did well.¡± Just don''t lose it now. ¡°Can you take Tanja? You may have an easier time carrying her.¡± We switch our cargo since Celes with her brute strength can easily carry the larger Tanja. In turn, I shoulder the wolfgirl. ¡°You should have left her where she was!¡± Celes is clearly angry. ¡°Hah! I thought that too, but obviously for other reasons than you. I don''t think she is a willing participant in this attack. It looked like they tried to abduct her,¡± I answer. ¡°And it turned out that she was a handy distraction for Tongord.¡± After a few seconds, Celes nods. ¡°We need to get them away from here. There is nothing we can do for the others.¡± At that, I remember the burned bodies in the cafeteria, the ones I earlier chose to ignore. Attendants, students, teachers, our attackers didn''t really care who they killed. ¡°Fuckers! Follow me. We go to the shelter.¡± I start walking the way I came back and Celes follows me. ¡°You are not hurt?¡± I ask while we walk. She shakes her head, choosing to stay silent while she searches for more enemies. It seems like she is still shaken because her friend got wounded. We leave the building and as we walk over the schoolyard, Celes suddenly holds me back. ¡°Hide!¡± Ducking behind one of the bushes which are aligned along the path, we barely cut line of sight with a group of eleven robed guys who run past us. They head into the direction of the fighting at the school gate which sounds like it regained in intensity. Apparently, reinforcements arrived. After Celes signals that everything is clear, we continue on our way without further incident. At the shelter, Samarin receives us and takes Iris from my shoulder. As soon as we are inside the large underground room with other students and teachers, I take another look at Tanja and start pouring my remaining mana into healing her. Soon after this some healers appear and take care of her from there. I sit down at a wall and just feel tired while a healer takes care of my arm. I close my eyes. Maybe I should dream of better times again? ¡°Samarin said you were already at the shelter? But you still ran off to get us?¡± Celes suddenly asks from next to me. ¡°Don''t get the wrong idea. I am no white knight for the maiden. I just would have felt bad if the few people I know in this world were hurt while I was sitting around,¡± I answer. ¡°Hmpf! You are still a stupid hermit,¡± she calls out. I don¡¯t want to argue that point, so we sit in the shelter with the other students and wait. The following day, everything is like it never happened. The school was closed for the rest of the day after the terrorist attack was repelled. All sixty attackers were dead and no sign of their affiliation was found. Their actual aim couldn¡¯t be discerned. Apparently, they just tried to kill as many people as possible while trying to abduct a few selected individuals. They came close, but they never managed to pull through because the school¡¯s security slowed them down until regular police forces from the city arrived. There were quite a few deaths. Seventy people in total, most of them from the school¡¯s security and staff. Luckily, we knew none of the victims aside from Tongord, whose body has yet to be identified. The cafeteria burned down completely, making it hard to identify him among several charred corpses. Apparently, a small group had used flying magic to invade from the sky, bypassing the school¡¯s security. They went directly for Celes¡¯s location. I think that they received the information on Celes''s whereabouts from Tongord. The following day, the school held a short minute of silence and the director spoke a few words for the dead. Hardened by the war, the people of this world still find it easier to move on quickly than to lament for weeks. I allowed the events to pass by me in a daze, eagerly waiting for our parents to find some clue that connects the terrorists to our political enemies. Celes already received her negative mark in rune magic. Teacher Mirgurd showed no mercy with her. The other subjects didn¡¯t turn out to be a problem for us. Right now, I am waiting for my negative mark in art. I couldn''t think of anything that would please Jeniva, so I have to try my luck with Samarin. ¡°Angrod, you are positive by a hair¡¯s breadth. Next time, work harder!¡± Jeniva offers me a certificate which confirms that I receive a credit point for visiting her class. ¡°Huh?! But I didn''t have anything!?¡± I call out, baffled. ¡°I took your work in the schoolyard into account,¡± Jeniva replies cooly. ¡°The snowman!?¡± I utter, baffled. ¡°I watched you while you created that ¡®wonderful ice sculpture¡¯ in the schoolyard. Let¡¯s not refer to it as a snowman, or the other teachers might think that I have a soft spot for bratty princes. You may be a lost cause as a painter, but as a sculptor, you have some talent. I still think that the use of magic for the purpose of art is cheating. Still, you shouldn¡¯t be self-deprecating yourself. Your work had emotion. Something I unfortunately never felt from your other works,¡± Jeniva explains, noting down that I have received her evaluation. ¡°Hoh! I must take a look at that snowman.¡± Celes grins at me, having made a wondrous recovery from yesterday''s shock. Her mood quickly improved after it was clear that Tanja will pull through. Our friend is still in the hospital though, since the fire got all the way down her throat and heavily burned her lungs. Celes¡¯s own work for the art class is a nice painting of a landscape with cornfields and a little house made out of wood at a lake. It looks very peaceful. I could look for days at the picture, since it reminds me of something, calming me. Jeniva declares the end of the class, so we go to Samarin''s test which turns out a little strange. After we enter the class, we sit down and Samarin starts asking his questions in rapid-fire mode, barely waiting for us to give an answer. ¡°Soo... I don''t like tests, so I will make this fast! Sven, how many suns are there in the sky?¡± ¡°One?¡± ¡°Correct, pass! Margerie? What''s the square root of 676?¡± ¡°26¡± ¡°Correct, pass! Stephen? How many times will you take my test until you give up?¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± ¡°Wrong-¡± ¡°Aaahhh!¡± ¡°-failed. Angrod? Why do you know so much about science and magic?¡± ¡°Because I am much, much older than you! Mwhahaha!¡± ¡°Failed!¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Celes? What is the annual income of Stricc and Tirna together?¡± ¡°2,345,678,786 Crown Coins this year!¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even know! You just wanted to baffle me! Wait. Did I really just tell you information that¡¯s relevant to our national security?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to actually answer the question. Pass.¡± And that''s how Celes and I somehow managed to pass our first school-year, both failing one of our classes. After saying our goodbyes to everyone, I leave the class and walk off into the direction of the school gate, but Celes takes another corner. ¡°Hey, Rose is waiting at the car!¡± I follow her. ¡°I know! But I want to see the snowman!¡± Before I can stop her, Celes runs off onto the schoolyard. I sigh and follow her to take a look at the creation I made so absent-mindedly. On the schoolyard are a few people who are gaping at a wonderful ice-sculpture of a whole family in life-size. A bearded man holds a small child up in the air. Both are laughing. Next to them a beautiful woman with an infant in her arms is smiling, watching them with a benevolent expression. She has long hair which looks like it is flowing in the wind. A small girl tugs at the woman¡¯s skirt. They look like a happy family. Ordinary people who don''t have to worry about a thing in the whole world, just happy being together. It is almost as if I can see the cornfield and the wonderful nature around them. Watching them a little longer, it is like they could start moving any second. Suddenly, I realize why Celes¡¯s picture with the house and the field feels so soothing to me. It¡¯s similar to the place I couldn¡¯t recreate, the place that¡¯s supposed to surround the sculpture. A hopeless memory, nothing more. ¡°Angrod? Who is that?¡± Celes asks. ¡°Nobody... just... a wonderful, lost dream.¡± I turn around and walk in the direction of the car where Rose must be already waiting for us. Celes remains a little longer, staring at a long forgotten memory. ***The World*** ***Celes*** The stupid hermit is my honey? My honey-pie? My cuddle-bear? My one and only snuggle-bear? My biggest love of all time!? My ¡®Little One¡¯? Oh no, that¡¯s his title! That''s what I always called him back then when he played with the kids! I remember it now. Did that bitch Seria know!? She must have known! Why else would she have given him that title? No. It can¡¯t be! But there is no doubt. I am looking at a past version of myself! And it is not only me. The little Sofie is also there, tugging at my skirt like she always did. And the little Siegfried! I would recognize these people even in another hundred thousand years, they are my dearest memories. And my Johann, my honey. I would recognize his stupid, smiling face everywhere! How often did I tell him to get rid of that annoying beard! He was always happy with the world as long as he had his family. How does the grumpy, sadistic, idiotic hermit know this scene? Is he the little Siegfried? Or the baby Friedrich? Wawawawa! Worst outcome ever. What if I was his ¡®mother¡¯ in a past life! He can''t be Johann! My Johann was a nice guy! Not an idiot who laughs at the misfortune of others. He always tried to solve the problems of the world. The stupid hermit never smiles as Johann did. Johann was a saint! But¡­ Johann was really good at science¡­ and he always had some strange machine to play around with. The stupid hermit is really good with that stuff too. Was Johann also a good magician? There was no magic back then, so I can''t verify that point. I have to know! ¡°Angrod? Who is that?¡± I ask. ¡°Nobody,¡± he answers, considering the sculpture. ¡°Just a lost, wonderful dream.¡± Is he sad? The hermit is sad. That is the first time I have heard him saying something with so much sorrow. How could somebody with Johann''s character change into something so twisted like the hermit!? I turn around, but the hermit already walked off in the direction of the car! He left me behind! So cruel! Hurrying, I run after him and reach the car where Rose is waiting for us. Angrod is already inside, so I enter the car and Rose closes the door. While we drive home, I remain silent and Angrod just looks out of the window. I have to verify his identity somehow. But how? Does he remember our names from back then? I could ask him to tell me the names. That would be the only way to make sure. B- But we fought each other for so long. Wouldn''t this revelation turn our epic battle into the biggest domestic quarrel ever? I need to talk to the hermit alone and I need to¡­ argh! There is just no good way to do this. First, I have to calm down and wait and think. My brain feels like mush. Okay. I have something like a plan. Angrod is inside the library and reading a book. So he is distracted. I will open the door, walk inside, close the door, and ask. Yes. If he has to answer in the spur of the moment, it should be relatively safe to assume that he isn¡¯t lying. So I open the door. He is sitting on the couch, just as planned. So far, so good. I walk inside and close the door. ¡°Angrod, tell me the names of that family.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± He looks up. ¡°Tell me the names of the ice sculptures! The snow-family!¡± His eyes return to the book. ¡°... Why should I?¡± Damn! ¡°Tell me!¡± I shake a fist at him. ¡°Don''t scream! Whatever. I was the bearded guy, Johann. The woman was my wife, Sandra. The kids were Sofie, Siegfried, and Friedrich. It''s a scene from a past life. Happy now? What do you need the names for anyway?¡± My brain shorts out and I just stand there, gaping at him. ¡°Are you alright? Why are you crying?¡± Angrod furrows his forehead, looking at me as if I am about to lose it. ¡°You can¡¯t be him!¡± I screech, indeed cracking up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Give him back!¡± I jump his bones, grab his shirt, and start shaking him like a ragdoll. ¡°No violence!¡± He twists, ripping his shirt in the process and getting away. ¡°Don¡¯t run!¡± I follow, but he gets the oaken reading desk between us, so I crush it. ¡°What!?¡± He runs back to the sofa, using it as an obstacle between us. ¡°What did you do to him!?¡± The sofa doesn¡¯t fare any better against a rage-fuelled kick. ¡°Did you steal his memories?¡± Jumping forward, I finally get a hold on him, so I lift him up and shake him. Somehow I will get him to talk, even if it requires spilling his guts! He raises his hands, trying to negotiate for peace. ¡°Ow! What''s wrong with you? Don''t shake me like that. Do you have your first menstruation cycle or something?¡± My vision is blurry. ¡°I am Sandra! What did you do to Johann!¡± For a brief moment, he seems shocked, then his normally stoic demeanor crumbles. ¡°You can''t be Sandra! She was a nice woman. She always assisted me in my work. She wasn''t violent or a control freak. She knew no martial arts!¡± he answers. I let go, dropping him to the floor. ¡°If you are lying... and... and... I find out that you did something to Johann¡¯s soul, I will rip you to so many tiny pieces that even Seria can¡¯t put you back together!¡± Wiping at my eyes, I start babbling. ¡°Our country was peaceful for our whole life! There was no need to fight. And as long as I was with Johann, I always had enough money! He was a perfect money printing machine with his genius mind. What happened to you to become like this?¡± I hug him, trying not to bawl like a baby. Well, it¡¯s already too late for that. ¡°I could throw the same question back at you. Do you really want to imply that you are Sandra and that she just stayed with me for the money?¡± Angrod doesn''t move, apparently afraid of escalating the situation. I don¡¯t reply and keep hugging him. What is there to say, aside from the fact this multiverse is a shitty place. ¡°It seems people change with time... and you can''t get them back,¡± he says. Disillusioned, he pats my back. I scold myself for losing it like that, but I really liked Johann. I guess a woman should never tell a guy that she is thinking about money. ¡°This is worse than knowing that you are just out there somewhere in the multiverse and I just can''t find you,¡± he mopes. I really don''t know if this the worst or the best day ever, so I say nothing. I don¡¯t want to say anything right now. ¡°I guess it is better to continue as we were. Don''t you think so too? We are not the same people we were back then. Trying to go back is probably impossible. You yourself said that you want to go forward.¡± He tries to comfort me. ¡°You think?¡± I wipe at my face, ashamed for having a meltdown. ¡°You are right. You are not Johann and I am not Sandra. I hate this situation! B... But you came for me, instead of hiding in the shelter! So maybe there is still a good guy somewhere inside you.¡± I am mad at myself, I should have just forgotten about this and said nothing. Some things are better to be forgotten. ¡°I said you shouldn''t misunderstand my actions!¡± He replies while turning red. It makes me smile. So cute! He just can''t be sincere. Johann also always tried to hide his true feelings. Suddenly, the door opened and Ireth peeked inside. ¡°I heard some noise... what happened here!? Did a bomb explode!?¡± Then her eyes fall on us. ¡°You two fought! Again!¡± Angrod hugs me back instead of just patting my back. ¡°Hahaha! We just had a small lover¡¯s quarrel! Isn''t that right my Sugar-Cat?¡± My stomach turns upside down when I hear my old pet-name. ¡°Sure, but we already made up again. I can''t be mad at my Little-One forever! It was just a minor misunderstanding.¡± I join him out of reflex and he turns stiff. A rope appears in Ireth''s hands and she walks in our direction. Now I am crying for a different reason while hugging Angrod. He is crying too and hugs me in turn. Somehow, this feels like those forgotten times. It''s just that our reasons for crying changed. Chapter 17 ***The Wild Hunt in the Past*** ***Seria*** I''ve already been chasing the godling for days and there is no sign that he is getting tired. He must be an individual with astounding endurance. Unfortunately for him, he refused the Council''s offer. Instead of becoming a loyal servant, he proclaimed his wish to become a free agent, something the Council will never allow. So the hunt was on. With the new godling officially branded as a heretic, Tjenemit was quick to send me after the rebel, leaving me not much choice in the matter. If I don¡¯t do it, someone else will. There are many who prefer servitude to eternal imprisonment, or whatever the Council does to deal with immortals. The Council¡¯s dogs are many and they will hunt their prey until the end of existence. Maybe there is a chance to retreat to the deepest parts of the Infernal Planes, but there are things out there that even the gods are afraid to touch, hiding in the uncivilised regions of the multiverse. Going there, the newcomer wouldn''t survive a day on his own. I leave the pathway and stand in front of him. Having caught up, I can see now that he is weak and tired, dark rings under his eyes. He is a god, but even an immortal can run too far and stay awake for too long. Surrounding us is a barren wasteland with four suns in the sky. A nameless world among countless billions. If I had to share its location with another god, I would have to point out a dimensional frequency and a set of coordinates,referring to the centre of all things. ¡°I guess you guys will follow me wherever I go? Is there even a place where you can''t find me?¡± Still having some fight left in him, he raises his hands to battle me. ¡°There is nowhere you can rununless you are willing to enter a Void Zone or the Infernal Planes,¡± I explain patiently. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°No. I suppose you wouldn¡¯t.¡± He is new, after all. Nobody explained anything to him. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that there are places to which I wouldn¡¯t follow you. I would just turn around¡­ and report your final death to the Council.¡± ¡°Can I at least ask for the name of the one who caught me?¡± he asks. I smile and make a small curtsy. ¡°I am Seria, Goddess of Life and Death. I want to make you an offer. There is one way for you to escape.¡± He squints his eyes, clearly not believing me. ¡°How?¡± ¡°You have to die and forsake your divinity,¡± I explain the crux of the matter first, knowing from experience that it¡¯s more likely to go smoothly this way. ¡°That''s all? But I have no divinity! I refused to become a god! They offered me the job and I turned around and ran!¡± He huffs. ¡°Why are they still chasing me!?¡± ¡°Then how are you walking the multiverse if you are no god? Only gods are able to do that.¡± I gesture at him, then at our surreal surroundings. ¡°Though I have to admit that you are quite talented in using the pathways. Many young deities quickly find themselves in a dead end until they get used to trusting their instincts.¡± ¡°...¡± He doesn¡¯t reply, waiting for me to make my point. ¡°The Council doesn''t make you a god. They just want everyone to believe they do. It would be very bad for their reputation if there were gods who aren''t elevated by them.¡± I wave my hand in an uplifting motion. ¡°...¡± I raise aneyebrow. ¡°So. Do you want me to help you? I could save your soul, but you have to decide fast and the price is nothing less than your newfound godhood. You will no longer be a god. You will lose your memories and start anew. Maybe you will get them back in the distant future, but they will never feel like your own again. In return for saving you, you have to help me when I ask for it. And you have to trust me and lower your guard.¡± ¡°...¡± I tilt my head, feeling a slight ripple along the pathways. ¡°You must decide now. I feel them coming. Having made this offer, I have to silence you before one of the others arrive.¡± He hesitates, but then he starts laughing. ¡°Hahaha. Fuck this! I never wanted to be a god anyway. Do whatever you have to do.¡± ¡°This will hurt for a short while, but you have to stay still.¡± I approach and place a hand on his chest, pushing against his aura until he lowers it. He nods, assuring me that his defences are down, and I thrust my hand into his chest. His face distorts in pain, but he soon relaxes, dropping dead after a few moments. Waving a hand, I dissolve his body, turning it into dust. He didn''t even twitch when I took his soul, he must be a valiant one, a good addition to my growing collection. I study the two shimmering marbles which are now in my hand. One for his soul, and one for his divinity. Just as I predicted, someone arrives and I turn to face him while forming a fist to hide the two marbles. My prey and I have been stationary for too long. It was just a question of time until the Council caught up. I don''t understand how their tracking system works, but after serving them for eons I have figured out its limitations. ¡°Where is he?¡± Tjenemit asks, searching the vicinity. ¡°I managed to intercept him, but he wasn''t as weak as you predicted. He resisted and stepped onto another pathway. I am afraid it was one which led directly to the Infernal Planes, so I didn¡¯t follow.¡± ¡°What! Damn! Why didn''t you stop him!¡± Tjenemit narrows his eyes. ¡°I tried.¡± I bow, folding my palms submissively in front of my knees. ¡°You call yourself a Goddess of Life and Death, but you can''t catch a puny little half-god who just found out how big the multiverse truly is! I lost a lot of time thanks to you. Now I have to start the search for another test subject!¡± Tjenemit spits on the ground infuriated for some reason. ¡°I will try to do better next time. It seems like I am just not cut out as a hunter, but the Council keeps enlisting me because I am faster than others.¡± I keep my eyes focused on the ground. What¡¯s this talk about a test subject? ¡°First the fiasco with Ascathon and Myrm, and now this failure. I will keep an eye on you from now on. There is no way that you misunderstood what I wanted when I told you to extract the knowledge about Mana Crystals from Ascathon. It feels like insubordination! There is also the fact that gods tend to disappear around you much too often.¡± He turns around and fades away, leaving me with a foreboding feeling. How much time do I have left if Tjenemit is already starting to catch on? ***The World*** ***Angrod*** Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. In order to counteract the terrorist attack on our school, my parents decided to go on a trip in order to inspect various independently managed counties up in the north. Officially, they are taking a vacation, but the truth of the matter is that they are trying to frighten our political enemies. By showing their faces on their soil, they are making a statement. That left us kids free to enjoy our first holidays from school. Naturally, having too much free time isn''t always a good thing. Celes quickly started acting¡­ strange. Yes, strange is the right word, to say the least. If I didn''t know better, I would say that she is trying to train me¡­ like some dog. Not that I am against training humans. Certain humans just won¡¯t become decent beings otherwise. The problem is that I see myself more like a cat-person, free-spirited and all that. ¡°Say, Aahh.¡± Celes holds a piece of chocolate in front of my mouth. I try to resist, but being free-spirited is one thing when you actually want what¡¯s offered to you. A cat would also eat a treat that is freely given, so I open my mouth and eat the chocolate. ¡°What do you think?¡± She looks at me, eagerly awaiting my judgement. ¡°A little bit too bitter,¡± I reply, savouring the taste. ¡°I am more of a sweet tooth. It has to melt in the mouth without giving the impression of butter or fat.¡± ¡°Hum¡­¡± Celes considers that with a tilted head, regarding her plate with samples. When she came up with the idea of recreating a version of chocolate in this world, she brought me a full range of sample pieces. ¡°I may be able to adapt the recipe.¡± ¡°That would be nice.¡± I absent-mindedly stroke Ghost''s head. We are on the floor in the study, which is very comfortable thanks to the thick carpet in the middle of the room. Celes is to my left, taking notes about my opinion of her alchemical experiment, while my pet is sleeping to my right, his large head planted on my thigh. Celes furrows her forehead and studies Ghost as if he is her competition. ¡°Your little pet is getting really big. I am not sure what to think of a dog-sized cat.¡± ¡°Oh, that''s nothing. His mother was as big as a tiger,¡± I comment. ¡°He should already be much larger, but I think that the Familiar-Bond I cast on him is affecting his development. It''s now more in line with my own.¡± Ghost lets out an appreciative ''purr'' and announces his approval of being petted with a ¡°Meow!¡± Celes shudders. ¡°I swear, it still creeps me out that you trained him to meow.¡± Pursing my lips, I look down at Ghost. ¡°But wouldn''t it be boring if he were just a normal Razorclaw? His brethren are always so silent and menacing and a real cat just has to meow.¡± ¡°He isn''t some house-cat. He is a deadly predator.¡± She sighs and reaches over to pet my familiar. ¡°I am sorry, Ghost. He went and destroyed any chance you had to ever live with your kind in the wild.¡± He looks like a real cat while he is not hulked out. That''s all I care about.Maybe it''s better if I just change the subject. ¡°Anyway. Have you visited Tanja in the hospital? How is she doing?¡± ¡°She is going to make a full recovery, and you could have visited her too,¡± Celes replies in a judgemental tone. Great, so changing the topic wasn''t the best idea. ¡°It''s not like I could do anything to help her. There are experts who specialize in healing. What I do is pretty much only battlefield healing. Quick and dirty with a few scars. Tanja needs someone who can shape flesh and skin.¡± ¡°I meant giving her moral support, you moron.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I honestly wasn''t thinking about visiting her for the sake of socialising. It''s not like I want to hit on Tanja. ¡°I can tell that your socially inept brain got the totally wrong idea about the reason for visiting a girl in hospital,¡± she mumbles and I get the feeling that I just fell in her esteem. I deflate. ¡°Sometimes it feels like you can read my thoughts.¡± She shrugs. ¡°Only those which you telegraph with your face for all the world to see.¡± We are interrupted when the door opens and Katrine enters the room with a sour expression. I can immediately tell that something unpleasant must have happened. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I ask. ¡°The Meltheims are here. They requested an ¡®audience¡¯ with their king,¡± she informs us, closing the door behind her. ¡°They are making a counter-play to your parents¡¯ inspection of the northern counties. Arthur is trying to get rid of them in a polite manner, but they are likely going for a flaw in Tirnan law. I assume they will complain about the new inventions. I wonder if-¡± Katrine is interrupted by Arthur who enters the room. ¡°We have a problem. The Meltheims insist on seeing the highest ranking available ruler asap.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± I snort. ¡°Then they have a problem, my parents aren''t here. Nothing that can be done about it.¡± Katrine shakes her head. ¡°That''s exactly the problem. They want to use a loophole in our peace treaty. We should have burned that stupid document as soon as it was written.¡± Arthur raises his hand to admonish his wife. ¡°Hush, dear. You know very well that it would have been impossible to get the nobility to agree without it.¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°What exactly is the problem with that treaty?¡± Celes huffs. ¡°You should really pay some attention to the political side of our union. Apparently, if there is an economic conflict between the two countries, an affected noble can demand an audience with the ruler of the other side. It¡¯s supposed to give nobles the opportunity to complain directly to the ruler of the other side. If the audience is not given within three days, the party in question can take every action they deem necessary to solve the problem.¡± ¡°My parents can''t be back within three days. It takes at least a week to get to the northern regions,¡± I reply, stating a fact. ¡°Too bad that Nicosar also went on one of his underground missions.¡± I turn to address Arthur. ¡°Can''t you just tell that Meltheim guy to fuck off?¡± Arthur shakes his head. ¡°They have issues with the new inventions which were made by the house of Cygnus and they did everything by the book. Apart from the fact that I don¡¯t want to, I can''t give orders to Cygnus, because they belong to Tirna. I don''t have any legal authority.¡± Celes perks up. ¡°They are relying on the fact that there is nobody available who can represent Tirna. It doesn''t matter if the person in question would tell them ¡®Go to Hell!¡¯ in any case?¡± Arthur nods. Celes looks at me. ¡°The solution simple. Go out there and tell them to go to hell.¡± ¡°I can do that. The only question is what happens if they think they can challenge me again?¡± I look down at myself. ¡°I am not exactly intimidating.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no problem.¡± Arthur looks at me. ¡°All you have to do is smile.¡± My eyes widen involuntarily. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean!?¡± Katrine smiles at me. ¡°There is something manic in your expressions. As if you are just waiting for them to let their guard down around you.¡± Celes nods. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s like Jack the Ripper putting on a human skin to fool his prey.¡± ¡°Enough with the pribble-prabble.¡± Arthur waves his hand. ¡°This is a serious situation. Worst case, they will use the excuse to start a fight with the Cygnus. They can cause a whole lot of problems. Don¡¯t forget that they still control a large share of the market for rare elements. Maybe they will stop selling their goods to everyone who uses the new technology.¡± ¡°Annoying. Well... I guess that I have to go and tell them to fuck off.¡± I get to my feet and start walking towards the door. ¡°What? You can''t! You are just ten!¡± Arthur intercedes. ¡°I thought you made a joke when you said that you would go out there!¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I shrug. ¡°I am the Prince of Tirna. They get to talk to the future king of the world. I am sure that¡¯s nothing to complain about. Does the peace treaty mention a required minimum age for the representative?¡± Arthur looks flabbergasted. ¡°No? Why would anyone ever put an age requirement into a treaty? It assumes that a country¡¯s representatives have what it takes.¡± I smile at Arthur. ¡°Future father-in-law. Your dearest son-in-law most certainly has what it takes.¡± Looking down at me, Arthur shudders. ¡°Please refrain from smiling like that.¡± I stop. ¡°We will twist the stupid peace treaty to our advantage just like they are doing.¡± I turn around and start walking again. Celes jumps to her feet. ¡°Wait! You have to stage this encounter properly, or it could go horribly wrong.¡± I stop, considering it. Normally, I would just slaughter the disobedient bastards, but that¡¯s probably not a socially acceptable option when I am not a god who can''t be opposed. ¡°What do you suggest?¡± When she is done, I nod. ¡°Just tell Rose to set things up while I entertain the Meltheims.¡± Katrine gasps when I turn and walk to the door. ¡°Wait! You¡¯ve never been in an audience!¡± ¡°Unless we find out where Nicosar ran off to, it might be our only chance.¡± Arthur grunts, massaging his chin. I wave a hand, dismissing Katrine''s concern. ¡°I have seen enough of my father¡¯s audiences. Besides, if nobody shows up, the outcome is the same as if I mess up. There is no pressure.¡± Before they can stop me I walk out and towards the ballroom. It is set up as a reception hall for nobles while there are no festivities in the embassy. The stage at the back-wall is used as an elevated platform with four thrones on it, ensuring that a visitor has to look up to the rulers of the world. I take the back-entrance, so that I enter from behind the stage. Rounding the stage, I throw a look at the Meltheims as I climb the stairs to my father¡¯s chair. In passing, I greet the four guards who are holding their positions to the left and to the right. Turning around, I eye a middle-aged guy in extravagant clothes who was waiting with a woman and his two sons, just a few steps in front of the stage. His horns are long and straight, a trait of the royal bloodline. His colourful outfit shows patterns of white and multiple shades of red. It isn''t to my liking, but I''ve often seen the nobility wearing similar stuff. His eyes are the perfect golden snake eyes of high nobility. Just like mine and those of his sons. Only Senda looks a little more like his mother, the eyes less pronounced. Odlef''s nose and those narrow eyes make him look more like a poisonous snake than a dragon who is about to strike. The woman also looks regal in her white dress, Sarda and Senda next to her. Stepping backwards, I sit down on the throne, shimmying into the much too large thing. Man, must I look stupid doing this! The Meltheim patriarch just watches my actions with a slightly opened mouth, clearly not understanding what is happening. ¡°Ahem! I declare the audience as opened! You may close your mouth before a fly decides to fly into it,¡± I declare in the most uppish demeanour I can manage. He snaps his mouth shut, gulping down spit before he manages an answer. ¡°Is that a joke?¡± Odlef Meltheim asks, dumbfounded. ¡°No. I don''t joke in matters of state. Please state your business and don''t waste any more of my time than necessary. I''ve books to read. Also, show some manners and introduce yourself.¡± I wave a hand, gesturing for him to get on with it. ¡°I wanted an audience with the ruler of Tirna! Not with a kid!¡± Odlef spits out, facing Arthur who just now entered the throne room. ¡°My parents are on a trip and not available, but I guess you already knew that and purposefully chose this exact moment to launch this nonsense. Unfortunately for you, I happened to stay behind. You have to deal with me, Prince Angrod of Tirna. Right now, you are talking to the highest available person possible. So you may speak now or announce that there is no need for an audience and we can all go our way,¡± I offer, feeling generous. Arthur nods and ascends to his throne, sitting down. ¡°I am afraid that you chose an inopportune moment, Odlef. Currently, there is only Angrod to answer your request.¡± ¡°This is violating the protocol!¡± Odlef complains, stabbing a finger at me. Arthur just shrugs and spreads his hands in a helpless gesture. ¡°There is nothing I can do about it at the moment, aside from following the agreement of the peace treaty.¡± ¡°You may be following the words, but not its spirit!¡± Odlef turns to face me, acknowledging me for the first time. ¡°I am Odlef of Meltheim! I am here to demand that the house of Cygnus stops their research to undermine our business. Their inventions are shifting the proper balance of power between the houses and our countries! This development has to end now!¡± I pretend to consider it. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What?¡± Odlef lifts his chin. ¡°Are you able to explain your decision?¡± ¡°No, the Cygnus will not shut down their research, nor take it back. There won''t be any restrictions or taxes to impede their progress. On the contrary, the research efforts will be expanded. This world has resource problems and because of that, Tirna and Stricc are constantly on the edge of war. ¡°Since the new inventions started to go into production, the tension between our countries'' economies has lessened. Soon, it will be obvious to anyone that war is no longer necessary due to economic reasons.¡± ¡°I hope you know what you are doing.¡± Odlef narrows his eyes. ¡°Are you aware that our family alone finances ten percent of our nation''s yearly budget?¡± I shrug. ¡°That sounds more like you have to take it up with Arthur. I refuse to give someone who already has too much power even more power. You are controlling Stricc¡¯s market for rare elements. I understand that because of the new inventions your profit goes down, but you will still control the market and have more than enough to live. You can either help us in our efforts to create permanent peace, or you claim yourself to be a supporter of war.¡± I lean back and fold my hands on my lap. ¡°The Cygnus family will continue their research. End of discussion.¡± Odlef went through the full spectrum of colours while I was talking. From red, to blue, followed by a very unhealthy violet, making me wonder how a person like him ever managed to achieve such a high status. He likely just inherited his position from his father. I sigh. That''s the problem with a system of bloodline inheritance. It works as long as the children are properly educated by their parents. One wrong step and corruption takes hold, likely growing worse with each following generation. ¡°I demand an honour duel!¡± Odlef gestures towards his sons. ¡°You can choose.¡± Sarda immediately pales and his mouth falls open, while Senda¡¯s expression turns worried. They know that I am not easily bullied because we have classes together. ¡°You guys already tried that once. On what basis do you claim it now!¡± Arthur interrupts, getting up from his chair. He looks outraged that his own subject could try something like this - again. But honestly, I already suspected it. Reacting badly is the next logical step for an irresponsible adult when he is dressed down by some teenager. Some people only judge by looks. Odlef probably can¡¯t get past the fact that I am a kid who is sitting on a much too large throne. ¡°On the basis, that I won''t accept being played by a little child who is almost falling out of the throne! I was disrespected by this farce,¡± Odlef screams, stomping his foot. He gestures towards his wife and two men further back ¨C probably his personal guards. ¡°I have witnesses!¡± ¡°Who do you want to send this time? We have already seen that Angrod doesn''t even have to lift a finger against someone of his own age, and I certainly won¡¯t allow you to fight him. A duel makes no sense,¡± Arthur replies in an attempt to talk some sense into the Meltheim patriarch. ¡°I will send Senda! He is stronger than Sarda! He will win and restore our honour!¡± Odlef replies, glaring at Arthur. ¡°I will kill him,¡± I interrupt the pointless discussion. Everybody looks at me with shocked expressions. Looking at Odlef, I address him directly, ¡°I have had enough of putting up a front! You''ve already tried to kill me at my introduction party. Let''s not try to talk around the obvious. Sarda and Senda provoked the first duel intentionally. You thought I would not be an opponent for them and decided that Sarda was more than enough to get rid of me - or at least humiliate my family. ¡°You did this because he shows the traits of the royal bloodline stronger than Senda for some reason. His horns are a little larger and his eyes a little brighter than Senda''s. With that, it would be easy to argue a marriage with Celes.¡± I tilt my head, looking down on Odlef. ¡°I was nice at the party, because it was my introduction party and because there were many people. Allow me to make it clear that I am nothing like the previous kings of Tirna. My grandfather was strong, but also a little easy-going on his subjects. My father is a negotiator, always trying to juggle the various interests of his people. He is afraid of a civil war. Maybe a little too much if it means that he has to compromise with people like you.¡± I place a hand on my chest. ¡°I am nothing of the sort. While you are playing according to the law, you are clearly making yourself out to be an enemy of ours, and I don''t negotiate with enemies, nor do I attempt to pay them off with concessions. I''ll be your future king once Celes and I are married, and when I tell you to jump, you will jump or find yourself one head shorter.¡± I smile as the door to the ballroom opens and more palace guards file into the room, pushing Odlef''s so-called ''witnesses'' aside. Forty men in full battle regalia with short swords and spellstaffs ¨C a type of wand that¡¯s favoured over guns ¨C line up at the walls to the left and right from Odlef and his family. ¡°If you don''t stop your attempts to exploit some badly formulated passages from a hasty treaty, I swear that I will kill Senda if he challenges me. Of course, I''ll make it look like an unfortunate accident.¡± I lean back and show them my teeth. ¡°Once I am done with him, I''ll challenge Sarda, but I''ll not kill him,¡± I explain without shouting, yet speaking loudly and clearly. ¡°I will rip off his balls and feed them to my pet. Then I¡¯ll cast a curse that makes it impossible to regenerate the lost parts. Maybe I¡¯ll even rip off something else and display it in a public showcase in front of the embassy. The parts of anyone who challenges me will be there, including a photo of the previous owner.¡± I gesture somewhere above my head. ¡°Because to be honest, I have had it somewhere up to here with challenges. Once I am done making sure that you are the last Meltheim generation, I''ll find a way to kill you, Odlef. I''ll rip out your heart and drop it in front of your relatives'' feet.¡± Iexplain with a sweet smile. Looking back and forth between the guards and me, Odlef gapes, trying to suck in the necessary air to complain. ¡°You are threatening me! It is not allowe-¡± ¡°I am not threatening you,¡± I whisper sweetly, interrupting him. ¡°There are forty people in this room who can confirm that I just explained what will happen if you force me into another stupid duel. I am the future ruler of the whole world, and I most certainly won''t spend the rest of my life fighting monthly duels with some ambitious shitstains who think that they can gain something by demonstrating personal combat power, like some illiterate apes.¡± I lean forward. ¡°Believe me. What I did to your son the last time was just a small taste of what I am capable of. I¡¯ll let you in on a little secret. I actually like hurting people. Especially when they deserve it. There is something invigorating about their screams. At the moment, I really want to hurt your family while you watch. Please give me a reason.¡± I point at the door. ¡°There is the door, Odlef. Pull in your tail and run, or I may issue the challenge myself because you are wasting my time. Make sure that you never ¨C ever ¨C come to my attention again. Keep your head down and don¡¯t interfere with our efforts to create a lasting peace. If not, I¡¯ll suggest to my parents that itmay be better to reduce the number of nobility in our two countries.¡± Odlef looks at me as if he just found out that there was a scorpion instead of a plush toy in his delivery box. ¡°This isn''t over!¡± He takes a step backwards, then turns around and leaves without saying goodbye, his wife with the two boys trailing after him. I notice that the backside of Sarda¡¯s pants changed their colour, and that there is a particularly ill odour in the air. Once the door slams shut behind our unwelcome visitors I jump out of the chair and correct my attire. ¡°What a waste of time!¡± ¡°Would you really have done it?¡± Arthur asks, looking at me from his throne. I smile at him. ¡°I am a firm believer in the philosophy that everybody is allowed to make mistakes in his life ¨C once. There are no second chances in my book. Odlef, and by extension his family, have used up theirs, especially after I warned them off. Normally, I am not so nice as to do that.¡± ¡°You know that they will react badly to this once they get to talk to their faction,¡± Arthur grumbles with a grim expression. ¡°Then maybe it¡¯s time for you and my father to use your authority. I don¡¯t get why I am supposed to fix things when our political enemies are so obviously antagonistic towards us.¡± I gesture towards the door where the Meltheims disappeared. ¡°People like them are opportunists without any sense of loyalty. They are carrion eaters who will pounce the moment they sense weakness and bide their time as long as they think that fighting may cost them too much. The only thing you can do is to make sure that you are always the stronger one, or get rid of them altogether.¡± ¡°It sounds so easy, but the Meltheims have a lot of influence. Cutting them out of our political structure won¡¯t happen without spilling a lot of blood,¡± Arthur explains patiently. ¡°Yes.¡± I turn away, intending to do something about my future ability to take my fate into my own hands. ¡°Sometimes, you can only heal a cancer if you cut it out before it kills you. It takes determination to apply the blade to your own body.¡± Determination which our parents seem to lack. I find Celes waiting outside the ballroom. She clearly listened in on everything that was said, so I decide to get right to the point. ¡°What do you think?¡± She looks at me with an incredulous expression. ¡°You could have been a little nicer.¡± ¡°Do you think that would have changed anything? Arthur, Odlef''s King and direct superior, was right next to me when the man strolled into our territory like he owned the place. Then he tried to piss onto my leg in plain sight of his liege.¡± I gesture back towards the throne room. Celes looks at the door, considering my words. ¡°You are probably right. It''s the first time that I listened in on a direct meeting with this fellow. He doesn''t show the respect I would expect from a subject. I know that our parents are afraid of a civil war, but given Odlef''s behaviour, conflict seems to be an inevitable future.¡± ¡°He is behaving like he is at least our equal,¡± I mumble, narrowing my eyes. ¡°Which means that either he is grossly underestimating our parents, because they are ruling with such a gentle hand,¡± she tilts her head, thinking, ¡°or our parents misjudged the true extent of Odlef''s reach. He must have some ace up his sleeve, assuring him that he stands a reasonable chance to endure a direct conflict with the crown. His behaviour makes no sense otherwise.¡± I huff. ¡°They are too soft.¡± ¡°Our parents?¡± Celes looks at me and shudders. ¡°I don''t think so. They are just trying their damnedest to prevent the loss of life that a civil war would take.¡± That''s why I think they are soft. They would be the perfect rulers for an established kingdom at peace ¨C with loyal subjects. Problem is, some of our subjects clearly aren''t loyal. ¡°Maybe it''s time to bring out our A-Game and build up our power base and personal strength. As much as I would have liked to enjoy my childhood, this recent encounter makes me think that there is not much time left.¡± ¡°I am doing nothing else since we entered school.¡± Celes straightens herself, looking haughtily at me. ¡°I''ve planned for fifty-seven possible scenarios in which this conflict could play out.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Don''t take this the wrong way, but I prefer to simply squash my problems.¡± Just like ant-crabs. Surprisingly enough, she smiles, seeming amused. ¡°So I''ve heard. So what do you suggest we do next?¡± ¡°I think increasing my power-level is first on the list. After showing Odlef my obviously antagonistic attitude, I am sure that he wants me gone sooner rather than later.¡± I massage my chin, unsure whether I should truly involve Celes in this. ¡°Reasonable.¡± She nods. ¡°Should I provide you with some remedies that will help with growing your powers?¡± I look at her, remembering that she has got a whole alchemy kit and a room for her toys. ¡°You don''t happen to have some acid that''s good at dissolving flesh?¡± She furrows her forehead, clearly dumbfounded at my request. ¡°Sure. But why would you need that? Do you want to dump it on our enemies?¡± ¡°Nothing like that.¡± I wave a hand. ¡°Go and prepare a generous amount. I''ll meet you in your workroom. I just have to get a few things.¡± We depart, and I go to my own room to get everything I need, two large cases with various tools and raw materials that are used for enchanting. A minute later, I knock on the door of Celes''s workroom and enter. It''s the first time that I take a look at it, and I am not disappointed. Her parents equipped a little laboratory for her. On one table, something that seems like liquid chocolate bubbles in a large keg, while on another, vials with various pills and solutions are laid out in different processing stages. A third of the room is taken up by several shelves on which various alchemical compounds are stored. Celes gestures for me to come in while she dumps various liquids into a sizzling bottle. ¡°Come in. I have it almost ready.¡± I approach and retrieve a small welding tool and an engraving knife from the case with my tools. Then I get some gold and platinum wire from the other case, the one which holds my raw materials. It''s the reason why I am not the least bit enviousof Celes''s laboratory. Taking into accountmy precious metals and gemstones, the raw materials my parents gave me are worth at least that much. ¡°What''s your plan?¡± Celes asks, stirring the bottle with a stick made out of glass. ¡°Some personal improvement which I normally wouldn''t consider.¡± I close my cases back up. ¡°As a god, there was no reason to enhance myself, but I always kept searching for ways to empower my minions. This method is easy enough and works surprisingly well. Is that the acid?¡± ¡°Yes, it should work well enough.¡± She places the bottle on the table and packs away the solutions which she used to create it. ¡°Though, I don''t understand why you would need acid to improve yourself.¡± ¡°You will see.¡± I select a large bowl from the shelf beneath the working area and pour the acid inside it. ¡°Careful!¡± Celes warns me. ¡°That stuff is potent.¡± ¡°The quicker it works, the better.¡± I pull off my shirt and Celes actually blushes. ¡°Aren''t we a little too young for that?¡± she asks, looking away while she plays with her tail. ¡°No clue what idea you got now, but I didn''t want to destroy a new shirt.¡± I place my hand inside the bowl and hiss when the acid starts bubbling, turning red, then black. ¡°What the fuck are you doing!?¡± Celes shrieks, trying to pull out my hand, but I force myself to press it flat down onto the bottom of the bowl as the flesh flakes away, leaving behind white bone and sinew. ¡°That stings,¡± I shriek, feeling tears running down my cheeks. ¡°Stings like hell!¡± ¡°I bet it does!¡± Celes complains. ¡°Why would you do that!? It will take days to heal that!¡± ¡°Normally, I would use dragonbone. The material is perfect to hold several high-level enchantments. But I learned that living bones work just as well.¡± I pull my skeletal hand out of the acid and wash it off in the drainage. ¡°Would you take some cord and bind that off? I don''t want to leak blood all over your lab.¡± ¡°Holy shit. You are nuts,¡± Celes complains, but does as she was told. ¡°Only a little.¡± I take the engraving knife and start cutting little runes into the bone of my hand. ¡°It will take me a while. The whole hand needs to be covered before I can finish the matrix. Then I have to fixate the enchantment by welding the metal into the bone.¡± ¡°But what happens when you grow? Won''t the runes crack?¡± Celes asks, worried. Concentrating on my work, I explain, ¡°It''s what I call a growing enchantment. Once I lay the groundwork on my hand, it will slowly grow on its own and cover my whole skeleton. Depending on what I need, I will be able to guide the enchantment, permanently enhancing my body. It''ll make wielding magic much easier.¡± I huff, trying to ignore the pain. ¡°Once I am done, I will do you too. Maybe you will even become a decent caster.¡± ¡°Hell no!¡± Celes gapes. ¡°I would have to retrain all the internal mana channels in my hand. That would be years of lost training. You may be able to do that because you never properly train your internal pathways, but to me it would be like cutting off a hand!¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Just do your thing. I''ll rely on my pills and remedies. I''ve no desire to find out later on that having a growing enchantment inside my body messes up my martial arts.¡± I harrumph, seeing the point. ¡°Well, you do your thing and I do mine.¡± Concentrating on my work, I soon realize that I can''t relax with Celes looking over my shoulder. She is breathing down my neck and her tail is flicking here and there, brushing against my flank and sending warm shivers down my spine. No. Cool down. Remember that we are just children! Leaning forward, she brushes her chest against my back, so I drop the engraving knife and turn around. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I am just curious,¡± she mumbles, stepping back to give me space. ¡°Why the hand?¡± ¡°What do you mean, why the hand?¡± I look at my bony hand. ¡°Because it''s easy to work on.¡± Instead of giving an answer, Celes reaches out, taking a firm hold of the horn which sprouts from my left temple. Then she pulls left and right, emphasizing the point that the thing is firmly attached to my head... to my skull. Realisation dawns on my face and her expression turns pitying. ¡°Idiot! You really didn''t think at all before you decided to do this!¡± ¡°Gah! It''s not like I had horns when I designed the enchantment!¡± I try to salvage the situation. ¡°I would have to change the design to fit onto the horns.¡± ¡°But you could have done it.¡± She mercilessly prods the wound. ¡°Likely easily enough.¡± ¡°Probably a few days,¡± I admit. She just looks down at my skeletal hand. ¡°Yeah... if I ever take that step, I will wait for you to redesign the enchantment. Though, probably not.¡± Hissing, I turn back to the table and take up the carving knife. ¡°I may as well finish what I''ve started. No point to stop now.¡± The bones are already curling into a fist because the sinews are drying up, so I have to work quickly. Chapter 18 ***The World*** ***Celes*** ¡°I want the mountain range in the north-east of Midhold,¡± Angrod requests out of the blue at the large, round dining table. Ittook a week, but finally, his parentshadreturned from their trip. Odlef and his group stayed strangely silent in response to the prince¡¯s threat. Ireth puts down her fork, ignoring the delicious steak on her plate. ¡°Why would you need a mountain?¡± ¡°And a workforce, sworn to secrecy. Preferablypeople with military experience. In fact, it might be prudent to commandeer a fourth of the city¡¯s northern casern''s personnel to get things going,¡± he adds quickly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste any time with establishing a command structure.¡± Nicol clears his throat. ¡°You are a child. Why would you need control over a few hundred government employees?¡± ¡°I want to set up my own research institute. I¡¯ve done some research and found out that the mountain is an old volcano. The geological data says that there are many metals like iron inside the volcanic rock,¡± he explains. ¡°The facility I¡¯ve in mind will make use of the fact that there are already many of the necessary raw materials locally available.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t we already ensured that your miraculous knowledge is spread through the Cygnus family?¡± Arthur joins in. ¡°A second way of spreading technology feels unnecessary.¡± ¡°That''s true, but there is knowledge which I don''t want to distribute to the public. I trust Cygnus, but I would feel much better if I could keep some of the things which I want to create in my own hands. The latest design for a new power plant belongs to that category.¡± Angrod waves his hand. ¡°Apart from that, the Meltheims¡¯ open hostility makes me wish that I have some weapons up my sleeve to stop any insurrections.¡± ¡°I guess we could organize it. But what about the money?¡± Nicol massages his chin, studying his son. Angrod reveals a sheet of paper and hands it to his father. ¡°I have calculated everything. We will shut down the old royal power stations which support the city and replace them with my new ones. The old ones burn coal and are outdated. My new power plant will produceenergy much cheaper onceit startsrunning. We can just keep the old price- and finance-structure, then redistribute the gains to my project.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Katrinestudies the paper, clearly not convinced. ¡°I think it¡¯s a good idea,¡± I join in, having talked about it with Angrod beforehand. Actually, I was the one who did the financial planning for him. When he first proposed the plan, he intended to just order some people to do what must be done, essentially enslaving them. ¡°Having some surprises for the guys from Meltheim and Tulhelm wouldn¡¯t be so bad. They''ve been too silent since Odlef ran off. It bugs me.¡± I raise my spoon from my mushroom soup to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°The war-faction is obviously planning something. After Odlef ran off, all they did was raise the prices for their materials. The other disturbing point is that Sarda and Senda are gone from the school.¡± It has been two weeks since the new school year started, and they never showed up. ¡°I know that they were studying abroadbecause their family has their base of operations in the northern regions. Calling them back so suddenly right after the fallout with Angrod is suspicious. The school got only a notification that they went back home.¡± I look at everyone in turn. ¡°Strangely enough, Iris is still here. Though, she seems to be pretty isolated during fighting lessons,¡± Angrodadds his own observation. Our parents don¡¯t answer immediately, and Nicol takes his time with his steak before he replies. ¡°The north is one big black hole. The war-faction has tight control over that region. It¡¯s not enough to have me worried since I am confident that the army is loyal to us, but I see your point.¡± Arthur nods, wearing a sour expression on his face. ¡°There is the official stuff, civilian news agencies, financial movements, but the buggers somehow managed to cut off our unofficial intelligence network. I am actually not sure whether they are just trying to force us into doing something stupid, or if they are actually preparing a rebellion.¡± Finally, Nicol shrugs. ¡°It¡¯s not like our soldiers are doing something useful at the moment. They are just waiting for a case of emergency. We have given in to Celes''s technological development plan too. Compared to that, giving Angrod a single facility to play around with can''t cause that much trouble.¡± The rest of the parents nod and Angrod puts up a devilish grin. I just shake my head and don''t say anything. They have no idea what someone like Angrod is capable of if he is given time and resources. A few centuries and he might challenge the gods despite being mortal. A memory of a blue crystal spear plunging through my guts shoots through my mind, but I banish the thought. When everyone is done eating, Rose and her maids appear to carry the leftovers away. Our parents, busybodies as they are, also take theirleave. Onceeveryone is gone, I turn my chair to face Angrod. ¡°What?¡± he asks, sounding wary of me. ¡°I just want to warn you not to go overboard.¡± I rearrange a strand of hair, unsure of how to say this without sounding menacing. ¡°I¡¯ve helped you this time, and I don¡¯t want to find out later on that giving my support was a mistake. Unfortunately, I know what you are capable of.¡± Despite being primarily a God of Chaos, he wasn¡¯t known as a deity of knowledge and magic for nothing. He nods, looking serious. ¡°I am really only planning to do exactly what I said. A facility with state of the art technology to counter everything the Meltheim and Tulhelm may throw at us.¡± ¡°You are aware of the fact that it''s bad for a world like this one if there is too much innovation? It''s one of the reasons why we fought our own battle, and now the new technologies are splintering this world. I hope you won''t give the people too much knowledge and power.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. He crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Make a better observation. They were fighting over territory because they lacked the technology to use the available resources effectively. Now that they have the technology, those who benefited from the war want to return the old status quo. No matter what we do, we can¡¯t please everyone. If you ask me, a civil war against some noble asses is ten times better than a full-out war between two nations.¡± I nod. ¡°I can¡¯t see a solution either. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t try to stop you.¡± I shrug. ¡°I just wanted you to know that I don¡¯t want to have another world on my conscience.¡± He raises an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s surprising. I thought you would blame the whole mess on me.¡± I clench my teeth together. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it. The past is the past, and fighting over old wounds won¡¯t get us anywhere. It should suffice to say that I acknowledge that you are not the only person to blame. I kept pushing you and my own subordinates set things in motion that I was unable to see in time.¡± Clearly feeling uncomfortable about this topic, he shrugs and looks away. ¡°It''s just a playground of my own, so don''t freak out. I¡¯ll make sure that nothing dangerous leaks outside. The facility will have every security- and secrecy-measure possible.¡± ¡°I hope so.¡± For a moment, I am unsure of how to proceed, but I have said my piece, so I get up and leave to take care of my own project. There are things to research, pills to make and chocolate to perfect. I pull out my short list of things which I want to accomplish before I am too old to experience them. Childhood is much too short, and a girl has to make use of every second before it¡¯s too late. ***The World*** ***Angrod*** Sleep, the best thing in the whole, wide multiverse. Having a warm and comfortable bed, ah, it''s so nice. Especially the dreams of good old times ¨C as long as Seria doesn¡¯t make an appearance. My encyclopedia slips suddenly out of my embrace, and I try to grip it tighter to my chest without opening my eyes. Strangely enough, and to my growing discomfort, it keeps slipping away. Then something large shifts my bedsheets around and I realize who the culprit must be. Grumbling, I wave my hand around, trying to shoo him away. ¡°Go away, Ghost! How did you get in again? I thought Rose locked you outside in the garden.¡± It hit something soft and squeeze. ¡°Ahn~¡± The sound definitely didn¡¯t belong to arazorclaw and I shoot straight up, wide awake. My adrenaline levels go to one hundred within a second as a dark humanoid figure envelops me in a tight embrace, making me think of an assassin. I want to scream, but the offender covers my mouth with a delicate hand. ¡°Mmhhhmmn!¡± ¡°Shhh! Or they will hear us!¡± Celes whispers right next to my ear. ¡°Wmat mare mou moing min my medmooom!?¡± I squirm, but she slides beneath the bedsheets and embraces me like some anaconda. Thanks to her knowledge about joints and armlocks, I am utterly immobilized within seconds. She pulls at my encyclopedia, but I hold onto it. ¡°I wanted to work on our relationship, and see those plans for your facility while I am at it,¡± she whispers. ¡°No.¡± I press the encyclopedia tighter to my chest. Apparently, Celes mistook itfor the blueprints ¨C which I obviously hid much better. She already searched my room once, so I decided to hide important documents and personal stuff. Unlike other people I am learning from my mistakes. Unfortunately, my efforts to hold onto the book are in vain because Celes is physically much stronger than me. Having taken her prize, she opens it with one hand while holding onto me with legs and tail. ¡°That¡¯s just a normal book. Why are you sleeping with it?¡± Yeah, yeah, just laugh at me. Others have a favourite plush toy, a favourite pillow, or someone of the other gender they can hug. I have a favourite book! And I hate pillows! I just can''t sleep with something soft under my head. ¡°No matter.¡± She drops the book and hugs me. Rolling around, we are suddenly wrapped up in my bedsheets. ¡°What¡­ what are you up to?¡± I ask while she makes herself comfortable and toys with my collarbone. Her tail wriggles around me, holding us against each other. ¡°If you don¡¯t share details with me, then we go on to step two and have a little sleepover.¡± ¡°I think you got things backwards!¡± I complain. ¡°First the date, then a kiss, and then maybe the bed!¡± ¡°You are such a prude!¡± Then she gives me a wet one on the cheek, sending a cold shiver down my spine. Her aggressive attitude towards forging a relationship reminds me of a certain succubus lady I was married to a long time ago. I try to push her away with an arm when the door opens and a tired looking Nicolpeeks intomy room. Deadly aware of our position, which could be misinterpreted very easily, Celes and I freeze up. Nicol looks at us for two seconds with a deadpan expression before he smirks dirtily and raises a finger to his lips, signalling us to be quiet. Then he slowly closes the door. Some¡­ somehow¡­ I feel like I was just thrown to the wolves¡­ ¡°Finally!¡± Celes celebrates, squeezing me tightly. ¡°At least one of our parents knows that a lasting relationship has to go through certain stages.¡± ¡°What stages are you talking about?¡± I wriggle, but her hold on me is unbreakable ¨C at least by physical means. I am afraid to use magic. If a fight were to draw Ireth¡¯s or Katrine¡¯s attention, we would be in for real punishment. Celes snuggles against me, using me as a body pillow. ¡°Well, first there has to be the first innocent kiss ¨C I already got that over with by the way.¡± ¡°When!?¡± I ask. ¡°While you slept, obviously. So, going on. The next step is an innocent sleepover.¡± She ticks off her points with the fingers of one hand. ¡°Then, there has to be a confession, which is obviously your job. Afterwards, we are going on dates and eventually¡­¡± She draws a circle on my chest. ¡°¡­we get to the naughty stuff.¡± ¡°Naughty stuff? That sounds a lot like what one of my past spouses said,¡± I quickly clear my throat, remembering that I am currently in the embrace of a body practitioner who could squish me to mush. Thankfully, Celes doesn¡¯t overreact. ¡°Spouse? Huh, I guess you must have had a few of those over the various lifetimes. What was her name?¡± ¡°Isabella,¡± I reply, unsure whether this is a safe topic. Some women can be prickly if their significant other isn''t exclusive with them. Celes stops drawing circles and shudders. ¡°What¡¯s wrong!?¡± I ask, fearing that I just activated the landmine I was afraid of. ¡°Ikeep having dreams about being a succubus named Isabella.¡± She sighs. ¡°They are¡­ disturbing. And sometimes it feels like I am actually more this Isabella than Myrm.¡± Isabella!? That¡¯s impossible. It must be a coincidence.Celes can¡¯t be my Isabella¡­ unless¡­ I narrow my eyes and grunt, considering Myrm¡¯s death. How much time actually passed between our battle and now? Myrm jumped right into the epicentre ofmy chaos spell, so her soul should be too heavily damaged to regenerate within a reasonable amount of time. That said, I also didn¡¯t get away unscathed, but Myrm should be- My thoughts are interrupted by Celes. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± I take her hand and squeeze it, not wanting her to remember that past. It might happen at some point anyway, but without proof, I certainly won¡¯t agitate Celes. Not now. ¡°No. Nothing is wrong.¡± Unless Seria did something. What if she used Isabella¡¯s soul to repair Myrm¡¯s. A temporary soul-merge might accomplish that. It would be a crude method, but possible. If that¡¯s the case, the Celes who I am now with is neither truly Myrm, nor Isabella, nor Sandra. The idea keeps haunting me for the rest of the night, but in my current state, I am unable to confirm the truth. If my ridiculous idea turns out to be correct, Celes not remembering some things might be for the best. The last thing I want is to end up with a schizophrenic wife! In the end, I didn¡¯t get any sleep and Celes got to check off another item on her list. Chapter 19 ***Holy Mt. Seria, City of Light, Northern Capitol*** ***Odlef Meltheim*** I take my place at the round table, allowing my gaze to wander over the multitude of my allies. Then I nod towards the current chairman of our illustrious club made up by nobles and politically influential peasants who were brought on board because of their capital. Noting my readiness, the chairman takes a large iron-ball and hammers it onto the hardwood table, causing a loud ''thud'' to silence the assembly. ¡°I declare the annual meeting to decide on our policy as opened. Please follow the established order to share your latest accomplishments and news.¡± He nods towards the person on his right. ¡°Lord Tulhelm, please share your progress with us.¡± The man throws a poisonous glance at me before he gets to his feet. I just sit there and smile, assured in the knowledge that as long as he thinks that I have his daughter hostage, he will do anything in his power to assist us. Normally, I wouldn''t have taken such drastic measures, especially because he was on our side to begin with, but Lord Tulhelm is a weak man who may falter upon seeing the true scope of our group''s conviction. It was necessary to encourage him. Thanks to a master-stroke of genius, I managed to convince him that we have his daughter in our custody, while a doppelganger is distracting our opponents back in the capital. All we have to do is to make sure that he never finds out that my abduction plan didn''t work. His true daughter is still in the capital, while the girl I have in custody is the true double. I listen as Tulhelm faithfully reports his progress in infiltrating the northern military''s command staff, and his many schemes to get the local media under our control. According to our plan, we first have to win on the front of informational warfare, ensuring that we can create a window to launch our revolution ¨C however small it may be. While bringing us up to date, Tulhelm refers several times to his right-hand man who is standing close behind him. His servant doesn''t seem particularity trustworthy. Clad from head to toe in bandages with fire-resistance runes, a fiery light emanates from the small spots where the man''s eyes should be. Aside from an occasional erratic twitch, the man is completely silent and covered in a shroud of anonymity. Finally, Tulhelm sits down, signalling that he is done with his report. Others quickly get their turn as the meeting proceeds until it''s my turn to speak. Standing up, I quickly share our failure to shut down or at least to hamper the progress of the Cygnus family undermining our joint venture. In particular, I ensure that everyone understands the danger that would come with allowing someone like Tirna''s princeling to take over the royal throne, that his attitude can''t be tolerated. ¡°... And that''s why I think that we should expedite our plans to return the world to its proper state. With us as the rulers, we can ensure that the central continent and its resources can be divided properly. I firmly believe that we have no other choice but to rely on the means that miraculously fell into our hands just a few weeks ago.¡± The rest of the group doesn''t react as enthusiastically as I wish. Some give approving nods, but far too many stay silent, clearly unhappy at the idea of blood sacrifice. Kayle, one of the older gents shakes his head. Equipped with a beer belly and the fox-ears of his bloodline, he belongs to the older generation who spent far too much time enjoying their wealth, taking it for guaranteed. His white hair shows his age and deep wrinkles turn his forehead into a permanent frown. ¡°I still don''t think that we should use that cursed book. It''s blasphemy to even consider such a ritual! To call on a god other than Seria... it''s unthinkable!¡± Lady Vensee, the leader of the House of Vens, raises her hand to stop the old fool. ¡°What else are we to do? There is only one confirmed god in this world, and she has shown her support for the royal family quite clearly. If we are to succeed, we need a god of our own.¡± She rearranges her black hair, tucking it away behind her elven ears. Kayle doesn''t stop shaking his head. ¡°I joined this group because I thought that we want to protect our interests, not topple the kingdoms and blaspheme against the goddess!¡± He gets to his feet, tilting over his chair, and points a shaking finger at us, his face red with emotions. ¡°Mark my words! If you want to summon this so-called god, you can do it without me!¡± Turning, he storms towards chamber''s exit and I get up, slamming my hands onto the desk. If the old fool gets away, everything we''ve worked for might fall apart! ¡°Stop him!¡± The chairman raises his hand, magically locking the doors. ¡°Kayle-¡± But instead of listening, Kayle raises his hand, a spell matrix forming on his palm. Several members of our group raise their own hands, about to cast spells of their own. Whether in defence or to attack doesn''t matter, because I suddenly know exactly how to get these men and women to do what I want. Thrusting my palm towards Kayle, I cast Arcane Spear as a magical barrier springs into existence around him. Others cast their own spells in an attempt to subdue the deserter, bathing Kayle''s defences in various colours of magic. It''s my Arcane Spear that ultimately breaks his barrier and impales his chest. Stumbling backwards, the old fox-kin leans against the heavy wooden door. His expression twists in pain as he fumbles at the slowly dissolving spear of violet light which is stuck in his chest. Then he slides to the ground, his expression slackening until he lies still. Waiting, I allow the others one short moment to come to terms with what just happened. Then I take control of the situation before anyone else can turn it into the disaster it appears to be. ¡°Don''t fret over this, my friends! He was a traitor, and all of us had a hand in striking him down!¡± At least half of them cast attack magic of their own, turning them into accomplices. I point at the corpse. ¡°And that''s what happens to anyone who betrays our cause! From now on, we are in this together and there is no backing out!¡± ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** It is the end of my second school year and my little side-project is developing to my full satisfaction. Thanks to taking a personal interest in the creation of my new facility I now truly understand why Margerie is so interested in levitation. The people of this world are using magical devices for almost all aspects of work. There are no cranes on construction sites. Instead, everything is just levitated into the proper place. There is almost no use of electricity, something I wish to change as soon as possible. I understand that magical solutions to many problems are convenient and quick, but they are also wasteful in most cases. The heavy use of magical devices is a serious factor in our resource problems. For the world to truly improve, there will have to be a change in attitude. Even if Margerie thinks that what I gave her is enough, she didn''t take into account that our population will grow with improving living circumstances, negating the effect of our inventions. The only permanent solution is to replace most magical devices with something that relies on pure science. And even that is only a short-term solution. Ultimately, we will have to introduce some sort of population control, but that''s a topic for the far future. Returning my attention to my current project, I study the wristband which contains the newest state of the art technology. I call it an assistant-casting-device, ACD for short. The idea is to put it on and allow it to tap into the user''s mana pool. By pre-recording a spell, the user can set it to cast the recorded spell on a pre-set condition. For example, the owner could record a healing spell and activate it on the condition of being wounded. It''s pretty convenient, but in truth, it''s just one step on the path to a real spell-projector. The people of this world already figured out how to enchant spell-staffs with attack magic, but they are of limited use before they burn out. A real spell-projector is a magical array which a skilled individual can use to cast spells which are normally beyond his ken. There are many other projects on my list, but creating a spell-projector of sufficient magnitude is my first priority. With access to a tool like that, I can wipe out anything the war-faction might throw at us. The wristband will raise the fighting force of our soldiers immensely, but it is only a short-term result of something far bigger. I may even be able to record the stupid raccoon geezers'' ability! Once Nicosar returns from his latest mission, the Cheat will be mine! I will be an immortal cheat character too! ¡°Mwahaha!¡± I cough and hit my chest, trying to regain control over my impulses. No maniacal laughter where the facility''s staff might overhear me. Patience! Now, all I need to do is to wait for Nicosar to return from one of his stupid undercover missions... When I return to the palace it''s late evening and I find the whole family in the throne room, including Nicosar. Gleefully, I start towards the old codger, but then I notice the grave expressions and long faces. Our parents are on their thrones, with Nicosar standing next to Nicol. Celes is holding hands with her mother. Together with the guards, it looks like the court is in session, but there is only one small figure facing them, not more than a child. The little Iris is standing in front of them. Alone, she looks even more frightened than she normally is around Celes since she received her beating. ¡°What is going on here?¡± I ask and they turn their attention to me. ¡°Ah, you are coming exactly at the right moment for the latest news,¡± Arthur proclaims with a dark undertone. My mother launches into an explanation. ¡°The House of Meltheim and the House of Tulhelm together with some other houses in their vicinity have declared independence. It would be more accurate to say that the entire north is in rebellion.¡± Well, fuck. I expected them to pull off something, like an attempt at overthrowing the throne... but calling out a nation of their own by stealing our territory? That''s the last thing I expected them to do. ¡°Now we know why the house of Meltheim completely retreated from Midhold and called their children back. They even took all their staff with them and closed down their residence.¡± Nicol massages his temples. ¡°The only question we have is why this one is still here. We sent a few guards to the Tulhelm and Meltheim residences to fetch anyone they might have left behind. Both properties were completely abandoned. From the looks of it, for months. Apparently, Iris lived at her parent''s mansion alone for quite some time. Only a skeleton-crew of employees kept the outward appearance.¡± Katrine tilts her head, studying the girl.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Oh, that''s actually quite the story. I scratch my head and try to think about the implications. ¡°So, what do you have to say for yourself?¡± Nicol asks Iris who seems quite pale. ¡°Where- where should I start?¡± she asks, her voice as meek as that of a mouse, totally out of character for her. ¡°Starting at the beginning is always the best.¡± Arthur smiles and urges her to continue with a gesture. ¡°I- I always just did what my parents or uncle Tongord told me to do.¡± She glances at me but returns her gaze to my father. ¡°One day, my parents commanded me to suck up to Angrod. They wanted me to cause an incident at the introduction party, but I refused. I hate their way of doing things. It made them mad like hell and then this whole duel-incident with Sarda and Senda happened. I think they were instructed in similar ways. Only in their case, they didn''t refuse.¡± She looks at the floor. ¡°When my parents got really nasty, I tried to approach him at school, but Celes gave me a beating. I was too afraid to go near Angrod again.¡± Insecure, she massages her fingers, flicking her bushy tail left and right. ¡°At last year''s graduation, my parents told me not to go to school. In hindsight, it was clear that they knew something was going to happen. Still, I desperately wanted to get my school certificate for the year, so I snuck out of the mansion to go to school and say goodbye to my friends.¡± And then she starts tearing up. ¡°And... and then... that terrorist attack happened. One of them tried to abduct me... they also threatened uncle Tongord... I tried to resist them... but failed. Then Angrod saved me. I am sorry for not thanking you, but I was afraid.¡± Tears falling down her cheeks, she explains how one of the mansion''s servants came to the school to get her. ¡°And... and when I came home that day, I found the whole residence abandoned. One of the employees told me that they were just instructed to keep the garden and the house intact. All our personal staff was gone.¡± Falling apart, she shakes her head. ¡°In my room I found a letter from my mother, telling me that I am a disgrace and that I can stay in the residence until I am done with school. And if I were to tell anyone, they would send assassins after me.¡± Iris is trembling, clearly at the edge of becoming unhinged. I look away, having heard enough of the sob-story. It''s not like I don''t think that what happened to her was a shitty experience, but I remember much worse from my previous lives. Iris got away lightly. There is also the little issue that I don''t completely trust her. She had more than enough time to think about her words and plan for the situation of her being found out. Still, for a parent to do that to her own child... Iris''s mother should be shot on the spot. There is a heavy silence in the room. ¡°Angrod?¡± Celes gestures for me to come closer, so I do. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I need a nuke!¡± she whispers, utterly serious. A big grin spreads on my face. ¡°How big?¡± Finally! She makes a request I am willing to oblige with. Unfortunately, I am just kidding. Building a nuke is easy enough, but this world doesn''t have any equipment to refine nuclear fuel. I would have to create an entire industry around it, which would require time. Time which we likely don''t have since the other party just gave us a limited time-frame. Sadly, I''ve no idea how to proceed. We are interrupted by Katrine who shakes her head after having listened to Iris''s story. ¡°You certainly can''t keep on living alone in that mansion. I''ll make some inquiries and do my best to find a nice family who is willing to take care of you. A child of your age needs adult supervision. Until then, you will stay with us.¡± With that said, Iris is led away by Rose and two guards, giving me the chance to approach Nicosar while our parents discuss their next steps. I decide that it might be best to suck up to my archenemy, so I activate the heavy cannons. ¡°Grandpa! Do you have a second?¡± Nicosar''s eyes widen and he looks at me as if I just struck him beneath the belt-line. ¡°G- Grandpa! Who are you calling a grandpa!? I am at the height of my youth!¡± Narrowing my eyes, I offer him the bracelet I made. Senile Fucker! ¡°Could you put this on and change into your mist-form? It will take just a second.¡± He studies the bracelet and takes it from me. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Just a little spell-recorder. Nothing harmful. I just want to know how your ability works,¡± I explain, eager to find out. Nicosar shrugs and puts on the device. After changing into mist and back again, he hands the device back. Not wanting to wait, I put it on and try to cast the recorded spell, only to find out that the bracelet didn''t record anything. ¡°What!? Why didn''t it work!?¡± Nicosar laughs. ¡°Did you really think that others didn''t already try to find out the secret behind that particular blood-trait? It''s an innate ability, not a spell, so there is nothing to record.¡± I slap my own forehead, feeling like the dunderhead I am! ¡°What''s that bracelet? It''s so pretty.¡± Celes closes in, her eyes on the device. I look at it, studying the runes and diamond inlays which I used to create the artefact. I wanted it to be as durable as possible, enchantment-wise. So I used only high-grade materials like gold, silver, and titanium. Combined with a structural reinforcement that feeds off of the user, it''s almost indestructible. I guess it''s indeed pretty ¨C if someone likes sparkly things? ¡°Haaah... never mind. It''s a spell-recorder...¡± Which just turned utterly useless to me. ¡°Here, you can have it.¡± Celes''s mouth forms a small ''o'' as she catches the device. Her eyes start shining as she puts it on... and out comes her list. She ticks off another achievement and pockets the list once more. Did I just make a mistake? ¡°I knew that you like me! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.¡± Before I can stop her, she hugs me and kisses me right on the lips. ¡°Bah!¡± I pull away and shudder from the burning sensation her saliva leaves behind. Making a scene, I try to wipe off my face. ¡°I get it! Just let go of me!¡± ¡°Stop torturing him, Celes!¡± Katrine reprimands her daughter. ¡°Muh!¡± Celes lets go of me, clearly unwilling to do so. ***Midhold*** ***Celes*** He got me a present! It felt just like in the good old times when he used to give me all kinds of useful trinkets. So thoughtful! Enjoying the heart-warming feeling, I press the wrist with the bracelet against my chest. I have to tell Tanja as soon as possible and ask her to record some utility spells which are hard to achieve with internal magic. She''s a ninja, so she is bound to know some useful stuff. Humming happily, I watch as our parents plan out our future actions. We moved over to one of Arthur''s rooms. The entire place is dedicated to cartography, and there is a large table with a map of the whole world in the centre of the room. Our parents are staring at the map with gloomy expressions, wracking their brains. I admit that there is no way to brighten the situation, but they also shouldn''t act as if they didn''t see it coming from miles away. Luckily, Katrine already dealt with Iris, sending her to the House of Cygnus. It''s better if a close ally takes care of the girl. There is no way to express how awkward it would have been to have her around and interfere with Angrod and me when we were always on opposite sites of the playing field. At least Stephen and Margerie aren''t that familiar with the Tulhelm offspring, so Iris might even manage to pull off a new beginning. One where she isn''t taught the misguided attitude of her parents. Feigning some interest, I take a look at the map. It''s a problem to have such a big area in rebellion. History shows that it is almost impossible for a country to suppress another one if the civil population is unwilling to accept it. According to our sparse information, the civilians in the affected region are not on our side anymore. The Houses of Meltheim and Tulheim started a massive campaign of misinformation and propaganda to bring everyone to their side. It''s likely directly connected to the lack of information which we noticed a few months ago. They claimed that the gentle Princess of Stricc was forced into a marriage with the cruel Prince of Tirna. Furthermore, they accused the royal family of favouritism towards a few selected houses. Well, at least in that they aren''t entirely wrong. There are also some other rumours, from ecological reasons to outright racism. It''s all a big pile of bullshit, but as in every time, the old rule of controlling the masses by controlling the media has proven true. There is no doubt that individually, nobody believes everything the war-faction vomits up. But taken as a whole, people are stupid sheep. They need a strong and firm hand to guide them. Most of the minor Houses and Dukedoms in the northern region followed the lead of the Meltheims and the Tulhelms. If willingly or not didn''t really matter. Those who didn''t follow were struck down with overwhelming military force. It only proves that the whole uprising must have been planned a long time ago. There is no way to put an operation like this one together overnight. People have to be placed in the right positions, pockets have to be greased with money, and those who dare to talk have to be silenced in a way that doesn''t draw attention. Practically overnight, the war-faction had a population of hundreds of thousands under their control. That''s because there are many population centres up in the north. The population density becomes scarcer, the farther you go south. The reason for that lies with the world''s ecosystem, with much more unfriendly organisms preferring the southern climate. Along with a big part of the central continent''s population, they have access to some of best mines for rare elements. My parents already took control of every mine in our reach, including everything from the middle of the continent, down to the south. As a way to affirm who is still loyal, our parents ordered every noble family to pay a visit to the crown. The military is also already on the move. The only thing that''s worrying is that there is a sizeable amount of industrial capacity on the other side. They have everything they need. ¡°It will become very ugly. A lot of innocent people are bound to die again,¡± Ireth complains. ¡°I don''t understand what they are thinking. Even with everything they achieved, it''s just a matter of time until their uprising is crushed. We still have the power of two continents behind us. At best, they can hold out until reinforcements from the larger landmasses arrive.¡± ¡°That will take months,¡± Arthur points out. ¡°Months during which they can affirm their rule, and once we crush their military forces, it will make us the evil aggressors. Don''t forget that the simple minded folk have short memories. If we could strike back right now, it would make them look like the usurpers who caused the fighting. Once two or three months pass without bloodshed, any future aggression will be laid at our feet. The central continent might become a seedbed for future insurrection.¡± ¡°Assassinate them, just like they tried it with us. No need to play friendly anymore,¡± Nicol grumbles with arms crossed in front of his chest. ¡°I don''t want to turn them into martyrs,¡± Ireth states. ¡°We would be tyrants, exactly what they claimed us to be.¡± ¡°No matter what we do, the region will experience a long period of disturbance and instability. We can''t even be sure that the main continents are unaffected. Though, thanks to the nature of their business model, the Tulhelm and Meltheims have most of their assets here on Central, but I wouldn''t count that their fall won''t affect our seats of power.¡± Arthur shakes his head, looking tired. ¡°Striking them down with military force won''t be a fast affair. It will be messy. Maybe they are even counting on the fact that they have enough time to persuade more nobles, turning them against us.¡± ¡°Then just do nothing and isolate them. Shut down the border and hunger them to death,¡± Angrod suggests. Everyone looks at him. ¡°But we can''t starve them. They have everything they need. Resources, food, equipment, industry. Everything is there.¡± Nicol gestures at the map. Angrod shrugs. ¡°We have those things too, just much, much more of it. We need nothing from them, they need nothing from us. If your conclusion is true and they just want to provoke a fight to create even greater chaos, then we don''t give them what they want. They threw their cards on the table and are hoping for us to do the same.¡± He interlinks his fingers in a praying posture. ¡°They''ve shown us their hand because they think that they can only win under the current circumstances. I don''t play rigged games, so we should just walk away. Our cards will keep changing over time.¡± Angrod takes a pointing stick and separates a fourth of the central continent from the rest of the country. ¡°They were interfering with our development plan by controlling the market price. Now their control of our part of the continent is gone and we can nationalize all their previous mining operations. If we just sit around and concentrate on putting our inventions to practical use, they will become a smaller and smaller problem by the month.¡± I smile and point at various symbols which represent military assets. ¡°They will never be able to follow our technological advance. We can use the chance to steer Tirna''s and Stricc''s military away from pointing weapons at each other. Instead, we amass them on the new border with the new enemy, joining forces. We will just sit on our asses and wait for them to move, or we will move when we think that we are ready.¡± Raising my finger, I draw their attention. ¡°One thing we have to do immediately is to start the informational warfare. Medial presence is important. We have to denounce them in public. After all, they are the ones who are not loyal. We need to polarize the public and make sure that they know who the real tyrant is.¡± If they act first, we have a legitimate reason to beat them down with brute force. If they don''t act, they will soon lose to our building forces. I turn to look at Angrod. ¡°How long do you need to create a nasty surprise for them?¡± ¡°Not long. Something like a guided missile isn''t a big problem if I use magic. But didn''t we just conclude that eliminating them now is a bad idea?¡± he asks. ¡°I don''t want to eliminate them. I need something to crush the major arterial roads. The war-faction may try something on us. It has to be fast and on command, in case they try marching their army into our territory,¡± I explain. He thinks for a moment and nods. ¡°Should be no problem. I will make some plans for a big bomb. We can mine the bigger roads with them. If they walk over it, they get sent to space.¡± I grin. ¡°I am not happy with the situation, but I guess we have no other choice in this case,¡± Arthur admits grudgingly. ¡°With some time I may be able to find out who is most likely to turn on us,¡± Nicol adds, patting his co-ruler on the back. ¡°I can already tell you that the houses of Rosenquarz and Andros are likely candidates,¡± Ireth says with a flat voice. My ears perk up at that. ¡°What? Sandra Andros is a nice girl. She would never betray someone. With Gabriel, I am not so sure. But despite being a silent fellow, I would think never expect him to be a reformist.¡± ¡°I am not talking about a single person, but the household as a whole, Celes.¡± Ireth''s voice is soothing, conveying empathy for my friendship with Sandra. Reigning in my horses, I nod. If our parents tell us that those people are a risk, then they are most likely correct. I shouldn''t underestimate Ireth''s experience. She dealt with the noble houses for years, so who am I to judge. ¡°I will instruct the House of Morden to double their efforts in information gathering. There is nothing we know of that can detect their ability to hide in the shadows,¡± Katrine informs us, sounding proud of our kinsmen. ¡°Then I will set out with Nicosar to guide our army. Establishing a new border without causing atrocities won''t be easy. A spark is enough to turn the current standstill into a full-blown war.¡± Nicol gestures for his father to join him. Arthur shakes his head. ¡°I wish I had crushed their monopoly in the beginning, when I still had the chance.¡± Our parents hash out a few more details but Angrod yawns, clearly tired because of his work. He excuses himself and walks back to his room. Giggling, I use the chance to follow him. For now, I''ll have to sneak into his bed the old-fashioned way, but as soon as I get the chance I''ll have Tanja record an invisibility spell, and some sort of area-silence-effect. Chapter 20 ***Midhold, Research Facility*** ***Angrod*** The months passed and we kept visiting the school while our military and the rebellion settled into a silent stalemate without actually coming to blows with each other. Our parents did a great job at taking control of the situation. It''s safe to say that right now, the entire north is in a complete lock-down. Of course, this didn''t happen without conflict. There were areas like population centres and mines which my parents simply didn''t want to forsake to the enemies. This resulted in some nasty battles. Battles which our parents were willing to fight, even if the toll had to be paid in blood. I didn''t argue their judgement. It was indefinitely better to establish a border that was easy to defend than to allow the enemy to hold strategic valuable positions. As time passed, it became a certainty that the traitorous nobles were hoping to draw others to their side. Reports came in that painted a detailed picture of how the Meltheims tried to reach out to families who were still loyal to the crown. But thanks to remaining calm, most families decided that staying on the crown''s side is the safer bet. My father and Nicosar took it upon themselves to keep a close eye on the situation. The inevitable result is that they are on campaign for most of the time. I am in my third school year, which makes me thirteen years old, but right now it''s the weekend and I am inside my laboratory. Whenever I have nothing to do, I visit my research facility which is located in the mountains to the north of Midhold. The whole research complex is still a work in progress, though I am quite satisfied with our achievements. I offered every worker on the construction site permanent employment and a pretty good payment in exchange for their silence. Instead of doing it like the old pharaohs, I decided to permanently employ the poor fools who built my secret base. Everything is financed through my new power plant, a fusion reactor, which is thanks to magical short-cuts the easiest way to generate vast amounts of power. We are providing a sizeable part of the city''s energy requirements, and the good part is that there is even enough left for some pretty cool experiments. My work-crew is currently working on a particle accelerator. It''s for one of my future projects and the materials come directly from the mountain. Hardly any of my employees are still working in their original function, so I have to thank the multiverse that this world doesn''t care for qualifications when it comes to employment, or my current business model wouldn''t work. My facility is already a huge complex, but I have a bigger endgame in mind. For that, I will need time, space and resources. Once everything comes together, those suckers in the north will get a big surprise. I also love having my own place! Here, I can play around as much as I want. Nobody can disturb me. More importantly, no Celes! This is a Celes-Free zone. It''s bad enough that her strange change in attitude makes her stick to me like chewing gum on a shoe. ¡°Deeeaaaar! Guess who it is!¡± Someone covers my eyes from behind. ¡°Wah!¡± Surprised, I jump a quarter of a foot up into the air as I slap at my attacker''s hands. The reaction of a normal person might be to smile and play the game, but I was stabbed from behind too many times to feel anything but discomfort at being surprised. Turning around, I face my bane. How can Celes be here? I am sure that I gave the order that nobody except me and authorized personnel are allowed in this complex! Who betrayed me? I will massacre the security staff for this! Drawing in a deep breath, I let it out slowly before I ask in a moody voice, ¡°Celes. How did you get here?¡± ¡°I threw my princessly influence around... and greased one or two hands,¡± she admits. ¡°The guy at the entrance was a hard nut to crack, but once I started twisting his hand he was very cooperative.¡± ¡°Um... What exactly did you do to him?¡± I ask. Did she literally twist his hand, or did she find a way to blackmail him? ¡°I used a few secret catchphrases our parents gave me for a case of emergency. Did you really think that they would give you control over their military staff without having assurances?¡± Celes asks with a raised eyebrow. It''s almost as if she is asking me whether I am really that stupid. So, greasing hands meant that she suckered up to our parents. Damn! The simplest solution is also the most effective one! Looking behind her, I find Stephen behind Celes. ¡°I see that you have brought more visitors?¡± ¡°Hi, you have a nice facility here!¡± Stephen greets me, waving a hand. I smile. ¡°Thanks, but it is a work in progress, so expect more to come.¡± Turning around, Celes looks like she is searching for something. ¡°Huh? Where is Margerie?¡± The gears in my head slow down as I process the name. Stephen turns, looking down the corridor behind him. ¡°Hmm, strange... three corners ago she was still behind me.¡± The gears in my head stop and I look at Celes with a deadpan expression. ¡°Do you two want to tell me something? Surely, it''s not that you brought Margerie here? Surely, you don''t want to tell me that a mad scientist is loose in here? There is tons of dangerous equipment around and you are telling me that you let Margerie from the leash? Without supervision?!¡± Stephen''s and Celes''s expressions say it only all too clearly: Guilty! ¡°If it helps, Tanja ran off earlier without asking. We couldn''t catch her, so we didn''t really lose her. She said something about ''perfect infiltration training'' and vanished.¡± Stephen scratches the back of his head. I slap my head and walk over to a communication screen. The LCD-Displays are mounted to the walls at regular intervals to ensure easy access. Allowing the device to scan my fingerprint, I activate the communication link to the chief of security. His name is Drem Snowden and he and his team were selected by my parents. ¡°Yes?¡± Snowden''s voice comes out of the microphone beneath the display. ¡°Errr, my friends paid me a visit and two got lost inside the complex. One is a happy-go-lucky ninja. The other is a mad scientist on the run. Could you please fetch them and bring them to the main lab?¡± I ask, trying my best to be friendly, just to lure the man in false security. Snowden won''t know what hit him once I get to discuss a word about ''espionage'' with the two of us alone. ¡°...¡± There is a short silence, as if the man senses the threat in my voice. ¡°Understood. We will search for a ninja and a mad scientist. Is the ninja dangerous?¡± ¡°No, the ninja isn''t.¡± I hesitate for just a moment before the next words come out. ¡°But you are allowed to stun the mad scientist if she is anywhere close to sensitive equipment.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Celes gasps, offended that I would do such a thing to one of her friends. ¡°It is for her safety!¡± I reply quickly. Celes shoves me to the side. ¡°No stunning! Just bring her here!¡± ¡°Yes, princess,¡± Snowden replies in a pained tone. He sounds like a faithful dog, caught between two masters who are giving different instructions. He quickly deactivates the line before we can make his day even more difficult. I huff, feeling no sympathy for the man. If he had done his job, he wouldn''t be in this situation. Then something comes to my mind. ¡°How did you even find me here? You were never here before!?¡± ¡°My mother gave me directions,¡± Celes points out the obvious. Of course, if my parents gave her the secret catchphrase, then why not also the plans to my base... their base... I let out a tired sigh. I should have predicted all of this. That''s what I get for using my father''s personnel and resources. To be honest, I am kind of proud of him to have left his soldiers with secret instructions which allow him to overrule my orders. It shows that he is thinking ahead. Despite being peace-loving fools, our parents aren''t quite as stupid as I feared them to be. ¡°So, we wanted to pay you a visit and see how you are doing. You are hard to find out here.¡± Stephen looks around. ¡°To be honest, when Celes told me about your private project, I thought it to be much... much smaller.¡± I sigh and gesture for them to follow me. ¡°Come with me, I will show you the lab and the newest of my inventions.¡± ¡°Oh, cool! Have you made the ring for me, Angrod!? Have You?¡± Celes hooks arms with me. A week ago, she asked me to create a ring-shaped device like the wristband. I am pretty certain that getting a wedding ring is another objective on her list. It''s kind of obvious, but I made it anyway. Currently, I am thinking big, but having the right techniques for miniaturisation available can''t hurt. ¡°I won''t kneel!¡± Retrieving a box from my pocket, I shove it into her hands. ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± She hugs me while I continue walking, dragging her with me. Why do I always get this warm feeling when she hugs me? It is not right! Not right I say! Her burning kisses are also hard to endure without giving me a serious case of a hard-on. How will I resist once she actually looks like a woman? After a short walk, we arrive at my main lab. Well maybe not a lab. A big dome would be a more proper term. I rummage through some stuff until I find what I am looking for. Taking the remote control, I activate an elevated screen. It shows a bird''s-eye view from high in the air. ¡°What''s that?¡± Celes asks. ¡°I used Margerie''s overpowered drone technology and pepped it up for high altitude flights. Then I installed some surveillance technology like optics and infra-red. Admittedly, I relied on magitech to cheat my way through some of the complicated steps. A little magic for the long-distance controls. This drone and others are currently mapping the entire north. If I want to, I can count the hairs on Sarda''s head,¡± I explain with a moderate amount of smugness. I probably shouldn''t mention that I programmed the drones to go kamikaze upon identifying a member of the Meltheim or Tulhelm families. ¡°You know where they are?¡± Celes raises her eyebrow, clearly impressed. ¡°Not exactly. It looks like the whole bunch set up residence at Mount Seria. A little bit arrogant to name a mountain after a god isn''t it? Anyway, they are hiding there, keeping their heads down.¡± For obvious reasons. My first assassination attempt failed quite spectacularly when my drone missed Meltheim''s wife by an inch. I shouldn''t have been so eager and trusting in my work, since there are still some bugs in the control software. It''s unfortunate that the Meltheims are quick learners. They didn''t give me a second chance once they realized what was going on. ¡°That''s really cool!¡± Stephen comments, stepping forward. ¡°Can you drop it on their heads? It would be funny if one of them suddenly gets squashed by big chunk of metal out of nowhere.¡± Sorry, already tried that. ¡°Maybe we will do that later,¡± Celes comments, clearly not impressed by the impulsive idea. Thankfully, we are interrupted by Snowden entering the control-dome, dragging Tanja and Margerie at their necks behind him. While Tanja has her arms crossed and is obviously pissed at being caught by a guard, Margerie is busy with one of the LCD-Displays which are mounted to the walls in the corridors. She broke it out of its socket and dissected the whole thing like some animal, neatly separating magitech from mundane Si-based circuitry. I am far away from creating any kind of complicated CPU, so I had to solve my processing problems with magitech. The result was a strange amalgam of non-magical and magical technology. Admittedly, the current resolution of my displays isn''t the best, but we are working on it. Grainy pictures are currently the least of my problems. ¡°Haaah. Haahah. That''s so cool. I never thought about using electricity to change the pigmentation of some elements in order to show a picture of something. And the backlight is an ingenious solution to the low light-output! It''s almost like a master-enchanter''s Illusion mirror, only that it requires a tenth of the resources!¡± Margerie doesn''t even pay attention to her surroundings as she drools all over her kill. ¡°I guess I should be happy that she found interest with one of the communication screens first and didn''t rip out a plasma cord from my power plant,¡± I comment coolly. ¡°Angrod! How does this work? I need to know!¡± Noticing me, she extracts herself from the hands of my chief of security, leaving the middle-aged man behind. Snowden looks surprised at the nimbleness of his catch, but the stout man catches himself, only revealing his displeasure from the way he pulls back his long, fluffy ears. I am not completely sure what his blood-trait is. Whether he is wolfkin or something else. The features of his trait are too indistinct. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Snowden asks. ¡°No, thank you.¡± I wave, dismissing him. The guard lets go of Tanja and turns around to leave, proving himself to be the silent type. ¡°He got me too easily,¡± Tanja grumbles. ¡°Don''t ignore me, Angrod!¡± Margerie shoves the dissected communication screen right in front of my face.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. That''s it. I have to do something to get her off my back. ¡°If you don''t pester me any more, you can have one of those screens, containing blueprints and explanations which show you all the information about my current projects.¡± At least those which don''t have city-levelling potential. Right now, I wouldn''t be too sad if Margerie blew herself up. A tragic accident, of course. The dead animal is instantly removed from my vision. Once I am sure that she is serious about behaving herself, I walk over to a table with one of my portable computers. I turn it on and give it to Margerie, hoping that this isn''t a big mistake. Her family''s blood-trait is perfect memories, but even for the Cygnus, Margerie is bordering on the level of a genius. It''s one thing to simply have knowledge and something else to understand and recombine it in a practical application. ¡°You sure did much in the last few months. I can''t believe you achieved all that by yourself,¡± Celes whistles, looking around the room. ¡°It''s thanks to my father''s hard workers. The only thing I did was telling them what to do. To expedite things, our project number one was an automated factory. It was a pain to realize it, but once it was up and running, things went smoothly. Until a month ago, my whole workforce was busy with it. Now it''s spitting out parts and all my people have to do is assembly work.¡± ¡°I must see that!¡± Stephen sounds interested. ¡°Maybe I will give you a tour later. It certainly sounds better than it actually is. The thing is limited to machining metal-parts, but that''s already helpful in itself.¡± I walk over to the control console for my drones and press a few buttons. Instead of the bird''s-eye view, the screen switches to a cartographic representation of the north. Looking up, Margerie studies the map, raising her eyebrows. ¡°That''s wrong.¡± ¡°What''s wrong?¡± Celes steps closer, trusting in Margerie''s impeccable memory. ¡°There isn''t enough industry! Here, here, here.¡± Margerie points out several cities around Mt. Seria. ¡°Those are big population centres. There should be heavy traffic on the streets, but there is nothing. Can you enlarge that?¡± I do so, zooming in on one of the cities. Now that Margerie pointed it out, I also take notice of the fact that there is not enough traffic on the roads. From close up the city looks like a ghost town. No cars, no transports, no people. ¡°Okaay! That''s disturbing.¡± I comment the obvious. ¡°I don''t understand how I missed this up until know.¡± ¡°For how long did you have the drones?¡± Celes asks. ¡°A few days,¡± I admit. ¡°I''ve concentrated most of my efforts on Mt. Seria and on creating a search-algorithm that allows me to find stuff. It''s not like I''ve the time to watch several hundred hours of observation footage.¡± ¡°I see no technology. No cars, no city lights, no traffic regulators, nothing that would require rare minerals.¡± Stephen points out several spots. ¡°It looks like someone dismantled everything within easy reach.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Maybe the residents themselves did it? It''s only been a few months. I don''t see how our enemies could have enough workforces to do that by themselves.¡± ¡°I think we should call our parents. They need to know that something fishy is going on.¡± Celes pulls out a crystal slate, this world''s magitech version of a phone. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Celes*** Angrod installed a big screen in Arthur''s cartography room, so that we could show him what was happening up in the north. Aside from the surprise of being called away from their work, our parents were suitably impressed by this technological feat, so they held back and listened while I gave them the latest news. Margerie took the small computer with her, so I am certain that a new wave of technology will spread like wildfire. Her brother and Tanja decided to join her, since they didn''t appreciate the idea of infringing on a meeting with our parents. ¡°This looks bad. What happened to all the people?¡± Arthur rubs his forehead while he tries to figure out what our enemy is up to. I can''t blame him, since I am already assuming the worst. Surely, one of our drones will find some kind of deathcamp any second now that we are looking for it. ¡°They haven''t relocated to other cities,¡± Ireth comments and sits down on the couch. ¡°I am sure that we would have noticed that. Generally, it''s hard to get any information from the north nowadays, and now we know why the area around the City of Light is a black hole. But we still have informants in the outer regions.¡± She snorts. ¡°No. If they had relocated all those people closer to the border, we would have heard something. The only reasonable answer is that they went further away.¡± ¡°Which means that they migrated to the City of Light. But what do you need so many materials and people for? And how many are missing?¡± Katrine tilts her head, studying the map. ¡°I think there should be a few hundred thousand at least? After all, we are talking about four big cities.¡± ¡°It seems like they prioritized stuff that contains magitech.¡± Angrod shrugs and starts counting on his fingers. ¡°The material can be used for magic circuits, rune magic, magic circles. There is also the fact that those cities are completely empty of people regardless of age and occupation. If they wanted the workforce, they would leave behind anyone who doesn''t fulfil the criteria, so I can only come to the conclusion that those people are fuel.¡± Our parents turn as one, looking at Angrod with horrified expressions. Turning, he looks behind himself, making sure that there isn''t something terrifying behind him. When he sees only Ghost, who is stretched out on the floor, lounging lazily along the wall, he turns back, raising an eyebrow. ¡°What?¡± ¡°F- fuel?¡± Katrine asks. Angrod''s expression lights up as he enters teacher-mode. ¡°Well, living bodies are the best containers for mana. If you want to cast a really big spell, you need a lot of energy. If you want to cast a huge ritual on the fly, you can just get it from a random bunch of people. If you are too stupid to power your spell with a more sensible method, it''s a viable solution.¡± I slap my own forehead. Why did he have to say it with so much enthusiasm? I am sure that there would have been a more sensitive way to clue them in. ¡°What would they want to achieve with sacrificing people on that scale?¡± I ask, speaking to myself. There aren''t many spells which need that much power. ¡°I don''t know,¡± Angrod admits. ¡°The whole method isn''t very effective, so I gave up on it long ago. Maybe they want to destroy the world or summon a god.¡± He scratches his head. ¡°I don''t claim that I can look into an insane idiot''s mind.¡± I give him ''the look'' and he huffs. ¡°I am an ''insane genius''! That''s different!¡± ¡°Sure it is...¡± I return my attention to the screen. ¡°They want to summon Seria!?¡± Arthur bursts out. ¡°He said they may want to summon ''a'' god. I assume it doesn''t have to be Seria.¡± Ireth corrects Arthur, then turns to face us. ¡°Do you two know anything about it? Which god could they want to let loose on the world.¡± Angrod quickly raises his hands, palms out. ¡°Hey! The thing with the god was just wild speculation. It really could be anything!¡± I cover my face and groan. ¡°Angrod? Why don''t you just shut up for a moment.¡± We are on dangerous territory. That''s nothing our parents are supposed to hear. The last thing I want is to have an awkward debate about gods ¨C which would inevitably lead to our status as Seria''s chosen ones. When I look up, I notice that everyone is looking at us. ¡°Hahaha. How should we know?¡± I try to avoid the subject, but Katrine steps closer and pats my head. ¡°It''s okay little miss. We know that you two are much older in your mind than you look. It''s not really hard to imagine who you two really are, going by your titles.¡± She kneels down and looks me in the eyes. ¡°It doesn''t change anything. You are still our children.¡± Then her tone changes and she smiles. ¡°And children who are having secrets from their parents are naughty. I think that we''ve danced around the topic for long enough.¡± She points at the screen. ¡°This situation is clearly beyond what mere revolutionists like the Tulhelms or the Meltheims could cook up inside their traitorous brains. It''s time to come clean and think about what we are up against.¡± Angrod and I stay silent while my mother ruffles my hair. When it becomes clear that neither of us is willing to spill the beans, Katrine''s fingers clamp down on my head like a vice. At first, I only widen my eyes and channel my internal mana as my mother increases the pressure. Reaching up, I try to pull away, but it''s like her hand is an immovable object. How can she be so strong when she is only relying on her blood-trait!? Admittedly, I am a child, but I''ve spent years on retraining my martial arts and I still can''t keep up. The pressure ¨C and with it the pain ¨C builds up until I am actually afraid that one misstep might actually burst my skull like a ripe melon. Thinking only about self-preservation, words spill quickly from my mouth. ¡°There are millions of gods out there in the multiverse! We really can''t tell who or what they are trying to summon. Like Angrod said, if it is a summoning.¡± Katrine eases up on the pressure and sighs in dismay. ¡°I wish you would just believe us that it doesn''t matter what you two did in a previous life. Just come clean with us. What do we have to expect if those people are really trying to summon a god other than Seria.¡± Angrod looks down at the floor. ¡°Personality-wise, gods are just like every random person you could pick from the street, so I assume the Meltheims won''t be happy with the result.¡± ¡°Which means?¡± Arthur urges him on. ¡°Well. How would you react if someone summons you to another world out of nowhere?¡± I shrug. Arthur purses his lips. ¡°I wouldn''t like it.¡± Angrod raises a lecturing finger. ¡°Exactly! Even a minor god can change the landscape with a thought if he gets fired up. So, there are all sorts of possible outcomes. The summoned deity might be bored and decide to help the Meltheims. Maybe he is indifferent and just goes home, wasting all their effort. Or he loses his shit and crushes a few impudent flies.¡± ¡°Hopefully just the people in the immediate vicinity, and not us and the world too ¨C as collateral damage,¡± I clarify, my voice turning grave. ¡°Hmmmm.¡± Arthur grumbles, studying us. ¡°Is that what the religious texts are telling us? That the world was reborn in the cleansing fire of creation as Chaos and Order clashed with each other.¡± Angrod and I look at each other with mirthful expressions until we finally admit in unison. ¡°We were pissed!¡± I gesture wildly at the screen. ¡°It still doesn''t make sense! Seria reincarnated us in this mortal form and imprisoned us on this world as punishment! I would assume that she took some measures that not any random god could interfere with her great plan! So, why is someone other than us messing around on this world? If Seria or the Council wanted something from us, couldn''t they just take it?¡± ¡°Hold your horses.¡± Angrod raises a hand. ¡°We still haven''t confirmed that it is a summoning ritual. I refuse to come to any conclusion regarding our uncertain situation until we have more information. Too many things don''t add up. As an example, I still don''t understand why there aren''t any stars in the sky.¡± I have wondered about that too, but there are all sorts of strange dimensions in the multiverse. I just assumed Seria brought us somewhere where she could be certain that nobody interferes. ¡°What are ''stars'',¡± Arthur rolls the strange word in his mouth. I am about to tell him that it''s not important when suddenly a few of our fortresses on Arthur''s scrying table light up and vanish. Frowning, Arthur walks to his map, which is thanks to scrying magic almost as accurate as real-time satellite footage. ¡°What happened? A malfunction?¡± Angrod takes his tablet and looks at the large screen which he installed on the wall. Frowning, he switches through drone footage until one of them shows a mushroom cloud and he pales. I know that this world knows some serious long-range magic. So those clouds aren''t unfamiliar to its people. The rituals for strategic-class spells take long to prepare and gathering the necessary energy is hard. So, we just got the confirmation that at least some of the missing people were taken for their magic. The enemy didn''t go small either to take out those fortresses. These explosions are larger than those which were reported about in the history books I read. Ireth shrieks and covers her mouth with her hands, then turns away to face the wall and starts to crying. Sobbing, she goes to her knees. I don''t get what''s going on, so I quickly walk over to find out what''s wrong. Holding Ireth''s hand, I notice that my parents also turned pale. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I ask my mother. ¡°Nicol and Nicosar were in one of those ¨C if they kept to their schedule,¡± Angrod answers my question with an enraged whisper. ¡°They left on another tour just a few days ago.¡± Arthur is the first to catch himself, keeping a cool head. ¡°We have to retaliate. Their forces are starting to move.¡± ¡°The roads are all secured by mines, they won''t be able to invade that fast.¡± Katrine comes over and also tries to calm down Ireth. I myself am lost for words. Did they really just kill Nicol and the old perverted geezer? Arthur raises a hand to his ear, casting communication magic, probably to ensure that the line of command is still intact despite Nicol''s likely demise. He quickly gets in contact with someone and starts giving commands, ordering our remaining forces to move. Though, a lot of our people were in and around those fortresses. Our troops will have to fall back and establish a new front-line if we want to defend our cities. It sucks! Feeling helpless, I ball my left hand into a fist, hard enough to dig my fingernails into the skin of my palm. Why do I have to be weak!? I should have devised some plague to wipe out our enemies ages ago! Before any of this could have happened! Why are there always idiots who have to fight stupid wars? Is the entire multiverse cursed to suffer and struggle? I notice that Angrod is on the floor next to his mother, playing with his tablet while holding her hand. ¡°Do you really think it is the right time to play with your toys, Angrod?¡± I snap at him, knowing that I am irrational, but he is the only target for my helpless frustration. He should be trying harder to comfort Ireth. He just lost his father and grandfather! People who he should care about! He should show some sort of emotion. Instead, he is smiling at his computer. His shoulders tremble, and he starts laughing in an insane manner. ¡°Kukukuku! I was too nice. I am always too nice. That''s my flaw. Every time I start being nice, someone close to me gets hurt. I should have massacred the whole bunch the first chance I got. No more!¡± ¡°Angrod?¡± Don''t tell me he has lost it? That expression feels like... I have seen it already... the day when I died. ¡°Angrod! Don''t do something stupid!¡± He ignores me. ¡°...but I can correct that. Yes, I should have killed those children and thrown their beating hearts into that bastard''s face without a single warning. No more Mr. Nice Guy!¡± His tablet''s screen turns red, illuminating his grinning face in an ominous manner. He brings down his finger on the screen, right before I snatch it out of his hands. Too late. The tablet gives off a shrieking warning. I wince. ¡°Angrod! What did you do?¡± Looking at the large screen on the wall, I notice that it was replaced by a map of the central continent. Shocked, I can only watch as a cloud of red dots appears above the mountain where Angrod''s base is located. ¡°I just corrected my mistake and did a little house cleaning!¡± Angrod replies, his expression darkening as he watches the cloud of red dots spreading out. They move northwards at a moderate speed, constantly fanning out and gaining speed. Sighing, Angrod pulls a chair close and sits down to watch the screen with a serene expression. ¡°Angrod, you better explain yourself if you just did something of military relevance. I have to coordinate the army alone until the line of command is re-established. And in a few minutes I have a meeting with the highest generals to discuss the situation!¡± Arthur reprimands the prince, snapping him out of his tamper tantrum. Angrod explains in a moody voice, ¡°If you can wait fifteen minutes, the last rocket should have hit its target. I just launched all the long range weaponry my lab managed to produce in the last month. The targets are enemy command centres, the mansions of northern nobles, the enemy army, strong energy signatures...¡± His voice trails off. ¡°Just wait until we know what actually gets destroyed. Making any plans before the rockets hit is a waste of time at this point.¡± ¡°What if some of those targets are innocent?¡± I don''t recognize this version of Angrod any more. Or should I say I recognize him again? He reverted to the person who I fought a long time ago. Someone who would kill everyone who opposes him or his ideas. ¡°Some of those rockets are targeting towns with people in them!¡± ¡°None of them are innocent. They all have guilt. Those without guilt died in the first night of the rebellion.¡± Angrod''s expression turns angry when he looks at me. ¡°You either do something, or you do nothing. I don''t feel any pity for those who don''t have the courage to stop those who commit atrocities! ''It wasn''t me,'' is no excuse!¡± Averting his eyes, he watches the screen with an angry expression. I bite the inside of my cheek as the first red dots become flashes of light, marking off red circles as eliminated targets. Some are larger, some are smaller... though... if something can be seen on a continental scale, those explosions shouldn''t be small at all. I don''t know what to do. I don''t want this, but we haven''t started it, and this is past the point of a peaceful resolution. I hand Angrod his tablet back, which he takes with a nod. Kneeling down next to him, I hug the stupid hermit. He has a dark side and I have to accept that. I guess that, in the end, we would have been forced to use strategic strikes anyway. We silently watch the red dots spreading out all over the north. Minutes pass as flowers of death bloom on the northern part of the continent. ¡°Those exploded too early,¡± Angrod notices a few minutes later. ¡°The missiles which I launched at the City of Light didn''t reach their destination.¡± He gets up and I let go of him. ¡°Do they have some kind of defence? Try dropping one of your drones into the city,¡± Arthur suggests. ¡°During the war, we experimented with shield spells to protect our cities. They suffered from energy problems, but I guess that''s no issue if you are willing to sacrifice your own citizens.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°We abandoned the idea.¡± I would hope so. Killing your own people to protect them seems counterproductive. Angrod works on his computer and two drones change course. A live-feed shows us their nosedive down into the city in two separate windows. One drone follows the other to observe the first one''s fate. A few hundred meters above the city, the leading drone ¨C an aerodynamic cylinder with long wings for gliding ¨C disintegrates as it impacts some form of shield. Seconds later, the following drone is lost too. ¡°They really managed to cast a shield spell of that size? Keeping such a spell running would need exorbitant amounts of mana, but I guess they don''t care about that,¡± Arthur grumbles. ¡°They wouldn''t need so many people just for a stupid shield spell. They ransacked at least three cities,¡± Angrod points out. ¡°They have much more than they need, even if they used thousands just for the shield.¡± ¡°Can you enlarge that area!¡± Katrine points out something like a mining zone. The area in question is outside the city, so I am not surprised that Angrod didn¡¯t pay it much attention in his first overview of the drone-footage. Angrod does something on his tablet and one of his drones changes course to get a better look. One minute later, the map updates with more detailed information. ¡°Ugh! Are those mass graves?¡± I ask shocked. I want to throw up. Angrod returns his observation to the city, but everything looks normal. He gestures at a large building which is shaped like a hemisphere. ¡°This one looks new, and it¡¯s the only space large enough for a ritual circle of the necessary scale.¡± The image switches colours, as the drone circles through some instruments until something very similar to an infra-red vision shows up. Though, I notice the difference, recognizing that the image filters for mana. In the new view, despite the interference from the city¡¯s shield, the whole building is radiating power. Through the walls, a large summoning circle is clearly visible. ¡°I guess, they really are trying to summon a god,¡± Angrod concludes in a grim voice. Chapter 21 ***Midhold, Research Facility*** ***Celes*** ¡°Those monsters killed all those people just to summon a god? How did they even get the idea?¡± Ireth mumbles, looking defeated. Lowering her gaze, she regards her open palms with dismay. ¡°We should have purged all of them while we could! Risking a civil war would have been better than this! Haven''t I already lost enough family!?¡± Angrod is still staring at the screen with a grim expression, but he reaches out to rub his mother''s back, offering comfort. I press my lips into a thin line, hoping that Ireth won''t change her ideals over this. Angrod told me that she already lost her mother and two children to the enemies of the crown and I find it commendable that she was still trying to create peace through non-violent means, even though it seemed like an impossible task. The drones are still flying circles around the city, trying to collect as much data as possible. Thanks to the accumulating information the resolution increases, giving us a sharper image. This allows me a good look at the summoning circle. ¡°It looks so familiar. Somewhere, I have seen that circle before. It''s on my lips.¡± Angrod turns his attention to the screen. ¡°It''s the same circle which the Council used to summon us when we became gods.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± I look at him. ¡°I thought they gave us our divinity through it?¡± He smiles. ¡°They never ''gave'' us our divinity. We became gods on our own. Everyone becomes a god sooner or later, on the condition that his soul reaches the required strength. The Council is lying in order to control the less knowledgeable deities. It''s much easier to make someone obey you if they think that you hold the power to take away something important.¡± ¡°They never threatened to take away our godhood!¡± I object, pointing out the flaw in his logic. ¡°No need.¡± He shrugs. ¡°As long as you thought that they ''gave'' it to you, you automatically assumed that they could take it away.¡± He tilts his head. ¡°Given their lack of skill with soul-magic, I doubt that they could do it. The only one who even comes close to having the necessary skill is Seria. The other soul-mages in the Council''s employment are bumbling buffoons.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± I ask. Then I immediately berate myself for forgetting that Ascathon was the Council''s specialist for mind- and soul-magic. If anyone, he should know about the skills of his peers. Nonetheless, Angrod decides to give me an explanation. ¡°When they summoned me and ''made'' me a god, I already knew quite a bit about magic. That circle is nothing more than an overly complicated summoning formation. I admit that it is a powerful device, but except for a change in location and a beautiful light show, combined with feeling dizzy, you get nothing from it. ¡°They intentionally designed the thing to be hard to analyse. The Council pulls off a big show to convince the newborn gods that they have power. But they didn''t fool me. When they summoned me, I noticed that most of the runes in this circle have no function. They are just there to obfuscate its purpose.¡± ¡°Why didn''t you tell anyone!?¡± The Council doesn''t have any power over our divinity? They just let people assume that they gave it to them? To get control over them? Why would he keep such a secret hidden? A moment before he answers, I realize how stupid I am. Spreading the truth would make him a prime target. ¡°Mwahaha!¡± Angrod chuckles with a self-berating tone. ¡°How foolish do you think I am?¡± He closes his eyes and makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°Of course, I didn''t immediately pick up on their spiel, but when they summoned me I was lucky enough to think three steps ahead before blurting out my knowledge. I bet standard procedure is to murder anyone who gets close to finding out. Later on, I snuck into Tjenemit''s summoning chamber several times, just to make sure.¡± Angrod taps his temple with his index finger. ¡°Don''t you think that a secret as powerful as that one is quite dangerous? What would they''ve done if I had told everyone of the biggest lie in the whole multiverse? Wouldn''t quite a few gods decide that it isn''t necessary to follow the Council''s orders? Wouldn''t they silence someone who knew that secret at any cost? ¡°I liked my life and I wasn''t certain that overthrowing the Council is possible, so I kept my mouth shut. I played the scientific idiot who is much more interested in their city than in the actual circumstances of his ascension. I said ''yes'' and ''amen'' to everything they asked of me, hoping that I would manage to fly beneath their radar until I could start an actual revolution.¡± ¡°You planned to overthrow the Council!?¡± I gawk at him. ¡°Yes. Until a certain someone decided that I am her mortal enemy, which then required all my attention,¡± he grumbles, looking pointedly at me. I close my mouth, feeling guilty about that. ¡°I can say nothing in my defence. Looking back, I myself don''t understand why I was so fanatic about you. The more I remember, the less sense it makes.¡± I think about it for a few seconds. ¡°I guess you could be right. There are quite a few who are very unhappy with the Council''s way of managing things. That still doesn''t explain where the Meltheims got the knowledge for that circle?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± Angrod shrugs his shoulders. ¡°The only thing that comes to my mind is that someone is attempting a power-play within the Council. Something that''s outside Tjenemit''s or Seria''s influence.¡± ¡°Could you two at least try speaking our language and explain what the Council is?¡± Katrine interrupts, her tone pointed and annoyed. ¡°Nothing to worry about. Just the gods of all gods, the rulers of the multiverse. No big deal at all,¡± Angrod proclaims. ¡°What about Seria? Can''t she help us?¡± Arthur asks. ¡°Seria is also just one of the Council''s minions,¡± I explain. ¡°Sorry, but politics among gods are just as complicated as our own situation. We really don''t know what''s going on among the Council. Given our outdated knowledge, this summoning just makes no sense. The only thing I can come up with is that a lot of time has passed since our reincarnation and that we are facing a vastly different situation than we assumed it to be up until now.¡± My thoughts drift to my dreams, but I dismiss the idea. It''s not like I got more than vague hints from those memories. ¡°So, the only thing we can say for certain is that the Meltheims got their hands on some really powerful spell which is connected to the rulers of the multiverse? Why am I even trying to save my world from a civil war if the Rulers of the Fucking Multiverse are on their side,¡± Arthur complains, banging his fist onto the table with his scrying-map. I lower my voice, trying to sound reasonable and appeasing. ¡°Because if you don''t even try, you will have lost from the start. We don''t know much, but we know for sure that we should try to interrupt that summoning!¡± I try to encourage my dad again. ¡°Somehow, for some reason, Seria ensured that only she can visit this world, or I bet someone else would have shown up already. I don''t think that the someone who is trying to come here is on Seria''s good side.¡± Angrod sighs deeply. ¡°At least time seems to be on our side. To power such a large ritual, you need huge amounts of mana. There is also no god who can just yank the spell-formation into the correct shape, which means that they have to rely purely on the circle. Those maniacs would need to sacrifice a whole world to run the ritual at full speed. At this rate, it will take years, maybe even a decade or two until the ritual is done.¡± ¡°Then we have time to take over the north and deal with the City of Seria later?¡± Arthur asks, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Maybe.¡± Angrod doesn''t sound so sure, biting his lower lip. ¡°The first thing I would do is to go for total war.¡± Total war? ¡°Angrod, I don''t think that-¡± He raises his hand to cut me off. ¡°I don''t suggest total war only because I want them dead. I want that, but there are also other considerations.¡± He points at the map. ¡°I''ve fired my entire arsenal at known strategic locations and government facilities. The north should be in total chaos, giving us the perfect chance to take over. We''ve lost a lot of our border troops, but our own command structure is still relatively intact. ¡°I won''t deny that a rushed attack will cost many lives, but acting quickly will save more people in this case. Our main goal should be ensuring that they can''t collect even more sacrifices from their territory. We have to contain them in the City of Light. Giving them time will only allow them to march more lambs to the slaughter, which will shorten the time we have to do something about that shield.¡± ¡°Unless Seria shows up?¡± Ireth asks in a hopeful voice. ¡°I am afraid that we shouldn''t count on that,¡± I answer quietly. ¡°I think it''s clear that Seria isn''t residing in this world for most of the time, or she would have shown herself much more often. Depending on where you are in the multiverse, time can pass on a different scale. We have no idea what she is doing, so it could take her decades to check in on us if she happens to be in a lower dimension.¡± Sensing that we don''t have much more useful information to offer, Arthur gestures for us to get out. ¡°If you two are correct, then I don''t have any time to waste. Get out and give me time to coordinate everything. Ireth, I know that you just suffered a heavy blow, but could you stay with me to lend some credence to my words when I talk to your officers? Angrod, I need access to those spy-devices of yours.¡± ¡°They always want my toys...¡± Sighing, Angrod lends Arthur his tablet and starts explaining how to control the drones. Thanks to the intuitive interface the King of Stricc catches on quickly. ¡°I''ll send you more devices with unlocked access. Your generals should also make contact with my lab. The staff there is trained in handling the spy-network. They will supply the army with everything that''s necessary.¡± Angrod waves at the big screen which is about one meter wide and half a meter in height. Arthur nods and gestures for Katrine and Ireth to come over. Ireth''s eyes are still red and spilling tears, but it looks like she managed to pull herself together enough to help Arthur with organizing the troops. After calling for Rose, they usher us out of the room and leave us at the door. ¡°I don''t like it. We don''t know what''s going on. Do you have any feasible theories?¡± I ask the stupid hermit. ¡°We can only wait until the army has taken control of the north. It should be no problem, even though I failed in the City of Light. The rest of their command structure should be in ruins. All Arthur has to do is to march in our troops and take over. Then we can deal with the City of Light and its stupid shield,¡± Angrod explains slowly while thinking over something. It sounds easy enough when he says it, but I have learned the hard way that taking over a large territory and keeping control over it are two different pairs of shoes.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°What could be the problem? If they have just one city left and we have enough time, we can crack the shield and deal with them,¡± I suggest. ¡°Yeah, the shield might be the problem. I don''t know how many people they sacrificed to empower that thing. What if they used a sizeable amount? We could have trouble bringing it down.¡± He stares at the ground and stays silent. ¡°I am sorry. Nicol and Nicosar could still be alive. We haven''t had any confirmation of their deaths.¡± I hug him. He may be an uncaring idiot with a cold heart, but at least he gets angry for those close to him. ¡°We will get through this, don''t you remember! Seria said that we will lead the world towards a better future! If we are together, nothing can stop us!¡± I proclaim proudly, hoping to encourage him. He smiles weakly. ¡°You know... I killed the last prophet who thought to mess with me.¡± We go to the living room and just sit on the couch for the rest of the night. When Angrod falls asleep, I go and get a blanket for us from my bedroom. I am about to make my way towards the kitchen in order to grab a late snack, but when I turn around the corner of the main corridor, I bump into a person who rushed along the hallway. ¡°Celes, where is Arthur?¡± Nicosar stands before me, though a little dusty and bald, he is alive! He looks like the survivor of a nuclear explosion who had his hair singed off. To my disturbance, I notice that his bushy raccoon''s tail also lost all its hair and now looks like a rat''s tail. My eyes widen involuntarily as I watch the ghost standing in front of me. The real Ghost was following Nicosar, trotting after the old man. The razorclaw sniffs and him and wrinkles his nose, sneezing cutely. At least as cutely as a dog-sized cat can. ¡°N- Nicosar! We thought you were dead!¡± I drop the blanket and hug him. My chance at getting revenge wasn''t taken from me after all! Oh, thank the multiverse! I can still pay him back for all those months of torture. ¡°Where is Nicol?¡± Nicosar shakes his head, showing a pained expression on his face. ¡°I got blown a few kilometres through the air. After I regenerated, I awoke somewhere in the wilderness, naked. I didn''t even have enough energy left to regenerate my hair, so I had to trek by foot. It took time to find the next civilised place with someone who could teleport me back. I fear that Nicol hasn''t made it. It was... a rather big explosion...¡± I gape at him. He took a nuke to the face and got up afterwards!? It takes a few moments to get my priorities straight. ¡°Anyway. You have to take care of Ireth. She is pretty down since we got the news of the attack. Arthur is already coordinating everything.¡± I take Nicosar by the hand and lead him back to the cartography room. On the way, I stop in the living room and wake up Angrod. Sitting up, he smiles an evil smile when he sees the old man. ¡°I am so glad that you made it. I feared that thing got you after you didn''t show up for so long.¡± Together, we go to Arthur''s room. At the noise of opening the door, Ireth looks up and sees Nicosar. She jumps and runs over to hug her father. ¡°Dad! I am so glad. What¡­¡± ¡°I am sorry,¡± Nicosar whispers quickly and hugs his daughter in turn, silencing her question about Nicol. ¡°You have to be strong, you are the queen of a country. We can''t just lay down our responsibilities because we lost someone dear to us. We have to stand up and work for a future in which those things won''t happen.¡± Ireth nods and Nicosar takes her by the hand. ¡°Then we should go and help Arthur and Katrine.¡± Together they leave to join Arthur and Katrine. ¡°And what will you do now?¡± I ask Angrod. ¡°I will go back to sleep since I am tired. I have the body of a child after all,¡± he answers, then looks at me, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Why are you still all chirp and happy? Shouldn''t you be tired too?¡± ¡°Well, if you would train to circulate your inner magic, you would realize that it has all sorts of beneficial effects. Increased vitality and endurance are just two of them.¡± I place a hand on my chest, hoping that a little of the old snide between us will return him to his normal self. He huffs, then turns to retreat to his bedroom. Sensing my chance, I follow him! He seems to be too tired to care about what I do, so it''s the perfect chance to cheer him up. ***The Centre, Crystal City*** ***Lada*** Sitting down at the oval table, I stack my papers and smile at the others, hoping that this isn''t another one of those meetings where everyone complains while Shaddai puts them back in their place. Including myself, all seven Council members are present at the white table which we always use for important meetings. Beneath us, visible through a transparent floor, is a city made of crystals. The Crystal City. This is the largest tower in the city, its uppermost office allows a grand view on the eternal creation of those who came before us. The office''s floor stretches out of the tower, surrounded on all sides by glass. It gives the impression of hovering in the sky without the need of any support. I smile as I take a look out of the large windowfront. The sun has already set, which means that only a dim glow dyes the horizon in shades of blue and red. Above us, the black hole which is dancing with the sun seems to swallow and distort the stars in the sky. ¡°I don''t believe her! She is playing tricks on us!¡± Tjenemit complains, clearly speaking about Seria and therefore destroying my inner tranquility. Seria was the main topic of our last two meetings! ¡°You guys must see it too,¡± he continues. ¡°She is spending too much time outside of our surveillance! What is she doing in those Void-Zones?¡± ¡°I agree, but we never had much choice in the matter. She is the only one who can wander through those places. That makes her an invaluable weapon in finding insurrectionists. Not only is she fast, but she is also great at tracking and strong enough to subdue her prey. While others have to take detours to circumvent the Void-Zones, she can just walk in a straight line.¡± Amaru seems to share Tjenemit''s opinion, but there is doubt in his voice. Amaru, the scientist of our group, keeps polishing his monocle, showing only moderate interest in the subject. ¡°Seria is good in what she does. She brought us countless escapees who didn''t approve of our guidance.¡± Eris shrugs. ¡°Sometimes, her prey escapes, but what''s the problem with that? Of ten assignments, she brings us nine people. That''s a better track record than most other hunters can hope to achieve at their best.¡± ¡°That''s the problem.¡± Tjenemit slams his palm onto the table. ¡°Someone with her skills should get everyone.¡± El Shaddai raises an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. ¡°I am sure that you know yourself how unlikely it is to succeed at everything, Tjenemit. Just remember your latest fuck-up with Amaru''s pantheon project. The one where you drove two deities into destroying a whole world. If that wasn''t negligence, then I don''t know what is.¡± Everyone chuckles, except for Amaru and Tjenemit. ¡°I admit that Seria is a strange one, but that''s only natural for someone as old as she is. If she hadn''t been caught up in that Void-Zone and lost most of her memories, we would have to consider her as our elder. You can investigate her as much as you want, but I doubt that you will find some big conspiracy.¡± Eris picks at her nails, sounding peevish. I take another look through the documents and statistics which Tjenemit provided. They supposedly show how Seria has a tendency to ''lose'' people with certain traits. Mostly men and women with high moral standards and a tendency to fight against suppressive regimes. ¡°But many who escaped her never turned up again! It''s all there in the evidence which I provided!¡± Tjenemit gestures at the papers on the table. ¡°There are countless cases! It goes back as far as our records about her! I want to know what happened to those men and women, and I have an idea where I have to look!¡± Enyo shakes her head. ¡°Not that again. Are you seriously suggesting that she is building an unstoppable army in one of the Void-Zones?¡± She ruffles her long, black hair. ¡°I admit that I am itching for a good fight, but your theory is like grasping for the stars in the sky. Not impossible for us gods, but highly unlikely. Seria is also a very impulsive person. You can''t sell me a story of her gathering support for eons! Decades, yes. Centuries... maybe.¡± Then she starts laughing like a nutcase while pinching the bridge of her delicate nose. ¡°But seriously? Look at how far back those records go. She must have gathered millions, a whole world of people. Such a task borders on insanity. Is she some collector who likes deities with certain traits?¡± Elohim clears his throat. ¡°Even if she truly does such a thing, I don''t care. She never showed any sign of being disloyal. Let her have them to play her games as long as she does her job. Your gripe is that she took those two, but you yourself failed to clarify what you wanted her to do with Ascathon and Myrm. If someone of her usefulness gets a bit quirky, you should make an effort to overlook it. All we truly want is information about Mana Crystals. Pressure her into giving us that information and she can have Ascathon and Myrm.¡± Enyo stretches in her chair and speaks with a bored voice. ¡°I think so too. Eternity is long. Everyone needs a hobby. I don''t know which sick side of hers she is hiding from us, and I don''t want to know as long as she does her job and those who vanished never show up again. Her solution of dealing with misfits clearly works just as well as ours.¡± ¡°I still think you guys are making a big mistake by turning a blind eye on her! I made a mistake in giving her those two when she asked for it! We should have locked them inside the black hole too! I know that Seria is planning something. I feel it! And soon, I will be able to prove it!¡± Tjenemit stabs his finger pointedly at the desk to underline his determination. ¡°How?¡± El Shaddai frowns, studying his overeager subordinate. I sigh, hoping that Seria won''t get into too much trouble for whatever she is doing. Haven''t I told her more than once that antagonizing the Council isn''t a good idea? I won''t be able to shield her forever. Tjenemit''s expression turns smug. ¡°I have invested quite some time in researching her favourite Void-Zone. I think that something is in there!¡± I raise my voice. ¡°I am sure that if we would just talk to her, we could reach a consensus.¡± Tjenemit throws a disapproving look in my direction. ¡°That would be the wrong thing to do. Who says that she doesn''t have the ability to relocate her whole operation if we give her a warning? I have already sent a message into the Void-Zone. It contains a summoning circle for myself and a little enticing message. If I am right, someone will find it and summon me there. With the circle, I will have a perfect conjuration point which should allow me to come and go as I please. No reason to rely on Seria.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t you have to be very lucky for someone to find that message?¡± Amaru asks, putting on his monocle. ¡°Even if it gets found, who says that they will use it?¡± Tjenemit raises an educating finger. ¡°That''s why I used an intent-based conjuration spell! I know that this type of magic isn''t very precise, but the Void-Zone is pretty much empty aside from my target. My only targeting condition was for my little bottle post to reach someone who is willing to use the contents at all costs.¡± Leaning back, he smiles smugly. ¡°And all I have to do is to lean back and wait.¡± El Shaddai tilts his head, thinking. ¡°I suppose Seria doesn''t know about this.¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Tjenemit answers quickly. ¡°It would be stupid to try this with her knowledge. She would intercept my message. I could even be caught inside the Void-Zone!¡± ¡°I still think that we should talk.¡± I throw a pleading look at Shaddai. ¡°Seria is a trusted aide and a friend of mine. If we plan something like this behind her back, it could destroy our relationship. Seria won''t react well to such a clear show of distrust. Hasn''t she proven herself over the millennia? The least we can do is to talk before we try to pry into her business.¡± ¡°I know that you are a Goddess of Harmony, Lada, but you are too trusting.¡± Amaru shakes his head. ¡°Seria may be everything you think of her, but she is also in a unique position. She is the only being that''s not entirely under our control.¡± ¡°Hah.¡± I snort. ¡°Neither are the demons on the Infernal Planes. Or those in the dimensions that are too strange for us to understand. A God of Wisdom should know better. This is not the right path!¡± I cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°Then we will take a vote to decide. Speak now! Who is against Tjenemit in this.¡± El Shaddai looks around, waiting for us to speak up. The last rays of sunlight reflect on his golden skin and the office''s lights automatically switch on. ¡°I am firmly against intruding into Seria''s business!¡± I am quick to respond. Elohim, who stayed mostly silent, shifts in his chair. ¡°I don''t believe it to be the right step either.¡± One of the plants on his shoulder loses a leaf and he picks it up, eating it. Isn''t that like self-cannibalism!? I suppress the urge to gag. The man got stranger and stranger over the years, but at least he is supporting me. ¡°In favour!¡± Amaru shifts the vote to two against and one for Tjenemit''s plan. ¡°Let him try.¡± Eris shrugs. ¡°I don''t see the harm. Seria just has to get over it if she turns out to be innocent.¡± Everyone looks at Enyo, but she waves her hand, looking bored. ¡°I don''t really care. Tell me if I can crush something, then I am all for it, but this sounds too much like an average investigation.¡± ¡°So we have two voices in favour of the plan, two against it and one without opinion,¡± Shaddai sums it up. ¡°I also think that we should look into Seria''s business. If for nothing else then to make sure that she isn''t up to mischief. You will go through with your plan, Tjenemit. I will take my leave then. There is much to do.¡± El Shaddai vanishes. ¡°Nice! Boring talks are done! Time to crush something!¡± Enyo blinks out of existence with a fist-pump, suddenly energized thanks to Shaddai''s departure. ¡°Then I will retreat too. I will have to meditate in order to find the summoning circle.¡± Tjenemit fades away. ¡°Sorry, Lada, but creating discord is my forte! I had to assist Tjenemit in this.¡± Eris dissolves into particles of light with a smirk on her face. If one thing is certain, then it''s that the Goddess of Discord will choose the path which will create the most trouble. ¡°This is wrong. Elohim, you know it too!¡± I turn to Elohim, the only one who was on my side. ¡°I am sorry Lada, but I don''t agree with you. I may have voted with you, but for different reasons than friendship. I think that Seria should be left alone because she never betrayed our trust. But if Tjenemit is right... well. We can''t have a freelance goddess with an army at her beck and call.¡± ¡°The thing is that Tjenemit doesn''t have proof. He has just one of his stupid feelings,¡± I complain. Elohim nods. ¡°You are right, and that''s why I voted against kicking the bee-hive just to test if there are some killer bees or normal honeybees inside. Even normal bees get mad if their hive is kicked. Seria did nothing to deserve this investigation.¡± He waves and vanishes too, leaving me behind. Still not believing it, I grab the papers on the table and start reading. Chapter 22 ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** Time passes quickly when you are busy with developing doomsday devices and espionage tools. While fiddling with a little side-project, jewellery which is supposed to grant me some increased stamina, I try to think of something I can do to improve our situation. I am sixteen by now and in my sixth school year. The school is fine and we even got a new teacher for combat exercises. Tongord was replaced by a certain Mr. Harald. He is a large fellow with green skin and oversized teeth. We are calling him Mr. Orc, but only behind his back. On the one occasion at which Tanja addressed him openly as Mr. Orc... let''s just say it didn''t go over well. The guy''s bloodline trait practically turns him into a superman with strength and speed on par with Celes, and I don''t want to battle her on the best of days. Thanks to the strategic strike by my research lab Arthur managed to subdue the north. We had to pay for our victory in bloodsince the revolutionaries who got caught outside the City of Light''s shields didn''t go down without a fight. The final toll was brutal. We were down to sixty percent of our previous forces. Nonetheless, I still firmly believe that paying that price was the right decision. Many politicians fear away from losing their reputation with the loss of their country''s soldiers. What they don''t realize is that they create a lot more suffering by drawing out the war when they could end it. Sadly, many also simply do not care as long as it means that they stay in office. The Meltheim''s rule over the northern regions quickly dissolved without competent leadership. Right now they are a government in exile who are hiding behind their shield wall. Still, losing my father was a hard hit for my mother and myself. My memories and logic tell me that it was to be expected. Mortals die, and the immortals are left behind to deal with the loss. I nonetheless respected Nicol despite his flaws and I wish that I could have had more time with him. I am still blaming myself for losing him. It was my proposal to wait and defeat our enemies with patience, so I can''t help but think that I am at least partly at fault. Without time, the Meltheims would never have managed to prepare such a devastating attack. But how could I have known that they got divine assistance, or that they would turn out to be fanatics? Nicol''s burial was a big ceremony, even though we had no body to lay to rest. In general, mourning the dead doesn''t seem to be a big deal in this world, but at least the king of the country was buried with allhonours. Right now, the City of Light lies under heavy siege. Their shield protects them and nothing we tried managed to break it. Those bastards put so much mana into it that it became de facto impenetrable. Although I am working on a solution, the hammer I need for this egg is on another scale. Even now the army is bombarding the City of Seria day and night while they try everything to crack the shield open. I don''t have much hope. Not unless we are willing to go to the same lengths as our enemies and start sacrificing people. Taking down the shield will take lots of work, but we still have some time and I hope to be ready soon enough. Luckily, the support for the royal family is as big as never before. Most of the war-faction''s supporters got lynched when the truth got out. The people went onto the streets and dragged nobles out of their houses. Everyone who had even the smallest connection to Meltheim or Tulhelm had to fear for his life. Our parents had a hard time to stop the people from taking the law into their own hands. Some maniacs even tried to storm the house of Cygnus in order to get their hands on Iris. The decision to go after her is a little sick in my opinion. After all, Iris is just a child. Thankfully, the security took care of them as soon as they set foot onto Cygnus property. The most infuriating thing about the situation is that we can''t even talk to those idiots. The shield wall is blocking everything. We only got a little information from the civilians in the north. Judging by their story, it appears that the Meltheims'' rule quickly turned the region into a police state. Most people weren''t allowed to travel, an obvious step if they planned from the beginning to ransack entire cities. The people would have revolted, had they learned that the populations of entire citieswerebeing deported by theMeltheims''private army. ''Knock!'' ''Knock!'' ''Knock!'' I look up from my work, putting aside the stencil tool which I used to inlay the gravure on the little jewellery¡¯s backside. Once it''s done, it''s supposed to clip onto my horns without looking too flashy. ¡°Angrod! Get out!¡± Celes''s voice comes from the other side of the door. Like hell! I will not. ¡°Mwahaha!¡± I placed some really strong enchantments on my door. A spacial fortification and a magical recognition that is keyed to my mana signature. Celes hadn''t managed to interfere with my private time in weeks. I doubt that she will be able to break my new protection unless she turns into a high-level magician. The times of using lock-picks to sneak into my room are over. ¡°Angrod! It''s important!¡± Celes knocks again, not giving up. Important? ¡°What''s important?¡± ¡°Something came up! We have to go!¡± Celes starts to hit the door again, louder this time. ''Bam!'' ''Bam!'' ''Bam!'' Did she just use her foot? Just now, that sounded louder than I would expect from a hand. Despite her destructive efforts, the door holds perfectly. But then I notice some cracks in the wall around the doorframe. Frowning, I get up to inspect the damage and realize that having an indestructible door doesn''t mean shit against someone like Celes. A few more hits and she will break the door and its frame out of the wall! ¡°I am coming! Don''t hit the door again! You will take down my whole room!¡± I quickly fumble with the lock and deactivate the wards to open the door. ¡°What do you want? I have work.¡± Celes storms into my room, wearing a white summer dress. Opening my wardrobe, she searches through it, pulling out trousers and a jacket. ¡°Hey! What do you need my clothes for!¡± ¡°You have to wear something decent! You can''t go out in that embarrassing pyjama,¡± Celes answers. Looking down at myself, I can''t see the problem. Okay, white and red stripes might not be the latest fashion, but who is going to see? Aside from a certain someone who keeps intruding into my room. Plus, the fabric is really nice and Ghost''s long hairs don''t stick to it. ¡°Go out? Where to? Is there some festival we have to take part in? I heard of nothing?¡± I am a little dumbfounded. Normally, our parents inform us well beforehand if we have to show ourselves to the public. ¡°No time. Something came up! Here, put that on.¡± Celes lays out the items she picked on my bed, blue trousers and a fitting jacket with a white shirt. ¡°Isn''t that suit a little bit too casual?¡± I ask. The clothes she picked fit nicely but could passas normal street clothes. Rose always makes sure that I wear something really gaudyonformal occasions. ¡°It''s okay! You look cool in that! I will wait outside.¡± Celes runs out of the room and closes the door. What the hell got into her? I sigh and get dressed. At least she didn''t want to watch me get changed. Once I am done, I join her outside, only now noticing that Celes put some effort into dressing up herself. She didn''t apply any make-up, but her hair is braided at the side of her head, drawing my eyes. She also chose an innocent, white summer dress with blue embroidery that fits with my outfit. ¡°Good! Looks nice. Now come, we don''t have much time.¡± Celes takes my hand and leads me outside where Rose is waiting with the car. I don''t get a chance to demand an explanation before I am practically forced into the backseat and Rose starts the mana engine. ¡°Can you explain what''s going on?¡± I ask Celes. ¡°Can''t you remember? We promised to make peace and work on understanding each other! You are locking yourself in your room! Unless it''s for school, you don''t come out,¡± Celes answers. ¡°We are sixteen and I am sick of waiting for you to take the initiative.¡± Well, I thought I could at least wait until we are twenty until I have to get through on that promise. ¡°Ahem, Aren''t we a little young for official dating?¡± I clear my throat. She raises her chin, looking down on me. ¡°Even if we are young, there is nothing wrong with deepening our relationship, so we will go on dates every week from now on!¡± ¡°Every week!¡± I call out. ¡°Do you know how much time that takes?¡± ¡°Hahaha, oh the benefits of youth!¡± Rose comments from her position in the driver''s seat. I breathe in deeply and let the air out slowly. Unfortunately, Celes is quick to pick up on my mood. ¡°Oh, come on. You were the one who wasn''t happy with my proposal. At first, I offered you an arrangement that was aimed at giving you and myself as much freedom as possible, but you weren''t happy with that. You were the one who wanted a normal relationship, so today we will visit a musical!¡± Celes nods and smiles even brighter. Frowning, I try to remember the details of the notebook which I had her burn when we were little. It sounded awfully detailed and controlling, but could it actually be that I would have had more freedom with it? ¡°Um...¡± I press my lips together, trying hard to remember the contents and the actual wording. It¡¯s actually hard to recall. ¡°I think it will be nice. The musical has analluring plot which I assume even Angrod will find interesting.¡± Rose drives around another corner and stops the car in front of a big building. ¡°Have fun!¡± She smiles and looks at me through the rearview mirror. ¡°What about security?¡± I ask quickly, noticing a way out of my predicament. Aside from the usual security service which is guarding our car, I didn¡¯t notice any bodyguards. ¡°This place is for the higher society, just like our school. In case that there is a problem, Rose and the security serviceare waiting at the car,¡± Celes explains while she exits the car. As soon as I am outside and the door is closed, Rose drives off, followed by the two cars which belong to our security. Celes links arms with me and I notice with embarrassment that she got some womanly features since her latest growth spurt. We approach the entrance where she shows the guard two tickets and we enter. Seeing our reflection in the glass of the huge door, I study our matching clothes.Celes really has a hand for outfits. A waitress greets us and points out a row of seats with a very good view of the stage. Before we sit down, I take the time to look around the big hall which has enough space for two hundred people. The stage for the musicians is a few levels below us and on the walls are amplifiers to guarantee a good sound for everyone. ¡°How did you get the idea?¡± I ask Celes. ¡°I must say that I am not a particular fan of musicals.¡± ¡°Mmmm. I remembered that we used to do this quite often back in the day,¡± she comments while studying a flyer with information about the musical. I look at her, unsure whether I should point out that the one who went on musicals with me was her demon-persona. Is Celes even aware that I suspect her to be two souls in one? Pressing my lips together, I decide to yet again avoid that particular topic. ¡°I must admit that I had this on my list for quite some time now.¡± She pulls out an old scratchpad. The pages changed their colour over the years, turning yellowed and brittle. Smiling to herself, Celes checks off an item.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°First date at sweet sixteen, done.¡± She announces, clearly satisfied with how things are going. ¡°You realize that you''ve been carrying that thing around for years already?¡± I ask her. ¡°No problem, even if it is a little bit tattered. It still does the job.¡± She slips it back into the folds of her dress, making me wonder how she does it. She always has a pen and paper on her person, but I never notice her carrying it unless she pulls them out. At that moment, the musical starts and the lights dim. Celes grabs my arm to lean against me. Once more the physical contact makes me wonder about her development, and I catch myself imagining a younger version of Katrine. Just how will Celes look at eighteen or twenty, once the last remnants of childhood disappears? Blinking, I pinch my own thigh in order to get my thoughts back on track. Having a beautiful bride just isn''t fair play! I have to remind myself that there is more to a woman than just a pretty body. Still... Celes experienced some development in the past years. Certainly, she will become a real beauty just like her mother. In fact, she is already a blooming flower. If it wasn''t for that personality of hers! We shut up when the musical starts in earnest and watch the performance in silence. It turns out to be about the creation of this world. I frown when a scene describes how the Goddess Seria and her helpers created the world and its people. The play goes on, devolving into a normal hero-story. Despite the unimaginative plot, I find myself enjoying the songs and the implementation of the musical. Only the tightness of Celes''s grip on me is a little uncomfortable. We are about halfway into the performance when Celes tugs at my sleeve and I look down at her. Celes''s face is a little bit cramped with a forced smile. She points at a spot a few rows in front and below us. ¡°Am I dreaming? Or is that really Stephen? And Iris?¡± Narrowing my eyes, I follow her pointing finger, finding a pair of youths who are leaning into each other. One has short-cropped hair and could be Stephen, which is confirmed a moment later when he looks sideways and down at his date, a girl with silvery-white hair. He bends down and kisses her on the temple. Giggling, she hugs his arm and I find myself shocked at finding Stephen going out with Iris. Open mouthed, I massage my chin. ¡°I think so? It certainly looks like it''s them.¡± Celes balls her fists, growling. ¡°That¡¯s a no go!¡± She is about to stand up when I place a hand on her shoulder and push her back down. ¡°Hey, hey. What¡¯s the problem?¡± ¡°The problem is that she is too young! Iris is a year younger than us and Stephen is three years older, which makes her fifteen and him nineteen! That¡¯s like robbing the cradle.¡± She gestures at the pair who are oblivious to us. ¡°Add to that the fact that Iris is practically a prisoner of the state!¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Please. They are four years apart. That¡¯s not the worst thing that could happen, I think it¡¯s not even illegal in this world. Iris was abandoned by her parents, and we saw to it ourselves that she is set up with the Cygnus family.¡± I shrug. ¡°Who can blame her that she is trying to make the best of her situation?¡± ¡°Gah!¡± Celes gasps, clearly not approving of my opinion. I continue anyway. ¡°And we both know Stephen. Compared to his sister, he is a super level-headed and correct guy. Have you ever seen him doing something stupid, like stunning droves of students and teachers with a malfunctioning drone?¡± Thankfully, Celes seems to consider my words, drawing her eyebrows together. ¡°I would be afraid if Iris were a boy and was sitting down there with Margerie.¡± I shudder. ¡°Now that would be a recipe for disaster, but not Stephen. Have you ever seen him do something that he didn¡¯t consider very carefully beforehand?¡± Finally, Celes relents. ¡°I guess not. But we definitely have to confront them once the play is over.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just go home and let their drama be their drama?¡± I ask, unwilling to meddle in someone else¡¯s business. I like spying on people, but I only rarely interfere. ¡°Margerie and Stephen are our best friends. It¡¯s our dutyto checkthat everything is okay with them,¡± she replies with a stubborn expression. I massage my temple. ¡°What if I have some spy-drones watch them? You can check out the situation before you ruin their evening.¡± Celes opens her mouth, ready to reject my offer. Frowning, she reconsiders the situation and closes her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s actually a good idea.¡± Sighing, I lean back in my seat. ¡°Good. Then let¡¯s enjoy the show.¡± ¡°Once I have indisputable proof of their infidelity, they can¡¯t refute any corrective measures!¡± She nods to herself. Drawing in a deep breath, I let out a long sigh, wondering how this relationship between Celes and mecould ever work out. Stephen is such a lucky guy. ***Midhold*** ***Celes*** At last, the performance ends and we slowly leave the large building, mindful of the crowd of people. We decide to sit down on a bench in front of the opera which houses the musical. The only thing that is left to do is to wait for Rose to come get us. Unfortunately, I am not in the best of moods after my little episode during the musical. ¡°I am so sorry. I almost messed up our first date. All becauseof my own ego.¡± ¡°It''s okay. You hardly messed it up,¡± Angrod tries to comfort me, but it''s a lame attempt. ¡°The old you would have stormed down there and made a scene in front of Stephen, just because of some perceived sense of morality.¡± Now¡­ that stings a little. Am I really that kind of person? ¡°You are a guy! You have no idea what you''re talking about!¡± I huff and cross my arms. ¡°I was female too in some reincarnations. So I think that I am allowed to say that. You should have also been a guy at one point or the other...¡± Angrod mumbles. ¡°Pff! You as a girl? That must have been quite the view.¡± Somehow I can''t imagine the hermit as a woman. ¡°But now that you mention it, I can¡¯t remember a reincarnation where I was male.¡± I tilt my head, trying hard to remember. ¡°So strange...¡± ¡°Err¡­ maybe it was too horrible to remember?¡± He gestures at the crowd. ¡°Anyway, have you seen where Stephen and Iris went? I thought we would catch them on the way outside, but we didn¡¯t cross their path.¡± I blink and study his guilty mien. ¡°Why are you trying to change the subject?¡± ¡°I am not trying to change the subject,¡± he replies quickly, as if he is hiding something. He looks at me. ¡°Did I already tell you that you look great in that dress.¡± ¡°I-¡± I blink. ¡°What did you just say?¡± ¡°That you look great in that dress.¡± He¡­ he complimented me!? Now I know for sure that he is trying to distract me, but what¡¯s this warm and giddy feeling? Angrod notices my flustered expression. ¡°It''s- It''s okay! Don''t cry! Did I say something wrong?¡± Ah, so nostalgic. My Johann back then was also weak when I cried. I always grabbed him tight and hugged him without giving an answer. Leaning into him, I put my arms around his chest and squeeze. ¡°It¡¯s the first time that you gave me a real compliment!¡± I don¡¯t even care that he had an ulterior motive! ¡°Hurgh! It''s really no problem. Thanks. But you are crushing my chest!¡± He taps on my back like he is trying to tap out, so I ease up a little without letting go. At this moment, Rose stops her car in front of us. ¡°Did you two have a nice evening?¡± She opens the driver¡¯s window and smiles at us. ¡°Tch!¡± I huff. It was just getting good. Couldn''t she have waited a few more minutes?I would have had Angrod eating out of my hands! I just would have had to find out why he was so eager to change the topic of our conversation. I guess it¡¯s fine to pursue the issue at another time. There is still the present which I want to give him. Angrod and I get up to enter the car. ¡°Just get in. I will bring you home.¡± Rose revs the motor, smiling in anticipation. ¡°I have a date of my own tonight.¡± ¡°Really!? Who is it?¡± I ask quickly. ¡°That¡¯s a secret,¡± Rose replies nonchalantly. ¡°Um. Celes. Why are you sticking to me like that?¡± Angrod asks with a disturbed voice, referring to the fact that I never let go of his arm the entire time. I grab a box out of my pocket and shove it into his hands to shut him up. ¡°That''s for not being a total douche bag. Though you didn''t perform perfectly, I will grant this to you if you shut up.¡± I snuggle up to him while he opens the box, his eyes lighting up upon smelling the contents. I also have to smile at his obvious delight. Chocolate always works on him, at least that trait of his character never got lost during all that time. It''s nice to know an easy way to please him. Leaning against him, I allow my eyes to drift closed. ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** I carried Celes into her room since she fell asleep on our way back. By the time we arrived at the embassy, she was like a log and didn''t wake up, even when I shook her. It¡¯s still early evening, so I decide to get some work done while sitting in the living room. Armed with some documents and blueprints, I lie down on the thick carpet and start updating them. They have to be idiot-proof when I hand them to my men in the research facility. Not that they are idiots¡­ let¡¯s just say thatI''d rather besafe than sorry when it¡¯s about weaponry with enough firepower to crack the barriers around the City of Light. Someone knocks on the room¡¯s door and I look up, finding my mother waiting there. ¡°Yes?¡± I answer in a questioning tone. Ireth looks at the documents which are strewn around me on the floor, then focuses her attention on me. ¡°Angrod, I know that you are trying to break that shield spell, but something came up.¡± ¡°Why do you sound like something horrible will happen?¡± I ask my mother. ¡°I am sorry. Originally, I didn¡¯t think that it would turn out to be a problem. It''s this stupid inheritance law! You see, your father has a brother,¡± Ireth announces as if that would explain everything. ¡°Uh... you know that I am not big with the law myself. If there is something even you can miss, I am the last one whowould be aware of it. So why don''t you start at the beginning? I totally don''t get what you are talking about.¡± ¡°I am talking about your birthday in a few months! You will turn seventeen and with that, you will have to succeed the throne of Tirna. Your father is dead after all.¡± Ireth sighs. ¡°I can''t give the boring stuff into yours and grandpa''s hands anymore?¡± I ask. ¡°You can still delegate tasks, but you have to officially take over the throne,¡± Ireth explains, wringing her hands. ¡°So where does my father''s brother come into this?¡± I snort. ¡°My uncle? Why did you never mention him? Shouldn¡¯t someone who is related that closely have visited us at least once?¡± ¡°When the crown goes to the next heir, everyone who has the bloodline can challenge him for the crown. This was established to make sure that a strong king is in power.¡± I smack my own forehead. What¡¯s wrong with this world? Which asshole wrote those laws? ¡°The first thing I do when I take the crown will be to change some laws! So you believe that my father''s brother will make an entrance. You still haven¡¯t explained why he never showed himself.¡± ¡°He challenged your father for the throne when Nicol took over and married me at eighteen. Your father crippled his brother in the fight. Then your uncle went into exile by his own choice,¡± Ireth recounts the events without much emotion, making it clear that she didn¡¯t waste a tear about my uncle¡¯s exile. ¡°So you think that he still has a grudge and is striving for power. So why didn''t he jump at the chance when father died?¡± ¡°I am sure that he will try, though I am not certain if he will work together with the war-faction. We still can¡¯t be certain that we got everyone who is in league with the Meltheims.¡± Ireth shakes her head. ¡°And he didn''t act because he doesn''t have any legal claim. I am ruling the country ¡®in absentia¡¯ of your father because you are not allowed to take the crown yet. Butonce you''reseventeen you will have to since you will be an adult in the eyes of the law.¡± I must admit that the whole situation confuses me a little. ¡°How did you remember someone who disappeared years ago?¡± ¡°Two days ago, he appeared in town with someone who was introduced as his son. He claimed a few old favours from some nobles. Some of them saw a problem with his presence and informed me,¡± Ireth snorts. ¡°It¡¯s exactly what we don¡¯t need right now. First, the country is split because of the Meltheims and now this. Soon, we will be back to the ages of warlords and little city-states!¡± ¡°This joke is getting old. The Meltheims tried that already,¡± I huff. ¡°Yes, unfortunately, I believe that this is another attempt by them. Only that they are using a puppet this time around.¡± Ireth shakes her head. ¡°When the Meltheims locked themselves up in the City of Light, they still had a big amount of money in various banks and institutions. We tried to trace it down, but most of it just disappeared.¡± ¡°And let me guess. My uncle is throwingaround moneyleft and right and nobody has a clue where it came from.¡± Ireth nods with a sad expression. ¡°We don''t have any evidence, so we can''t stop him. The exile was of his own choice, so we can''t send him away either.¡± ¡°So you think he will send that son of his against me?¡± I shrug. ¡°I guess that I¡¯ll have to kill him then.¡± Ireth gasps. ¡°You are talking about your cousin! He even signed up for your school.¡± ¡°Wonderful, so I will have to endure a pest similar to the Meltheim brothers in school. At least until he is stupid enough to challenge me.¡± This gets less and less funny with every word. ¡°What are their names?¡± ¡°Your uncle''s name is Seredorn of Tirna and his son is named Markorn of Tirna.¡± ¡°Hmm. What about the mother? Or did my uncle just use cell division to sprout an heir?¡± I throw my arms up into the air, causing my mother to smirk. ¡°We don''t have any clue about her. Your uncle just showed up with his supposed son and set up his residence.¡± ¡°Is he even his real son?¡± I doubt it somehow. ¡°We are investigating. When it comes to the rank of succession, things have to be clear without a doubt. But so far we couldn''t find a clue against it. He looks similar enough to his father from what I heard. And they came with a lot of servants who confirm their story. Right now a few investigators are on their way to your uncle¡¯s previous residence. Though, I have my doubts that they will come to a different result. If your uncle could be caught with such simple measures, I doubt that he would have made an effort to pull a stunt like this.¡± ¡°You sound like you know him very well,¡± I observe. ¡°Before he challenged your father, he tried several times to get his hands on me. He was always smart enough to leave no evidence. So it was always his word against mine. And he had a really good relationship with his brother. Your father didn''t believe me that Seredorn had ulterior motives. Until the challenge, he was always the nice brother.¡± I nod, surprised to learn that my parent''s relationship had some drama involved. ¡°Then we will have no other choice than to stay alert. Don''t fear for me, I can take care of myself. And thanks for the warning.¡± Ireth hugs me with tears in her eyes. ¡°Don''t do anything dangerous. I lost so many of my family already. Any more and I wouldn''t be able to go on.¡± ¡°Don''t always say that. I want you to go on and be happy, whatever happens.¡± I hug her back with a grim expression on my face. Chapter 23 ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** ¡°I can''t believe this! Didn''t we have enough trouble already?¡± Celes complains after I gave her an update regarding my mother''s warning. Rose steers the car through a roundabout and I hold onto one of the car''s handles, promising myself to introduce the wide-spread use of traffic lights at the next opportunity. It would make our way to school so much easier on my stomach. I understand that traffic lightsare not cost-effective in the current economic environment, so the city planners did a great job at planning the city when they placed roundabouts at every opportunity. Still, one roundabout every few hundred metres is just too much. ¡°I hope that the little masters are careful today. I have heard some disturbing things about the new student. Yesterday, after he was registered to school, he went to the fighting class and picked a fight with a whole group of students. He beat them up badly,¡± Rose warns us. ¡°So we will have to deal with him in Special Class for sure. That''s great!¡± Celes complains, clearly not amused by the situation. ¡°If he tries anything, I''ll break his face!¡± ¡°Is that even possible?¡± I ask Celes, wondering about the mechanics of breaking a person''s face. Wouldn''t that require breaking the skull? In that case, wouldn''t the act of breaking a face be lethal? ¡°Sure, you would be surprised at the many ways in which a person can be broken.¡± Celes starts counting on her fingers. ¡°You could fold them over backwards, or forwards-¡± I frown. ¡°How do you break someone forwards?¡± ¡°Just have his legs outstretched and have him bend over until the knees touch the shoulders. Done. Many people can''t even do that much without snapping some tendons,¡± Celes explains casually. I shudder. ¡°I wouldn''t be able to do that.¡± Narrowing her eyes, she turns and looks at me, studying my body like a piece of meat. ¡°We have to change that.¡± ¡°No thanks.¡± I look out of the window. ¡°You have no choice in the matter. Keeping your body fit is your first duty as my husband. I won''t do the tango with you if you develop a beer-belly,¡± she huffs. I consciously touch my belly. I was never someone who did anything like body-shaping and training. Although I am always trying to stay in shape, I end up developing at least a small belly once a few decades pass and I become lax. While I was a god, I dealt with the problem by visiting an advanced world and having the problem taken care of for me. ¡°What does a beer-belly have to do with being elastic?¡± ¡°Let''s just say that I want to try some interesting positions in the future.¡± Slowly, I edge away from her. Which position would require me to bend over like... nope. I quickly wipe the image from my mind, deciding that I would never go there. After a few minutes, we arrive at the school and silently make our way to the first class. The entire time, Celes shows her obvious displeasure at the most recent development. I for my part decide to be silent and nod to everything she says. If I contradict her, I will probably just become the target of her morning issues. A few years of living with her retaught me that that''s how she works. Right after getting up, she is a real fury. It''s better for me to hide somewhere and keep out of sight until the storm is over. Once the clock hits eight, she gets more agreeable until the storming sea of her emotions calms down around ten. Even if I give her a present or try to cheer her up, I have a fifty-fifty chance of becoming the target of her bad mood. Thankfully, the school day passes in relative normalcy until, some hours later, the dreaded Special Class is on the list. When we arrive at the meeting place, we find Stephen and Iris. Gabriel, Sven, Tanja,and Sandra are also present. There are a few more students, but I know none of them personally. What really surprises me is Stephen''s presence. He never visited this class up until now. Stephen and Iris are holding hands, looking like the happiest pair in the world. I can practically see the pink aura around them and the little red hearts floating up from their heads. I catch myself feeling envious of their happinesssince I suspect that they have something that I''ll never truly feel again. ¡°Hi, Stephen. Long time no see. Do you intend to join us?¡± I try to strike a conversation because I am curious what he is doing here. ¡°Oh, Angrod and Celes! No, I am not much of a fighter. My talents lie somewhere else.¡± He gestures at the wolfgirl next to him. ¡°I just escorted Iris. And now I have to run. My class is about to start.¡± He bows and leaves, whistling a happy tune. I throw a curious look at Iris who starts fiddling with her hands upon noticing my attention. Grinning, I decide to pry a little bit. ¡°I''ve noticed that you became very good ''friends'' with Stephen.¡± Iris turns red like a tomato from head to toe.¡°Well... you see. I live inside the Cygnus mansion and as a result, I spend a lot of time with Stephen and... ah... at some point... he... he proposed I guess?¡± I hear a gasp from next to me and Celes gestures wildly at Iris. ¡°You can''t! You are too young for that!¡± Iris blinks, clearly not comprehending my companion''s problem. ¡°We are a couple now. No need to look at me like some rare animal. And it''s not like you and Angrod are any different; you are practically married. Compared to that, Stephen and I are only dating.¡± Celes opens her mouth, but pauses, clearly trying hard to come up with a proper reply. I understand where Celes''s ideas are coming from. In another world, in another society, people would look down on Iris and Stephen for having a serious relationship. But that''s not the case in this world. Sandra and Tanja interrupt before Celes can continue her protests. ¡°Ohohoho. How far did you go already?¡± Tanja pokes at Iris. Sighing, I decide that this is not my kind of topic, so I back away from the forming group of girls around Iris. I turn to Gabriel and Sven who are now the only ones I can have a halfway decent conversation with. ¡°So what''s up with Harald?¡± I ask them. The lesson should have already started, but Tongord''s replacement is nowhere to be seen. ¡°He went to get the new student,¡± Gabriel informs me and Sven nods. ¡°The rumours say that yesterday, he went against the whole Fighting Class and won,¡± Sven adds. ¡°I see.¡± Well, besting the students of the normal Fighting Class individually shouldn''t be a problem for anyone who attends the Special Class. We were taken out of the normal class exactly for that reason. Anyone who is here somehow outperforms the normal students on some level. Turning my attention to Sven, I smile at the smaller boy. He managed to overcome his shyness over the years. Now he is talking to me properly, instead of stuttering his way through every sentence. Sadly, he is only like that with people who he knows very well. Nonetheless, facing down the whole fighting class would force even me to go all out. ¡°Don''t you think that the rumours might be blown just a little bit out of proportion?¡± I can''t help but remember the rumours about Celes and me subduing the whole fighting class. In fact, we just fought each other and everyone else was just too impressed and backed off. Essentially, we were shunned because of our exceptional skills, but we didn''t truly fight anyone. The guys in the normal class are all spineless weaklings. They could attack anyone from Special Class by the dozen and mangled bodies would be the only result. Still, there are about sixty students in that class and fighting all of them at once would be taxing even for me. Our conversation is interrupted when Harald arrives with a guy who is about my age. He has horns and slit pupils, just like someone with a strong royal bloodline should have. His hair is dark like mine and I can see the strong family resemblance. The difference is that he is sturdier and maybe a little larger. I guess he really is my cousin? ¡°So, here we have the other students of the Special Class. Everyone line up here!¡± Harald gestures for the rest of the class to line up for a meet and greet. Of course, we do as ordered and Harald continues with the introduction. Harald gestures at each of us in turn, introducing all students by name and their speciality. When he is done, he introduces the new student. ¡°Everyone, this is Markorn of Tirna.¡± Markorn smiles and bows to us. ¡°I am happy to join your class.¡± Markorn walks up to the beginning of the line and shakes hands with everyone. Reaching Celes, he bows down in an attempt to kiss the back of her hand. ''Whack!'' Markorn''s head is rocked to the side and he stumbles, but he doesn''t fall. Moving his jaw, he tests it for injuries and smiles at the princess. Celes had pulled her hand away from Markorn''s gripping paws with incredible speed and gave the offender a resounding slap with the back of her hand. Everything happened so fast that the motion was just a blur to the naked eye. ¡°Celes!¡± The only one who dares to question the interaction is Harald. As the teacher, he is responsible for the actions of his students. ¡°Hahaha! It''s okay, Teacher.¡± Markorn defuses the situation, making himself look like the generous one. Though, honestly, there wouldn''t have been much Harald could have said or done about Celes''s reaction. Despite his lineage, Markorn''s status is equal to a random noble of Tirna. When he tried to kiss the Princess of Stricc he was clearly playing outside his league. It would fall to me to either reprimand him, or defend him against Celes. I wouldn''t ever do that, so when Harald looks at me, I just shrug smile. Markorn will learn soon enough that Celes isn''t the average pretty puppet. Seeing that there is no more attention to be gathered, Markorn shrugs. ¡°I like them spicy. It''s no fun without a little challenge. The people in this class are sure to be worth my time.¡± The corpse talks! Markorn straightens himself and tests the movement of his head, making me wonder if Celes intentionally held back from killing him. Normally, I would have expected his head to pop off and sail over the training field. With Tongord, Celes proved that she is capable of that on numerous occasions. Something cracks in Markorn''s neck, like something snapping back into place, but otherwise he seems to be fine. Unimpeded, he continues further down the line until he reaches me. ¡°I am pleased to meet you, cousin. It was overdue for a long time now.¡± ¡°The pleasure is on my side,¡± I answer and offer him my hand. He takes my hand and puts his whole strength into squeezing it. I try my best to hold against it with everything I have, but I didn''t expect him to be this strong! There is a grinding feeling in my palm and a cracking noise, combined with uncomfortable pain. But I don''t even flinch. As soon as I realized that I won''t win this fight of strength, I used my telekinesis to sever the nerves for pain in my hand. All I feel is a nasty itch as I keep smiling at Markorn, promising myself to return the favour a hundredfold at the next opportunity. My lack of reaction or discomfort obviously disturbs Markorn and he lets go a little too hastily. Pulling his hand away so quickly makes him seem like someone who just realized that he was touching something dangerous. The other kids chuckle, ruining Markorn''s supposedly kingly entrance. He must have felt the bones in my palm break, so he keeps his eyes on my hand as he continues towards Sven.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Flexing my hand, I can feel the bones rearrange themselves and fuse back together. He got two fingers and one of the metacarpals! By the time Markorn is done shaking hands with Sven, my hand is healed and whole, so I make a show of studying my fingernails, wanting him to know that his childish display of power didn''t have the slightest effect on me. A long time ago, I came up with the idea of organic enchantments. Flesh Magic! In other words, placing permanent effects on a living body. It''s something that''s widely considered as impossible, or at least, not worth the effort. But seeing the potential, I started my own research on the topic a long time ago. The process was tedious and slow, additionally hampered by the fact that I am utterly clueless in the fields of medicine and biology. I know some of the basics, but I would never consider myself a doctor or a healer. Nonetheless, there is much to be learned if you aren''t bound by moral restrictions. Through success and failure, I learned the hard way how to place enchantments on a living test-subject without the enchantment deteriorating because of the natural electric field any living creature generates. Or in turn, without the enchantment messing with the body''s nerve-signals. At first, I went down a completely wrong path, trying to utilize tattoos. But having my test-subjects pay the price for knowledge, I found a way with satisfactory results. The organic enchantment which I placed on myself with Celes''s help kept growing over the years, spreading and taking over my whole body. The seed I placed on the bones of my hand is now a template that increases my physical properties slightly. Sadly, it is clearly not enough to keep up with whatever Markorn did to himself, though, that was never the intention of why I went through the pain of enchanting my body. On some worlds, there is a natural material that''s called dragonbone. Naturally grown carbon fibre, combined with strengthening silicon deposits and other minerals, it''s almost as easy to enchant as many metals. With the right enchantments and enough power, dragonbone can become almost indestructible. As long as I place the right enchantments on it and activate them. By now, I should be able to imbue my body with almost any effect I wish for, combined with increased control over my mana, which was the main point of the organic enchantment. Just like with dragonbone, all I need is enough power and I can reshape the structure of my bones, reconfiguring the effects according to the situation. Markorn returns to Harald''s side and Gabriel and Sven look at me with worried faces. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°I could hear them break!¡± ¡°No worries. I am fine!¡± I smile and show them my hand while moving it as proof. I allowed Markorn to break my hand, hoping that by seeing my weakness he would make the mistake of revealing his hand. Sadly, that wasn''t the case. If there hadn''t been an audience, I would have screamed and whimpered, but just as Markorn is trying to build up a reputation, as the Prince of Tirna, I have to think of my own public persona. Seeing my obvious display of health, Markorn''s eyes go round with disbelief. Harald claps his hands together. ¡°Okay! After we are now all somewhat introduced to each other, we can start our training fights again. Markorn, you as a newcomer can choose your opponent if you want. I have to get a feeling for your strength.¡± ¡°I would like to test myself against my cousin!¡± Markorn answers with a devilish smile, pointing at me. ¡°That''s fine then. Everyone else, team up and start training.¡± Our green-skinned teacher gestures for us to get going and claps to spur us on. ¡°We have wasted enough time with introductions!¡± While the others team up for training and spread out, I am left alone with Markorn. My opponent takes a quick look around, ensuring that Harald and the others aren''t close enough to overhear a casual conversation. No longer bothering with appearances without an audience, Markorn crosses his arms and looks at my hand. ¡°That''s strange. I thought that I broke it for sure. You are rather weak for someone of the royal bloodline, dear cousin.¡± I tilt my head. ¡°What do you know of the royal bloodline? I just find it strange that you aren''t hiding your hostility at all. Are you, by any chance, aspiring for the throne?¡± ¡°There is no need to play games between us. I am pretty sure that I can take Celes from you and get the throne for myself. A weakling like you isn''t cut out for a position of power,¡± Markorn proclaims confidently, assured that he has the upper hand. ¡°A proper royal should have the physical features of the horns, slit pupils and a tail. While almost everyone gets the horns, the women mostly lack the eyes and get the tail in turn, while the men mostly lack the tail.¡± He taps his chin. ¡°Coming along with those merely cosmetic traits comes physical strength and speed, combined with raw magical power. I can sense that you got the magical side of our bloodline, but you are utterly lacking in strength. Our ancestors would turn in their graves if they knew how diluted their bloodline became.¡± I put my hands into my pockets and channel mana into a shield. ¡°We will see about that. Will you talk for the rest of the day, or can we start training?¡± ¡°I will start the beating then...¡± Suddenly, Markorn is at my side. Did he teleport? I didn''t see him move at all! I pull my head back by pure reflex when I see his hand move. The instinctive reaction was burned into meby training with Celes every day. An open palm crushes my shield and drives forward, right through the space where my head was just a moment ago. Reaching out with my mind, I lift a small stone from the ground and shoot it straight at Markorn. Seeming bored, he sweeps it aside with a casual movement of his hand. Not fair! That should have killed him! That trick always worked on Tongord and my grandfather. I jump backwards to increase the distance, but Markorn follows in close range and continues to throw his punches and kicks at me. Seeing that his style of fighting relies heavily on physical combat, I try to avoid challenging his strength and dodge instead. Each time, I manage to evade by a hair''s breadth. We are locked in a dance with him as the cat and me as the mouse. I don''t even get the chance to cast a spell. After repeatedly missing his chance at a good blow, he suddenly abandons his tactics and teleports yet again. Closing the distance further, he grabs my left arm with both hands and brings his legs up in a scissor-kick. But instead of delivering a blow, he locks his thighs around my arm and pulls while pressing his calves against my neck and chest. Roaring from having my arm bent backwards, I go down to the ground together with him as the damned bastard tries his best to pull off my arm with his incredible strength. Though, this time I don''t allow him to break me. Channelling mana, I rely on the reinforcement effect of my organic enchantment. Feeling the already sharp canines in my mouth lengthening, I open wide and chomp down on the calf of his lower leg. Hot blood enters my mouth, and strangely enough, I find it quite tasty. Screaming hilariously, Markorn tries even harder to break my arm or at least dislocate it, but that only means bringing his calf closer to my mouth where I can bite even harder and saw my teeth back and forth. He has no choice but to do so. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have the needed leverage to apply pressure to my arm. Quite honestly, without revealing my own improvements, Markorn would have ripped my arm off. He is incredibly strong and I can feel the magic coming off of him in waves. Just like me, he is far beyond our age class. On average, the people of this world are far stronger than the normal mortal. It''s not too strange. There are worlds and dimensions which are saturated with energy. The mortals who live and survive there either become strong or die. The Infernal Planes are the perfect example. There are things and people there, mortal ¨C without the innate ability to reincarnate or walk the pathways through the multiverse, who even the gods have to fear in a fight. But that''s not the case here, which makes me wonder how Markorn got this powerful. It doesn''t seem like he has access to a hoard of knowledge like Celes and me. He is skilled at fighting, but his technique is raw and screams of inexperience, giving me the impression that he never was in a true struggle of life and death. ¡°Fuck!¡± Having enough, Markorn lets go of me and rips his calf out of my mouth. Rolling over backwards, he gets to his feet and puts some distance between us. I sit up and shift over to a kneeling position. Then I stand up. ¡°Fuck! Bastard!¡± Markorn hobbles left and right a few feet away from me like some wounded animal. ¡°Harald! That bastard bit me!¡± He screams for the teacher, giving yet another indication that this boy-child was never in a proper battle. If my observation is true, then how did Markorn get so powerful? Mr. Orc came over as soon as the screaming started, but didn''t interfere. The green-skinned muscle-man crosses his arms and huffs at his newest student. ¡°What''s the problem? Is Angrod poisonous? Do we need the medics?¡± ¡°What!? No!¡± Markorn gestures at his bleeding calf. ¡°He bit me! That''s not proper fighting! You have to punish him!¡± Harald rolls his eyes. ¡°This is Special Class, boy. Here, you learn how to fight, not how to dance. If you are afraid of using everything you have, then you should go back to normal Fighting Class. I don''t need any ninnies here.¡± Glancing at me, the teacher does a double take, his expression aghast. ¡°Are you chewing!?¡± Harald and Markorn and now a large part of the rest of the class look at me, horrified. Reaching up, I pull a piece of annoying fabric from between my lips and swallow, ignoring the fact that there is blood all over my chin and my chest. ¡°Doesn''t taste half bad, though it could use a little bit of pepper for seasoning.¡± Then I grin at Markorn, revealing my sharp fangs in all their glory. ¡°You were moping about our bloodline earlier? I think you are missing the bite it takes to become a king.¡± For emphasis, I clack my teeth together, enjoying the horrified look on his face. ¡°Let me show you who is the one with the diluted bloodline.¡± Activating the organic enchantment, I can feel my obsidian horns shift position, two of the protrutions bending forward and flattening out. They cover my face as a black, featureless mask and my vision changes, the sensory enchantments giving me an overlay of the situation. My fingers hurt as my fingernails grow, covering my hands like medieval armoured gloves up to my elbows. That''s the extent of my current change. The intention is that once the enchantment has fully settled into my whole skeleton, I will be able to create a full exoskeleton. But right now I am unable to support the full change with my limited mana pool. Laughing crazily, I charge Markorn, using force magic to propel my body forward. It''s only thanks to his freakish speed that he manages to avoid a blow at his face. With one hand on the ground, he twists, delivering a kick to my side which I endure with a grunt, my ribs holding up to the punishment. Counting on the psychological effect, I scream and gather energy in my palm. The spell-matrix forms and twists the spell into a new shape as I point it at Markorn. The blue hue of the orb of light in my palm turns chaotic and red. A mere moment before I can get rid of the pest who dares to call himself my cousin, a large hand lands on the back of my head, forcing me down. The spell fires off as I raise my hand in surprise and missMarkorn. The red sphere flies off at an upwards angle into the distance. Harald shoves me down, slamming my face into the dirt. ¡°What did I-¡± Lifting my head up, he slams me down again, leaving me dazed. ¡°-tell you about-¡± Seeing the teacher''s interference, Markorn''s confidence soars. ¡°Hahahaha! Silly little spells! Ain''t worth shit if you can''t hit!¡± he mocks with glee as Harald presses my face down into the dusty ground of the training field. ¡°-using spells which level buildings!?¡±Out teacher lifts me up, just as the distant thunderclap of an explosion startles everyone.A low and ominous rumble follows it. Markorn jumps at the unexpected sound and turns around, seeing that the peak of a distant mountain disappeared in an explosion. As the cloud settles, it becomes clear that a noticeable piece of the peak is missing. Finally, Markorn shuts up, realizing only now that I almost blew him to tiny, little smithereens. Harald grunts. ¡°That''s enough. I think there isn''t much value in continuing this duel. I wouldn''t have pitted you against each other if I had known that you are out for blood.¡± ¡°He was tasty,¡± I comment, hoping to throw off Markorn even further. Markorn turns back to face me. ¡°I will get you back for this! You-¡± ¡°You will do nothing!¡± Harald points at Markorn. ¡°If I hadn''t just interfered, you would be toast. You have power, but no idea how to use it. I have some extra lessons for you.¡± Finally, Harald lets go of me. ¡°And you, you are going to clean up the training field after school. Punishment for using excessive force!¡± He looks down at my hand, where I already have a second spell ready, another red orb, twice as large as the previous one. Crossing his arms, he looks at me and taps his foot on the ground. ¡°Dispel that thing at once! You will not blow up the school!¡± he screams at me like a drill-sergeant. I huff. ¡°Fine.¡± I close my hand around the orb and reabsorb the energy, cancelling the spell. Harald turns to the other students. ¡°What are you looking for!? Continue your training!¡± Using the chance, I smirk at Markorn and pull my thumb across my neck, making sure that he knows what will happen the next time he challenges me. Markorn glares at me, but he stays silent. Harald turns back and glares at me, apparently knowing very well what I just did. ¡°I think it''s best if we switch training partners.¡± Seeing no sense in wasting my energy further, I cut the flow of mana and my horns automatically return to their former state, while the exoskeleton on my arms crumbles and falls off. I will have to replace the lost mass latersince my enchantment isn''t fully grown yet. In its final stage, the transition between both states should be smooth, but that''s a long way off. ?? Running late because of my punishment, Celes and I are inside Rose''s car and on our way home. I take a curious look outside the window and ogle the new look of the distant mountain. Luckily, it''s a nature preserve over there, so there should be nobody to complain. ¡°You took a bite out of him,¡± Celes comments. Since Rose decided to get both of us at once, Celes had to wait for an hour while I did overtime. ¡°Do you think he will remember it?¡± I look at her. ¡°For sure. Though, you had me worried there.¡± Celes sounds a little apprehensive. ¡°Hm. Am I not allowed to experiment on a bastard who broke my fingers?¡± I ask, chuckling. ¡°Considering that he tried to kiss you, it''s too bad that it was just a bite.¡± Wait! That came across the wrong way! Didn''t that sound like I am jealous? ¡°I actually tried to kill him myself.¡± Celes sounds very serious. Good! She didn''t notice my slip-up! Wait, what? ¡°You tried to kill him!? When you bitch-slapped him?¡± ¡°I actually tried to take his head off. The plan was to claim that I overreacted after the fact. An unfortunate accident.¡± She shrugs. ¡°But I underestimated him. There was an unbelievable amount of mana inside him. So much that, even though he has no clue about inner mana manipulation, he is strong enough to challenge me.¡± ¡°I noticed that he has a lotof power,¡± I grumble. ¡°He also didn''t seem to have a lot of fighting experience. And now you are saying that he actually has no idea how to control his inner mana manipulation?¡± ¡°Let me clarify that.¡± Celes tilts her head and plays with a strain of her hair. ¡°Someone taught him the utter basics of moving mana through his channels, which shouldn''t amount to much. That''s also why he isn''t a leaking fireworks like Iris. It''s obvious to a practitioner of my level. The issue is that the guy has so much power that even with what little skill he has, it enhances him enormously. It''s like someone supercharged him! I think we have a problem.¡± She turns to look at me. ¡°Which makes me wonder how you managed to bite him without breaking your teeth.¡± I actually know the answer to that. ¡°Dragonbone. The enchantment I placed on my hand some time ago slowly turns my entire skeleton into the stuff. Very easy to shape with magic, agreat base material for enchantments. It also has some unique qualities which allow it to penetrate magical defences.¡± Celes''s eyes light up. ¡°Now I remember. Maybe I should have taken you up on that offer back then.¡± She scratches her cheek. ¡°But it doesn''t matter. The next time I ''bitch slap'' Markorn, I just have to get serious about it. Do you think he could have gotten that strong on his own? Is he a genius?¡± I tilt my upper body first left, then right as I consider the situation. ¡°Maybe, though I suspect foul play. You might be onto something. You mentioned that he was supercharged? There are ways to increase someone''s mana pool by channelling excessive amounts of energy through his system. I experimented along those lines once upon a time.¡± Unfortunately, I fried my test-subjects more often than not. Celes gapes. ¡°You can''t do that! It''s a health risk, even for a magically attuned body! You would have to be very careful and heal the patient constantly while he or she gets used to handling so much power.¡± I momentarily forgot that she is good with biology stuff. ¡°Well, let''s just assume that a certain somebody knows how to do it. I only wanted to point out that we know people who sucked whole cities dry to gain magical power.¡± She closes her mouth, considering it. ¡°We have to kill that fellow at the first opportunity.¡± Chapter 24 ***Midhold*** ***Celes*** ¡°Careful now, just two drops. Don''t go overboard on the catalyst...¡± Humming and talking to myself, I put aside the pipette and stir the bottle with a stick made out of glass. Waiting for the mixture to reach the boiling point, I use my tail and thefree hand to arrange the additional components I will need. The concoction continues to release blue fumes, saturating the room. Ghost was the first one who fled my workshop while glaring daggers at me when I started this route of experimentation, closely followed by Angrod who had at first showed some interest in my efforts. I can''t blame them though. The smell of this substance is horrible, something I definitely have to take care of in the final product. Maybe by delivering the agent in some kind of sealed form. Given that the various ingredients are harmless by themselves, I could also apply the poison by creating a two or even three component agent. The individual substances wouldn''t be recognizeable as poison. I could even carry them around and get caught in possession of them and the responsible authorities would be none the wiser. Someone knocks on the door, but I ignore it, too caught up in watching my newest creation for any change in colour. The yellow extract of the valiotres-root turned out to be a perfect indicator for the pH-value, turning from a slightly transparent yellow to a dark violet once the solution reaches an alkaline value of about one. That''s exactly when I have to turn off the heat and- The door to my workshop flies open and my mother enters the room, gagging at the smell. ¡°By the Goddess! Celes, what are you doing in here!?¡± Waving her hands, she walks to the window and opens it, ventilating the room. ¡°Mom! What are you doing? I need exact temperatures for this to work.¡± Returning my attention to my experiment, I notice that I missed the point when the solution turned violet. After staring at the deeply blue liquid in dismay, I grab a pair of large, wooden tweezers and lift the bottle from the boiler. Taking two quick steps, I push Katrine aside and throw everything out of the window where it bursts into flames two seconds later, singing the grass of the inner courtyard. Sighing, I take off my goggles and the improvised gas-mask. ¡°Happy now? That was three hours of work which just went out of the window.¡± Katrine still waves her hands, trying to get rid of the smell. ¡°I don''t care, young lady. The entire embassy smells of the stuff. At first, I suspected Angrod, but he was just reading books in the library. When I asked him, he told me that you are up to ¡®witchy stuff¡¯.¡± ¡°It''s not ''witchy stuff'', it''s called chemistry!¡± I wave my tweezers. ¡°Anyway, what were you trying to create? A stink-bomb!? Do you want to drive out our enemies from behind their shields by stinking them to death?¡± She raises an eyebrow, not quite looking down me. The days when I had to look up to her are in the past. After my recent growth-spurt, I am almost at eye-level with her, although I still have some development to do. I really hope my breasts will get a little bigger to go along with my hips. I would hate it if I had to cheat with my looks. ¡°Haaah.¡± I put down the tweezers on the working table. ¡°I am trying to come up with an undetectable poison for Markorn. But you are giving me an idea. Is it possible to gas the City of Light? They still need to breathe, right?¡± Katrine''s expression turns disapproving. ¡°What if you get found out? And no. Ever since the war, all cities have very effective countermeasures against gas attacks. There are spells that can clean the air, and I am sure the Meltheims are just waiting for us to try something like that. Gas attacks were the bread and butter of the Resource Wars.¡± ¡°Too bad.¡± I huff. ¡°Was the smell really that bad?¡± She presses her lips together. ¡°I could smell it from my office!¡± Ouch. ¡°Well, I promise that I will come up with a solution before I try again.¡± ¡°As long as I don''t have to smell it!¡± She turns around, looking at all my things. ¡°What''s all this stuff? I knew that Arthur equipped one of the rooms as an alchemist''s workshop for you, but I never realized that you seem to be proficient at this.¡± ¡°Ah, well...¡± I play with my hair, conscious of the topic. ¡°I got a few degrees in my previous life. Medicine, Chemistry, Accounting...¡± I chuckle. ¡°What else can an immortal do with limitless time on her hands?¡± Katrine regards mebut thankfully doesn''t seem to be disturbed by the situation. ¡°I see. What else did you make?¡± She gestures at the various ingredients and works in progress which litter my table. ¡°Oh, you have to see this!¡± I pull out a drawer from the working table, containing several potions in different colours. ¡°Healing Potions, Endurance Potions, Antidotes... I made all sorts of useful stuff.¡± I take a vial with a brown liquid. ¡°This gives the user improved night-vision for one hour.¡± Putting it back, I point out other vials. ¡°This one might interest you. It suppresses sleepiness and increases someone''s ability to concentrate. Quite useful for studying or doing tedious work. Though, you shouldn''t overuse it, since once it wears off you will still experience the repercussions of forgoing sleep.¡± ¡°I think that I will pass on that one and do my work without drugs,¡± Katrine mumbles. Her eyes fall on a vial with a clear liquid inside and she seems to recognize it. ¡°What''s that?¡± ¡°Oh, I got that from Tanja. Her people use it for interrogations and to woo their targets on undercover missions. It''s supposed to make the victim feel horny.¡± I blush, not wanting to discuss with my mother why I would have such a thing. ¡°I really only got it out of curiosity. I haven''t found a use for it. Tanja''s house is running a spy network, but you know that. Damn, I am rambling.¡± Katrine purses her lips. She looks at the vial, then at me and covers her mouth. ¡°What!?¡± I step back, hoping that she didn''t get the wrong impression. Did I do something wrong? Shaking her head, Katrine opens the vial and sniffs on it, then dumps the contents down the washbasin which is integrated into my working table. ¡°Hey!¡± I try to save the priceless ingredient. Tanja only got me a little bit, since the stuff is supposedly highly illegal, secret, and very rare. ¡°I didn''t get a chance to experiment with it!¡± I know of aphrodisiacs, but what Tanja described to me sparked my interest in the substance. If my friend didn''t lie, then it''s one of the strongest I ever came across. ¡°Did your friend tell you how dangerous that stuff is in its concentrated form?¡± Katrine huffs and puffs. ¡°Well, yeah.¡± I gesture with my hand, trying to wave the matter off. ¡°It''s supposed to drive the victim crazy with desire if the exposure is too great. If it were some normal aphrodisiac, I wouldn''t be interested in finding out how it works.¡± Katrine massages her forehead, dismay showing in her expression. ¡°Do... do you need something against migraines?¡± I pull out a vial with a greenish substance. ¡°I am always using this. It works wonders!¡± Better than aspirin. Katrine groans and takes the vial from me, downing all of it in one go. ¡°I am such an idiot!¡± I blink, feeling like I am wandering on thin ice. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because!¡± Mom gestures wildly. ¡°You are always acting so mature, so I just assumed that you know. But how could you?¡± I say nothing, deciding that it''s better to wait until she collects herself. Katrine looks towards the window and sighs. ¡°Having ''the talk'' with you is overdue.¡± Eyeing the door, she walks over and locks it. ¡°The talk?¡± I frown, wondering what great secret she intends to impart on me. ¡°If you are talking about the flowers and the bees, Mom, then it''s no problem. I already know, though I don''t get what that has to do with Tanja''s love-potion,¡± I joke. Katrine groans in response. ¡°It''s a little bit different for us, dear.¡± Lifting her green dress, she brings out her tail and takes the tip in her right hand, holding it for me to see. I take a step back. ¡°If you tell me now that our tails are actually ''dicks'', then you are probably right with freaking out.¡± Bringing forward my own tail from beneath my lab coat, I give it a rub. ¡°Though I admit that touching it gently feels great.¡± At first, I felt very conscious of revealing my heart-shaped tip. It looked just too embarrassing compared to Katrine''s and Ireth''s arrow-shaped tips. But it turned out to be anage thing. Over the years, it changed, and soon it will look just like the ones of the older women. Though, Angrod said that he found the heart-shape cute, so I actually mourn the change a bit. I want him to like my looks. She furrows her forehead, clearly surprised by my interpretation of the events. ¡°What? No! Quit with the jokes. This is a serious matter!¡± Katrine shakes her head. ¡°What I meant was our ancestry, our bloodline. We are descended from succubi.¡± When I frown, showing my incomprehension, Katrine decides to hit me with the blunt hammer of plain speak. ¡°All of our secretions are very arousing for other people. What Tanja gave you is a concentrated version of my spit. We use it to pay the Mordens for their services.¡± I look at her, then at my tail and the floor, trying hard to make sense of this information and what it means for my social life. ¡°That''s why I''ve never seen you kiss Dad in public!¡± My mother chuckles. ¡°He gets kind of antsy when I slobber all over him.¡± ¡°That''s why you always told me that I shouldn''t torture Angrod when I kissed him on the cheek!¡± I run my hands through my hair, ruffling it. ¡°Yeah.¡± Katrine turns serious. ¡°I thought you wanted to tease him. You should probably know that if you over-expose a guy, he might get a ''tidbit'' attached to you, so use yourself on Angrod and not me!¡± ¡°I never intended to do that!¡± I babble quickly, turning defensive. ¡°Good.¡± She narrows her eyes. ¡°And nobody else for that matter.¡± ¡°What kind of person do you think I am!?¡± I cry out. ¡°A well-meaning idiot.¡± Katrine delivers her verdict as a mother and draws in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. ¡°Which brings us to the final point. Did you get the hooks when you went through your transformation as a child?¡± ¡°H- hooks?¡± I narrow my eyes. This day is getting stranger and stranger. Katrine points at the floor without looking down. ¡°Down there.¡± I look at my toes and frown. ¡°I think that I would have noticed hooves or long toe-nails.¡± Mom facepalms and points at her crotch. ¡°There. Have you never explored yourself, child!¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. I gulp and bite my lower lip. ¡°By the Multiverse! Why do I need to have such a conversation with my own mother of all people.¡± Fidgeting, I admit. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve touched myself, but I don¡¯t know which hooks you are talking about.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t be. You clearly went through the whole transformation, so you have them. Have you never tried putting something inside?¡± ¡°I- I-¡± I fidget with my fingers and press my knees together. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to damage my maidenhood. I thought I would save myself for my first time with Angrod.¡± ¡°The poor boy.¡± Katrine rolls her eyes. ¡°Just wait here.¡± She turns, unlocks the door, and leaves. All I can do is to wait for two minutes in awkward silence, my mind reeling at what¡¯s about to happen. Why would Angrod be a poor boy? He is the luckiest guy in the multiverse that I even consider him as a partner. Finally, Katrine returns and locks the door behind herself. Holding a plastic bag with carrots, she offers me one. ¡°Here. Try it.¡± I take the carrot from her, feeling offended. ¡°You are wrong. I think that I would have noticed these ¡®hooks¡¯. And I would never do that in front of my mother!¡± ¡°Shut up, or I bend you over my knee and shove it in myself!¡± I gasp. ¡°It¡¯s like this-¡± Katrine gestures for me to get going. ¡°If I am right, then I¡¯ll have saved you from a lotof blood and screaming which would have ruined your first time. If not, then all you will have lost is a little dignity.¡± ¡°I think that I can handle a little pain and blood,¡± I reply, feeling stubborn. ¡°It¡¯s not you who will bleed and feel the pain. You see, there should be some hooks in there.¡± She gestures at my belly. ¡°When the guy is inside, they latch on so that he can¡¯t pull out. And if you are too enthusiastic, there might be some pain involved. For him. So you have to train your musculatureso that this doesn¡¯t happen, even if you get carried away.¡± Katrine offers me the carrot. ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** I lower my book, listening. Just now, I think I heard Celes screaming in terror. I would recognize her screams anywhere, having listened to her temper tantrums for years. Strangely enough, it didn¡¯t sound enraged like usual. It sounded genuinely terrifiedas if she just encountered some nameless beast from the Infernal Planes. Smiling, I shake my head. ¡°Naw¡­ can¡¯t be, right, Ghost? Celes isn¡¯t the type of girl to scream, however horrifying something may be.¡± Ghost replies only with a ¡®purrr¡¯ while warming my feet. ***Midhold*** ***Celes*** This whole situation is out of hand! It''s been just a few days since Markorn showed up at our school. Using his power, he evolved into something like a local gang-boss! He seriously wounded several students who didn''t jump on his every whim. He is acting like he owns the place. The other students can¡¯t stop him and Markorn himself is avoiding us for obvious reasons. ¡°Do you already have an idea of how to stop that guy?¡± I ask Angrod. ¡°I am working on it. Sadly, I don¡¯t think we can kill him without looking like the bad guys ourselves.¡± He shakes his head and leans back in his seat. ¡°Markorn has too much mana and my grandfather explained that his backers have still too much influence.¡± He gestures, indicating the school around us. ¡°It would cause a lot of destruction if I took him on. During Special Class, I was willing to risk murdering him, since the people there are strong and we had a lot of free space around us. They would have survived. Maybe we can take Markorn down if we fight together.¡± ¡°Then we fight together. He is a real bother. Yesterday, he approached me and tried to lead me off to who knows where!¡± The trap was so obvious that I felt insulted. ¡°Ok. Then let him do you. While his guard is down, you ram one of those hairpins into a vital spot and the problem is solved! A good plan.¡± Angrod nods to himself with a smiling face. ¡°How could you suggest something like that! I am your fianc¨¦e!¡± I turn to face him and cross my arms in front of my chest. Not to mention that there would be other issues with such a plan that Angrod doesn¡¯t know about yet. He actually looks a little guilty. ¡°Just a joke. I am sorry Celes, but I really have to concentrate on the coronation. It''s in two months and I have to prepare for it. Aside from that, I have to take care of breaking the shield of that stupid city! The thing is that even if we kill Markorn now, I don¡¯t think that it would truly change anything.¡± ¡°It would not?¡± I frown. ¡°Not really. The thing is that anyone might challenge me at the coronation. Markorn is strong, and his bloodline gives him more legitimacy than others, but he is also just a puppet. Who says that our enemies will use only him to challenge me? We have no idea how their improvement method works and how many people they supercharged.¡± I consider his argument. It¡¯s somewhat of a worst-case scenario, but he is right. In the end, Markorn isn¡¯t the true enemy, but just a pawn. There may be any number of Markorns in hiding. ¡°You think that the Meltheims might have turned others with the promise of power. Fine, so we prepare for anything. You may be right. Markorn¡¯s purpose could be to distract us while the attack comes from an entirely different direction.¡± Angrod shrugs. ¡°He certainly acts like that. Just think about how hilarious it is to use his power to create a gang in a school. Ultimately, he is just a child. If he was smart, he would hide his true strength until the last moment. That¡¯s why I am certain that Markorn is just a distraction.¡± ¡°Well, tell me if I can do something to help. I will go and visit Tanja. She promised to load a new spell into my ring.¡± I turn around and walk away, leaving Angrod to whatever he is up to. ¡°I hope it isn''t another indecent spell for hiding your presence! Besides, I have to talk to Tanja anyway. Tell her to see me if you find her!¡± Angrod calls after me, but I just wave my hand at him and turn around the corner, hurrying to the public area where I hope to find my friend and leaving Angrod to his books in the library. To cut the way short, I take one of the smaller corridors which connect the atrium with the recreation facility where students can spend their free time. Bump. Ah! I ran into someone! ¡°Um, sorry! I guess I didn''t pay enough attention.¡± A student, about two years older than me is blocking my path. Three more guys are behind him. I step to the side but they block my path yet again. When I turn around, I find four students behind me. The hallway is strangely empty, except for me and these people. ¡°We would like to have the honour of escorting you,¡± the older student offers me a hand. ¡°And why should I let you?¡± I ask, annoyance creeping into my voice. ¡°Because king Markorn wishes to see his future queen,¡± the older student answers like nothing is wrong. I really don¡¯t have a proper reply to that. ¡°Do you have some kind of brain damage?¡± I tilt my head, considering him. ¡°Markorn is nothing of the sort!¡± ¡°He demonstrated his strength to us and we are pretty sure that he can take the throne. It''s good to be on the side of the future king, so we will bring you to him if he asks for it.¡± The student grabs my shoulder. ¡°Have you forgotten that I am a princess!?¡± I take his hand and twist while I guide and channel the flow of my mana through my muscles. There is a satisfying ¡®snap¡¯ as the student¡¯s wrist bends at an awkward angle. Pushing upwards, I rearrange the broken bone until it breaks the skin. That will teach him a lesson he will never forget if he survives what is to come. He looks at his mangled arm with wide eyes, but I give him no time to scream. Grabbing his shoulder while twisting further, I shove a little and the offender exits the hallway through the window next to us. The glass shatters and there are a scream and the dull sound of an impact, then silence. ¡°Th- This is the th- third floor!¡± one of the other minions stutters, shocked. ¡°Why should I care!?¡± Stepping forward, I kick another goon in the groin. Something gets crushed and I finish the guy with a fist to the face before the rest of the gang can recover from their shock. My victim is blown backwards from the force, unconsciously sliding along the corridor and past his comrades who jump to the side, clearly unable to comprehend this level of violence. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of you. Up until now, I ignored Markorn and his little gang, but you have to learn where your limits are.¡± The rest is about to jump mewhen someone claps his hands. ¡°Well, that''s enough. I expected you wouldn''t be able to bring her, so I came to make sure.¡± Markorn walks around the corner, smiling. ¡°Would you guys please wait around the corner, I have a few things to discuss with the princess. Nobody is allowed to disturb us.¡± The remaining minions run to retrieve their fallen comrade and leave. When they are out of sight, Markorn addresses me again, ¡°I know, this isn''t very gentle, but you refused to talk to me on every other occasion.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± I ask and cross my arms. ¡°You should make it quick. I am fairly sure someone noticed when your minion went out of the window.¡± ¡°I just want you to come to terms with reality and team up with me, that''s all. I will get the crown at the coronation and you will have no other choice than to marry me. You will profit from this arrangement too. Don''t you also want the best candidate for the job? I can give you anything you want in return for your cooperation.¡± When I don¡¯t answer, he continues. ¡°As I see it, Angrod isn''t fit for the job. This world needs strong leadership and not a strange guy who hides behind books, or inside a strange facility. I am sure you noticed that Angrod has zero public presence. Aside from that incident at your introduction party, he is a complete unknown to the noble houses. A King needs to show himself to his followers and demonstrate strength if he wants to lead a country. He also needs to be smart.¡± Markorn flourishes his hand. ¡°Being able to set some traps like I just did is an important part of leadership.¡± I look at the broken window. ¡°Great trap! You sent some bullies after me and got two of them taken out instantly. You have demonstrated that you are not fit to be a leader.¡± ¡°Please, don¡¯t underestimate me. All of my allies are now witnesses. You went crazy and attacked two Tirna nobles after they refused your orders. It should be enough to cause quite the commotion, don''t you think so too?¡± He smiles at me. I roll my eyes. ¡°So you want to use some laws of thenobility against me. What you don¡¯t get is that things have changed since the war-faction split the country. In fact, I would be happy about everyone who openly declares his hostility towards the crown. Any crown, be it Tirna or Stricc. The whole power-play between Tirna and Stricc will completely end once Angrod and I are married. You overestimate your positionsince most of the hard-liners followed the Meltheims into exile.¡± He clenches his jawbut tries not to show his displeasure. ¡°Of course. As the princess, you have a really good reputation at the moment. Maybe you can bear some reputation loss, but it will still make it easier for me to take over! The Stricc princess, going rampage on some Tirna nobles. If that wouldn''t shake up the state of affairs, I don''t know!¡± ¡°It''s good then. Without any witness, there won''t be any commotion,¡± a new voice says, and Angrod walks around the corner, pulling a limp body behind him. Two of the school¡¯s security guards appear with him, the traditional spellstaffs in their hands. ¡°There are enough witnesses! I have at least four Tirna nobles and three people from Stricc who...¡± Markorn turns around, but his voice fades out as he sees the student at Angrod¡¯s feet. Angrod throws the student at Markorn who steps aside and the student lands on his back. While staring at the ceiling, the student breathes slowly and regularly. ¡°You are awake? Get up and bring the others!¡± Markorn kicks the student, but gets no reaction. Turning, he addresses the guards behind Angrod. ¡°What are you waiting for? Do your job and stop these offenders.¡± ¡°Don''t bother. I had our friend Tanja investigate your connections inside the school. She found... I will call it your ¡®hideout¡¯ for the lack of a better term. When she reported you gone, I went there and had a little discussion with your minions.¡± Angrod shrugs. ¡°Everyone from Tirna got a nice, little treatment from me, while I had the guys from Stricc watch. I think that after seeing their potential fate, they are no longer willing to risk anything for you. Once the word spreads, you will be without your little gang.¡± He points his thumb at the two men behind him. ¡°Oh, and please ignore those two. They are just here for the clean-up.¡± ¡°Clean-up?¡± Markorn gasps. ¡°Yeah, well.¡± Angrod grasps his hands together. ¡°After the last terrorist attack on this school, I suggested to my father to refill the ranks of the security personnel with people he trusted. Don¡¯t worry, nothing of your little shindig will ever reach the media. I¡¯ll also have all of your friends sign non-disclosure agreements¡­ and if they don¡¯t¡­ let¡¯s say they will find themselves suddenly changing schools to overseas.¡± Smirking, I address Markorn, ¡°I hope you won''t be so foolish as to attack me here in publicbecause everything that happened up until now was within my legal jurisdiction of self-defence.¡± When Markorn doesn¡¯t say anything, I walk past him and hook arms with Angrod. Together, we leave. The minions who previously retreated around the corner watch Angrod with pale faces and press themselves against the wall to gain the largest possible distance. They act like they are in the same room with some kind of monster. Four more security guards are keeping an eye on them. ¡°How did you know that something is up?¡± I ask. ¡°There is a tracking function inside your ring. I also hid a tracking device inside Markorn''s clothes during training. The boys share the same changing room, so I took the chance. My observation program warns me when the two of you are in the same location, so I came to check,¡± he explains casually. He is tracking me? He¡­ no. I shouldn¡¯t think of it in that way. Angrod isn¡¯t the type of person to peep on others for no good reason. It likely just means that he cares for me in his own way. ¡°And what did you do to those students?¡± ¡°Nothing. Just a little punishment for disrespecting orders during a time of war. Everyone who I ¡®educated¡¯ was from Tirna, so it was within my rights. Their allegiance should be to me, not to that idiot. You also threw that guy out of the window, didn''t you?¡± Angrod smiles at me. ¡°I didn''t kill him!¡± I correct him. ¡°I am afraid that Tanja already finished it from the shadows. I explained the situation to her.¡± ¡°She would never!¡± No. Tanja is a nice girl. She wouldn''t. ¡°She would do everything for you, her friend. Markorn is right when he says that a commotion right now would be a problem for us. Tanja knows that too, probably better than both of us if you think about her family background.¡± We turn around another corner and Tanja steps out of a shadow and hugs me. ¡°Everything okay, Celes?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I answer honestly. ¡°I was never in danger. If Markorn had persisted, I would have beaten him up, together with his minions.¡± Angrod huffs. ¡°And likely brought down half the school in the process. That would have been exactly the kind of publicity he was aiming for. If something happens during the coronation, the crowned king can guide the fallout afterwards, but any situation right now is likely to be used as propaganda against us.¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°Since when are you so involved in politics.¡± He shrugs. ¡°My mother is teaching me.¡± Tanja smiles. ¡°And I might¡¯ve given some advice.¡± ¡°What did you do to those thugs?¡± I ask, wanting another question answered. Tanja turns pale. ¡°It''s better if you don''t know.¡± She looks away. Chapter 25 ***Seria''s private Hot Springs*** ***Seria*** ¡°AAAaaaahhh...¡± There is nothing better than a bath inside my own hot spring at the top of an inactive volcano. No other gods to disturb my peace. No Council, no worshippers, no stress. Soaking in the water, I float on my back with a faint smile on my face, allowing my boobs to hold me aloft. The little underground lake is saturated with my energy, giving me a homey feeling. This is my favourite place, right after my own little world. I pay a relaxing visit every once in a while when I get fed up with the Council. The hot spring is located inside a cave near the peak. The water, clear and blue, is heated by the slumbering volcano. It''s a pool of about two hundred square meters with a small island in the centre. On the walls and the cave''s ceiling are crystals which I personally enchanted. Not only do they glow so that the cave is always bathed in a pleasant light, but they also grant an invigorating healing aura. I worked hard to give this place my personal touch. There are even crystals on the ground of the pool which are shimmering in different colours. Their purpose is to adjust the water''s temperature to be perfect. It''s a fantastic place! All that''s missing now is a pretty guy to give me a kinky massage. I also wouldn''t complain if he had a large tool to... I am about to reach for my privates when I am interrupted by the screams of two people. ¡°Unworthy! Don''t desecrate the holy water with your body!¡± ¡°Get out now!¡± Looking up and seriously wound up, I find two elves at the entrance to my hot spring. I sneer at the sight of the woman and the man. My mood takes another dip when I notice that they are armed. The guy is aiming his bow at me, while the woman readied a fireball. I groan. ¡°Mortals... get out of my hot spring. I may be benevolent and let you live. This is my only warning.¡± They don''t hesitate. The guy shoots his arrow and the woman launches her fireball. Why are mortals so bad at judging the power of their betters? I wave my hand and the projectiles disappear before they can damage my hot spring. Normally, I wouldn''t even bother, since such puny attacks have no hope of even scratching me. Nonetheless, damaging my spring would be a real turn-off. With another wave of my hand, both elves fly backwards and are pinned to the cave-entrance''s wall. They struggle but are held in place by an invisible force. ¡°I should probably just take your souls, but I wonder how you got in here.¡± Manifesting my wings, I beat them once to swim closer, reaching the edge of the lake. I step out of the pool and position myself in front of them, presenting myself in all my glory. Their frightened eyes are transfixed on my double pair of angel and demon wings. ¡°Ah. How to punish the foolish mortals who enter my domain?¡± Mortals are so cute when they realize that they are up against something that''s worse than death. With a thought, my tail appears and I use it to poke at the bulge in the guy''s pants. ¡°Maybe a hundred years of pain and suffering?¡± I muse to myself. Ah, he got bigger, so he is a masochist. Yet, he is just an elf, and they aren''t exactly well endowed. There is no comparison to a good romp with an incubus. I sigh, even those aren''t really able to satisfy me. ¡°Please. I don''t know who you are, but this a sacred place for our people. We protected it for over a hundred years,¡± the woman begs. ¡°A hundred years?¡± I frown and try to remember when I visited my hot springs the last time. Was it five hundred years ago? ¡°No, I am sure I checked this place about four hundred years ago, and it wasn''t infested with vermin back then.¡± ¡°The entrance to this cave opened up a century ago due to an earthquake. Our people worshipped and protected the place ever since because of its healing properties,¡± the woman admits. ¡°You can''t just bath inside the holy water! You could destroy its healing effects, demon,¡± the guy barks at me. Holy water? Healing? Don''t tell me... ¡°Pff!¡± I cover my mouth with both hands. ¡°Hahaha!¡± I fall to the floor and roll around. It has been an eternity since I had a good laugh. There is a flash of light and yet another person invades my private property. ¡°Let them go! That''s not the proper way to treat mortals, Seria!¡± Lada bends over me, hovering in the air. She is clad in a white toga just like some Roman goddess. Her silver-blonde hair is cut at shoulder-length and curly. Together with the youthful baby-face of a young woman, she looks like a real angel. One who is supposed to preach love and harmony, not the evil, doomsday-kind like I am. Both elves open their mouths and stare at Lada and me with scared expressions. ¡°She is really the Goddess Seria?¡± the male asks. ¡°Goddess of Life and Death!¡± the female whispers. ¡°And I think that one is Lada.¡± Lada turns to the two mortals, clearly amused at being recognized. ¡°You know me? I can''t remember visiting this world recently, but it''s nice that I am still being remembered.¡± ¡°Pfhahaha!¡± I can''t control myself and point at Lada whose toga was chosen a little short. Since she is hovering above us, she is flashing her panties. ¡°Your toga! Hahaha... too short... and.... hover around up in the air like that! Hahaha! Your lingerie can be seen.¡± I crawl to my knees and pound the ground. I can''t breathe! Need air! Another laughing fit shakes me. Lada immediately descends to the floor and corrects her outfit, embarrassed that I got to see her white string tanga. Seriously, who chooses white panties nowadays. ¡°I don''t want to be laughed at by someone who is showing herself naked! And my choice of panties is mine to make. They happen to be comfortable.¡± I get to my feet and smack my own breasts, allowing them to jiggle and therefore drawing the elf-guy''s attention. ¡°But by showing off you can get much more followers! See? Even those stoic, prude elves are shaken by my godly self!¡± I run up to the guy and rub my body against him, which results in a completely natural reaction. The woman''s face immediately turns red like a tomato. ¡°We aren''t perverts! Leave my boyfriend alone!¡± ¡°What? It''s not perverted to drink someone else¡¯s bathing water? Well, I suppose mortals have all kinds of strange fetishes. Tell me, how do you feel when you drink a god''s bathing water?¡± I change places and press myself against the female. ¡°It''s¡­ it''s refreshing... and we don''t really drink it,¡± the elf-girl admits. ¡°I think there is a misunderstanding.¡± I frown. ¡°Drinking the water would be the most effective way to benefit from its effects.¡± Deciding to tease the guy, I circle my left nipple with my thumb and smile at him seductively. ¡°The healing effect is only aimed at rejuvinating my skin, but I guess it''s a little more potent for mortals.¡± Feeling the weight of my attention, the elf woman continues, ¡°It heals all kinds of sicknesses. And when mixed with some herbs, it raises fertility or acts as a good poison for arrows.¡± So they do drink it! But sensing that she is trying to evade a proper answer, I look at the guy.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°It''s widely known that... if a man and a woman... have trouble conceiving... they go to the Fertility Springs... and do it in the water...¡± the man admits slowly, keeping his voice low. The elven woman turns bright red from her partner''s admission. It seems like she is almost dying of shame. Don''t tell me they came here as a pair to...? Curling my lips in undisguised disgust, I look at my beautiful lake, imagining hundreds, thousands of elves soiling the water. I look down at myself as Lada starts laughing. ¡°Fertility Springs!¡± She covers her mouth with a hand, trying hard to hide her malicious glee. ¡°I have to disinfect this whole place.¡± Yuck! Should I blow up the mountain? A few thousand tons of lava should erase any trace of this sacrilege! But I put so much work into this place. Shuddering, I decide to take a different kind of revenge. Stepping closer, I move my fingertip around the woman''s navel and whisper into her ear while casting a spell. ¡°I will help you out with your little problem. Try again soon and I am sure you will be blessed with lots of children!¡± The woman is now blue up to the tips of her ears. ¡°See Lada? They aren''t perverts at all! They just use my bathing water to make all kinds of strange medicine! They even fuck inside it. Oh, mortals surely find a use for everything.¡± I spread my hands. Lada sighs and waves her hand, dispelling the binding which I placed on the mortals. Both elves drop to the ground. ¡°I think you''ve had your fun now. And I am sure they will tell their people to not disturb the goddess while she is using her hot spring.¡± ¡°That''s not the problem!¡± I gesture at the lake. ¡°Do you have any idea how long it takes to drain all that unclean water?¡± ¡°You don''t use it very often anyway, so there is no harm in them being here. It''s surely not so different from some public lake or a pool,¡± Lada gestures for the elves to make themselves scarce before I can change my mind. Both elves look at me with frightened faces, seeking my permission. ¡°Fine, but if you damage my hot spring, I will make the volcano erupt and flatten your village!¡± Both run out of the cave without answering or saying ''thank you''. Holy water... At least I got my revenge on them. The female will be the most fertile elf who ever walked the planet. I wonder what they will think about their idea once they have to take care of a little football team. No longer giving a shit about a sanitary bath, I jump back into the lake. ¡°So why do I have the honour of your presence, Lada?¡± Lada doesn''t enter the hot spring and just walks above the water to stay close. ¡°I heard some disturbing news about you during the last Council meeting. I hoped we could talk about it in private.¡± What is it this time? Lada is the only Council member who is not rotten to the core. If I have to deal with the Council I prefer to talk with her, so it is better to listen when she wants something. She is a goddess of harmony after all. And maybe... just maybe... I would even consider her a friend? At least I know that she cares for me. Otherwise, she wouldn''t come here to speak to me. Judging by her behaviour, it seems like she is doing this without the knowledge of the other Council members. I wave for her to go on. ¡°Tjenemit believes that you are planning something stupid. He wants to know where all the vanished gods went to. His behaviour borders on obsession. He is investigating their whereabouts and he believes that you had a hand in their disappearance.¡± She looks down at me, wringing her hands. ¡°He thinks that you are hiding much more than just Ascathon and Myrm inside one of the Void Zones.¡± ¡°Hmm. I don''t have anyone else aside from those two inside my Void Zone. Why are you even worried? I took a magical oath to the Council. If I would ever raise my hand against you I would suffer significantly.¡± I answer with closed eyes while drifting in the water. A long time ago, when the Council was less paranoid about their rule, I swore a binding oath to serve them. It''s a huge hindrance to my plans, but it was necessary to keep them off my tail. Thankfully, the oath I swore back then was an intention-based contract and the wording loose enough to give me a lot of wriggle room. The only thing I absolutely can''t do without suffering the consequences is to openly attack a Council member. ¡°He believes that you found a way to bypass your oath. You don''t know what''s on the line here! I took a look at Tjenemit''s research. It is very convincing. Whatever you are doing, you have to stop it! Such a stupid little plan won''t work against the Council! They will find out and deal with you and I can''t stop them! I can''t stop them, they are too strong! Especially El Shaddai!¡± Lada waves her hands, infuriated at my stupidity. Using levitation magic, I rise out of the water and hug Lada. ¡°It''s okay, Lada. You are the only goddess among them whose soul hasn''t completely died yet. This plan of mine isn''t stupid. Just trust me and see, everything will work out in the end. Maybe you will even get to see what''s to come.¡± ¡°Please don''t tell me you are really planning something! You know why the Council was created. The gods have to be controlled somehow! You have no idea about the time before the Council! There is a reason for its existence!¡± Lada takes me by the shoulders and looks deep into my eyes, imploring me. I smile. ¡°I know. Everyone was striving for power and gods fought each other, dying and being born again. Fighting each other...¡± I take a shuddering breath. ¡°What many don''t know is that it was a different time. We, and the multiverse were different. The multiverse was young in those days. ¡°It was an endless cycle of war and bloodshed. Very much like the fight of those two, a fight over ideologies, fought on the backs of those who are weaker. Only that it happened all over the multiverse. A never ending struggle for superiority and survival.¡± I shrug, showing my indifference. ¡°In the end, most gods were slain. The Council just picked up the pieces. Like scavengers, you inserted yourselves into the place of the true rulers. Everyone who didn''t obey your rule was disposed of, though I am not entirely sure how. You held the new status quo by absolute control and forced your ideals onto every new god who emerged. And so it has been for an eternity till now.¡± ¡°You know? But... I never told you...¡± Lada''s expression turns wary of me. ¡°But if you know, you should support the Council!¡± ¡°I know because I was inside that Void Zone much longer than the Council thinks.¡± Taking her hands in mine, I lower my voice. ¡°I got lost in there before the Council ''won'' the war. I even dimly remember the time before the war. I am not some half-baked god who ascended unnoticed to godhood. I was walking the pathways and the river of souls long before you even knew of the Crystal City.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Her expression makes it clear that she doesn''t buy my story, but she says nothing. ¡°The Council is wrong, Lada. I have seen how things can be without a Council. Dimly, I even remember that I was there when the Crystal City was built. Those memories tell me that your path of absolute control is wrong. Maybe your Council was created with good intentions, but those intentions are just a facade by now. If you are my friend, you will just lean back and remain silent,¡± I explain in a gentle tone to my friend. ¡°You wouldn''t be able to stop it anyway,¡± I finish and let go of her hands. ¡°What have you done, Seria?¡± I dance away from her, hovering above the water. ¡°Hmmm. Nothing huge. I just gathered a lot of people and gave them a choice which I didn''t have. I myself don''t really know which side they will choose in the end. All I asked them for was to help me, but I tried to choose those who seemed honourable enough.¡± ¡°But if the Council is no more, then...¡± Lada starts speaking but I interrupt her, ¡°I believe something better will take its place! And I need you to show those who come after the Council the right direction.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Lada points at herself, her expression incredulous. ¡°You do realize that I am a Council member. The people who you plan to rebel against are my friends!¡± ¡°Are they?¡± I move, appearing instantly behind her. Having to silence her would suck in many ways, but I would do it if there is no other choice. Leaning in, I whisper into her ear. ¡°Think about it. Are those people still the same ones who you allied with so long ago? Are you still true to the ideals you had aeons ago?¡± Lada turns and stumbles away from me, looking small and frightened as I release my true form, bathing the cavern in light and darkness, life and death. Golden horns sprout from my temples and my four wings ignite. One set with the verdant force of life, and the other with the decaying force of death as they turn ethereal and encompass the cavern. I close my eyes and open them again, allowing Lada to take a look beyond the mortal facade I normally use to fool the other gods. Very few have ever seen the true extent of my natural form. A form that wasn''t born mortal, but was forged in one of the primeval planes beyond the currently known multiverse. The water evaporates as I touch it with my wings of death. The light dims and flickers as I lower myself to her level and reach for her cheek. Smiling, I raise her chin with a clawed fingernail. ¡°Yes. Once the current order is broken, you need to pick up the good parts and help those who remain to find the right path.¡± Smiling, I show her my sharp teeth. ¡°You are playing a dangerous game, Seria. But I see that I won''t be able to change your mind.¡± Lada straightens her back, refusing to let herself be intimidated. ¡°I know, my friend,¡± I answer, bemused by her attempt to show spine. She must realize that this form is legend. There are very few places in the Crystal City which have inscriptions or hints at the original creators of that marvellous monument. The Council is trying to dissuade the public from any thoughts that they might not be the City''s true owners. Everything that wasn''t made out of Mana Crystal fell victim to time and decay, but there is one thing in the City''s administrative centre, rarely seen by outsiders or the lesser gods. It''s a huge fresco of differently coloured Mana Crystal. Indestructible and eternal, it shows two figures leading an army against an endless tide of nothingness. They are defending a multitude of worlds against a nameless end that seems to threaten the multiverse itself. And behind them, one of their few detailed companions, is me. I can tell that Lada finally made the connection. She must have studied the depiction countless times. ¡°Tjenemit is trying to enter your Void Zone with a summoning circle. I guess you want to stop him?¡± Lada raises an eyebrow. I tilt my head and think about it for a second. Slowly, I retract my aura and reshape my body until I am nothing more than a human. ¡°Maybe it''s good if he enters it. He would be alone and cut off from the others. It will set everything into motion.¡± I look past Lada, not really seeing her. ¡°It will be as good a starting point as any other. A wake-up call for my people, so to speak. I will wait until he trespasses and confront him them.¡± ¡°But you will be alone against him! He may be a god of creation, but that doesn''t mean that he is weak! Your oath won''t allow you to fight him.¡± Lada tilts her head. ¡°Or do you want to tell me that you can go against your oath?¡± I pout. ¡°Sadly, the oath I was forced to swear back then is binding. Maybe even more so because of what I am. I wouldn''t have sworn it had I been lucid enough when I finally managed to leave the Void.¡± Stepping in, I hug Lada. ¡°Don''t worry. I won''t be alone there. I think I would never be alone again in that Void Zone.¡± Chapter 26 ***The Wilderlands*** ***Angrod*** ¡°I still don''t see how this is supposed to be a date!¡± Celes huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°You could have taken me out on dinner. Instead, we are out here in the middle of nowhere.¡± I smile. It seems like my ¡®destined one¡¯ dislikes nature. The timid Sven searches the dense undergrowth with his eyes while following us. ¡°I also don''t understand why you would call an adventuring trip a vacation.¡± Then he finds Ghost in the undergrowth, and his eyes widen in fear. My familiar was bounding around our group like a little kitten, totally overwhelmed by being taken out into nature. Like a watchdog, he is inspecting everything while staying close to us. It¡¯s like he is a fluffy, little baby again. Only that this time, he is a dog-sized monster which weighs a hundred kilograms. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how anyone could ever get the idea to keep a razorclaw as a pet!¡± Tanja complains. She and her friends were introduced to my unlikely companion just a few hours ago, so they still have to warm up to him. ¡°Oh, quit bitching, guys. And Ghost isn¡¯t a pet. He is my familiar.¡± I wave my hand dismissively while leading the group of young men and women. ¡°I thought this little trip was just the right thing to blow off some steam before I have to become the figurehead of a country.¡± ¡°If so, then you are cutting it close,¡± Sandra Andros shouts from her position as the last in line. ¡°You have only fourteen days left, you know...¡± Her words are reprimanding, but her tone is cheerful while she skips along the path, totally oblivious of the supposed dangers of the wild. According to my knowledge, the dangers of the world were tamed and defeated long ago. Cities and their immediate surroundings are constantly clearing out the dangerous flora and fauna which might harm civilians. Which means that the uninhabited zones are not safe. Many adventurers ¨C people who make a living by gathering rare materials and components ¨C earn their bread and butter by conquering the creatures of the wild. Being an adventurer is its own profession in this world. ¡°Just wait until you see what I''ve planned. It''s not only a glorified camping trip,¡± I try to calm them down. For the sake of a real bonding experience, I invited everyone after I had my military staff scout out the region and make sure that the trip won''t be in vain. There are also several drones up in the air, keeping out a lensso that our vacation isn''t disturbed by unsavoury elements. ¡°So, what exactly do you have planned?¡± Margerie asks while scowling at her brother Stephen who is holding hands with Iris. Our mad scientist is huffing and puffing, carrying a backpack her own size. Loaded up with equipment and all inconveniences a camping trip might need, she is constantly surprising me anew with every hour she manages to keep pace with us. ¡°First, we have a day''s worth of trekking ahead of us.¡± The badly maintained forest road which brought us here could only get us so far. "If it weren''t for the fact that the regional woodcutter company was regularly harvesting stonewood oaks from this forest, there wouldn''t have been a road in the first place. We would have had to fly in.¡± ¡°Don''t understand what would have been so bad about that...¡± Margerie mumbles, struggling with her gear. ¡°I told you to moderate yourself,¡± Stephen reprimands his sister. ¡°I did!¡± Margerie complains. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring the War-Golem!¡± I try to get my speech rolling again, trying hard to ignore what Margerie just said. ¡°Then, once we leave the forested zone, we will arrive at the dungeon-¡± ¡°A dungeon!?¡± Tanja squeaks, suddenly giddy with anticipation. ¡°We are going on a dungeon dive!? Is it a real one? Or just some goblin hideout? Wait, are you guys even cleared for dungeoning or am I going in blind with a bunch of noobs?¡± Celes looks at her friend with an incredulous expression. ¡°Sometimes I really wonder what kind of education you got in your childhood...¡± Stephen raises his hand, sounding awkward. ¡°I am afraid that I will be utterly useless...¡± Iris makes a fist-pump while holding hands with her boyfriend. ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I will protect you!¡± The boyfriend¡¯s expression turns crestfallen with hurt pride. ¡°Somehow¡­ that doesn¡¯t make it better.¡± ¡°Hold your horses, yes, it''s a real one. Ancient underground ruins and all of that and it was never fully conquered. But, Celes and I are here. I''ve researched the topic, and we should be able to take care of anything that stands in our way,¡± I point out. Actually, I am very interested in seeing an actual dungeon for myself. I have read about them in the books of this world. Ancient ruins and tombs, often infested with deadly nightmares. Sometimes they are conquered and looted by adventurers, but more often than not they never give up their secrets. I harboured some theories about this worldand investigating some ancient ruins might, just might, give me a few hints. ¡°The dungeon we are visiting was explored before. It has several levels and multiple exits, but it was never completely explored.¡± I shouldn''t give Tanja too much hope that we manage to find something outrageous, like some ancient battle-gear or mysterious artefacts. That¡¯s not how the real world works. What I still want to take a look at is the architecture and maybe some inscriptions if any are left. I was wondering if this world may actually be the same one in which Ascathon and Myrm fought their last battle. There are arguments for and against that theory, like the fact that the people of this world know a version of our history. Speaking against it would be the fact that there are no starsor two moons in the sky where our old world had only one... which I happened to destroy. Anyway... it would mean that Seria is capable of moving entire worlds through the dimensions, a feat I didn''t think her capable of. ¡°Once we make it through the dungeon, we should emerge on the other side of the mountain into a small valley. Depending on our speed, we can make camp there and fool around until our people fly us out with a transporter.¡± ¡°So it is a camping trip!¡± Margerie points out with a smug expression. ¡°Well, it is...¡± I admit unwillingly. ¡°Combined with a little combat and survival training!¡± ¡°You don''t have an actual plan, do you?¡± Celes asks disapprovingly. ¡°Don''t you want to do some serious training to prepare for the coronation? There isn''t much time left and those bastards will try to kill you.¡± I sigh and roll my eyes. ¡°I have more knowledge and power than most people in this world. What can a week of training change now? I would rather test my powers in a real combat situation. Maybe we run across some creatures which will test our skills.¡± ¡°I doubt that.¡± Celes blows a strand of hair out of her face and increases her speed to catch up to me. ¡°Everyone here, except for two people, visits the Special Class for combat training. Even if the dungeon is infested with a tribe of monsters we should be able to power through.¡± Stephen corrects the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. ¡°I just want to point out that this region is home to the rare ForestSprite. They are a protected animal that lives only in this mana-rich region. I won''t condone any action that might harm these marvellous creatures.¡± I frown. ¡°What''s a ForestSprite?¡± ¡°Some sort of oversized monkey,¡± Sandra explains helpfully. ¡°Five metres tall, seven to ten tons in weight. They were hunted for their green fur. But don''t worry. They are very shy and would run as soon as something disturbs their peace. They are herbivores, so no danger from that direction. I doubt that we will get to see one.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. We keep bickering as we make our way through the dense forest and up the mountain. From time to time I check our position by triangulating the coordinates with the drones while Sandra is so kindas to cut a path through a particularly dense area with a Windblade spell. Doing it like this is a little like cheating. No adventuring group would have access to this level of resources, but this excursion¡¯s purpose is more recreational than real training. Emerging from the forest, we enter the zone where the trees give way to grass, moss,and rocks. Our goal is a square-shaped rock formation which emerges from the side of the mountain, clearly unnatural next to the mountain''s limestone. Chuckling, I hurry forward to reach the ''dungeon''s'' entrance. We trek up the mountain for another half an hour until we reach the entrance, a gaping black hole in the side of the unnatural structure. It¡¯s a jagged rift which seems unintentional. ¡°Okay, guys.¡± Tanja claps her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s gear up!¡± I take off my backpack and remove the lightweight body-armour which I clipped to its side. The rest of the group follows suit until we are decked out in military-grade gear. ¡°Are you sure that this stuff will hold?¡± Stephen asks while knocking on his breastplate. He corrects his helmet, and Iris iskind enough to adjust it. ¡°Very sure!¡± Margerie educates her brother. ¡°This is Enchanted Body-Armour Type I for infiltration missions. The plates are made out of a ceramic compound material and highly impact resistant, while the fabric was woven out of steelspider silk.¡± I open my backpack and pull out a box, about three-quarters of a metre in length. Unclipping the locking mechanism, I open the box and retrieve several blades which are covered in runes. Celes only raises an eyebrow. ¡°You made yourself some weapons?¡± ¡°Sure. This isn¡¯t some martial arts class but the real world. Why wouldn¡¯t I use weapons?¡± I retrieve a pair of wicked daggers and throw them to her. She catches them without effort and twirls them in her hands, looking surprised. ¡°How did you know that I would like daggers?¡± ¡°Because you always use your hairpins. The way you handle them makes it clear that you are experienced with dagger-style weapons,¡± I explain and lift my hand, concentrating on the box full seemingly half-finished blades. Twenty short swords without handles rise up into the air and arrange themselves in front of me. I have fifteen of them attach to previously prepared clips all over my body and use the other five to channel Lightglobe spells through their tips, making them seem like a set of narrow candlesticks. Margerie whistles. ¡°You enchanted the blades with prepared sets of runes so that you can channel different spells through them?¡± I shrug. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal.¡± Sandra throws me a curious look while tilting her head. ¡°I wanted to ask that some time ago, Angrod. Why are you always using the same spells when you are fighting? It¡¯s either telekinesis or some form of energy blast. You rarely use permanent effects like a LightingStorm spell or a summoning. Yet, you are clearly able to cast a multitude of different spells. Are you intentionally limiting yourself?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because versatility is good, but it doesn¡¯t help you in a pinch when you have to react instinctively. I concentrate on telekinesis because it offers good offence as well as defence. Telekinesis brings strong physical attacks to the table, while my energy attacks provide a different angle of attack. There is no point in including more spells in my training until I am able to handle a stable defence without consciously thinking about forming the spell matrix.¡± I may have the memories of my old life, but I have to retrain the reflexes of this new body from the ground up. ¡°In a real fight, having to think about which spell I am going to use is the difference between winning or losing. Against an opponent like Celes you get punished for every moment you don¡¯t pay your full attention. There is no time to cast spells which take you seconds to prepare.¡± ¡°Well, you are running away most of the time anyway.¡± Celes huffs, frustrated just by thinking about our training duels. ¡°That''s because of your fighting style. Your only strategy consists of breaking the enemy''s defence with sheer force. And I have to admit, that''s enough for youbecause you are a genius at inner mana manipulation. You don''t waste any of your power while fighting. By facing your attacks head on, I would run a high risk of losing outright. I either have to evade or bunker down with everything I have.¡± ¡°Unless you have one of these babies with you.¡± Margerie retrieves a gun from her backpack, revealing the mystery behind its size. Once she slides the barrel into the firing mechanism, the weapon is as long as herself. ¡°Girl!¡± Tanja slaps her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s one of the new spellguns. I thought they are still under lock and key by the military.¡± I cross my arms and Margerie looks at me with a guilty expression. ¡°I might have taken it from one of Angrod¡¯s laboratories? Only for a little field-testing!¡± ¡°What I wonder about is how you got access?¡± I ask. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have to replace my chief of security.¡± Looking around, I make sure that everyone is geared up and that Ghost didn¡¯t run off. ¡°Everyone ready?¡± Tanja brandishes her own set of daggers, while Sven pulled out a rapier-like sword. Sandra assembled a mage staff with a violet crystal from her gear and Iris put on a pair of mean looking knuckle dusters. The only one without a weapon of choice is Stephen. He put on his body armour, but otherwise, he is unarmed. ¡°Ahem...¡± He clears his throat when he catches me looking. ¡°I¡¯ll be in charge of healing and buffs once a fight starts. I can do at least that much.¡± I shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡± With that, I take the lead, sending my five blades into the dark crevice to light the way down a steep incline. ¡°Make sure to lower your magical defences when I announce a ranged heal,¡± Stephen calls out, making sure that everyone knows. ¡°Can¡¯t you just heal us?¡± Tanja asks. ¡°That would require a trained healer who is an expert in magical evasion.¡± Stephen shakes his head. ¡°I am not proficient enough for that. Manipulating someone else¡¯s body is too hard without their consent.¡± ¡°Huh? But aren''t all spells manipulating the target¡¯s body at some level? Magical protection just stops you from doing something inside the body!¡± Sven stumbles through a half-formed thought. ¡°That''s the error most people fall prey to,¡± Stephen points out. ¡°When I heal someone, I am manipulating their mana. Every person who is trained in magic learns to temper their unconscious protection against outside influence. That¡¯s good if you don¡¯t want to fall prey to mind-altering effects or curses.¡± He raises a finger. ¡°But it¡¯s also a hindrance when someone is trying to help. Without your consent, it''s much harder to rearrange the natural flow of mana within you. You have to prevent your unconscious defence from recognizing my intervention as harmful.¡± I continue. ¡°I could do everything I want to your body, as long as I don''t rearrange the flow of your mana, I could teleport the air out of your lungs, or heat up the food inside your belly to cook you from the inside. If you are distracted strongly enough, I could go further and manipulate something small which really belongs to your body. But that''s enough; I could pop a vein in your head, or slice the nerves inside your spinal cord. The point I want to make is that you can¡¯t differ between a ranged healing spell and a genuine attack on your life. If Stephen doesn¡¯t have the skill to bypass your defence, he has to call out his heals for you to know that it¡¯s him and not some attack.¡± ¡°So why don''t you do it all the time then?¡± Tanja asks. ¡°Isn¡¯t cutting someone¡¯s spinal cord very effective? If I were as proficient in magic I would invest all my time in learning how to bypass my enemy¡¯s defences.¡± ¡°Because everyone gets indoctrinated to set up a magic shield as the first thing to do during combat. Fighters do it by coating themselves inside mana or an aura, mages cast a real shield. Lower class magicians and fighters just think of it as the first line of defence,¡± Celes points out. ¡°But in reality, it¡¯s the last line of defence. If you are unable to stop a caster from manipulating your body, you already lost the fight. It¡¯s much easier and faster to blast someone¡¯s defence from the outside with a fireball than to sneak past.¡± We continue onwards, deeper into the darkness until the narrow entrance opens up into a larger room. Leading the way, I am the first to step into the damp space. Moss covers the strangely vertical walls of the cave and I have to keep myself from smiling at the obviously artificial space. This has to be some abandoned facility. Time and maybe earthquakes cracked the walls until water entered the space through small openings in the surrounding material. Previously filtered through the limestone outside, the water caused a petrification process until everything was covered by a thick layer of lime. Stalactites and stalagmites are hiding the room¡¯s true nature. I am so busy with studying the surroundings that I almost don¡¯t notice the suppressed growling from the far end of the room until a furry creature leaps out of the darkness beyond. Manipulating my swords, I position them to intercept the thing, but Ghost jumps forward, his fur turning into chitinous spikes and claws. Screeching and growling, the two opponents collide. Fur quickly yields to claws and within moments the strangely humanoid creature is eviscerated. Sending in my sword, I decapitate the monster which seems like a mix between an ape, a bat and something entirely different. Behind me, the rest of the group files into the room until it¡¯s Tanja¡¯s turn. ¡°Oh, goodies!¡± Almost dancing, she pushes past me and drops to her knees next to the body. Her dagger flashes in the light of my blades as she starts cutting, humming a happy tune. Stephen only looks at her, horrified. ¡°What the fuck is that thing!? And what are you doing?¡± ¡°Skinning it, obviously.¡± ¡°Skinning it!?¡± ¡°Yes. This is a nightcrawler. They are night-active and live in large family communities. I suppose we woke this one upsince it¡¯s still day outside. Nightcrawlers are bloodsuckers who live off larger creatures which likely exist down in the forest. Their wings are perfect for making leather, and the poison in their fangs is used as a coagulant for blood. Very expensive. It would be a shame to leave it,¡± Tanja explains as she folds up the skin which she expertly cut out of the creature¡¯s leathery wings. Then she goes for the head, taking out two vials. Stephen nods, deciding to impart some of his bookish knowledge. He didn¡¯t recognize the creature from its looks, but given the name, he immediately remembers. ¡°I¡¯ve read about them. In some regions, they are regarded as verminbecause if there is sufficient food supply, they multiply rapidly and might even form a swarm strong enough to cause trouble to small settlements. They are a danger to children. That¡¯s why they are hunted with prejudice as soon as they are noticed.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°So there are more of them further down the road.¡± I point at the dark space which leads deeper into the facility. Chapter 27 ***The Dungeon*** ***Celes*** I think I am beginning to understand why Angrod was so interested in seeing a dungeon. This is clearly some old facility, either with a military purpose or for research. Why else would someone dig into the side of a mountain? Sadly, the facility''s origins might be forever outside our grasp after that much time has passed. Reaching out, I break off one of the stalagmites. Without being an expert on the topic it¡¯s hard to say, but don¡¯t those things take several hundred years to grow to this size? If so, then this facility could have been abandoned thousands of years ago. I follow Angrod deeper into the facility. By channelling mana through my eyes, I improve my night-vision and carefully study the darker corners of each room we enter. After having seen the nightcrawler creature, I have no wish to be caught off-guard. Ghost is already doing an excellent job at spying out the various nooks and crannies as we advance, but I don''t rely solely on him to spot any danger. Following common sense, we make a point of not leaving any room unchecked before we advance deeper into the complex. Only once do we encounter another nightcrawler after Ghost pounced off into the dark. Angrod¡¯s familiar must have caught the creature while it was sleeping because, by the time we arrive, he already bit through its neck. All that''s left to do is for Tanja to take the skin and go on. The facility turns out to be a strange amalgam between clearly human-made rooms and caves and caverns which seemingly stretch out for miles. ¡°It looks like this was some man-made complex which was abandoned later on,¡± I muse. ¡°There must have been a natural cave-system in place previously. It looks like a cave-in connected the facility with it. The whole process could have been caused by an earthquake, though I don''t understand why many floors are tilted. Something major must have happened here.¡± ¡°You could be wrong,¡± Margerie corrects me. ¡°Limestone caves are often washed out of the rock by acidic rainwater. Given how old this facility must be, it could have been in place before the cave-system formed.¡± ¡°Do we have to fear another cave-in?¡± Sven asks nervously as he inspects what was clearly a chair in the distant past. The lime covered it completely, making it seem like a throne. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Tectonically, this region is very stable,¡± Margerie explains, walking around a shawl-shaped piece of limestone which hangs from the ceiling. ¡°I still suggest refraining from using anything that might cause damage to the structural stability of these caves.¡± Angrod leads the way through another opening and I follow him into a large, dark cavern. The Lightglobes on his swords aren''t enough to light the space as a whole, but they grant enough light for my enhanced vision. ¡°Fuck,¡± I exclaim as dozens of beady eyes reflect the light of our spells. It''s like a horde of hungry cats just noticed that a mouse entered the room. Ghost''s only reaction is to lay back his ears. He may be a predator, but even he recognizes the odds of being swarmed by those little buggers. ¡°Ghost, come back here.¡± I whistle and gesture for the others to retreat to the previous room. ¡°What''s the problem?¡± Tanja tries to steal a look past my shoulder. Angrod keeps walking, undeterred by the gathering of creatures in front of him. ¡°I think we found the rest of the nightcrawlers. Just get back into the previous room while Angrod deals with them.¡± ¡°Shouldn''t we help?¡± Stephen asks, clearly worried about the prince. Facing the creatures, I take a quick count, coming up with about three dozen of the ugly things. ¡°No. Don¡¯t worry. This adventure was his idea, so he should clean up the trash.¡± Stepping into the narrow opening between the large chamber and the rest of my group, I decide to make sure that nothing gets past me. ¡°Besides, among our group, Angrod and I are the only ones who can fulfil the role of tanks.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Iris complains. ¡°I understand that the others¡¯ fighting styles are more about stealth and spells, but am I not a tank too?¡± I wave her off. ¡°You are a fighter, but you still lack physical resistance. You have a long way to go until you are more than a one-trick pony.¡± ¡°Muuh!¡± Iris huffs and crosses her arms, but doesn¡¯t dare to object. Any discussion is suddenly cut short when Angrod steps over some invisible line, infringing on the nightcrawlers¡¯ territory. They surge forward as a group, shrieking like rabid animals. Wincing, I have to plug my ears with both index fingers. The increased senses which are granted by my internal mana manipulation might be a boon, but they can also be a hindrance. One moment before the first creatures barrel into Angrod, he spreads his hands in a wide, arching gesture and his blades detach from his armour. The first line of creatures simply disintegrates in pieces of blood and gore as Angrod¡¯s telekinetically controlled blades shred through them like a meat-grinder. The simple-minded fury of the initial survivors turns to shrieks of horror and fear as their kin are slaughtered, maimed and disembowelled by blades of shining metal, each seemingly acting of its own accord. The enchantments on the weapons and various spells paint the gruesome scene around Angrod in flashes of red and blue, mixed with sprays of blood. These creatures might be many and physically imposing, but they have no power against someone who wields arcane powers. The swarming beasts realized too late that something which makes them look like sheep entered the room. Having enough, Angrod casts a spell and waves his hand in front of him. The creatures who held back or are in the process of fleeing as well as the corpses, pop like overcooked eggs, painting the cave in explosions of red blood and gore. But everything behind Angrod stays unaffected, and three nightcrawlers make a run for it in my direction! ¡°Oh, no.¡± I gesture with my hand, trying my damnedest to shoo the stupid critters away. ¡°Hush! Stay away! I don¡¯t want to get my hands dirty!¡± Of course, they ignore my plea, thinking me the easier prey in their fear to get away from Angrod. The first throws itself at me with a ¡®Screee¡¯ and I raise my leg just in time to bring it down on the creature¡¯s forehead, caving in its skull. Normally, I would just step aside and let the things pass, but there is no telling if all of my friends would have the presence of mind to defend themselves. Sidestepping the second attacker, I reach out with my tail and wrap it around the nightcrawler¡¯s neck. The hardened arrow-head strikes out more by instinct than in actual intent, piercing one of the creature¡¯s eyes and worming its way into my victim¡¯s skull. Yanking my tail around, I break the nightcrawler¡¯s neck just as I reach for my third opponent¡¯s snout. Pushing, I slam its head sideways into the cave wall and circulate more mana through the muscles in my right arm and my left leg, applying pressure while the creature flails in pain, achieving nothing more than scratching my armour. I let go only once I hear bones crack, deforming the last opponent¡¯s head against the solid rock. Smelling the creature¡¯s stench, I gag and let go, allowing the body to slide to the ground. ¡°Oh, god! That smell! Angrod! Why didn¡¯t you stop them all? So icky! I had to touch them!¡± Covering my mouth and nose, I turn around to see if the others are okay. Only Tanja and Sandra seem to have taken the carnage well, telling me that they are already used to blood and carnage, though they are clearly surprised by the level of violence which was just on display. Sven and Iris are slack-jawed, quite obviously unused to the mayhem of cold murder despite their training. Stephen looks sick down to his stomach, while his sister seems completely unaffected.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Margerie looks like she just found a free gold coin on the street, a new interesting thing to research, making me wonder what went wrong in my friend¡¯s brain. ¡°I- I- didn¡¯t- know that...¡± Stephen stammers. ¡°That you can do that with your tail.¡± He takes a respectful step backwards. Following his eyes, I notice that I am still holding the dead nightcrawler at its neck, his body hanging from my raised tail like from a gibbet. The creature is so light that I can hardly feel its weight while I am circulating mana. ¡°Ew!¡± I am suddenly painfully aware of the feelings in my sensitive tail-end, the one that¡¯s buried in the creature¡¯s brain. So warm. So wet and slimy! Making a face, I pull the tip out of the creature¡¯s eye-socket with the sucking sound of a wet ¡®Plop!¡¯ and an involuntary shiver runs down my spine. ¡°Oh, multiverse!¡± I uncurl my tail and drop the body. Then I take the tip with both hands to make sure that I don¡¯t sully my clothes by brushing against them. ¡°Did anyone bring tissues!? Oh, that feeling was so disgusting!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you use your Buddha¡¯s Palm if you didn¡¯t want to touch them?¡± Angrod asks from behind, completely untouched by the creatures. He surely used a shield to keep the sprays of blood away from his body. ¡°Because we just said that we shouldn¡¯t use attacks which could cause a cave-in!¡± I hiss at him. ¡°I don¡¯t have ranged attacks which don¡¯t cause secondary collateral damage!¡± He quickly takes a look at his clock, mumbling something like that it isn¡¯t ten yet. Suddenly quick to apologize, he raises both hands. ¡°My bad! I was too concerned with testing my weapons to pay attention to all of the nightcrawlers.¡± He reaches for his belt and offers me a flask with water to clean my tail. Ignoring my predicament, Margerie shuffles past me into the carnage zone. ¡°What was that marvellous spell which made them go POP!¡± Curious, she bends over one of the steaming corpses, sniffing. ¡°It smells like cooked meat, but I am sure that you didn''t use the runes for temperature regulation in that spell-matrix!¡± ¡°No. I played a little with electromagnetism and localized spell-effects,¡± Angrod explains. ¡°I thought it would make a decent weapon against opponents without proper shielding. It''s much more wasteful than popping something important in their heads, but it has the advantage that it doesn''t have to be aimed properly.¡± ¡°So you microwaved them!¡± I exclaim. Margerie looks up. ¡°What''s a microwave?¡± Angrod winces. ¡°Not important!¡± Turning to me, he whispers. ¡°Don''t give her more ideas than necessary to satisfy her curiosity. There is no telling what she might do with that knowledge!¡± I purse my lips, eyeing Margerie who is looking at us with suspicion in her eyes. It''s true that Margerie''s ability to come up with practical applications for Angrod''s knowledge is a bit uncanny. He hands her the blueprints for an anti-gravity device, and she goes and builds a drone which accidentally scrambles the brains of everyone who gets near. ¡°It''s really not important,¡± I reaffirm. Turning to the others, I try to change the subject while I wash off my tail. ¡°Anyway. From the looks of it, Sven and Iris need a little more training before we can leave them to take care of themselves. Stephen is fine as he is since he has no aspirations to become a warrior.¡± ¡°Wha- wha-¡± Iris gasps in righteous indignation. ¡°Which reaction do you expect from someone who just saw a human-sized, living creature being shred to bits!? Look at that!¡± She points at the scene of carnage, then gestures upwards. ¡°The bits are everywhere. Even the ceiling!¡± Tanja nods. ¡°While you are right that Iris definitely needs to get used to blood, she is also right that this was a little bit excessive. I can''t even skin most of the leftovers. That spell just made a mess of everything.¡± The only one who seems to be happy with Angrod''s rampage is Ghost. The razorclaw meows and brushes past me, bumping my leg with his head. Then he searches out one of the medium rare nightcrawler steaks and starts eating with gusto. It takes Tanja half an hour to process the remains. Most of that time goes into the creatures which I killed since I left their bodies mostly intact. My friend even suggests for me to take the lead from now on, but I vehemently refuse. Going toe to toe with a mob of nightcrawlers would leave me splattered with blood and goo all over my body. I would rather avoid that since there is no nearby opportunity to wash up. We continue on, exploring the various levels of the dungeon, but thankfully it seems like the nightcrawlers are the only ones who decided to make it their home. From the looks of it, they also did a decent job at keeping other visitors out of their cave system. One strange aspect is that some of the facility''s rooms are tilted and twisted, one apparently completely upside down. It adds another unexplainable aspect to the mystery of this complex. It''s only when we descend into the deeper levels that we encounter something new. The tunnel we used long since turned from a comfortable walkway to a narrow chasm; the floor, and the ceiling so far away that they simply disappear in the darkness. Only a small ledge allows us to traverse the space. Our goal is another tunnel in the distance, a large door blocking the entrance. While I and the others have to climb, Angrod simply floats over the dark chasm, using his blades as stepping stones for us where they are needed. Using my own arts, I simply dig my fingernails into the soft limestone, gaining plenty of hold. Finally, we reach the door and I join Angrod''s inspection. ¡°This is stainless steel,¡± he comments. ¡°Heavily enchanted too. Unfortunately, the opening mechanism must be broken. I recognize the design.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It''s an airlock. ¡°I think this might not be a facility after all.¡± ¡°It''s a floating fortress,¡± Angrod whispers and engages the override mechanism next to the door. Surprisingly, the door opens when he pumps the lever. ¡°This thing must have crashed into the side of the mountain and shattered while it dug into the rock. That''s why the entire structure is so messed up.¡± A thought immediately comes to mind. ¡°Do you think you can repair it?¡± I ask, feeling hope. If this is truly a flying fortress from the old days and this world the same one we originally died in, then if this thing still works it might be able to shatter the City of Light''s shield barriers with a single blow. ¡°No.¡± He shakes his head while he operates the lever, taking a look back at how the others are doing. They are still a little behind, so we have time to speak in private. ¡°But if I remember correctly, this blast-door could have belonged to the engine room. One of the power cores might still be usable. There is a lot I could do with one of those. Right now, that level of technology is still decades out of reach with what I currently have at Midhold.¡± Slowly, the door opens centimetre by centimetre, leaving a dark opening next to our feet. It''s about half a metre up when a withered hand shoots out of the dark and grabs Angrod''s ankle, causing him to suck in a sharp breath of surprise. Pulling, it yanks him off his feet and drags him into the darkness before I can react, separating him from his blades on this side. There is a blast of light and a howl from beyond the gate. ¡°Angrod!¡± I quickly fall to my belly and roll through to the other side. Coming up, I find Angrod struggling with four corpses who try to gnaw on his armour. Luckily, without much effect due to him activating his organic enchantment, coating his head and arms in chitinous bone. The black, faceless mask which formed out of his horns is enough to prevent the worst. Unfortunately, Angrod can''t do much either. The claws on his armoured hands mutilate their flesh, but the undead creatures don''t care much for physical damage. Kicking out, I decapitate the one who is trying to gnaw off my man''s face. Gathering energy in my fist and drawing one of my daggers, I bring my fist down on another zombie''s back. ¡°Smite!¡± Releasing the built up power into the undead creature, I overload the spell matrix which kept it moving for so long. The animating spell causes the creature to shudder with conflicting signals and with a ''poof'' of dust and crumbling bones its remains lose their cohesion, the preserving magic no longer able to maintain the body. Slicing the stringy tendons of another, I rip it off of Angrod, flinging it against the metal wall. That gives Angrod enough room to free himself. He headbutts the monster which is right in his face, breaking teeth thanks to his horns. Gaining some room, he shoves the decapacitated zombie away and kicks the previous one in the chest, freeing himself. Making the round, I smite the ones which are still moving in quick succession and return my attention to the necromancer who almost got his face eaten. ¡°Say thanks for rescuing your ass.¡± Angrod sits up, slightly frazzled. ¡°I had things under control.¡± He corrects his armour, now riddled with bite marks. ¡°Just didn''t suspect that there was anything left alive in here!¡± His eyes drift to the creatures and for a mere moment, I catch him showing emotion. I realize that these must have been men and women in his employ. In the old days, he tended to reward his most devoted followers with a form of immortality. Turning to the bodies, I ask, ¡°Did they still have a soul?¡± I can''t imagine how it must be to be caught in here, in the dark, for thousands of years. I shudder. Angrod clears his throat. ¡°No. Luckily, those were feral ones. No mind of their own.¡± I purse my lips and try to cheer him up. ¡°Well, technically you were right.¡± I poke at the animated remains with the tip of my foot. ¡°I doubt that these count as ''alive''.¡± I smirk, proud of my joke. He glares at me and gets to his feet, dusting himself off. ¡°You still alive?¡± Tanja appears from the shadows while someone else takes up operating the lever on the other side, raising the blast door. Her eyes bug out when she sees the remains. ¡°Oh, wow! Are those genuine zombies!?¡± She starts hopping up and down, clapping her hands. ¡°Why are you so happy?¡± ¡°Because!¡± She looks around. ¡°Zombies are only found in the unexplored territory of a dungeon! There is nobody left alive who knows how to make them. The secret was lost. Which means that we are the first who found this place. Maybe there''s something valuable in here! Did anyone notice that there is no limestone in here?¡± Looking at Angrod, I give him a meaningful look, hoping that he gets the importance of what Tanja just said. We are lucky that he restrained himself from using his necromantic talents so far. Judging by our friend''s reaction, using necromancy would have outed him immediately as something that''s not from this world. Blowing a raspberry, I gesture into the tunnel ahead. ¡°Well, only one way to find out if there is loot.¡± The corridor angles slightly upwards until we arrive in a large chamber with a small pyramid inside. Everyone is disheartened at not seeing treasure chests with loot, but Angrod claps his hands in glee as he runs up to the pyramid and picks up a crystalline octahedron. Turning it in his hands, he nods and takes off his backpack to store the inactive device while deflecting Margerie''s questions. Taking a look at my clock, I gesture for everyone to stop before we continue. ¡°What do you think of taking a break for the night? This room seems easily defensible. There is one locked door.¡± I gesture at the path which we didn''t explore yet. ¡°And the path behind us should be clear, or at least hard to take by anything that''s larger than a human.¡± After some mumbling, the rest of the group also decides that this place is as good as any we came across. The fact that it''s at least dry, unlike the rest of the cave system, is the deciding factor, so we settle down for the night. Chapter 28 ***The Dungeon*** ***Angrod*** I choose a relatively clean spot at the wall to settle down for the night. After unrolling my sleeping bag, I set down the backpack to use it as a pillow, patting it lovingly. Even if the power core turned out to be damaged, the focus-prism which is responsible for the spell formation was in perfect shape. We are lucky that the fortresses were built with easy maintenance in mind. Celes settles down next to me, whispering conspiratorially. ¡°Was it worth the expedition?¡± I nod, knowing perfectly well that she must have recognized the focus-prism which I packed away. The others may have thought it a useless piece of crystal or glass, but the fact is that we found an essential part of the flying fortress'' energy generation plant. ¡°The power core itself is toast, but the focus-prism inside it is undamaged. I only have to carefully chip away the outer layers of the core. Normally, I would be decades away from replicating the technology, but with this, I can build something that may generate enough energy to power some siege engine.¡± ¡°That sounds like we have hope.¡± ¡°There is always hope.¡± I gawk at her. ¡°Why would we lose hope?¡± She shrugs. ¡°I just have a feeling that we won''t be happy if the Meltheims manage to summon their god. I''ve been thinking about the dreams.¡± Celes opens her backpack, trying to gain some time to order her thoughts. ¡°All the hints we got make me think that Seria may be up to something.¡± I massage my chin, thinking. ¡°You refer to the instance when she told you that ''they'' shouldn''t get their hands on the ''crystal-tech''?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Pursing her lips cutely, she hands me a packed ration with food. ¡°It''s as it is. I suggest not to over-think the situation. Let''s just work towards a solution. That''s all we can do for now.¡± My words are not overly helpful, but what else can I say? Hungry, I open the vacuum-sealed package which contains an assortment of non-perishable food. Originally, I planned to be outside the dungeon by now, but thanks to taking a few wrong turns and the shifted layout of the crushed fortress it took longer to find one of the power supplies. Once I realized that this is one of my designs, I searched for anything of value, but all the easily accessible spots were already raided. If it weren''t for the delay, the original plan was to roast some hunted animal outside the dungeon, but all we came across are those ugly bat-things. And there is no wood for a decent fire in this cave. Luckily, Rose is a mother hen and a better thinker than I am. Assured in the belief that everything that can go wrong will go wrong, she changed our group''s supplies to account for the possibility of bad weather or a lack of fitting prey for hunting. ¡°Come here, boy.¡± Celes waves a piece of dried meat at Ghost, drawing in my familiar and petting it behind the ears as soon as the traitorous cat accepts the bribe. Thanks to our connection, I can feel her touch Ghost as if she were doing it to me directly. An involuntary shudder runs down my spine and I have to press my lips shut to keep myself from groaning with pleasure. Ghost only pulls back his lips, seemingly grinning at me with sadistic glee. All I can do is to glare back as I eat my food. Once everyone did their business back in the bottomless corridor, we settle down for the night. Margerie''s over-excessive packing turned out to be a real boon when she reveals a set of tiny bots and drones, each not much larger than a fist. They are the newest military-grade surveillance units, doubling as a campsite security system. I don''t even bother to ask from where she got them from. Why would a mad genius pass up on drones when she already pilfered the military''s newest spell-gun? I just have to wonder what else she has hidden in that backpack of hers... Frowning, I check out Margerie''s equipment as she crawls into her sleeping bag. Earlier, she had everyone turn around when she changed, so I didn''t get a good look, but there is an explanation to why she is able to keep up with the rest of us while carrying so much equipment. She is cheating. She must have also taken the new bodysuit which enhances the wearer by functioning as an exoskeleton. Then again, it''s not like I told anyone that certain things aren''t allowed on this trip. Deciding to ignore Margerie''s thieving attitude, I settle down in my sleeping bag until I catch Celes''s narrowed eyes. It only takes a moment for me to realize that it must have looked like I was checking out Margerie''s butt. Caught in an awkward moment, I decide to turn towards the wall and sleep instead of having a pointless argument. Even if I truly had checked Margerie out, it''s not like Celes can forbid me to look. I am a healthy young man who has hormones running through his blood. Nobody has any right to crucify me for having sticky eyes. ?? ?? ?? The night passes without further trouble, so we continue on our way early in the morning. Exploring the cave system takes some time, but we eventually return to a point which is close to the surface on the other side of the mountains. According to the navigation app in my tablet, it''s even exactly where I wanted to go. Quickening my steps, I lead the group into a widening cavern. Unlike the rest of the cave system, this place has light and the walls are overgrown with moist moss, hinting that an exit must be close. Seeing the goal of our trip so close, I head for the roaring sound of what my drone surveillance previously identified as a cave entrance next to the waterfall at a small lake. I am so focused on returning to the light that I am truly surprised when Celes yanks me backwards at my backpack, causing me to grunt. ¡°You almost stepped into a big mess...¡± She points out the pile of shit in front of me and that''s when I notice the vile smell. Taking a step backwards, I try to avoid dirtying my shoes and re-evaluate the pile as a little mountain. The originator must have diarrhoea, because the mess spread out over four square metres in front of me. ¡°By the Goddess!¡± Stephen proclaims, shocked at the size. ¡°What can take a dump like that? A mountain troll?¡± Quickly, he checks the walls and ceiling to make sure that nothing is creeping up on us. ¡°Dracogriff!¡± Tanja professionally identifies the rather obvious track. ¡°And judging by the size of it, it must be a big one.¡± Smiling, I rub my hands together. ¡°Perfect! We are about to reach our campsite and grill ourselves a dracogriff.¡± Stepping carefully on some stones, I pass the stinking pile of shit to advance deeper into the widening cavern. ¡°What the fuck are you doing!?¡± Sandra whispers, her eyes wild with fear. ¡°Dracogriffs are no joke! Our only chance is to retreat into the tunnels and rely on the fact that it''s too big to follow.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Tanja joins in. ¡°We can''t take on a dracogriff. They are almost immune to magic. It takes several adventuring parties with special equipment to hunt one!¡± ¡°Why do you think I brought myself a non-magical dragonslayer?¡± I smile with glee and gesture for Celes to follow me. My fianc¨¦e only narrows her eyes and huffs. Then she crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°He knew! That''s why he wasn''t surprised.¡± ¡°Knew what?¡± Sven squeals, looking around with wide, fearful eyes. ¡°Please don''t tell me that we marched knowingly into the lair of a dracogriff!¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Of course I knew. I chose this location because it held the promise of an opponent that''s worth hunting. Aside from that, I am interested in those anti-magical properties. Judging by the textbooks, it sounded very much like the dracogriff is covered in scales of dragonbone. If I could absorb some of that material into my organic enchantment, it would boost my strength tremendously!¡± Finally, Celes steps out of the cave''s entrance. ¡°Good to hear that you are still thinking about your coronation, even if your way of tackling the situation is a little daft. The fact that looting this creature makes you stronger is a valid argument to be here. Even if a date would have been better.¡± I place a hand on my heart, playing the insulted party. ¡°What did I do wrong? Did I misjudge your ability to pummel an oversized lizard into submission?¡± ¡°No.¡± She raises her chin. ¡°What irks me is that you didn''t even bother to ask if I would do it!¡± ¡°You two are insane!¡± Iris calls out while hiding behind Stephen. ¡°Not even the greatest warriors would take on a dracogriff alone.¡± A low growl from Ghost warns me of imminent danger and I turn around to study the cavern in front of us. Something is coming, and it''s large. Commanding all my blades, I have them spread out in front of me and activate the Lightglobes in order to catch what''s coming off guard. Yelling, I try to draw in the creature and dial up the power output of my globes, hopefully blinding anything that looks our way. Then it appears. The thing isn''t truly a dragon, but with ten metres in height, it fills a fourth of the cave. The dracogriff seems like a mix between a European and an Asian dragon. Its wings are a little short for its snake-like body, so it has to use two sets of wings to crawl forward. Where the creature isn''t covered in bony scales, magnificent white feathers cover its wings and body. Instead of a snout, there is a beak with countless little teeth. As if to mock the audience who witnesses this abomination of nature, a fluff of white feathers surrounds the creature''s neck like a mane. Irritated by my light, the dracogriff gawks at us for a moment like a deer caught in the headlights. Then it cackles eerily and surges forward, causing my friends to panic. ¡°It''s coming!¡± ¡°Run!¡± ¡°Kill it! Kill it with fire!¡± The only one who keeps her nerves is Margerie, readying her spell-gun. ¡°The heart is a beast-core which can be enchanted!¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Reaching up, I wrench a large stalactite from the ceiling and try to impale the creature. Instead, the sizeable piece of lime breaks under the stress and bounces off the monster. The dracogriff stops in its tracks to find out what hit its neck. I use the distraction to send one of my blades right into the supposedly weak spot right at its throat. The blade sinks in only a few centimetres, causing the dracogriff to return its attention to me. Unfortunately for me, I realize too late that nailing this thing with metal blades is like throwing toothpicks at a human. I thought the textbooks were exaggerating when I read about the defensive capabilities of a dracogriff, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. Well... luckily, I brought a plan B along. Celes impacts the creature''s chest, kicking it with a leg. Swinging its tail and swiping its forearms, the dracogriff tries hard to get rid of the pest, forcing Celes to retreat right before a laser-beam of bright light singes one of the monster''s plate-sized eyeballs. ¡°It works!¡± Margerie screams with glee. ¡°Magically resist my cute butt! There is nothing that resists everything!¡± For some reason, Celes''s next blow is even stronger as she propels herself up at the monster''s chest, kicking it with all her might. This time, the creature reels backwards hissing in frustration and pain. Whatever my personal dragonslayer is doing, it''s showing some effect. Slowly but steadily, the creature is pushed back until it does something unexpected. Surging forward like a cobra, it hits my fianc¨¦e with its tail, sending Celes flying through the air before I can distract the creature with my assortment of blades. ¡°Heal incoming!¡± Stephen calls out, apparently having regained his mental faculties. Hoping that I won''t lose control over any magic that''s inside the monster, I send one of my blades spinning down the monster''s open maw. My weapon only disappears without much effect as I instantly lose control over it. My bright idea of wielding objects with magic-piercing enchantments isn''t working. Whatever the dracogriff''s defences are, they are sucking the energy right out of anything that enters its body. Irritated, the creature swings a feathered wing at me and I am forced to reposition myself by jumping aside to hide behind a large stalagmite. The monster''s wing wipes the area where I stood, leaving behind deep gouge marks as if a hundred swords just tried to slice and dice anything in their path. This allows me to come to the realization that the dracogriff''s feathers aren''t feathers at all, at least not the soft and fluffy kind. They are made out of dragonbone, just like the monster''s scales. Evading another swipe of the wings, Celes jumps in a third time, placing the third kick on the exact spot she already hit previously. This time, the dracogriff shows a reaction. Hacking, it coughs up blood, then starts gurgling like it''s drowning while it dances left and right, then in a circle as it kicks over stalagmites, causing irreparable damage to the wonderful cave. Finally, it drops, the strength leaving its body. Lying on its back, the legs swing through the air in a weak attempt to swim to the surface. Slowly, even that last spark of life leaves the creature and it lies still, the large, round pupils dilating in death. ¡°Whohoo!¡± I raise my hands and cheer! ¡°I knew that bringing you as a backup was the right idea.¡± Running past Celes, I give her a clap on her backside, causing her to yelp. Placing both hands on the dracogriff''s cooling body, I concentrate, pulling the monster''s innate magic into me. For a moment, I believe that it didn''t work, that I mistook the creature''s constitution for dragonbone. But then the scales meld with my hands, the white mass smoothly flowing over my arms and down my chest as the organic enchantment incorporates the blend of ceramic and organic metal into my own bone structure. What normally would have taken decades to grow the necessary crystalline structures is accomplished within mere minutes. At last, the process comes to a halt as the energy within the animal dissipates, meaning that I would have had to supply power if I wanted to keep incorporating more of its mass. I decide that its enough and let go. To test the new version of my full-body armour, I pluck out two of the dracogriff''s feathers and swing them around like swords. ¡°What do you think, guys?¡± Doesn''t that look cool? ¡°You look like some idiot,¡± Iris doesn''t bother to mince words and turns to Celes, her eyes shining as if she just found a new idol. ¡°How did you do that? Did you break its armour?¡± Celes shakes her head. ¡°I just hit it and released as much energy into the creature as possible. I didn''t even dent its hide. But alas, even the toughest armour doesn''t help if what''s inside is soft and squishy.¡± She throws me a provocative look, implying that I might be the same. ¡°I hit it with enough force to transfer the energy directly to its organs. The first hit was necessary to find out where I had to focus. The last two were aimed at the dracogriff''s lungs, busting them like a balloon that was squeezed too much.¡± ¡°Fuck, that''s why it behaved like it was drowning.¡± Stephen looks at Celes with increased respect. ¡°It was drowning in its own blood,¡± his sister clarifies, joining me at the creature and poking it with her spell-gun. ¡°I never would have thought that I''d get to see one of these in the flesh!¡± Feeling left out as if my limelight was stolen, I release my awesome new armour and watch as Tanja and Sandra do their best to take apart the dragon. It takes two minutes until Tanja finally throws up her hands, giving up. ¡°There is no way for us to take all the valuable ingredients with us! We can''t carry it all.¡± I laugh. ¡°Just take as much meat as you can carry. We have a few days of camping ahead of us. Once the transports fly in to get us we can load the whole monster onto one of them.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Tanja looks at the carcass, then at me. ¡°That''s also why you didn''t plan to march back.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± I point at the large cave exit which allows some light into the wet cavern. ¡°And right out there, is our recreational camping site. The dracogriff''s personal lair should be safe. I was told that nothing dangerous would dare to enter its hunting grounds for months, even after its death.¡± Loaded up with dracogriff-steaks, we leave the cavern through the waterfall which we already heard from the inside. It means getting a little wet, but we are rewarded by the sight of a lush valley, surrounded by mountains. The water supplies a little lake, its water blue and crystal clear. A small meadow next to the lake is the perfect camping site, just a hundred metres down the lair''s entrance. The waterfall itself feeds a series of little pools until it ends in the lake, providing natural bathtubs. ¡°This place is marvellous!¡± Iris claps her hands and jumps up and down. She leans over to Stephen, tugging at his arm. ¡°Right there, in the side of the mountain. Wouldn''t that be the perfect place for a little house?¡± Thankfully, the others are also enchanted by the little nature reserve. Stepping past me, Sandra stretches, raising her hands towards the sun. ¡°Finally! Daylight!¡± Oblivious, the bunny-kin unzips some clasps on her upper body-armour and pulls off the heavy jacket, revealing a soaked tank-top. I can''t help but notice the fact that her perfect tits are straining against the wet fabric. Normally, it would be okay, but given the current circumstances, it''s quite obvious that she isn''t wearing a bra, her perky nipples revealing entirely too much. The natural reaction follows and all three males in our group stare like lecherous bastards, myself included. Not even the shy Sven can keep his eyes away from the treat. A prickling sensation in my neck forces me to look away. Some age-old instinct tells me that I am about to lose something precious, so I clear my throat and pay my full attention to Celes, her tail flicking left and right while she glares at me. She surely was the source of the intense killing intent I just felt. I clear my throat. ¡°Why don''t we get down to the meadow and put up the camp? We need to start a fire for the steaks!¡± ¡°Right!¡± Stephen pulls his eyes away from the frowning bunny-kin and starts marching like a soldier, Iris digging her fingers into his arm while holding onto him. ¡°Sandra.¡± Margerie joins the bunny-girl. ¡°Why don''t we go down to the lake and you use some of your ice-magic to cool down the steaks and the drinks?¡± I am about to follow when Celes takes my hand, holding me back. She waves for the others to go on. ¡°Why don''t you guys set up the camp? I have to talk about something with my fianc¨¦.¡± I frown and watch the others leave, assuming that Celes wants to talk about something that''s better not overheard by mortals. While the others search a trail down to the meadow, Celes sits me down next to one of the small pools which are a part of the waterfall. She puts down her backpack and spreads out two blankets. ¡°You were looking.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Please don''t turn this into a major incident. I am seventeen and this body is male. I can''t help but look when something like that is practically forced into my face.¡± ¡°I didn''t complain.¡± Celes kneels down in front of me and starts fumbling with my belt. ¡°It just irks me that you are not looking at me like you should!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I try catching her hands. What''s gotten into her? Is this another of her episodes where she gets something into her head that must be done at all costs? ¡°What are you-¡± Looking up, Celes kisses me right on the lips, effectively shutting me up. Her mouth and tongue are insanely hot and it feels like each touch of her lips lingers on my skin like liquid fire. I know that there is something wrong with this situation, but her lips feel so insanely good that I just have to close my eyes and enjoy it. ¡°This feels too good. We shouldn''t do this.¡± She huffs. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We aren''t-¡± I want to say that we aren''t even married. Or that we are too young. Everything that comes to mind just seems stupid, given the fact that we are immortals. It''s not like we are some bumbling teenagers who are ashamed of sexual desire. ¡°Just shut up and give me some payment for slaying your dragon.¡± She returns to kissing me, doing a marvellous job with her tongue. When I open my eyes again, I realize that Celes somehow got our jackets off. Her pants are lying carelessly next to the blanket. All she is wearing is a black shirt and scandalously thin panties. Floating in a sea of bliss, I only realize at the edge of my awareness that she is pumping my erection while trailing kisses down my neck. Then I curse involuntarily as her lips suddenly envelop my length and she settles down between my thighs. She is so soft and hot that it only takes a few quick pumps to push me over the edge. I am still breathing heavily when she releases me with a wet slurp, smiling mischievously. ¡°I hope you are happy with that little preview.¡± ¡°Preview?¡± I blink, watching her perfect body as she gets to her feet. Then I look down at my raging erection, not in the least bit close to being satisfied. Is she serious? She gets me into this state and then wants to walk off before I am done!? Well, to be exact, I was done. But I am ready to go again! ¡°Yes.¡± She turns around, presenting me her well-rounded rear. Her panties are wet, showing proof that she played with herself while taking me to nirvana. Celes is about to walk off towards the pool when I grab her tail, no longer giving a shit. I know that doing this might get me killed. She might fold me over backwards for forcing myself on her, but right now I don''t care. Pulling, I cause her to stumble as I place a foot against her ankle. She lets out a cute yelp as she falls into my lap. Groaning, I slip one hand beneath her panties and into her privates while I run the other up her shirt to cup her magnificent breasts. Celes is certainly not as humongous as the bunny-girl, but her assets are large and heavy, enough to satisfy all my fantasies. ¡°Angrod!¡± She squirms in my lap, her attempt at resistance only encouraging me as I push one finger into her, then add a second. Her thighs shudder against mine as I kiss her neck. It takes her over a minute to wind down enough to regain her wits. When she does, she tries to stand up, actually attempting to get away. ¡°There is something you should probably know. We-mh-¡± ¡°No talking!¡± Covering her mouth with one hand and guiding her hips with the other, I force her back down onto my lap, this time hitting the mark as I plunge into her. Groaning, I feel her insides grip me like a fist as she shudders. Hugging an arm around her belly, I pull her down onto me, revelling in our union. Unhappy with my inability to move properly, I push her forward onto all fours. Then I settle in behind her. Deciding to start slowly, I pull out, then push back in, teasing her without going all the way in either direction. Breathing heavily, I continue while holding onto her tail, guiding her movements right up to the point when I can''t take it anymore. Realizing that I am entering dangerous territory, I try to pull out, only to realize that I can''t. There is a stinging sensation every time I am about to pass a certain threshold. All the while, her heavenly insides are massaging me. It''s as if she is moving while her body is absolutely still. ¡°Celes?¡± I wince. ¡°Why can''t I pull out?¡± Instead of answering, she groans and slams her hips backwards, taking me all the way. ¡°Fuck!¡± The surprising action takes me off guard and I feel my balls tightening while I pulsate inside her. Hugging her hips, all I can do is to push deeper inside, allowing both of us to bask in the afterglow. ¡°You came inside me, idiot,¡± Celes complains immediately once her own orgasm ends. ¡°You started it!¡± I retort. ¡°And it''s not like I can pull out! What''s happening? How is that even possible!?¡± A few ideas come to mind, a few hilarious, and others are quite frightening. ¡°Actually, I don''t want to know the exact how...¡± ¡°Didn''t you pay any attention in biology?¡± Her words say one thing, but her hands tell a different story when she guides my hands back to her breasts. ¡°And why are you still hard?¡± ¡°Asks the one who is telling me to pay attention in biology!¡± I pull out slightly and thrust, causing her to gasp with pleasure. ¡°And why is your cat here!?¡± She points at my familiar who is lying a few feet away in the grass, frowning at our clumsy attempts at procreation. ¡°He is just watching out for us. Don''t worry.¡± I decide that right now I really don''t need an animal''s point of view, so I cut my mental connection with Ghost. ¡°Do you know what? I don''t care anymore.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean that I''ll keep doing you until I can''t go on.¡± I lift her leg, encouraging her to turn around. ¡°And since my organic enchantment is also providing stamina, I think it will be a while before you get out of this situation.¡± I just hope that I can pull out once she gets tired. There is no way that I am going to explain to the others how I got stuck inside my fianc¨¦e. I would rather cut it off and regrow it with healing magic than have to suffer that humiliation. ¡°Ah!¡± Celes let''s out a string of curses when I settle in between her smooth thighs for another round. ¡°I should have broken your arm when you smacked my butt instead of saying thanks for killing the dragon!¡± Chapter 29 ***The Valley*** ***Celes*** Ghost lays his ears back and growls at me. Lifting one paw, he attempts to pummel me, but I am faster. Before he can go through with his intention, I slap him on the top of his head with enough force to rattle his braincase. Him playing dominance games was cute while he was a kitten, but I have no desire to pet a lion-sized porcupine with fangs who harbours a grudge against me. He has to understand that even though I am not his bonded partner, I am the alpha in this relationship and a part of his gang. Next in rank is eventually himself, given that he manages to overthrow his master, and then Angrod. Oh, no! Rose might even hold a higher position than Angrod since she is the one who feeds Ghost all the goodies. Anyway, I don¡¯t care how my maniac of a fiance deals with his pet, but I certainly won¡¯t be the one who is bullied by a mere familiar. ¡°Oh, come on! It¡¯s not like I killed him.¡± I wave my hand, shooing Ghost away. I sucked Angrod dry, but that''s all I did. ¡°Are you seriously telling me that you were hiding from the dracogriff, but have the balls to threaten me? If I remember correctly, you were five metres behind Tanja for the entire fight!¡± It would be healthy for the cat to remember that I was the one who almost single-handedly killed the dracogriff. Fortunately, the large familiar recognizes my superiority and sneaks away in defeat while I finish cleaning up the unconscious Angrod in one of the waterfall¡¯s pools. The idiot came through on his promise to keep going until he was out of stamina. He actually passed out on top of me. Mom warned me that this could happen, but she also said that he would get used to holding back when being with me¡­ although¡­ ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Having a guy who can go nine times in a row isn¡¯t half bad. Also, that new armour of his doesn¡¯t look too shabby. The mask is a little frightening, but the rest of the full body armour imitates a very muscular man which is nice to look at. I don¡¯t know if Angrod intended it to look attractive to the opposite sex, but I quite like strong men. Now I only have to make him train a little harder so that his actual body looks just like the armour. Come to think of it, if the armour enhances his physical abilities, he might turn out to be a worthwhile training partner. That would certainly be better than him hiding inside a magical shelter while I pound away on it. I catch myself drooling a little as my thoughts veer off the trail. Nonetheless, the situation got a little out of hand when he silenced me before I could warn him of our precarious biology. It¡¯s his own fault. Seriously, who just nails a girl without asking while holding her mouth closed. It would have been within my rights to break all the bones in his body. If he hadn''t been so damned good at it I would have done him in. Hopefully, his behaviour will get better once he has more time to get used to his hormones and my pheromones. After almost two decades of abstinence, getting a good romp in the bushes really was what I needed, even though I am sore all over now. I am just glad that it was a safe day for me. That¡¯s not assured protection against pregnancy, but better than nothing. And we will get married in a few weeks, so who is going to notice even if it turns out that we had a little unplanned mishap. I tap my chin, considering what to do if our little encounter had consequences. ¡°I am sure it will be fine either way. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t consider different scenarios.¡± Finishing up, I dress Angrod in a comfortable sports suit and put on something similar. Then I draft Ghost as a pack mule to carry our backpacks while I shoulder my unconscious man. Unfortunately, the familiar doesn¡¯t seem to like my idea and drops to the ground as if I put the weight of the world on him. ¡°What''s wrong?¡± I poke him with the tip of my toe. Ghost lets out a pitiful ''meow'', acting like a real house-cat, which is more disturbing than the fact that he can shred through horrific creatures like nightcrawlers with ease. Rolling my eyes, I unpack some of his treats, using them as encouragement. It takes a lot of coaxing and a little dried meat to get him to follow me while carrying the backpacks. Five minutes later, we arrive at our camping site where Stephen, Iris, and Sven are building a humongous camp-fire. Though, their pile of wood definitely left the realm of camp-fires. They are stacking enough firewood to remind me of a bonfire. Margerie and Sandra are seasoning five equally large bones with meat on them. ¡°Ahem, what are you guys doing?¡± That¡¯s too much meat, no matter how you look at it. ¡°I thought we would grill some steaks?¡± ¡°Who wants puny steaks when we can have dracogriff ribs,¡± Margerie calls out, only now noticing that I am carrying Angrod. ¡°Oh, what happened!?¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Everyone stops in their tracks, their expressions turning worried. Oh, shit! Think quickly, girl! ¡°Ah, no worries!¡± I gesture for them to get back to work. ¡°We just took a quick dip in one of the pools and he passed out. Absorbing the dracogriff¡¯s magic was apparently a little more taxing than he thought. I am sure he will be fine soon enough. The only problem was carrying all our stuff.¡± Ghost growls next to me, reminding me of the backpacks which are hanging off of him. Feeling guilty, I put down Angrod and free the cat of its burden. Once our stuff is secure and Angrod dosing on a blanket, I join Margerie and Sandra, inspecting their efforts. They somehow split a large rock, both sides clean like polished marble. Using them as a working space, Sandra is dressing the ¡®ribs¡¯ with apple juice. Afterwards, she seasons the meat with honey, brown sugar, paprika, pepper, and salt. Squished onions and garlic also go into the mix. Meanwhile, Margerie is preparing large quantities of sauce, mixing tomatoes, maple syrup, sugar, and black pepper and cider vinegar. ¡°Wow.¡± Just seeing them at work is enough to make my mouth water. ¡°Now I know why you were carrying enough equipment for three people.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± she snorts. ¡°I somehow knew that if we left it to sleepyhead over there, we would have had to eat the dracogriff raw, given that we had survived the encounter without you.¡± I wince, unable to deny Margerie''s observation. Angrod took a bite out of a student and swallowed the piece raw. They must think that he is capable of anything. Sandra rolls her eyes. ¡°Come on. Raw meat isn¡¯t bad if you have the proper side dish. There are whole restaurants which specialize in that sort of stuff.¡± She gestures for me to help her. ¡°Come here and help me. Margerie went overboard when she went back to get the ribs.¡± I smile, fearing the worst. ¡°So, she went back¡­¡± To the cave entrance. Which is right next to the pool where Angrod and I... ¡°Yees,¡± Margerie looks at me, grinning. ¡°You were quite busy when I slipped by to get the necessary ingredients. Are you sure that you¡¯ve washed your hands properly?¡± She clears her throat. ¡°And rinsed your mouth.¡± Slowly, I feel my face getting hot. ¡°Ah.¡± Sandra steps left and right, trying to get a good look at me from different angles. ¡°What!?¡± I bark. She points at her neck, her hands full of dry rub. ¡°You probably should get rid of that hickey. Did he try to bite through your neck? Anyway, the guys are dense, but they will definitely come to their conclusions once they see that.¡± Margerie nods. ¡°Hum¡­ you should have seen the two, Sandra. The way they were going about it reminded me of mortal combat.¡± Covering the spot with my palm, I start circulating mana through my skin to quicken the healing process. I just want to sink into the ground and disappear! ¡°Please! Just forget what you saw!¡± Margerie shakes her head, a sad expression showing on her face. ¡°I am afraid that even if I wanted to, I can¡¯t do that. Do you remember? Perfect memories.¡± Her expression turns dirty. ¡°I am afraid that the scene will be burned into my brain for as long as I live.¡± ¡°Not if I hit you two on the head hard enough to erase the last twenty-four hours,¡± I mumble with a deadpan expression. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t do that. Hahaha.¡± Margerie starts laughing, while Sandra doesn¡¯t seem too sure of what I might be capable of. She is definitely the smarter of the two, even though she isn''t called a genius. Finally, Margerie gets the seriousness of her situation, her laughter dying down. Sensing impending doom, she clears her throat and takes a step back. Not that the increased distance will save her. ¡°We won¡¯t tell anyone. Don¡¯t worry. I just wanted to tease you a little.¡± Margerie looks at Sandra and the two of them nod vehemently. ¡°Good!¡± I smile and turn my attention to the bunny-kin. ¡°Now, show me how this is supposed to work.¡± I gesture at their food preparations. Having established how to deal with the situation, we spend the next hour happily preparing the meat and roasting it slowly next to the bonfire, using Sandra¡¯s magic to levitate the ribs close enough to the fire without getting burned. Finally, in typical male fashion, Angrod wakes up to inhale his share of the meat without having done anything to help with the preparations. Over the course of the day, I finally manage to forget some of my worries, having a genuinely good time with my friends. As we party, the sky darkens far earlier than we are used to, as the sun sets behind the large mountain range. That is, until Angrod jumps up with his tablet, waving it in the air and shouting. ¡°Guys, guys. You have to see this! Eyes to the south!¡± He points towards the sky above the woods. We turn our attention away from the bonfire, waiting for something to happen. ¡°It¡¯s going to happen right¡­ about¡­ now!¡± He presses a button on his tablet. Green beams of energy streak through the sky, converging on some point on the ground below with blinding intensity. There is no explosion, just a faint sizzle as distant water molecules pop because of the radiation. The beams fade out before striking once more with the same menacing silence. ¡°What are you shooting at?¡± I turn to face Angrod, just before his drones¡¯ energy weapons strike a third time. I recognize the weapon from old memories, hidden in my memories. There are at least a dozen unseen drones in the air above us. ¡°Just some guys who entered our safety perimeter. The surveillance drones which I mentioned earlier caught them sneaking about.¡± He chuckles darkly. ¡°And before you ask, judging by the surveillance footage they are quite clearly no adventurers, nor part of any group who has any legal right to be sneaking around in the woods at night.¡± ¡°Who are they then?¡± I ask. ¡°Or should I rather ask who they were? Because you are just using heavy artillery to take them out.¡± The sky above us lights up for the seventh time. ¡°Don¡¯t know, don¡¯t care.¡± He shrugs. ¡°They weren¡¯t our people and they had heavy weapons. Seemed like some military unit. Hah, I wish that taking care of my enemies at the coronation would be just as easy.¡± ¡°What do you mean? How many people were trying to get to us?¡± Stephen asks, aghast when yet another artillery strike comes down from the heavens. ¡°About a hundred.¡± Angrod indicates with one hand that he isn¡¯t quite sure about the exact number. ¡°They also had three heavy vehicles, so I just ordered the defensive grid to keep shooting until there is no more movement. I will tell my chief of security to pick through the pieces afterwards.¡± He quickly changes expressions, turning from a grumpy seriousness to exuberant cheeriness. ¡°But who cares about that stuff right now!? Let''s just enjoy the light-show!¡± I close my eyes and cover my face. ¡°Who in the nine hells can enjoy those light rays if he or she knows that each beam burns a living human being!?¡± ¡°You are too squeamish.¡± He gestures at the sky. ¡°There is beauty in death, and in moments like these, you can see it.¡± I frown, looking at the setting sun, colouring the sky in red, torn up by green beams of energy. A hand lands on my shoulder and I turn to look into Sandra''s eyes. The bunny-girl shakes her head, a pitying expression on her face. It''s one of those moments between two women, where one can do nothing else but console the other party, knowing very well that the world just won''t change, no matter what you do. Chapter 30 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** It''s a new day. I watch the distant columns of smoke where my drones incinerated a few offensive elements. Frowning, I look down at my tablet. A notification announces the arrival of our transports a little earlier than originally planned, but given the current circumstances, I thought it prudent to speed up our time table. After yesterday''s party, I informed our friends that my coronation likely won''t go as smoothly as planned. Except for outright telling them not to show their faces, I did everything I could to keep them and their families out of the line of fire, going so far as to instruct them not to mingle with the crowd and to segregate themselves and their family members away in an easily defensible position. I think they got the idea that Celes and I expect the coronation to turn into a war zone. ¡°You always have that brooding expression when you are thinking hard about something.¡± Celes joins me in front of the sad remains of our bonfire. Stephen and Iris did a great job in building it, but over the course of the night, it burned down until only a charred pile of ashes remained. If we aren''t careful, that might turn out to be the fate of our home. ¡°Yeah, just wondering if we shouldn''t go with Plan C after all?¡± ¡°You mean, take our families and run, then blow up the embassy with the whole of the nobility inside it?¡± Celes runs her fingers through her long hair, playing with it. ¡°Exactly!¡± She sighs. ¡°You know that we need at least a few of them. We have to govern a whole world.¡± I gesture at the columns of smoke. ¡°As you can see, we still have enemies outside the City of Light. For them to mount an attack like that... it can only mean that they still enjoy vast support among our subjects.¡± Looking at her, I quickly avert my eyes. ¡°You have been planning gentle ways to take over from our parents, but I can''t see it happening.¡± ¡°You mean that they will simply keep plotting their little schemes.¡± Celes closes her eyes and sighs. ¡°Yeah. It''s likely.¡± ¡°You know that there is a solution to all of this.¡± I glance at her, then force my eyes back to the tablet. ¡°No?¡± she replies in a questioning tone and turns to face me. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± I look her in the eyes. ¡°I am talking about taking the throne.¡± ¡°Well, that was the plan all along?¡± She frowns, her forehead wrinkling cutely. ¡°Not like that. I am talking about taking the throne. Together.¡± I wait for her to get the idea, but she clearly doesn''t follow my train of thoughts. ¡°Both of us know that my uncle and my cousin are just a diversion. They were biding their time up until now, but the closer the date of my coronation comes, the clearer it is that they will try to challenge me at the first opportunity.¡± I tilt my head, wondering if Celes would go along with my idea of using force. ¡°Even if we do this fair and square, I doubt that our enemies would honour the outcome of a duel. As long as the old rules remain they will keep challenging me.¡± She finally stops frowning, understanding where I am going with this. ¡°You don''t want to play their game. Instead of honouring the traditions, you will strike them down whichever way you can, taking the throne by force if necessary. You know that doing such a thing will cause a lot of spilled blood.¡± I shrug. ¡°Our parents played the de-escalation-game for decades and look where it got them with these people. We have other worries than some blind-sighted mortals. Our enemies are summoning a god. I say we stop fooling around and put our foot down. Take off the gloves and show them what immortals can really do. As long as we work together, we fulfil Seria''s wishes and-¡± Celes places a finger on my lips to shut me up. ¡°Okay.¡± She puckers her lips and takes a step closer. ¡°But you still owe me a proper date. And stop behaving like that.¡± ¡°Behaving like what?¡± Did she really just say okay? I expected her to fuss around, but I guess that the situation is bad enough for her to accept that we have to take action. She casts her eyes downwards, smiling as she studies my reaction. ¡°Like yesterday didn''t happen.¡± I groan. So, that¡¯s what she is thinking about! I hoped so much that we could avoid this topic. ¡°I swear that I don''t know what got into me, but you kept pushing my... Ahem!¡± Yeah. She definitely went past merely pushing buttons. ¡°Nono. It''s fine. A little more forceful than I planned it to be, but I am content that you stopped fighting it.¡± She links arms with me. ¡°I certainly won''t complain.¡± For some reason, I feel a warm feeling welling up inside me, knowing that Celes has my back¡­ and other things. ¡°So... you have no complaints about slaughtering anyone who dares to oppose our rule?¡± ¡°Ah, maybe not everyone...¡± ¡°But most?¡± ¡°Let''s be harsh, but not overshoot the goal.¡± She sighs. ¡°I have a feeling that if I allow you to decide, we will end up with just a handful of followers.¡± I snort. ¡°Better to do it right once than to have regrets later.¡± ???? ¡°I look like a penguin in this!¡± This isn''t right! I am about to fight for my life and I look like some opera singer from Italy! ¡°This is the traditional garb for the coronation. No chance to get around it,¡± my mother explains, her voice calm and expectant at the same time. ¡°Wonderful. At least we can please the audience.¡± I stretch a little, feeling the fabric stretch around my shoulders. ¡°This will rip during the fight! I will be butt naked on the throne.¡± ¡°That would be bad. I will go and fetch you my old robe! It should fit you just fine,¡± Nicosar offers and runs off. I let out a heavy sigh, wondering what Rose was thinking when she chose this suit. ¡°I am going to be the king of the fucking world and I can''t get a suit that fits.¡± ¡°You remember the right words to take the crown from the priest?¡± Ireth interrogates me again. She asked that very question for the fourth time and I am becoming agitated. It''s very likely that we won''t even get that far in the ceremony, so why bother?The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Celes and I talked about the situation and we decided not to tell our parents. They are already on their guard, so letting them in on our plan that both Celes and I intend to go apeshit at the slightest provocation won''t change much. The only real difference will be how to handle the fallout. ¡°Yes. Hereby, I take the throne and swear to protect the country and its people. Not that hard to remember. Much more important, anything new about our brethren?¡± I ask with a displeased tone. ¡°No. But I am sure they will come, even if I didn''t officially invite them,¡± Ireth explains, her voice turning toxic with displeasure. The door flies open and Nicosar storms in. ¡°Here, try this. I wore it just once for my own coronation, so it should be fine.¡± I take the old-fashioned robe from Nicosar and inspect it. It''s mostly red with golden ornaments and it comes with a sash. Deciding that complaining won''t get me anything better, I try it on and surprisingly, it fits! Seeing that it''s just the right size, Nicosar nods proudly and pats my shoulder. ¡°Ho! Not bad. At least this proves that you are my grandson. You have the same physique as my younger self when I took the throne.¡± ¡°I suppose your coronation back in the day went well. There isn''t a single sign of damage to the robe.¡± I study the exquisite material and the fine, black sash which goes along with it. ¡°Oh, no. Hahaha.¡± Nicosar waves a hand to dismiss me of my false notion. ¡°Didn''t you notice that my ability also restores my clothes? Those noble pricks tried their best to kill me. They even blew up the throne beneath my royal ass!¡± ¡°Hmpf. Yeah, I suppose killing you was a waste of their time.¡± I bet they just gave up once they got tired. But to think that they blew up the throne? Now I know what to look out for. Looking at myself in the nearby mirror, I nod. At least this outfit isn''t so close to the opera style. ¡°I will be off then, I''ll be back in a few minutes.¡± ¡°What? No, the coronation is in half an hour! How do you suppose you can get anywhere within a few minutes!?¡± Ireth wants to stop me, but I already teleported, abandoning any intention of withholding my true capabilities as an immortal. The world around me distorts and reforms again. I am in my facility and in front of me is our newest asset, powered by the focus prism which I got out of our little dungeon run. The fusion reactor hums with cold efficiency. The sphere-shaped machinery hangs in the centre of the room, held within a web of pipes and cords like a spider in its web. Currently, a sizeable part of its power generation is redirected towards the city. Three workers are busy with adjustments. They are very concentrated and have their backs to me. ¡°Ahem.¡± I clear my throat to make myself known. They turn around, shocked to see me here. The older one, a man who I often work with steps forward. ¡°Prince! Shouldn''t you be at the coronation!?¡± ¡°I just need the equipment real quick, then I am off again.¡± I point at the control box they were working at. ¡°That gives access to the main power supply line, am I right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Another one who I don¡¯t recognize answers with an enquiring voice. ¡°Be careful. One touch and you turn crispy.¡± ¡°Step back, I just need a second.¡± All three step back and I take a look at the circuit box. Using telekinesis, I remove a cover with a ¡®High Voltage!¡¯ danger sign. The main power distribution line which I am looking at is under high strain and has to be checked for problems very often. But it''s no problem, the workers were just replacing the old fuse. Everything in my facility is built with redundancy in mind. There are at least two replacement systems for everything and we are switching the ones in use on a regular basis to ensure that nothing fails due to ageing or stress. I lower the heavy plate with the red warning sign to the ground and inspect the power line which hums with static energy. ¡°Hah, it¡¯s so nostalgic to stand right next to some good old tech.¡± One of the workers behind me can¡¯t stand watching me playing around with potentially life-threatening equipment. ¡°That''s dangerous! You need the right protection if you want to work on this, Prince!¡± ¡°I know. Don¡¯t worry. This is mage business.¡± I feel the energy which is running through the cables and reach for it. Before I touch the power line, a spark springs for my palm, dancing with the promise of death for any normal person. Concentrating, I form a spell matrix to convert the electrical energy into a form which my body can store. Instead of allowing it to fry me, I absorb the power and convert it to mana, guiding the energy into the core of my being. A little bit of smoke rises from my fingers and I cut my nerves with telekinesis, setting up a Regeneration to counteract the damage this method of gathering power causes. Sparks of electrical energy wander around my body as the lights flicker. Sucking the energy out of living beings may be the best solution to gather power. Like the Meltheims are using a sacrificial ritual to power their summoning circle. But that¡¯s only a quick and dirty fix. For those in the know, it''s way more convenient to convert mana from another source of energy, like I am doing now. The method is risky, so I waited until the last moment to be sure to walk into the fight with every ounce of power I can hold. Unfortunately, Markorn is a real talent and will still have much more mana at his disposal. I also assume that he won¡¯t be the only one who got a power-up. It would be unreasonable to assume that our enemies would use their knowledge only once if they already got it to work. This should even the odds. After a minute of gathering power, I pull my hands back. My fingertips are charred and burned by the energy, but they heal quickly, the damaged parts flaking away. It''s hard to control the conversion process without slipping up. The risk lies in failing to control the Conversion spell, it¡¯s spell matrix is constantly torn out of shape by the power which is raging through it. Had it failed, I would have been fried like any normal person who is stupid enough to reach into a high voltage power line. The lights come back online. Seems like I drained a little more than the systems could handle. I didn¡¯t expect this body to be capable of holding so much power. Maybe it¡¯s connected to the fact that the people of my bloodline have an exceptional affinity for wielding magic? I turn around and look at the three pale-faced workers. ¡°Ar- Are ¡­ you okay?¡± The older one steps forward, searching me for signs of damage. Seems like they already saw their heads being lopped off for allowing the prince to commit suicide. ¡°No problem, I just needed a little more power than the system could handle.¡± I look at the now completely charred circuit board around the power line. ¡°I am sorry. You will have to do a little more work than you anticipated.¡± ¡°N- no issue. We will work overtime,¡± another one of them offers. I smile and wave my goodbyes. ¡°Be sure to clock-in the time so that you get paid for the effort.¡± There are no refunds in my company. Then I teleport back to my room where I am instantly greeted by my mother. ¡°Where have you been!¡± she barks. ¡°Don¡¯t pull off a stunt like that! I almost had a heart attack when you vanished!¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± ¡°We had a short power outage here,¡± Nicosar states, clearly expecting me to give an explanation. ¡°I just paid a short visit to my lab.¡± I walk to the door and leave for the throne room. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Everything went as planned.¡± Nicosar and Ireth follow me with grim determination, unhappy with me leaving them out of the loop. I am sorry, but I think it''s for the best. They would be horrified if they knew what Celes and I intend to do. When I arrive at the entrance to the throne room, I can see Celes with Katrine and Arthur. I wave at them and walk into the large hall. Those present are mostly nobles from Tirna. No wonder; why should a Stricc noble visit the coronation of the king of Tirna? Which doesn¡¯t mean that there are none of Arthur¡¯s and Katrine¡¯s followers. The most important ones are present, but they are holding themselves in the background. Which is for the best. Everyone is looking at me. Searching their faces, I can find a wide range of expressions. Expectancy, loathing, wariness, disapproval. Most seem indifferent, but that may change any second once things get hot. Facing my family, I give them a quick nodand make my way to the throne where a priest of the church is waiting for me. The old man is clad in a white robe with a purple scarf, looking regal and worldly at the same time in its simplicity. The hall is completely silent as I walk through the passage which is held free of the crowd by my guards. There must be over two hundred people here, filling the hall to its capacity. While I am on my way, I identify some familiar faces in one of the corners. I identify Sandra, Gabriel, and the Cygnus siblings along with their parents among the spectators. Winking, I direct a regal wave of my hand at them. Even though I am looking, I can''t find Markorn or Seredorn. It¡¯s too bad that I know Seredorn just from the pictures which my mother showed to me. The man was smart enough to never show his face at the embassy. When he went into exile, he also gave up on his right on the throne. Since Ireth became Tirna¡¯s regent because of my father¡¯s death she was able to rule in my stead, using her power in a kind of legal grey zone. She would be within her rights to expel my uncle from the city, had he given her the slightest reason to do so. The problem is that with my ascension to the throne, anyone with power and recognition may be able to challenge me. Theoretically, the lowest peasant could fight his way into the embassy and challenge me for the right to be king, had he the power to do so. It is unlikely that such a thing could happen, but that¡¯s, in fact, the law which Seredorn is likely counting on. He surely used some of his supporters to sneak himself and my cousin into the coronation ceremony. Arriving at the priest beside the throne, I nod to him and he starts to address the audience. ¡°Nobles of Tirna! We are all here today to...¡± I stop listening to the boring speech and scan the crowd for any problematic individuals. Mother and grandfather took a place in the first row of the audience, for once not ascending to the throne themselves. Chapter 31 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Celes*** I crack my knuckles and use the chance to address my parents with a low voice, even though it¡¯s rude to act like this during a ceremony of this significance. We still have time while the priest holds his sermon. ¡°Mom, dad, I¡¯ve to tell you something important, and for once you have to listen to me.¡± They look at me, clearly displeased at my demeanour, so I raise a hand to stop them before they can get themselves worked up. ¡°I think all of us know that there is a high possibility of things getting out of control. Our enemies have already tried a few things, but this opportunity is just too good for them to ignore.¡± I return my attention to the crowd and the priest. ¡°Once things go to hell, I want you to grab Ireth and Nicosar and retreat towards those who we know are loyal to us.¡± I indicate the Cygnus family, the Hjavars, and the Andros who gathered in a corner of the hall, not straying too far from each other. ¡°You are acting like this place could turn into a war zone any moment,¡± my mother replies with a worried expression. ¡°You would rather not want that to happen. But as Angrod put it, if they force us, the gloves are coming off. I need to know that you two are safe. Don¡¯t worry about me. I promise that I¡¯ll be fine, no matter what happens.¡± It''s not like I distrust the combat prowess of my parents. But times have changed and I have come a long way. I have an adult body now, and I could probably defeat both of them if I had a reason to.Reaching down, I straighten the blue dress I put on. I am just glad that I don¡¯t like this particular piecesince it¡¯s surely going to be reduced to shreds if there is fighting. ¡°I think that you are overly careful. We have a bunch of guards in place to keep order.¡± Katrine gestures at the men and women who are positioned at the entrances and other strategic positions. I smile. They may be enough to quell a small uprising, but not what I expect to happen. ¡°Just grab Ireth and Nicosar once it starts. I am sure that Angrod didn¡¯t give them a single warning.¡± ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Lord Tulhelm*** ¡°Tongord, is everything ready?¡± I whisper to my attach¨¦ while I study this prince who has aspirations to become the king of two united kingdoms. King of the world? What a preposterous thought! ¡°I should be.¡± He looks around, seeming agitated. ¡°I just hope that the clerk gets on with it. I have a feeling that the glamour that was put on us won¡¯t hold much longer. And I itch to pay that little brat back for what he did to me.¡± I turn and look at him. ¡°Just don¡¯t underestimate any of them. Their bloodline isn''t feared without reason. The ritual might¡¯ve strengthened us and saved your life, but he did that a few years ago. There is no telling how strong he became in the meantime.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Tongord shakes his head. ¡°I spend every second of my existence in agony. My life is a burning hell thanks to him, and only complete mental exhaustion can grant me the gift of unconsciousness. I¡¯ll use this chance to take him down, even if it means throwing my own life away. It¡¯s not like it¡¯s worth much at this point.¡± Seeing that there is no point in arguing with him, I choose to remain silent. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that the Meltheims have my daughter, I wouldn¡¯t even be here. That¡¯s not to say that I approve of Angrod becoming king. It just means that I wouldn''t normally risk my neck by opposing two royal houses otherwise. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** A few minutes into his sermon the priest arrives at the important part of his speech. A young acolyte of Seria¡¯s faith joins him on the stage, handing over a golden crown which was made with my horns in mind. ¡°...and if there is someone who believes himself a better king. He may challenge our future king now, or remain silent forever!¡± The priest looks over the crowd, searching for a contender only for a mere moment, clearly not expecting anyone to truly speak up. Just as the priest intends to finish the coronation, someone interrupts him. ¡°I will be a stronger king! I challenge Angrod of Tirna!¡± Murmurs spread inside the big hall as everyone tries to locate the rude voice which disturbed the ceremony. The crowd parts and reveals two people who are standing with their heads held high. I recognize Markorn and a guy who can''t be anyone other than Seredorn. Seredorn strongly resembles my father. He holds himself upright with a walking stick and his left leg is missing from the knee downwards. Clearly an old injury, maybe even dealt by my father himself. My mother never explained the details of Seredorn¡¯s self-imposed exile, but now it¡¯s clear why the man gave up on the throne. With our traditions and laws, it¡¯s highly unlikely for an invalid to stay in charge for long. At best, he would have had to fight an endless row of challengers who saw a weakness in his injury. The priest is shockedbut keeps playing his role, uttering his part of the ritual to confirm the challenger¡¯s validity. ¡°And with which right are you challenging Angrod?¡± Markorn steps forward. ¡°I am Markorn of Tirna. Son of Seredorn of Tirna, the previous king¡¯s brother!¡± The priest grinds his teeth. He clearly doesn¡¯t approve of this breach of protocol, marring the end of his beautiful speech. He turns to face me. ¡°Then the challenge is legal! You are the challenged party, Angrod of Tirna, you have the choice of weapons and location.¡± ¡°Right here, right now! Everything is allowed, but I have something to say before this starts.¡± Stepping forward, I push the priest aside. ¡°Step back and stay out of the way, old man. It¡¯s for your own good.¡± Smiling, I turn back to the crowd, making sure that they can see my teeth. ¡°Some time ago, I had a similar situation with Odlef Meltheim, who is now an enemy of the realm. Back then, I warned him that if he kept pushing me, I would do away with everyone and everything he loves. I instructed him to give this warning to his compatriots, so I think all of you had warning enough!¡± I point at Markorn and his father. ¡°I will find who is responsible for this, and once I am on the throne, I will wipe out your families and take away your lands. This rebellion, this sneaking around and conspiring behind the crown¡¯s back ends now! I tell you this so that you know that you can stay right here and fight alongside your challenger! Stepping back into the ranks of nobles won¡¯t save you! I will take on all of you. Your heads will be piled in front of my father¡¯s grave to honourthe sacrifice he made in the name of protecting you! You worthless filth! Now is the day on which you have to decide. Either you are with me, or against me. There is no middle ground!¡± A deadly silence encompasses the hall as I make my declaration. Seeing that the message came across, I wave my hand at the crowd. ¡°Anyone who is free of guilt and doesn''t want to have apart in this has twenty seconds to run. I won¡¯t take responsibility if you get caught up in the fighting afterwards.¡± When I step down from the raised platform with the throne, the crowd starts moving. Some people try to increase their distance from us as I approach Markorn. Others creep closer while a minority holds their position, clearly not believing what¡¯s happening. The confusion is palpable, but I am glad to see that Katrine and Arthur are pulling my mother and Nicosar away from me and towards our allies. The royal guards are readying their weapons, but unwilling to make the first move. From the corner of my eye, I can see Rose drawing her daggers and Celes readying herself. Seredorn limps to the side with a sly smile on his face. ¡°You just made a big mistake.¡± By pressing a button on his walking stick, he releases a hidden rapier from its sheath, turning it into a weapon while keeping the hilt as a crux.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it I stop a few feet in front of Markorn. The stupid idiot is grinning at me like he already won. He has no clue what I am capable of. Celes and I were biding our time in this world, afraid that doing something too obvious might cause Seria to interfere. But we decided to go all out, which is no small deal when someone can rely on the honed knowledge of several lifetimes. Skills and knowledgewhich were forged through life and death. My opponent acts first, giving in to the impatience of his youth. Markorn explodes forward with a surgeof mana and disappears. I teleport, reappearing directly in front of Seredorn, who is clearly waiting for his chance. His eyes widen when I pop up out of nowhere right in his face. ¡°Hi, uncle!¡± Focusing mana into my left hand, I stab it directly into his chest. He opens his mouth with a surprised look on his face, but no scream comes out. I feel a mighty power inside Seredorn. Obviously, he underwent the same treatment as Markorn. It was the correct decision to go after the weaker party. He clearly didn¡¯t expect me to come after his life, with Markorn being the challenger. Retracting my hand, I take the rapier from Seredorn¡¯s loosening fingers and shove the corpse away from me. Five seconds into the fightandmy side already claimed the first kill. Some of the bystanders are gaping, unable to comprehend that I truly intend to turn a duel into an all-out slaughterhouse. While the rest of the hall is too shocked to react, Markorn is still standing at the point where I was before. Realizing that I pulled a teleport of my own, he turns around and looks at me,taking his time to understand the situation. His eyes wander from my bloody hand to his father. Then Seredorn crumbles behind me and I start walking towards Markorn. The mana inside my next opponent wavers, swirling and twisting. His soul must be in great turmoil to show such obvious signs of emotional stress. I grin and throw the beating heart of his father directly into Markorn¡¯s face. It lands on his cheek with a wet ¡®smack¡¯ and drops to the ground. Still unable to comprehend the situation, he stares down at the beating heart to his feet. ¡°Ah, I forgot!¡± I raise the hand which is covered with my uncle¡¯s blood, tracing the blood¡¯s connection back to its origin. ¡°Rise and dance.¡± Seredorn¡¯s corpse twitches, green mist wavering from his nose and mouth. With an eerie moan, it rises, finally breaking the silence. Dead eyeballs searching, it locks onto the nearest target and shrieks, launching itself with its remaining leg at a surprised man. Using the distraction, I charge forward and strike Markorn¡¯s face. ¡®Krack!¡¯ A tooth flies out of his mouth and I feel his fighting aura waver. An opening! Feeling my way through the weakness in his magical defence, I get a hold of some muscles in his right arm. Taking what I can get, I slice at them with telekinesis. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!¡± ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Celes*** I ignore the screams as people try to get away from Angrod¡¯s zombie. Somenobles are trying to get away, while others are fighting each other or with the royal guards. Things went chaotic quickly as soon as Angrod showed the seriousness of his declaration. Some of the members of the Royal loyalists and the opposition are fighting each other, using the chance to settle old grudges. Walking through the panicking crowd, I intercept one of the men who are trying to interfere with Angrod¡¯s battle. Reaching out, I take a hold of his wrist and pull, bringing my forehead forward at the same time. The elf¡¯s skull collides with one of the protrusions on my left horn and yields. Without stopping, I keep walking as I shove the dead body away from me, heading towards the two men who are clearly neither panicking nor trying to flee the scene. Instead, they are watching the battle with as much attention as waiting hyenas. They are surrounded by a group of followers who are apparently acting as bodyguards, but that¡¯s not the only thing that makes them stand out. They are shrouded in a distinct magical aura which was hard to make out as long as the crowd gave them cover. But now that the ranks around them have thinned thanks to the nobles who fled I can clearly make out the glamour around them. Noticing my approach, one of their minions steps forward, performing a hand sigil for some fire spell. ¡°Dragon¡¯s Breath!¡± I close my eyes and stop my breath as liquid fire washes over me. Instead, I concentrate on my mana circulation, layering one sheet of mana over the other. Flowing out from my centre, my energy floods through my inner pathways and collects just at the surface of my skin. But instead of allowing the power to escape, I pull it back, making sure that my defence is asdense as possible. By imaging my body as a single unit, I do not move my muscles, but the energy which is gathered within me. Skipping forward, I reach out, right into the man¡¯s face. His flesh is like chewing gum when I dig my index and middle finger into his eye-sockets. My thumb travels into his open mouth, ignoring the flame which is spewing forth. Forming a fist, I break teeth and bone, then pull and let go, throwing him without much effort. There is no need to watch his body go splat on a wall far behind me. Then another man is in front of me, a spell on his lips. Not bothering with the small fry I shove him into another minion, caving in his chest in the process.Doing so, the last remains of my dress flake away as burning bits and pieces, revealing the black body-suit which is a part of the adventurer-armour which Angrod gave me. Having freed a path, I advance on the pair, readying myself for a serious fight. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** Infusing power into the blood on my hand, I cast a hex and flick it towards Markorn, sending a spray of little droplets in his general direction. Sensing the danger, he blurs and disappears. Two unlucky nobles get hit instead, their clothes and flesh sizzling where the hex latches onto them, quickly spreading and corroding their bodies. They scream as their flesh bubbles and separates from their muscles and bones. Something hits me right in the chest, taking my breath away! I am thrown upwards and impact the ceiling, penetrating it. Before I impact the ceiling of the next floor, my organic armour deploys and prevents further damage. I fall down again, together with a ton of debris. Markorn is already waiting and thrusts a hand towards me, but I teleport behind him. Another part of the ceiling dents in, caused by some kind of shock-wave which was released from his palm. I grab his shoulder and convert a sizeable part of the mana which I stored within myself back to electrical energy. Touching my other hand to the side of his chest, I ensure that the current flows directly into his heart. The surge of power shakes both of us and with the desperation of impending death, he grabs my hand and tries to throw me over his shoulder, but I hold onto him with all my might. With a last ditch effort, he manages to shove me away and I notice that several men and women are closing in on us. While Markorn is too busy with recovering, I cast another curse to use the time I gained in the most efficient manner. Red circles form beneath me, turning into bands of chaotic energy. Throwing my hands out to my sides, I release the spell and the bands flow away from me, searching for suitable targets on random trajectories. Markorn and other combatants around us notice this and dodge, unwilling to learn what this new magic can do. One of them is not so lucky. A red band latches onto him, coiling around his legs and body like a snake. There is no obvious damage, but everyone doubles their efforts in escaping the curse as the man starts screaming in terror, then proceeds clawing the flesh off his own face. Sometimes it''s enough when the enemy believes that something horrible is happening to him. Screaming, Markorn dodges past the band that¡¯s following him and throws himself at me. He rightly observed that my own spell is staying away from me, therefore he chose to make this up close and personal. The impact of his body takes both of us down and we roll over the floor. We come to rest with him on top and he starts raining blows down on me, with his remaining good hand. Thankfully, the worst of it is absorbed by my armour. Fighting this fight in a normal way would be my end. Being so close to him, I can sense the incredible power that¡¯s bottled up in his body. They charged him so full of energy that he is close to the breaking point. No wonder that he can¡¯t control his powers properly. Unfortunately for me, that might be enough for him to win. He is a young man who is using a nuke as a club. I retaliate by digging the pointed claws of my fingertips into his chest, but he grabs and breaks my hand with a little too much ease for my taste. Feeling the pain, I welcome it, trying to find a place between my emotions and a calm serenity. Pain is only that. It doesn¡¯t rule me. Instead of trying to regain my distance, I pull him closer, entangling myself with my opponent. I tear and rip at his mana with my will alone.At the same time, I pour the energy which I steal from him into healing myself. Thanks to my efforts, his aura flares and loses some of its brightness. This is no stupid duel with rules. At this point, it¡¯s no longer about brawns and skills. I will show the bastard a real fight with life and death on the line. There is a reason why everyone with a small amount of brain fears soul magic. Pitting pure will and mental power against each other raises the stakes to completely new levels. Life and death don¡¯t matter when someone¡¯s very own soul is on the line. Sparks of pure energy fly back and forth between us. He stabs a hand through my ribs and destroys something important. I don''t care. All my concentration is focused on attuning myself to his energy. With a hand, I claw my fingers into his face and eyes. An animalistic scream escapes him and he tries to snap my neck by slamming my head into the ground again and again. He almost manages it, but I reinforce my body further by using the same fighting aura as him. It''s a rough, wasteful method. That''s why I hate using it. My skill in this type of magic is nowhere as good as his version and still worlds apart from Celes, but it¡¯s enough to prevent me from being taken out. I waste the mana which I am siphoning off from him, but it keeps him from killing me outright. Suddenly, something within him loosens and I slip past his defences. I rip and tear! Then I throw him to the side and roll on top of him. He goes limp and his hands fall to the ground. Too late, I realize that one of Celes¡¯s hairpins is sticking out of the side of Markorn¡¯s head. Well, that could be the reason why the fight went out of him so suddenly. But that doesn¡¯t matter right now! With a savage grin, I get to my knees and pull his soul out of him. ¡°Hahaha! You are mine now!¡± I scream as green mist coagulates into an orb within my palm. I promised him that I wouldn''t make this fast. Somehow, I get to my feet. I am a bloody mess and I don''t have an ounce of mana left. A ghostly, green figure is struggling within the orb in my hand. It''s a splitting image of Markorn. Just that his broken body is now lying to my feet. As I rise, I can feel my energies being restored as the power leaves Markorn¡¯s body and flows into me, joined by the power of those who are dying all around me. The fightingbetween the royal camp and the traitors is still going strong.It''s a party of death and pain, no longer a coronation ceremony. I chuckle darkly, revelling in the madness. It''s been a while, and even if I dislike pointless slaughter, I have been missing it! The perfect environment for a soul mage. I will teach them why armies retreat when a necromancer is fighting for the other side. Chapter 32 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Lord Tulhelm*** I pull down the corners of my mouth, watching the princess with displeasure as she heads directly in our direction. She walks like some model, swaying her hips while killing anyone who gets in her way. One of my aids intercepts her, casting Dragon Breath, a lethal spell which summons liquid fire that is almost unquenchable. The flames spew forth from his mouth, an unstoppable flamethrower of burning death, and engulf her. Tongord groans next to me, thinking she is as good as dead. ¡°The princess was such a pretty thing. Talented too, but nobody gets awa-¡± His voice trails off when a hand emerges from the cone of fire which covers her body. Maiming my aide, she flings him away like some child''s toy. Two more men rush her, and she shoves one into the other as her burning dress falls off of her, revealing a tight-fitting combat suit which is normally only used by special op units. She just shoved the man, but blood and other stuff hurls out of his mouth, reminding me of a tube of toothpaste which was squeezed a little too strong. Waving a finger, I give the signal. ¡°Take care of her.¡± In the end, it doesn''t matter who we kill. Whether it is Angrod or Celes, as long as the marriage doesn''t happen we will have reached our goal. Taking another step, the young woman disappears, as spells hurl through the space where she stood mere moments ago. The head of the man closest to me explodes with a thunderous clap, showering the surroundings with bits and pieces. I try to comprehend the fact that she just killed a man by clapping her hands together, popping his head like an overripe watermelon! Readying a spell, I can stop myself just in time from hurling it at empty air as Celes disappears again. Someone behind me screams and I turn, unable to keep up with this form of high-speed combat, so I decide to abandon my initial attempt at attacking her. Once again, I am only able to witness one of my men being torn to pieces by the bitch. It takes me two whole seconds to process that she tore off a man''s arm and then proceeded tobeat a second one, using the appendage like a wet towel. No. What am I doing? I have to get my act together, or all is lost. I might not be able to match her speed, but that advantage can be negated. ¡°Magia Defensionis!¡± Calling out the spell, I shield Tongord and myself with a magical bubble of considerable strength. Blue energy pours forth from me, surrounding us as a bubble. Not a second too late as it turns out. As soon as the spell is in place, something slams into my shield, almost knocking me over as some of the physical energy is transferred to my body. Celes appears in front of me, frowning and with her tail flicking in annoyance. ¡°What''s this?¡± She knocks on the shield as if someone would knock on a door, testing it. ¡°An anchored shield. No wonder you didn''t fly off like a wrecking ball.¡± I sputter at the idea. ¡°I am no child. Why would I use an inferior shielding spell!?¡± Any university student knows not to cast shieldings which are anchored to your own body. She shrugs. ¡°Doesn''t really matter.¡± Placing a hand on my wall, she starts grinning at me. ¡°You may drop it any time.¡± ¡°Tongord, could you take care of her? I will keep shielding us,¡± I address my friend, but there is no answer. When I turn to see what''s taking him so long, I notice that Tongord''s glamour fell away and that there is blood coming out of his ears. Reaching up, I run my fingers down the side of my cheek, feeling the sticky wetness of blood. How? Tongord finally notices that something is wrong, his reaction slowed by the numbness which is caused by the agonizing pain due to his curse.The former teacher¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°She is vibrating the membrane of your shield. You have to drop it before she decides to-¡± There is a stinging noise and I have to cover my ears. It''s like something is having a stabby party with a thousand tiny needles inside my ears! Changing its depth and frequency, the sound turns into a humming beat that pulses through my whole being. My chest pulses with each beat, making me dizzy andnauseous. Bending over, I hurl out a good part of my breakfast. It joins the blood and innards which are already painting thefloor of the hall. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Celes*** No more Mr. Magic Man. He may have been supercharged by that unfair ritual-mojo. But what help is all that power to a magician if he has a massive headache and is too busy puking his guts out, rendering him unable to cast any decent spells? Sound-waves are such a convenient way of attack. It would be super-easy for a mage to shield against sound, but they often don''t do so because they like to hear what''s happening on the other side of their little protective-bubble.Angrod would have casted something to fortify his body to go along with the shielding spell. Humming, I skip towards Tongord, ignoring the mage whose innards are in the process of liquefying. Of the group which I chose as my target only Tongord is still up and kicking, but I expected nothing less of the man. ¡°Seems like Angrod''s curse did a number on you. We always wondered whether you were still alive.¡± I place my hands on my hips and study him. He is wearing a blue jacket with fitting trousers. Where there should be skin, bandages are visible, and it seems like they cover his whole body. I am not big with enchantments, but I can tell that the cloth is enchanted to resist and contain fire. That insane fucker is still burning alive and walking around at the same time. He must be using his bloodline trait to heal himself while Angrod¡¯s curse is burning him at the same time. ¡°A favour which I am all too eager to repay!¡± Tongord calls out, hardly able to contain the simmering rage in his voice. He reaches for his jacket and tears it off his chest, including the bandages. Instantly flames burst forth, eagerly searching for a way to escape, consuming the man¡¯s clothes through the breach in the containing enchantment. What is revealed looks more like some fire-elemental than a man. A deathly wraith whose flesh is in a constant process of burning away and regrowing at the same time, bubbling and sizzling with a unique, sweet stench. Then Tongord throws himself at me, screeching like an insane animal. Feeling that something is wrong, I sidestep the man, careful not to touch him. Rolling over my shoulder, I come up next to one of the fighting nobles. There is an easy way to test my suspicions. Grabbing the man by his belt and his throat, I whirl us around, throwing him at Tongord who changed directions to follow me. A second later they collide and my fears are confirmed. My test subject catches Tongord¡¯s curse merely by touching him, going up in flames like a towel drenched in pure alcohol. Oh, I am so not going to go there and test whether my magical defences are up to fighting a mana eating curse. Angrod can fight his own creation. He must have some sort of counterspell against his own curse. Dodging Tongord a second time, I search the room for my fianc¨¦ while trying my best to keep Tongord away from me and from touching anyone from the royal faction, but there are only so many bodies I can throw atmy former teacher to keep him occupied. Thank the multiverse that Tongord doesn¡¯t have anything going for him other than his godlike regeneration. He is not fast enough to run around touching people left and right, or this would become an ugly situation real quick. Most of the man¡¯s resources seem to be bound in healing himself. When I find him, Angrod already has his hands full with Markorn. They are struggling with each other, magical energies surging back and forth between them, making it hard to say who is winning and who is losing. Grumbling, I decide to end Angrod¡¯s playtime. He already turned his coronation into a nightmare which will likely remain in the memories of our subjects for all eternity. ¡°I wanted to do this anyway.¡± Pulling one of the metal hairpins out of my hairdo, I flick my wrist in an underhand throw. The unassuming piece of metal sinks into Markorn¡¯s temple, ending that particular problem. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** I am still gloating over my victory when Celes dodges past me. Grabbing my shoulders from behind, she turns me to the right. ¡°Take care of that! That over there is your doing!¡± My sinister laugh becomes stuck in my throat when I see a flaming, charred corpse running towards us. A burning zombie if I have ever seen one. But I recognize the magic.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Tongord?¡± ¡°Yes, and whatever you did, it can spread!¡± Celes hisses from behind me, using me as a shield. Smart of her. I still held a grudge against her when I created the curse. ¡°Well, of course, it can,¡± I grumble. ¡°It wouldn''t be much of a curse if anyone could just touch it to figure out how to get rid of it.¡± The best curses are those which kill anyone who is trying to break them. Howling, Tongord reaches us and barrels into me with his whole body. I am thrown onto my back, wheezing in pain when some badly healed rib breaks yet again. Sitting on top of me, Tongord grabs my shoulders and pulls me up, then slams me back into the ground. ¡°I have you now! Burn, mother fucker! Burn! Burn and die from your own curse!¡± The insane man rambles on, even as the soulfire vanishes, the curse sputtering out of existence. Charred flesh flakes away, only rosy skin remaining. Ittakes a few seconds, but soon enough, a naked Tongord is sitting on top of me. If it weren¡¯t for his curses, people would think that he is trying to do something indecent to the future king. Which is so not my style. Realizing what happened, Tongord stops his ranting and studies his hands and chest. ¡°What¡­ what happened!? You should be burning! Burning like me!¡± ¡°I think it would be a really shitty curse if it would burn the caster,¡± I grumble, feeling insulted that he has such a low opinion of my skills. ¡°But back then!¡± Tongord sputters. ¡°You did everything to get away from me and the curse.¡± ¡°Duh!¡± I snort. ¡°No point in getting it on you if I trigger the fail-safe by touching you. Oh, and¡­ I really have had enough of you now.¡± Reaching up, I dig my claws into his temples and the top of his forehead. ¡°Oh, sweet soul, come to me wherever you are. I wonder whether your super-healing can heal a stolen soul.¡± Tongord screams, trying to loosen my grip on him, but his healing doesn''t help him against soul magic. Pulling, I rip the soul out of his body, shoving the naked man off of me. Then I get back to my feet, wheezing in pain because of all the things I didn¡¯t manage to heal with Markorn¡¯s energy. The fighting is slowly dying down, the royal guards mopping up the last resistance. It will take careful analysis of the surveillance footage to pick out who fought against me and who tried to support the royal family. Overlooking the sad remains of the nobility, Iestimate that we managed to lighten our administrative expenditures considerably. Half of the guests are down on the ground, moaning and bleeding. Or dead. Most of them are definitely dead. That reminds me... ¡°Has anyone seen my uncle?¡± I may have gotten a little carried away when I revived him. ¡°I think he ran out of the hall during the confusion,¡± Rose points towards the exit, breathing heavily. Her uniform is soiled with blood and she looks worse for wear but alive. ¡°Tell the guards to catch him.¡± As much as I want to, I am in no state to hunt down a feral zombie. I don''t want it to get off the premises and attack innocent civilians. ¡°Angrod! You are hurt!¡± Celes takes my arm, trying to steady me. ¡°Obviously.¡± Markorn punched me through the ceiling and buried his hand in my side, which I wasn''t able to heal completely. ¡°I think he got the kidney.¡± Turning, I head towards the throne with Celes''s help. The priest is still standing on the elevated stage, his mouth gaping and his head shaking in denial as he tries to comprehend the scene of carnage. ¡°That''s mine!¡±Reaching him, I snatch the crown out of his clammy hands and place it gingerly on my head, noticing only now that one of my horns broke off during the brawl. Celes helps me to reach the throne and I allow myself to fall into it. I cough up blood, remembering that I am still using the meditation technique to suppress the pain. Fuck, I don''t want to know how muchI truly hurt, or how extensive the injuries are. Letting my gaze slide across the hall with nobles I ask, ¡°Anyone else who has complaints?¡± All remaining spectators who are able to do so shake their heads in unison. ¡°Th- then I dec- declare prince Angrod of Tirna a- as the new King of Tirna!¡± the priest stutters. ¡°Her...¡± I wince in pain and hold my side. ¡°Hereby I take the throne and swear to protect the country and it''s people,¡± I answer to finish this stupid ceremony. ¡°And since I am feeling a little tired, my first order is to clear the throne room. I will hold a speech once this mess is cleared up!¡± I wave at the hall. This should give me at least a week of recuperation. The remaining nobles, at least those who aren''t mourning the loss of loved ones, file out of the roomor follow the healers who are taking care of the wounded. Rose showed enough foresight to hire a little army of them, just in case things go south. Mother and Grandfather run up to me. Ireth is crying and immediately kneels down to stop the blood flowing out of the wound in my side. ¡°It''s okay... It doesn''t hurt,¡± I gurgle, spilling more blood. Fuck, seems like my body is seriously messed up. Arthur and Katrine approach and Katrine joins Ireth in her efforts to heal me. ¡°This looks bad.¡± Arthur looks at me like I am already a goner. Celes clenches her fists, trying to fight back tears. Do I really look that bad? ¡°I have already called for the best healers. They were waiting nearby. They should be here any second,¡± Arthur informs us. I grin while everything goes dark. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Celes*** It has been two days already, but Angrod still didn''t wake up. When the healers arrived after he went unconscious, they already wanted to file a death report before even looking at him! After hours of uncertainty they finally managed to stabilize his body, but because he was severely weakened, he hasn''t woken up till now. I almost thoughtthat I would become a widow before the marriage ceremony is held. Stealing a glance at the door, I open one of my potions and pour the contents into Angrod''s mouth. The healers of this world have magical healing down to a complicated form of art, but some good old alchemical potions to accelerate the natural recovery process and vitamins can''t hurt. Thanks to my potion''s help, which stimulates the flow of mana within him, he should wake up much quicker. I knew that his plan to draw out the opposition was stupid. He could have done this in any number of ways without putting himself in the centre of fire. I am sure that he could have handled Markorn much easier if there hadn''t been mayhem all around him. The fight itself shocked all the nobles. There are already some voices saying that a king shouldn''t attack bystanders. But there are very few of them. I guess everyone is afraid of being added to Angrod''s list of people to be purged. I hope Angrod wakes up soon. Not only do we need him to make an appearance in front of the nobility, he has to decide what we do about Iris''s father. I didn''t know it at the time, but the magician who was with Tongord was none other than Lord Tulhelm himself. He might have valuable information about what''s going on inside the City of Light. We were only lucky that Iris recognized him during the fighting, or the healers might not have prioritized him enough to save his life. I just feel sad for Iris. To meet her father again in such a way, only to likely lose him once more. We have to talk to her and find out how she feels about the situation. He did abandon her after all and there are the crimes against the crown which can''t be forgiven. Still, a child''s love for their parents can be irrational at times. I take Angrod''s hands in mine and notice that they are cold! He has to be warmed up somehow. Hmm, he isn''t conscious right now, so I can do everything I want to him. ¡°Hehehe...¡± This is the perfect chance to get a whole lot of items from my check-list. I carefully lift the sheet and crawl under, hugging the stupid hermit from the side. Hahaha, you can''t run away now! His mana feels so familiar. Like in the old times when he was Johann. I soon relax and fall asleep. ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** I am sitting at a bench, located at a wooden house which feels like home. Fields stretch to the horizon, shimmering red and gold under the setting sun. I take my time to study the scene. Everything looks so real and is eerily familiar: the fields, the nearby forest, the lake... It looks real, but I can''t shake off the feeling that something is wrong. I know this place, but apart from a memory or a dream, I wouldn''t be able to return to it. This is the distant past. Am I dead and this is the real afterlife? I pinch my cheek, but I feel the pain. This is my house, from the time I was with Sandra. ¡°How is it?¡± I jump up and turn to face the newcomer. I didn''t sense her arrival. One moment I was alone, and the next she stood next to me, watching the scenery. ¡°Seria, you!¡± ¡°Hiiiii.¡± The goddess waves at me in greeting with a wry smile on her face. I try to ignore her almost transparent dress. ¡°What are you here for? Am I about to be sent on to the next punishment?¡± I ask her, assuming the worst. ¡°Nope, I just wanted to say hello and ask how things are going.¡± She sits down on the bench and pats the wood next to her, signalling that I should sit down too. I sit down. No point in opposing a god. Besides, she seems to be in control of this dream. I don''t want her to replace it with a torture chamber. ¡°Why would you need to ask me? Can''t you check for yourself? Someone is trying to pull off a huge summoning ritual, and I think you should stop them. Maybe you could pull one of those ''heavenly intervention'' acts?¡± ¡°I am just talking to you via long-range telepathy. I didn''t visit your world for quite a while. If I did, Tjenemit would immediately get access and I am not quite ready yet,¡± She explains in a calm tone, confirming some of my suspicions while opening a whole new can of worms. ¡°Could you please start at the beginning? It seems like you are rather well informed, despite your absence. I know that some fanatics are currently trying to summon a god to this world. But a Council member at that? And why would any god have the need to be summoned?¡± Seria will have to do some explaining here. ¡°Unfortunately, I don''t have very much time. Just until you wake up. But to make it short, your world is inside a Void Zone. It is my personal playground and no other god has access to it. I grabbed Celes and youbecause I have plans for the two of you. Tjenemit isn''t too fond of me and has found out about my little rebellion against the Council. Although he has no proof, he is trying to get access to this world.¡± I raise my hand to stop her. ¡°What''s this about a rebellion?¡± ¡°A rebellion against the Council, but don''t worry about it. There is no need to know in your current state. I plan to let Tjenemit enter your world to fight him there. Once he is inside the Void Zone, his options are limited. I can''t visit you earlier, because opening a pathwaywould help him to get access and I am not ready to fight him, yet.¡± Opening a pathway through a Void Zone? That''s impossible, but not really the important issue. ¡°What makes you think that I want any part in it?¡± I ask her. ¡°Just a hunch. I had my eyes on recruiting you for a while now. Call it a little long-term plan of mine.¡± Seria smiles innocently. ¡°And what if I stop Tjenemit from gaining access at all?¡± I ask her. ¡°Feel free to try, butif I interpret the stuff in your head correctly, it''s unlikely. Other questions?¡± She tilts her head cutely. I narrow my eyes, seeing that she isn''t really willing to answer my questions. ¡°How do you know this place?¡± ¡°Hmmm, I wonder? It''s a nice and peaceful place,isn''t it? That reminds me! How is it going with your wife? Did you two already make up?¡± ¡°You are trying to evade the question. It is going okay, I guess?¡± I answer, unwilling to discuss the relationship between Celes and me. ¡°Wonderful, I wish I could show up to the marriage in person!¡± She claps her hands together. ¡°Maybe I will project an image of myself to visit you for a few hours.¡± ¡°Why are you so enthusiastic about this?¡± ¡°Why shouldn''t I be enthusiastic about the marriage of two people who I brought together? But I fear our time is up.¡± Seria pats my head. ¡°What? You still have some explaining to do!¡± I want to stop her, but the world distorts and starts fading away. ¡°Don''t forget to take a close look at those captured souls... and be nice to your wife.¡± I open my blurry eyes and look at the ceiling. ¡°That''s what I would call a nightmare.¡± Then I notice my mother smiling at me. She is sitting next to the bed and I am in my private room. ¡°I am glad you woke up,¡± she whispers and I become aware that something is lying on top of me. I lift the sheet and discover Celes. ¡°Why are you using a sick person as a body pillow?¡± I ask the sleeping girl who is mashing her chest against me. Celes stays unresponsive and just keeps sleeping. ¡°She has been at your bedside for three days now, like me. The healers already started digging your grave.¡± Ireth continues to give me a brief summary of what I have missed. ¡°Is that so? I guess I will have to disappoint them. Anything else?¡± I ask, still tired. ¡°Nothing that couldn''t wait. After your little demonstration, everyone was surprisingly docile. I never heard so few complaints from the nobles.¡± Ireth pats my head with a relieved expression, assured that I am recovering. After asking whether I need anything, she excuses herself and leaves the room. ¡°Wait! You have to take Celes with you.¡± I try to slip out of my fiancee''s grasp, but suddenly she tightens down around me like a vice! OW! I need the healers again! ¡°Nyahahhaha. You won''t get away... the body pillow has no right to sneak off... no... no... don''t use your mighty...¡± What the hell is she dreaming about!? Chapter 33 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** I zap the glass-orb on the pedestal next to my throne with another spark of lightning and listen to the sweet screams of over four dozen souls. Chuckling, I ready another spark of magic to ignite the improvised soul-trap which I used to imprison the crown''s enemies. It was a genius move of mine to trap the entire throne room with a large warding glyph, catching each and every poor soul who was unfortunate enough to die that day in the room. The little motes of green light which represent the captured souls flare in frightful anticipation of sweet agony, but Celes catches my hand before I can unleash the magic. ¡°Just stop it. It has been three days. I think it''s enough.¡± ¡°Aw, come on!¡± I gesture at the orb. ¡°What do you care? You didn''t say a word up until now.¡± She sighs and takes the fist-sized orb, hiding it in one of her pockets. ¡°I was willing to turn a blind eye while you were interrogating them. But since yesterday, you aren''t even asking them questions. You are just using them to release your pent-up stress, zapping them for fun.¡± ¡°No, I don''t. Do you want to imply that I am a sadist!?¡± I survey the room, searching for help from the rest of the gathered family. Their expressions tell the tale, making it clear that none of them believe me. As a last resort, I try to find at least some support in the eyes of the present guards, but they avoid my gaze. Damned traitors! I thought that they would show at least a little worshipful zealousness after the battle for the throne! Didn''t I demonstrate once and for all that challenging me will end very unfavourably for my enemies? Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°Just admit that you like hurting people.¡± Seeing that I am on my own in this, I grudgingly admit defeat. ¡°Maybe a little bit. If they deserve it.¡± I like it when they scream. And their expressions are just hilarious when they realize that they wagered not only their life but their very soul. My mother takes the initiative. ¡°Good. Hearing their screams every ten minutes got a little distracting. Can we get back to the topic at hand?¡± ¡°Right.¡± I clear my throat. It''s our first big meeting after my coronation, and we have to decide how to proceed after everything that happened. We learned quite a bit about what''s going on inside the City of Light, and how the rebels got through our blockade. The City of Light is located directly at Mount Seria. A long time ago, it started out as an old mining town with a long history of providing metal to the surrounding area. During those days, it grew to the height of its glory and its origins were forgotten when the ore-deposits became too hard to access to be profitable. A little bit of research from our side could have prevented the whole fiasco that went down during my coronation. Apparently, one of the old mining tunnels goes straight through the mountain, bypassing all of our military forces. It isn''t large enough to transport a meaningful amount of people, but sufficient to smuggle out a few people here and there. It goes without question that we immediately dealt with the problem. I even tasked one of our generals to explore the possibility of using the tunnel against our enemies. It would be too convenient to simply bypass their shield. Sadly, the tunnel is long and not very wide. Fighting our way through it is almost impossible if our enemies used just a little bit of their grey brain-matter. If I were them, I would have posted enough guards to protect the tunnel and rigged it with explosives. At the first sign of an invading force, I would collapse the whole thing. ¡°You have that expression again.¡± Ireth looks at me questioningly. ¡°Nothing.¡± I dismiss her concerns with a gesture. ¡°I was just thinking about that tunnel. Alas, I see no easy way to use it against our enemies, nor am I willing to waste the lives of good men by sending soldiers in.¡± The rest of the assembled family relaxes a little. What did they think I would do? Send a platoon of elite warriors down that manhole for them to get buried under tons of rock? Actually... I may have done it if I had thought that they have even the slightest chance of success. It''s too bad that Tongord''s interrogation didn''t reveal anything else that''s useful to us. By his account, the Meltheims used their forced isolation to create something like a miniature kingdom with them as the rulers and their followers as their faithful subjects. Our only consolation is that I got confirmation that they used up all their sacrifices. Which means that the summoning ritual will finish at a much slower rate than I predicted in my worst-case scenario. It doesn''t mean that we are safe, but it''s at least a bit of a reassurance that not everything is lost. Even knowing that Seria is planning for Tjenemit to succeed, I might be able to stop him from entering the Void Zone at all. Assuming that my dream was a real communication with Seria and not just a really convincing delusion. ¡°Anyway.¡± I make eye contact with my mother and my grandfather. ¡°I would like to give you two governing rights in my absence. I have to oversee the project to break the shields which protect the City of Light. What we''ve learned is reassuring, but it doesn''t mean that we are safe. Our enemies gambled some of their gathered power to attack the coronation, but it can''t have been more than a drop in the bucket.¡± I scratch the broken tip of my left horn. It broke during my fight with Markorn and it still itches. Thankfully, the healers think it will regrow because I have pure blood, but it will take a while without the use of a lot of magical power. It would have been possible to regrow it quickly, but my organic enchantment wouldn''t be able to keep up with this rate of regrowth and there is no easy way to speed it up. Given the power enhancement which it gives to the rest of my body, it would be like having a bone made out of glass, fragile compared to the rest. There was no question in my mind that I would rather opt for the solution of natural healing, instead of a more or less cosmetic replacement that''s prone to breaking. My attention turns to my grandfather. Nicosar''s broken horn didn''t heal because he has mixed blood, but now that I think about it, how did it get broken in the first place? Couldn''t Nicosar just have healed himself? I also never realized it, but the horns must give my family some sort of additional sensory input. Now that I lost one, the world seems somehow duller, but maybe that''s just an after-effect of my injuries. ¡°Don''t do that. The healers said it wouldn''t regrow correctly if you disturbed it!¡± Celes snatches my hand and pulls it away from the itching stump. ¡°Haaaah. You have no idea how annoying it is,¡± I complain. ¡°Just make that no-pain-thing of yours then.¡± She is much too concerned about me. Not that I am opposed to having a pretty woman look out for my well-being. It''s just that Celes doesn''t strike me as the nurturing type. ¡°I don''t want to do that.¡± I will probably have to explain why. ¡°It works by cutting my nerves and healing them afterwards. It would be a pain in the ass if they healed on their own in the wrong way.¡± I may end up disabling myself. ¡°The technique isn''t a long term solution. I also know a form of meditation which kind of achieves the same effect, but it''s more suited to combat because it allows the basic instincts to take over.¡±If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Then deal with it like an adult.¡± Celes huffs. ¡°In any case,¡± my mother interrupts our banter. ¡°If you think that you need your time to concentrate on your project, then Father and I will do our best to rule in your stead.¡± ¡°I will prepare the paperwork,¡± Nicosar offers. D... did I just imagine it, or did the guards just sigh in relief? Arthur crosses his arms in front of his chest, looking a little stressed. ¡°Though, your horn isn''t why you called us all to remain here for an important discussion. I have to manage the other part of the continent, you know? There aren''t any fewer idiots there. So if it''s nothing important, I would like to do some real work.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. Guards!? Please leave the hall and make sure that nobody is listening in on us.¡± Waving a hand, I gesture for them to leave in order to give us some privacy. There are things that shouldn''t be public knowledge. Once they are gone, I continue, ¡°I just wanted to inform you about the end of the world.¡± I nod and smile, while everyone looks at me with shocked faces. ¡°From the beginning, please?¡± Nicosar massages his temple, looking like he is developing a headache. ¡°When I was unconscious, Seria paid me a visit. She told me that she has a little rebellion going against the Council. You remember, the rulers of the multiverse?¡± I massage my chin, trying to figure out where to start. ¡°Because of certain circumstances, they can''t visit this world easily. It lies within a Void Zone. That''s a part of the multiverse where even gods can''t leave and enter as they please. It seems that Tjenemit, one of the Council members, managed to get information to this world about a summoning circle for him. ¡°The stupid Meltheims found it and believed the promises that came with it. Seria is unable to come here in person because using a pathway would give Tjenemit immediate access. She sounded like she is preparing to fight him on this world as soon as he is summoned. ¡°In a way, her plan is brilliant. There is a good chance for her to catch a Council-member on his own and without the hope of reinforcements from the others. It would be the first time in living memory since the Great War for one of them to fall.¡± I take a deep breath. ¡°But... but... That will be Armageddon all over again!¡± Celes screams at me. ¡°Can you explain why Seria should want to rebel against this Council? I still don''t get the gods'' politics.¡± Arthur asks with a pale face, so Celes and I take turns to explain the real issue of existence and reincarnation in as few words as possible to avoid confusing the mortals. ¡°So the Council dictates what every god is allowed to do? And they punished you, because you killed each other?¡± Katrine asks with a surprised look. ¡°It wasn''t about wiping out a whole world, but about their authority?¡± Both Celes and I nod. Seeing her mortified expression, I feel the need to clarify our reason for destroying the world back then. ¡°But you see, we were stuck with each other for over a thousand years. The Council''s assignment practically forced us to butt heads with each other. If we had been allowed to abandon our jobs, either of us could have just left and gone to live in some other part of the multiverse. The Council is largely at fault for our fight. I myself would have never meddled with mortals if they hadn''t forced me to play god. Forgive me, but my perspective back then was akin to yours towards ants. You don''t give a shit about ants, do you?¡± My mother glares at me and I immediately know that I said something wrong, so I turn to Celes. ¡°Please translate!¡± She only rolls her eyes. ¡°Don''t worry. She has known you long enough to know that something went wrong up there and that you don''t mean it as it sounds.¡± She points at her head. Now, that''s just insulting. I may be the smartest person on this planet. ¡°To think that being a god is so problematic. One would think that people who are that powerful would be a little more reasonable.¡± Katrine shakes her head in dismay while playing nervously with a strand of hair. ¡°Well Seria will fight Tjenemit on this world and that will most likely cause serious destruction,¡± I sum it up. ¡°What scale are we talking about?¡± Arthur asks. ¡°When Angrod and I got personal, we wrecked a world. No point in hiding anywhere,¡± Celes grumbles. ¡°Seria and Tjenemit are at least as strong as we were back then.¡± ¡°I can''t be certain, but I don''t think that Seria would risk letting Tjenemit in if she thought that the destruction would be too outrageous. It would make the effort of creating this world pointless. Nonetheless, I still consider evacuating as much of the northern region as we can. And we should keep trying our best to stop Tjenemit from being summoned in the first place.¡± ¡°We should evacuate the north... just how many people are living there?¡± Ireth whispers to herself. ¡°It isn''t too bad.¡± I shrug. Our enemies already did a great job at thinning out the population. Then there is the siege-zone around the City of Light and the little fact that not many of the rebellion''s refugees settled back into their previous homes after the rebellion. I am sure that it''s a manageable affair. ¡°Maybe we can stop the summoning?¡± Katrine asks hopefully. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Maybe, but Seria was pretty sure that I wouldn''t manage it. According to my latest estimation, we still have a few years to put our stuff in order.¡± I straighten my suit. ¡°How long exactly?¡± Ireth asks. ¡°At least three years if I interpret the newest readings correctly. In five years the summoning should be done for sure. It''s hard to tell without any data directly from the source.¡± ¡°So we will have three to five years. At least that''s enough time to prepare,¡± Arthur talks to himself. ¡°I will have my project finished in three years,¡± I inform them. ¡°It will be a close call, but in three years we will have a weapon which is able to break the shield. It would be nice if you could plan an offensive assault for that time, Arthur.¡± ¡°Hoh, breaking the shield? Would you explain how?¡± Nicosar chuckles nervously, knowing very well that I am prone to drastic solutions. ¡°I would rather not risk revealing anything outside my innermost sanctum. I have it sealed up inside my facility and all my employees took a magical oath to keep the secret. It''s not that I don''t trust you, but it''s better if everything is uncovered at the last moment, lest there might be a chance for our enemies to take countermeasures. The Meltheims have already proven that they are capable of setting up disturbances for us and their city-shield and this empowering technique show that they aren''t entirely without imagination.¡± I jump out of my throne. ¡°If you want to make it a surprise that badly, then I hope it will be a really good surprise.¡± Arthur pats me on my shoulder, showing that he expects me to come up with a solution. ¡°Don''t worry. I think it will be quite a show.¡± I grin at Arthur. ¡°I will go now and read a good book, I have found a pretty smart author.¡± ¡°No, you can''t! You need to come with me.¡± Celes suddenly grabs my arm and pulls me towards the exit. ¡°What, where are we going?¡± I ask. ¡°Surprise!¡± Celes leads me outside the palace, where Rose is waiting with the car. The maid bows when we arrive and opens the door to the vehicle. ¡°Get right in!¡± We get in and Rose settles in the driver''s seat. I try to find out where we are going, but no matter how often I ask, she won''t answer my questions until I finally decide to change the topic. ¡°That reminds me... did you take care of the mess I made?¡± Rose tenses up. ¡°Which mess?¡± ¡°The undead uncle kind?¡± I clarify. The maid sighs in relief. ¡°Oh, no. Ghost did that.¡± ¡°Ghost?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Rose grumbles in disgust. ¡°Didn''t you notice his new toy?¡± Celes asks. ¡°It took us a while to take the rest away from him, but he simply refused to let go of that particular piece.¡± I blink and purse my lips. ¡°I honestly didn''t see much of Ghost while I was recuperating. Could you mean that bone he is carrying around? It looked like a human thigh-bone, but I wasn''t certain.¡± ¡°Yeah... let''s just leave it at that.¡± Celes shudders. ¡°You likely know how hard it is to take away a cat''s toy.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I don''t know what to say. I am kind of relieved that my familiar stopped the zombie... but I am also a little disturbed. ¡°How did he manage to get the bone so clean? I wasn''t out for that long.¡± Rose shudders. ¡°He licked!¡± I bite my lower lip and consider this. Ordinary licking wouldn''t be enough to clean a bone from any residues of meat, but Razorclaws can transform their fur. Could it be that the transformation isn''t restricted to the fur? I shudder at the thought of a tongue with countless tiny needles, scraping away the flesh. Minutes later, we stop on the Cygnus property and I am led inside. After a few corners, we arrive at a big room where a few familiar faces shoot confetti at me. The whole room is styled for a party. ¡°Congratulations on becoming king!¡± Celes hands me a box of chocolate and I immediately feel giddy at receiving such a thoughtful gift. All of our friends are there to congratulate me. ¡°Oohhohoho... I could make a habit out of becoming king.¡± The Cygnus siblings, Tanja, Gabriel, Iris, Sven, and Sandra congratulate me in turn, adding their own gifts of brown sweetness. Everyone from our circle is present. ¡°They all wanted to get on your good side after they saw the coronation,¡± Celes whispers to me. ¡°Hey, hey, Angrod, can you teach me that soul-thing of yours. I have to learn it! You can still interrogate the bastard after you killed him! Can you? I have to learn that!¡± Tanja looks at me with sparkling eyes. ¡°Maybe I will teach you the training basics during class, but it takes a lot of time to master it,¡± I answer. ¡°Really? Yay! You know, I always hated that torture stuff to get information! All the blood and body parts, it''s too dirty in my opinion. If I could learn that, everything would be much cleaner!¡± Tanja nods to herself while talking aloud. I take a good long look at her. ¡°At some point, you have to tell me the story of how your parents brought you up,¡± I mumble. With the congratulations out of the way, I dig into my presents while I have small-talk with the others. It''s nice that my coronation didn''t change that much in our relationship. At least I hope that''s the case. That is... until Iris suddenly decides to burst the bubble by kneeling down and grovelling in front of me. ¡°I know, it''s not my place to ask, but please release my father!¡± Chapter 34 ***Midhold, Cygnus Main House*** ***Celes*** ¡°I know, it''s not my place to ask, but please release my father!¡± Angrod looks a little lost for words, then turns to me for clarification. ¡°We have her father?¡± I cover my eyes, baffled how it is possible for him to not know this. ¡°He was among the people who attacked us at the coronation. From what I surmised, he was the one who gave Tongord his orders. How is it possible for you to not know this?¡± He clears his throat, looking chagrined. ¡°Ahem... I... never asked their names.¡± Tanja coughs, affronted at the obvious slip-up as a spy herself. ¡°How could you not know their names? Didn''t you have their souls for three whole days? That''s more than enough to hold a proper interrogation.¡± ¡°Why would I care about their names?¡± Angrod rolls his eyes. ¡°What''s important are hard facts which I can use against them. Name-tags which were assigned according to their heritage were the least important point on my list. If they don''t have knowledge that helps us get into the City of Light, or to stop the ritual, it doesn''t concern me.¡± Iris starts tearing up. ¡°Can I have at least the body for a proper burial? I know that he was a bastard and that I should be glad that you aren''t judging me together with the rest of my family, but I still need that closure.¡± Stephen steps up to hold his girlfriend''s hand. ¡°I am sure that we can hold the proper rites.¡± I sigh and look at Angrod until he makes eye-contact. Waiting, I raise an eyebrow and retrieve the soul-trap from my pocket, showing it to him. He finally catches on and shakes his head quickly. ¡°What if anyone else finds out? I don''t want to be crowded by countless beggars!¡± ¡°It''s not like you didn''t already demonstrate your dubious skills.¡± I offer him the orb, leaning closer to whisper, ¡°Aren''t Iris and Stephen your friends too?¡± ¡°More like pets, to be honest. Which doesn''t change the fact that the man is a traitor to the crown.¡± Angrod crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Who thought that his daughter is in the hands of the Meltheims,¡± I clarify. ¡°I listened in on the interrogation, and had you not ignored their pleas, you would have at least learned their reasons. I think you can give at least some leniency in his case.¡± ¡°Still.¡± Angrod looks reluctant. ¡°It''s not like I am asking you to forgive and forget. Just give him a different kind of punishment, or have you forgotten your Mirai necromancy completely?¡± I point out. Normally, I would never condone of such distasteful magic, but I was the one who killed Iris''s father. In hindsight, I feel a little guilty about it. His attitude got me a little too enraged during the interrogation. Sadly, the fact that he was under duress was only revealed after the fact, when Angrod had already stuffed him into his soul-trap. My impression of Iris also changed over the years. The Iris I met in our first school year was a heavily influenced and lonely child, following her parents'' commands just as any impressionable child would. That incidentally made her my enemy, even though it wasn''t her own fault. Almost a decade later, the Iris who was adopted by the Cygnus family is a vastly different person. Someone I can call a friend and who I would trust any time with sensitive information, unlike the rest of her family. Margerie slips closer. ¡°What are the two of you talking about? Are we going to witness another revelation of previously unknown magic?¡± Her eyes sparkle expectantly. It tells a tale that our friends aren''t surprised or frightened to experience the impossible in our presence. Angrod looks around, searching the confused eyes of our group. Then he lets out a deep sigh. ¡°Fine. Let''s pay a visit to the morgue. I could have imagined better places to be right now, but the sooner we get this done the better. The body doesn''t get any fresher.¡± I pull out a perfect imitation of a smartphone, supplied directly from Angrod''s laboratories. He was kind enough to supply the whole family with such convenient devices. A minute later, our parents are informed and we are on our way to the least likely destination to celebrate Angrod''s coronation, and that they should take care of some administrative issues. ¡ª¡ª¡ª The morgue turns out to be half an hour away from the Cygnus property. Gaining access to Tulhelm''s corpse also wasn''t a problem, thanks to our status. The storage room with all the bodies from the coronation is large and magically cooled. The authorities clearly decided that having those corpses all in one location might turn out to be beneficial for reasons only they can understand. I find it just morbid to line up bodies in neat rows on cots, putting only a white cloth over them in order to cover the sight. ¡°Row three, cot fourteen... twelve... thirteen... there we are!¡± Angrod reaches the body and pulls the cloth away, revealing the upper body of a naked, pale man with a pointed beard. Despite his advanced age, Tulhelm kept himself in perfect shape right up until his demise. Only a trickle of conglomerated blood coming from the ears and the nose hints at the cause of death. ¡°Uuh! This is actually nice material to work with.¡± Angrod pokes the body with his fingers excitedly, testing the state of the flesh. ¡°No visible trauma damage. No dismemberment or open wounds. This is prime material.¡± He gestures behind himself. ¡°Iris, come here.¡± Our friend just gapes at the dead body, as if she didn''t truly believe in her father''s death up until now. Seeing that she is in shock, I push her forward while holding her hand. That snaps Iris out of her stupor. ¡°What!? What are you going to do to him?¡± ¡°I already told you in the car that it''s a surrrprrrise.¡± Angrod clicks his tongue after skilfully rolling the r''s in the last word. He grabs Iris''s hand and places it on her father''s forehead, then gestures for me to hand him the soul-trap. After receiving the item, he places it on the corpse''s chest and closes his eyes, concentrating. For several long minutes, nothing happens and our friends start getting bored. Tanja starts chatting about irrelevant things with Sandra and Sven tries to entertain himself with Stephen, but Iris''s boyfriend isn''t really into it. He is clearly more concerned about his girlfriend''s well-being. Then the corpse twitches once and everyone goes silent. Angrod takes the soul-trap away from Lord Tulhelm''s chest and I quickly claim it before he can pocket it away for his own nefarious purposes. Luckily, he doesn''t have a chance to complain, because that''s when Lord Tulhelm opens his eyes and gasps in a breath of air, startling his daughter and all the others. ¡°Dad!?¡± Iris tears up. ¡°By Seria''s dangling udders!¡± Sandra curses, performing a crossed hand-sign to invoke the protection of the goddess. Tulhelm blinks, looking around in obvious bewilderment until his eyes settle on Angrod. My fianc¨¦ grins.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Recognizing his tormentor, the naked man screams like a stabbed pig, startling most of the people present. ¡°Silence!¡± Angrod commands and Tulhelm shuts up immediately. Seeing the revived man''s reaction, a little bit of worry sneaks itself into my feelings. I just hope that Angrod didn''t screw up Tulhem''s mind too much. Normally, a soul should be nothing more than memories without a body to support a consciousness. Much like a data-disc is inert without the rest of the computer. The fact that Angrod managed to emulate a whole bunch of our enemies'' souls within his soul-trap while retaining their previous personalities points at some serious dabbling in the dark arts. Communicating with a pure soul shouldn''t be possible according to my limited understanding. Angrod gestures for Iris to go on. ¡°May I present to you, your loyal servant.¡± ¡°M- m- m- my what!?¡± Iris looks at Angrod, then back at her father. ¡°Your servant.¡± Angrod indicates Tulhelm with a dismissing wave of his hand. ¡°I see this as the perfect punishment. You begged to get the disloyal scumbag back, so I thought that while he has to be punished for his deeds, he may as well make it up to you. He has to follow every command you or I give him.¡± ¡°E- everything?¡± Iris pulls down her puffy wolf-ears, looking insecure. ¡°Why isn''t he talking?¡± ¡°Oh, I just ordered him to shut up. You can undo the command, but you will have to keep track of what you order him to do. If you tell him to go to the end of the world, he would quite literally try to do just that,¡± Angrod explains patiently. ¡°It''s a part of his punishment.¡± Iris returns her attention to her father. ¡°Dad, you can talk.¡± ¡°What''s going on here!?¡± Tulhelm barks, trying to cover himself with the white cloth. ¡°What did you do to me!?¡± Angrod wriggles his fingers, looking creepy. ¡°Just a little necromancy. I don''t know why, but your daughter has some unresolved business with you. Count yourself lucky that I was in the mood to humour her.¡± Looking angry, Tulhelm turns his full ire on Angrod, thrusting out a hand. When nothing happens, he tries again without result. ¡°You imbecile! What did you do to my magic!?¡± ¡°Ah...¡± Angrod somehow manages to sound sorry. ¡°I am afraid that I didn''t bother with that. You are just a normal corpse. Restoring your nerve-system and the magical pathways to the point of allowing you to wield magic would have been more trouble than you are worth. ¡°We already called someone to forge a new identity for you, since I don''t want it to become public knowledge that I can resurrect people under certain circumstances. You are just one of Iris''s retainers from now on. It''s up to her to decide what to do with you.¡± Tulhelm turns his icy gaze to his daughter. ¡°Iris! Are you the real one!? Or the double!? No. My daughter would never cooperate with the enemy! You must be-¡± ¡°Shut up, Dad!¡± Iris presses her lips into a thin line, then blurts out a rather unfortunate command to test her authority. ¡°Do a handstand!¡± Tulhelm rolls over backwards like an athlete, then performs a perfect handstand on top of his cot. The sheet falls away, revealing him in all his pale, naked glory. Sandra whistles. ¡°What a hunk. I could almost be turned to necrophilia at such a glorious sight.¡± I also can''t help but stare. Was the old man always that well endowed, or did Angrod play a trick on him? Maybe he enlarged his organ to fuck with the man''s dysfunction in his undead state? Although, why am I assuming that it''s dysfunctional? ¡°Dad! Cover yourself!¡± Iris quickly corrects her mistake, embarrassed at her oversight, then turns to us. ¡°Could you excuse me? I... I have to talk about a lot of things with... that man.¡± Seeing no point in watching the drama unfold, we leave Iris to allow her to work out her family issues in privacy. ¡ª¡ª¡ª We return to the mansion where we spend a few more hours in the mansion''s main hall, celebrating for real this time around. That is... until Tanja adds a delicious sparkling wine to the mix and alcohol comes into play. ¡°Every weekend Celes drags me off to some event,¡± Angrod announces his troubles, his tongue loosened by the intoxication. ¡°She always chooses loud places with many people. Which I hate. You can''t talk to each other properly when there is music booming in the background!¡± He frowns. ¡°Maybe I should try to go on the offensive? It would surely surprise her if I took her out on a date by myself.¡± ¡°Heey... I am right here, you know.¡± I poke his cheek, trying to draw his attention away from his manly discussion with Sven. He ignores me. ¡°If I did something like that, it would surely catch her off guard and maybe I can find a weakness. But where should I bring her to? Hmmmm...¡± ¡°I would like that.¡± I pull at his arm, feeling bubbly because of Tanja''s wine. ¡°Take me on a date.¡± Okay, we may all be a little drunk. But I am in perfect command of my faculties! Yes. Searching through my pockets, I pull out the list with my ''achievements of love''. ¡°The last point on this is for you to become proactive and plan an outing on your own.¡± He finally takes note of me. ¡°Ah, the perverted list. Have you added another naughty point?¡± I hug it to my chest. ¡°It''s not perverted! It''s a guide to a decent life!¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± He looks around the room, seeing that most of the others are out for the count. Tanja and Sandra are lying on the carpet, hugging each other and snoring. Stephen fled the scene, while his sister is trying hard to come up with a formula to predict the spawning of bubbles inside her sparkling wine. Sven, is propped up on a chair next to Angrod, snoring. Now that I think about it, it doesn''t make much sense for Angrod to have a discussion with a sleeping Sven, does it? Phew! I must have had one bottle too many that I didn''t notice this earlier. ¡°Aw, Sven needs to learn to hold his liquor.¡± Angrod gets to his feet and approaches the nearby table, laden with drinks and snacks. He tosses away the empty bottles and glasses, then uses the large table cloth as a sack. I chuckle. ¡°What the heck are you doing?¡± ¡°Relocating the party!¡± Turning, he stumbles but catches himself. Then he comes over and holds out a hand. ¡°My lady.¡± ¡°You are drunk.¡± I laugh, but take his hand anyway. It seems like Angrod is having one of his rare, generous moments. Pulling me to my feet, he steps to my side and links arms with me. ¡°Care to join me?¡± ¡°Just do it already.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°What are you planning?¡± ¡°Then let''s go.¡± Our surroundings distort and are replaced by a wide, grassy plateau. A valley stretches out in front of us and at the bottom is a forest with a lake. The sun is settling between the twin-peaks of a mountain, colouring the sky red and the whole valley in a mystical, orange light. ¡°Huh? Did you just teleport us?¡± I gape at the scene. ¡°This is the valley where we had our dungeon dive.¡± ¡°Yes, I wanted to watch the setting sun with you.¡± Kneeling down, he spreads the table cloth on the grass, turning it and the snacks into an improvised picnic. Feeling giddy at the idea, I plop down next to him. He sits down on the blanket and starts munching on a crispy slice of bread with cheese and salami. ¡°It took me a few days to clean this mountain valley of all the monsters, so we could have a nice evening here. It''s really cool when the sun sets and the whole sky is painted in red. Why are you feeling my forehead?¡± He pushes my hand away. ¡°I just wanted to make sure that you don''t have a fever in addition to your drunkenness.¡± I lean into him. ¡°So if I understand it correctly, you actually prepared for this trip?¡± ¡°Huh, why not? You were planning all the others. And you always bring us to noisy places with many people. So I thought I would take you somewhere quiet for once. Otherwise, talking would be just a huge pain,¡± He huffs. ¡°Besides, I am thinking of building a house next to the lake. It would be the perfect spot for a vacation away from all the trouble.¡± Huh? He wants to talk to me? The other places were too noisy? So he didn''t like the dates which I organized. ¡°I am sorry. I didn''t know that you don''t like crowded areas.¡± ¡°Here, this stuff is really good, you have to try it.¡± He holds a piece of dried meat to my face and I open my mouth so that he can feed it to me. ¡°It''s good,¡± I comment. ¡°We should tell Rose to add it to our supplies at the embassy. And that house of yours sounds like a really good idea. Though, it should be made out of wood to fit into the landscape.¡± For a while we stay silent, just sitting together and eating the wonderful food while we sober up a little bit. I bet tomorrow we will both have a huge hangover. ¡°I chose this place because we will have a nice sunset soon,¡± he continues to explain. Then it hits me what he just did! Damn the alcohol. I am so slow when I am drunk. ¡°W- wait! Did you really teleport us over three hundred kilometres? The valley isn''t exactly close to the capital! How far can you teleport with two people?¡± It''s incredibly hard to teleport even short distances alone and he just took me with him like nothing! I am shocked. ¡°Huh? It''s not that hard, really. Everyone says that teleportation is an incredibly complex and dangerous field, but it''s not that hard to master if you have almost limitless mana as a god. I trained long-range teleportation even before I became a god and afterwards I continued. I didn''t exactly trust the pathways.¡± He shrugs. ¡°They are too convenient. Many gods rely too much on them, without even knowing if they will always be there. Teleportation is a handy skill because many worlds don''t have a good transportation system.¡± ¡°Here, I have another present for you.¡± He grabs a small box and gives it to me. I open it and there are two nice silver earrings inside. Their style matches the ring which he gave me to assist in casting a few basic spells. ¡°They are a set with your ring. The ring could only hold a few selected spells on its own. Those earrings supply additional memory, so to speak. You can save three times as many spells now. If you don''t copy any overly complicated spells it should be enough for thirty smaller spells. And you can activate the spells with a thought now. It will take some time to learn, but I am sure you can handle it,¡± he explains, clearly proud of his creation. I blush. Somehow my face feels hot. He really did something while thinking solely about me! He wouldn''t develop something like the earrings otherwise. He has no use for them. I smile and hug him. ¡°That''s such a nice present.¡± He stiffens. ¡°It''s okay. It wasn''t much trouble.¡± Oh, he is so cute! Maybe I should? Using the moment, I give him a wet kiss. He falls backwards and I sit on top of him, whispering, ¡°Today is a really good day. You made me really happy with that present and I found out that you can teleport me anywhere I want to go. That increases the amount of possible dating places by leaps and bounds!¡± Angrod groans. ¡°Why does it feel like revealing my teleportation range was a huge mistake?¡± Smiling, I start grinding my hips against him, making sure that he gets the idea. ¡°It means that we wouldn¡¯t have had to be so careful at home. We could have just stepped out to have a little shag in the hay. Haven¡¯t you felt a little pent up since the waterfall? It¡¯s been a while since you got yourself injured, you oaf.¡± Leaning in, I kiss his neck and curl my body around him. Finally, he grabs my ass and forces me against him, rolling us over so that he is on top. ¡°I actually like the idea.¡± Chapter 35 ***Midhold, The Morgue*** ***Lord Tulhelm*** ¡°You may speak again, Father,¡± Iris orders with a little more than disdain in her voice which I can''t help to notice. She is so different from what I remember, a rather bad imitation of the meek and obedient daughter who I groomed to become our House''s figurehead so that I could step back and guide things from behind the stage. Immediately after the command is given, some part of my being relaxes. My jaw loosens, and my body is finally back under my control. Unable to suffer this humiliation any longer, I get to my feet, wrapping the white cloth around my privates. ¡°Who do you think you are!?¡± ¡°Your daughter?¡± Iris huffs. ¡°Do you still think that I am a doppelganger? Because that would make absolutely no sense. Why would the crown have any interest in playing games with you? I bet you already told Celes and Angrod everything they wanted to know. I doubt that they hesitated to do anything imaginable to get the information they wanted.¡± I shudder, remembering myself waking up in a white room. The princess and the prince were there¡­ and then Celes started asking questions. At first, I refused to answer, but then she started breaking bones. I never knew that there are so many bones inside a human body, nor that they could be broken one by one... or split! Split bones are definitely worse than broken ones. Just remembering it sends a cold shiver down my spine. Every time she wasn''t satisfied with an answer, she had a new method at hand to cause me pain. In the end, I was sure that death would be salvation and so I prayed that it would end. Only to be proven wrong. When I cursed at her, she got a little overexcited and I got my wish when she broke my neck. I just didn''t take into account that the damned prince somehow got hold of long-forgotten arts. How could anyone have known that he is a necromancer! Death is¡­ definitely, the worst thing that can happen. Iris frowns, noticing my inattentiveness. Stepping forward, she waves a hand in front of my face. ¡°Is there something wrong? You look a little paler than a corpse should be.¡± ¡°Of course! Everything is wrong!¡± I wave my hands in an attempt to shoo the horrible memories away. ¡°We thought that the Meltheims had you! But the truth is worse! All the time you were sitting here in the capital, living on the crown¡¯s purse. You are actually collaborating with them!¡± Iris¡¯s expression changes from cool detachment to furious rage in the blink of an eye and she hits the metal cot which I am standing next to. Her fist dents the metal, sinking in deep enough that she has to work to pull it out. That shuts me up. What is this power? Iris was always a strong fighter. We groomed her to take over the House once she got old enough, but this is beyond what I expect a teenager of her ability to be capable of. She didn''t even activate her combat aura and casually dented metal, a skill I have only seen from one other person. Did Iris receive tutelage from the princess? ¡°I am sorry that I was left here in the capital as the daughter of traitors!¡± she spits out with self-loathing in her voice. ¡°I am sorry that the royal family saw to it that I have a roof over my head! I have wondered ever since I became old enough to actually think about politics, but how stupid are you!?¡± she shouts, letting her emotions run rampant. ¡°I-¡± ¡°No! You listen to me!¡± I want to assert my authority, but my jaw locks up and all I can do I to sit there and listen to her tirade. ¡°If you had ever actually thought about the family¡¯s future, instead of personal power, you would have taken Mom and me and brought us out of harm¡¯s way! That reminds me, where is she?¡± ¡°The City of Light. As a hostage. I assume they will sacrifice her now that the message of my death got out,¡± I press out between clenched teeth. ¡°You have to get me back to the City of Light. You can come with me. We will be safe behind the barriers of the city.¡± ¡°Oh, that''s just great! So you left her behind to rot with the other traitors while you tried to start your rebellion! You stupid fuck should have realized long ago that Angrod and Celes aren''t just a mere prince and a princess. They more or less wiped the floor with you at the coronation, and yet you still fail to stop your grand schemes!¡± I feel my pupils dilate as Iris screams at me, venting almost a decade of frustration. ¡°Do you really think I would be stupid enough to go against the crown after what I''ve seen them do!? They are far beyond anything you can offer. Not to mention that they are my friends!¡± Thankfully, she is distracted by a beeping noise from within her skirt. She pulls out a small, rectangle-shaped artefact and looks at it. Her furious expression is wiped from her face, her attitude changing by one hundred and eighty degrees. Smiling, she raises the artefact to her ear and answers with a voice as sweet as honey, ¡°Yes, dear? ... No. I am as fine as the circumstances allow ... Though you could come and get me as soon as I''ve established the rules. That would be nice ... Hmm, give me about two hours...¡± She looks me up and down and changes her mind. ¡°Or, you know what, make it three. My dad isn''t exactly the smartest cookie when it comes to survival, as his current state proves without a doubt. I will need some time to change his attitude. Maybe I''ll club him over the head and beg Angrod to revive him a second time ... I love you too, kisses.¡± As soon as the call ends, that sweet, nice version of Iris is gone. She returns the artefact to her pocket and glares at me. ¡°This might take some time.¡± All I can do is to search the room with my eyes, hoping to find a way out. But her command to listen is still in effect, already forgotten or deliberately left in place. I suddenly realize that my suffering hasn''t ended yet and that I am quite literally a slave to my daughter''s whims. All the torture, all the pain I endured was just a precursor to what is to come. Angrod never specified that this life of servitude has any time restrictions. How many weeks until Iris is satisfied and deems the scale between us as balanced? Or may it take decades? Centuries? As I consider this, a slight glimmer of utter fear and desperation steals itself into my very soul. After being revived, pulled back from the abyss and animated with dark arts which I can''t even begin to fathom... is this body even capable of dying? ***Valley, Royal*** ***Angrod*** Graduation! No more school! A month after taking the finals I can finally press the certificate which grants me social freedom to my chest. Well... unless I decide to go to university too, but I already decided to take the necessary exams while ditching the courses themselves. There must be an advantage to being the king, and I intend to abuse them for once. Taking the tests shouldn''t be a problem thanks to my experience. I just have to do a little catching up, making sure that I don''t blow their minds with otherworldly knowledge. I have a few lifetimes of experience on my shoulders and currently, there are better things to do than sitting in classes. According to the occasion, Celes and I decided to throw another huge party. We invited everyone to our newly built house in the mountain valley. It isn''t completely finished, but the workers I employed did a great job in what little time they had. They cleared out a large area next to the lake and started construction on a large, two storey blockhouse. An electrical fence and some defence drones which are patrolling above the property are already deployed to keep out potentially dangerous wildlife. Lying in the grass, I rest and watch the proceedings. Teleporting so many people in short order was a little straining. Rose and a few other maids are taking care of the food while the others are having fun. From our parents'' side, just Ireth and Katrine came. Nicosar and Arthur stayed in the palace to keep an eye on everything. Our mothers are talking with the teachers who got an invitation to our graduation party. I originally didn''t want to invite them, but my mother said it would be a good chance for her to groom her social connections. Celes, Tanja, Gabriel, and Sandra are playing volleyball, while Iris and Stephen seem to be in their own world on a bench. They surely hit it off right from the start. I never would have thought it would turn out like that between the two of them. Behind them, Lord Tulhelm is waiting with a serving tray in his hands, various drinks at the ready. It must be infuriating to have his daughter rub her relationship with Stephen right in his face. Margerie is fiddling with her newest drone while sitting on the veranda of the half-finished house. ¡°You found a nice place,¡± Sven tells me from behind. ¡°Yeah. It reminds me of a really nice time,¡± I answer him, suddenly realising that I wasn''t this happy in a long time. If it wasn''t for the traitorous Meltheims and this whole god-business hanging over my head, things would be perfect. I have friends, family, and my relationship with Celes actually seems to work out fine! Unbelievable as that might sound. Had anyone told me that while I was still a god, I would have taken off to the Realm of Chaos and never returned. ¡°It''s interesting that our lives can seem so nice and normal while we are at war,¡± Sven mumbles, lost in thought. ¡°I don''t think that you can really call it a war. The traitors are hiding behind their shield while we are constantly bombarding them with everything we have. There was no real battle to speak of, barring their attack on the coronation ceremony.¡± I sit up and store my certificate away in a folder, making sure that it''s well protected. ¡°We are officially in a state of war,¡± Sven reminds me, referring to what the media is spouting on the news channels. ¡°It is not legally possible to mobilize the army otherwise. The laws are ironclad in that regard,¡± I explain. It''s annoying, but it has to at least look like I am paying lip-service to the kingdom''s charter, a document which is supposed to serve as a restraint for the royal family. It''s supposed to stop us from turning into tyrants. That is until I find a way to get rid of it. ¡°Hmmm... It''s still hard on the nerves to have it always on your mind.¡± Sven watches the girls while he talks, his eyes following every move of the eye-candy. ¡°But I guess you can distract yourself soon with a pretty queen. The marriage will be next week? The whole world is already talking about it! Will you pop the cherry on the first night?¡± He grins at me. Should I tell him that the cherry already popped? Several times in fact. Whenever Celes and I get a chance to sneak away. But I don''t want to play such a childish game of bragging. The man who boasts will end up worse for it. If he really wants to discuss relationships, he made a poor choice. I may be a little dense regarding matters of love, but I have much more experience than him! I throw my hands up in the air. ¡°What happened to the cute and shy boy who I first met at my introduction party? I don''t recognize you anymore.¡± ¡°Th- That was years ago! I worked on my character since then.¡± He nods to himself, standing a little straighter. I get to my feet. ¡°But you still haven''t told Tanja about your feelings.¡± ¡°W- What are you talking about? Tanja is my cherished childhood friend,¡± he stutters, unable to hide that I hit a nerve. ¡°Are you sure? I noticed that you always look at her when you think that she doesn''t realize it.¡± I smirk at him. ¡°You are using every chance you get to check her out.¡± ¡°I don''t do that!¡± He turns red like a tomato. ¡°Don''t worry about it, it''s nothing bad to like older girls. But you should make sure to tell her about your feelings. Women feel it when you look at them. If you don''t tell her your feelings, she will just think you became a creepy, lecherous guy,¡± I explain, trying to sound reasonable. I just turned around the spear of a question which he stabbed at me and now it is his turn to evade.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. His jaw drops and he looks towards Tanja. ¡°If you want, I can help you. I will set up a situation with you and her alone,¡± I offer him. Just wait, I can be a horrible guy. Mwahaha. You will have the time of your life. Never accept my help without second thoughts. Though, I bet he will duck his way out of the situation. ¡°Huh? You would do that?¡± he asks hopefully. Wait? What!? He is really going to accept!? I honestly didn''t expect him to. I smile at him and he puts on a wary expression. Seems like I put on that face again? I always have to remind myself not to show my teeth. People get wary when I do that. ¡°Don''t worry! I will take care of it, but the rest is up to you.¡± I put my hands on his shoulders. ¡°W- when will we start? I have to prepare myself!¡± He starts fidgeting. I take a look at Tanja who is sitting on a bench and is waiting for the next game of volleyball to start. ¡°Hmmm... How? About? Now!¡± I teleport both of us up to the hills above my woodhouse. His eyes become round and he looks left and right to get the situation. I teleport again before he can collect himself and appear right next to Tanja who didn''t move. She jumps a little at my sudden appearance. ¡°I need you for a second, care to join me?¡± I put a hand on her shoulder and teleport again. We appear right at Sven''s position. The poor guy is still trying to get what''s going on. ¡°Have a nice time you two. The house is about half an hour away. Walk in that direction.¡± I point down the hill and smile at them. ¡°If you walk at a normal pace you should be back soon. Bye!¡± Before they can say something, I teleport again and reappear on Tanja''s bench with a satisfied expression. ¡°Why did you just abduct Tanja?¡± Sandra asks me. Thanks to abducting their replacement player, I got Celes''s and Sandra''s full attention. ¡°I was asked by a lesser being to help him on an epic quest of love! In my generosity, I decided to help. They should be back in half an hour, I just teleported them up the hill to be alone,¡± I explain. They look around and realizes that Sven is missing too. ¡°No way! He wouldn''t?¡± Sandra smirks at me. ¡°It''s high time for him to confess.¡± Celes smacks her head. ¡°That''s why he always looked at her like a perverted old man! I already thought he turned into even more of a creep than he already was when we were kids.¡± ¡°Now, that''s harsh,¡± I comment. ¡°He was just shy.¡± ¡°I never would have thought that he would go for older ones, how bold!¡± Sandra bites her lower lip and strokes one of her bunny ears. They look so smooth. Somehow, I want to touch them, but I know that wouldn''t go over well with Celes. Then Sandra pouts. ¡°If I knew that he is into older girls, I would have eaten him up. I like the cute and silent type. Hopefully, he gets turned down. Then I can console him and reap the fruits of love. Mmmmhhhh.¡± Celes and I look at Sandra who just blurted out a pretty dangerous line. I would have never taken her to be that type of woman. Granted, I try my best to keep my distance. The last thing I need is a romance drama. In my previous life, I lived pretty unattached and had fun with several different women. I didn''t ''love'' them, but some of them had a place in my heart. There is still a pang of pain in my heart when I remember one of my most important minions: Willow. But such are the woes of immortality. People appear in your life, and people leave it. Like wood drifting closer and farther away on the ocean. There is nothing to be done about people''s hearts. Well... theoretically, I could use mind-magic to just bend anyone to my whims, but doing that always feels wrong. It''s why I deploy those skills only to punish people who disgust me. ¡°If you like younger ones, then how about me. I would be happy to end your loneliness.¡± Gabriel kneels before Sandra and smiles at her. As a relative of Teacher Samarin and a long-term acquaintance of ours he also got an invitation, even if he wasn''t around for all of our adventures. Gabriel... is that kind of guy who sticks around as the friend of your friend, but isn''t really your ''friend''. Anyway. The others thought he is okay, so I am also fine with it. Sandra looks down her nose on him like she is considering it. ¡°No. Sorry, but you are neither cute nor shy. So no fun there. I don''t like red ones either, so you will have to search somewhere else! You are simply not my type.¡± Gabriel mimics getting stabbed in the heart. He lets himself fall down on the ground and moves no more. ¡°To be rejected because of the colour of my skin. I curse my heritage.¡± Sandra looks a little stricken, realizing that she gave only superficial reasoning for her preferences in a partner. ¡°But if you like, I guess I could introduce you to one of my seven little sisters. You are a decent fellow after all.¡± ¡°Seven!?¡± Gabriel jumps to his feet. ¡°I am at your service! Of course, I would cherish all of them.¡± ¡°I don''t think that she meant you can have all of them. And I doubt that you could handle them.¡± Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°I met them only once when I visited Sandra at home, and I can tell you that they are hellions.¡± ¡°You would be dead in no time,¡± Sandra affirms. ¡°I''ll ask the youngest. Britta is a little meeker than the others.¡± ¡°I will try my best!¡± Gabriel bows to Sandra as if she is his martial arts master. I am also taken aback. Who would have thought that Sandra has seven little sisters? She never talked about it. What about brothers? And why does she think that the youngest would fit Gabriel? He is no younger than us, and Sandra has at most two years on him. ¡°How old are her sisters?¡± I ask Celes. ¡°Oh, no older than us. They range from eighteen to maybe... twenty-three... I guess?¡± She looks at Sandra who nods in the affirmative. Her parents must be pumping them out like on an assembly line! That''s eight kids within five or six years. Does Sandra''s mother birth twins and triplets by default? They don''t just look like rabbit-kin, they are rabbits! ¡°Anyway, you have to play now Angrod! You abducted our fourth player,¡± Celes informs me. ¡°I will play with my queen then!¡± Before anyone can vocalize a reply, I sprint onto Celes''s side of the field. ¡°Hoh, where does that enthusiasm come from?¡± she asks me. I smile and point at the other side of the playing field, where my woman''s opponents fought for their lives during the last match. The whole field is packed with little dents, imprints which have just the right size and shape of volleyballs. Playing against Celes isn''t a game of hitting the ball back to her side of the playing field. It''s a game of evasion with the goal to live another day. ¡°Hmmmmm. You are no fun!¡± After Celes''s exclamation, we start playing. I have the honour to watch while Sandra and Gabriel fight for their lives. Celes is too strong. Every ball she hits just disappears, followed by a rising cloud of dust inside the enemy''s field. An hour later, Rose calls us for dinner and we stop the survival training. ¡°Didn''t you say that you teleported them just a short distance? They should be back already,¡± Gabriel asks me, searching the line of trees at the edge of the property. ¡°I don''t know,¡± I admit. I didn''t exactly track them with my drones. ¡°They could see the house. It''s impossible to get lost.¡± ¡°Maybe Sven had a full success and he and Tanja are lying beneath some bushes.¡± Sandra stomps her foot, clearly annoyed at the development. Sighing, I close my eyes and stretch out my senses. ¡°They are about ten minutes from here, I can feel their presence.¡± ¡°Muuuuh... She must have eaten him on the spot.¡± Celes puffs her cheeks. Gabriel looks like he is dreaming about himself ending up in such a situation. ¡°Hmmm. We could go and check?¡± I ask and smirk at them. ¡°No!¡± Celes calls out. ¡°I am in.¡± Gabriel raises his hand. Sandra grabs my hand. ¡°Teleport now!¡± I put my hand on Gabriel''s shoulder while Celes jumps onto my back to stop me, hooking her lithe thighs around my waist. ¡°You can''t just disturb-¡± But I teleport all four of us before she can finish. We reappear at the foot of the hill. In front of us is Tanja, who is being carried piggyback by Sven. ¡°Ohoho. They did it so much that she can''t walk!¡± I jest and Celes knuckles me on the back of my head to make it clear that my joke was in bad taste. ¡°Mmmhhh! He is right! They even were so rough, the girl has to be carried now!¡± Sandra pouts with a displeased voice. Tanja turns red. ¡°N- Nothing of the sort! I tripped and sprained my ankle! And I turned him down by the way. There is nothing between us!¡± Sven looks a little down. Seeing that the relief force has arrived, he puts his childhood friend down. ¡°Really?¡± Sandra asks. ¡°At least you tried,¡± I try to console him. ¡°It''s better than eating those feelings into yourself for the rest of your life. I am proud of you.¡± ¡°I feel with you! It''s hard to be sent packing one time after the other!¡± Gabriel pounds Sven''s shoulder with tears in his eyes. ¡°But be strong my friend! After a few times, it starts to hurt less!¡± Just how often did Gabriel confess and get rejected!? ¡°Haah, who cares. But it''s nice that you guys are here. I may be fast, but I am already at my limits with my strength.¡± Sven''s knees are shaking a little. ¡°Tanja isn''t exactly light.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Tanja is quick to complain. I decide to intervene before there is a genuine fight. ¡°You two should have learned at least some basic healing spell! I won''t complain about broken bones, but to be held back by a sprained ankle? That''s like a bruise.¡± I heal Tanja with a wave of my hand. She jumps a little, testing the joint. ¡°Nice! Good as new! Oh, by the way. We found something cool up the hill. You have to come and see!¡± ¡°We have to be back for dinner,¡± Celes reminds us. ¡°It smelled like Rose was making some of those delicious cheese noodles.¡± ¡°It won''t take long! It''s really interesting.¡± Tanja doesn''t yield and leads us about five minutes back into the direction they came from. At a scarp, she shows us a flat rock face and points out a particular area. The volcanic rock shows footprints like someone was walking down the now vertical surface on bare feet. It looks old and withered, but there is no doubt that someone had a walk through the lava while it was still hot. ¡°Cool, Isn''t it?¡± she asks us. ¡°The Cygnus siblings would surely like to see that.¡± ¡°We left Margerie with her drone back at the house. She is in her own world as long as she can screw around with that thing,¡± Gabriel answers while studying an imprint at head-height. ¡°You think it''s some kind of fossil from the first humans?¡± Sven suggests. ¡°Which idiot would walk through lava?¡± Tanja retorts. ¡°A God?¡± I ask and chuckle. The footprints surely look feminine in size and form. Maybe Seria had a stroll here in the distant past? Tanja''s, Gabriel''s, Sven''s and Sandra''s jaws drop and they look in awe at the godly footsteps. I can''t help but take on a grim expression, realizing that I said something stupid. ¡°Don''t tell anyone! That was a stupid joke!¡± I quickly instruct our mortal friends. ¡°If the idiots from the church knew about this, they would be here in no time and build some kind of shrine.¡± ***The Centre of all Things, El Shaddai''s Office*** ***Seria*** El Shaddai looks very displeased at some documents. Turning them around he pushes the paper across the desk closer to me so that I can see. ¡°Seria, Do you have any idea why I invited you into my office?¡± It''s not really an office. Just a white room inside a dimensional pocket at the highest peak of the Crystal City. The dimensional distortion makes it seem like the walls are bending away from us into infinity the further away from the floor they are. The ceiling is a warped mess, creating the impression that the entire office is beneath a gigantic magnifying glass. Just looking up makes me nauseous. There is a relatively small and plain office desk and two chairs. That''s all. It''s certainly less elaborate than what Tjenemit has going on in his room. ¡°No?¡± I smile at him while playing with my long blonde hair. Then I fake some interest in the document he is showing me. ¡°So you don''t know what happened to a certain world?¡± He lifts an eyebrow and looks at me accusingly. Taking the paper back, he reads, ¡°Sector Control 23_D402-439 found that the world, 235.2-23-435 is strangely absent from its supposed location.¡± ¡°How should I know? First Tjenemit with all those strange accusations and now you. I neither have an idea what you are talking about, nor a clue to even guess what you want from me.¡± I shrug my shoulders and pout. El Shaddai sighs. ¡°I am talking about the world of those two gods who killed each other. The two who we gave to you to supervise their punishment. By your wish. It was a big favour by the Council, but I am beginning to believe that you have a little too much freedom.¡± He points at one of the lines on the document. ¡°And you are listed as one of the resident deities of 235.2-23-435! How can you not notice that your home is gone!¡± I frown and roll my eyes. ¡°I had to register myself there because of Tjenemit''s stupid Pantheon-Project ¨C which blew up in smoke and fire. Quite spectacularly, I might add. I have never truly lived there, nor have I been there in years. Doesn''t the document say that the place is a smouldering ruin? Who even cares about a lifeless planet?¡± El Shaddai scratches his long earlobe and strokes his bald head. He looks like he is thinking hard about something. His golden skin reflects the light in a painful way. If I wasn''t a god, I would probably go blind just by looking at him. I often try to imagine what would happen if he just sat down and stopped moving. Most people would think of him as some Buddha statue. Finally, he leans back into his seat. ¡°It wasn''t really destroyed. Just a little damaged. But when a god of Nature was tasked by the Administration Department to repair it, all the deity found was empty space. Guess what he reported.¡± ''Wham!'' El Shaddai slams his hand onto his desk, making me flinch. ¡°The world is gone!¡± El Shaddai hits the desk with his fist again, but this time I keep myself in check because I expected it. ¡°I hope you don''t want to imply that I am stealing worlds now because that would be totally insane. First, I am accused of stealing gods and now I steal whole worlds?¡± I tilt my head, hoping that this whole scenario sounds as ridiculous to him as it seems. ¡°Why would I even need a world?¡± I whisper. ¡°Not just the world! The whole solar system just disappeared!¡± he screams at me. I yawn and rub my ears, trying to get them to work again. Having a high-class deity scream at you is a deafening experience. El Shaddai must have had a really bad day. He is always a little itchy and in an acidic mood, but it''s particularly bad today. ¡°Oh, that''s fine then.¡± I let out a sigh of relief. ¡°F- F- FINE!?¡± He looks seriously angry now. He doesn''t like it when something happens inside ''his'' multiverse that he doesn''t know about. ¡°Yes. You see... if the whole solar system is gone, it proves that I am not the guilty party. I may be one of the mightier gods, but even I couldn''t just grab a whole solar system and run off with it. Who do you take me for?¡± I nod and smile while trying to look relieved. Even if El Shaddai is a tyrant with dangerous mood swings, he is always logical. It also helps that I was always anal about hiding my true capabilities from the Council. According to them, I am just a cute hunting dog. A valuable asset who can easily bring down low to mid-tier deities on the run, but who is certainly no threat to its owners. ¡°You ''may'' not have enough power for a stunt like this, but you are the only one who has access to a place where a whole solar system could be hidden. I ordered a little search for the system in question and there has been no result for two months now!¡± El Shaddai explains the fault in my logic calmly. ¡°Oh, please... there are a thousand other possibilities!¡± I wave a hand, forced to keep up my spiel. Either he believes me, or he does not. I am fairly confident that I can run away from him if I need to. ¡°Like?¡± El Shaddai crosses his arms, waiting for an explanation. ¡°It could have gotten destroyed. Ascathon was a god of magic and change. You know about his powers and his abilities. The whole world was littered with his divine artefacts. I am sure he had some kind of doomsday device which would activate by default in the case of his defeat. He was just the kind of guy who would do that.¡± El Shaddai frowns, considering the possibility. After a few seconds, he waves a hand to signal me that I am dismissed. I bow and leave his office by directly using a path through the river of souls. There is a point where you have to stand your ground and argue your case. There is also a point at which you have to get the fuck out of the room, and such a time is right now. I reappear in an endless sky. A dimension which is full of air and without worlds. Floating around me, are all the necessities I might ever need. This place has been my home for a long time, but I guess that my time is almost up. Huffing, I push a laced panty out of my way which was floating towards my face. Looking around, I have to admit that the cloud of seemingly random things and trash grew a little large over the decades. I might have to relocate soon. What better way is there to get a new, clean room than to resettle? But I am just trying to distract myself. The events are starting to move. I wonder if my house of cards will crumble above me or above the Council? I know of many rebellions which failed in the end. The problem lies with power. The Council governs hundreds of thousands of gods. Those, in turn, have control over several smaller gods and deities. If some of them show too much resistance, they are hunted down and dealt with by armies of loyal servants to the Council. This system worked for an eternity... till now. It became bigger and bigger over time, but this works in my favour. Bigger also means harder to control. Bigger means that there are more cracks at the edges. That they found out about the missing world so late is proof that they aren''t really in control anymore. The gears of their machine are becoming old and worn, so it takes them much longer to find out about the really important issues. The current state of the Council is very similar to a bear who grew old and fat over the years. Somehow they can sense and find every god in the multiverse. So none of the rebellions until now had a chance to succeed. They were already doomed before they started. Not so in my case. I don''t know how or why, but it seems like their eyes don''t reach into my Void Zone. Crossing my arms, I close my eyes and wait, floating inside a cloud of convenient items. All that''s left to do is to wait and to be patient. Chapter 36 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** Marriage? I admit that I never expected it to actually happen. And now that it¡¯s the day of no return, I am getting cold feet. This is a step that may haunt me for the rest of eternity. For good or for ill. Unfortunately, I think that I am too old to run away from something like a wedding ceremony. I already bought into this relationship with Celes. To the point that we are intimate on a regular basis. I don¡¯t know why, but there is something about that woman which simply doesn¡¯t allow me to keep my hands off her. After taking a few seconds to gather myself, I walk to the window and take a look out of my private room. The whole city looks like a rainbow. Each house has flags of various colours hanging out of the windows, creating a surreal scenery. I don''t want to complain about the local customs. Everyone has his own tastes. Though, they may be going overboard just a little bit. Fucking crazy world! This is a marriage and not a damned carnival! Just watching this causes my head to spin. The first point on today¡¯s list is to go on a procession in a car and drive around the whole city for everyone to see. Then we visit the biggest cathedral in the city to get married by a priest. Afterwards, we have to meet all the big noblemen and officials at a festival in order to give them the possibility to congratulate us. Last but not least, we will have a small party with a few selected guests. As much as I finally want to become king, I dislike being treated as some kind of exhibition-sample. ¡°Are you done?¡± Rose bursts into my room. ¡°Yes, yes, I am done dressing up. No stress!¡± Without looking away from the window I wave at her to calm her down. ¡°Oh, no! You can''t go out like that. Your neck-tie is so sloppy! And you didn''t put on the traditional markings!¡± She immediately starts to correct my appearance. First the tie. Afterwards, she plucks at my black suit at least for five minutes and then paints a complicated tattoo onto my cheek while I try my best to keep still. It''s some kind of tradition. I don''t like to put make-up onto myself and had hoped I would get around it. If I think about it, this world seems like a mix of every culture I ever knew. ¡°Rose, don''t you think it''s enough? We are almost out of time.¡± I try to redirect her attention. ¡°Oh, no. You are right! But you have to look perfect. This will be your biggest day ever!¡± She drags me outside, where a stunning red-haired beauty is waiting. Celes¡¯s hair is woven around her horns and there is a really complicated pattern painted around her eyelids. Her black dress emphasises the important curves just at the right places. Just looking at her makes me drool. Thankfully, I can stop myself from doing so by looking at my mother. This is dangerous. I have to think straight! Let me see... Pi is 3.141592653589... ¡°Are you ready? If we drive now, we will be just in time,¡± My beauty queen prompts us to proceed with a sultry tone in her voice. I wet my lips and clear my throat to make sure that I don¡¯t embarrass myself. ¡°Isn''t that a little too much effort? How long did you have to stay still for this outfit?¡± Whoever worked on Celes did a good job. ¡°You have no idea. How do I look? Was it worth it?¡± She smiles at me warmly, clearly aware of the effect she has on me. She throws back her hair and strikes a pose. For a moment I have a complete brain-freeze. ¡°Ahem.¡± ¡°It doesn''t look good? How can that be? It took so long to find the right dress!¡± Celes looks down at herself, drawing my attention to the magnificent¡­ dress. Aren¡¯t those cut-outs a little too deep? ¡°I think the young king wanted to say that no words could describe your beauty, my queen. You both look wonderful, so let''s go now. We have a schedule to keep,¡± Rose jumps in to save me from looking like a complete cave-man. Why did I just freeze up like that? Fuck, I have more experience in life than anyone could imagine! Could it be that this new body is causing me trouble? Hormones? Could it be? I never felt anything like that as a god. The three of us proceed to the throne room where the other family members are waiting. ¡°Oh, you two look beautiful!¡± Katrine explodes with joy. ¡°The time sure flies by. It feels like yesterday when I could still carry you around with my tail,¡± My mother comments with tears in her eyes while giving me a hug. Everyone gives Ireth a shocked look. Yes! Think about your own shortcomings, Mother! I was right when I thought that it isn''t proper to treat a child like that. ¡°You can use your tail like that? Now I remember that you did it a few times with me.¡± Celes waves her tail in front of her to inspect it. ¡°I often felt like I could use a third hand.¡± ¡°Don''t copy her bad habits!¡± Arthur jumps in. ¡°It¡¯s bad manners.¡± Thank you, father in law! ¡°We have to go!¡± Nicosar shoves us into the direction of the exit. He is right, we have a tight schedule. Outside, we enter a limousine and a procession of guards and servants starts on its way, leaving the Royal Embassy with as much pomp and swank as possible. ¡°Now this is really a full-blown carnival!¡± I look back at the line of gaudy vehicles behind us. ¡°I actually like it! I can¡¯t remember ever having a marriage like this. And I had many marriages until now,¡± Celes comments in a good mood. She slides closer and links arms with me. ¡°At least I just have to wave at people and smile.¡± I have to be positive. There is no point in focusing on the bad things in life. This is a single day of my eternity, a small price to pay in order to keep up appearances with the general public. Yes. It''s not that bad! Even if I get married to her in this life, I am no god. This is just one life! It''s a few decades and then I am free again. And while I am at it, I can take advantage of the good aspects. My eyes wander to my magnificent queen, taking in her perfect body. With a reward like that, why should I care about a few personality flaws? Our car leaves the palace grounds and I can see thousands of people, all of them trying to get a look at us. Suddenly Celes bends over me to see out of the window and waves at the crowd. There are thousands of people cheering at us. I smile and wave at them. Yep. I officially hate this day. Once we are married, I will make this day a working day! Everyone will have to go to work and pretend that nothing is out of the ordinary. People who are celebrating in any way will be executed on the spot. I will be damned if they make this something like a national holiday so that I am reminded of my folly on a regular basis. ¡°You have that strange grin again, Angrod,¡± Celes whispers into my ear. ¡°R- really?¡± I try to lighten my expression. ¡°Now you look really stressed. Just think about something positive. We have much to do today. There are many important points on my list.¡± She leans against me, resting her head on my shoulder. ¡°About that... I actually think that-¡± Before I can get my point across, Katrine interrupts me. ¡°Ohohoh. I can remember my wedding night! Arthur was so wild!¡± she bursts out. ¡°Unfortunately, I found out that I can''t teach my daughter much in this respect. For some strange reason, she is already very experienced in that field.¡± I think I will just teleport away as soon as this business is over and done with. Yes. Nobody can catch me. I will say yes and amen and once everything is done I will make a run for it and have my peace.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. While we drive around the city, I dwell on my own thoughts. Of course, I keep smiling and waving at the people. After hours ¨C it must have been hours because the car continued on with a constant velocity of walking speed ¨C we arrive at the cathedral and leave the car. People throw confetti at Celes and me while we walk inside. Rice, guys! It''s supposed to be rice and not confetti! I want to cry, who messed this culture up so badly? Seria! It must be Seria¡¯s fault! She is the only one who could have influenced these people. At least there is nobody allowed inside the cathedral. Just the priest and a few novices are waiting for us. At least this ceremony is short. It was explained to me beforehand. Together, we approach the altar with Seria''s statue looming over it. Then the priest carries a bowl of water over and sets it on the altar. He mutters a few words which I don''t understand, apparently blessing the water. Following his lead, we hold a hand into the water. ¡°We are here, in front of our goddess and the gods to witness the marriage of this young couple. May their life be happy. May both of them care for each other and face all hardships together. Are both of you willing to give yourself to your partner and protect him or her from any harm. Will you stay with each other until death?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Celes is quick to answer. Actually, I have to think about this for a second! This is a really heavy and meaningful promise! Even more so if you think about it a little. I just realized that we now both know about each other''s reincarnations. So are we now married until death, or until death-death? What counts as death for an immortal who can reincarnate? ¡®Poke!¡¯ ¡®Poke!¡¯ ¡®Poke!¡¯ Ugh! Damned tail! ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Then I declare you two as a married couple. May you live in prosperity and in peace. King Angrod and Queen Celes.¡± The priest bows to us and smiles. Celes jumps at me and I have no choice but to catch her in a princess carry. ¡°This is an important point. You have to carry me back to the car.¡± She gives me a wet kiss on the cheek. The priest chuckles at the sight. Obviously, her lipstick left a mark. I nod at the priest and turn around to carry Celes outside. As we leave the cathedral, the crowd almost goes insane and some crazies start a firework. Ey, it''s in the middle of the day! Have at least some reason and start it during the night! We arrive at the car and our family members congratulate us. Ireth has actual tears in her eyes while she is hugging the both of us. But Rose already waves us inside the car, making it clear that we are still on a tight schedule. The festival afterwards couldn''t be counted as a real festival. The location was a neat: big garden which was closer to a park in size. It was big enough to hold all the noblemen and officials in any case. Celes and I didn¡¯t get to do much, as we were busy with receiving gifts and congratulations from a seemingly endless line of noblemen. The gifts kept piling up until there was a sizeable mountain of dust-collectors around us, as I like to call things that fulfil no real purpose. It was clear to me that nobody paid a thought to what would happen if a thousand rich guys gave presents to the wedding couple. Seeing the mess, I gave Rose the order that she should confiscate the chocolate and the dangerous stuff. The rest should be given to someone who may need it. It was already evening when we arrived back at the palace. My face was hurting from all the smiling. I never would have imagined that it is possible to strain the muscles in my face like that. My left hand was numb from the waving. My right hand was sore from shaking hands with over a thousand people. If I hadn''t used healing magic, it would be just a bloody stump by now. Back at the throne room, we were welcomed by everyone who could be counted as a close friend. This involved some of our old teachers, the Cygnus siblings, the people from special class, as well as some close friends of our parents. Celes kept linking arms with me the entire time. After everyone had congratulated us a second time, we proceeded to the big hall which was reserved to receive guests. Rose led the party proudly along the hallway. ¡°I have put all my efforts into this cold buffet. I am sure your majesties will be very pleased.¡± With a smiling face, she opens the big two-winged door to the guest room and freezes. Then it looks like she wants to scream, but she freezes again, not knowing how to react. I take a look around the corner and freeze up too. A stunning blonde beauty wearing an almost transparent dress is happily stuffing a big plate with the most delicious looking food. Two white angel wings are sprouting from her shoulder blades and a set of leathery, black demon wings emerges from her back, right above her hips. Her whole figure is emitting an aura of light and darkness, radiating with divine power. Other people also take a look around the corner and freeze up with their mouths agape. The figure turns around and waves at us with her free hand. ¡°Hiiiii! How are you guys doing? I am so glad that I made it in time to give you my congratulations!¡± Seria sets her plate on a table and runs up to me and Celes. She hugs both of us like children to her big chest, folding her wings around us. ¡°Ooh, I am so happy to see you two are doing well. The city looks wonderful by the way.¡± She kisses me and Celes on the cheek. ¡°There is so much to talk about! I hope you two behaved well? I sent you here with a purpose after all. Are there any children on the way?¡± ¡°No?¡± I reply quickly. ¡°Not yet!¡± Celes hisses out between clenched teeth. It¡¯s apparent that she dislikes this surprise as much as I do. ¡°Oh, too bad. Well, you have the whole night to work on that!¡± Seria smiles and rushes off to Ireth, Katrine, and Arthur. ¡°I have to give you guys my thanks too! You did such a good job of educating them! I couldn''t have chosen better.¡± ¡°We did our best.¡± Ireth is the only one who manages to wring an answer from her throat. ¡°Oh, you don''t have to be so stiff, I am not here in my function as a god. I took a day off to visit my little helpers on this world. So no hard feelings. Let''s just relax and have fun! The last time I took a day off was a few thousand years ago.¡± Smiling, she continues down the line of stupefied guests and shakes their hands. When she is done, I grab her arm and drag her off to a silent corner of the room, hoping that it gives us at least some privacy. But who am I kidding? Everyone will have their full attention on us anyway. ¡°What are you doing here!? I thought Tjenemit would be able to follow you if you came here!¡± I hiss. Celes joins us and nods with a pained expression. ¡°Did you have to choose today for your antics!?¡± ¡°Haha... don''t fear. I am not really here in person. This is just a really good astral projection. I would never ruin your great day!¡± She winks at Celes. ¡°Tjenemit won¡¯t show up today.¡± I let out a sigh. ¡°So, can you at least give a detailed explanation of what''s going on?¡± Our parents join us, too interested in what¡¯s happening to give us some time to clear things up. ¡°No. Sorry. I can''t give out information of that importance to mortals. Everything will be clear when the time comes, I promise.¡± Seria shakes her head. ¡°If anything goes wrong and Tjenemit gets access to this world before I am ready, he could just rip the information out of your minds. The less you know, the better. Just keep your trust in your one and only goddess!¡± She smiles and pats my shoulder. Then she runs off to the buffet again. ¡°I want to kill her!¡± I wring my hands in impotent rage but manage to hold back when Celes places a hand on my shoulder. Barely. Attacking her wouldn¡¯t change anything. As a god, she has vastly more power than any of us. ¡°Is every god like that?¡± Arthur asks, watching Seria who folded her wings around her body, turning them into a pretty good imitation of a dress with a leather skirt and a feathery top. ¡°I need a new religion...¡± Katrine complains. ¡°I think that I actually like her,¡± Ireth admits, sounding ashamed. ¡°If there is a beautiful woman who is older than you, there is only one thing to do!¡± Nicosar walks off, clearly intending to hit on Seria. I am shocked! Does the old fart fear nothing!? But Nicosar really goes for it and strikes up a conversation with Seria, ignoring the rest of us. ¡°I am curious how she manages to eat food with an astral projection?¡± I wonder. I couldn''t do that while I was a god. Admittedly, I never had a reason to try something so strange. ¡°Maybe she created a body on this world and just possessed it?¡± Celes suggests. I nod, but I have problems to believe it. Then Celes tugs at my sleeve. ¡°Look at that!¡± She points at a quiet corner of the room. There I can see Sandra with Sven on her lap. Both of them are hugging each other. They give off the impression of a loving couple! I chuckle. ¡°She really meant it when she said that she would console him.¡± ¡°Unbelievable! And a few days ago he was still head over heels for Tanja!¡± Celes puffs up her cheeks in frustration. ¡°But Tanja refused him in a clear manner,¡± I point out. ¡°On top of that, Sandra has two very big arguments to distract her prey from a bad conscience.¡± I pat my chest. ¡°Men! All the same! I have to look for Tanja and see if she is okay.¡± Celes stomps off and I follow her, seeing no point in harassing Seria with questions. I can¡¯t force her to tell me anything she doesn¡¯t want to, and it¡¯s much more likely for me to lose my shit when I face her. ¡°Don''t forget that they are just a bunch of young people after all. At that age, your heart beats for someone and in the next moment for someone else,¡± I try to defuse my wife¡¯s impending eruption, sensing that she is unhappy. Seria¡¯s appearance threw her off, and she might decide to vent her frustration on someone else. Celes stops and looks at me, surprised. ¡°I guess you are right.¡± She considers my words but keeps going after a few moments. We keep searching for Tanja, but it seems like Celes worries weren''t necessary. We find Tanja at the buffet while she is talking with Gabriel and Margerie. She doesn''t look the least bit concerned, so we join their conversation. When Celes asks what Tanja thought about Sven and Sandra, her answer is surprising. ¡°I already knew that Sandra has a crush on him. I value Sven as a childhood friend, nothing more. So it''s good that Sandra finally went on the offensive. The stupid guy wouldn¡¯t have realized that she is mooning over him if she had danced in front of him naked,¡± Tanja explains while munching on an arrangement of various meats and vegetables with mayonnaise. I realize that she threw her childhood friend into the tiger¡¯s maw. We continued the conversation, allowing the time to pass while I keep a wary eye on our unexpected guest. An hour later, Seria walks in our direction. She linked arms with Nicosar and smiles at us while petting his hand. ¡°It was a really nice time, but I have to say goodbye.¡± She extracts herself from my grandfather¡¯s hands and hugs me, then Celes. ¡°You are sure about this, about not telling us what¡¯s going on?¡± Celes asks her with a stiff expression. ¡°Nope! There is nothing you can do at the moment. All you needed to know I already conveyed to you through your dreams. How things will work out depends on Tjenemit''s arrival. Either I am ready, or I am not. It''s not like you two could do anything against a god,¡± Seria answers in a serious tone. ¡°I understand. Though, I still would have liked to know your motivation behind everything.¡± I give her a wry smile and gesture at our surroundings, indicating the world as a whole. ¡°Tell me at least this: Am I right that this place is located in a Void Zone?¡± ¡°Everything will be known in due time.¡± She pats my head while she dissolves into light. And then she is gone, leaving us none the wiser. Nicosar sighs and gives us a sad look. ¡°She is a fine woman for sure. It''s a shame that I am too young for her. I never would have imagined being told something like that at my age.¡± He presses out a tear from his left eye. Then he walks off into the direction of two bunny girls who seem very familiar to me. ¡°Did the geezer just cry?¡± Celes asks me with a shocked voice while pinching her own cheek. ¡°I honestly don''t get him.¡± I don''t want to know what''s going on inside Nicosar''s brain. I turn away to stuff myself with some nice food from the buffet. ¡°Don''t eat too much. I have a little present for you later.¡± Celes stops me with a hand, lowering her voice. Chapter 37 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** After another hour, the party slowly comes to an end and the guests start taking their leave. I am glad when it turns out that Celes and I aren''t required to say goodbye to each and every one of them because that would have become quite tedious. Having done our duty for today, we spend our time entertaining ourselves with idle chit-chat. Once the last of our friends are gone, Celes takes me by the hand and leads me to her room. ¡°Ahem, Celes? What do we need from your room?¡± I ask while she opens the door and pushes me inside, looking like she is up to no good. Now I realize that we essentially snuck off while the party was still officially ongoing. Our parents'' friends are still at the party. ¡°Isn''t running off like that a little unfriendly?¡± I ask as I enter the room. Celes''s private room is spacious with a big bed, a couch with a small table, and an office desk. Everything is held in tasteful colours, fitting to the stone-oak floor. I appreciate that it doesn''t feel cramped and is actually quite cosy thanks to the tasteful d¨¦cor. Celes decided to decorate the room with a mineral collection of various crystals which even I can appreciate. She pulls me to the couch and pushes me to sit down on it. ¡°Wait here, I will get the present!¡± Quickly, she walks off to retrieve a box from her office desk. Oh! Now I understand why she is so eager! The wedding night! I am sure she has such an item on her list. I remember that I saw it a few years ago, though the implementation seems to be slightly different. What was it? Wasn¡¯t there supposed to be some kind of negligee to turn me on and twist my head? She returns with the box which is filled with different kinds of chocolate and kneels down next to me. Before I know it, she stuffs a piece into my mouth. ¡°Hmmm.¡± Delicious! It tastes so familiar. Exactly like the chocolate which I always got from... no. No! This memory! It has to be wrong! But it is the same taste! I take another piece from her because I can¡¯t hold back. ¡°How did you manage to recreate the taste!?¡± It''s the same chocolate I got from her back then in that other life! It is handmade and it is simply the best! I snack on a third piece, barely taking the time to savour the taste. Instead of answering, Celes just smiles and the angle inadvertently gives me a perfect peek down her cleavage. Suddenly, a shiver rushes down my spine and I feel something getting very stiff. What''s wrong with me? I take pride in having complete control over my instincts. I try to get control over my erection, but nothing works. It¡¯s always like this when I am with Celes. Smiling, Celes raises her white dress and climbs on top of me, settling down in my lap. ¡°Take your time. We have aaalll night.¡± Pushing against me, she steals a deep kiss, forcing me to put the box down in order to hold her properly. ¡°You are just a naughty vixen, aren¡¯t you?¡± I tease. ¡°Maybe?¡± She pouts while fumbling with my belt and trousers, freeing me quite skilfully. I take another piece of chocolate into my mouth, deciding to let her do the work for once. ¡°You know, if I hadn¡¯t seen how troublesome that dress of yours is, I would actually help you taking it off.¡± Celes smiles, giving me a testing stroke. ¡°When have you seen my wedding dress? Don''t you know that it''s bad luck to see the dress before the wedding?¡± I am quite certain that this superstition is supposed to be different. I shrug, assured in the knowledge that I have all the time in the world to eat all the chocolate before my wife manages to get out of that complicated thing and the corset beneath it. ¡°Rose showed it to me. She was quite proud of the thing, not that you need a corset with your figure.¡± ¡°Hah!¡± Looking smug, she lets go of me and fans out her skirt so that it isn''t in the way. Then she shifts her hips forward and up, dropping her weight into my lap. I almost spit out the chocolate when I feel that burning warmth within her engulf my length. ¡°Fuuuck!¡± I wipe at my lips, trying to clean up what little mess I made. Celes bites her lower lip and smiles as she starts grinding her hips. ¡°Who ever said that I would put on that accursed underwear.¡± Feeling fireworks going off in my brain, I push the box out of the way and hold onto her hips to keep her still. ¡°You actually attended the whole wedding without underwear?¡± Leaning in, she whispers into my ear. ¡°Even better. I had the tailor make some changes to the dress after Rose picked it up.¡± Taking my hand, she guides it to something beneath her armpit that feels suspiciously like a zipper. Holding her still with one hand, I unzip her dress, only now realizing that the thing is essentially a tube which is easy to take off once the shoulder straps are released. The fact that it has no sleeves makes it only easier to get rid of. Finally, the thing comes off and Celes tosses it carelessly into the room. She is just wearing red lingerie which matches her hair. It almost shows the really interesting parts of her body, but also hides them at the same time. And the panties are one of those naughty pieces which do not fulfil their actual purpose. Which explains my current predicament. Clearly fighting to hold back, she slowly grinds her hips in an arousing way. ¡°I just made this chocolate for this special occasion,¡± she whispers into my ear. ¡°But I thought that I would be the real present!¡± My eyes wander over her body while I fight the urge to just ravish her. How is she doing this to me? It¡¯s not like she is a genuine succubus. I met my fair share of those and she is nothing like them. She must be a genuine witch after all! ¡°Then why does it start to hurt down there?¡± I can barely control myself and my voice shivers a little as I feel her tightening around me. She traces her finger over my chest which sends another shiver through my body. ¡°Do you really think that I feel any different? Why don¡¯t you just get on with the wedding night? I¡¯ve been waiting for this for years!¡± Digging my fingers into her perfect waist, I stop her movements. ¡°You do know that this feels like I could get a heart attack at any moment, right?¡± ¡°I know of an easy way to solve the problem.¡± She uses her tail to snag a piece of chocolate and uses it as lipstick. Then she puts her hands around my head and starts to move in a way which almost drives me mad while kissing me. Just before I go nuts, she lets off. ¡°Weren''t you the one who once said that the guys who live their lives as pure perverts are right? Isn''t it better to take what you can get for free?¡± She whispers into my ear. Her tail touches me in a few places, while she licks over the chocolate on her lips and smiles provokingly at me. ¡°But if you are still not convinced, I could show you a great trick.¡± She flexes her belly muscles, and it suddenly feels like she is having a wild ride on top of me. I groan. ¡°Shit!¡± I can''t take this anymore! I grab her arms and lock them behind her back. ¡°Ouch!¡± She lets out a small complaint. ¡°Hey, aren''t you a little too eager?¡± She is picking away at my self-control and now she complains? No more! I am done with talking. I growl and hug her hips and upper body, pressing her lean frame against me. Then I stand up and carry her to the bed. Somehow everything is spinning, but I manage to reach the soft mattress and let myself fall on top of her, biting her neck with the intention of showing her how wild I can be. ¡°Kyaaa!¡± ?????? ¡°Ow!¡± I groan and cover my face with a pillow to protect myself against the morning sun. My head hurts. My back hurts. Worst of all, my balls hurt! I don''t want to wake up, but something is purring and nuzzling the back of my head. Damned familiar! Leave me be! How did Ghost get into Celes''s room? That''s when I wake up for real, remembering last night. And it''s hard to breathe! What''s this soft thing in my face? I grab it and push, but something wraps around me.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Mmm!Mhmm!¡± Wrapping herself around me, my wife keeps sleeping. After a little wrestling match, I am able to fight my face free, but the naked woman doesn''t let go while she is entangled around me. Ghost is trying to get our attention in order to get out of the room, but every time he comes close Celes flicks her tail, hitting him on the nose. It is like an automatic fly-swatter. ¡°Body pillow... don''t move...¡± she mumbles in her sleep. What a horrible marriage! Just remembering it gives me the creeps. I hope they cleaned up the city. Though, I have to admit that the night wasn''t bad at all. ¡°Celes, let me go. We have to get up.¡± I twist her earlobe to wake her up. ¡°Mh... don''t wanna. Let us sleep for the rest of the day...¡± she murmurs half asleep. I take a look at the clock. Argh! It''s alreadyseven pm!Did we sleep a whole day? No, that can''t be. For that matter, when did we stop rocking the bed and finally go to sleep? I grumble, but then I have a great idea. ¡°Teleport!¡± We reappear in the air above a certain lake and I brace myself for the impact! ''SPLASH!'' ¡°KYAAA!¡± Celes''s outraged scream is accompanied by a gurgling sound. Woohoo! Cold! I start swimming as soon as my womanly shackles let go of me to swim to the surface. Chuckling inwardly, I follow. ¡°What was that for!?¡± Celes glares at me as soon as my head reaches the cool morning air. ¡°I desperately needed some air,¡± I explain. ¡°You want some more chocolate tonight?¡± She grins at me. ¡°I''ll take the chocolate, but without the physical workout. I am sore all over.¡± And I hate it to lose control over myself. She huffs. ¡°Good luck with that. Both of us know that you can''t leave your hands off my body.¡± She swims closer and grabs my hand with a triumphant smile. ¡°And I fully intend for us to share a bedroom from now on.¡± ¡°...¡± That could indeed become a big problem for myself-control. ¡°And I am the only one who knows how to make that chocolate,¡± She announces triumphantly and pulls her body against mine. Thankfully, the cool water allows me to keep my head. I guess this world isn''t a chocolate paradise. It''s true that I never came across any decent chocolate until Celes started to give it to me. And apparently, everything was handmade... I wince at the thought of her wielding that kind of power over me. I am a chocolate addict and she is the only supplier! ¡°Can you teleport us back into my bathroom. I wouldn''t like to get my bed wet.¡± She smiles, which makes me gladder than ever that this water is cold like hell. I embrace her and teleport us back. When we reappear, it turns out that I missed the bathtub by a foot. I guess a little water on the floor isn''t a problem since the whole room is tiled. Celes walks a bit awkwardly to the basin and takes her ring out of a small box. ¡°Heal!¡± She immediately casts healing onto herself. ¡°Ahhh... That feels much better!¡± Then she throws an accusing look at me. ¡°I thought I wouldn''t live through the night. Couldn''t you have been a little gentler?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t complain if I were you. You kept testing my limits. With everything you did, you should have expected to turn the coldest guy into a wild beast.¡± I raise an eyebrow and Celes puffs up her cheeks. I leave Celes to herself and dry myself off, then get dressed. A few minutes later I am sitting in the kitchen where I plunder the leftovers from the buffet. Rose gives me a dirty smile while pretending to be busy with the dishes. I choose to ignore it, but a few minutes later Celes joins us and Rose can''t hold back her curiosity. ¡°How was the night?¡± ¡°Nuts!¡± I reply quickly and my wife responds with, ¡°Pain!¡± Rose is taken aback but not defeated. ¡°Oh, I heard that the first time can be rough in some cases. I am sure it will get better if you keep the ball up in the air! After all, we need an heir!¡± She nods and smiles, while she gives another plate of leftovers to Celes. After a few minutes of silent eating, she snatches the fork which Celes had put down. A small stick-like magic-device appears in her hand and she presses it against the fork. ¡°Kukuku...¡± Then she storms outside while yelling. ¡°The family just got bigger!¡± I almost choke on a small fruit when I hear that. Looking at my wife, I notice that Celes has a predatory grin on her face. ¡°Pregnancy test?¡± I ask and Celes nods. The door opens and the whole family storms inside to congratulate us. Somehow I am a little confused. Why is everyone on cloud nine because of this? This isn''t a miracle? That''s what happens when you bed a girl without protection and I was doing so for several months now. My expression falls. Now that I think about it... irresponsibly fucking the ever loving hell out of her wasn''t my smartest move. The thought of protection never entered my mind! How stupid am I? It''s the fault of my previous life! Having an army of sexy succubi taking care of all my desires messed with my sense of danger. Of course, a normal woman would get pregnant. Celes probably even thinks that I wanted to make a child with her! My mother starts blurting out that it''s a miracle, which returns my attention to the matter at hand. ¡°I don''t get why it sh-¡± Celes covers my mouth just in time to stop me from blurting out that we were already ''working on the case'' for months. ¡°I guess we got lucky that the wedding night fell right into that time of the month. Hahaha.¡± She looks at me meaningfully and I nod, which prompts her to take her hand away. ¡°Still! Do you know how hard I tried to get pregnant with you?¡± Katrine asks. That only draws confused expressions from Celes and me, but after a little explanation regarding this world''s crazy biology, I finally get their happiness. Apparently, the royal bloodline isn''t blessed with many children. I guess there has to be some kind of drawback for having the benefits of superhuman strength and a greater mana pool. My own mother and father had tried to get children for at least two years until my now dead siblings were born. When my siblings died, mother had almost given up on ever getting another child. In all of recorded history, it never happened that a queen of our bloodline would have children twice. So mymother treated me like a present from heaven when she got me. I guess she wasn''t too far off... But Celes seems to be a bit down upon hearing the news. Apparently, she hadn''t heard about this particular blood-trait of ours until now. ¡°Don''t worry!¡± I try to cheer her up. ¡°I love you anyway, even if we can''t have many brats.¡± Now that I think about it, this is a godsend from heaven! Celes planned for several children and now her plans are foiled! She might even turn out to be the perfect woman for me, now that I won''t have a whole kindergarten to look after! ¡°B- but I wanted to have at least three childreeen...¡± She starts crying and hugs me. O.M.G.! What to do? Surprised by her emotional reaction, I pat her head and try to console her while Ireth and Katrine look at her with sympathetic expressions. ¡°Don''t worry. It worked for you on the first try. So either you just won the lottery or your stupid chocolate had a strange side effect.¡± She goes stiff and suddenly starts laughing. Then she stands up. ¡°That¡¯s right! I am so stupid! This world has such amazing healers that I fell to the conclusion that they are much better than me. But if I think about it, each of their achievements is accomplished through magic. They have no idea how the body actually works! In school, there wasn''t even a basic class about biology!¡± Now¡­ that actually worries me a little. ¡°I guess it''s pretty useless to research the biology of every bloodline on this world. There are hundreds of different ones. Not to mention the mixed breeds,¡± I talk to myself. Everyone who started to work in that direction would be long dead before he could accomplish anything of value. Finding out how the speed-type muscles of the people with the elf-trait work wouldn''t be of much interest to anyone else. ¡°Angrod, you can build me the equipment to start biology research?¡± Celes¡¯s eyes sparkle at me. ¡°Uhm, I guess? If you tell me what you need for biology research? I am a techno-freak, I have almost no clue about medicine and biology besides magical applications.¡± ¡°First, I need a really good microscope! Then incubation ovens, temperature baths, centrifuges, spectrophotometres, PCR instrumentation, high-resolution imaging devices, electrophoresis systems, micropulser electroporators and something for chromatography would be a good start!¡± Celes counts on her fingers while listing a whole lot of complicated devices. My eyes become rounder and rounder as the list grows. ¡°Could... Could it be you were some kind of doctor in a previous life?¡± Preparing all that stuff might actually take some time, even with the extensive technology base which I already built. Celes takes a proud stance. ¡°Hear me, oh, unworthy! Before you stands someone with hundreds of degrees in biology, medicine, and molecular science.¡± ¡°HA!?¡± Could I be that my wife is actually really smart!? I mean, I knew that she ¡®is¡¯ smart, but she is smarter than I thought? Why did she never tell me? Oh, I think she might have mentioned something about her interests in alchemy. I stopped following her efforts once I got my base. She grabs me by the hand. ¡°To your laboratory! Now! I have to explain the devices which I need from you. I am sure you wouldn''t be able to fulfil my needs otherwise.¡± ¡°Uh!? Sure?¡± I excuse us and teleport. At my laboratory, I listen to Celes''s explanation, not remembering having ever seen her that lively. I am sure that my automatic factory can produce everything she wants to have. But I am still a little bothered. Listening to her and using my 3D-printers and a little help from my employees, we start building her a real lab for biological research. To me, it feels more like she is going to start a cloning farm than a research lab. By the end of the day, her personal lab looks like a high-danger bio-hazard zone out of a movie! I hope I didn''t destroy the world by giving her those toys. ?????? The next day, I am lying in my bed while thinking about the current situation of my life. If I am honest to myself... it could be worse? I am actually a little mad that there is still that affair with Tjenemit looming over us like the sword of Damocles, but otherwise, I am almost satisfied with the state of affairs¡­ if only Celes¡¯s plans for multiple children won¡¯t work out. Suddenly the door flies open and Celes storms inside. She slams the door shut and locks it with a ¡®Click!¡¯ I have given up on locking my room long ago. She would take down the whole embassy while kicking in the door. ¡°Why are you here? I thought I told you that we are sharing a bed from now on.¡± She hops onto the bed. In her hand is a piece of chocolate. ¡°Eat that!¡± Errr...yeah. No way that I am going to sleep in her bed while she is working overnight in her new lab. ¡°No? I won''t eat suspicious food.¡± She shouldn¡¯t think that I cannot connect the dots. She gets a new lab and pulls an all-nighter, and the very next day she offers me a single, suspicious treat. ¡°It took me the whole night to analyse my body and I found no problem. So the problem must lie at the male side of our bloodline!¡± She grabs my jaw and forces it open. I try to fight it, but in terms of strength, she is still above me. Then she shoves the chocolate into my mouth. ¡°Mmm!¡± She force feeds me the stuff, covering my mouth and my nose. ¡°What was that?¡± I cough and ask as soon as she lets go. A needle appears in her hand and she slams it unceremoniously into my thigh. ¡®Stab!¡¯ ¡°Ow! Are you trying to murder me!?¡± ¡°That was just a little stimulant to get your body to produce some needed pheromones. I took some blood samples from Arthur and Nicosar. Based on their blood tests, I think that if I get your body to produce the right pheromones everything should be okay.¡± She takes a blood sample. ¡°I am not some lab-rat!¡± I complain, but then her words sink in. ¡°Are you trying to say that I am sterile!?¡± The children-problem comes from the male side of the bloodline? ¡°You are the one who gave me the idea!¡± She nods at me. How did I do that? I am not particularly interested in children, but the fact that my body isn¡¯t working as it should bothers me. She senses something in my expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Waving her hand, she tries to calm me down. ¡°I will find the problem and we will have a whole bunch of kids!¡± I take everything back. How can I increase my fertility problems!? ¡°Is that so?¡± I grab her hand and take the needle and the syringe with blood. ¡°I think it''s not so bad if we have to do a little bed-work for our children. If we put too much effort into it, we will have to take care of a whole football team.¡± I wink at her. She frowns. ¡°Yeah, no. I am not against bed-sport, but think that I prefer the scientific approach in this case.¡± Damn! Chapter 38 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** Months pass as Celes and I slowly settle into a rhythm of spending time with each other and taking care of our own projects while somehow juggling the rule between us and our relatives. Celes is busy with her lab, though she never forgets to pester me with her probes and syringes. I would be mad at her if it weren''t for the fact that she always makes up for it with chocolate as an apology. Things are developing well with my shield-breaker project and so I decided to join the university and earn a degree. By abusing my authority as the king it was easy enough to ignore the classes and take just the tests, saving me a lot of time. Most tests are no problem thanks to my experience. And if I don''t have what it takes, I just read up on the necessary knowledge. Having a degree doesn''t get me anything, but I am of the firm opinion that a king should have the educational status befitting his position. It''s about how I am seen by the public. What kind of bad example would I be for our future kid if I became known as the king of the world who didn''t even try to finish his education!? Wouldn''t my child get the impression that knowledge and competence are unimportant? Anyway, I want to be a good example. Someone who my offspring can look up to. But right now... I am really pissed! While sitting on my throne I have to endure witnessing utter stupidity in all its glory and all I can do is listen and grind my teeth. Once a month, I have to sit court and listen to the little aches and problems of nobles and representatives of the common people. Some of these cases enrage me. Okay, most of these cases enrage me. Those people always find a way to circumvent the law and end up pestering me with their struggles. Having too many and too few laws is always a problem for a society, and I am glad that my current one isn¡¯t yet at the point that having a lawyer is an absolute must to even understand the language of the court. In the past, I have always tried to keep it that way, but these people are testing my limits. My courtier gestures towards the two parties which are involved in the next case. Drem Snowden, the leader of my guard is standing at attention next to my throne. He is also the chief of security for my personal facility, though he is more often inside the embassy since I took over some of my duties as the king. Which I am right now very tempted to just hand off to my mother or my parents in law. Doing menial work on my shield-breaker project would be so much more interesting, even if my presence wouldn''t accelerate anything. Drem is a strong looking guy with huge muscles and bear-ears. His personality is also similar to a bear. Very silent, very grumpy, especially after I had a very earnest word with him about the possible implications of failing his duty. We are in a strictly professional relationship since that day, but I found that his work-ethics improved, and that¡¯s the important point. ¡°Come forward!¡± I call in the next case after dealing with a really stupid quarrel between two smaller houses. Two nobles enter the throne room and bow to me. One is an older woman in a white dress and the other a young, gaudy looking guy in extravagant clothing. My courtier rifles through her documents, seeking to give me a summary. She is essentially a secretary who was originally chosen by my mother. ¡°These are Duke Sharen and Baroness Kuizen. They have a quarrel about two servants who are taking care of their lands. Both of their estates border each other and it seems like their subjects had an affair with each other. The relationship resulted in a child. ¡°The issue is that both servants had a stipulation in their contracts which ensures that they get the necessary funds to give their offspring the necessary education, in exchange for accepting a lower payment than it is the norm. Now the lord and lady are quarrelling about who is responsible to fulfil the contract, which only states that the best education of possible offspring has to be ensured.¡± She finishes and closes the document. I raise an eyebrow. Translation: neither of them wants to pay for the child¡¯s education and hopes to force the other person into fulfilling the contract. So in other words, these two cheapskates are trying to wriggle out of the contract with their servants who already accepted to work for a lowered salary and are providing cheap labour. I ask the courtier how much these servants get and she tells me. They are serfs, for all intents and purposes. Although everyone has access to education by law, it still costs money to send a child to one of the better schools. I assume that the contract¡¯s wording ensures a level of education which the parents couldn¡¯t afford otherwise.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. It¡¯s hard to rise from a low position in society, but I somehow have to admire those two servants who didn¡¯t manage it for themselves. They are still trying to give their child a better opportunity in life. I think there is an easy solution to the problem. ¡°I think the easiest solution would be for both parties to hold up the deal they made. Your servants made two separate deals with you and you acknowledged these contracts. There is no logical reason why you wouldn¡¯t be beholden to a contract you signed yourselves.¡± Duke Sharen shakes his head. ¡°But if we both pay-out our servants, they would get more than they really need. The contract only states that the child¡¯s education must be ensured. If both of us ¡®ensure¡¯ the child¡¯s best education, we would pay our servants much more than they need.¡± Baroness Kuizen''s nods quickly, affirming her consent with the Duke. Leaning forward and resting my lower arms on my knees, I place the tips of my fingers together. ¡°The situation and the strangeness of such a contract aside, there is just one thing I don¡¯t get. How do you two even know of the other''s contract?¡± Duke Sharen scratches at his black jacket, clearing his throat. ¡°That is¡­¡± ¡°We employ the same lawyer,¡± Kuizen interjects. ¡°And we talk with each other.¡± ¡°Very interesting.¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°An outsider like me might think that there is something very strange going on. I wonder what would happen if I would set a few investigators on the case¡­ just to satisfy my curiosity. Let them dig around, so to speak.¡± I scratch my chin. ¡°Either you two are very generous employers ¨C because, correct me if I am wrong, paying for a high-level education is much more than any mere servant could earn in a lifetime. And, isn¡¯t it very likely that those two servants would have kids at some point?¡± I turn towards my courtier. ¡°How old were the servants when they signed the contracts?¡± He rifles through the document. ¡°Twenty-four and twenty-one.¡± I blink. ¡°It seems like a really bad contract for the employers. How expensive does that make the servants compared to normal pay-rates?¡± ¡°Six or seven times the normal loans,¡± she is quick to answer. Turning back, I study the two nobles, trying my best expression at ¡®Are you two just stupid, or are you cheating slavers?¡¯ ¡°I wonder why you would think that those two employees might never have children?¡± Sharen clears his throat. ¡°My king, you must be jesting. Launching a full investigation because of such a trivial matter...¡± I clap my hands together, making the two peons flinch. ¡°That¡¯s great! Which means that you are going to honour both contracts in full!¡± I look at Snowden, wanting the two bastards to hear every word. ¡°Make sure that someone looks in on the situation now and then. I also want to know why the servants aren''t here, since this matter is clearly affecting their lives. We don¡¯t want to have something strange happen to them.¡± Addressing my courtier, I smile. ¡°And look up that lawyer and set the police on him. I don¡¯t want any more cases of his making it onto my desk in the future.¡± ¡°A- a- a wise decision, my king!¡± Kuizen bows to me, followed by the Duke. Neither of them looks as happy, just as it should be. I strive to have anyone think twice before they seek my audience. I wave for them to leave, hoping they get the hint before I decide to do something that won¡¯t only end in a financial loss for them. ¡°Next!¡± *** After a long day of hard work ¨C mainly solving issues through the good old method of blackmail and the abuse of power ¨C I can finally lean back in my throne and use one of my newest handheld tablets to check on the progress of my projects. It seems like everything is going well. There is hope my final solution will be ready in time. ¡°Angrod!¡± Celes calls out to me from behind me, causing me to drop the tablet. I wince when it clatters to the ground, a large crack appearing on the screen. ¡°Damned glass! I should have stuck to plastic, even if it scratches.¡± I turn in my throne to look at Celes. ¡°Hahaha. You look like you almost got caught building something that would end the world.¡± She chuckles and pats my head. ¡°Don¡¯t be so jumpy. Oh, and before I forget! Eat that!¡± She holds out a few pills in front of my face and gives me a glass of water. Phew! She has no idea how close to the truth she is. ¡°Oh, please! Stop it. You are feeding me with strange pills day and night. I am surprised that I didn''t get sick!¡± I try to decline the so-called vitamins. Celes sure became a real health freak when she found out the reason for the royal bloodline¡¯s child problems ¨C a simple lack of vitamins. Our bodies have to get the resources for their high performance from somewhere and the lack of those resources leads to¡­ let us call it reduced performance. ¡°Do I have to lay you over the knee and force feed you in front of the secretary and your guard?¡± Celes asks without any emotion in her voice and raises an eyebrow. ¡°Hm. You wouldn''t do that. Besides, I doubt that you could catch me.¡± I nod at her belly which gained considerably in size. ¡°Are you sure that you aren''t hiding twins in there?¡± ¡°I understand your current confidence in your ability to escape, but let me assure you that it is completely unfounded. Especially in my current state, being caught fleeing from your wife wouldn''t just hurt your image, it would destroy it.¡± Celes looks down at me with a confident smile. I notice that the courtier is listening to the exchange expectantly. She has furry ears, probably some kind of hamster, and she decided to dress in a professional-looking suit. ¡°If you tell anyone about this conversation I will make you a nanny for the child and bet with Drem how long you survive.¡± The secretary goes pale and nods. ¡°I wouldn''t bet on such a serious matter, sir,¡± Drem answers with a cold voice. ¡°I have heard from Rose that looking after the royal offspring is indeed a matter of life and death, though I think that it¡¯s manageable with enough care.¡± I take the pills and eat them. ¡°Hooh? So you think you could take care of a child with the strength of several adults?¡± ¡°I am confident in my own survival, sir,¡± Drem announces. ¡°You hear that, honey? We have a volunteer.¡± I smile at Celes and get lightly smacked over the back of my head. ¡°I won''t leave my children in the care of anyone who isn¡¯t a part of the family. And if you don''t do your share in watching after them, there won''t be any chocolate anymore!¡± The secretary grins at me and I stare daggers into her. No choice. I swallow the pills and drink the water. ¡°Are you done for today?¡± Celes asks, tugging at my shoulder. ¡°Hmm. I think so, why?¡± I get up. ¡°Then come. I need something from you.¡± She pulls me with her and leads me off to the private area of the palace. ¡°You know how this looks?¡± I ask, grinning. She sighs. ¡°I don''t care. You should be mature enough to stop your teasing.¡± She leads me to the living room and picks a few documents from the table. ¡°Look! It''s a boy. I made some pictures with your new CT scanner! What should we name him!?¡± She grins at me while she shoves the black and white pictures into my face. ¡°Yeah, I see. Hmm.¡± I smile and nod. ¡°What do you think of¡­ Casus? That¡¯s Latin for chance or downfall. It would fit, especially since we didn¡¯t exactly plan for him.¡± Celes¡¯s expression stiffens. ¡°No.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°No. He was planned for, even if he came a little earlier than expected.¡± ¡°He-¡± ¡°No. Or do you want to say that you didn¡¯t want him?¡± There is clearly no arguing with her right now. ¡°As you wish...¡± I swear! Sometimes it¡¯s like she can read my mind¡­ which is actually a frightening thought, now that I think about it. Chapter 39 ***Midhold, Royal Embassy*** ***Angrod*** Crap. Crap. Crap. I stride from left to right in front of Celes''s bedroom, waiting for the ¨C hopefully ¨C inevitable outcome of her labour. How long has she been in that room? Did giving birth always take that long? Why am I so nervous about it? Haven¡¯t I already been in this situation numerous times? They told me that she went into labour... one? Two? Three hours ago? I gnaw on my fingernail, unsure of what to do. Shouldn''t it be done already? What''s taking her so long? Shouldn''t it be easy to press a lump of meat out of your body? Maybe I should go and take a look? Hold her hand and tell her to press? Nono. I have bad memories of this. And given her strength, I don''t want to be anywhere near her when she is in pain. I can imagine her squeezing my hand to mush while bench-pressing our son out of her. Better to stay out here and pretend that I just arrived once the door opens. There are some of the world''s best healers at her side, no need for me. Suddenly, the door is slammed open. ¡°Found you!¡± Ireth glares at me, channelling all her motherly authority. ¡°How can you hide out here while your wife is giving birth!?¡± ¡°I don''t know what I could do to help. And I didn''t really hide... I just arrived! In fact, I was about to come in.¡± Damn, who would have thought that any of them would actually leave Celes''s side while she is in labour! ¡°Come! A husband should be at the side of his wife at a time like this.¡± She takes my hand and drags me into Celes''s quarters where almost the whole family is waiting. Through another door, I can see the actual bedroom. Inside, a healer is taking care of Celes while Katrine is holding her hand. ¡°You have to press!¡± No! Don''t tell her that! She has to be very careful with those abdominal muscles, or she will squish out the baby as a fine paste! Ireth shoves me forward, past Arthur and Rose, and into the bedroom where I have to sit down on a chair to the other side of Celes. ¡°Good to see you, husband. I thought you were hiding somewhere like you always did when it was time.¡± Celes gives me a forced smile. ¡°It feels like you actually matured a lot since back then.¡± Is she talking about our time as Johann and Sandra? ¡°Me? Hiding from the birth of my child? Pah! Never!¡± I would never do something like that. What is she thinking of me... oh... I forgot... she has memories of that life... when we had three kids together. Damn, I am just too nervous about this. ¡°Then hold my hand!¡± She reaches out for me. ¡°Just try to be gentle.¡± I reluctantly give her my hand. ¡°Press now, my lady. I think it finally turned into the right position,¡± the healer calls out. ¡°Hnngh.¡± Celes strains, her expression showing utter exhaustion. ''Crack!'' ''Crack!'' ''Crack!'' I knew it! It hurts! That was my pinky, despite my enhanced bones! I am not the one who is supposed to suffer here! The multiverse knows exactly why getting children only hurts women! I am certain that there is some sort of higher power at work. Despite the pain, I keep smiling and endure the torment with an iron will. I don''t know how long it took, but some time later my pain is rewarded with the sight of a baby in Celes''s arms while the healer is trying to sort the bones in my right hand. ¡°Hmmm. This is a really complicated puzzle!¡± he murmurs to himself while using magic to shift the muscles, sinews, and bones around. ¡°Can you fix it or not!¡± I am getting nervous here. ¡°Not so hasty. Ah, I think I have it, that bone belongs into the other finger! No idea how it got over there, hahaha. HEAL!¡± By all the gods, who employed this guy? Did Celes really have to suffer for three hours? I take a look at the child while the healer is channelling the healing spell into my hand. The baby smiles when it notices my attention. ¡°Hehe. You look like an old man with all those wrinkles, Casus.¡± ¡°He is not Casus! His name is Aengus of Tirna ¨C to continue the tradition. A member of the royal line needs a strong name!¡± Ireth puffs out her cheeks at me. ¡°I swear, you young folk, if we left the naming to you, everyone would run around with names like Ketchup or Stain.¡± Ireth took the naming matter into her own hands when she noticed our ongoing argument about the child''s name. Right before the birth, Celes and I were unable to make up our minds, so Ireth''s intervention was kind of a lifesaver. ¡°Let me hold him.¡± I pull my squished hand out of the healer''s grasp, deciding that it looks well enough. Then I take the child out of Celes''s arms and smile at the wrinkleface. Pressing a thumb to his forehead, I search his mind and soul. Thankfully, all I find is the dim and weak flame of a newborn. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Celes¡¯s expression turns concerned. ¡°Hahaha. Nothing. I just took a look at his soul. The last thing I would have needed is that Seria played another joke on us and gave us someone who remembered his past life. I would find it creepy to educate someone who is already an adult person.¡± They look at me with shocked expressions. I apologize, Mom, Dad, you did exactly that and I know that it wasn¡¯t easy. ¡°No problem. Really, he is just a normal child. Here, look.¡± I make a stupid face at the baby and he laughs. ¡°Papa will have to teach you everything the good, old-fashioned way.¡± All the family members let out a sigh of relief. ¡°I feared my grandson wouldn''t be a normal child either.¡± Arthur hugs his wife. ¡°It looks like at least our grandchildren will be normal.¡± Hey! What''s that supposed to mean!? ¡°Was it really that bad with us?¡± I ask him. ¡°You have no idea how creepy it is when your baby-daughter suddenly explains to you that you made a mistake with the taxes,¡± Arthur answers, looking mirthful. Celes sighs melodramatically, remembering the whole scene. ¡°I think I was two. He forgot a whole city in the annual tally! I couldn''t just ignore such a major mistake.¡± I harrumph. At least I tried to pretend to be a normal child until I was five or six. ''Boom!'' Outside the window, the embassy''s barriers flare to light and the room shakes. ''Boom!'' The palace shakes again, forcing me to take a wider stance. Crap, what''s going on? Explosions? I take a look out of the window and can see a ball of light arching through the sky, coming down at the embassy. A second before it impacts, it hits an invisible wall and disperses with a shock wave. ''Boom!'' The embassy shakes a third time, causing my son to cry. I growl and walk closer to the window, trying to find out what''s going on. Ever since I became king, I doubled up on the palace''s passive defence systems. Nothing short of several nukes has even the slightest chance to take us by surprise. ¡°Are those heavy artillery spells?¡± The door opens and Drem enters the room. ¡°Your Majesties! You have to evacuate! An army suddenly appeared in the city and started to deploy long-range weaponry. The embassy''s shield won''t stand up to that kind of abuse for very long.¡± ¡°How many?¡± I ask, counting three more of those artillery spells arching through the sky. ¡°At least ten thousand, my king! They must have set up a teleportation gate within the city and are marching in this direction. Our army is completely out of place. We can''t stop them before they take the embassy down,¡± Drem replies with an urgent tone in his voice. ¡°The city''s civil enforcers aren''t up to the task.¡± ¡°Leave the palace with everyone you can find and retreat to safety. I will teleport my family out of here and join you later,¡± I inform him. Drem nods and runs out of the room, following my order without questions. ¡°I will go too. I need my generals.¡± Arthur turns to leave. ¡°Stop! Are they inside the palace?¡± I call out before he can leave. ¡°No? It''s too late in the night. They are at their homes for sure, which leaves only a skeleton crew at the war-room. We didn''t expect this at all,¡± Arthur admits. I hand the baby over to Celes and heave her out of the bed in a princess carry. ¡°Then it''s better if you leave together with us. It would be stupid for the brass to collect at a location which is under direct threat of enemy attacks. They clearly already have a strong foothold, so organize our forces from somewhere outside their reach. They can have the embassy. It''s just a stupid building.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Another explosion shakes the ground and a little dust comes down from the ceiling. It''s time to get out of here! I teleport Celes and the healer, just to immediately return. Next, are Ireth and Katrine. On my third trip, I take Rose and Arthur. When I reappear for the third time to get Nicosar, I am in the air... falling! ¡°Stone Skin!¡± I experience a second of weightlessness right before a hard landing on the ground. ¡°Ouf!¡± Not wasting any time, I get back to my knees and see that everything is in ruins. Apparently, the shield was broken and the private part of the palace was targeted first! ¡°Nicosar!¡± No answer! I turn in a circle, searching. Where is the cockroach!? Finally, I find a hand poking out from beneath the rubble. A swipe of my hand and flexing my telekinetic muscles frees the geezer who is already half healed up, the mist is reforming his body. Not hesitating, I grab him at the neck and teleport just a moment before another white ball of energy curves down on our position. When I reappear, I unceremoniously drop Nicosar to the ground. ¡°Hey, I was almost a goner! Do you have no respect for your old grandfather!?¡± I snort. ¡°You survived a strategic-class spell. Don¡¯t make me laugh.¡± ¡°Where are we?¡± I hear Arthur''s irritated voice. ¡°It''s dark, I can''t see!¡± Ireth complains. ¡°Light!¡± I speak the command and the room is bathed in bright light. ¡°You are in my private research lab. It''s the safest place I could think of. And it¡¯s a relatively secure teleport location. At this hour there should be nobody here.¡± ¡°Safe? Wouldn''t they attack the vital installations first?¡± Arthur is shocked. I run up to a console next to the entrance and hit the emergency button. The face of a technician appears on the screen. ¡°Your majesty! We already wanted to contact you, but the communication line into the city was cut off. A few people tried to gain access to the facility. The guards dealt with them. We didn''t leave our posts because we feared to leave the installation understaffed.¡± ¡°Good work. Man the control room. Power up all systems. The City is under attack.¡± I cut the line before he can answer. ¡°I need to get to our military.¡± Arthur stops me, but I gently push him out of the way. ¡°If you can tell me where they are likely to gather, I''ll teleport you there. Otherwise, you stay put.¡± My answer baffles him, so he puts up no further obstruction when I walk past him and out of the room. The whole facility starts waking up around us as I guide everyone to the control room. Technicians and security staff runs past me along the hallway as I walk the relatively short distance. We arrive after twenty meters and enter another room with a big door. Inside it are already a few workers at their consoles. A big screen fills the opposite side of the room. Some of my men are controlling drones, while others are supervising my energy plant. On the screen is already a pretty good tactical map of the city with drones engaging targets of opportunity. ¡°How is the situation?¡± I ask one of the officers who is studying the big tactical display. He leaves his position in the middle of the room, allowing me to take it. ¡°It seems like they managed to teleport a big army right into the city''s central park. Afterwards, they set up heavy air defence and artillery, which is really annoying for our drones. The royal embassy is being bombed to rubble and what little military we had stationed in the city is in no position to fight back. They knew exactly where they had to aim their first shots to do as much damage as possible. Casern, power- and communication-lines were taken out with the first volley,¡± the man explains. ¡°This looks bad,¡± Arthur comments from behind and I turn around to see that some of my family members followed me into the command room. Only Ireth, Nicosar, and the healer are missing. They probably stayed outside in order to not get in the way. I turn to take a look at the screen where a big red dot is spreading out into smaller segments, covering my city. ¡°Bastards... They sure have guts to do this on my son''s birthday,¡± I comment with a grim expression on my face. ¡°They caught us with our pants down,¡± Arthur gripes with a salty tone in his voice. I shrug. ¡°Maybe. Every war causes losses. We should only count what is owed after the last shot is fired.¡± I hit a few buttons on the console next to me. ¡°Power up the engines! Cut the power lines to the city and activate the secondary facility! Tonight we are going for a hunt!¡± ¡°B... But your majesty! Nothing is tested! And we haven''t installed some of the engines yet!¡± A technician complains, fear showing in his face. ¡°I don''t care! I over-dimensioned the whole thing anyway! They are wrecking my city! Either this thing flies tonight or it doesn''t!¡± A big throne-like command chair lifts from the ground behind me and I sit down. Everyone inside the room becomes hectic at my declaration. ¡°Engines are powering up!¡± ¡°Deploying the anti-gravity field!¡± ¡°Shields are active.¡± ¡°The mountain is still above us. We didn¡¯t have time to clear all the rock!¡± I only shake my head at the complaint. ¡°Shields to full energy. Blow it up!¡± Following my command, the officer in charge of the shields flips a switch, raising the output to the maximum. Everything shakes as tons of rock are repelled away from the outer hull, accompanied by a low rumbling sound. ¡°The rock is out of the way, sir.¡± The officer gives me a savage grin. Those military people sure like it to blow up stuff. ¡°Take us up.¡± I raise my hand, indicating for the man in charge of the engines to do his job. The floor bucks a little. ¡°It seems we are stuck,¡± a technician informs us. ¡°Full energy to the engines! We are behind the schedule!¡± Do you want to tell me that a few rocks are stopping me from saving my city? The floor bucks again and I can hear a screeching sound as our former research station rips itself free. ¡°We are free! We are flying!¡± The workers and technicians start cheering upon seeing their work and effort finally bear fruit after so many months. I press a button on my chair to get a better view of our surroundings on the big screen. The screen splits into four segments with the upper right showing the previous tactical map. The other segments show various camera views, displaying the city''s situation and our surroundings. Beneath us is the hollow shell of the mountain which once harboured my facility. ¡°Hrm. Since this isn''t a research facility anymore. This shall now officially be called the Nomad Fortress Midpoint.¡± A part of the mountain crumbles and caves in while I make my proclamation. ¡°Mwhaha! Behold! 5200 metres long. Six million tons of steel! Enough firepower to roast an average army within seconds! Loaded with tactical warheads, particle cannons, and plasma weapons. Three layers of independent shielding spells, each powered by its own fusion reactor! Onboard repair facilities and the latest drone-tech to go with it. Anti-Gravity propulsion and teleportation systems. Everything has at least three redundancy systems! You could blow two-thirds of this ship to hell and it would still keep coming at you!¡± I raise my fingers to the ceiling and let loose my best evil laugh. Time to test my toy! ¡°Head us towards the city and redirect the full energy output to the shield and weapon systems. Link to the drones in the air and give me a better overview.¡± I grin while the screen switches to a flying monster of a battleship. Rocks are still sliding off the sleek and dark arrow-shaped hull, the mountain beneath us nothing more than a discarded shell. ¡°Mwahahaha! My new toy looks cool! Time to test it on those fools!¡± Magical runes and circles appear as the magi-tech starts drawing power. The reinforcing enchantments glow in blue and red on the hull. The whole thing looks like a huge space ship with weaponry facing every direction, but there are no visible engines. ¡°Arrival in five minutes!¡± an engineer shouts. ¡°Take us higher. I want a good angle to pound them into the ground. Make sure that our weapons have full coverage,¡± I order. ¡°No way!¡± Arthur proclaims with a shocked voice as he finally realizes what¡¯s going on. ¡°You rebuilt one of those monstrosities on this world!? Are you insane?¡± Celes gapes at the screen while holding onto the baby. She clearly remembers the best weapon of my followers. They built dozens of flying fortresses back in the old days. They were the backbone of my army of mortals and the reason for why the war became as devastating as it did. ¡°No need to fear anything. Who do you think gave them the blueprints?¡± I smirk at her. ¡°You will worship me soon enough once the City of Light''s barriers fall.¡± ¡°We are under fire, sir! Deploying defence.¡± The technician from earlier draws my attention back to the large screen. Seven balls of white light are heading in our direction. It''s the same ones which turned the embassy to rubble. My home. The fortress''s point defence guns rotate and spit out seven sparks of energy. They are much smaller than their counterparts, but they are designed to interfere with any foreign spell matrix, therefore countering or dispelling any magical effects they come into contact with. As soon as they intercept the artillery spells, they explode early, being reduced to nothing more than fireworks above the city. ¡°It looks like they are trying to use their artillery to take us down? That''s good.¡± ¡°I don''t see what''s good about it!¡± Arthur holds onto a nearby console while the bridge is shaken by the shock waves. ¡°If they are shooting at us, they aren''t shooting at my city.¡± I smile at him. Then I look for Celes, making sure that everything is alright with the crying baby. She is still holding our son. ¡°Give me Aengus, he has some work to do!¡± ¡°Counter-attacking the enemy artillery!¡± one of my men updates us and seven lances of red energy stab down into the dark city beneath. Cutting the city''s energy resources might cause significant inconveniences for the citizens, but I have no doubts that our enemy also relied at least in part on the city''s information infrastructure. Now they are cut off in an otherwise dark city and on foreign territory which hopefully slows their advance. Celes reluctantly gives me my screaming son and I hold him in front of me. ¡°No need to cry. They blew your birthday, but we are going to punish them!¡± Turning him around, I set him down on my lap and pull out a tablet from the side of my control chair. It''s linked to the tactical display on the main-screen and shows a map of the city. ¡°See? Look, nice red dots.¡± I tap the tactical projection with my finger. ¡°Activate the weapons and lock them onto the enemy units. I want fire-control at my station.¡± ¡°Done sir!¡± the man at the weapon''s station is quick to follow the order, looking a little sad at having to give up his toys. ¡°See Aengus? Evil red dot! Touch!¡± I hold the small touch-screen in front of my son and demonstrate the basic idea by touching one of the smaller red dots with my finger. A ray of energy lances down into the city and the red dot disappears from the screen. ¡°See, Aengus? Funny, isn''t it?¡± Aengus stops screaming and eyes the tablet with interest. Due to his age, he is unable to display the same motor-control I did, so he unceremoniously pats the big red dot in the central park. Curious at the new toy, he covers the park completely with his tiny palm. A ball of blue energy howls down to the city and wipes the park off the map, blowing windows out of nearby houses. ¡°That''s my son! Taking out the enemy''s command centre with his first strike! I thought I would let them struggle for a while, but Aengus already knows that it''s best to lop off the enemy''s head first!¡± I smile proudly and watch as a small mushroom cloud rises from the central park. Then I notice that everyone is looking at us with pale faces. ¡°Hmpf.¡± I huff, waving my hand. ¡°Fire at will. Just use precision strikes from now on.¡± I admit that having my son fire a spell that is equal to a small tactical nuke might be a little over the top. Celes takes Aengus back from my lap. ¡°Don''t teach him murdering people that early! I don''t know what to do if he copies that strange grin of yours.¡± I decide to ignore the quip and watch the unfolding doom of my enemies. More rays of red energy strike down into the darkness, searching out confirmed enemy positions. There is nothing our opponents can do. As more information trickles in, it gets obvious that they only had six large spell-projectors which they used for their artillery spells. After a minute of continuous firing, the red dots are all gone and everyone stares in awe at the hell which we unleashed on those backstabbers. ¡°A call from the city. It''s Drem, your majesty,¡± one of the officers addresses me and gestures towards his console. I flip a switch on my chair and Drem''s face fills the screen. ¡°I am at the edge of the city with a few troops and some big animals from the army. I hope that the end of the light-show means we won, sir?¡± ¡°Sure as hell we won! I will get Arthur and Nicosar down to you in a minute. How does the situation look from your end?¡± I only hope that this idiotic attack didn''t do too much damage. Drem snorts. ¡°Disastrous. From what I heard, ten thousand of those terrorists rampaged with heavy weapons through the city. They shot at everything that moved! If they hadn''t attacked only targets of high strategic value, we would be looking at horrible losses among the civilians. Luckily, they ignored any civil installations or areas with high population density.¡± I nod. ¡°I understand, we are on our way. Technician, please teleport Arthur to Drem''s location. Arthur, we need your guys to take care of the city. I will teleport everyone down there as soon as it is safe again. And then we will go to the City of Light and tell them our opinion of their little summoning ritual!¡± One of my men approaches Arthur. ¡°Please follow me, your majesty. We will head directly to the teleportation array.¡± ¡°Then take the lead. We have no time to lose.¡± Arthur follows the technician. I nod and turn to the guy at the engine control. ¡°New course! North! We are going to the City of Light to crack an egg.¡± Chapter 40 ***Dimension M-23-565-6, World - Mitage *** ***Seria*** ¡°Please, don''t do this alone, Seria! I know that you are strong, but it''s stupid to fight a Council member one on one! Tjenemit isn''t a pacifist like me or a scientist like Elohim. He fought at the front-lines during the war,¡± Lada pleads. She reaches out and touches my shoulder, hoping to sway my opinion. But there is nothing she can do to change my mind. I have been on this course for far too long. When I started out with this plan of mine, it was like rowing down a gentle river. I could have decided to jump off and swim to the shore at any time, but not any longer. As my deeds accumulated, my ability to turn back and let things be faded. By now, I am long past the point of no return. Now, my little boat is all that keeps me afloat within a rushing maelstrom with deadly cliffs to either side of me. My only options are to come out on top or to die with everyone else. In my mind, there was never a choice to my actions. Without allies and caught in the cogs of the Council''s machine, I had to resort to means that would deter even those who will fight for me in the end. Whether they want to or not. But that''s why my plan will work. It''s so insane that even the Council members do not believe that anyone would resort to such means. They have all the hints right in front of their eyes and even now most of them don''t truly believe it. Tjenemit is the only one who caught on, but that is only because he is a distrustful bastard. He always was. I lean back against the rock, enjoying the view from the highest peak of the tallest mountain on some nameless world. If the local deity who calls this place his home knew that I am here, he would have a hissy fit. Nazareth and I are not on speaking terms since I used his and his brother''s souls for some experiments. They suffered quite the beating when they got caught up in Ascathon''s and Myrm''s conflict. If it weren''t for my efforts, Nazareth would still be some incoherent mess of metaphysical soul-energy. Thanks to a little soul-merging with Marigold''s, he is up and kicking again a few millennia earlier than he would be if I left him to recover naturally. The insufferable little gnome should be worshipping me! Instead, he is hiding on this nameless pit of a world in an attempt to stay away from me and the Council. Ha! He only thinks that, the little fool. His only luck is that he is too insignificant for anyone to actually think about him. I bet that Tjenemit doesn''t even remember the rat''s name by now. I sigh. Friends are won and lost as easily as I can play with life and death. Watching the snowy mountains, I finally remember that I owe Lada a reply. ¡°It''s really no problem, Lada. Everything will turn out to be fine, I promise. Besides, what would you do if you were at my side? Fight him together with me? You are no fighter, Lada. We both know that. You would be in the way.¡± ¡°I could at least try to talk to him!¡± Lada looks at me with an angry expression. ¡°I know that you don''t think much of Tjenemit, but he can be reasoned with.¡± I chuckle, seeing her throwing what counts as a tantrum for her. ¡°You are such an angel, Lada. Are you sure that you aren''t hiding some wings on your back? If he gets away and tells the rest of the Council about you, you will be in deep shit. I don''t want that. I need you where you are now.¡± Reaching up, I brush her hand off my shoulder. ¡°You will be able to do much more from within their ranks. I never thought that I would get a trump-card like you. So as long as you stick to the plan, it will be fine. Just don''t risk giving yourself away beforehand. We are sure to succeed easily with you as our agent. You can lessen the losses of both sides by a great deal.¡± A gust of wind ruffles our hair and I throw up a quick shield to protect us from the annoyance of nature. The sky is so wonderfully blue from up here. ¡°The Council isn''t what it was anymore. We... at least I... had something else in mind when it was founded.¡± Lada looks sadly at the ground while she is floating next to me. ¡°Something happened within the hearts of the others. They are drunk on their power and lost sight of what it means to show compassion. I wouldn''t help you otherwise.¡±The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I can''t tell you everything, Lada. The only thing I can do is to promise that I planned everything. I did this for so long, I actually don''t even remember when everything started. If I am truthful, I was always afraid to go from the preparation stage to the actual execution.¡± I smile at her. ¡°If Tjenemit hadn''t caught on, I would have continued for another eternity. It doesn''t matter anymore if I win this fight or lose. My actions were out of my control since long ago, like I said.¡± I stand up and take a look around. The view is wonderful, though there is a quickly approaching front of clouds which will soon cover the peak in mist. An ocean of clouds. ¡°Maybe I just failed to notice that I am just as caught in my ways as all of the other old deities.¡± I nod, trying to reassure myself. ¡°Maybe having a new start is what I really need.¡± Lada grabs my hand. ¡°That sounds like you actually expect to die!¡± ¡°Bwahaha! Don''t be ridiculous. Of course, I would prefer it if I don''t die. I think no immortal wants to deal with the memory loss that''s involved in that. But once Tjenemit and I clash, it will be a fight between gods and one of us will die. All I am saying is that my plan will go on without me. You just need to play the nice little Council member. Harmony and Peace for everyone. And when my friends come and knock on the Council''s door, you will have to decide if they are better than the Council or not.¡± I pinch her cheek. ¡°Smile a little more. That grim expression doesn''t fit you.¡± Lada grimaces. ¡°I searched all the records and I actually know how many gods, angels, demons, demi-gods, and so on, you hid from the Council. I don''t know how you are doing it, because Amaru''s Sphere of Sight can detect any divinity within the multiverse. It will be a big gamble to unleash them all at once.¡± She huffs. ¡°Who knows how many more you found without any record of it? We just know of those you got your hands on during the hunts. Who ever said that you didn''t find many more who were just on the brink of turning into gods? You obviously have a little more knowledge and power than the Council in some areas.¡± ¡°Oh, it seems I really can''t hide everything from you. But that''s fine.¡± I shrug, not wanting to confirm any of her suspicions. There is still a small chance that Lada is trying to play the double-agent. And in case that she is truly on my side it''s better for her to have no confirmation of anything if El Shaddai interrogates her. ¡°Just tell me, is it really worth it?¡± Lada asks me with a serious face. I hum and think about my answer. ¡°You know... when I came out of the Void, I felt like I was dead. I always had ideals, precious memories, and a conviction to keep me going. I think during that time in the Void some of my feelings died and I became a little like a machine. I came out and found the Council. You guys were against the freedom I always believed in, so I started my plan. It wasn''t out of passion or hate. I just did it because I thought it was my duty.¡± I pause, thinking. ¡°Then, over time, I talked to the other old gods and I found out that they are just as dead as me, not in a physical sense, butmore in a spiritual one. Even though they had the whole multiverse as their playground all that time. They lived so long that they lost their feelings, their ability to empathize with anyone but themselves. The same happened to me, though I realised that unlike them I am still clinging to some of those feelings which bind me to others. I am surprised that you aren''t like them, though you are pretty old too.¡± ¡°I was always the emotional type.¡± She smiles at me. I continue, ¡°However. When I talked to some of the younger gods, I realised that they still have life in them! They aren''t so far removed from the cycle of life and death as the rest of us. They still have purpose and passion, but they are suppressed by their elders. I thought to myself if we old ones were allowed to die, wouldn''t we be able to get our life back, our ability to feel? So I took a little vacation and tried to live a mortal life again. It wasn''t long. Just fifty or sixty years, I think.¡± ¡°You reincarnated? How? The Council should have noticed!¡± Lada stares at me with big eyes. ¡°You guys aren''t paying as much attention as you think. I filed for an extended vacation of five hundred years and spent the first hundred as a shut-in watching soap operas. I figured that even if Big Brother is watching me, they would get sick after a decade and I would have at least some time to myself. Well, I lived a nice, little life without anyone getting the wiser. I had parents again and could play my pranks on them. Can you imagine that?¡± I grin at her. ¡°I feel bad for your parents...¡± Lada grumbles. ¡°Those poor mortals.¡± Ha! If she knew! Of course, I chose my parents. ¡°Well, that''s when I decided that my actions are the right ones. I think every god should return to the cycle of life and death from time to time if he or she wishes for it. Actually, I believe it''s the natural order of things. ¡°Think about it! A soul continues the circle until it becomes strong enough to ascend to godhood. And with it, the circle just ends! Are we really supposed to endlessly walk the multiverse? Or is it just a chance to explore the multiverse and yourself until you become bored of it and decide to return to the cycle to renew your soul? I like my view much better than the Council''s if you ask me. Enforcing an eternal peace on us is slowly draining everyone.¡± Lada smiles wryly at me. ¡°When the ancient war ended, we had way too many foes who would have continued to fight once they were reborn. We had no other choice but to seal them away and to forbid everyone else from reincarnating freely. It would be impossible to keep track of everyone, even with the Sphere of Sight.¡± I squint my eyes at her. ¡°You mentioned this Sphere of Sight twice now. Is that...¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She deflates, looking resigned. ¡°But I can''t tell you much about it. We found it in the Crystal City and El Shaddai figured out how to use it. It gave us the edge we needed to win the war.¡± I nod. ¡°It''s okay. The Sphere won''t help them in the long run. It''s a powerful device, but as I have already proven, it''s limited once you know its blind spots.¡± Suddenly, I feel something rip the space which belonged only to me for such a long time. The feeling wrenches at my soul and I flinch, reaching for my heart. Lada notices my distress. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°It is. The dice are finally falling. I have to go now.¡± I take and squeeze her hand. ¡°And you should be at that Council chair and put on an innocent smile.¡± I hug my friend for a moment and step away from her. Then I take a pathway which leads me home. I almost miss Lada''s weak, ¡°Goodbye.¡± Chapter 41 ***The City of Light*** ***Angrod*** So this is how it is going to be. I lean back in the command chair of my flying fortress and grind my teeth while I study the readouts from our sensors. There is no way to know how they did it, but their barrier¡¯s energy output got stronger since the last report I got. ¡°Maybe they held some energy in reserve. And now that their surprise attack got beaten back so badly, they decided to go all in on their defensive strategy in hopes that they can finish the ritual,¡± the technician in charge of the sensors suggests. ¡°It¡¯s likely,¡± I admit grudgingly. ¡°Though, it doesn¡¯t make this any easier.¡± Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have shown my ace so early in the game. I should have let them take Midhold and headed directly north. They would have known that we have a flying command-ship, but not that it¡¯s a weapon platform with enough fire-power to punch through their city-wide barrier. Now they bunkered down and I am actually uncertain whether we are able to take down the shield. It¡¯s good that Ireth and Rose stayed with Aengus in Midhold. At least I don¡¯t have to worry about my mother and the kid. Celes didn''t want me to walk into this alone, so she insisted on staying at my side. Arthur and Nicosar are also with me, while Katrine went to oversee the evacuation of the north. If things go south, we want to ensure that as many people as possible are as far away from the City of Light as it is reasonable. The north was already emptied of most of its population to begin with, but there are always some idiots who won''t leave their houses, or who believe that something that is happening a few hundred kilometres away can¡¯t affect them. Anyhow, what I am really worried about is how to deal with the summoning ritual. Should we just keep shooting at the city until there is nothing left except dust? On one hand, that would be the easiest solution, and likely the smartest. On the other, I never had a chance to actually look at the ritual. It could be one with proper safety functions, which would mean that irresponsibly destroying it wouldn¡¯t have too bad of an outcome. Or, it could have no safety functions at all and with as much power as is stored in there, an unsupervised shut-down could result in an explosion that¡¯s capable of causing a nuclear winter. Even this fortress wouldn¡¯t be adequate protection against that. I purse my lips. Maybe I should have put some random guy in charge of the fortress and told him to pound the City of Light into dust. But then Celes would have surely asked why I am not going myself. I would also have had to stop all my family members from going anywhere near the north. Which means that I would have had to explain things. Yeah¡­ Celes would surely be against taking the chance of a nuclear winter, and so would everyone else. I sigh and turn to face Arthur. ¡°Arthur, are the troops which will besiege the city ready to advance?¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± Arthur asks me sarcastically while he is taking a look at the map. ¡°They are as ready as soldiers can be who have been besieging a city for months. One word and they will be charging the walls.¡± After two days of flight, we have finally reached our destination and I am eager to test our enemies. ¡°I am not sure if we should take the risk of destroying the ritual from afar.¡± I scratch my head. ¡°There is a possibility that things can go very badly if we do that without intel.¡± ¡°Why should such a course of action be risky?¡± Arthur asks. ¡°What if the whole thing blows up? There is a serious amount of energy stored in there! What if the aftermath makes the world uninhabitable?¡± I spread my hands. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t get to look at the magical circle for the ritual, there is no way to tell.¡± Arthur goes stiff. ¡°Do you think that could happen!? How high is the risk?¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°I have no idea how well the summoning circle is made. It could have some safety mechanisms or it could have none. There is really no way to tell from afar.¡± ¡°Then what other options do we have?¡± Arthur shakes his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the soldiers. Going in and doing things ourselves will cause gruesome losses, but nobody down there is unwilling to pay such a price if it is necessary.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± I affirm. ¡°So, we break the shield and bomb everything to pieces. We don¡¯t care about anything or anyone aside from the ritual. The building with the summoning circle is our priority when we invade and take a close look at the thing. Maybe we can cancel it safely... somehow.¡± ¡°You don''t sound convinced.¡± Arthur looks away from the console on which he was studying the situation with one of his officers. ¡°That''s because I have no idea what we will find. The only idiot-proof option would be to blow the whole city to smithereens, but that comes with a risk of its own. As I already explained.¡± ¡°Those Meltheim and Tulhelm fellows have already proven without a doubt that they have some screws loose. They are wielding knowledge from a source they can¡¯t comprehend. They are like children with a magical wand. I don''t want to gamble on the possibility that they did something smart, like installing safety mechanisms into their ritual!¡± Arthur huffs, making it clear that he would assume the worst of our enemies. ¡°And if those mechanisms were there in the first place, with everything they have done, I think they removed them.¡± I scratch my chin, thinking. Arthur crosses his arms behind his back. ¡°They already committed mass murder on an unimaginable scale. Even during the war we never went that far.¡± Oh, Arthur. You would be surprised what people throughout the multiverse are capable of. I find what the Meltheims did relatively benign. He shakes his head. ¡°Those people are already with their backs against the wall. There is no option of losing for them anymore. If we get them, they are dead and they know it. So, why should they care about what happens once we win and interrupt their ritual?¡± ¡°Hm.¡± I nod. ¡°I can understand your reasoning, and they have proven themselves to be without remorse. Though, I think it''s not a question whether they wanted to install or uninstall a safety feature. It''s questionable whether the blueprint for the circle came with it. I doubt that they understand the ritual completely. They wouldn''t be able to modify it, even if they wanted to.¡± I lean back in my chair and study the ceiling.Stolen story; please report. ¡°That makes me even more uncomfortable with a gamble like that! Everything you told me about this Council of yours tells me that they don¡¯t care about our fate. We will invade by foot if necessary! That''s it,¡± Arthur affirms. My wife squeezes my shoulder. ¡°I don''t know Tjenemit well enough to take any guesses. We always tried to have as little contact as possible while we were his subordinates. But judging by what I know, he would be the type to hand a flawed ritual to mortals, especially since he simply doesn''t care. We should try it the safe way, even if it''s the bigger risk,¡± Celes gives her opinion. Up until now, she was standing next to me and listening silently to our conversation. I nod and take another look at the map. ¡°Tell our troops to start the long-range bombardment. I want the shield weakened when we arrive.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir,¡± one of my men confirms. The fortress shudders as a full salvo of blue rays of energy is fired, leaving trails of heated plasma in the atmosphere. The plasma cannons are a mixture of physics and magic. Water is superheated to several thousand degrees until its atoms are split and at the fusion point. Electromagnetic coils accellerate the plasma, then transmit it via a magically upheld electromagnetic field under high pressures. Upon impact, the field crumbles and the hell of a dying sun is set loose upon the world. A few seconds later, the screen shows blue flashes on the horizon. ¡°Start the drones and give the command to swarm the city as soon as the shield goes down. We will use them as the first wave.¡± ¡°We will lose many of them to our own fire, sir,¡± an officer reminds me. ¡°They are just metal, and maybe some can find valuable targets in the confusion. Set them up to clear out the area around the summoning circle. I don''t want any surprises there.¡± I point at the locations where I want them to be. ¡°I will order the troops to overrun the city as soon as the shield goes down,¡± Arthur affirms. ¡°They will run into our fire,¡± Celes complains. ¡°Everyone knows what''s on the line. I have picked only veterans to serve here. They all know that this could affect the world as we know it. If I tell them that they improve our chances a little by throwing themselves into a firestorm, they will do it.¡± Arthur doesn¡¯t budge, his voice reprimanding his daughter for being too soft. I nod. ¡°I hope it will be worth the risk.¡± We watch in silence as the fortress is shaken by the force of our own artillery. After another half an hour, our target finally comes into view. Located at the world''s largest mountain range, we can see the City of Light. A white bubble spanning over the city constantly lights up and disappears while it is hit by our artillery and other strategic spells from the besieging encampments all around the city. There is a no man¡¯s land between our forces and the city, reminding me of old and long forgotten wars. The City of Light looks like any other city, but a few structures stand out. First, the big tower at the centre of the city, second is the dome which most likely houses the summoning circle, and third are the smaller towers around the city which are similar to the big one. Our besieging troops start intensifying their bombardment, lighting up the whole city as a constant stream of projectiles and spells bombards its shell. ¡°Prepare the main cannon. The target is this tower at the edge of the city. Fire when ready.¡± I point out what I assume to be a weak spot and give my command. The barrier must be generated by a second ritual which surrounds the city as a whole. If I were in charge of defence, I would have used the towers as a convenient staging area to implement and protect the barrier-ritual. ¡°Why exactly that one?¡± Nicosar asks with a curious tone in his voice. ¡°I studied the city¡¯s layout for quite some time and I guess it''s the most likely place for one of the magic rituals which create the shield. The towers look like convenient corner points to implement the spell, which would be hard to control otherwise. The central tower most likely houses the power source which supplies the shield generators at the periphery, but it is too well protected. We will concentrate everything we have on that single tower. If we can overload the energy supply line, we can punch a hole into their defence. Once that part of the shield blows up, we will take out the big tower next, which should take the barrier down as a whole.¡± ¡°That''s the plan? And what if we can''t overload the supply line?¡± Arthur is having his doubts. ¡°Then we will fly the fortress above the city, climb to the highest altitude possible, evacuate everyone and cut the engine,¡± I answer with a sweet voice, fully intending to go through with such a plan of madness. ¡°Target acquired! Firing!¡± A big red beam shoots out of the front of our ship and impacts the enemy''s shield, where it disperses and vanishes. But our attack doesn''t stop, slowly gaining in strength as more and more power is routed to our main weapon, a spell projector which is powered by the very core I salvaged from the old fortress that was mistaken as a dungeon. ¡°Output continuous. Raising it to a hundred percent,¡± the technician who is in charge of our most beloved toy slowly takes secondary weapons and other unnecessary energy consumers offline, making more energy available for our main attack. I watch the effects on the shield, but it seems like it isn''t working. The shield is holding, despite the abuse we put it through. ¡°Raise the output by five percent every ten seconds.¡± ¡°But... that could burn out the spell projector,¡± the technician complains. ¡°Do it! If it can''t break that shield, we don''t need the weapon!¡± Its only purpose is to take down that barrier. The technician turns back to his console. ¡°Raising the output to 105... 110...115... we are overheating!¡± ¡°120! Do it!¡± I scream. This fucking shield has to go down! ¡°120.¡± The beam of red energy starts pulsating together with the city''s shield. Just as I start fearing that even over-engineering the systems wasn¡¯t enough, the shield flickers out and on again. It¡¯s enough to allow a tiny beam of energy to pass through and strike the tower, burning a hole straight through it. Flickering again, the shield vanishes and then disappears! The tower is hit by the full power of the beam and cut in half. At the same time, a whole section of the city¡¯s barrier winks out of existence and the people in the room start cheering. Our own energy beam also flickers and turns off. ¡°The main weapon burned out!¡± the man in charge of the spell projector complains, just having lost his purpose. ¡°Who cares! Reroute the energy and open fire! Wipe the big tower from my sight!¡± I start laughing like mad while our cannons pour their fire through the opening in the city¡¯s defence at the big tower. Explosions tear the main building apart and suddenly the whole shield goes down. With the loss of the barrier, the bombardment from our besieging troops starts ravaging the city from all sides. Arthur activates a little communication device on his wrist. ¡°All units, attack!¡± ¡°Clear out the area around the dome and give the command to the drones. Get ready to teleport us to the dome.¡± I jump out of my chair. Some white balls of energy start rising from the city, but they are few compared to the bombardment of our besieging forces. As soon as a strategic spell rises it is torn apart by multiple impacts, not allowing our enemies any reprieve. Our army is doing a good job in taking out the enemy''s artillery, so I allow myself a moment of satisfaction to watch the one-sided slaughterfest. ¡°Start teleporting the troops directly to the dome!¡± Nicosar gives instructions to a technician. ¡°I guess it''s time to get ready.¡± I nod at Celes and together, we make our way towards the weapon arsenal. A few minutes later we are equipped with the latest magically enhanced armour and weapons, supplied directly from my own cache of weaponry. A few technicians are required to help us to correctly put on the golden armour which looks like a combination of a knight¡¯s armour and a space suit. I made sure that all of my friends and family who take part in the fighting have the best of the best, most of it handcrafted by myself. Not that I am of the vain opinion that I am the best crafter in existence, but I simply have knowledge others lack. Still, I should have checked the work of my helpers who I allowed to give the equipment the finishing touch. ¡°Why do we all have black suits combined with gold, while the regular troops are black and silver?¡± ¡°Your majesties have to uphold the right appearance! It''s unthinkable to dress you in the colours of the regular troops!¡± a technician explains, clearly shocked at the question. Blasted idiots! In war, the guys with the fanciest equipment are always targeted first! ¡°Make the equipment look just like the armour of the regular troops next time. We stand out like hell! This just screams to the heavens that we should be shot first! Well, at least the black dominates, so it should just be a problem at close ranges.¡± I grumble to myself. Why do I have to do everything myself? Chapter 42 ***The City of Light*** ***Angrod*** After equipping ourselves, we return to the command centre. Thanks to the efforts of my minions, Celes and I look like a matching pair. The only difference is my organic enchantment, which I adjusted to complement the armour. Primarily the gloves, but also other parts of my equipment merge seamlessly with the reinforced metal of my armour which makes it easier to cast spells and to control my weapons. Celes is still sticking to her old ways, relying purely on her hand to hand combat skills. Which doesn''t mean that she is unprepared. Hidden behind her back, she still has the set of daggers which I made for her. Given her reluctance to use them, I have to remember to gift her armour and utility equipment instead of weapons in the future. I have to admit that having a weapon is a useless fancy for someone with enough strength to bend steel with her bare fingers and throw anything with enough force to turn it into a deadly projectile. It takes a few minutes of silent waiting while we let our soldiers do the fighting, but finally one of Arthur''s subordinates gives us the announcement we were waiting for. ¡°The troops cleared an area around the dome and judge it to be safe enough. They are now entering, but there is heavy resistance. Drem thinks it would be okay if you follow on their heels while they are advancing... That''s just if it''s true that every second counts,¡± the female officer adds after a moment of consideration. She bows to me, clearly intimidated by my presence. Celes hugs me, giving me an encouraging squeeze. ¡°Don''t do anything stupid!¡± After a few seconds, she lets go of me and I kiss her forehead. ¡°I promise,¡± I comfort her, not wanting to waste one of those rare moments when it feels like we are truly Johann and Sandra once more. Then I look at the guy at the teleportation controls. ¡°Get us down there!¡± <<<>>> Celes, Nicosar, Arthur and I re-materialize on an open plaza in front of the main entrance to the central dome. A quick look at the dead bodies and the destruction tells me that the battle must have been brutal. The ground is littered with the corpses of fallen soldiers and there doesn''t seem to be a meter of unmarred ground. The buildings look like they were under heavy bombardment for months. Only the dome was spared according to our instructions. From the looks of it, there are just as many of our men, clad in the black and white uniforms of the northern military, as there are Meltheim loyalists, recognizable by their grey combat suits. Arthur wasn''t kidding when he mentioned that he saw to it that only seasoned veterans with the right mindset would be taking part in breaking the City of Light''s defenses. I notice Drem who awaits us at the entrance to the dome. The big bear-like fellow waves us in. ¡°Hurry, you can never know if there are still snipers out here.¡± I walk up to him and enter the dome. ¡°How is the situation?¡± ¡°We cleared the area and took control of most of the dome, but there are several layers of safety doors. We broke through three so far and encountered heavy resistance. At the fourth, we are at a stalemate. There are some really strong people protecting it. I already lost more than a few men to them.¡± Drem leads us through a labyrinth of corridors while explaining the situation, his steps fast but measured. ¡°Is it possible those last defenders are the remaining nobles from Tulhelm and Meltheim?¡± Celes asks with a curious voice. ¡°It''s likely, but we couldn''t confirm it. I saw one of them fighting with his bare hands, crushing my people. That meets the criteria for one of the Meltheim brothers. The issue is that they all wear hooded robes and are masked like some kind of cultists.¡± Drem snorts with an expression of disdain. ¡°A few years with complete control over the city brought them over the edge.¡± We pass three big blast-doors on our way into the dome. At a fourth, Drem''s people are having what looks at first glance like a good old gunfight. The soldiers are taking cover to the sides of the door and behind whatever they managed to use as cover. ¡°I am sorry, but we couldn''t break the stalemate until now. We tried to enter twice, but got crushed both times,¡± Drem apologizes. ¡°I am currently waiting for another platoon of reinforcements, which should be here in a few minutes.¡± ¡°If we have a few minutes. Let me take a look.¡± I walk up to a guy who is crouching next to the door and hurling fireballs into the space beyond. I pat his shoulder and he looks up to me. A wave of my hand is enough to signal him that I need some space. He steps to the side and I go to my knees, taking a quick look around the corner. Right after jerking my head back immediately, a few bullets cut through the air where my face had been a moment ago. ¡°About twenty people with guns behind barricades. Four, who look like casters are holding the shield spells and about ten guys in robes in the back who look like the leaders.¡± ¡°They already got three of our best shooters. Placed the bullets right between their eyes. Even the new automatic healing devices don''t help against that. Either you are fast in taking cover or you are dead,¡± the soldier who made space for me grimaces in pain. There is no need to ask why the man is troubled. Given the number of dead men on the ground, I can imagine the reason for his feelings. I look at the grenades on his belt. ¡°Give me those.¡± He looks down at himself. ¡°Those don''t help. They modified their shields so that anything that impacts them bounces off.¡± He nonetheless hands me the explosives. After I have them, I unplug their safety mechanisms and look at the soldiers. ¡°I will teleport inside and start a distraction. As soon as you hear the explosions, you guys storm the room.¡± The soldiers nod and Celes starts punching the wall a few feet to the left of the entrance to the dome''s inner sanctum. Each hit creates a small crater in the concrete. ¡°I will make a new entrance here, so follow me as soon as the action starts.¡± She grins maniacally and continues to weaken the wall in preparation for her grand entrance. Arthur lifts an eyebrow and kicks the wall at another spot lightly, his bloodline affinity more than enough to do the job. ¡°The more entrances for our soldiers, the better.¡± I was born into a family of brutes... ¡°I will take the main-entrance and draw their fire! The day I sneak through a self-dug hole is far in the future!¡± Nicosar seems to be undisturbed and lifts a gun in each hand. I nod at everyone and teleport, reappearing close to the dome''s ceiling right above the enemies. While I start falling, I throw the grenades and two fireballs before I teleport again. Reappearing behind the enemy, I take cover behind a pedestal which was apparently some kind of stage at some point. Hurling a lightning spell at the enemies to get their attention, I activate the set of swords which was incorporated into the back of my armour. Jumping onto the pedestal, I instruct the weapons to orbit around me while I prepare the flashiest spell I know. Light dances between the tips of my fingers as I simultaneously raise a barrier and unleash a storm of popping fireworks and fiery sound effects while I fight to keep the mocking grin off my face as the grenades from earlier rain down on the defenders. They bounce off their shield, just as the soldier warned, but their explosions lend credence to my ploy. Screaming in alarm, more than half of the defenders turn to face the mage who is presumably about to cast a strategic-class spell right into their midst. Dropping the illusion, I dive back into hiding as bullets graze off my personal shield just as my people make their move and break through the wall, now taking considerably less fire than would have otherwise been the case. Immediately, the dome is turned into a hell of bullets and explosions. Everything turns into chaos as our people storm the enemy and there is no more time to dawdle around as one of the hooded figures disappears and reappears right in front of me. A fist punches through my shield and impacts my chest, causing me to I stumble backwards. Thankfully, most of the power was absorbed by my shield and armour or this would have hurt. ¡°Long time no see. I hope you can remember me!¡± The figure uncovers his face. Sarda! I grin at him. ¡°Did you join the priesthood? Did you willingly abandon all worldly desires while you rub one off to the tune of a sinner''s confession?¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it His eyes cloud over and he loses his self-righteous smile, clearly having trouble with deciphering my words. Then his expression turns enraged after having used all his mental capacity to get my meaning. ¡°Insolence! You will come to fear the one true god too! Once he enters this world the people who don''t believe in him will burn!¡± As his expression turns from an enraged madness to a truly insane one, I actually get a little worried about the mental state of these people. When I interrogated the men who attacked my coronation, I got disturbing reports about the way life is handled within the City of Light. Back then, it didn''t sound like the Meltheims truly believed in their scheme, so I assumed that they were just trying to cow the civilians who remained within the city. Now, it looks like they started believing in their own propaganda. I purse my lips in disgust. Even as a god, I was never so far gone that I would truly buy into my own propaganda, even though the Council practically forced the role on me. In fact, due to my fervent belief in knowledge, I was disgusted by myself for spreading any form of religion. Certainly not one that paints me as some heavenly being that has to be worshipped by the mortals. ¡°It looks like you guys locked yourselves up for far too long. Some screws came loose in your head.¡± Sarda screams and draws a sword. Then he jumps at me and I dodge. Elsewhere, I can see Celes, Arthur, and Nicosar fighting with other hooded figures while Drem and his men take on the Meltheim''s soldiers in a messy melee. I evade another strike and a clumsy slash before realize that Sarda didn''t really get better in all those years. Didn''t he have any opponents to fight while he was playing the cult-leader? Though, it seems like he got the mana treatment. He channels mana to enhance his body, wasting most of it in the process. Thankfully, I anticipated that and saw to it that we also got a little charge up. My personal armours are actually constantly converting mana from a small power cell and infusing it into the wearer''s body. A little piece of technology which I stole the idea for from an advanced world whose people liked to play with power suits. Sarda jabs his sword at me again and again as he tries to dodge past the blades which I use to keep him at a distance. His speed increases, putting actual pressure on me until I decide that enough is enough. I cast a fireball directly into his face. The strong aura he emits protects him but he is blinded for a second. Redirecting one of my orbiting blades, I stab it right through his knee, causing him to fall. Using the chance, I twist the sword out of his hand and nail him to the floor. His eyes widen when he witnesses my menagerie of blades turning to point at him while floating forward. ¡°Feels like old times, doesn''t it? I already nailed you to the floor once, and you haven''t learned anything from it.¡± He grins stupidly at me, manic fervour apparent in his eyes. ¡°Yeah, feels familiar, but you will still lose in the end.¡± Frowning and a little mad at his utter refusal to acknowledge the situation, I bring down all my blades with a gesture. Twenty four enchanted steel-blades sink into his flesh, turning him into a pincushion and killing him instantly. The runes on the weapons start glowing as they absorb the power within his body and by capturing his soul, they take on a green sheen. There is no joy in tormenting a misguided being like him. Better not to waste any time and be done with it quickly. The last life in his eyes fades and I pull the blades out of him, returning them to a defensive position around me. Taking another look around the room, I see that the chaos has lightened up a little. Most of the Meltheims'' followers are down, but six of the hooded figures are still fighting. Their strength makes it impossible for our regular soldiers to engage, which leaves them no choice but to evade and take shots at a distance while trying to chop down their opponent''s personal shields bit by bit. Celes''s ability to go toe to toe with the enemy and win is the only thing that allows our men their strategy, as the rebels have to be careful not to be caught by my partner. Just at that moment, one of our men manages to stun an enemy with a smoke grenade, which Celes immediately capitalizes on. She rushes forward with a burst of speed, actually leaking a small amount of her aura as she slams into her opponent. Finally having caught one, she grabs his ankle and swings him around, smashing the guy into the ground like a doll. He is struggling, but can''t put up any fight as she uses him like a flail to attack another robed figure, somehow managing to stick her feet to the ground despite the impossibility of the involved physics. Arthur is surrounded by two enemies while he is using the feet of a previous opponent as clubs, sending droplets of blood everywhere. It seems his first victim got the doubtful honour of being torn apart to serve as a weapon. The sight actually stuns me, as I have never seen my father in law letting loose like that. Nicosar is... tanking two opponents. They are hacking with their weapons at his mangled body while it keeps trying to reform, horror twisting their faces. ¡°Just Die!¡± ¡°Zombie!¡± ¡°Unholy Monster!¡± Seeing a good chance to intervene when I get it served on a silver platter, I gather all the power I can muster and throw a lightning spell at them. The spell hits the first opponent, then arcs down to Nicosar''s body before jumping to the second opponent. Then it arcs back to the first, connecting all three of them in a triangle-shaped arc of lightning plasma. I mercilessly keep channelling the spell until I am sure that I fried them all together with the geezer. They were too occupied to mind me. It''s wonderful if I don''t have to worry about friendly fire and can let loose with the more problematic combat spells! Once their colour turns a crispy brown, I release the spell and watch out for the next target of opportunity while the charred corpses crumble on top of Nicosar''s blackened body. When I look for my wife, there is nothing more to do. The one who was unlucky enough to be Celes''s opponent is just a bloody mess by now. Arthur has dealt with his own opponents, the surviving soldiers having sniped them from the side. My father in law caught a lone survivor at the neck. ¡°Look who we have here! Odlef Meltheim. He looks a little mangled, but I am sure it''s him.¡± The man struggles but can''t break free, having both his legs bent in an unnatural way. ¡°The god will punish you all! He will clean this foul world!¡± Arthur shakes the guy a little and then the man actually starts sobbing. ¡°They really went insane,¡± Arthur complains. ¡°I hope it hasn''t something to do with our bloodline. It sickens me to think that I share blood with this man, however distant the relationship may be.¡± At last, I can take the time to have a close look at the inside of the dome. It''s completely empty, except for the barricades and the stage in the back. It must have been some kind of festivity hall in the past, but everything was cleared out to make room for the ritual circle on the floor. The whole thing takes up an area of about half a football field and was engraved into the ground, then lined with metal to ensure that no casual misstep can interrupt the spell. Due to the amount of power which was forced into the self-containing spell, the metal glows with white fluorescent light. Inside the circle, directly at dome''s centre, is an altar with a box. Two soldiers are already in the process of securing it, one of them peeking inside without touching anything. Thankfully, they aren''t trying to mess with it. I would have had a heart attack if people without the proper knowledge started picking at the circle or anything remotely related to it. Suddenly, a mad grin creeps over the soldier''s face. ¡°There is only one true god! All who are unworthy must die!¡± He lifts his gun and shoots his comrade right in the chest, killing him. Then he turns the gun in my direction and I instinctually throw myself to the ground. My men react and a storm of bullets punches more holes into the man than I can count. Another soldier proves himself by coming to the right conclusion. In a world of magic, traps which mess with the mind aren''t uncommon. There are no combat veterans who have not encountered their fair share of them. He drops his weapons and runs up to the chest while shielding his eyes. Reaching it, he closes the lid and then lifts his hands, turning away from the artefact. ¡°I am not insane! Don''t shoot!¡± I just love it when I get to work with people who actually know what they are doing and care to use their heads. Though, the guy shouldn''t have gotten caught in a mind-trap. While I get back to my feet, combat healers enter the dome to tend to the wounded. Seeing that Drem is already organizing everything, I walk up to the altar and take a close look at the connections between the altar and the summoning circle, then at the altar itself. It seems to play some kind of central role in the formation of the spell. ¡°So that''s the seed of the problem.¡± Celes joins me and takes a look at the chest, picking it up and shaking it before I can stop her¡­ I gape at her very scientific methods! ¡°You could have blown all of us up! Or have gotten yourself brainwashed!¡± ¡°Seems like nothing is in there.¡± She crushes the chest between her hands. Only some magical sparks and a pitiful sizzling escapes the dying artefact before it''s useless trash. ¡°Give me some credit. I may not be able to cast spells, but I am godly at sensing energy. There was no connection between the chest-trap and the circle.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± I wring my hands. This could have gone wrong so many ways, but it''s useless to complain about spilled milk when there are so many things to do. Like preventing a hostile god from entering this world. Arthur comes up to us, dragging the sobbing Odlef like a child. ¡°He said that the box contained the ''message'' from this Tjenemit.¡± Nicosar joins us, picking away at his clothes while glaring at me. ¡°Did you have to do that?¡± ¡°Did you enjoy being clubbed to death over and over?¡± I riposte. ¡°Death by lightning may be unpleasant, but it''s one of the better ways to sign out.¡± Ignoring him, I walk in a circle around the altar, then I take out a knife and start cutting some of the finer connections of the glowing metal. Insane box or not, we have to stop the ritual. ¡°How does it look, Angrod?¡± Celes asks while looking over my shoulder. I continue prodding the altar wherever it looks safe enough, but after a minute I have to admit that dismantling the ritual and bleeding the stored energy into the surroundings might be impossible without doing major damage. ¡°Bad.¡± Suddenly, Odlef pulls a knife out of his tunic and cuts his wrist before I can stop him. He flails wildly while wrestling with Arthur, spraying blood all over the floor. The altar starts pulsating and Odlef begins screaming. ¡°The god is coming! The god is coming to cleanse this world!¡± Fuck! Was the blood some kind of catalyst? I kick the altar, chipping off a piece of it. The only response is that the runes on it flare up angrily, giving off a buzzing sound. ¡°Wow! Don''t do that again!¡± Arthur complains while holding down the mad cultist. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°It seems that produces at least a reaction! The blood somehow activated the ritual.¡± Deciding that we are out of time for fancy solutions, I kick the altar with my full strength while channelling magic through my body. The damned thing splits apart but the circle keeps pulsing with a white light. ¡°Shit! If I just had time to take a closer look at this.¡± I suddenly come to the unpleasant realization that we were too late. We are out of time and out of options. Suddenly, reality seems to distort and a shock wave blasts us out of the circle while all the power rushes towards the ritual''s centre, forming into a figure made out of silver light. ¡°Well, well. Look at this. Who would have thought that Seria was able to drag a whole world into her Void Zone?¡± A disembodied voice chuckles. I try to get back to my feet, cursing my bad luck as I witness the figure materializing into Tjenemit. He wears a white tunic and a fitting sash with swirly ornaments around his hips. His tanned skin is as perfect as ever. The only difference from my memories is that he allowed his hair to grow out to finger length, compared to the short-cropped brush which I remember. Odlef got free from his shackles and somehow managed to crawl halfway towards Tjenemit. ¡°God! Heal me! Punish the heretics!¡± The poor fool is completely brainwashed. ¡°You are annoying, whoever you are.¡± Tjenemit waves his hand dismissively at Odlef and the poor idiot is blown away and strikes the wall of the dome, going ''splat'' like an insect. Looking up, Tjenemit curls down the corners of his lips. ¡°This blocks my view.¡± The dome blasts apart like a tent carried away by the wind. Now free of the hindrance that obstructed his view, the god lifts a few feet into the air and turns in a circle, studying his surroundings while paying the mortals no heed. Someone grabs me and pulls me to my feet. It''s Arthur. ¡°What can we do? Is that the real power of a god?¡± I wince. ¡°He hasn''t even started yet.¡± Celes joins my side, thankfully uninjured. ¡°We take cover and hope that he doesn''t step on us.¡± Chapter 43 ***The City of Light*** ***Angrod*** Just as we are about to sneak away like mice who stumbled upon a tiger, a ray of energy hits Tjenemit with a roar, bathing him in the brilliant light of destructive energies. But the attack doesn''t harm him. Instead, it is reflected in random directions, slicing up buildings and survivors. ¡°No! Idiots! Don''t shoot at the god!¡± I roar, unable to change the stupidity of my people¡¯s decision. The men on my flying fortress must have taken action. I try to shield my eyes against the light to find out what¡¯s happening, but Tjenemit shines like the sun, making it impossible to look at him directly. ¡°Hahahaha! Mortals are always so funny!¡± With what must have been nothing more than a flick of his finger, Tjenemit retaliates against my flying fortress. The whole structure of the arrow-shaped fortress bends, breaking apart like a toy. No! Damn! It took me years to build that thing! The people I trained! But I am unable to help them. The broken pieces fall to the earth, burning like falling meteors, impacting with an impressive blast of energy and leaving little chance for survivors. ¡°Evacuate everyone, give the order to retreat and don''t look back!¡± I instruct the others. The thought of fighting Tjenemit in my current state doesn¡¯t even enter my mind. There are times when all a person can do is to face the other direction and run. Celes finally manages to collect herself. She takes my hand and nods. ¡°We run!¡± We turn to beat a hasty retreat, but suddenly the space behind Tjenemit distorts with a thunderclap and Seria appears. Throwing out a hand, she stabs it into his back. The resulting thunderclap almost pops my eardrums and everyone is thrown to the ground as debris is hurled away from the two warring gods. All Celes and I can do, is to hold onto each other, hoping that the storm would leave us untouched. Tjenemit¡¯s unfolding scream of rage seems to shatter the world. ¡°AAAAAARRGHH!¡± He turns around and strikes Seria, driving the goddess back. With an incredulous expression, he reaches for his back, his hand coming away soiled with blood. ¡°You injured me!? How!?¡± Seria smiles and licks the blood from her fingers, her angel and demon wings unfolding behind her as two horns sprout from her temples like a tiara and a demon tail flicks behind her back. Her dress falls away and is replaced by a silver armour, riddled with chaotic runes. ¡°Nail polish with mana crystal dust. Works wonders against the auras of pesky gods.¡± ¡°What!? Who the fuck are you!?¡± Tjenemit raises a hand, making a sign to ward himself against this new foe. In the other, he summons a sword of blazing, white fire. ¡°Aw...¡± Seria pouts. ¡°I am your one and only Goddess of Life and Death. Don¡¯t tell me that you don¡¯t recognize me without my glamour.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡± Tjenemit shakes his head. ¡°You clearly overstepped your bounds. A whole world with mortals within your Void Zone? It¡¯s not what I expected, but I will find the answers and what that form of yours is supposed to mean!¡± He charges her and they start trading blows. Each one shatters the world around them. I force myself to ignore the fight and lead Celes and the others away from the epicenter of destruction. When giants are fighting, we mice can only hide. Tjenemit and Seria haven¡¯t even started yet, or this city would already be gone. Our only hope is that they keep ¡®playing¡¯with each other until we get away. ¡°Can¡¯t you teleport us out?¡± Arthur asks while running next to us. ¡°No chance!¡± I reply, pumping my legs. ¡°They are discharging so much power that the interferences make it impossible to control the spell. Certainly not at long distances. We would likely end up dead.¡± Then Seria is struck out of the sky and a mountain at the far horizon is blown apart. The resulting shock wave lays waste to the city and forces us to take cover behind the remains of a bombed building. I look at the others who are sprawled on the ground, torn between just running away and risking my life. Behind us, in the rubble on the ground, I can sense Seria. While I can barely hold myself upright, I act on reflex and teleport to Seria, risking death by my own spell. Grabbing her body, I teleport again, trying my best control the spell despite the raging energies all around me which try to sabotage my spell matrix. Having extracted her from Tjenemit¡¯s immediate grasp, I lean her down against some large piece of debris, hoping that she has an answer for this fucked up situation. ¡°Great! Was that your plan!? Backstabbing a Council member and hoping for the best? That was the worst fight I have ever seen!¡± Seria looks up to me and smiles while she coughs up blood. ¡°It would have been funny if it had worked.¡± I take her in, my hopes diminishing upon seeing the horrifying wound which spans across her chest. This doesn''t look good. Tjenemit appears above us. There is no running from a god, but maybe I could have done something ¨C anything ¨C if Seria hadn¡¯t been this badly injured. How is it even possible for Tjenemit to penetrate her defences so easily? Did she let her guard down intentionally? ¡°Look who we have here. Is this one of your mortal toys, Seria?¡± Tjenemit slowly lowers himself to our level, studying me with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Though, you seem familiar.¡± ¡°Well, maybe you knew a distant ancestor of mine,¡± I reply, trying not to sound too mocking. Tjenemit rolls his eyes and shrugs. ¡°Whatever. Seria, I¡¯ll leave you alive for now. You can watch while I pick through your world and kill your pets until I find out what you were trying to do here. One¡­ by one¡­¡± Not even looking at me, he points a finger at my neck and a small ray of white light stabs through my flesh before I can react. Going to my knees, I fumble at my throat, trying to stop the flow of blood, trying to breathe. It hurts! ¡°Hgr ee aall!¡± Heal! Damn it! All I can do is to gurgle up blood, the one healing spell I know by heart being ineffective. I drop to my knees, trying to find a way out, a solution to the problem. I gambled my hopes on Seria having a plan and failed. ¡°Don''t bother. That spell cancels any healing a mortal might be capable of.¡± Tjenemit waves his hand. ¡°I guess I will go now and lay waste to this world. Once I find and have dealt with all those runaways, their souls will be caught inside this Void forever. The easiest solution will be if there are no bodies which could house a soul. No suitable body, no reincarnation.¡± Tjenemit turns around and flies off. Destroying everything in his path with a casual display of his power. I crumble to the ground, the lack of oxygen slowly robbing my consciousness. Seria crawls towards me and grabs my hand. ¡°I am sorry, Johann. I guess¡­¡± Her words sound like they are coming from far away as I drift off into the darkness. ***The City of Light*** ***Celes*** This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Ooohhh...¡± I moan and cradle my head between my palms. My head hurts! Something must have hit me pretty hard.When I try to move,I realize thatsomething heavy is weighing me down. It is dark.Was I buried alive? ¡°Celes, are you awake!?¡± ¡°Arthur?¡± I ask, recognizing my father¡¯s voice. ¡°Yes!¡± His voice sounds relieved. ¡°By the fucking gods! I thought we were all dead when that thrice-damned bastard turned our way and started blasting everything in his path. I think we were lucky that the wall collapsed on top of us. It must have shielded us from the worst of it.¡± I concentrate and redirect the flow of mana within me, circulating the energy through my meridians and mana channels until I am confident that I am at least at eighty percent of my current power level. ¡°What about Nicosar?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± My father¡¯s expression sounds mortified. ¡°I think he threw himself in front of us just when Tjenemit passed our position. He didn¡¯t even bother with us.¡± I wait until the energy in my body circulates in the correct pattern, making sure that the passive reinforcement technique is running without my full attention. It''s quite a difficult process to sort this out after everything got messed up due to being unconscious. Then I force myself to move, lifting the heavy stones which are burying me and pushing them to the side. Something in my leg stings like a bitch and I shove the last of the debris off of me with a scream. This hurts! Now able to inspect myself for injury, I find a large metal rod penetrating my lower leg. Holy shit, that hurts! Pinching the metal between my fingers, I straighten the rod and cut it off. Then I pull it out with a scream while my father asks what¡¯s wrong. Ignoring him for now, I concentrate some of my mana to the ring which Angrod gave me. ¡°Heal!¡± The soothing effect of a minor healing spell washes over me and I rummage through my pockets, pulling out a vial with a major healing potion. I uncork it and down the bitter contents in one go. Then I watch the wound healing rapidly until it is closed. The time it takes to recovergives me the opportunity to survey my surroundings. The city was already a battlefield, but now it is in ruins! Far away, I can see the smoke of a big fire. That must be where Angrod''s fortress fell from the sky. The major buildings are completely gone. Feeling better, I turn around and start digging for my father. ¡°Are you injured?¡± I notice a few bodies here and there, but right now my family is more important. I have to find Angrod. ¡°No. I don¡¯t think so.¡± Finally, my father emerges from a pile of bricks after I¡¯ve removed most of the larger debris. I take his hand and pull him to his feet, relieved that he seems to be fine. ¡°Listen, you are going to search for Nicosar. This area seems to be safe enough for now with Tjenemit gone.¡± ¡°Okay. But why did he suddenly fly off?¡± Arthur looks at the destruction. ¡°He was winning, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I suppose he wants to find out what¡¯s going on. Get the larger picture. This world certainly isn¡¯t what he expected to find and now that he has beaten Seria that badly, he will take his time for a proper investigation.¡± I wince. ¡°And as far as I know him, he is the type who wants to punish Seria by slowly picking apart her creation while she has to watch.¡± Leaving my father to take care of searching for Nicosar, I command my spell ring once more. ¡°Track: Angrod!¡± Being able to cast at least basic magic is really convenient. A small bubble of light appears in front of me and I feel a portion of my mana disappear. Then the guiding wisp shoots off into a direction to my left and I follow it as fast as I can. The wisp leads me in a straight line over the wreckage of the wasted city. It looks like a tornado levelled everything. After five minutes of tracking the spell, I arrive at the crumbled wall of a building. Seria is leaning with her back against it and I see Angrod on the ground beside her. A few more steps take me to Angrod''s side. He is lying on his belly. I reach him and turn him around. Something stabbed through his throat... badly... there is so much blood! ¡°No...¡± I feel his pulse but there is nothing. My heart constricts and I feel tears on my cheeks while I try to give him first aid. I activate the healing magic of my ring again and again. But the spell doesn''t work! Why! What is this devilry! I hit his chest in an attempt to restart his heart, but it doesn''t work. I pull out another vial of my healing potion, but realize that he can''t swallow it in this state! ¡°Nonono!¡± ¡°I am sorry.¡± Seria looks at me, a ghastly wound marring her chest. ¡°Seems like this could have gone smoother, Sandra.¡± ¡°What could have gone smoother!?¡± I scream at Seria and turn on her, hitting the wall just next to her head, pulverizing it. ¡°He is dead! I lost him! Again!¡± I shake the stupid bitch, but then I realize what she called me. ¡°That¡­ can''t be!¡± I start shaking, rage boiling within me as I barely keep myself from losing it completely. ¡°What''s this! How do you know this name!?¡± ¡°Because I was Sofie, your daughter.¡± Seria smiles up at me, her guard completely down. ¡°Hi, mom! Have you and dad made up? Took you long enough.¡± I slap her. ¡°Explain this!¡± ¡°While you two lived as Johann and Sandra, I took a little vacation from being a god and reincarnated to live a mortal life. Out of curiosity. I liked it very much, so I kept track of you two from then on, hoping to get you two back together, but it never worked out.¡± Seria winces as I pull her closer to me until we are face to face. ¡°There are also other reasons, older ones. Reasons which you don¡¯t remember, yet. But you will, in time. I am sure of it.¡± ¡°How... what''s this stupid game of yours!?¡± I howl, but somehow I feel that she is telling the truth. I would always recognize my daughter¡¯s expression on any physical form when she played a particularly nasty trick on someone. My mind reels with the implications, but I can¡¯t even fathom what is going on. I need time to think. ¡°Kill me, Mom. If you do, you can get father back.¡± Seria grabs my hands, begging for something unimaginable. ¡°A- are you crazy? I just learned who you are and you beg me to kill you!? And how should that get Angrod back? He is DEAD!¡± My hands form fists while my vision gets blurry, the rage welling up within me once more. Two decades ago, I would have never believed that I would come to love my worst enemy. But I do. And now I lost him. Who knows if he will keep his memories after death? Will we be back to square one? ¡°He is still here. I bound his soul to his body, but to heal he needs to regain that part of his soul which makes him a god. I planned this far longer than you can imagine. I collected the souls of gods for an eternity, everyone who seemed to fit into this new world I was building. Everyone in this world is like you two, you would have found out if you ever had bothered to check.¡± The words spill out of Seria as she tries to explain the core points of her story. ¡°I stole the world which you two destroyed and rebuilt it. This place is inside a Void Zone.Time flows differently here. A year in here might be a mere second to the rest of the universe, depending on where in the Void Zone you are. I and my helpers played with the flow of time until this place was ready. Outside, just a few years have passed.¡± She shakes her head in dismay. ¡°It took me quite some time to get a working ecosystem running. I should have listened better when you taught me biology back then. I guess just taking random parts of other worlds is a really stupid approach. ¡°You two are the only ones who kept all your memories. When I saved the others from the Council, I split their souls and sealed their memories and divinity inside my own soul. I feared that they would try to escape this world otherwise. Once I die, everyone will get their powers back. My soul will be torn to pieces though. I think. Maybe dad could have saved me but he is indisposed at the moment.¡± Seria looks towards the path of destruction in Tjenemit¡¯s wake. ¡°I tried to get myself killed by Tjenemit, but the bastard was too stupid to finish the job. So, you have to do it. The faster I die, the sooner you can start fighting back!¡± My daughter clings to my hands with tears in her eyes. ¡°I was always afraid of this part of my plan, but it has to be done. Please! Do it now, before everything I worked for is in vain.¡± ¡°I... I can''t.¡± I hug my daughter, Angrod¡¯s loss still hurting my heart. But how could I choose between him and her? ¡°Do it now! I put so much effort into this world. I don''t want to see it destroyed, a world just for the gods. I am already on the ground anyway. Even if I survive, Tjenemit will come back and finish the job after he is done with this world!¡± I grab her head with shaking hands, hating myself for sacrificing one for another. ¡°I hate you for making me do this!¡± And then, with a sudden jerk, I snap her neck. She offered no resistance. I hold onto the lifeless body of my once-daughter as it disperses into countless shimmering marbles of different colours while a pillar of light rises to the sky. They disperse like a giant storm of energy, passing through solid matter as if it isn''t there. Somehow I feel¡­ empty. But a fiery white marble stays in front of me. It feels like some lost part of me and I grab it without thinking. Something enters my body, expanding within me. Suddenly, a glowing ghostly, smiling image of Seria is right in front of me. And then she starts speaking with a happy, bubbly tone in her voice.
Hi! This is something like an automatic message to everyone in this world, so don¡¯t be afraid, because a new age is upon you! For those knuckleheaded unbelievers who don¡¯t recognize me, I am your one and only Goddess, Seria! A long time ago, I saved everyone in this world. Though, you don''t remember it right now. A long time ago, every single one of you was a god. But because of certain circumstances, you will soon remember it all. The rulers of the multiverse had something against you. The reasons might have varied from one to the other, but the fact remains that the Council of Gods declared the death sentence for each of you. When I saved you from them, I asked you to help me once in exchange. It would be okay if you did whatever you wanted to do afterwards, but I hope you will be fine with keeping a guarding eye on this world. So, grab thelight in front of you and take everything back which once belonged to you. I am sorry about your memories.They will be a little blurry or feel not like your own after such a long time. But if you look out for your king and queen it should be fine. They still remember everything of their past lives as gods. They will be able to guide you. As for my wish, you will understand once you remember. It is an easy one! May you be peasant or noble, soldier or king, please crush the Council! ...and if it isn''t too much to ask, I would be happy if you would be able to live in peace together afterwards, on this world for living gods! Create a new order of living gods! Be better than the Council! I guess that''s everything I wanted to ask of you. I sacrificed much for this little speech, so I will have to say goodbye to everyone now. That''s goodbye from your one and only Goddess!
Seria strikes a strange pose and throws an erotic kiss at me while the projection fades away, leaving me baffled. ¡°Stupid daughter! What did I do wrong with her education?¡± Someone grabs my shoulder and I turn around to look into Angrod''s face. He is pale, but the wound in his neck is healed. ¡°I had a really weird and fucked up dream. Can you tell me why we are gods again?¡± I throw myself at him, hugging and kissing him. The tears won''t stop. ¡°I thought that I had lost you again. But we will be together forever from now on! Forever!¡± ¡°Hahaha...¡± He chuckles and pats my back. ¡°I guess... together... forever...¡± Chapter 44 ***The City of Light*** ***Angrod*** ¡°So, Seria is Sofie!¡± I conclude after listening to Celes''s hasty summary of the developments while I was... out for the count. Yep! Let us better deny the fact that my soul was close to being caught inside a Void Zone, drifting until it eventually deteriorated enough to erase all my immortal memories. And also, if Celes''s story is true, I looked at my daughter''s ass and tits and had perverted thoughts about her! Let us just deny any of that ever happened. In any case, it means that Seria played all of us like a fiddle. She proved herself to be the greatest puppet-master I ever knew. She manipulated the Council even before I got acquainted with her, and she was playing all parties during the war between my and Celes''s former selves. Even now, in death, we are dancing to her grand scheme. She set all of us on a path against the Council and I don''t see how we could change the course she set for us, nor do I want to. I will give her hell if I ever manage to piece her together with her memories and personality intact. Actually, the personality-issue is a point I am a little worried about. Controlling my expression, I turn my full attention to my wife. ¡°So? Do you feel any different after you got your power back?¡± Celes blinks, looking confused while she still holds onto my arm. ¡°Me? Shouldn''t you worry about yourself? You are the one who was left in the dirt to bleed out like a pig. I feel fine. Better than ever, in fact. I could move mountains. What do you mean?¡± ¡°Ah, nothing important. I was just wondering whether your returned godhood changed anything about your Myrm/Isabella problem. The dreams, you remember?¡± I explain, trying to sound casual so as to not set her off. ¡°But it should be okay if you are feeling fine.¡± She presses her lips together, clearly concentrating on some inner inspection of her memories. ¡°No... no, I don''t feel any different.¡± She frowns, looking worried. ¡°Is that good or bad?¡± ¡°I honestly don''t know.¡± I get to my feet, allowing Celes to help me up. ¡°But right now there is no time to think about it. We have to stop Tjenemit as quickly as possible, preferably without destroying the world.¡± As far as I am concerned she can stay the way she is now forever. Myrm was just a bitch and my worst enemy, while Isabella was a manipulative and overbearing woman who loved me a tad too much. To the point that it drove me away from her in the end. I am not certain how meshing those two characters, one who I couldn''t stand at all and another who was suffocating me would result in a person I truly like and... love. Ah, let''s not use the big L-word too casually in front of her. Still, I have to remember to check her over at some point. Now that I have my powers back that shouldn''t be a problem. I messed up Myrm''s soul and Seria must have done something with Isabella''s to create Celes as I know her today. Given the dreams which are clearly returning memories, I assumed that Seria fused the two souls in order to repair what was broken in Myrm. After undergoing such a procedure it is amazing that Celes still clung to the memories about our life as Johann and Sandra... and it is slightly worrying that the two souls didn''t separate with Celes regaining her power. I would have assumed that one or the other side would overwhelm the other, especially since Isabella wasn''t a true god. She was a demon, which counts as a demi-god, a deity without the ability to use the pathways. Just what mess did Seria create when she played with my lover''s soul? ¡°So, what should we do about that?¡± Celes points towards an awesome explosion on the horizon. ¡°We are sitting here while Tjenemit is killing people, though I would assume that he is facing some resistance now that everyone has their powers back.¡± ¡°I really hope that at least some people took Seria''s wish to heart and are already beating up Tjenemit. Though, they will have problems. They just got their powers back and their memories of their past lives should be pretty messed up. We already had two decades to pull our heads together,¡± I comment. Reintegrating old memories into a complete personality is pretty troublesome. Even more so if the owner already developed a completely new personality which doesn''t necessarily fit together with his old one. Compared to that, Tjenemit has an eternity of experience and is in full control of his power. ¡°But if this is really our old world? It''s hard to believe that Seria was able to move a whole world into a Void Zone, but I already suspected it...¡± I mumble as an idea starts forming in my mind. It should still be there. For a second, I concentrate and search for it, deep down, hidden within the planet. I planted the seed a long time ago, allowing it to grow and feed off the planet''s mana. Originally, I created it as my final solution to the war with Myrm, but it should be just as good to finish off Tjenemit. Then I sense it! ¡°Go and distract Tjenemit for a few minutes. I will be right back.¡± ¡°What?¡± Celes tries to grab me, but I already teleported straight down to the planet''s core. ¡°Mwahahaha!¡± I laugh, as I appear inside a chamber of glowing blue Mana Crystal. I turn in a circle and look at the wonder which is surrounding me. Back then, I wanted to create something worthy of a god! The inspiration for it was given to me by living in the Council''s Crystal City. I often tried to recreate those Mana Crystals, but it was insanely difficult. Imagine a substance that is durable enough to withstand even the power of a god. Mana Crystal is to the gods what metal is to a mortal. I wanted the secret behind this mysterious substance that nobody else was able to master! But I was unable to recreate it. No matter what I tried, I ended up with failures. It was impossible to manipulate, fuse, or weld a Mana Crystal into the shape I wanted it to be. Then, one day, while I was watching a stalactite grow, I had an enlightenment! Phew, to think that my old self had nothing better to do than watching a piece of rock grow. I must have been really bored. Anyway! The Crystal City wasn''t created! It grew as all crystals do! If one gathers enough mana in one point, it crystallizes and you end up with something that looks and feels like solid matter but isn''t. It''s pure mana, pure energy that is so condensed that it starts defying physics. For all intents and purposes, it might even be in the state that matter takes on inside a neutron star. So I created a seed and set it free to grow down here inside the world. I expected it to take hundreds, thousands of years to mature, but on the other hand, I guess that much time really went by since then ¨C thanks to Seria''s interference. Did she somehow learn about my master plan? No. It must have been a lucky coincidence. I never told anyone the details of this particular scheme of mine, since I learned early on to always play the long game. I step forward and leave the chamber which I planned as an arrival zone for teleportation and instructed to be left empty. Everything else within this base should have grown according to my specifications and plans. There is no need to search for my way since I remember the facility''s layout by heart. I can feel the huge power which is collected inside the core. After wandering a crystal corridor, I reach a room with a huge crystal in its centre. Unlike the rest of the facility, this one looks wild and naturally grown. It''s the heart and control centre of this whole structure, created with technology I gathered from all corners of the multiverse, reforged into my very own creation. I touch the crystal and feel the power inside it. It recognizes the signature of my soul and unlocks all its functions for me. After a little concentration, I give it the command to rise to the surface. Having received the instruction, the crystal hums with power as if it wants to reassure me that it understood the order. Next, I visit the main armoury which is only a short walk away. I enter an immense room. It is filled with rows and rows of weapons, armours, and artefacts. They all grew out of crystal. I designed them long ago but never had the means to turn the ideas into artefacts. Weapons which can strike down even the gods.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. But all of them are just toys compared to what I am looking for. I avert my eyes. Those weapons are of no interest to me. I walk to the end of the room where a staff is resting on a pedestal with ten blades lined up next to it, their opalescent surfaces shimmering with red, blue and green. All of these weapons are made out of Mana Crystal. Other than its material, the staff looks ordinary. The only decorations are runic ornaments and it is about the same length as my height. But looking closely, I can see that it is riddled inside out with countless fine runes and circles which make up the adaptable spell matrix which is supposed to act as a set of building blocks which make it easier to cast large and complicated spells. It is the perfect weapon for someone who specializes in using magic. Without further hesitation, I take the staff, feeling power pulsing through it. This is my masterpiece. A weapon which is worthy of a god of magic. Next on the list is real armour, not the flimsy metal my current one is made of. I head for one of the lockers at the wall and open it, revealing a drawer which contains thousands of tiny scales, seemingly carelessly poured inside. Not wasting any time, I retract my organic enchantment and reach into the drawer, channeling my magic into the crystal armour. The scales start flowing up my arm and beneath my current armour, interlocking in a thin layer until I am covered in a tight mesh of almost indestructible matter which covers me like a second skin. A thought is enough to bring the remaining blades on the weapon display under my telekinetic command. They attach themselves to my back, leaving me ready to kick some Council member ass. Then I notice the reflection of my savage grin on the smooth crystal surface of the wall. Damn, do I really look that scary every time Celes complains about my expression? Anyway. Why am I wasting my time here? I concentrate again until I find Celes. Then I use teleport to join her. <<<>>> I arrive at a battlefield. Multiple soldiers are trying to stop Tjenemit with their regained powers. He is hovering in the sky above a landscape of fields while he sends out blasts of pure power at everyone who comes too close. Together, there must be over a hundred gods who are trying to subdue him. Only a small amount of people are actually trying to fight Tjenemit, while most of the men and women involved are trying their best to limit the damage to the surroundings. They don''t really succeed since most of them are lesser deities or mid-level gods. The only one who can stand on even footing with Tjenemit is Celes, and surprisingly enough Arthur, Tanja, Gabriel, and Nicosar. They are all held back by the fact that penetrating Tjenemit''s defensive aura would require enough force to cause significant damage to our world, while Tjemenit clearly doesn''t have such concerns. He is throwing his power around with abandon while most of the gods around him are trying their best to divert or absorb the energy. I expected such a situation, but it is a little worse than I imagined. As I try to find the best way to interfere, Tjenemit grabs Tanja at her neck and shakes her like a doll, squeezing the life out of her. Even though having the upper hand at the moment, Tjenemit seems to be disturbed. It has to be shocking if mere mortals who should be nothing more than insects suddenly put up a fight. Using the distraction, I teleport directly in front of Tjenemit and touch his chest with the tip of my staff. A blinding flash of light erupts and the Council member is sent straight down to the earth like he was hit by a sledge hammer the size of a mountain. I grab Tanja at her foot before she can fall too. ¡°Are you still alive?¡± ¡°...Yes, my king. Though, I don''t feel that good.¡± She nods and rights herself to float next to me, using levitation magic. ¡°Then retreat and tell everyone to concentrate solely on lessening the damage to this world. Put up a shield and shut me and Tjenemit inside it. I don''t want him to get away.¡± I let her do her job and teleport down to Tjenemit. The Council member is already getting back to his feet, trying to dust himself off while the gods around us rally to create a dome-like barrier. ¡°Who are you!?¡± He sneers, then narrows his eyes. ¡°Aren''t you that pet of Seria''s? I thought that I killed you.¡± ¡°Just think of me as a ghost from the past. In more ways than one.¡± I shrug. ¡°So, how should we do this? Are you going to spare the both of us some time, or do I have to beat you first?¡± His eyes narrow upon noticing my staff. ¡°Another crystal weapon.¡± And then, recognition dawns on his face. ¡°You are Ascathon!¡± ¡°New body.¡± I roll my shoulders. ¡°Took some time getting used to, but I am fond of it by now.¡± Celes appears beside me, just before the dome-like barrier solidifies around us and locks us inside it with Tjenemit. It has a diameter of roughly fifty meters. As they try their best to strengthen the magical working, new arrivals join in as they arrive at the scene. Tjenemit looks around, studying his new situation. ¡°How is this possible? Do you know what you are doing!? You are resisting the Council!¡± ¡°The Council has nothing to say on this world. We are the rulers here,¡± Celes informs him of the changed circumstances. He turns red with rage. ¡°Who are you to... no...¡± He clenches his teeth, working to get his emotions under control. ¡°You must be Myrm.¡± Looking from one to the other, he tilts his head. ¡°Are you by chance working together now?¡± He looks at Celes and smiles. ¡°Myrm, have you forgotten where your loyalties lie?¡± My wife tenses, but I place a hand on her shoulder to hold her back. ¡°We are no longer influenced by the world enchantment that you used to stir animosities. You hold no power over us.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± He clicks his tongue, clearly disappointed. ¡°You know that all of this is futile. In the end, you will suffer. You may have caught me off guard, but that won''t be the case for the others outside the Void Zone. They will know what happened if I don''t return. We will crush this rebellion and seal you all away for good.¡± He lashes out at us with a spell, but I counter with my staff. By waving the Mana Crystal through the containing spell matrix, I disperse the surge of energy. Tjenemit''s attack is dispelled as if I had torn down a spider''s web with a stick. He looks at me, agape at the ease with which I countered him. ¡°You are out of your depth, Tjenemit.¡± I smile. ¡°You are a naked ape, and I am the guy with the gun.¡± His expression darkening, he flicks his hand, sending a sword made out of a white fire at Celes. She only tilts her head, barely avoiding the spell without wasting the effort to move. At the same time, something that moved too fast for me to see impacts my chest and falls to the ground. Frowning, I look down, chastising myself for my lacking skills in hand to hand combat. What lies on the ground at my feet is a knife made out of Mana Crystal. It still looks pristine in its blue, glass-like appearance, explaining why it cut so easily through my aura. Half the length of my lower arm, the blade is slightly curved. The handle''s lower end doubles as a punching ring. It is thinner than one would expect from a combat knife, but Mana Crystal doesn''t suffer from the same limitations as metal. Where metal would bend like clay in the hands of a god, Mana Crystal holds steady and is able to cut through any aura or defences with ease. I still remember the blade like it was yesterday. ¡°I think I will take that back. After all, it''s my creation.¡± Using telekinesis, I float the karambit up into my hand and inspect the thin hole which the weapon caused in the chest-piece of my mortal armour. Even heavily enchanted, the metal posed no obstruction to the creation of a god. Had it not been for the second layer of armour hidden beneath, I would have received a mortal wound. ¡°H... how...¡± Tjenemit takes a step back, now clearly out of options. He played his hand and seems to be out of tricks now. ¡°I like that thing. Could you lend it to me for a second, honey?¡± Celes tugs at my sleeve with a strange expression on her face. Her eyes are locked on my staff. ¡°Um... why? You aren''t a caster.¡± I reluctantly give her my staff when she insistently pulls at it. Once it''s in her possession, she makes sure that her stance is correct, then takes a swing, using it like a baseball bat. ¡°Don''t worry. It only has to be sturdy.¡± I raise a hand, wanting to stop her. ¡°That''s not how it''s supposed to be-¡± Tjenemit interrupts me. ¡°Don''t ignoreee meee!¡± He screams with unadulterated rage and jumps at us, but Celes is suddenly right next to him, wielding the staff like a club. It impacts Tjenemit''s belly with such force that he is sent flying backwards, bouncing off the barrier which encloses us. I have to shield my eyes from the gust of wind as Tjenemit flies forward and wince when Celes receives him, swinging my staff in an overhead arc and hitting his shoulder with a thunder-like ''crack''! ¡°That''s a finely tuned precision instrument to assist in casting spells!¡± I complain. It''s not a common club! But Celes doesn''t heed my words as she swings my grandest creation like a savage. A cavema- cavewoman, with a nuclear rocket in her hands, and all she knows to do with it is to beat stuff! Ignored, I watch the unfolding fight¡­ Ahem. The beating, which is performed truly thoroughly. At some point, it looks like she killed him and I ready myself to catch his soul, but Celes throws a bag with some yellow powder at him. The contents restore the seemingly dead body, which is quickly ready for round two. After half an hour and two more bags of powder, I have the honour to witness a Council member crying like a little child, his body a ruined and broken mess, flapping around impotently like a fish caught on land. To be honest, I am not even sure how it''s possible that he is still alive. Celes truly raised her skills in dealing out non-lethal blows to a form of art. After having had the doubtful honour to watch the ''fight'', I doubt that a single shard of bone in Tjenemit''s body is bigger than the nail of my thumb. Having had trouble to contain her unleashed power, the barrier around us flickered multiple times in the process but didn''t break. Looking around, I notice that the faces of the people outside are pale. They got to watch the whole scene while they tried their best to maintain the barrier, listening to Tjenemit''s screams of pain and terror. Having finished her workout and breathing heavily, Celes abandons her whimpering victim on the stirred up ground of the improvised arena. She returns to me and presses the bloody staff into my hand. ¡°Thank you, honey. I hope that I can borrow it again, should I need it.¡± I rub the smooth surface of my staff between my fingers, unable to ignore the slickness which is caused by the fine layer of blood and grime. ¡°Ahem. How about if I make you a dedicated bat?¡± Actually, I am not certain if I should give her any blunt weapon made out of Mana Crystal. Would she develop the same skill if it was a knife? Should Mana Crystal weapons in my wife''s hands be considered a violation of the code of war? It feels so soiled now... Maybe I should just make a new staff and throw this one into the trash. Letting out a heavy sigh, I approach the sack of meat that was a functioning body just ten minutes earlier. Unsure, I poke it with the tip of my staff, which causes a lot of snivelling and moaning, combined with the expelling of blood and... other fluids... from various openings and wounds. ¡°Gods, that smells!¡± I choke and cover my nose with my sleeve, the metal of my armour hardly being of help against the stench. Seeing that there is truly no point in further punishment, I tap what I assume to be Tjenemit''s forehead. There is really no way of telling without prying apart the swollen meat. His soul detaches easily from his body, almost eager to get to the afterlife. Normally, I have to tear the soul out of people, but not so this time. For the time being, I seal him inside my staff for further interrogation at a later date. Maybe I will resurrect him after a thorough deletion of his memories. With Tjenemit''s body now stiff and lifeless, the others let the barrier fall. Which leaves us no longer as a simple king and a queen, but as the rulers of a world filled with immortal gods and demons. I feel like things just got a lot more complicated than they were supposed to be. Chapter 45 ***The City of Light*** ***Celes*** ¡°Tanja? Dad?¡± Upon finding my friend and my father among the crowd of people who gathered to stop Tjenemit I rush forward to greet them, ignoring the attention that comes with it. Reaching my father, I fall into his arms. ¡°I am so glad that you made it out of the city!¡± ¡°Ah, yeah...¡± He hesitates but then places his arms around my shoulders and chuckles. ¡°I am so sorry, but those returned memories are overwhelming me at the moment. I need some time to sort out what''s going on in my head.¡± I gulp, realizing that Seria left us to clean up her mess. ¡°That little bitch. I am going to teach her a lesson if she ever reincarnates.¡± I sigh and let go of him. ¡°Sooo... who were you in a previous life? Did we know each other?¡± ¡°Ah, no. At least I think not.¡± He scratches his chest, searching through his memories. ¡°I think I was fairly unimportant until I became a god and refused to serve the Council. I realized that something fishy was going on when they approached me and decided to run. Seria saved my ass before they could get their hands on me.¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± Angrod joins us. ¡°It will take some time until everything comes back. The technique which Seria used to seal our memories and take our godhood was never meant to be abused like this.¡± I raise an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°I thought you don¡¯t know how she did it.¡± He nods. ¡°True. I always asked myself how she managed to do it. Mainly because I didn¡¯t think anyone would go to such lengths, but with this situation at hand things are a lot clearer. I never thought anyone would be stupid enough to take such a risk and dismissed the possibility out of hand. If she was lucky, her soul was only torn asunder by the process of returning all that power. I was never certain if it''s actually possible to permanently extinguish a soul, but if there is one, then hers was a pretty good attempt.¡± I wince. ¡°Do you think...¡± ¡°I don''t know. Give me some time and I will investigate. If her soul survived it can''t go anywhere within the Void Zone. Given time, I will find it.¡± He sighs and turns his attention to Tanja. ¡°So, who are you?¡± In a peerless demonstration of indecision, the assassin curls her lips into an s-shape. ¡°Nobody.¡± Angrod''s eyes narrow. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°It''s really not that important, hahaha!¡± She looks at me, sweating buckets while pleading for help with her eyes. But in this special case, there is no help from my side. I also want to know what¡¯s going on with my friend. ¡°Tanja?¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°This is so awkward.¡± Tanja looks at the ground. ¡°I am Karin, one of Ascathon''s former minions.¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Angrod calls out and slaps Tanja on the shoulder, causing her to stumble two steps sideways. ¡°Do you know how unlikely it is to ever meet someone from a former lifetime again?! I thought I had lost all of you forever when you idiots got yourself killed! But to think that not even in your second life you managed to get yourself a man. You might end up as an eternal single.¡± Tanja narrows her eyes, clearly irked by Angrod''s exclamation. ¡°Well. There seems to be a lot more to it. I can remember surviving the war. Seria saved most of our asses and souls. Then we had to stay on this world, hidden from the Council. She enlisted us to help her set all of this up.¡± Angrod nods. ¡°In any case, now that you are a god, I can finally finish your education.¡± ¡°N- n- no!¡± Tanja looks around frantically, then grabs my arm, pulling me in front of her. ¡°I already have a teacher, right, Celes?!¡± ¡°I guess. It would be a waste to stop now that I already showed you a few internal mana techniques.¡± I chuckle, remembering Karin. She was a mortal when Ascathon saved her life and picked her up, practically adopting her. Back then, I never understood why someone like him would do such a thing. I always suspected that he had some kind of nefarious plan for her, but my point of perspective was distorted by the world enchantment that Tjenemit used to control us. Now I know that there is a soft spot in Angrod¡¯s heart. Angrod opens his mouth to object, but I have something to bring up before we start arguing about pointless things. ¡°Wait a moment before you continue.¡± I raise a hand to stop them, a thought hovering on the edge of my mind. ¡°Do you two really think that Tanja/Karin being here is a coincidence?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± My friend looks confused. Angrod raises both eyebrows but jumps onto my train of thought. ¡°Ooh! Seria, what deviousness! You think that we weren''t the only ones whose souls were ''placed''.¡± ¡°Hell, yeah,¡± I shout. ¡°That little bitch''s mind is so twisted, I wouldn''t put it beyond her to play a perverted game like that. Do it once, do twice, so what''s thrice!? We already know that she internalized the trick with placing a soul inside a body!¡± Angrod rolls his eyes, his expression saying everything. ¡°We have to make sure with everyone we know. I suspect people are going to set up a network to search for former acquaintances anyway.¡± ¡°What about Nicosar?¡± I look around, searching for the geezer. ¡°I last saw him in the City of Light,¡± Arthur informs me. ¡°We split up. While i tried to go after you, he decided to head home to get the others into some bunker.¡± Someone clears his throat behind me and I turn around to find out that Gabriel stood by and listened silently to our conversation. He waves at me. ¡°Hi. You may not remember me, but I fought on your side... once.¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°You were one of the people who deserted and kicked off the war!?¡± Back then, things wouldn''t have gone as badly as they did if it hadn''t been for a certain group within my faction of the pantheon who took matters into their own hands to attack Ascathon''s side. Gabriel''s eyes widen. ¡°Nonono! I wasn''t one of those!¡± ¡°Then who were you?¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Ardun.¡± ¡°Who?¡± I frown, not recognizing the name. Which means that he isn''t on my shit-list. ¡°This is so embarrassing, I should have just stayed silent.¡± Gabriel sighs and kicks a random stone on the ground, then looks up into the sky as if searching for help. ¡°Ardun, the God of War. Mid-level deity. I was the guy who antagonized Ascathon and who he locked in the closet with his familiar when I challenged him to a fight.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Angrod nods eagerly. ¡°I can actually remember that. Boy, that girlish scream when you got to see my familiar''s true form was epic!¡± Gabriel''s face pales. ¡°You shouldn''t have said that. I could have lived without that particular memory.¡± I blink, remembering now. ¡°You really changed from back then. You are so... different.¡± Gabriel huffs and crosses his arms in front of his chest. ¡°Do you want to say that people don''t deserve a second chance?¡± ¡°Nooo...¡± I draw my answer out in an attempt to avoid saying something I would regret later on. ¡°Just saying that I am surprised. That¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Alright, everyone.¡± Angrod claps his hands together. ¡°Gather around me and I will teleport you home. I just need a moment to concentrate and find the others. We have a lot to talk about with the rest of the family.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Arthur nods. ¡°Let me just order some volunteers to clean up this mess quickly.¡± I nod and link arms with my husband. It is a great relief people¡¯s personalities stayed mostly the same. Right now it doesn¡¯t look like their newfound memories changed much, though I could be wrong and it¡¯s an issue which depends on the individual. As I talk with Arthur, Gabriel, and Tanja, it becomes clear that accessing their old memories was like remembering a movie. Their newfound memories don''t feel like they are their own. Then Angrod teleports us home. Teleporting around the world wasn''t a problem for Angrod while he was mortal, but now that he regained access to his powers, transporting large amounts of people is no issue. We find Ireth and Rose at our summer residence in Midhold. They leave the house when we appear in the courtyard, apparently having sensed our arrival. The embassy was still in ruins after the attack, so they evacuated to this seldom used place. As we approach, Ireth storms towards us with tears in her eyes. ¡°You are all alive!¡± She is holding Aengus and I hurry to claim my baby boy, glad that he is alright. ¡°You are fine!¡± The baby smiles and squeaks upon seeing my face. Katrine, Rose, and Nicosar exit the house joined by Angrod¡¯s white-furred familiar who starts running happy circles around our group. My mother wears a serious expression, her demeanour slightly changed from her usual behaviour. She somehow seems grander, more royal. ¡°We have to talk.¡± Ireth nods. ¡°Yes. Seria made a real mess of things.¡± A strange feeling stirs my guts, my fears coming true. ¡°Who are you?¡± Ireth smiles. ¡°I am Janice!¡± Who? But Angrod gasps and flies towards his mother, lifting her off the floor while hugging her. ¡°You are truly her!? I searched for you for centuries!¡± I try to steel my face as a pang of jealously steals itself into my mind. Angrod actually searched for a woman? For centuries? Just what is their relationship? ¡°Who is Janice?¡± I can¡¯t help but ask with a stern voice. Rose sighs and massages her temples, a vein throbbing on her forehead. ¡°She was Angrod¡¯s/Nova¡¯s grandmother in a past life, another master of soul magic and necromancy who helped him develop his magic. She was an immortal at the time and presumably managed to advance to godhood before she vanished. Now it¡¯s clear that Seria was involved and snatched her away from under the Council¡¯s nose when she ascended.¡± She looks at me. ¡°I am¡­ was Willow, by the way.¡± Oh, that¡¯s¡­ not too bad. I would be worried if she had been a former lover. I nod, now having to sigh myself, remembering Willow from Isabella¡¯s memories. Another one of Angrod¡¯s minions. Our family situation will be awkward for quite some time. My own mother puts on a forced smile, looking at me. ¡°And I was Ashley. I guess you can now call me ''mother'' in more ways than one.¡± My mind makes a flip upon hearing this newest revelation. Ashley, Isabella¡¯s mother!? ¡°Ashley!¡± Angrod is unperturbed by the developments, happy at meeting old friends anew. I can¡¯t understand how he can take all of this in stride and be happy about Seria having played all of us like puppets. Because my knees feel wobbly, I sit down on the ground, not wanting to fall while holding Aengus. ¡°Things just keep coming.¡± I look at Nicosar. ¡°So, who are you?¡± The geezer clears his throat. ¡°For once, I cannot significantly add to the insanity. Unlike the others¡¯, my memories are very hazy.¡± He frowns. ¡°Though, I believe one of my former selves was called Ishaan, the Titan.¡± I don¡¯t remember anyone of that name, so I turn my attention to my baby Aengus. ¡°So... who do we have here?¡± I ask Aengus with a forced smile. At least I have to try to keep my calm. If I don''t like his personality, I will ask Angrod to wipe his mind and that''s it! ¡°It will take some time for the children to remember,¡± Angrod explains. ¡°If I am right, then this process will be very similar to natural reincarnation. Which means that brains which are too young to interact with a soul will need time to adjust. We may even consider suppressing most memories until teenagers are older and had time to develop their own personality. I am unsure about the repercussions to our society if teenagers start out with the memories of their previous lives. It would undermine Seria¡¯s intentions for this world.¡± ¡°Then why did we two remember so much from an early age onwards?¡± I ask. ¡°We didn¡¯t reincarnate naturally. Seria placed our souls in the children¡¯s bodies with a spell,¡± he clarifies. I massage my temple while I think about it. Great work Seria! You created complete chaos for society. We are likely to have to deal with talking toddlers, workers and serfs who are suddenly gods and who could smite cities with a thought. A wonder our society didn''t already deteriorate into civil war. Rose puts on a wistful expression as she studies the mansion. ¡°Ahem, I hate to break up the reunion, but shouldn¡¯t we get back to work before our world¡¯s society falls apart? There are some documents you have to sign. We need to rebuild the city, give people something to do. Make sure that they have a goal beyond their personal problems. Right now, I imagine the world around us to be in chaos.¡± ¡°The embassy? Rebuilding?¡± Angrod blinks. ¡°Of course! The palace!¡± he screams and Aengus twitches at his outburst. I throw him a berating look for startling the babe. Without asking for our permission, Angrod teleports all of us to the ruins of our embassy where a few people are trying to save valuables from the rubble. Angrod shoos them away, waving his staff and unleashing the full potential of his aura. The pressure of his presence alone chases away anything less than a major god. Interestingly enough, none of our group seems to be affected by his show of power. ¡°What are you thinking, just teleporting us off!¡± I snap at his thoughtlessness. ¡°Oh, sorry! But I almost forgot that the new palace should arrive any minute now!¡± he informs me while starting to clean up the area, flattening everything with telekinesis. Moving mountains is no issue in his current condition, so clearing out some rubble is done with a wave of his hand. ¡°New palace?¡± I ask, dumbfounded. Did he go insane? As gods, we are powerful, but we can¡¯t summon a palace out of nowhere. ¡°Arrive?¡± Rose is equally taken by surprise. ¡°Yes! You see, I remembered one of my old projects and figured that since this is the same planet on which we originally fought our war, it must still be where I left it. So I went down to the planet¡¯s core where I hid it and ordered it to rise to the surface.¡± He smiles at us. And then the earth starts shaking. It''s not really an earthquake, just a mild vibration, but ominous nonetheless. ¡°The core?¡± Rose squeaks. ¡°You can¡¯t mean that thing!? What did you do?¡± ¡°You ordered it?¡± How can someone order a castle around? I am out of my depth here. ¡°Off to the side! We have to get out of the way!¡± He leads us out of the area, beating a hasty retreat from the site of the old embassy. Just in that moment, a spike made out of Mana Crystal stabs through the ground and starts rising higher and higher. Shocked, I take a step back as the ground is penetrated at several other positions by similar spikes and something rises from the earth. First, the crystal structures grow to the size of a house, shedding dirt and rock while rising until they resemble towers. Suddenly, the whole area bulges upwards and a huge shimmering structure made out of Mana Crystal rises from the ground as if summoned from hell itself. Angrod spreads his hands and starts laughing madly. ¡°Mwahaha! Behold! My greatest technological masterpiece! Worthy of the gods! I call it the Eternal Palace. Originally, I just wanted to use it as my mobile research lab, but I guess it is grand enough to also serve as a palace. After two minutes, the structure stops rising and the quakes stop. A sudden pulse of power shakes off the dirt, revealing the structure in all its glory. As if pleased, the building gives off a satisfied hum upon having accomplished its task. The sunlight is broken in the smooth diamond-like surface, providing the onlooker with the full spectrum of colours. Satisfied, Angrod nods and grins at the rest of us, who were only able to watch the show in awe. Behind us, I notice a crowd of people growing bigger and bigger. It seems like the spectacle alarmed the whole city. Angrod spreads his hands. ¡°Witness the might of your king! The king of all gods! Mwahaha!¡± Becoming a little concerned about his demeanour, I lean over to the others. ¡°Could it be that he is developing a little case of a megalomaniac attitude now that he is back to being a god?¡± Ireth and Katrine nod, Angrod¡¯s mother looking more concerned than the others. ¡°We definitely have to look out for that.¡± The scene is then interrupted by the arrival of the Cygnus siblings, forcing me to sigh as they fly towards us, bypassing the gathering crowd. Who or what are they going to bring to the table? When will this madness stop? Stephen looks worse for wear while following Margerie, but his sister looks more than a little mad as she doesn¡¯t stop and tackles Angrod to the ground, forcing me to jump aside in order to not get my Aengus involved. ¡°My library! You caused me to lose all that knowledge!¡± I purse my lips, watching my husband being straddled and choked by the much smaller woman. I guess not all reunions can go well? Chapter 46 ***The Crystal City*** ***Lada*** ¡°And you are sure that you know nothing of Seria¡¯s whereabouts? You had the most contact with her, Lada.¡± El Shaddai walks down a long corridor towards the Crystal Sphere at a brisk pace with me following demurely. The leader of the Council clicks his tongue when I stay silent. ¡°I think Tjenemit¡¯s continuous absence speaks for itself. I thought that Tjenemit might be overreacting, but the current circumstances force me to reconsider my former opinion.¡± ¡°No. The last time I saw Seria, she suddenly had something urgent to do and ran off. I didn¡¯t meet her since,¡± I reply truthfully, betting all my hopes on Seria¡¯s plan. He nods and we walk in silence until we arrive at the room with the Crystal Sphere. The spinning sphere made out of crystal hovers its centre, creating a light-show as it reflects light of all colours to the walls. Amaru is at the sphere, watching a myriad of scenes displayed in its fractured surface. He wears plain clothing and looks more like a university professor than one of the rulers of the known multiverse. He shudders and takes off his monocle, polishing it absent-mindedly. ¡°Just watching this thing gives me shivers. Its creator must have been mad to use the pathways as an observation tool.¡± At our entrance, he turns towards us. ¡°Good, you are here! Have you heard? Tjenemit disappeared! I watched him through the sphere, but even it can¡¯t see into the Void Zone.¡± ¡°I know. I have my own ways.¡± El Shaddai¡¯s voice carries a dangerous tone. I purse my lips and listen in silence to the following conversation. ¡°As I said, I can''t find him with the Sphere of Sight. I¡¯ve spent days trying.¡± Amaru throws his hands into the air. It''s rare to see him like that. ¡°And Seria?¡± El Shaddai asks. ¡°Has she left the Void Zone since she followed Tjenemit into it?¡± Amaru shakes his head. ¡°I can''t find her either. The last thing I know is that both of them went into the Void, but none of them came out again. Though, there was this... reaction.¡± Amaru turns around, pondering over the spinning sphere. The Sphere of Sight is the basis of the Council''s power. With it, we are able to track the awakening of each god and search for anyone we want to find. It is the ultimate spying device. We found it when we took over the Crystal City, the only piece of technology that was left behind, for whatever reason. Unfortunately... or fortunately, Seria''s Void Zone is a black spot on the map. ¡°What reaction?¡± El Shaddai inquires. ¡°You see, shortly after Tjenemit entered the Void, there was a burst of power. It was similar to what the Sphere measures when a new god awakens but much more powerful. Like hundreds of millions of gods awakened all at the same time. It had to be an error in the system,¡± Amaru explains. El Shaddai shakes his head. ¡°Nooo... The Sphere worked without problems for an eternity. Why should it suddenly fail us now for no apparent reason? Tjenemit was right. Seria really had all those gods hidden away from us. She is responsible for the disappearances. Though, she had apparently collected much more followers than we ever imagined. We have to prepare ourselves.¡± El Shaddai scratches his cheek while he looks absent-mindedly into the sphere. I follow his gaze. The Sphere seems to draw anyone who looks at it in, like a deep, dark pond. Blinking, I force myself to look away, sick of the feeling I get while using it. It¡¯s like I am only on the back-seat of a car, along for the ride while the one who is truly driving watches me. I am simply unable to use it like Amaru or El Shaddai because the damned thing just gives me the creeps. ¡°Shouldn''t we wait until Tjenemit comes back and reports the situation to us?¡± Amaru asks with a hopeful voice. ¡°Bwahaha!¡± El Shaddai bursts into laughter. ¡°Tjenemit won¡¯t come back! He would have already. Something happened to him. He went alone into the Void and somehow caused the awakening of Seria''s followers. They dealt with him, one way or the other.¡± Amaru gets a little concerned. ¡°But he is a Council member! Surely he wouldn''t¡­ fall that easily. And he had the dagger.¡± ¡°Could you win against a million gods? Even if they are weak and just awakened? You would never have a chance against millions of them! And you said the reaction was big enough for hundreds of millions of them!¡± El Shaddai snorts. ¡°And the dagger?You forget that the one who created it is with them. Who says that he wasn¡¯t awake all along?¡± I look at the floor while I think about it. So I was right. Seria really had that mighty force up her sleeve. It¡¯s likely that she never interrogated Ascathon or Myrm. She must have recruited them. Unlike many others, Ascathon and Myrm were powerful enough to compete with major gods right after their awakening while most freshly awakened gods start out as minor deities. Just how powerful did their souls become after their imprisonment? ¡°What do you think, Lada? Still of the opinion that it would have been better to talk?¡± El Shaddai smirks at me. ¡°As you said, Tjenemit went there and started it. Now, there are who knows how many gods free from the leash and we have no way of controlling them. We can''t enter the Void and apparently, they can''t leave it. Otherwise, they would be already knocking on our door. So you tell me if talking about the situation with Seria could have created a worse scenario.¡± I smile at El Shaddai, harbouring a small feeling of superiority. ¡°We haven¡¯t even tried my solution, so how can you say that it would have turned out worse than this situation?¡± He doesn''t answer, glowering instead.Then he leaves the room, likely to gather an army. Amaru has finished polishing his monocle and puts it back on. ¡°This surely forebodes hard times. I see war on the horizon.¡± I raise an eyebrow. Obviously, he had the same thought as me. ¡°What do you think would happen if all of these presumptions are true? Because that¡¯s still what all of this is...¡± He shrugs his shoulders while he watches the Sphere. ¡°We control the whole multiverse. The number of gods we have under our direct command isn''t small and amounts to the population of several worlds. But we have the control only because everyone is embedded in the system. What if they suddenly realize that there are sides to choose?¡± After a second of silence, he continues. ¡°If we manage to crush those rebels fast, we may be able to stay in control. But every day of fighting without defeating them will give our followers more time to realize that they could just turn around and stab the other direction. It solely depends on what this new power will represent.¡± He turns to me and looks straight into my eyes. ¡°Either way, it surely will be a troublesome time.¡± Slowly, he fades away and vanishes. I sigh while I look into the sphere and contemplate the future and my role in it. ***Midhold, The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** Holding court is such a tedious thing to do. I watch the gathered people, mostly family members and close allies like the Mordens or Cygnus families. At the same time, I try my best to look intimidating while having Aengus ride on my knee. Finding out that Margerie is Alexandria was quite the surprise. Apparently, the librarian got into trouble with the Council after I paid her that fateful last visit. She investigated the suspicions which my past self mentioned to her. Unfortunately, she got found out.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Thankfully, Seria got to her first and recruited her. Margerie¡¯s brother, Stephen, is someone I don¡¯t remember from a former life. He introduced himself as Viertheim, the Knowledgleable. The same goes for Sven Hjavars, whose former identity I am also unfamiliar with. Frowning, I suddenly realize that my former selves weren¡¯t prone to forming male friendships. Maybe I should talk to a shrink to find out what¡¯s behind that. Sandra Andros and Iris Tulhelm turned out to be other old acquaintances of mine. They were Felicia and Danielle, former succubi in Ascathon¡¯s employ and Ashley¡¯s daughters. At least with Sandra I can believe that. The bunny girl is already developing a baby-bump, without a doubt Sven¡¯s fault who ¨C willingly or not ¨C got to be her boyfriend. I am just waiting for their families to silently announce their marriage. Other than that, there is a multitude of representatives who are unhappy with the new order of things attending this meeting. After sorting out the chaos brought by the returning memories and godhood, we are finally back on track again. From the beginning, it was clear that the old order of things had to be completely overthrown. Gods can take care of themselves, so why should the former serfs and workers continue to crawl under the noble¡¯s feet? For the lack of a better solution, my family suggested a guild system. What else could we do with a population of beings that powerful? Every guild has to order its internal affairs and hierarchy. Currently, we have guilds for war, nature, arts, and technology. They all have to answer to me as their king. If a guild needs or wants something, it has to trade with the others through the provision of a service. By working for a guild their members can gain points which they can spend on various luxury items, usually provided by other guilds. The system is far from perfect, but it will get adjusted as needed in the future. For the time being, we are going with it until society is back on its feet. Of course, most noble houses are now first in line for the leadership of the various guilds, but that cannot be helped. Powerful people will always strive for powerful positions. It¡¯s an inherent character trait for anyone who ascends to godhood. The new currency system is equally problematic if everyone can just wander off and collect some valuable minerals like gold or diamonds. On the other hand, many things like cars or planes completely lost their value, since most gods know ways to move from place to place quickly on their own. It will take time for the economy to settle down. But the people before me don¡¯t belong to any of the currently established groups. They just entered the room and complained about various stuff. Like not being able to have a proper life, or being bored and having nothing to do. ¡°We think that we deserve better!¡± One of the men complains. ¡°We are gods after all! Why should we serve others!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± The others vehemently announce their agreement. ¡°Because even under gods, there have to be rules!¡± I explain, trying my best to be patient. ¡°We are stuck on this world and have to live with each other for the time being. Give society some time to settle down and work things out. Once I know how to leave the Void Zone, I will gladly throw out anyone who is unhappy with our society.¡± I glance at the soul-prison which I set up next to my throne, a crystal orb the size of a football. A small green figure is hopping up and down inside it, looking like it is screaming bloody murder without making a sound. Its resemblance to Tjenemit is striking. ¡°If you guys are unable to cope with the situation and insist on causing trouble, I know a solution!¡± I explain casually while looking at the orb. ¡°Several, in fact.¡± I change myattention to Lord Tulhelm who is patiently standing to attention behind his daughter, Iris. He is the perfect example of a loyal servant. The people in front of me grow pale, their eyes going back and forth between the orb and the revenant whose appearance is surrounded by many rumours, good and bad alike. I clap my hands together, making them flinch. ¡°But I am a reasonable fellow! If you explain your problem to me in a civilised manner, we may find a civilised solution.¡± Their leader, the one with grey hair and the features of a mouse steps forward. ¡°I have been a scholar for my entire life. I worked in libraries and taught students. Even from my previous lives, I remember doing nothing else until I got problems with the Council. I was always a peaceful fellow and tried to stay away from worldly power struggles.¡± He pauses to gather his thoughts. ¡°I am not a fighter, so I can''t join the Warriors guild. I am no technician, so I can''t join the Builders either. For the other factions, my skills are also too mediocre. For one reason or the other, everyone here doesn''t fulfil the requirements to join any of the existing guilds. Without being able to join a guild, we can''t acquire anything we wish for, like luxury items which we can''t create ourselves.¡± I nod and think about it. ¡°So what type of guild would you need to have a place in society?¡± The old guy blinks. ¡°Pardon me?¡± ¡°You tell me you are here because you don''t fit into one of the current guilds. So we will create one for you. Hmm, like a service guild?¡± I ask. ¡°I am sure that we will need many more guilds than the handful we have now, just as the existing ones will split up because they are too diversified.¡± I wave my hand. ¡°Everyone with technical know-how is lumped together in the Builders Guild, but that¡¯s just impractical. I am sure that there will be people who specialize in¡­ building a house for example.¡± ¡°But who needs such a thing as a Service Guild now? We are gods. If we wish for something, we can get it by ourselves, at least most of the things...¡± The leader seems confused. ¡°Well, for example, I wish for some people who will get my state back in order.¡± I wave a hand, indicating the palace. ¡°Most of the servants ran off because they remembered a heroic past life. Officials threw their work to the ground because they remembered that they were great arch-mages. If there was a guild which would offer to keep track of my books, I would certainly take their services.¡± I am addressing a real problem. Rose may have stayed with the family, but the royal household got messed up after the Awakening, which is what people are calling the incident. Rose only stayed because she is more of a family member than a servant in our employ. The old guy nods to himself. ¡°If you could really set up such a guild for people like us, that would surely ease the problem.¡± ¡°Then it''s done. I will tell my remaining officials to sign the necessary papers. And I am sure they will join that guild themselvesat the same moment. I am sure that they just stayed in their positions because their situation was similar to yours.¡± I rub my temples while contemplating the chaos I had to endure until recently. The representatives bow to me and are led outside by a guard. It will take several years for our society to settle down, which makes me glad that the Void Zone seems to stay a safe haven after having dealt with Tjenemit¡¯s little invasion attempt. Not to mention what we had to do to the kids. Some smart asses with big degrees ultimately decided that it would be best if the youngsters had their memories sealed until the age of twenty, at which point they could choose whether they wanted to know about their past. It was the only way to uphold at least a little degree of our old society. Aengus starts complaining on my lap, surely wanting back to his mother. ¡°Oh, sorry. Mommy can''t look after you at the moment. She is trying to find out how Seria created this... mess in our ecology.¡± I grab the crystal globe with Tjenemit inside and shake it a little in front of my son¡¯s face. Tjenemit gets slammed fromside to side in his cell, like a mouse in a cage. ¡°Look! Isn¡¯t it funny to watch the evil man? This is my new Tjenemit-globe!¡± Aengus touches the crystal orb with both hands, studying it and pacified for the moment. Suddenly, the orb gets snatched out of my hand, its disappearance baffling me. ¡°Don''t corrupt him!¡± Celes snaps at me and slams the globe back into its position on the pedestal. ¡°I had hoped that you would be a better father.¡± ¡°Hi, honey! We just had a little experiment that''s all.¡± I smile at her. ¡°So, it wasn''t mistreatment of a prisoner of war?¡± She looks down at me, crossing her arms. ¡°Give me Aengus! He has to get to sleep, he is a child after all.¡± She takes Aengus from my lap and walks off with him. He is waving at me over her shoulder, looking a little disappointed after the globe. Maybe I can teach him a few things after all? Looking out of the window, I notice the setting sun and declare the end of my audiences. After a few minutes, I am back in our private chambers and throw myself onto the bed. It¡¯s hard to tell in which direction we should steer this society. Some are saying that we should return the memories to everyone, but I am not so sure about that. A big problem with the Council was the absolute control they wanted to exert over everyone. It went so far that they even banned gods from reincarnating uncontrolled. What I certainly would want for my society is the possibility for any god who gets tired of eternal life to make a clean cut and reincarnate without any strings attached. Seria already showed us how it is possible. Have someone reincarnate without access to their soul¡¯s memories. Let them develop a new personality, and eventually return those memories once the existing personality is steady enough to not get influenced by the past. A new cycle of life and reincarnation for the gods, for there is no true death. Celes enters the dark room, clad in casual clothes.She lies down on the bed next to me. ¡°Husband, I need you for an experiment!¡± ¡°The husband is tired. The wife has to make the experiment on her own,¡± I grumble, but something that tastes like chocolate gets shoved into my mouth. ¡°The husband is needed for this because this doesn''t work with a female alone!¡± She kisses my cheek while she hugs me, using one leg to tease me. ¡°Did something happen? You are really aggressive today?¡± I ask her while she rolls herself on top of me. ¡°Oh. Nothing... just a little bit frisky,¡± she whispers into my ear. I sigh. ¡°You know, there are a lot of things on my mind. You could at least try to help with the new world order.¡± She huffs while straddling me. ¡°Like I am not! You are holding court in the evening for maybe two or three hours, while I have to deal with everyone¡¯s bullshit for the rest of the day. You do realize that getting all those gods to pull together on one rope is worse than herding cats!?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Maybe guilt-tripping her isn¡¯t as easy as I hoped. ¡°I guess then I have to thank you for your work.¡± Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°Have you at least found something out about Seria? Is her soul recoverable? After all, that¡¯s the reason why I allow you to hide inside your lab for most of the day. It looks like we won''t find out how to travel through the Void Zone without her. There must be a trick to it because otherwise, the gods would have already found out.¡± ¡°Errr, yes! Of course! I totally forgot that I pieced her back together.¡± I smile and grab her perfect ass, pushing her waist against my hips. ¡°You did!?¡± She sounds eager. ¡°Well, what are you waiting for? I think I can clone her a body easily enough.¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Ah, about that. Her soul is in bad shape. I think we should allow her a normal reincarnation, to give her time to heal. Therefore, reincarnating her would only require a final step.¡± Celes frowns. ¡°What step?¡± ¡°I thought it would be perfect if you were naked and bent over the bed, presenting that perfect butt, while I-¡± ¡°You want us to reincarnate her like that!?¡± She gasps. ¡°Do you even know what you are talking about? Having someone like her as our daughter after everything she did...¡± I shrug. ¡°Can you imagine someone like her being someone else¡¯s daughter? Someone who might not have the ¡®experience¡¯ to deal with her? More importantly, should we allow someone of her caliber to have her loyalties anywhere else but with us?¡± Celes stays silent as she considers that, then lets out a deep groan. ¡°I thought we would have just an innocent hustle tonight, but you just had to go and ruin the mood.¡± I try to sound innocent. ¡°We could go with my earlier suggestion, which would mean that I do the work.¡± Then I place my hands behind the back of my head and smile. ¡°Or, I could just lie here on my back while you get to work on top.¡± Chapter 47 ***Midhold*** ***Angrod*** Thinking back, defiling Celes to make a new body for Seria was fun. But as with so many things, the pleasure was too short compared to the price which had to be paid in end. No matter how I think about it, paying for a lifetime for ten minutes of fun... the price is just too steep. I shudder as I stroll leisurely through the city, mingling with the population. At least, we are past the diaper-stage now. A few years have passed since the Awakening. Enough time for the damages of the war to disappear and for our society to settle down. The people had no choice but to move on with their lives. Which meant that other problems came up, but nothing that a few threats from a soul-mage couldn''t fix. Even gods tend to listen when they are threatened with worse than a simple reincarnation. Thus, having solved our internal problems, we naturally tried to explore the Void Zone in order to leave this world. Many smart people worked on the problem, but we soon had to admit that we are stuck on this world. Nobody can travel the Void without the pathways and simple teleportation isn''t fit for interdimensional travel. We could build a good old starship and try to fly out, but nobody knows how big this Void Zone actually is. It could very well be that it spans over dimensions, which would make escape efforts futile. I guess that is why Tjenemit took the approach of letting himself get summoned. After taking my sweet time interrogating him, I came to the conclusion that there really is no other solution to the problem. Getting in or out of the Void Zone is easy as long as you have a summoning anchor, which Tjenemit smuggled in by attaching it to Seria, as it turned out. His way out was another matter. He prepared an exit strategy. Unfortunately for him, it was one which needed time to prepare. And unfortunately for me, using it would mean that anyone who takes it would end up in the centre of the Crystal City, surrounded by enemies. It was never meant to be used by more than one person. I never had much contact with the Council aside from Tjenemit. So, the upside is that I learned a lot of interesting stuff about the Council and its members, particularly their capabilities. El Shaddai is his usual self, playing the leader and sticking to his looks, imitating a golden statue of Buddha. He is a creepy fellow who seems completely nice in one moment and calls down the apocalypse on anything he dislikes the next. During the great war between the gods, he gathered the Council members around himself and created peace by defeating everyone else and sealing his enemies away by some unknown means. As it turns out, those unknown means involve throwing the victim''s soul into a black hole... I have to revisit that topic at some point with my prisoner of war. Sadly, it seems like he isn''t privy to the details. The war back then was a time of chaos, because it was everyone against everyone. As of now, the only gods who remember that time are the Council members themselves and some of the elder gods who live inside the Crystal City. They belong to the Council''s personal army and are fanatics if I understood it correctly. Then there is Lada. She is something like the conscience of the Council, but nobody gives a shit about her opinion. I have never had a lot to do with her, so I have to rely on Tjenemit''s point of view. She is a brown haired, normal looking woman with a fondness for too short skirts? I am not sure why Tjenemit insisted on that particular piece of information. Amaru is a technology freak and responsible for the Council''s victory in the great war. He has the appearance of an old scholar with grey hair and a monocle, which is his personal treasure. He found out how to use the Sphere of Sight, which gives them the ability to spy on everyone almost anywhere. He also invented various weapons, but the Mana Crystals are beyond him. It is a relief to know that the Crystal City existed way before the Council and that they just took it over during the war, never knowing who created it. Some of that I knew and other things I simply assumed. It means that I am most likely ahead of them in terms of warfare once I arm a few trusted followers with crystal weapons which are capable of striking down gods. It is also good to know that if I want details about this black hole affair, I have to get my hands on Amaru. The history of the multiverse may be way more complicated than we thought, given that I am relatively certain that Tjenemit told me the truth, at least as he knows it. I have no way to confirm that he himself is not a puppet. Then we have Enyo who is a crazy fighting maniac. Most of the time she is in charge of the army. If she has some free time, she always indulges herself in carnage and destruction, following the urges of her divinity. Judging from Tjenemit''s description, I am happy to never have met that crazy bitch. It sounded to me like she is a perfect candidate for the Council''s black hole sealing method. She is easy to recognize, as her whole body is covered with tattoos and she has short, white hair. There is also her tendency to wear full body armour. Eris isn''t much different from Enyo regarding her potential for causing trouble. She is always striving to create discord. There is nothing she is more happy about than to see others struggle with each other. Usually, she sticks to an appearance with black hair and really pale skin, but otherwise, she looks like an ordinary human being. I actually don''t think that she will be a problem. As it so happened, my expertise was once necessary to ''fix'' her after an accident involving her soul. I am sure that Tjenemit''s men checked her inside out after I was done fixing her. But let''s be honest, those plebeians in the Council''s employ wouldn''t recognize a proper curse if I layered it three stages deep around her entire body. And they gave me days with her. Lastly, we have Elohim. He is a mysterious fellow who keeps to himself. A balanced individual. He always does what he believes to be the best for himself. Even though he was one of the few who backed Seria together with Lada, it looks like he did it for opportunistic reasons. He has green hair and is some kind of elf. There are always plants growing on him, which sounds creepy, but at least he should be easy to recognize once I meet him. I mean, why should someone intentionally grow plants on his own body? There are not many gods who would willing do something like that. I sigh, frustrated by our inability to get outside the Void. We could already be out there, checking out the situation, establishing ourselves. ¡°Daddy! More to the left! I want to see that statue!¡± My head gets yanked to the left. The little girl who is riding on my shoulders uses my horns like a driving wheel. To spur me on, she digs in her heels while she uses me as a mount to explore the city. Seria 2.0 has red hair and very similar features to her mother, though she is obviously much more than a child of seven years in age.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Daddy, what''s that statue? It seems so familiar.¡± She points towards a stone statuette in front of a run-down building. Unlike the rest of the city, it looks like it wasn''t maintained for a few years, just as the figurine of a buxom young woman with angel wings and a halo around her head. ¡°That''s a statue of you, Seria,¡± I explain patiently, reminding myself that the Seria who is riding on my shoulders is a new person. She might regain the old Seria''s memories in time, but that doesn''t mean I can make a child responsible for the deeds of her former self. The Seria of today wouldn''t know why or for what she is being punished. The damages to Seria''s soul will without a doubt cause some changes in her personality, even if I am actively trying to help Seria remember the past. The statue belongs to an old temple, representing the Goddess of Life and Death. In the past, Seria was the one and only deity on this world, worshipped by most of the population. She still is, but nowadays she is more of a national hero. With the Awakening, true religious belief was replaced by the knowledge that there is no supreme being. On the other hand, if this world ever had one, then it was Seria. ¡°A statue of myself? But why am I naked!? Mom always chides me when I run around without clothes!¡± She uses my horns to stir me forward. ¡°I wanna see that building from the inside!¡± I slowly walk into the ordered direction, taking my time. Seria already regained some of her memories, though she clearly lost a lot thanks to her idiocy. From what I could gather, she only kept the more recent ones. I would judge her mental age to be around ten, maybe twelve. Though, she has much more knowledge than any ten year old should have. Unfortunately, she still doesn''t remember how to travel the Void. I have hope that it will come back in time. Other than to encourage and stimulate her growth, I do not dare to dabble with her mind any further. Reforming a soul after it got ripped to so many tiny pieces should have taken aeons. A soul is a very delicate form of¡­ energy wave of quantum fluctuations¡­ in absence of a better term. It''s like the surface of a silent pond. If a stone is thrown inside, it gets disturbed and forms waves which can fluctuate and distort the pond of memories for a long time. It is possible to forcefully smooth the surface afterwards by creating an opposing wavefront which cancels out the previous one, but it is a delicate process. At some point, I simply run the risk that further meddling with her soul would only worsen the situation. The best thing to do right now is to give her the time she needs to recover to its natural state. I don''t have the guarantee that I really found all her pieces either. But they will naturally rejoin with the main body over time. Only time will tell. We enter the deserted church, but the building looks just as desolate from the inside as from the outside. The religion of this world surely took a pretty heavy blow by the revelation of the Awakening. I am not a religious person, but seeing the dust and the dirt makes me sad. There was a time when places like this one were kept in a pristine state. Who would have believed that a wonderful building like this temple could be run down to such a degree in just a few years? The place seems abandoned and lonely, having lost its former glory. The main shrine with the statue of Seria in the centre of the room is desolate. Some of the wooden benches for those who want to spend time here are broken. ¡°What leads you here, lad?¡± I turn my attention to the only other inhabitant of this place, an old woman with owl-like features. She is idling on a wooden bench next to the entrance. Her absolute stillness allowed her to stay almost unnoticeable until she made herself known. ¡°I am on a sightseeing tour with my dad to see the city!¡± Seria shouts proudly from above my head, her voice shrill enough to echo through the abandoned space. The woman nonetheless cheers up at seeing the child''s enthusiasm. ¡°Hoh, and what''s your name little one?¡± ¡°Hear and Behold! Seria herself is before you! The one and only Goddess of Life and Death!¡± Seria tries to sit a little straighter while holding onto my horns. ¡°Hahaha.¡± The old woman starts chuckling. ¡°That''s a really grand name, lass.¡± I try my best not to start laughing. She obviously doesn''t believe my daughter. ¡°Hmpf. It''s the one my parents chose for me. So what are you doing here?¡± Seria studies the matron who is apparently just idling around. ¡°I am the head priestess of this temple. Or should I say, former head priestess?¡± The woman looks at the ground, frowning. ¡°In any case. I see no reason to abandon my job, as there are always people who need someone to take care of their fears, be they gods or mortals. I''m just sitting here, waiting for anyone who might need my help.¡± She looks up, smiling at us. ¡°It doesn''t look like there is anyone here, isn''t just waiting lonely?¡± Seria points out the obvious, her voice sounding sad upon surveying our surroundings. ¡°Oh, there are enough who are still coming here to listen to me. It may be true that there used to be many more in the past, but every person I can help makes me happy.¡± ¡°And what could you do for them? Aren''t we all gods now?¡± Seria sounds confused. ¡°Even if we are gods, it''s still good if you have someone you can talk to. Some people are still coming here if they need advice or help. Yesterday, I had a pair who wanted an old fashioned marriage. Or for example, parents who have problematic children.¡± The old woman smirks at me and I smile back at her. ¡°Ha! How could the great Me be a problem child? I am Seria herself after all!¡± Seria returns to her proud pose. ¡°You shouldn''t use her name like that. It''s true that things have changed, but if I can believe my memories, she still saved all of us in one way or another.¡± The old priestess smile becomes a little bit forced. ¡°We should be thankful to her.¡± ¡°But I am Seria! I may have lost some memories because I died, but I am the creator of this world. Hmpf!¡± Seria replies with a sullen tone in her voice, angry that there is someone who wouldn''t recognize her in her current form. ¡°Oho! So you really are HER? Didn''t you die to return all of our memories? So how can it be that you are back already?¡± the priestess asks. Seria huffs. ¡°Of course I did. Why would it be so hard to believe that I would reincarnate afterwards?¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± The priestess still looks like she doesn''t believe the girl, looking at me with pity in her eyes. She is clearly thinking that I am a much-tested father with a delusional daughter. I sigh. She couldn''t be more right and wrong at the same time. ¡°Fine! I will prove it!¡± Seria raises a hand pointing at the ceiling. ¡°Who else but the great Goddess Seria herself... could ride on the King of all gods!?¡± She pats the top of my head. I roll my eyes. The woman looks at me, doubt in her eyes. Then she pales as recognition sets in. ¡°Y- y- your majesty! I am sorry! I didn''t recognize you. Why are you here all alone!?¡± She hastily stands up and bows to me. ¡°It''s fine.¡± I wave a hand. ¡°As the princess said, I am just a mount today. Seria wanted to see her world... though I assume she just tried to get away from her mother.¡± Seria starts fidgeting on my shoulders. ¡°That''s not true. I am not afraid of Mom. Though, she is very scary and strict when I don''t eat the vegetables.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I frown. ¡°You didn''t eat her cooking again? No wonder your brother distracted her so that you could petition me to head out with you.¡± Seria gasps. ¡°You knew!?¡± I frown, deepening my voice to an educational one. ¡°What did Papa teach you?¡± She quickly collects herself. ¡°Wh- what are you thinking? I totally did not bribe my brother to distract her.¡± Seria vehemently shakes her head. ¡°I would never do something like that.¡± ¡°That''s right.¡± I grin. ¡°Always deny your misdeeds until the last moment and keep denying even after.¡± ¡°Kukuku... to think the king would go for a walk in my church. The world surely has changed.¡± The priestess chuckles. ¡°Though, it looks like it didn''t go well for the church.¡± I contemplate our surroundings while I study the statue of Seria. ¡°It''s true, but I hope that the people may realize in time that the church did more than just promise a religion and a great afterlife,¡± the priestess answers hopefully. ¡°Papa, can''t you repair the churches?¡± Seria asks, hope in her voice. ¡°It seems so sad that something that was dedicated to me just rots away.¡± ¡°I have no money for something like that.¡± I grunt. ¡°Those buildings don''t even have a proper use anymore.¡± ¡°What about the historical value! Cheapskate! I will use Mom against you!¡± Seria spouts a serious threat. My self-assured expression drops. Celes is just the type who would count something like restoring the churches as cultural expenses. For a second, I think about the possibilities and then I shudder. ¡°I... I will consider it.¡± ¡°See, old hag? Another proof! Who else but the Goddess herself could give orders to the King?¡± Seria''s voice sounds high and mighty through the empty hall. The old woman smiles with pity at me. ¡°Hah, I thank you for your help, my Goddess. But even if the temples are renovated, there is still the lack of people.¡± I roll my head from side to side, trying to loosen the tense muscles. ¡°Why don''t you create a guild for spiritual guidance then?¡± Seria starts nodding. ¡°There are still enough mysteries and questions about the multiverse. There is always a new horizon behind the old one.¡± The priestess looks contemplative, clearly giving the idea some thought. ¡°Hoh. I may do just that. A non-religious approach to keep the institution running.¡± The old woman smiles warmly at Seria. ¡°You may be the Goddess after all.¡± Seria nods, satisfied with the priestess''s admission. ¡°Daddy, can we take a look at the new park now?! I heard they rebuilt it more wonderfully than before after big bro nuked it!¡± Seria pulls at my horns, forcing my head to look towards the door. I sigh and wave goodbye to the priestess as I start walking, just like a good steed. ¡°Brrrrm! Step on the gas, Papa! We need to be there before Mom finds out that we are gone.¡± Again, she urges me forward by digging in her heels and we walk down the plaza. Chapter 48 ***Midhold, Summer Residence*** ***Celes*** I stretch myself and sigh, enjoying the sun in my red bikini while Angrod is floating on his back in the nearby lake and levitating a book above him. Sometimes, I wish I could use magic for convenient purposes like that. Seria is playing in the garden of our log-house which became a very beloved retreat from the worries of the Eternal Palace which is the centre of government for our world. Located in a valley on the southern part of the continent, the summer residence is the perfect resort for swimming in the summer and skiing in the winter. While peeling an oranle, a fruit which is a strange mixture between an orange and an apple, I ignore the screams of pure pain and horror. Angrod reaches out, using Levitate to steal my glass with cold fruit-juice. I ignore it, knowing that Rose was about to bring out seconds anyway. The screams are coming from Aengus. He is rolling around on the ground while trying his best to scrape out his eyes. ¡°Haaah... Celes, do you remember when we were that age? Isn''t it reassuring that we aren''t the only ones who have to suffer?¡± Angrod calls over from where he is drifting in the lake. ¡°Sure, my dear. Though I have the feeling that Aengus is going through the full transformation, just like you,¡± I chuckle while sucking on a piece of fruit. ¡°Couldn''t you do something to ease the pain? What good is it to put all that effort into researching our bodies if you can''t lessen the pain a little?¡± Angrod raises the stolen glass, allowing the contents to trickle into his mouth. I snort. What a sloth. ¡°Maybe I could do something, but it would require some pretty heavy drugs. I don''t want to give stuff that strong to a little child,¡± I hum, enjoying the sun. ¡°And he has to learn that joining forces with his sister to trick me is a bad idea.¡± ¡°What''s happening to big bro, Mom?¡± Seria studies her brother with a concerned expression, yet staying at a safe distance, just in case that his problem might be contagious. Worried, she comes over to me, expecting an answer. I am so proud of my little angel. She is so smart. ¡°Ahem...¡± I clear my throat. ¡°Nothing dangerous, dear. He is just undergoing the metamorphosis. His adult-features are developing. Like horns, and split pupils. Once the process is over, he will look similar to Papa.¡± I smile at Seria and pat her head. ¡°You forgot the teeth!¡± Angrod calls over. ¡°Those and the eyes are the worst of it.¡± ¡°Hooooorrnnnnnnnsss!?¡± Aengus howls in terror. ¡°Puuuuppiills!? Whaaaahaa... III DONnn''t wannNNNAaa bEEE AA DEEOEMON!! HUUURRRRTTTSSS!!!!!¡± He rolls over the lawn and then starts hitting his head against the soft ground, attempting to end his suffering. Seria''s expression turns frightful as she witnesses her brother''s antics. It turned out that Aengus was similar to me in one of his former lives. A paladin and fighter for good. One who stands in the light. His character took to those memories like a fish in water, fuelled by the fact that he is currently in a phase of hero-worship, thanks to all the bed-time stories Rose always reads to him. It must have been a shock to learn that he would turn into his ''presumed'' worst enemy. Maybe I should take a look at those goody-two-shoes children''s books. I sigh and decide to elaborate on the problem, ¡°The affected body tissue starts growing and changing rapidly. As a side effect, the nerves inside it are going havoc and starting to fire constantly. It''s, in fact, a form of phantom pain. There is nothing that can be done about it easily. Especially since it is a natural process, better not to disturb a working system without knowing all the variables.¡± ¡°Aaah. I remember it like yesterday! It was like someone was stabbing screwdrivers into my eyes while twisting them and having a mixer mashing up my brain at the same time,¡± Angrod laments, recalling his own metamorphosis. ¡°Kyyyyaaaaa!¡± Aengus sobs. ¡°Thiiis IIS Theee PPURRRTAAAGOORY! III KneWWW I WAAS In HEELLL!¡± Even Ghost, Angrod''s familiar, lays back his ears at the discordant tone of Aengus¡¯s screams. Normally, there is nothing that could keep the big Razorclaw from roaming the garden and the forest behind the property, but now the cat goes back into the house, unable to endure the shrieking. ¡°You have to experience the dark side of this world, as well as the bright one, Aengus. Try to control yourself a little. You''re starting to sound like a little girl,¡± I smile and suck on another piece of oranle. It brings me no pleasure to see my kids suffer, but Aengus has to learn to deal with pain at some point. What better opportunity than this one is there? ¡°Don''t be so high and mighty! You started to cry like a little baby yourself!¡± Angrod rebukes me. Pah! As if he didn''t do so himself. In fact, we both cried like little children by the end of it. ¡°Mom! Will that happen to me too?¡± Seria asks me with a frightened voice. ¡°Most likely, but you have one or two years until it is your turn.¡± I lick my lips. ¡°Though, you will be spared from the screwdrivers through the eyes.¡± Seria lets out a sigh of relief and sits down next to me. ¡°Then it will be only half as bad.¡± Smiling, I use my tail to entangle Seria, lifting her into my lap. ¡°Oh, it won''t be half as bad. In exchange for the screwdrivers, it will feel like someone is constantly stabbing and drilling a stake up your butt, directly into your spine! Where do you think my tail came from?¡± Seria''s stiffens as she comes to view my tail in a different light. We get interrupted by Angrod''s mother. Ireth enters the garden through the veranda, clearly curious what all the ruckus is about. ¡°What''s with all the screaming... Oh, my! They grow so fast. Before you can take a look, they are already at age. How is it Aengus?¡± ¡°IIS? Iiii waanana DDIEEEE!¡± ¡°Your parents are horrible for letting you go through that even though you did nothing bad.¡± Ireth wanders over to my son, studying the child who is writhing on the ground.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°WhhhyYY?¡± ¡°On the other hand.¡± Ireth''s expression turns contemplative. ¡°We never showed them the proper method to ease the pain for a while because we had to educate the naughty children.¡± She ponders over the past while she scratches her chin. They did what!? ¡°There is a way to ease the pain?¡± ¡°Grandma! Save brother and show me the method! Pretty please!¡± Seria jumps at the opportunity. She gets out of my lap and runs over to plead in her brother''s stead. In the meanwhile, the screams have taken on another dimension. ¡°Okay! If my cute little granddaughter asks me nicely like that, we will save your brother.¡± Ireth pats Seria''s head. She walks over and grabs Aengus at the neck to drag him over to the nearby fountain. I watch, wary of what the old goddess-turned necromancer is up to with my child. Ireth bends Aengus over the fountain and unceremoniously pushes his face under water. ¡°Blergh! Bllblblber!¡± The screams are cut off and finally, silence reigns supreme as Aengus bucks and thrashes, flailing his arms. A long and nasty fight for life and death starts. Aengus tries to cast a spell for breathing underwater, but Ireth cancels it as she holds him under with hands of steel. I am not entirely sure if the experience of drowning is better than the pain. After long and gruesome ten minutes, Aengus''s movements slow and lessen to mere twitches of his left leg. It''s really hard to drown a god, even if it is a child with limited access to his memories. Seria just watches the scene unfold with a slack-jawed expression. When Aengus stops moving, Ireth pulls him out and casts a mid-level healing spell on him, relying on the fact that this level of spellcraft won''t restore his consciousness while ensuring his survival. ¡°See? Much better, isn''t it?¡± Ireth asks Seria with a bright smile. She lays Aengus on the ground and folds his hands on his chest... just like someone would do with a dead person. Seria just nods, clearly uncertain how she should react to her grandmother''s actions. Then she walks over to me with dead eyes. ¡°Mom, Papa, I am so sorry! Aengus is right. I really created hell.¡± We both just grin at her and say nothing. After all, this world¡¯s strange biology was her fault. That is when Rose arrives with a plate full of new drinks. She walks over and sets them onto the small table next to my deckchair. ¡°Um, everyone. There is something I want to ask.¡± Rose fiddles with her fingers. ¡°Would it be a problem if I took leave for the rest of the day?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± I reply quickly. ¡°But if such a request comes from you, I have to know why. Otherwise, I would die of curiosity,¡± I answer with a smirk. Rose never takes time for herself. I sit up and curiously look at Rose who turns red. ¡°You know... Originally I thought it would never happen, but with us becoming gods and the much longer lifespan there were suddenly so many new options!¡± Rose tries to explain. ¡°It kinda happened before I knew it.¡± Oh, no! It can''t happen! I whisper, ¡°You have found yourself a guy!¡± ¡°I have a date!¡± she corrects me. ¡°Whether that will turn into something permanent stands in the stars.¡± ¡°Who!? What!?¡± Angrod drops his book into the water, clearly surprised. He nonetheless takes a sip from his juice, just as curious as myself. ¡°Drem, the captain of the guard.¡± Rose smiles at us and Angrod spits his juice into the lake. When he wants to say something, I throw him a glare strong enough that it could evaporate him and the lake together. Instead of saying something stupid, he shuts his mouth. ¡°The bear!?¡± Ireth shouts out, just as surprised as Angrod himself. ¡°I am just trying to imagine Rose''s fragile slender elf-body next to that muscle-monster Snowden, but the picture is just too hilarious,¡± Angrod mutters. ¡°It''s the first date?¡± I clap my hands together, happy for Rose... and the fact that there is one less of Angrod''s minions single. Despite Angrod''s asseverations that there was no romantic relationship between Ascathon and Willow, I am quite sure that they did the tumble once in a while. There is just no way that a man and a woman stay together for centuries without something happening, even if they claim to be just ¡®friends¡¯. ¡°Um, yes?¡± Rose frowns. I get to my feet and take Rose''s hand. ¡°If that''s the case, then we have to work on your appearance!¡± ¡°My what?¡± Rose asks with a curious voice. ¡°Just a little help. You don''t intend to go in your uniform, do you?¡± I urge her towards the log-house. Ireth and I, assisted by Seria, spend the better part of half an hour to bring Rose into shape until we have no other choice but to let her go with ten minutes delay to her meeting. Having done everything we could, we return to the garden. Angrod got out of the lake and is crouching next to Aengus, poking him with a stick. There is nothing I can say to that. At some point, I really have to explain to him that poking people isn''t a valid method to test whether they are alive or not. ¡°What was inside the box you gave her?¡± Ireth asks me. ¡°Nothing, just a little chocolate,¡± I reply with a wide grin on my face. Admittedly, I pepped it up with a little bit of love and encouragement. Angrod''s expression changes when he hears that. His face takes on a faraway look and there is a faint trace of mana around his head, a clear sign that he is trying to use telepathy. I dash over and slap him on the back of his head to keep him from spilling the beans. He clearly deduced something from the way I mentioned the chocolate. ''SMACK!'' ¡°Ow!¡± He rubs the back of his head. ¡°You tried to tell him, didn''t you?¡± I loom over him, placing my hands on my hips. It was so obvious that he tried to contact Drem. He blinks, his expression so guilty that I don''t need to be a mind-reader to know what he is thinking. Without a doubt, thoughts like ''How did she know?'' and ''Did Drem get the important part?'' are going through his head. ¡°Did Papa do something bad?¡± Seria hops up and down next to me. ¡°Yes, he tried to tell on a woman''s secret plans.¡± I pat Seria''s head. ¡°He was a veeery bad Papa and Mom will have to punish him!¡± ¡°How can you punish daddy? I need to know too!¡± Seria is such a smart child! She knows what''s really important in life. The sooner you learn the secrets of a man, the easier it is to get what you want. ¡°That''s not for children to see!¡± I smirk ¡°Stay here and keep watch over your brother.¡± I grab Angrod''s hand and drag him to the house, intending to occupy his thoughts with something else than to mess with my plan. ¡°That''s the same thing you always tell me, Sandra! I am sure you will just drag him to the bedroom and do... this... and that...¡± Seria slowly turns silent because both Angrod and I stopped in our tracks to look at her. She starts fidgeting and looks behind herself to check if there is something or someone of interest there. Not finding anything, she turns back. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± I drop Angrod and kneel down in front of Seria. ¡°You just called me Sandra.¡± ¡°I did?¡± Seria smiles at me, trying to look innocent. But I know exactly when she is lying. Those little dimples always betray her when she is trying to hide something. ¡°You totally did! What else do you remember!?¡± I grab Seria¡¯s cheeks and start twisting. Just a little at first, but when she refuses to answer I add tension. ¡°Owowowo!¡± ¡°I said many times that if you remember something you have to tell us! How much did you hide!¡± Using my tail, I tie her up and get to my feet while pulling her cheeks apart until she is a little comical version of a frog. ¡°Do you remember how to travel the Void, Seria?¡± Angrod asks her while standing next to me, sounding curious. ¡°Neh? I teught wee elreadi cenfirmed that I enly heve memeries ef mere receent eveents?¡± She continues to deny any new knowledge that might have returned to her. ¡°You just called your Mom Sandra. That memory should be quite an old one and we never told you about it,¡± Angrod points out her mistake. I let go of her cheeks and turn her around while she is rubbing the rosy marks which my little encouragement left behind. ¡°Do you see your brother lying there?¡± I ask her with a sweet voice, bringing her in close. Seria looks at her brother¡¯s sleeping face and nods her head. ¡°Right now, he is granted the merciful bliss of unconsciousness. But if you don''t spit it out, I will see to it that you are awake and aware the entire time when it''s your turn. You won''t even have the mercy to faint from exhaustion! I will personally see to it,¡± I explain, trying to sound nice while I run my fingers through my daughter¡¯s hair. Seria turns as pale as the moon, then starts crying, ¡°Uwaaah! I just didn''t want to tell that I remembered more, because¡­ because you and Papa will go off to war if you know how to travel the Void. I didn''t want that! I want things to stay like they are forever!¡± Angrod nods, looking proud of his daughter. ¡°Wow! Seria, you are good. You have that fluttering chin down to the point!¡± I sigh and decide to hug the child for comfort. Unlike Angrod, I do not believe that her reason for holding back information was a lie. She is a different person, after all. The old Seria¡¯s grand schemes assuredly are not the new child-Seria¡¯s short-term goals. Chapter 49 ***Midhold, Cygnus - Main House*** ***Seria*** ¡°Big bro, it''s scary in here.¡± I tug at Aengus''s sleeve while looking around, suspecting that something horrible might jump-scare us any moment. My old self watched enough horror movies for me to know that a setting like this one just begs for the death of some stupid side character. And since I am quite obviously the main character of this story, it would mean that my brother has to die a horrible death for his stupidity. Which is totally unacceptable. I like him too much for such a sad ending to his comedy slapstick routine. Every Sherlock needs her Watson. The room is dark and many technical devices are blinking and beeping all over the place. That alone wouldn¡¯t be scary. My parents'' laboratories are just like this one in many ways. Though, there is some sinister vibe to this room and its contents. Like the menacing drones and robots which are for the most part copied from nature. With quite realistic skeletons and all that¡­ I am so happy that none of them seem to be finished. ¡°I know, Seria, but it''s so exciting! How often do you have the chance to take a look at the lab of a mad scientist?¡± Aengus pulls me with him to explore the room. ¡°Mad scientist? More like a villain¡¯s lair if you ask me,¡± I grumble, having no choice but to be pulled along. If Aengus is so interested in a mad scientist''s lab, then he just has to enter Papa''s laboratory. If he can ¨C and isn''t stopped by one of the many traps Angrod has in place to keep us out. We are at the Cygnus property and this is Margerie¡¯s private space, though I think the name of her former self was Alexandria. She is an old deity from earth who was famous for her knowledge and her almost infinite library. Our parents ¡®disposed¡¯ of us at their friend''s abode to plan their first trip out of the Void Zone. They started working really hard after I told Papa about what I remember regarding the Void, which admittedly wasn''t all that much. Still, my parents had me swear on my little pinky that I would never ever share the secret with anyone else. So, I will never break that promise¡­ because I like my little pinky¡­ and I would totally suspect Mom to rip it off if I broke the promise. Anyway¡­ they have been very busy since then, just as I feared. Mom no longer had the time to keep an eye on us and neither had our grandparents. Seems like planning an all-out war is really time-consuming. To keep us from causing mischief, Mom dropped us off at the Cygnus property for Margerie to take care of us. Celes is of the opinion that we shouldn¡¯t be left alone. Though, after seeing this place, I believe that it would have been safer at the palace. At least Mom and Papa are sealing their labs properly. Not that it means much against someone like me, who has the memories of someone who spent centuries going to places where she shouldn¡¯t be. Yet, their measures are enough to keep out a bonehead like Aengus. Margerie couldn¡¯t contain us for long. As soon as her attention was elsewhere, Aengus and I fled to inspect the big mansion. The large number of servants was a problem, but not an insurmountable one. It was really hard to evade all those people, though we quickly found a few deserted rooms which seem to function as Margerie¡¯s private research lab. ¡°Look! That thing looks cool, doesn''t it?¡± Aengus grabs something which looks like a mechanical spider from a table. ¡°I wouldn''t touch anything in here. It could be dangerous,¡± I warn my brother, who seems a little too impulsive to me. I know, I lost most of my memories and my parents think that I am childish, but I still have my head together! And from all those movies I know that touching something like that spider-drone-thing is just asking to have your hand ripped off. ¡°Booh. Cheapskate. I can''t believe that I have such a boring a little sister.¡± Aengus puts the spider back. I am just cautious, that¡¯s all. ¡°Who are you calling little sister? I am the BIG SIS!¡± It''s humiliating! I am much older than this upstart youngster! At least my soul is! Aengus just looks at me, measuring our height-difference. Even though he is just a year older, he is a whole head taller than me. ¡°But I am a year older than you!¡± Aengus answers high and mighty, wisely choosing not to point out the apparent physical difference between us. Once, I already laid him out flat on the floor for that one. ¡°That''s just physical,¡± I complain. ¡°What''s important is the mental age! And from my perspective, you are looking at one of the oldest beings in the multiverse! Be honoured!¡± I refuse to give up an inch of my dignity! ¡°Oh? Being that old doesn''t really count if you don''t remember much of it,¡± Aengus makes a point. I deflate. ¡°I remember at least the important stuff! For example, you promised to help me if I saved you. So where is your respect to your saviour now, high and mighty hero?¡± I look up into my brother''s eyes without flinching. ¡°Urgh...¡± He looks away. ¡°You won that one, midget, but don''t overdo it!¡± We continue to inspect the room, but there is just too much stuff in here. It''s more like a mountain of collected garbage. Maybe that¡¯s what this is? Maybe Margerie drops all the projects which didn¡¯t work out in here? It would at least explain why there is no obvious meaning to the stuff that is stored in this room. Suddenly, the door flies open and Margerie storms into the room. ¡°Found you!¡± ¡°Run, Bro! Whoever gets caught is a slow turtle!¡± I storm up to Margerie who tries to catch me, but at the last second, I drop myself to the floor and slide over the ground ¨C in between and past the larger woman¡¯s legs. Margerie tries her best to grab me, but she is too slow. Aengus uses the distraction to slip past her and the next second we are outside on the corridor and on the run. ¡°Hold it! No running in the corridors!¡± Margerie calls after us while trying to catch up. Suddenly, a big-busted rabbit appears out of nowhere in front of me and I collide with her leg. ¡°Ouf!¡± I am thrown backwards and land on my ass. ¡°So cute! It''s a little version of Celes! Too bad that you don''t have the horns and the tail yet.¡± The bunnygirl reaches out and hugs me to her chest, smothering me. What''s with that size!? Does she have a little bit of cow in her genes too!? I try to fight myself free, but then I realize that Aengus got caught by a catgirl and is dangling in the air, held by the neck. Tanja and Sandra¡­ two of our parent¡¯s friends have arrived. ¡°They tricked us, Sis! This was a pre-planned ambush!¡± Aengus complains. ¡°Margerie cheated and called reinforcements.¡± ¡°What a smart observation, Mr. Obvious.¡± Just mere moments later, Margerie arrives at the scene, panting as if she could drop dead at any moment. ¡°Sandra... Tanja... good... that... you... caught... them!¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Seriously, Margerie? Why did you agree to babysit for people whose children have higher physical abilities than you?¡± Tanja complains about Margerie¡¯s lack of forethought. ¡°And why are you so out of breath? I can remember you climbing mountains with us in the past. And now you are a god.¡± ¡°But¡­ that''s... why¡­ I¡­ invited... you¡­ and¡­ no¡­ suit¡­ this¡­ time¡­¡± Margerie lies down on the floor to catch her breath. ¡°Seriously! You are relying too much on technology. The least you could learn to do is to circulate mana through your muscles.¡± Sandra returns her attention to me. ¡°But it''s nice to meet the offspring of our comrades. All of us were so busy recently. I would have liked it if we had seen each other more often.¡± ¡°I always wanted to meet the Goddess, Seria. That''s why I came.¡± Tanja goes with the blunt truth. ¡°Celes mentioned that you remember more of your past now?¡± ¡°I am not sure if I can really live up to that reputation,¡± I answer with a concerned voice while trying to free myself from Sandra¡¯s grasp. ¡°Aw... no problem.¡± Sandra¡¯s expression lights up even more. ¡°Say? Do you want to play with my kids? They are a little younger than you two, but they are also an active bunch.¡± Sandra takes me under one arm and carries me off ¨C without caring for my opinion. Our captors walk down the corridor while talking about uninteresting stuff. After a few corners, we arrive back at the living room where our adventure originally started. A blonde guy is waiting there on a sofa, drinking tea with Margerie¡¯s brother, Stephen. I recognize him as Sven, Sandra¡¯s husband. Five kids are playing cards on the large carpet in front of them, watched over by a quite pregnant woman with silver hair and wolf features. ¡°Ah, I see you caught them!¡± Iris sits down next to her husband, Stephen, and sighs. We are put in front of the other kids who stare at us... Unable to cope with the silence, I try starting a conversation. ¡°Hi, I am Seria. And that''s my brother Aengus!¡± I introduce myself. ¡°I am Yondus, and those are my brothers and sisters, Gustav, Monika, Evel, and Sura.¡± One of the kids takes the lead. ¡°Wow... Quite the big family. Your parents must be hard workers!¡± Aengus bursts out, pointing out the obvious yet again. Yondus drops his head while the others put on disturbed expressions. ¡°That''s what everybody thinks, but it''s a trait of our mother¡¯s bloodline to have many children. In fact, Mother got all of us in the same go. Though, normally it''s just twins or triplets.¡± ¡°Holy shit! Five at the same time! That must hurt like hell!¡± I sputter, trying to keep the conversation going and failing miserably. The other kids study me expectantly. ¡°What?¡± Don''t look at me like that! ¡°Oh, it''s just that we had another image of the Goddess in our heads.¡± Sven takes a sip from his tea. I turn my attention to him, not remembering him paying a visit since my rebirth. ¡°I think I last saw you at my parent''s marriage. So what are you doing now?¡± I might not remember much, but I know at least one or two important details about the people who are worth blackmailing. ¡°Oh, Sven joined the army and is in the process of working his way up the ranks,¡± Sandra explains in short words. ¡°Tanja is doing something like spying and other secret activities. I am taking care of the kids while I manage my family''s estate.¡± She looks at Iris, who just shrugs. ¡°As you can see, I am currently taking things easy.¡± Iris winks at me and pats her belly. I think hers is a valid excuse for ''taking things easy''. Then another memory hits me and I point at Sandra and Sven. ¡°Oh! Now I remember! I think I saw you guys together at my parents'' marriage party! You were already so lovey-dovey back then. I couldn''t resist and blessed Sandra with fertility.¡± I hit my fist into my open palm and nod, remembering it quite clearly now. They look at me as if I am the devil. ¡°What? I am the Goddess of Life and Death. Doing stuff like that is my job.¡± I smirk at Sven who started muttering incomprehensible stuff to himself. Sandra only grins at me. ¡°Oh, I have to thank you then. If it weren''t for the children, he wouldn''t have married me.¡± I give Sandra a thumbs up and smile at the quintuples, who are staring at me with big round eyes. Yes! Always fear a fertility goddess... because only complete celibacy might save you. ***Midhold, The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** ¡°So, now we know.¡± I study the faces of the selected group of people who we trust enough to allow them to be privy to the most important secret on the planet. There are Ireth, Katrine, Arthur, Nicosar, Rose, and of course Celes. I am sure that we will include our friends from the Cygnus, Andros, and Morden families too, but they are currently occupied. ¡°I hope that everyone understands that nothing of what we are talking about can leave this room. It¡¯s unfortunate, but we can¡¯t share this secret with the public at this point. I am quite sure that if we did that, people would want to start exploring the multiverse right away. Even if there is no genuine traitor who will run with the knowledge to the Council, it would be only a question of time until they catch someone and pull the information out of him or her. I want to avoid having this world¡¯s safety compromised at all costs.¡± When Seria explained the nature of the Void Zones to me, I had an enlightenment. A pathway is a stream of energy that travels through the multiverse, forking up endlessly. Mortals often call those pathways Ley Lines, but they are only able to sense them in a very rudimentary way. Thanks to their ability to sense those pathways, gods can hop onto those streams and travel with them instantaneously through dimensions and to other worlds. This ability is what defines a god. We thought that the Void Zones simply do not have pathways, for one reason or the other. What Seria realized is that the Void isn''t a space with no pathways at all. It is only an area of the multiverse which lacks the energy to light up the pathways. They exist, but they are dimmed to the point that it is hard to sense them. Our senses are so used to the brightly burning pathways of the rest of the multiverse that it is hard to sense the ones which are spanning the Void. An untrained individual is unable to sense them at all. After Seria had given me this hint, I retreated to my lab. It took me two sleepless days to complete the preparations and to instruct the palace to grow the necessary equipment. On the third day, I fell asleep and when I woke up, the palace had completed its task. The result of my labour is the small crystal in my hand. It''s similar to the ring and earrings which I gave to Celes. By connecting directly to the user¡¯s mind, it can show me a whole new view of the world. It is a sensor which helps the user to feel even the tiniest bit of energy. I close my eyes and concentrate. By blending out my surroundings, I slowly become aware of the pathways. They are dim and seem to flow with the speed of ice, but it''s enough to prove to everyone that they are there, just hard to perceive. The others also got their own versions of the crystal. For the time being it is a necessary crutch, but if Seria is any example, then training can overcome this hurdle, making artificial help unnecessary. ¡°You are right,¡± Ireth affirms. ¡°We should be very careful about how to release this information. If the general public learns about a way to leave this planet there will be an uproar. I am glad that so far nobody made the connection between our little girl and the Goddess.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we are stupid enough to wave her around in public...¡± Celes mutters, throwing me an accusing glare. I twiddle my thumbs. It¡¯s not like I ¡®waved¡¯ her around either. I was just taking her for a few strolls to stimulate her memory and to show her the world outside the protective bubble which we erected around our children. Katrine clears her throat. ¡°So¡­ you already have an idea on what to do once we are ready to leave the Void Zone?¡± ¡°First, we need some intelligence about what¡¯s going on outside,¡± I point out. ¡°We learned quite a bit from Tjenemit, but his information should be outdated by now. Also, the Council surely assumes that we got him and learned everything he knows.¡± Arthur frowns. ¡°How should we go about this? Can¡¯t that Sphere of Sight find us relatively quickly once we venture outside?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a valid concern, but from everything I¡¯ve heard about the device, I am relatively certain that we should be safe enough, given that we don¡¯t spend weeks outside the Void Zone,¡± I explain. ¡°The Sphere of Sight somehow tracks newly awakened gods. It is capable of locking onto their energy signature once they transcend. Yet, it¡¯s unable to track us within the Void.¡± I raise a finger. ¡°Our luck is that we didn¡¯t awaken within the artefact¡¯s sight ¨C so to speak. I think, judging by all of our past experiences and from what I teased out of Tjenemit, it is very likely that the device won¡¯t be able to tell us apart from all the other gods out there in the multiverse. The Sphere of Sight wasn¡¯t created by the Council but is something they found and utilized. They may have limited control over it, though it was quite clear that using the device has limitations. There is no typing: ¡®Search Angrod;¡¯ ¨C and you get a full report on that specific god. The Council will suffer under information overload without knowing our exact signatures ¨C which changed after our second awakening.¡± ¡°So we are relatively certain that a short trip outside shouldn''t garner too much attention,¡± Celes sums up my explanation. ¡°Which leaves the question of where to go if we want to keep the trip as short as possible. Do we know someone out there who is inclined to help us?¡± I look around the table, hoping that someone has an idea. Because I am relatively certain that all of my closest affiliations ended up in the Void Zone one way or another. Katrine furrows her brows. ¡°What about your daughter, Nix?¡± She looks at Celes and then at me. ¡°Daughter?¡± I frown. Celes clears her throat in a way which reminds me very much of Isabella, causing me to sweat buckets. ¡°Yours and Isabella''s?¡± She grumbles in a condescending tone, referring to former versions of ourselves. I still haven''t figured out why Myrm''s and Isabella''s souls aren''t separating. In fact, it seems like the opposite is the case. They are becoming one. ¡°Oh, right!¡± I quickly amend. ¡°Phew! That was so long ago. It almost feels like it was another lifetime...¡± My own mother looks confused. ¡°I think you mentioned her once or twice.¡± She turns to Katrine. ¡°Isn''t she a full-blooded demon who lives in the Netherrealm? Why would she know anything about what''s going in the rest of the multiverse?¡± Katrine shrugs. ¡°I admit that it''s a long shot, but it isn''t like those to live on the Infernal Planes are completely removed from the rest of existence. Even if most gods stay away from those dimensions, the older demons always keep tabs on what''s going on outside their domain. Nix is old and powerful enough to have built her own castle. If nothing happened to her, she should be a fairly established succubus queen by now. I am sure that even if she herself can''t tell us much, she must have the connections which we need to get started.¡± Chapter 50 ***The Netherrealm, Nix¡¯s Stronghold*** ***Katrine*** ¡°To think that it would be that easy.¡± I marvel at the dark castle which defies the unreal landscape around it. Ghostly rivers of sparking energy flow through a badlands of some semi-solid material which shines with a greenish glow. Above it all, a dark violet sky reigns supreme, depressing in its emptiness. ¡°¡­ But I really don¡¯t like this place. Are you sure that this is where Nix resides? I expected her to choose a friendlier dimension.¡± Although, I have to admit that this is a pretty decent place as far as the Infernal Planes have to offer if my memories do not betray me. No magically mutated fauna or flora that wants to eat you. It¡¯s neither too hot nor too cold ¨C it certainly could be worse. Celes frowns as she looks up the castle¡¯s walls. ¡°Yes, I am pretty sure that this is where Nix brought Isabella the last time I visited. Given that I remember correctly since a certain someone didn¡¯t want to join me.¡± ¡°Hey, I had a war to fight,¡± Angrod complains. ¡°And... your memories can be trusted. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Angrod waves his hand dismissively. ¡°I only hope that Nix remembers us. A few thousand years is a long time, even for an immortal. Do you think she managed to ascend to godhood?¡± ¡°I hope not, or she would have gotten into trouble with the Council,¡± Celes grumbles. I purse my lips. ¡°Well, if she is still stuck as a demi-god, we can fix that easily enough since she is a succubus.¡± Celes and Angrod look at me, clearly curious about what I meant. ¡°I guess you died before you got the chance to learn about it, but I ascended during the final battle between Ascathon¡¯s and Myrm¡¯s factions.¡± I place a hand on my chest, indicating myself. ¡°Haven¡¯t you wondered why a former succubus matriarch is now a god? Turns out, all it took my former self to ascend was to leech a god dry¡­ through quite¡­ nefarious means.¡± I probably shouldn¡¯t tell my husband about that. Angrod nods. ¡°So you fucked him to death and ate his soul-¡± Celes cuffs Angrod in the upper arm since he brought the issue to the point quite shamelessly. Decked out in his best and newest armour, my son in law doesn¡¯t budge. He has his staff with him, and a set of blades which are attached to his back. Just like him, Celes and I also got our own crystal armour which is surprisingly comfortable to wear, even if putting on those flowing scales felt a little naughty. I blush at the memory. It will take some time and effort until I manage to get to terms with my former self. Ashley would have never been able to totally commit to a single lover like I am to my husband. ¡°I see how that¡¯s possible. A succubus¡¯s innate abilities are a form of natural soul magic. Though, it should be impossible to absorb another¡¯s soul,¡± Angrod glances at Celes, ¡°it¡¯s reasonable to believe that the act of taking a god¡¯s power might¡¯ve unlocked Ashley¡¯s potential.¡± ¡°So it might not work for any demi-god?¡± I ask. Angrod snorts. ¡°Certainly not. They would need a succubus¡¯s ability to drain another¡¯s soul of his power and memories. Though, any soul has at least the potential to ascend. Whether they do or not depends on the individual¡¯s strength and determination ¨C and largely luck.¡± ¡°Yeah, in any case, should we try to knock or how do we do this?¡± Celes claps her hands together and gestures at the door, studying the hindrance which allows entrance into the castle. It¡¯s about three times our height and seems to be a single piece of solid metal. ¡°I think the others had more than enough time to get into position.¡± Since this is supposed to be a family visit, we chose to be polite. I nod, glad that we planned this first trip outside the Void Zone thoroughly. It¡¯s not like we simply took a pathway to the Infernal Planes to get ourselves into trouble like bumbling idiots. Everything I remember of my past life tells me that the inhabitants of this dimension are not to be taken lightly. Throughout the multiverse, there are beings whose powers differ greatly. While mortals ¨C those who can¡¯t reincarnate with their memories intact ¨C are normally considered the weakest, there are dimensions which are so saturated with energy that even gods can get into trouble with the average inhabitant. Among them are first and foremost a set of dimensions called the Infernal Planes, this dimension being one of them. It¡¯s only common sense to show up here with a group strong enough to take on a roaming demon lord or two, their army of minions included. Granted, having both Angrod and Celes at hand should be enough. But knowing that Nicosar, Arthur, and a few of our friends are waiting as reinforcements is reassuring. Celes steps up to the large door which supposedly grants entrance to the castle. Raising her fist, she totally ignores the bell next to the entrance and hits the door, causing the entire structure to ring with a resounding echo. I am a little surprised when a small door viewer which was previously perfectly hidden is opened with a smooth ¡®zip¡¯. ¡°Who is there?¡± Celes clears her throat. ¡°Isabella, I am here to see my daughter, Nix.¡± I can hear some hushed whispers from the other side until the doorkeeper decides to answer. ¡°Nix is out of the house. We don¡¯t know when she will be back.¡± Frowning, I step closer to the peephole. ¡°How is this possible? Didn¡¯t she leave anyone in charge when she left?¡± ¡°Lord Iraxar is in charge, but he doesn¡¯t receive anyone,¡± the voice replies. Celes huffs. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he her boyfriend when I last paid her a visit? I am sure that he will receive us once you tell him that Nix¡¯s mother, grandmother, and father are here.¡± There is a gasp from the other side and the door viewer is closed quickly, sealing perfectly with the rest of the door. Angrod uses his staff to scratch his temple, but he doesn¡¯t say anything. ¡°This whole situation seems fishy to me,¡± I comment. ¡°What do you think?¡± Celes pops her knuckles, sounding irritated. ¡°I think this calls for forced negotiations. Even if they don¡¯t want to, at least they have to talk to us.¡± Bringing her fist up and swinging it like a hammer, my daughter hits the door with a resounding ¡®Boom!¡¯, breaking it off its hinges. Tilting inward, the large door falls with unstoppable force, sending a wave of dust into the castle¡¯s courtyard.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Celes wastes no time and steps onto the door, walking into another¡¯s home like the queen she is. Angrod and I follow her into the courtyard, where once the dust is settled, a lonely imp is revealed, carrying a basket with vegetables and meat. He stares at us, his wide eyes switching back and forth between Celes and the door. ¡°I want to see someone with authority! Where are the guards!?¡± Celes demands. ¡°Trazolock and Sulvud are¡­ under there¡­¡± The imp¡¯s accusing gaze lowers to the door which we are standing on. ¡°I think their current ¡®state¡¯ doesn¡¯t allow for any kind of conversation.¡± Angrod rolls his eyes and gestures with his staff. ¡°Which means that you are promoted. Show us the way to the lord of this castle before I decide to take down this whole place!¡± As the lowest of demons, it doesn¡¯t take the imp long to cast away its pride and come to the conclusion which is the most beneficial to its survival ¨C in a typical manner for its kind. The little red demon drops the basket, abandoning its kitchen-duties, and gestures for us to follow. Flapping its wings, the red fellow guides us deeper into the castle, past abandoned rooms and empty hallways. Only now do we get to see the sad and desolate state of the place. Most demons aren¡¯t known to pay much attention to their living arrangements, their sturdy nature making most mortal conveniences unnecessary. But succubi often put a lot of importance on even the smallest of pleasures, so I can¡¯t believe that Nix would ever accept living in such a place. So either Nix isn¡¯t living here anymore, or there aren¡¯t enough inhabitants to keep the castle in shape. ¡°What happened to this place?¡± Celes asks the question that burns on our tongues. ¡°Where are Nix¡¯s minions? Shouldn¡¯t a stronghold as large as this one have at least a war-band or two at the ready?¡± ¡°They left. This place isn¡¯t the same since the Mistress was abducted,¡± the imp explains. ¡°Abducted!? How? By whom?¡± I bark, wanting answers right now. The imp trembles in fear, but I don¡¯t care. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°It happened two or three centuries ago, Lady,¡± the imp explains. ¡°Some deities showed up at our doorstep and demanded our absolute servitude. Naturally, Nix refused, but that was before she knew the visitors were gods.¡± The imp waves his hands. ¡°They abducted the Mistress and left Lord Iraxar in charge.¡± ¡°What do you think? The Council?¡± Celes whispers to Angrod and I close in to hear his reply. ¡°Possible, but unlikely,¡± Angrod replies. ¡°I am quite sure that I would have learned about any hostages during Tjenemit¡¯s interrogation. It¡¯s far more likely that this is completely unrelated. Probably some group of weak deities who are hiding on the Infernal Planes for one reason or the other. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, it¡¯s the only place you can go if you want to stay off the Council¡¯s radar.¡± ¡°Possible allies?¡± I ask. Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°They nipped that possibility when they took Nix. Who knows what they are doing to her?¡± I shrug. ¡°Nix is a tough piece of leathery demon-hide. I am sure she is doing well enough.¡± ¡°Be that as it may.¡± Angrod allows his staff to come down on the floor, cracking a tile. ¡°I have a principle of bringing hell down on anyone who touches a family member. If those deities know anything, then their souls can tell us after I am done with their physical incarnations!¡± The imp guides us into a throne room, where a large demon with burning horns is lounging on a couch, three succubi tending to his needs. One is feeding him with pieces of some grilled meat, while another fans him cool air with an oversized leaf. The third is busy between his legs. ¡°Iraxar!¡± Celes barks. ¡°What are you doing here while Nix is missing!?¡± The demon frowns, studying the three of us. ¡°Who are you to barge in here like you own the place? Why didn¡¯t the guards stop three measly halfbreeds?¡± While Iraxar makes his speech, the imp who was our guide silently steals himself away. I ignore it, deeming that we won¡¯t need the little guy anymore. Celes clears her throat. ¡°This may be a different body, but I am Isabella, Nix¡¯s mother. This is my husband, Amon. And my mother, Ashley. I would like to know where my daughter is and what you are doing here.¡± Iraxar coughs up the piece of flesh he was about to swallow and spits it into the hair of the succubus who was pleasuring him, leaving the demoness quite grossed out. She pulls a face and tries to get the meat out, but doesn¡¯t dare to say anything. ¡°You can¡¯t be them! They vanished a long time ago!¡± He gestures towards us. ¡°Girls, throw them out.¡± ¡°Can I kill him? This is taking too long for my tastes and I doubt that Nix would miss him after everything we¡¯ve heard and seen.¡± Angrod takes a step forward, but Celes holds him back. ¡°Everything can be solved with talking,¡± she explains patiently. ¡°I want him at least to tell us where to find Nix.¡± The succubi on Iraxar¡¯s side are equally reluctant to attack. Instead, they try their best to talk good sense into the demon lord. ¡°Are you sure that we can take them? They already got past Trazolock and Sulvud.¡± ¡°There is no way that I will go against someone who claims to be Ashley, The Succubus Queen of Castle P.o.P.¡± The second succubus distances herself from her master. ¡°Even if she is an impostor, there are still some far mightier demons than ourselves roaming the planes who would come running if they hear about the name. I want no involvement with those!¡± Oh, fun. Somehow I hoped that my past self¡¯s fame would have diminished over the years. Hopefully, this won¡¯t cause us trouble down the road. ¡°What if it is true? Going against the Bitch¡¯s husband would be suicide! He wasn¡¯t called the Slaughterer without reason.¡± ¡°Why do they remember Ashley and Amon with reverence, but I am nicknamed the Bitch!?¡± Celes calls out while shaking her fists, silencing the room. I wince, knowing my daughter¡¯s temper. Angrod also distances himself from his wife. The succubus with the large leaf looks baffled. ¡°But everyone knows that you caught the greatest warlord the Infernal Planes have ever seen with the baby trap. You are famous far and wide among the succubi. It¡¯s why Nix decided to settle in a place like the Netherrealm. With the weight of such a famous mother on her shoulders she couldn¡¯t stay in the Planes of Pleasure.¡± ¡°See?¡± Iraxar gets to his feet, apparently intending to take care of matters himself. ¡°They must be impostors if they don¡¯t even know that.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve had about enough!¡± Celes charges the demon lord before I can stop her, her foot impacting the demon¡¯s knee and folding it sideways. Iraxar takes the hit with a grunt, realizing the damage only after he starts toppling over. He sucks in air for a scream, but it is cut short when my daughter¡¯s fist impacts his throat. Reaching up, Celes grabs one of his horns and pulls him around, bringing the stumbling demon down on her knee, effortlessly breaking his neck. I gasp involuntarily and cover my mouth when Celes¡¯s hand reaches for her opponent¡¯s mighty privates and¡­ disarms¡­ him of his manhood. Huffing and puffing, she drops Iraxar to the ground. The large male doesn¡¯t have to say much apart from a little twitching and stertorous breathing as he gurgles out his life. His three succubi, on the other hand, are quite offended. ¡°Why did you rip it off!? Ooh, wait, do you intend to stuff it?¡± ¡°What a waste of good life force.¡± ¡°What kind of succubus are you?¡± Celes doesn¡¯t waste any time, waving the demon lord¡¯s unmentionables at the trio. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what a demon is supposed to do or I will show you three wenches that women can just as easily lose important bits!¡± That shuts them up quicker than if they had been threatened with eternal torture. Angrod uses the chance to step forward and poke the cooling corpse with his staff. ¡°So, I take his soul and we head to wherever Nix is?¡± ¡°I suppose¡­¡± I comment, having a bad hunch about what is to happen once we are there. If even my daughter lost her patience with Nix¡¯s boyfriend, then what will happen once we are at the place of her abductors? The three succubi immediately see their chance. ¡°Actually, the Olympians took over a castle not so far away from here. It¡¯s just a one hour flight following the energy river upstream.¡± The one with the leaf nods. ¡°Yes! We can guide you there.¡± ¡°Want some?¡± Another offers the plate with the grilled meat to us. ¡°Can we have his soul in return?¡± ¡°N-¡± Angrod is about to answer when Celes interrupts him. ¡°Let them have the scraps. And haven¡¯t I told you that poking people with a stick doesn¡¯t tell you whether they will live or die?¡± ¡°Only if I can have these Olympians. And poking them works. If they twitch, they are fine. If they don¡¯t, they are not,¡± Angrod explains his reasoning cooly. Celes covers her forehead with both hands. ¡°Okay, you can have them, but we try talking to them first!¡± ¡°Because that worked out so well with him.¡± Angrod pokes Iraxar and I take note that he doesn¡¯t twitch. ¡°I think he is dead,¡± I comment. If two people ever deserved each other, then it is Celes and Angrod. Eventually, we return the topic to what caused us to pay this place a visit. The succubi explain that these Olympians are apparently a whole pantheon who lost their home to some invader and were forced to relocate. For one reason or the other, they chose to settle in the Netherrealm, proving quite the menace for the local demons. A single god would have been defeated sooner or later, but a whole group of them proved to be a hard foe. The Olympians slowly subjugated the demon lords around the area, demanding tribute in various forms. Food, valuables, minions, the new overlords weren¡¯t picky. Overall, their behaviour was not much different from actual demon-culture ¨C although the demons were only waiting for someone strong enough to put an end to them. Chapter 51 ***The Netherrealm, The Olympians*** ***Celes*** ¡°It¡¯s right over there,¡± one of our guides points out, indicating a castle which is very similar to Nix¡¯s stronghold in size and design. There is one major structure in the centre, easily recognizable from our elevated position. Surrounding it, is an impressive wall, enclosing a central courtyard. The succubus looks at us, then at the other gods in our company. She and her sisters got very quiet when we met up with the rest of our task force. The three succubi may be demons and mortal by our definition, but they recognize power when they encounter it. Apart from Katrine and Angrod, we took Arthur, Nicosar, Rose, and our friends, Sandra, Margerie, Gabriel, and Tanja. Which means that we have ten major deities in our group. Power-wise, that¡¯s equal to an invasion force which could take on several dozen demon lords working together ¨C a scenario that¡¯s as good as out of the question, given demonic nature. ¡°We go with the same drill?¡± Margerie asks, holding up one of the six inhibitors which are supposed to dampen the pathway signatures, therefore mimicking the effects of a Void Zone in a localized area once they are set up in a pentagram around the target area. The inhibitors are long staves, similar to Angrod¡¯s staff. The difference is that they only fulfil one purpose and are meant to be rammed into the ground at their destination. Once set up, they generate an inhibitor field that should prevent anyone from using the pathways or teleportation. Their weakness is that they can¡¯t prevent anyone from leaving the relatively small zone with speed alone, but thatis what our friends are there for. ¡°I suppose.¡± Angrod nods. ¡°No point in changing things. Our main priority remains to keep anyone from getting away. It will be harder, though. We didn¡¯t expect that there is a whole group of deities hanging out on in this dimension.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we retreat and get more people?¡± Gabriel asks. ¡°Not that I want to waste time, but are we sure that we can take them?¡± I knock my knuckles onto the crystal breastplate of my armour. ¡°You forget that we are armed and armoured with something the rest of the multiverse doesn¡¯t have access to. This is a major game changer.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tanja gestures for us to get going. ¡°But make it quick. We promised Iris a girl¡¯s only evening and I don¡¯t want to be late.¡± Oh, right! There was that. I am sure that she would have joined us, but given her very pregnant circumstances her staying behind can be forgiven. Absent-mindedly, I pop a small piece of Mana Crystal into my mouth and swallow. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get going. Time doesn¡¯t stop for us.¡± Angrod, Katrine, and I levitate a few metres into the air, then speed directly towards the castle. Our friends won¡¯t take long to set up the inhibitors, so we can go knocking while they do their job. Approaching the castle quickly, we set down in front of the outer gate and just like before, I am the one to announce our presence by giving the whole thing a light tap. At first, there is no reply, so I repeat the process twice before we can hear some strange noises from the other side. Like some heavy gates rising and falling. I have to sigh when a similar scene to the one we are used to plays out, a small door viewer opening just in front of me. ¡°Who goes there!?¡± a muffled voice from the other side asks, the tainted glass of the viewer making any identification impossible. I clear my throat. ¡°I am Cel- Isabella, and I would like to have my daughter back, Nix is her name. I was told that you have her.¡± Multiverse! This old-identity business is getting on my nerves, but if I introduce myself as Celes, nobody would know who I am. ¡°We don¡¯t have anything for you, demon! Get lost before I call Ares and the others to take care of you,¡± the voice replies from the other side. ¡°Hahaha, All you succubi are good for is to lie down and take it.¡± I frown. ¡°Listen, we aren¡¯t your average demons, you retarded doormat! Get me someone who is in charge, and this castle might still be standing tomorrow!¡± ¡°Who are you calling a retarded doormat!? I am Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods! I wanted to give you a chance, but I guess we will just add you girls to our entourage, Aphrodite might take the guy after the others-¡± A spear shoots past my face, only a centimetre away from scratching my cheek. It stabs through the door viewer, sinking deeper in until Angrod¡¯s hand comes into view. He reached over my shoulder, attacking whoever is on the other side of that door. ¡°Hurrgh...¡±a strange noise comes from the other side. Angrod twists his staff ¨C which somehow turned into a simple-looking spear ¨C and pulls it back out, blood covering the crystal blade. The weapon must have been imbued with some kind of spell, because where it penetrated the gate, only a perfectly round hole remains, the edges smooth like they were cut with a laser. I slowly turn around and cross my arms in front of my chest. ¡°What was that!?¡± He looks away. ¡°That guy said too much.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t done talking!¡± ¡°You said I could have them,¡± he tries to defend his deed. ¡°After I talked to them!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t specify how long you intended to talk.¡± Angrod gestures towards the gate. ¡°He was about to call his buddies.¡± My mother cuts in, ¡°Children, it¡¯s fine if you want to have a domestic quarrel, but this isn¡¯t the time nor the place for it. I doubt that this castle is as poorly staffed as the previous one. We should get going and learn as much as we can before they realize that we are here.¡± ¡°Multiverse!¡± I curse and turn back to the gate, gesturing for Angrod to get going. ¡°Yes!¡± He pumps his fist and steps past me, blowing a human-sized hole into the gate with some kind of spell. ¡°Time is up! Everyone who didn¡¯t hide well enough, I am coming!¡± He whistles and steps through the opening. Katrine and I remain outside, relying on Angrod to clear the path. ¡°You know...¡± my mother comments. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be too harsh on him. It feels like there is a lot of pent up anger in him¡­ and the way you just let him off the leash totally felt like an owner commanding her dog.¡± I turn to look at my mother. ¡°Please excuse me. You may be right, but you have no idea what he is capable of if he is left unchecked. You may have known him for a long time, but you haven¡¯t truly known him as I do now. I only allowed him to do his thing because the doormat did a pretty good job at convincing me that I want nothing to do with these Olympians. We just want Nix and then we are done with this place.¡± She purses her lips. ¡°Then let¡¯s go and make sure that Angrod doesn¡¯t go overboard. I really don¡¯t understand how you two can love each other...¡± ¡°Oh, I love him, never doubt that,¡± I explain while following her through the hole which Angrod made. ¡°But there is unconditional, stupid love, and then there is practical love. I am glad that Angrod and I favour the latter of the two.¡± On the other side, we find an almost naked man who must have been the doormat I talked to earlier. His only piece of clothing is a white blanket with some golden clasps holding it in place. And of all things, he is wearing sandals¡­ sandals in hell! Did the man have no common sense at all? Angrod¡¯s spear stabbed right through his throat and severed the spine ¨C perfectly aimed. I take a moment to admire the skill it must have taken to guess the doormat¡¯s position just by his voice. Or rather¡­ it is Angrod who I am talking about. Surely, he used some kind of cheaty wall-hack. ¡°Uh, no wonder that he didn¡¯t open the door,¡± my mother complains while studying the corpse. ¡°He didn¡¯t even wear proper clothes.¡± I shrug. ¡°They must have integrated a little too well with the local demons¡­ or we just caught him at an inopportune moment.¡± Glancing from side to side, I survey the surrounding demons. They are watching us, but none of them dare to move a muscle. At first, I am surprised that they didn¡¯t run off to get their masters, but then I realize that there is no way out of this room. Only ten meters after the first gate there is another one and probably another after that. Angrod already went ahead and blew a hole into that one too. The gender and type of the present demons varies widely, but none of them are armed. They look like the average menial servants. In fact, they seem like they were the doormat¡¯s entourage.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Probably the strangest thing is that someone forced them to wear the doormat¡¯s white napkin outfit. Maybe some kind of uniform? One of the three succubi who played our guides pokes her head through the opening behind us. ¡°Hey, guys!¡± She waves at the demons. ¡°Seems like this place is going down, so you probably want to be out of here.¡± That is something the enslaved demons do not even question. Dropping frond, writing utensils, food, and lute, the demons tear off their clothes and file out of the opening, quite unashamed of wearing their birthday suits. I turn to the three succubi who followed us. ¡°I thought you guys would take off. Why are you still here?¡± The leader points at us, looking at me specifically. ¡°We thought we would stick around. You killed our Lord, so technically you are our new Mistress now.¡± Just what I need; more idiots to take care of. ¡°Make sure to take care of yourselves. You are among people who could end you with a stray blow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only good to have a powerful leader,¡± one of the trio chimes, proving to me that the three are certainly not the brightest demons Ihave ever met. Not that I met many of them. In this lifetime at least. Well, maybe Rose will take them in as maids in training. What can go wrong? ¡­ I probably shouldn¡¯t have asked myself that. We follow Angrod¡¯s path deeper into the stronghold, quickly catching up to him. The thick wall was equipped with several gates in a row, turning the entrance into several segmented antechambers. The design should have made it impossible for the average intruder to break into the castle, but Angrod isn¡¯t the average intruder. Just like with the first gate, he cut clean holes into each subsequent door. Finally, we reach the inner courtyard, startling the demons working and idling there. Realizing that our entrance wasn¡¯t sanctioned, ten demon guards come running to defend the castle. The first one arriving strikes Angrod¡¯s chest plate with his axe, yelling a warcry while my husband just stands there, ignoring the attacker who is at most at the demi-god level. Making contact with the crystal armour, the axe-head shatters into a thousand pieces, leaving the befuddled attacker with nothing more than the handle. ¡°Out of my way, small fry. I am only here for the gods.¡± Angrod makes a shooing motion while releasing his aura and therefore announcing his status. Doing so would have fried most mortals of the lower dimensions, but the inhabitants of the Netherrealm take it in stride. Surprisingly enough, the demons obey. The trio of succubi repeat their spiel and seeing their chance, most of the demons ¨C some of the guards included ¨C beat a hasty retreat. ¡°Seems like these Olympians didn¡¯t exactly instil loyalty in their followers,¡± I comment, noticing the slightly raised pedestal in the centre of the courtyard. ¡°From what I remember¡±¨CKatrine waves her hand¨C¡°it isn¡¯t exactly uncommon for demons to switch their loyalty quickly when it looks like the wind¡¯s direction has changed. It¡¯s a trait that¡¯s bred into them by survival of the fittest.¡± My attention is drawn to the pedestal. On it, is a genuine pillory: a wholly metallic framework with holes for the arms and head to be held secure. The naked succubus who is held by it gets off her knees when she notices our group coming closer. Facing away from the entrance, she couldn¡¯t spectate what was happening. ¡°Another contender?¡± She curls her tail and waves her butt enticingly around. ¡°Come on, I wonder when you will give up. Is it you, Hermes? Didn¡¯t get enough after I almost sent you off to the next reincarnation?¡± I clear my throat. ¡°A woman?¡± The succubus tries to look at us, but the pillory prevents it. ¡°Aphrodite? Or gods forbid, Hera? Do you want to try your luck?¡± Propping his now-staff-again-staff on his shoulder, Angrod walks around the pillory. Katrine and I follow, frowning at its inhabitant all the way. The succubus on the pillory has straight, black hair which wasn¡¯t cut in quite a while. It¡¯s so long that it reaches the ground, piling up there like a mane. She isn¡¯t too well-endowed, but nonetheless perfectly shaped like all of our kind. Nix smiles and flexes her black-nailed fingers when she sees us. It''s clear that she didn''t get to take care of herself since her fingernails are long enough to compete with claws. ¡°Oh, new faces! How refreshing! Especially that manly demon lord.¡± She smacks her lips, looking at Angrod¡¯s groin. ¡°Don¡¯t know of any demons who reached godhood. Do you want to give me a try?¡± I feel my left eye starting to twitch in irritation. ¡°Nix, what are you doing up there? I thought I taught you better.¡± She frowns, looking from Angrod to me, and then to Katrine. She brings forth her tail to scratch her head. ¡°Do I know you?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten everything I told you about breaking enchantments?¡± Angrod taps his staff onto his shoulder piece. ¡°Wait! By the burning pits!¡± Nix gasps. ¡°Dad!? Mom!?¡± She looks at Katrine, taking a moment. ¡°Grandma!? I thought you were dead!¡± I sigh and jump onto the pedestal. ¡°Yes, we were. Therefore we go by different monikers now.¡± Ignoring the enchantments on the pillory sending sparks of energy into me, I dig my fingers into the metal and rend the thing asunder, freeing Nix. At first, Nix doesn¡¯t get up. Wincing, she slowly straightens out her body, joints popping all the way. ¡°Pits! That feels much better. After the first century, I thought I would have to take it from behind forever!¡± ¡°Language!¡± Katrine admonishes Nix. The freed captive only frowns and looks at me, gesturing at Katrine. ¡°Is she for real?¡± I force myself to smile. ¡°You will learn that we¡¯ve had our own issues while you were¡­ bent over. Reincarnation changes people.¡± She bites her lower lip. ¡°So you and dad¡­¡± she gestures between the two of us. ¡°Are together, again,¡± Angrod answers her question. ¡°Oh.¡± Nix looks at the ground, mumbling, ¡°The last time they were just demons¡­ poor multiverse.¡± Done with her self-loathing, she looks up again. ¡°Soo¡­ what are you doing here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?¡± I cross my arms. ¡°We are here to get you. Originally, we also wanted your knowledge, but it¡¯s likely quite outdated. Which means that it¡¯s only about you by now. What were you doing on that pillory?¡± ¡°Oh.¡± She waves her hands. ¡°Hera was pissed when I ensnared Zeus three days after Ares abducted me. You probably heard the story from Iraxar. They had me in there ever since, though for the first month I was in a private room.¡± Her expression turns evil. ¡°Which didn¡¯t stop them from taking turns. Although, once I almost managed to drain Apollo dry and Poseidon had lost his junk, they decided that I am a safety hazard and that putting me in a public place with ¡®supervision¡¯ is the better solution. They wanted to ¡®tame¡¯ me.¡± ¡°Oh, I am so sorry.¡± I step closer and hug her. ¡°Now we are here to make everything better.¡± Nix stiffens in my embrace. ¡°Isa? What are you doing?¡± ¡°Giving you a hug?¡± ¡°I am a demon¡­ and several millennia old,¡± Nix clarifies. ¡°I am too old for hugs. And I am a succubus queen.¡± ¡°Sure, child.¡± I look at the pillory. ¡°Quite the queen you are¡­¡±I let go of her and pinch her cheek. ¡°That¡¯s just like you. And just so you know, children are never too old for hugs.¡± Nix touches her cheek, looking at me with a genuinely horrified expression. ¡°Just what the hell happened to you after your reincarnation?¡± We get no time to talk because that¡¯s the moment when several gods dash into the courtyard. A quick glance tells me that most are lesser deities. None of them are stronger than mid-level and only one seems to be a major god. I curl my lips. ¡°Why are they all wearing diapers?¡± Nix coughs. ¡°It¡¯s their thing, and they call it a toga. We should probably get out of here.¡± ¡°Naw, it¡¯s okay.¡± I pat her shoulder and push her behind me. ¡°This is the perfect opportunity to upgrade you.¡± ¡°Wha-¡± Nix doesn¡¯t get any further, because a bearded fellow makes his way to the front of the new arrivals, demanding with an imposing voice, ¡°What is the meaning of this!? Intruders, where is Hermes?¡± ¡°Killed him, took his soul,¡± Angrod replies unashamed, then grins, revealing his sharp canines while Katrine makes her way onto the pedestal to my side. The bearded man narrows his eyes. ¡°I am Zeus, leader of the Olympians. What is a god like you doing in the Infernal Planes?¡± ¡°Originally, we just intended to pay our daughter a visit.¡± Angrod takes his staff off his shoulder and twirls it through the air, the weapon changing smoothly from a mere staff to a halberd with a wicked point at the tip. ¡°But now I get to slaughter you before I go home.¡± I roll my eyes. He faked it perfectly, but my husband didn¡¯t even bother to master spinning a staff. He cheated by using telekinesis, just like he controls the rest of his weapons. Heperformed his deception fast, but not fast enough for my eyes. ¡°Is he insane, father?¡± One of the deities points a short sword clad in golden light at Angrod. ¡°I think so, Apollo. Quick, get his wenches while I deal with him.¡± Zeus raises his hand, imperiously waving it at us. Didn¡¯t he realize that we are gods too? Ah, I guess not. Katrine and I had our auras contained. Angrod activates his armour, his horns flowing into a featureless mask covering his face. Then he charges right into the midst of his opponents. The blades on his back detach and fan out like deadly, crystalline wings, cutting left and right. Nix gasps behind me, but I have no time to reassure her. Instead of fighting a proper battle, the one named Apollo charges right at us, clearly intending to take hostages. Stepping into the path of his approach, I reach out and grab his blade-hand, twisting it around and pulling forward while increasing the angle until there is a ¡®pop¡¯. The joint springs out of its socket and the weapon slips out of Apollo¡¯s fingers. The god¡¯s eyes widen with incomprehension as I continue to twist his arm, forcing him to his knees in front of me. With my other hand, I take hold of his jaw and let go of his maimed hand. He struggles, but I hold his head with an iron grip. Once his face is beneath mine, I force his jaw open and spit into his mouth. Pushing it shut, I force him to swallow while he writhes like an eel, impotently trying to free his head and unleashing the full power of his aura. Katrine steps forward, having kept track of Angrod¡¯s battle. Raising her hand, she summons a barrier to block some sort of lightning attack. I ignore it, too concentrated on not killing my opponent. By twisting his overtorqued neck just a little further, I snap it. It should be enough to incapacitate him for the time being. Letting go, I let him collapse to the ground. Lying on his back, he blinks and drools a little, showing me that I applied my medical knowledge perfectly. Nudging his dysfunctional diapers with my foot, I reveal his pole which stands to attention thanks to my body¡¯s chemistry ¨C despite his injury. I turn around and look at Nix who gapes at me speechlessly. ¡°What are you waiting for? Hop on and take a ride. Make sure not to leave anything of his soul behind.¡± She points at herself, then at Apollo, shaking her head. It¡¯s probably the first time that I got to see a succubus forfeit sex. ¡°Do I have to show you how it¡¯s done?¡± I turn around, counting Angrod¡¯s opponents. ¡°We have ten more tries to have you ascend to godhood. That is if you are willing to try the women too. If not, then you have only six tries. Oh, isn¡¯t six a favoured number in hell? What fortune!¡± Angrod dodges an opponent¡¯s attack which has enough force to blow a hole into the outer wall. Normally, that would be quite the unremarkable feat for a god. But on this plane, the rules are a bit different. The saturation of energy means that what would blow apart a mountain has quite the mitigated effect in this realm. Attacking with enough force to take out the castle¡¯s wall means that our enemies stopped joking around. Laughing insanely, my husband brings the halberd around, impaling his opponent through the guts. Angrod lifts him up into the air like a flag on a pole. The spinning blades which were occupying the rest of the group converge on the poor fellow from all sides.Taken together, they are a human-sized meatgrinder. I wince as bits and pieces of the deity cover my husband with blood and gore, including his surroundings. ¡°Make that five.¡± ¡°Oh, no.¡± Nix bites her fingernail. ¡°That was Hephaestus. He was the only one of the incestuous bunch who actually had a decent dick!¡± Looking down at Apollo, I have to admit that Nix is right. There isn¡¯t much fun to be had with that one. Chapter 52 ***The Netherrealm, The Olympians*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Ahaharharhar!¡± I had to admit that I sounded a little deranged as I mangled my first enemy to pieces, his parts flying all over the courtyard. I finally felt alive again! There was nothing that compared to the adrenaline rush of one-sided slaughter! Cough! ¨C mortal combat, of course. I never wanted to imply that these hillbillies have no chance against me. Bringing the halberd down and around, I swing it in a wide arc, forcing my opponents back. Their horrified faces show anger and fear, having witnessed the demise of one of their comrades ¨C who lies now sliced and diced on the ground, no piece larger than a fist. ¡°Deviant! Ares will destroy you!¡± One of them jumps forward, his short-sword moving faster than the eye can follow and my halberd moves almost on its own, blocking the attack. My blades fan out, separating this new challenger from the rest of his companions. While smiling beneath my mask, I push my opponent back, our auras clashing and melting the ground around us. The man expertly shifts his weight and sparks fly through the air as his weapon slips past the heft of my halberd, aiming directly for my heart. There is a flash of light from beneath my field of vision as his weapon breaks against my armour, leaving him wide open for a counter-attack. My halberd detaches in the middle, turning into a makeshift axe and a long spike. Smiling, I swing the axe down, the crystal blade cutting smoothly through the god''s aura ¨C taking off both his legs at the thighs. He topples over, screaming, and I stab him for good measure before I reunite the two weapons into a staff. Seeing one of the women cast a complicated spell, I point the staff at her and channel magic into one of the pre-set spell-matrices which I prepared beforehand. I don¡¯t know exactly what her magic is supposed to do, but just a look from afar tells me that it includes mind-altering effects, so I want no part of it. A hex complicated enough that it would have normally taken me minutes to cast springs forth, enveloping the woman in a burning web of blue energy, fuelled by her very own power. I revel in the feeling of seeing the naked fear in her eyes when she realizes what the hex is trying to do as it leeches off her aura. Her quick reaction of pushing the energy away and dropping her aura is smart, but wrong. Had she only taken a second longer to study the hex, she might have found a way to survive. The energy rebounds back, into her body, and then outwards again. She bursts, the flesh peeled off of her as a meaty, red paste. Her bones pop and their marrow empties on the stone tiles, leaving nothing that resembles the formerly beautiful woman apart from a tuft of straw-brown hair. ¡°You are so innocent!¡± I giggle and erect a barrier to block one of my opponents, deflecting a ray of energy upwards that could have levelled the whole castle. ¡°It''s like you have spent your entire immortality suppressing mortals! You are so laughingly weak!¡± And they are getting desperate, so I shouldn¡¯t let my guard down while mocking them. That''s when the bearded guy charges into my path and something punches my brain, causing me a serious case of brain-freeze. I miss a step and almost fall as I fight back against the unexpectedly strong mental attack. Thankfully, my training of telekinetically wielding several objects at once requires a stringent compartmentalizing of my mind, and while the attack was surprising, it didn''t incapacitate me to the point of having to endure the humiliation of being pounded by a second-rate god. Arms moving on their own, I reshape the staff into a halberd and block the sparking lightning spear the old fellow threw at me. My head pulses like a drum as I search out the originator of the ongoing mental attack, seeing him or her as the only real nuisance. I find her standing pressed against the wall, safe behind her pantheon. It has been a long time since I had a proper battle from mind to mind. Relying on the fundamental concept from which a god draws his strength! There is no greater form of battle than waging ones very soul against another, so I let her in, interested whose divinity would reign supreme as I welcome her with the mental equivalent of a hug. Chaos against¡­ Wisdom! Pah! What a weak divinity to base your godly powers on. Wisdom may seem powerful, but only so long as you don¡¯t take into account that it is a concept that¡¯s based on humans, not a fundamental force of nature! There is no wisdom without sentience. The woman disappoints mere moments after I lowered my mental barriers, giving her an unguarded view into the depths of my divinity. She shudders. Her left eye looks left and the right one strays to the right, rolling. Her lips curl and spit splutters forth as her knees buckle, causing her to topple over like a felled tree, screaming forth incomprehensible gibberish. ¡°Faceless mien who creates and destroys! Incomprehensible knowledge, sealed by mysterious smiling lips, never to be spoken!¡± Twitching, she soils the ground and herself with her own vomit, trying to form words and suck in air, all at the same moment. ¡°Athena!¡± one of the gods screams and I smile. Such is the fate of those who are forced to stray from the path of a linear mind. Maybe this Athena will remember our encounter one day and reach enlightenment about how to go forward as a mind mage. ¡°Retreat!¡± the bearded guy orders. ¡°But we can¡¯t!¡± one of his minions reminds him. ¡°They somehow blocked the pathways.¡± ¡°Don''t go.¡± I lunge at the man, swinging my halberd. ¡°We clearly aren''t done, yet!¡± He re-summons and moves his lightning spear with utter confidence to block. Our weapons collide, and for a moment in time it seems like this man can actually challenge me, but even if his divinity may be able to take on mine, his weapon is not. The blade of my halberd cuts through his spear and deep into his torso with a wet ''thwack'', amputating his right arm. Ignoring the ensuing silence, I pull my weapon out of their leader, allowing him to collapse to his knees. He was a simple barbarian with a stick, trying to challenge a man with the equivalent of a lightsabre. His loss wasn''t really his fault, so I decide to honour him with enlightenment. Reaching out, I grasp the struggling man by the throat and lift him up until his face is slightly above mine. Our auras grate against each other, but his is diminishing with his approaching death. There is no true contest. ¡°Before you touch the daughter of a true god, remember this in your next life and tremble!¡± Allowing my aura to surge forth freely, I use all the physical strength my godhood gives me to cast him down to the ground.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The tiles crack with a ¡®thump¡¯, and blood splatters onto the surrounding Olympians as the tiles around the impact zone cave in a little. I admit that I am getting a little overdramatic, but I am not just playing around. The demons surely won¡¯t hold their tongues, and it is likely that what happened here will reach the ears of gods and deities throughout the rest of the multiverse. Maybe not tomorrow, thanks to the inhibition field, but surely in a few weeks or months. Which means that I have to worry about my reputation. So, when dealing with the rest of the multiverse I don¡¯t want to be seen as weak. Keeping my halberd raised I step over the corpse, ready to deliver more mayhem. I wait in anticipation of the next attack ¨C but it doesn''t come. Those who are left standing look with utter horror at the ground zero of their leader¡¯s fall. ¡°What''s wrong? Who''s next?¡± The deities look at each other ¨C then they drop to their knees and grovel in the dirt, ignoring that they are soiling their white togas with the blood of their comrades. Two men and four women remain, their faces gaunt with terror. ¡°Ahem.¡± Celes steps next to me and places a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I think you¡¯ve established the order of business.¡± I tremble, not wanting it to be over. ¡°You promised that I can have them!¡± My wife crosses her arms and looks pointedly at the deities who are cowering in the dust. ¡°I know that you are many things. You get excited by a good battle, by chasing down a fleeing enemy, or by punishing those who deserve it.¡± She gestures at the trembling figures who are pressing their foreheads to the ground. ¡°You take no pleasure from stomping on those who are already broken.¡± I return my attention to the survivors, hoping that one of them would look up with defiance in their gaze. But they don''t even try to make eye contact. Huffing, I transform my weapon back into a staff and set it on the ground. I slowly relax and retract the organic enchantment, allowing my mask to transform back into horns. ¡°You took all the fun out of it.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± She looks around, studying the mess I left behind. ¡°I had to stop you before you wasted all the resources.¡± ¡°Resources?¡± I ask, rolling my head. My forehead is still itching, thanks to the mindraper¡¯s attack. She was the only one of the lot who did even a little damage. For the future, I have to keep in mind that Mana Crystal doesn¡¯t make me truly invulnerable¡­ just mostly. Celes points over her shoulder at something behind us. I turn around, just to witness Nix bent over the little deity who got past me. She is kissing him. ¡°What the-¡± ¡°We are trying to power-level her,¡± Celes shrugs. ¡°If it worked with Ashley¡­ the only issue is that she is too shy to suck their soul out of them.¡± She pops her lips. ¡°The kiss-method works too, but it¡¯s much slower.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± I look away. ¡°Well¡­ I can understand that she doesn¡¯t want to fuck her captors.¡± Celes coughs. ¡°You realize that you are talking about a true-blooded succubus?¡± ¡°Yes, yes.¡± I wave a hand, indicating the cowering survivors. ¡°But you saw how they treated her. She must be so bored of them that she can¡¯t bear the thought of touching them anymore. Like being forced to drink only coffee for decades. If it was me, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to bear their scent.¡± I cast a half-assed healing spell on the mostly-dead, half-insane opponents who I didn¡¯t croak completely. Which means that together with the mind-rapist, we have three- likely two more souls. Gods are exceptionally sturdy thanks to the almost limitless access to mana, so it¡¯s no surprise that even split in twain, and crushed to paste they are almost, but not quite, dead. Given time, their bodies would regenerate as long as their hearts kept beating and their brains stayed intact. Such is the power of limitless life-force in the form of mana. ¡°You might be right,¡± Celes admits while pursing her lips. Nix gasps and raises herself into a kneeling position, her face pointed to the sky as a godly aura ripples forth from her. ¡°Seems like it works.¡± I carefully study her awakening, making sure that the inhibitors are containing the effect of a new god being connected to the network of pathways. But apart from her immediate surroundings, there is no sign of leakage. If anything, her awakening is dampened. It will have to stay that way until we have a safe base of operations outside the Void Zone. Celes grumbles and searches through one of her armour¡¯s pockets. ¡°Feels like a cheat. A normal immortal would have to spend eons honing her skills and go through a truly traumatic experience to reach the state of mind which is necessary for ascension.¡± ¡°I would point out that any succubus should have had her share of traumatic experiences and violence.¡± Stepping closer, I try to put an arm around my wife, but she avoids me expertly. ¡°Please mind your state. You are covered in ¡®ick¡¯!¡± She fishes a blue marble out of her pocket and pops it into her mouth. I almost do a double-take upon seeing that. Surely it wasn¡¯t¡­ was that one of the data cores which I devised for easier control of crystal tech? They aren¡¯t special, but that¡¯s not the problem here. ¡°Did you just swallow a Mana Crystal?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She turns and gestures for the three succubi we picked up, pointing out the deities on the ground. ¡°Try your luck. If you ascend, you are employed.¡± I ignore the fact that Celes is happily feeding my kills to her minions, or that she is behaving more like Isabella than Myrm. There is a much more urgent matter to address. ¡°Why the fuck are you swallowing Mana Crystals!¡± It¡¯s like a mortal swallowing iron balls. The best thing that could happen is to get indigestion. The worst¡­ I don¡¯t want to think about the worst. She shrugs. ¡°I am always watching you improving yourself, even as a god. My problem is that while my internal mana manipulation is powerful, it also limits my possibilities. But your organic enchantments gave me an idea. Yet, Mana Crystal is a powerful substance, impossible to influence without the proper knowledge or the ability to manipulate external energies.¡± Celes raises a finger. ¡°But then I thought. What if the Mana Crystal is inside me!? Wouldn¡¯t I be able to interact with it then?¡± ¡°You are using your¡­¡± I shake my head. ¡°Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?¡± ¡°I have now.¡± She shrugs. ¡°Lucky that I tried it with a little grain the first time. It took several high-grade healing potions to restore my stomach. But I have the trick figured out by now.¡± She breathes in as if to demonstrate. ¡°Break down the energy, circulate to your central nerve core in your chest, then send it towards the organ or area you want to strengthen and rematerialize the matter. I just have to make sure to incorporate it properly with my organic body. Wanna try it?¡± ¡°No, thanks.¡± I have other ways to gain power. No need to swallow quantum matter which contains enough energy to blow up a planet. ¡°I am just glad that you are healthy.¡± ¡°No worries.¡± Celes pumps her fist. ¡°Let the Council come and they get a Mana Crystal enforced fist to the face!¡± Great! Now I have to find a way to defend myself against my own wife. ¡°Wait, is that the reason why it gets easier and easier for you to penetrate my aura in our training duels?¡± She looks properly chagrined. ¡°Maybe?¡± I growl. ¡°Cheater!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t cheat!¡± ¡°You were using Mana Crystal!¡± I point an accusing finger at her. ¡°The next time I am allowed to use any weapon or armour I want.¡± She huffs and returns her attention to our surroundings. The Olympians are still kowtowed, not daring to move a muscle. Katrine is busy with Nix, and the three succubi are latched onto the lips of our defeated foes ¨C one of them clearly out of her depth on how to sexually tease the soul out of a gooey puddle that only roughly resembles a human corpse. We leave the problem to her and return to our companions while I send a mental signal to our reinforcements. Time to pack things up and return home to plan our next steps. We have done everything we could possibly achieve. ¡°Nix, are you ready?¡± Celes asks. The demoness flexes her fingers, apparently still having to get used to the power and new sensations which come with godhood. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Going home,¡± I clarify. ¡°Well, going to our realm. We have a lot of questions for you and those Olympians.¡± My daughter frowns, then looks at the mess I made. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you have taken their souls if you want information?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think that they know anything relevant to our cause. Besides, the succubi are ingesting their memories anyway.¡± ¡°I remember them.¡± Nix growls with displeasure. ¡°They were always hanging off my Raxi.¡± Raxi? What a nickname for a demon. Celes and I take a moment to look at each other. Then Celes returns her attention to Nix and takes her arm. ¡°There is a lot we have to tell you, but not here.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Katrine gestures for us to get going. ¡°The others are packing up the inhibitors and then we will transport the prisoners to the homeworld. I¡¯ll take care that things get cleaned up before we leave.¡± Nix raises a hand to stop us. ¡°Does nobody care about my-¡± ¡°No.¡± Holding onto Nix, Celes transports us back to the Eternal Palace, right into an office of our family¡¯s private quarters. Nix is still trying to grasp her new surroundings when Celes runs off. ¡°I will get someone who can take care of organizing anything she knows.¡± Seeing Celes leave through the door, Nix turns on me. ¡°I still don¡¯t know what all of this is about!? Why did you come back now?¡± Pulling out a chair from the nearby desk, I gesture for Nix to sit down. ¡°We didn¡¯t leave you intentionally and I promise you that we returned for you as soon as we could. Before you throw a temper tantrum, there are a few things you should know. About your mother, me, this world, and our goals.¡± Nix shakes her head. ¡°No, thanks. I would like to remain standing.¡± I don¡¯t get to explain much before the door opens and Seria enters the room. Upon seeing Nix, she gasps and runs up to her. Taking the startled succubus¡¯s hand with both of hers, she shakes it, then hugs Nix around the waist. Nix only looks at me, clearly not knowing what to do with the child. ¡°Who?¡± I scratch over the stubbles on my chin. ¡°I suppose you could call her-¡± Seria answers the question for me. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to have a big sister! I always wanted one. Big brothers are too easy to abuse, so you might actually present a challenge.¡± Nix keeps smiling, but it looks quite forced by now. ¡°I think I have to sit down. And I need some hard liquor while you start explaining things, in detail.¡± She frowns, searching through her ancient memories. ¡°Without leaving anything out.¡± Chapter 53 ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** Nix smiles, but her eyes are dead to the world as she keeps bouncing a giggling Seria on her knee. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t drink so much,¡± Seria reprimands her older sister. ¡°You have to excuse me, but after everything I was just told, I really need the nightmare fuel.¡± She takes another sip from the bottle we offered her, a brand that could as well be used to run a combustion engine. ¡°Besides, this is nothing more than water to a demoness like me.¡± She turns her attention to me. ¡°So, Iraxar betrayed me. Do you really think a demon like myself has a place among your new people?¡± Celes snorts while rifling through the stack of papers which contain everything Nix told us so far. ¡°Just look at us. The genetic code of our bodies is so warped that there is no point in anything like racism. Just go out the door and you will find that none of the pedestrians will take a second look at you.¡± She clears her throat. ¡°Ahem, forget that. They will, but not because you are a demon.¡± Nix raises her eyebrows, switching her gaze to me. ¡°Horns.¡± I point at myself and Celes. ¡°They are a sign of royalty on this world.¡± Naturally, Nix¡¯s attention sways to her little sister, who still looks quite human. Seria sighs. ¡°I will look like a demon soon enough, no worries. It¡¯s an¡­ age-thing around here.¡± ¡°She contracted some outside party to craft her a virus that would manufacture and mutate an entire ecosystem to reseed this world with life.¡± Celes shakes her head. ¡°It¡¯s a minor miracle that randomly throwing genetic material from different worlds into the mix turned out as well as it did.¡± Her expression darkens. ¡°Especially after using your own genetic code... I have no idea what your former body even was.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± My daughter puffs up her cheeks. ¡°I am no good with these things. I may be able to give something that already exists life, amplify it, or take it away, but I am no good at creation itself.¡± Nix massages the bridge of her nose. ¡°Anyway, I can¡¯t wrap my mind around how a society of gods can even work. I understand how the Council is doing it, but they try to rule by dividing the multiverse as much as possible. The Crystal City has less than a hundred thousand inhabitants at any point in time.¡± ¡°We are simply better rulers than them,¡± Celes explains, demonstrating utter confidence in our way of handling things. ¡°There is no need to terrify those beneath you if you are just and benevolent.¡± ¡°The terrifying is my job,¡± I whisper to Nix, pointing at myself. ¡°She is the good cop and he is the bad cop,¡± Seria giggles, then stops laughing when her mother glares at her. ¡°Though, they tend to switch roles now and then.¡± ¡°Jokesaside,¡±I wave a hand to get them to calmdown, ¡°thewhole ¡®Society of Gods¡¯ had a rough start, but things are looking better and better as our level of technology rises. Most menial labour is already robotized by now. That causes issues of its own because many deities are just lazing around, but it¡¯s better than having them fight over things. We still have more than enough people who are interested in taking responsibility of improving our society.¡± I gesture at the skyscrapers outside. The capital transformed over the years into a city brimming with life and activity. It could as well be a city from a post-industrial age. The days of fighting over resources for magi-tech are long past. It''s truly wondrous what a society of almost almighty beings can achieve if everyone works together. There are a few foul apples on our tree, but my family managed to pluck those before any major damage was done. ¡°Returning to the core of the matter.¡± Celes points at the compiled papers in her hands. ¡°Why do you know so much about the Council?¡± Nix shrugs. ¡°Those who roam the edges of the ¡®civilized¡¯ part of the multiverse have to keep a keen eye on those who think themselves powerful. After your supposed demise, I spent great effort into learning everything I could to avoid a similar fate. If they have the power to make even gods do their bidding... I didn¡¯t want to come anywhere near them. My information may be a little outdated after my imprisonment, but things move slowly when it comes to the Council.¡± I grunt. ¡°You really think that this Fendulf is our best bet?¡± ¡°If you want to deliver a message to challenge them, he might as well be the best bet. He is a weak deity who manages a core-world with a pathway node, a crossway between dimensions. That gives him some standing in the Crystal City, but in reality, he is just a minor accountant among the Council¡¯s subordinates. You can pop in on him without fear that you have to engage in a major battle and rest assured that whatever message you give him will reach the Council¡¯s ears.¡± Celes looks at me and nods. I sigh and reach for my staff. It flies right into my open palm from where it was resting leaned against the wall. ¡°I will be right back. There is no need for a larger team or inhibition fields in this case.¡± ¡°Just make sure to be gone if there is anything even remotely fishy,¡± Celes warns me. ¡°I love you too.¡± I wink at her, and a step through the pathways takes me outside the Void Zone, among dimensions, and onto another world. Nix somehow got her hands on a document which describes the generally agreed upon way to describe multidimensional coordinates among gods, so it¡¯s no issue to find the right universe, galaxy, and star among a multitude of nearly identical dimensions. It¡¯s funny how most mortal scientists theorize that in a multiverse, there must also be multiple versions of the same person. Sadly, quantum law ensures that souls are unique. There is only one of each of us among the vastness of space and dimensions, each a unique existence.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Appearing in the sky above a big city, I look around, remembering this world from a previous life. It was a lot different back then. But I am not here to dwell on my memories. I want to leave a little message for the Council. For this purpose, I need to talk to a god. Preferably not to a Council member and not on their territory. How to find said god is a different story. Though, I have a plan for that. All I need to do is to create a little commotion and hope for one of the caretakers of this world to notice. Using another pathway, I appear inside the town in a big open area in front of a large building. From above, the place looked sufficiently public for my purposes. Upon closer inspection, I realize that many of the mortals seem to be students. Judging by their uniform robes and the fact that most of them are carrying books points in that direction. Hah, this feels so nostalgic. Many lifetimes ago, I spent long decades as a professor and teacher, hoping to better humanity from within. Sadly, I quickly had to admit defeat in the face of human stupidity. I sigh, shaking my head at the naivety of my past self. Mortals, in general, are morons. Some are trainable ¨C with a stick and a lot of time. Most are not. Unnoticed, while I was busy with my ruminations, the surrounding people came to a dead halt as they started noticing me and soon enough screams arise! ¡°Kyaa!¡± ¡°Demon!¡± ¡°Run for your lives!¡± ¡°Aaaaaa!¡± I forgot how fast mortals can run when they encounter something beyond their comprehension. A few seconds ago, the area was crowded with people. Now there is nobody left. They all fled head over heels and dropped everything they had on the ground. Books and papers are all over the place, creating quite the scene. I take a few steps forward and grab a random book to read the title. ¡°About the world, it''s inhabitants and the gods ¨C By Lerem Gerwais.¡± I flip through the pages and grin at the stupid ideas inside. The book is tinged with religious concepts, warping the truth beyond belief. Suddenly, someone shouts out from behind me, ¡°Hold it demon! In the name of our holy protector, Fendulf! Leave this world and go back into the Abyss which birthed you!¡± I turn around and find a very shiny looking knight in full body armour, a wizard girl, a priestess, and an archer. Their outfits look expensive, but they aren''t gods, just mortals. Ignoring them, I turn back to my book and continue to flip the pages, trying to judge if I should keep it for my own amusement. The fact that some bigwigs showed up so quickly allows some hope that their god is on top of his game. Maybe I won''t have to do anything if I show just a little patience. ¡°By the light! Holy sword! Slay this creature of evil!¡± I feel something poking me. First, between my shoulder blades, then a strike from the side. Turning around, I look at the leader of this newly arrived party. The man''s sword is bent, now useless for all intents and purposes. ¡°What is this devilry!? The holy sword, given by his holiness himself doesn''t even scratch him!?¡± I frown. ¡°Did you just try to strike me down out of the blue? Without even knowing who or what I am?¡± Originally, I never intended to mess with this world''s mortals, but this guy is dangerously stupid. Combine that with the fact that he must be someone important, judging by his attire, and¡­ I sigh, the multiverse hasn''t changed at all during my forced exile. Well, I may as well do this world a favour. Swinging the book in a backhand arc, I deliver a perfect smack to the idiot''s cheek. The force is enough to spin his head sideways at an unhealthy angle. After a second of just standing there, he falls to the ground like a felled tree and moves no more. The deformation of his helmet is proof of the force with which I hit him. That was almost too easy. Then I notice the fatal error I made. ¡°Aw! Look! Because of you, I destroyed the binding of the book!¡± I complain. The knowledge inside the book was worthless, but it could have been a fun read. ¡°Kyaaa! Hero!¡± The wizard girl starts a tirade while the priestess falls to her knees and starts praying. The archer just stands there with a dumbfounded look on his face. Oh, well. It looks like this situation won¡¯t lead anywhere. I frown while looking down at the destroyed book, trying to think of the best way to find this Fendulf without causing too much of a ruckus. He would surely notice if I blew up a continent or two, but I really don¡¯t want to do that. My problem solves itself with a sudden flash of light from above. Shielding my eyes, I look up, witnessing a shiny figure made out of light floating there! ¡°Who has slain my Champion!?¡± Lucky! Exactly who I was searching for. ¡°Come down here, I have to talk to you.¡± ¡°Vile demonic creature!Be gone!¡± Another flash of light and the ground around me is flash fried, turning black from the heat. Had I not countered the spell by forcefully emitting my own aura, I would have been roasted! The other god doesn''t have any problems with my aura pressing down on him, but the archer is twitching on the ground ¨C foam at his mouth. The wizard girl and the priestess are also down on their knees and pantingas if the world''s gravity is too much for them. As magic users, they are taking the weight of my presence a little better. I have to keep it toned down, or I might accidentally depopulate a few cities. In fact, I am fairly sure that this idiot and I already snapped a few of the weaker minds in this city. For some reason, weak souls can¡¯t bear the presence of a god. Poor mortals. ¡°Come down here, stupid idiot! I have to talk to you! Or do I have to destroy this world, just to tell you a few words? And switch off this stupid light-show! That''s so outdated!¡± I wave a fist at the idiot. Realizing that the situation isn''t what he assumed it to be, the figure of light descents to the ground and dims down to reasonable levels. ¡°What''s a fellow god doing here? This is my world. Why are you stirring up trouble?¡± I take a look at this Fendulf. He is a wiry man, his mortal body very similar to an elf''s. Yet, his stubbly chin makes him look more like a human. A half-breed? Now, that''s something you don''t get to see every day. The multiverse is vast, yet humans and elves stick to their own kind on most worlds. ¡°I need you to give the Council a message. Fendulf, I assume?¡± I may as well give him my message. Nix and Celes are waiting at home. Fendulf nods. ¡°Why don''t you give this message to the Council yourself?¡± ¡°Because I don''t want to walk right into my enemy''s territory,¡± I reply briskly. ¡°As for the message, tell them greetings from the Void. We will soon visit them in their heavenly city. And then we will have a nice chat with them.¡± I smile at Fendulf, showing my fangs. He looks at me with obvious question marks above his head. ¡°Ah, and could you also spread the word: Everyone who doesn''t want to get involved in the Council''s business should stay away and keep their heads down,¡± I add as an afterthought. ¡°You aren''t planning something stupid like a rebellion are you?¡± Fendulf asks worriedly. ¡°Many have tried that over the aeons, and nobody succeeded. You will be just another cobblestone on their road to eternity.¡± ¡°Count your ass on it! The final days of the Council are close and it''s in their hands to choose if their end will be an ugly one or not.¡± I wave at Fendulf and then at the mortals, who are looking at me as if I am the harbinger of the end. Realizing that I am still holding the destroyed book, I drop it on the hero''s corpse. Quite the end, to be quite literally slain by his ignorance of knowledge. I chuckle darkly. To the mortals, this conversation must have sounded like hell just declared war on heaven. I turn around and step onto a pathway which takes me home. Chapter 54 ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** I look up at the three flying fortresses hovering above my city and scratch my familiar''s furry forehead. The large razorclaw purrs contently, closing his eyes in pure enjoyment while standing next to me. The new fortresses were grown from Mana Crystal at an accelerated rate. Their shape was based on a real crystal ¨C two hexagonal pyramids connected at their base. Without having to fear detection and pursuit by the Council, I and my subjects had a multitude of possibilities available to gather energy for our great task.That, and it''s always a boon if you can simply command ten-thousand deities to lend you their time. Countless people gave their assistance for this project. All of them combined their knowledge and power, and I truly believe that together we created something mighty. I cackle upon seeing the fruit of our labour completed, three monuments to our triumph. They are only the first. More will come, but these should suffice to place our boots firmly on the Council''s soil and to tell them to go fuck themselves. Still, it took a lot of time and resources to build those behemoths, and I am tired. It''s a temptation to simply lean back and take a break, here on the balcony of my palace. Taking some time to get my head free and to relax while I overlook my flourishing world. Alas, there are still so many more preparations to make, wars to fight, and people to kill. How can we slack off now that our plans are finally coming to fruition? In one way or another, all of us worked and strived to free ourselves from the Council. How can anyone rest now at the dawn of our rise? We did it for a single reason: Seria''s last wish. It''s not wrong to call it her last wish. After a few years of watching my daughter very carefully, I am sure. The old Seria is gone and the new one is more like a very similar twin. She believes herself to be the same person, but there are noticeable differences... like her childishness. She has some traits of her old personality and some of her memories, but the old personality is... dead, for the lack of a better description. The old Seria had something like an aura of aloofness around her. I simply could feel that I was facing a very old being. The new Seria is just my daughter, a child. I sigh and force my drifting thoughts to return to the floating fortresses. It would probably be best if we always keep one fortress stationed on the homeworld to protect it. The Void Zone is reasonably safe for now, but the secret of how to travel the pathways could come out at any time. I am quite certain that even without betrayal, someone will connect the dots of how our people are able to use the pathways for travel, and that the Void Zones are simply areas with low energy. Our final task is to take on the Council. We already challenged them. All that''s left to do is to leave the Void and show everyone our existence. As long as we are in a state of war with the Council we should strive to keep the secret of traversing the Void to a limited circle. In the meantime, we can use the fortresses to transport anyone who truly wants to leave. The more time passes, the stronger our society will become. Once it is unlikely that outside influence can shake us, we can open our border and share the secret of travelling the Void Zones with everyone. I am fairly certain that inviting in new blood will even turn into an advantage in the long run. I am not thinking of old gods, but of those who are newly ascended. Surely those in search of a place with equals will come to join us and be a boon. There is more than enough space on our world. It''s a big planet and our population amounts only to about eight hundred million people. I don''t want to know how long Seria kept gathering people in order to amass this many souls. Another question is: How many are still drifting as dead souls around this world? I scratch my chin. As long as this place is disconnected from the rest of the multiverse it could become a problem as new children are born. What happens once there are no more souls available? Will the rate of newborn gods level out with those who become tired and decide to rejoin the reincarnation cycle? It might become a problem in the future. In any case, our first army is ready. We decided to give the Council a show of force with fifty thousand of our strongest fighters.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. As soon as we are ready, we will march directly towards the Crystal City and give them a choice. Thanks to interrogating Tjenemit, we have a good idea of their forces and about their capabilities. The only thing he couldn''t tell us was how many additional followers the Council might gather in anticipation of our attack. It¡¯s likely that we will have to deal with a force of a hundred thousand. Historically, that¡¯s the largest number of followers the Council ever dared to field against insurgents. They are frightened of their own troops joining an uprising, and rightfully so. I am even counting on it, should they dare to hire more than their personal elite guards. For a long time, I just stand there and watch the city, searching my memories for anything of use. While I was just another minion to the Council, I always kept a keen eye on them and their city. I also left one or two things behind¡­ nothing that amounts to a real plan or would assure their downfall, but things that could help if I roll a twenty with my dice. What I am truly worried about is that the Crystal City has secrets. Secrets which I am quite certain not even Tjenemit knows about. The story of how El Shaddai stumbled across an empty city is highly suspicious. There must have been something left behind and I am afraid that there might be a hidden weapons cache. Taking the city might not be as easy as I want it to be. The Council might not understand the Crystal Technology, but they had the time to figure out anything that was left behind. Their Sphere of Sight is proof of that. If it is true that Amaru''s Sphere of Sight is, in fact, a found artefact; Tjenemit implied that Amaru might have created some artefacts of insane power. It could be that their scientist somehow came across a few seeds to create crystal-artefacts. Then he managed to manipulate them into growing according to his wishes. Maybe he never understood how to create a seed? That would be one possible explanation. But the answer can only be given by Amaru himself. <<<>>> I shake my head, realizing that my worries will get me nowhere at this point. Standing alone on the balcony and allowing my thoughts to run rampant only wastes time. Looking down into the palace¡¯s garden, I give myself a second to watch the automated drones which are tending to the plants, just like in the rest of the building. Being gods, we decided to outsource most of our menial labour. There are only very few people left who truly dedicate their life to serve others. Like the three succubi Celes picked up. My prediction was right on spot when I assumed that Rose would take charge of them to turn them into proper maids. Giving Ghost a final pat, I turn around and open the door leading into the palace¡¯s private quarters. Screams of pain greet me as the door unseals and I wince at the high pitch only a child can produce. Ghost flattens his ears and decides to stay on the balcony while I enter the room. Seria is getting her horns and tail. Oh, my daughter will look really cute with those! I find Seria hanging from the ceiling. She is bondage-bound ¨C just like Aengus ¨C and Celes is standing in front of them with her arms crossed. ¡°You two gave Tanja, Sandra, Margerie, and Sven a really hard time! Can you imagine how you made us look as your parents? What made you think it¡¯s a good idea to abuse their hospitality by flooding the lower levels of Margerie¡¯s mansion?¡± Celes is furious, forcing me to consider whether I should silently close the door and leave. ¡°I will never do it again!¡± Aengus promises. ¡°Yoooou PROmised you wilLLL hit me unconscious, MOM!¡± Seria wails. ¡°Back then and now are two different situations! You won''t get out of this. It¡¯s your own fault for playing such a bad prank when you are about to go through your metamorphosis.¡± Celes whips Seria with her tail on the backside, forcing the child to flinch! ¡°KYAAA! I reegrreeet! No moreeee whipping!!¡± ¡°Mom, that''s cruel!¡± Aengus tries to intervene in defence of his little sister, but a series of whipping attacks shuts him up. Celes surely doesn''t think much of a more pedagogic approach. I wonder just how bad this flooding-incident is for Celes to get that enraged. The two good-for-nothings rarely manage to push their mother enough to cause a situation like this one. Hmm, should I help them? They don''t really deserve that much punishm- Mh... but I really like the movement Celes''s hips make when she uses her tail! ¡®Whip!¡¯ ¡®Whip!¡¯ Oh, yeah! That¡¯s it. One more time! ¡°Aargh!¡± ¡°Kyaa!¡± Oh, and that ass! If it weren¡¯t for those seriously off-putting screams. Another series of whipping attacks rains down on Seria and Aengus. So far, I was only on the receiving end of those! I never got to watch my wife from behind while she was doing it! ¡®Whip!¡¯ ¡°Kyaa!¡± ¡°Aargh!¡± Hah¡­ those screams¡­ they remind me of my first time with Celes! When both of us realized that there is a little more to our new physiology than the bare eye allows to assume. Sneaking up from behind, I hug Celes and give her a kiss onto the neck. ¡°Aren''t you overdoing it a little, honey?¡± I whisper into her ear while I grin at Seria and Aengus. ¡°Don''t distract me now! I have serious work!¡± Celes glares at the kids and tries to get out of my arms. ¡°But your husband is in need of his wife.¡± I throw her over my shoulder in a fireman¡¯s carry and wink at Seria and Aengus before cutting their constraints with a spell. They are smart enough to escape on their own. I am sure that they can find their grandparents for help. Both of them have disturbed expressions on their faces. But when they realize that I am letting them escape, they look relieved. ¡°What are you doing Angrod!? I am serious here! Those kids need to realize that actions have consequences!¡± Celes tries to get off of me, but I hold her tight enough that she would be forced to hurt me in order to get away. Turning around, Isqueeze her ass and carry her out of the room. ¡°I thought I would act upon a sudden urge of mine.¡± I hum while I walk towards our bedroom. Celes freezes up. ¡°What''s wrong with you? Do you have a fever? That''s not like you!¡± Reaching the door, I open it and close it behind us. ¡°Hmm. I don''t really know. I just had the urge. So no voice for you, wife!¡± I lock the door and start chuckling in anticipation. ¡°Hehehehe.¡± Chapter 55 ***The Crystal City*** ***Lada*** I exit the pathway, appearing right in my seat at our Council''s round table. Looking around, I realize that I am the first one who showed up. El Shaddai called for us after he supposedly received a very strange message from a minor deity. If he isn''t here yet, I suppose that he is still questioning said deity for some final details. It isn''t like we don''t have a dedicated intelligence/counter-intelligence service, but I noticed early on that El Shaddai likes to take matters into his own hands. Well, I suppose I can wait. It''s not like I have much to do as the Council head in charge of diplomatic issues... I chuckle in a self-deprecating manner. What a fool I was. How could I have ever been as naive as to believe that the others gave me this position to honour the part I played in the great war so long ago? Their true intention was to get me out of the way so that I wouldn''t see what was really going on. As the only real government institution among gods, I was neatly put aside while the others got to wield all the power. I have been blind for so many millennia... but since Seria disappeared I did a little bit of research and what I found is unsettling. There is definitely something strange going on within the Crystal City. Going by the records, I am sure that the strange disappearances which are happening aren''t all on Seria''s account. It looks like there are at least one or two people every month who were taken in by our personal guard and disappeared ¨C without a proper reason. If they were sealed away, it was not an official matter. Finally, the others appear one by one in their seats, drawing my attention away from my brooding thoughts. The atmosphere feels oppressive as everyone exchanges glances, silently trying to judge the others'' moods. Even after everyone has settled down, El Shaddai does not say a word for several minutes. He simply glares at the table in front of him. Finally, he decides to start the meeting, looking up to meet our eyes. ¡°I just had a visit from a minor god.¡± Narrowing his eyes, he looks at each of us in turn. ¡°He told me that a messenger from the Void contacted him. The messenger said, ''Greetings from the Void. We will visit you soon to have a nice talk! Your final days are close and it''s in your hands to choose if it will be ugly or not.'' " El Shaddai changes colour to silver, something he rarely does. It is a sign of outrage at the audacity of someone challenging him. ¡°I don''t get it.¡± I dribble my fingers on the table, trying to figure out if this is Seria''s opening move. It doesn''t feel like my friend would openly challenge an enemy such as the Council. Is there someone else in charge? Why would they announce their intentions so blatantly? So far, the whole of the Council''s theories about this rebellion were solely based on unfounded theory. Eris huffs, clearly offended by my muttered exclamation. ¡°Looks like we will get a visit soon enough. They found a way to leave the Void Zone.¡± ¡°You always amaze me. This conclusion is marvellous!¡± Amaru comments with acid in his voice. I sink back in my seat, trying to look as insignificant as possible. The last thing I want is to get into an argument with any of the other Council members. ¡°Have you disposed of this messenger? We could get into trouble if the situation becomes public knowledge!¡± Enyo suggests cold-heartedly while she loiters in her chair in a bored manner. El Shaddai once more turns silver with rage. ¡°There would have been no point! It is already public! The minor god in question wasn''t stupid enough to come to me without having reassurances. He shared the message with everyone he came across on his way to me. It''s almost certain that the rumours are already running rampant right now. Tomorrow, the whole multiverse will know it!¡± I smile inwardly. A smart one. ¡°You should have intercepted him.¡± Eris throws another ridiculous claim into the room. ¡°How do you intercept a messenger who you don''t know about!?¡± El Shaddai''s voice is now really dangerous. ¡°It wouldn''t have changed anything. Even if you had managed to stop the guy from distributing this information,¡± Elohim soberly analyses the situation. ¡°The resistance movement can clearly move around as they please without us being able to detect them. They can spread any information they want to other gods.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Instead of going after a simple carrier, we have to find a way to get to the source.¡± ¡°If they want to, they can tell everyone about their existence. It''s just unfortunate that we still have no idea about their actual capabilities.¡± Elohim winces as he reflects on Amaru¡¯s words. ¡°They can come! Our army is ready! I have gathered another thirty-thousand recruits from among the younger gods!¡± Enyo hits the table with a bloodthirsty smile. ¡°We will finally get to fight a real battle again!¡± ¡°I hope you don''t rely too much on those.¡± Eris pulls a face, disdain colouring her voice. ¡°I wouldn''t put too much trust in their loyalty. They could easily turn on us, should this resistance prove to be a threat.¡± ¡°They are planned as cannon fodder anyway.¡± Enyo shrugs her shoulders. ¡°Minor deities and demi-gods who can hardly travel the pathways. They will have more reason to fear us than our opponents. Of course, I already prepared everything to seal them away permanently. Just in case.¡± ¡°C- Cannon fodder!? They are people!¡± I cry out before I can stop myself. This isn''t right! Are they trying to destroy the last piece of righteousness in this group? ¡°Calm down, Lada. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made. We won''t be able to let those people go after the fight is over anyway.¡± Elohim stops me with a raised hand. My heart stops. ¡°What!?¡± Amaru also turns on me. ¡°Think about it. They will be first-hand witnesses of a rebellion. Ascathon and Myrm are strong. They won¡¯t go down easily and that will show everyone that resistance is possible. How can we let anyone get away afterwards? The best example is that little god who brought us the message. At the moment, he is too frightened to resist us openly, but by spreading the message before he brought it to El Shaddai he already proved that he doesn''t trust us. By doing that, he ensured his safety. Shutting him up would be a useless exercise and others would question his whereabouts should he disappear.¡± I press my mouth shut, knowing that I almost fucked up. What am I even doing here? These people aren''t the Council I joined so long ago. They have lost their path. We have lost our path. Narrowing my eyes, I look off into the far distance, trying to figure out where exactly everything started going wrong. ¡°Enough of this!¡± El Shaddai waves his hand imperiously to shut everyone up. ¡°Gather the army and prepare them for what is to come, Enyo! Our opponents know how to travel the Void Zones. Seria clearly lied to us when she said that it is an inherent ability of hers. I want that secret so that we can destroy their hideout!¡± El Shaddai teleports away without waiting for an answer. ¡°Yay! I guess that''s it! Finally some action! It started to get boring.¡± Enyo also leaves, using a pathway to who knows where. One after the other, the Council members also disappear through the pathways. ¡°You were always too nice for a job like this one, Lada.¡± I look up to find Eris on the other side of the table. She and I are the only ones who stayed behind. ¡°Why are you still here?¡± I ask, admittedly sounding a little whiny. ¡°Aren''t you happy with the current events?¡± As a goddess whose domains are Strife and Discord, she must be having a blast after today''s meeting. ¡°To tell you the truth, yes. I am happy with the current events. But not for the reason you believe me to. I am happy with the current situation because it proves that the world hasn''t changed at all. After a few aeons of total obedience from our subjects, I was afraid that the multiverse would stay the way it is forever.¡± She claps her hands together. ¡°This is proof that no matter how deep our Council freezes the ocean, there will still be some water stirring under the ice! Kukukuku...¡± She cackles madly. The sound bordering on insanity reminds me of something... or someone. I narrow my eyes.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. In order to research Seria''s stratagem, I reviewed countless hours of records and surveillance videos. Among those, I paid special attention to the individuals who stood at the centre of the recent developments. Willingly or not, they left their marks all over this city. I wet my lips, unsure whether I should risk going down this route, but curiosity drives me onward. ¡°Don''t you feel like you owe the person who saved your life?¡± There, I did it and said something that might as well give away my true alignment without sounding like outright treason. Eris''s face turns expressionless. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Didn''t Ascathon repair your mind after your accident with the Sphere of Sight?¡± I poke further. Eris opens her mouth, then blinks. ¡°I don''t know what you are talking about. I don''t owe the soul mage anything.¡± I shift in my chair. ¡°Are you certain? It was a long time ago. I almost forgot, but didn''t he help to put your mind back together after that incident? Back then, we still thought him to be a loyal citizen. I bet the others will remember if I point out the right records. Though, it''s possible that Tjenemit never shared this little tidbit with the others. He was the one in charge of the operation which put you back together.¡± One of the reasons I didn''t bring this up in front of the Council was that Eris would have likely lost the trust of the rest of them. They would think that there is a chance of her being compromised. Although, after so many years that''s unlikely. Soul magic is a tricky thing and even those who mastered it can''t enforce their will indefinitely without renewing their control. Whether intentional or not, Eris was beyond Ascathon''s influence for far too long. But... she would still lose face with the others. And I might need her voice in the future. Even though she is an avatar of Strife and Discord, she wouldn''t want the Council''s resulting ire to be directed at her person. There will come a time when I might be able to influence things to take a positive outcome and I will need every voice I can get. The other woman leans back in her chair and tilts her head, studying me. ¡°Beat me with a stick until I howl. Lada, Goddess of Love and Harmony, is trying to blackmail me. Me of all people!¡± ¡°Sometimes, you have to fight for Love and Harmony.¡± I smile. ¡°Is it working?¡± Eris taps a delicate finger to her chin. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Only a little help, should there come any chance to end things without fighting,¡± I explain. ¡°I only want your voice when it counts.¡± She growls, annoyed at my meddling and a few long seconds of silence follow. I am about to twist down the thumb-screws when she speaks, ¡°Very well. War is a good breeding bed for Discord, but peace nurtures Strife, as I like to put it. We have a deal, though I doubt that this situation can be resolved peacefully.¡± The Goddess of Strife and Discord fades away through one of the pathways, leaving me alone at the table. I stand up and leave the meeting room through the pathways, heading for my little personal world. Spending time there is always well-spent, far away from the multiverse''s troubles. ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Celes*** ¡°I am really worried!¡± I exclaim at our monthly meeting of ''No Dicks Allowed'', as we like to call it. We meet up every once in a while to talk about everything of interest. For this purpose, we have gathered in a lounge inside the palace. The usual faces showed up at our women''s meeting. Sometimes Rose or our mothers join in, but usually, it is just those close to my age. Margerie, Tanja, Sandra, and Iris are all present, although the wolf-girl is heavily pregnant ¨C again. I wonder if she is trying to put Sandra''s quintuplets to shame. The number of points the rabbitkin achieved with a single touchdown is remarkable, but Iris is working her way slowly but steadily past that number. Only Margerie and Tanja are still single and without the burden of motherhood. ¡°But isn''t it fine, Celes? I can''t understand your problem?¡± Margerie sets down her cup of tea, frowning cutely. ¡°No, it isn''t fine! Suddenly he throws me over his shoulder and drags me off to bed! And I have no idea what''s gotten into him!¡± The situation was strange in every way! ¡°You are funny. First, you complain about his lack of interest in you and now you complain about his attention! You are the kind of woman who just can''t be pleased no matter what.¡± Sandra shrugs and slurps noisily on her own cup, trying to lower the temperature of the hot beverage. ¡°But... I don''t know.¡± I wring my hands. It isn''t like Angrod doesn''t show enough interest. We are doing it regularly. It''s just that since we married and got the kids, we''ve been hiding in the bedroom most of the time. He rarely gets ''adventurous'', like in the old days. I sigh, remembering our first time at the pond under the waterfall. That was kinky... Then I blush. Not that I would ever admit such a hidden desire to anyone! Margerie rolls her eyes as if she is able to look straight through me. ¡°Then just try to analyse the situation logically.¡± She slides into another position in her chair. ¡°How do men work sexually? They do it to relieve their built up¡­ stress?¡± ¡°Angrod kind of does that,¡± I admit. I probably won''t get around explaining things a little further. ¡°I wasn''t surprised that he showed interest in me. I was surprised that he got excited, given the strenuous circumstances.¡± ¡°Hm.¡± Margerie raises an eyebrow, studying me like an inquisitor. ¡°He got turned on even though he shouldn''t have?¡± Sandra gasps. ¡°Scandalous. What were you doing?¡± I wave my hand, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably. ¡°N- n- nothing special.¡± ¡°What were you doing at that moment?¡± Iris joins in. Even her interest is peaked. ¡°Errr. I was... educating the brats!¡± I nod to myself, telling me that my actions were perfectly justified. ¡°And by ''educating'' you mean...?¡± Tanja slides closer. ¡°Ahem. Just a little whipping to straighten them out,¡± I admit finally. ¡°Whip- whipping?!¡± Margerie almost chokes on her tea. Sandra spurts her drink onto the table. ¡°You can''t do that to children! Celes, I would have never thought you to be that kind of mother.¡± ¡°It''s okay. They deserved it! Thank you!¡± Tanja slides closer and shakes my hands with starry eyes. ¡°Those brats had it coming for all the trouble they gave me when I looked after them.¡± ¡°It''s not like they are babies who aren''t aware of their actions!¡± I try to defend my actions. ¡°They have the memories of several lifetimes and are giving in to their hormones. They use their physical age as an excuse to torment those around them on a scale far beyond what a real child would be capable of. I highly doubt that they will turn into decent adults if I don''t enforce some boundaries. Something like flooding a friend''s abode, that''s just past the limits.¡± ¡°Ahem... I told you that it''s fine... mostly,¡± Margerie coughs. ¡°Well, at least that explains why you were so surprised. What does that tell us about Angrod?¡± ¡°He is a serious ''S''! ''S'', as in sadist!¡± Sandra hums cheerfully. ¡°We knew that already.¡± But then her expression turns worried. ¡°But to get turned on from seeing his children getting whipped is on another scale, even for him!¡± Iris puffs up her cheeks. ¡°I am also a little surprised. I never thought he would be like that after seeing him fight his enemies, but he has a soft spot for kids. Hard to believe that he would ever enjoy seeing them suffer.¡± ¡°That can''t be!¡± I nod, totally on board with Iris''s assessment. ¡°Do you understand now why I was taken off guard!? He is a sadist, no question there! But he would never enjoy seeing the suffering of someone he likes.¡± ¡°The whole world knows that he is a sadist! Don''t you know the rumours?¡± Sandra jokes. ¡°But you are right on the second part. There must be more to it.¡± ¡°Rumours?¡± I ask, my attention temporarily distracted from the main topic. Challenged, my friends start tittering and tottering like hens. ¡°If you throw a shady glance at him, you will wish you were never born!¡± ¡°He is a wild beast who will hit you a hundred times while you are on the ground. Grinning even wider with every punch, which distorts your mashed up face even further!¡± ¡°In school, he single-handedly took on a hundred hooligans and destroyed their gang, only because they threw a lusty look at his princess! None of them are able to talk about the events even till now. And if you ask them about it, they crouch down in a foetal position and start shivering uncontrollably! The healers are still unable to treat it, even to the current day!¡± ¡°When you try to take stuff which belongs to him he will rip out your heart and eat your soul! Never letting go of it again, you will suffer till judgement day!¡± My jaw drops at those outrageous claims! ¡°What do people say about me then!?¡± Their performance resumes after they take gleeful looks at each other. ¡°The beautiful gentle flower. The only one who is able to calm the beast and shows no fear.¡± ¡°Everyone should fear the day when the princess is no more. As the only one who can stop the beast will have ceased to be!¡± ¡°Screams of pain and lust will sound from the palace when the gentle flower tames the wild beast, loud enough to be heard in the entire town. As she is the only one who is able to stand in its presence without shuddering in fear!¡± I blush. ¡°No! You are fucking with me! That can''t be true!¡± I will enlist our secret police to stop those rumours! I can''t let this go! Are we really seen like that by the public? ¡°There is nothing you can do. Your half-public spectacles are already common knowledge,¡± Margerie replies with a mischievous grin. I cover my face with both hands. And there I thought that a little screaming wouldn''t draw too much attention. I have to close all the windows in the future. ¡°But back to the topic. You know your husband''s savage grin yourself. He is a big ''S'', for sure,¡± Margerie goes on in a thoughtful tone. ¡°It really can''t be, he isn''t like that!¡± I reassure her, not believing it! But it makes sense in a horrible way! ¡°Maybe it''s half as bad. Celes, get your tools and show us the scene! Maybe we can find another clue!¡± Sandra gestures with a hand for me to get going, apparently expecting quite the scene. ¡°Huh? I don''t need tools!¡± I reply, offended that they would think of me like that. Did they assume that I used some leather whip on my children? Iris blinks, confused. ¡°How can you whip someone... without a whip?¡± ¡°I have my tail!¡± I bring forth my tail, only now realizing that this sounds even worse, given the bony tip. ¡°O- of course. I take great care not to hit with the bony end.¡± I wince. The bony, arrow-shaped tip could easily break the skin or do even worse damage. Several pairs of eyes go back and forth between my face and my tail, considering the idea. I don''t get what has them so surprised. It''s not like they haven''t seen me use my tail before. It''s like a third arm... so giving my kids a whipping when they misbehave is like other parents dealing out a slap or two. ¡°...¡± Iris is without words. While Tanja claps her hands excitedly. ¡°Show us!¡± She points towards the couch at the wall. ¡°Whip that evil couch!¡± ¡°Hm. Okay. I guess it won''t hurt.¡± I stand up and walk over to get into range. Then I give the couch a good whip, flexing my backside back and forth with the movement of my tail to give it just the right momentum. My friends stay silent, so I give it a few more tries to show off the technique. Then I turn around, expecting their judgement. ¡°See? There is nothing over which he should lose his cool.¡± ¡°...naturally gifted!¡± Iris groans, envious of something. ¡°...she isn''t even aware of it! So unfair!¡± Sandra crosses her arms in front of her chest and huffs. Tanja gets up and walks over to me with a serious expression. Then she grasps my shoulders so that I have to face her, digging in her fingernails. ¡°Celes! If you want to be dragged off to bed the next time! Anytime...¡± She coughs, likely thinking about the hidden desires which I won''t admit. ¡°...Anywhere.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I lean away from her, wary of their spiel. ¡°Turn your backside to him,¡± Margerie clarifies. ¡°And whip something!¡± Iris finishes. ¡°Anything!¡± Sandra points out that the whipped thing isn''t important. She gets up from her chair and places both hands behind the back of her head. Then she proceeds with a funny dance, shaking her hips and backside while pursing her lips as if to kiss someone. The others start giggling at her performance. ¡°It''s only about the right stimulus! Angrod isn''t to blame.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± I tug my tail between my legs and clamp them together, vowing to seal that particular technique away forever. They will never allow me to live this down! Chapter 56 ***The Midhold*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Get off, Seria! You are too old for that!¡± I grumble, slowly getting fed up with the looks we''re getting from my subordinates. This is too much! I am becoming a laughing stock! ¡°I don''t wanna! I have to enjoy every moment while I am still small enough to do it!¡± My daughter complains while holding onto me with all the force she can muster. Seria is riding on my shoulders, using my horns as a driving wheel while her tail is wrapped tightly around my chest for additional support. Several crewmen are looking at us, trying their hardest not to laugh. We boarded the command centre of the Ragnarok, one of our three flying fortresses, an hour ago. The other two ships were named Guardian and Nomad, but only the Nomad will join us on this trip, while the Guardian will stay behind to protect the homeworld. ¡°I still can''t believe that Celes allowed you to join this campaign!¡± I grumble. Seria fidgets on my shoulders. ¡°Maybe I''ll remember something important! And I have to greet Lada! I am sure that she is worried sick about me.¡± I look at Celes, hoping to get some help, but my wife ignores my pleading eyes. When I try my luck with Nix, my eldest simply shrugs, showing no sign of sympathy. ¡°Those who have them, have to endure,¡± she states without mercy. I give up, sinking down into my command chair. Then I return my attention to the matter at hand. If I can''t have Seria stay at home I will at least lock her up on the command bridge where it is the safest. ¡°You are really sure that Lada is on our side?¡± I still doubt it, so I want every affirmation I can get from my daughter. Friend or not, Lada is still a member of the Council. ¡°I am sure! The memory is a very recent one and she was always a good person and a friend,¡± Seria replies. ¡°If there is any chance, we should try to get her out before the fighting starts.¡± ¡°Your word in my ear.¡± I turn my attention to the man who is in charge of the ship''s engines. ¡°Make sure that we have the correct interdimensional coordinates. Then contact Arthur and Nicosar on the Nomad and tell them to fire up their engines. Planned flight time: zero!¡± I grin as I give the order. The first priority for designing the fortresses was to give them the ability to use the pathways. Normally, nothing aside from gods and everything that is protected within their aura should be able to withstand interdimensional travel. But Mana Crystal opens up new possibilities without which our ships would be useless and stuck to stay on this world. I can feel the energy pulsing through the ship as it prepares to rip open a gateway between dimensions and galaxies to follow the pathways. ¡°I am still concerned about the Sphere of Sight. They will be able to know every step we take once we are outside the Void Zone,¡± Nix voices her doubts. ¡°You are completely right, although their advantage won''t make much of a difference,¡± I repeat myself since we already talked about this earlier, but sometimes you can only lighten people''s doubts by telling them the same thing again and again. ¡°Thanks to Tjenemit, we know most of their capabilities. Just remember to keep your mouth shut about vital information while we are outside. Even if they do spy on us, it''s no problem as long as we act quickly and decisively before they can use their advantage.¡± Celes rolls her eyes while standing next to me with crossed arms. ¡°Just admit that you are trying to strong-arm them by forcing an all-out engagement.¡± I shrug. ¡°There is nothing wrong with hitting your opponent in the face while he is trying to peek at your cards.¡± ¡°I am certain physically attacking an opponent would normally lose you the game,¡± Seria whispers, knowing my weak spot for card games. I take a deep breath to clear my thoughts. ¡°Back to topic! We will pay them a visit with most of our forces and assess their strength. If they are weaker than us, we will crush them, take the Crystal City, and rob them of the Sphere. If their fortifications are too strong, we will start hopping around the multiverse and stir up trouble while counting on the fact that the Void Zones will stay safe at least for a little while. Once we rally more deities against the Council their reign should end pretty soon.¡± Finally, the big screen in front of us shows some change as both fortresses rise to a higher altitude. ¡°You realize that all of what is to come is your fault! Seria?¡± I chide my daughter. ¡°It was the former me who set this up. And if she hadn''t, you all would suffer in a dark and cruel place. So you should be happy for the chance to change your fate!¡± Seria mumbles. I tilt my head and study the scene on the screen before me. A little more distance between us and the planet is preferable. If we were to jump out of the atmosphere right above Midhold we would likely destroy our own city. A downside to using the pathways with our fortresses is that they translocate themselves and the space around them instantaneously. Gods are able to use the pathways in a more refined manner, but the fortresses use a barbaric brute-force method of just exiting one reality to enter another one. Imagine a volume of several million tons of air just disappearing, leaving behind a vacuum. The fortresses are all identical. They don''t look natural, but at the same time, the random observer can tell that they aren''t pure technology either. Each is about six kilometres long, looking like two hexagonal pyramids which are connected at their base. We are manned with a crew of about twenty-five thousand people, of which only a few hundred are for technical support. Aside from shields and weapons, the most important function of the fortresses is their dampening field. When we realized that we would have to fight a war between gods, we were at a loss. How should almost indestructible beings with teleportation abilities fight each other? Would any battle inevitably devolve into brainless chaos of one on one fights? Margerie''s invention saved us from such a fate with the dampening fields. They are derived from the same technology which enables us to use the pathways with the fortress. Instead of using a pathway to get from one point to another, the dampening field draws the energy out of them, effectively closing them and turning a large area into a Void Zone. If it weren¡¯t for this invention we would have to fight the Council the traditional way, which would mean complete chaos. For all that, I still don¡¯t think that it will be an easy fight. To tell the truth, I think we are all greenhorns regarding divine warfare. We never fought a true war between gods aside from duels and engagements between small numbers of deities. But I have a feeling that we will find out soon enough how reality looks like. The only ones who are old enough to have fought in the ancient wars are the Council and their followers. They have an experienced army, unlike us. Of course, our people aren''t inexperienced either, but we are entering new territory. I hope the Council''s army got at least a little rusty during the eternity of peace under the Council¡¯s rule. ¡°We are ready to shift, your Majesty!¡± a technician''s voice wakes me from my thoughts.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Activate the engines,¡± I order with a cold voice. After a short feeling of zero gravity, both of our fortresses reappear above a certain planet, often called the ¡®Centre of all Things¡¯, referring to the huge density of pathways in this region of space. Some are assuming that all pathways originated from here, explaining the name. A blue sun is dancing eternal rounds with a black hole and around them travels the Crystal World upon which the Crystal City is located. The process which turned an entire world into Mana Crystals is still a mystery, even to me. And we appeared right above their heads. Perfect! ¡°Begin to descend and start the bombardment to wake them up.¡± I lean back in my chair to enjoy the coming inferno. On my command, our fortresses start unleashing their incredible power. Red lances of pure energy stab down into the atmosphere and orbs of light howl down to the planet¡¯s surface, displacing clouds with each detonation. It¡¯s an impressive display, but unfortunately, it is nothing more than a greeting to those below. We are ringing the bell, in a manner of speaking. We learned from Tjenemit that the Crystal City possesses an incredibly powerful shield. If he wasn¡¯t exaggerating, it should be more than enough to stop our attacks. As our ships descend through a layer of clouds, I get a nice aerial view of the Council''s city. It''s my first time seeing it like this, thanks to the Council¡¯s ban on flying while I resided there. The Crystal City is indeed marvellous to behold. Smaller towers of crystal intertwine with each other, each one a sculpture of its own. Thanks to an almost indestructible material, the architect of this place paid no heed to things like structural integrity. In the city¡¯s centre, several towers rise above the others, with a single, slim crystal tower at their centre. Just as I assumed, our weapons aren''t doing anything to their shield. We are lighting up their sky. That''s all. ***The Crystal City*** ***Lada*** ¡°Where did those things come from!?¡± El Shaddai screams with all his might. Another one of the larger energy spheres impacts the city¡¯s barrier and the ground shakes under our feet, which worries me slightly. Frowning, I survey the city, paying close attention to the nearby buildings. For all I know, the Crystal City stood here forever and will stay here forever more. But never in my long memory did anyone cause enough abuse to the city¡¯s barrier to make the ground tremble. What if the old systems decide to fail at an inopportune moment? As much as Amaru likes to pretend to be the most knowledgeable person regarding Crystal Tech, he wouldn¡¯t be able to repair anything without the knowledge of how to manipulate Mana Crystal. I look up at the two beautiful ships which are clearly made out of Mana Crystals, just like our city. If it weren''t for the shaking ground under my feet, I wouldn''t believe that their purpose is a deadly one. Seria and her people are making a statement. What has she unleashed? ¡°Marvellous! They copied the Crystal Tech! They are even able to build ships!¡± Amaru''s eyes sparkle and he raises his hands towards the ships, like praying to a new god. Elohim slaps him on the back of his head. ¡°Restrain yourself. We are in public.¡± He takes a wary look at the siege weapons. ¡°I am sure they just found those things somewhere and learned how to fly them.¡± ¡°At this rate, they will never get through the shield.¡± Enyo tilts her head. ¡°They are stupid to build something like this. Send the infiltration troops. We will take their toys away from them easily enough.¡± A General at Enyo''s side nods and starts giving orders to nearby soldiers. I look down to my feet, knowing that I would have to decide soon... Suddenly, a rather big explosion dents the barrier above us, but it instantly regenerates thanks to the city¡¯s almost limitless mana reserves. In fact, Amaru explained to me that the city is somehow able to tap into the mana-flow of the planet itself, which is in turn somehow connected to the pathway network. That''s an immense power to draw upon. I close my eyes, trying to decide whether I should go and try to sabotage one of the power cores which are responsible for drawing on the planet¡¯s power. It would be a valiant effort, but most likely fruitless. I don¡¯t even know where to begin. If creating and shaping Mana Crystal is already a mystery, damaging the stuff is equally difficult. And all of the city¡¯s original technology uses it. A few minutes go by while the visitors keep testing the city¡¯s defences, then Enyo''s general receives new information. He turns to his leader, pulling down the corners of his mouth. ¡°We lost the infiltration troops.¡± ¡°What? How?¡± Amaru turns on the man, looking intrigued. ¡°Apparently, all pathways outside the city are blocked ¨C like in a Void Zone. Our troopers tried to get to the ships by using a teleportation array, but they reappeared a few kilometres away from the ships instead of inside them. They were immediately taken under fire and only a handful managed to escape.¡± ¡°Incompetence!¡± Enyo screams at the general. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you consult with me before attacking like idiots!?¡± The man pales and starts stuttering. ¡°B- b- but¡­ they are just rebels.¡± At this moment, the bombardment stops and a loud voice booms over the city. ¡°We are the Void¡­ no, actually that sounds stupid. Don¡¯t we have a better name for ourselves? Guys, help me out here, it¡¯s unbelievable that we thought of everything beforehand, but didn¡¯t come up with a good name for our faction!¡± I frown, straining my ears to understand the sounds of a quick, muffled discussion before the voice resumes. ¡°Ahem! We are the Chimerans! I say it still sounds stupid, but I was outvoted! Let history know that this wasn¡¯t my idea¡­ Yes, yes, I am getting to the point, don¡¯t interrupt my narrative, damned woman!¡± There is another strange sound and muffled voices again. I bite my lower lip and frown while looking up to the ships. What by the multiverse are they doing? ¡°Ahem! Where was I? Ah, yes! Put down your weapons and come out of your city to hear our terms for your surrender. If you don''t resist, this won''t have to end with your permanent termination... no, dear! It''s not like I want to scare them, just stating facts. No! ¡­What do you mean? The whole point of coming here was to threaten them! I am trying to make an impression here! No! You can''t have the micro¡­ schrrccrrrcrrrr¡± I and the others look at each other. But just like myself, the rest of the Council is also at their wits'' end as we listen to the sounds of something that can only be two people fighting over some speaker system. That is until the fight ends with a loud yelp, apparently from the first voice, and a female voice replacing the former male one with a commanding tone that allows no ¡®buts¡¯. ¡°Meet us five thousand meters above your city for negotiations. Now!¡± Looking at El Shaddai, I find him taking on all kinds of shades of grey and silver in his rage. ¡°Is this a joke or some kind of entertainment show? Are they not taking us seriously!? And they are giving us terms? Us!?¡± Amaru raises a finger, his earlier euphoria a little dampened by what just happened. ¡°We should go and speak to them, and find out who the mastermind behind those two idiots is.¡± ¡°All of us will go.¡± El Shaddai spits on the ground. ¡°We will show them what happens if they don''t surrender now!¡± Using a pathway, he and the others blink away and I follow after a moment of searching the airspace above the city for them. Upon using the pathways, I immediately notice that something is off. Even inside the city¡¯s barrier, it feels slow, like moving through neck-high quicksand compared to the paved road I am used to. I reappear in the air close to the city¡¯s barrier. Amaru and Enyo are already at El Shaddai¡¯s side. Elohim and Eris are more careful, hovering a little further behind thanks to levitation magic. Across from us are five people¡­ and a child? The three men look like demons, but I can tell right away that they don¡¯t originate from the Infernal Planes. The denizens of those dimensions are further removed from what would be considered a standard humanoid shape. One of the women and the girl riding on the leader¡¯s shoulders are the same, although the third female is definitely a full-blooded succubus. I frown, not remembering ever seeing their particular archetype of race. Are their bodies from hybrid stock? The leader has a staff made out of Mana Crystal in his left hand. His menacing slit pupils make me feel like they are looking right through the flesh of our bodies at our souls. Then I remember that look. This must be Ascathon¡¯s reincarnation, the soul mage. I haven¡¯t met him often, but in the multiverse, it¡¯s best to remember those with power. Even among the gods and ethereal beings, there is a wide range of power-rankings. Demons and Immortals are widely seen as the weakest of beings. Just a smidgen above them are the lesser deities and some ancient creatures which roam the multiverse. Then there are the mid-level deities and finally, above them all, the true gods. Those whose divinity roots in some primordial truth of the multiverse. There are very few of them, and the Council always kept a close eye on those true gods. Most were dealt with as quickly as possible before they could become a threat. Others were held at an arms length, while some were deployed in our service, like Myrm, Ascathon, or Seria. The leader is wearing a strange armour which makes him look like a mixture between a knight and mage. An intriguing ornament is decorating the horns on his head like a crown, the short black hair emphasizing the golden metal. The two black horns are slightly curved and running backwards from his temples to complete the look of a devil! The woman next to him has fiery red hair, which is pinned up with several ornamented hairpins made out of crystal. She looks like a succubus, her alluring figure drawing the attention of the men in our group. Just the wings are missing. She is wearing a female version of the guy¡¯s outfit. A slit skirt shows one of her legs and a tail slowly waves from left to right behind her. Unlike the man¡¯s the horns on her head are branching out, encircling it like a tiara. But the strangest thing is the little girl who is riding on the guy¡¯s shoulders. She looks like a little version of the woman. And then the girl waves at us and speaks, ¡°Hi Guys! Did you like our little greeting? Lada! Long time no see! How are you doing!?¡± Chapter 57 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the best of ideas to carry Seria on my shoulders during a diplomatic meeting, but the faces of these people are priceless. ¡°You are right, I am Lada. Should I know you?¡± the woman looks at us with an incredulous expression. ¡°Boooh! Don''t you remember your best friend? I am Seria!¡± my daughter trills from above my shoulders with all the innocence of a child. The jaws of the Council members drop as they stare at their former bounty hunter. I lean over and whisper to Celes, ¡°I should have brought a camera. Their faces are priceless.¡± Lada gasps. ¡°S- Seria!? Why do you look like that?¡± Seria pats the top of my head. ¡°Tjenemit killed me and I reincarnated. I have to introduce my parents! That is daddy, his name is Angrod, formerly Ascathon. And that''s mom, the name is Celes, formerly Myrm.¡± ¡°B- Blasphemy!¡± El Shaddai exclaims, apparently finding the concept of reincarnating as the child of another god offensive. ¡°Gods having kids? Yuck!¡± Enyo also pulls a face. I can understand their point of view, but it has to be said that they are lacking some game-changing information about our society. In fact, while I was Ascathon I would have probably had the same reaction. Before I decided to retreat from the mortal world I was Nova Mirai, and in that identity, I regularly interacted with family and people who I knew from my life as a normal immortal. What I learned the hard way is that all things die and that it is impossible to be always there to prevent an accident. The path of a god is a long and lonely one. It took centuries, but I finally got fed up with seeing those I care about inevitably pass away, their souls passing on without me and out of my reach, thanks to the damned fact that souls which passed on are untraceable if you don¡¯t act quickly. All of the Council members are old enough to know this inconvenient truth of life. But souls don¡¯t pass on within a Void Zone, a trait that¡¯s feared and dreaded among anyone who might get caught in one. ¡°Are you joking with us? First that message and now this? Who do you think you are?¡± El Shaddai growls through gritted teeth, his demeanour making him look like he is about to pounce at any second. I clear my throat. ¡°I am Angrod, God-King of the Chimerans. A few hundred million gods are under my rule and all of them are firmly behind me. All of us are people who were rescued by Seria. And now, we are here to fulfil her wish. Today, your rule will end, whether you want to or not.¡± I smile, admittedly exaggerating a bit. The way I presented the facts sounded like millions of gods would bear down on the Council at a single word from me. Sadly, most of the people who Seria saved are far too weak to fight in the coming battle, as they were freshly awakened when she got to them. Given a few hundred years of getting used to their powers, that might change. ¡°And what if we don¡¯t comply?¡± Amaru asks while chuckling, obviously not seeing us as a threat. ¡°Then we crush the Council. So, would you be so nice and disband today!? We will make sure to keep things in order for you.¡± Celes explains, her tone cool and seductive, making it seem like is flirting instead of threatening with death. ¡°Are you out of your mind? Lay down your weapons and surrender now! Do you think we ruled this long because we would cower down when we are faced with a joke like you!?¡± Enyo''s voice is poisonous as she summons a sword into her hand. I worriedly take note of the fact that the sword¡¯s blade is a blue crystal. So there were some weapons left behind in the Crystal City. ¡°Well...¡± I click my tongue in displeasure at this development, but it isn¡¯t like we didn¡¯t expect something of that sort to happen. ¡°We already found out that you aren''t almighty. Tjenemit was a tough bastard, but once we started beating him it turned out that he bleeds like anyone else. I would prefer if you give up now since I would hate to damage the city under us. I have many questions regarding it, and I can¡¯t wait to have some uninterrupted time for research.¡± ¡°What did you do to Tjenemit?¡± El Shaddai growls. I reach into one of my pockets, then I pull out the Tjenemit globe and show it to them. ¡°Deemons! Don¡¯t be mislead by them! They are directly from the Infern-¡± I rattle the globe to shut Tjenemit up, causing the simulation of his soul to bob up and down inside. ¡°Shut up. Prisoners don''t talk. They answer questions!¡± I am so happy that I got it back from Celes with a little persuasion. ¡°Heeelp meee! No more shaking! I can¡¯t take it anymore! Whahahaha...¡± El Shaddai and the others gape at my Tjenemit-globe, their expressions horrified. ¡°Wha- How?¡± Then his eyes lock onto me. ¡°This won''t be over fast! I will tell you how this will work! You will lay down your weapons or we will crush you!¡± El Shaddai vanishes, apparently having retreated to the safety of the Crystal City. I put the annoying, screeching globe back into my pocket. Before the rest of the Council can make an offended retreat like their leader, I lock eyes with Eris, feeling the need to act quickly. ¡°Deus Ex Machina. Ita diis placuit. Carpe Noctem!¡± Eris and the others only frown before Amaru and Enyo disappear too, Eris joining them shortly afterwards.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Only Lada stays behind, looking like she intended this meeting to go down in a very different manner. ¡°Hey, Lada. Wanna come with us? It will become very uncomfortable down there soon.¡± Seria points down to the city. ¡°My plan is playing out perfectly, so there is really no need for you to risk your neck any further.¡± ¡°I still can''t believe you pulled a stunt like this. This feels unreal. And why did you have to get yourself killed? A new body?¡± Lada suddenly remembers that she is still on the other side of the city¡¯s barrier, then takes out a bracelet and channels energy into it. She floats forward and passes through the barrier a moment later. ¡°Neat!¡± I exclaim, holding out my hand. ¡°Can I see that? It would make taking down that barrier a lot easier.¡± ¡°Don''t worry! I am still me!¡± Seria reassures her old friend. ¡°Though, I lost a few memories. My parents are also of the opinion that my character is a little different. Contrary to that, if I look back at my memories, I think that my old self would still do everything the same way again.¡± Seria gives Lada a thumbs up. Lada fumbles at the bracelet and practically throws it at me once it is off. ¡°You are definitely a little different, but in a good way. More cheerful. The old Seria would have made more of a drama while saying that.¡± Lada smiles at us. ¡°Then I will come with you now. It''s the best time to desert. The others didn''t even think about me.¡± Having caught the bracelet, I am already inspecting it. It is also made out of Mana Crystal. The Council has indeed a lot of secrets. But we probably should get out of here first, so I grab Lada''s shoulder and teleport us back to the command centre of the Ragnarok. Arriving there, Seria hops off of me and runs up to Lada, hugging her. ¡°So you are Lada. The other Council members really didn¡¯t suspect you of anything to leave you behind just like that. Seria wanted us to get you out before the fighting starts and it turned out to be easier than expected.¡± I sit down in my command chair while our fortresses restart the bombardment. I wave for a technician and hand him the bracelet. ¡°Get that under a scanner. It somehow allowed a person to get through the city¡¯s barrier.¡± I am interrupted by rays of energy stabbing upwards from the city, bathing our shields in powerful energies. The floor shakes a little and there is a tense moment of silence until it is clear that our own defences are going to hold. ¡°It''s less an issue of trust and more one of undervaluation,¡± Lada explains in a bitter tone. ¡°They ignore me as long as I don''t get in their way.¡± She smiles bitterly. ¡°You should retreat. The city under us has access to the energy resources of a whole world. We won¡¯t end this conflict by defeating them in their own stronghold.¡± ¡°Don''t worry. There are many smart people with us who already anticipated every possible and impossible scenario. We are just bombarding their city to find its energy core or something similar. The more energy it has to draw upon, the easier it is to detect.¡± I shrug. ¡°And once we know that, we can devise a plan to take down their shields.¡± Lada tilts her head. ¡°If you mean the main-grids for energy distribution, they are arranged in a square with the Council''s tower at its centre. One is directly under the eastern market.¡± ¡°Hoh? That''s interesting.¡± I wave for the man at the sensors to concentrate his search on the indicated area. ¡°How do you know about this? Shouldn''t this be restricted information?¡± Lada snorts. ¡°I am still a Council member, which means that I am privy to most secrets the Crystal City has. Amaru is a technology geek. There is hardly a day when he doesn''t let something about his research slip. The marvellous process of draining mana from the planet''s core is one of his favourite topics. That reminds me, you should probably know of the city''s armouries. They held a few thousand crystal weapons when we found it.¡± I sigh. Why can''t things ever be easy? ¡°That is worrying, but expected.¡± ¡°The enemy''s army is on the move! They started a ritual to create a protective barrier and are moving in our direction. About fifty thousand,¡± an officer informs me. A ritual? ¡°Increase the distance between our fortresses to force them to split their troops. The Nomad can hold position and continue to search for a weak point.¡± They are really insane to try this against us. A few thousand deities might be able to mount a mentionable defence against the fortress''s weapons, but we will have them as soon as they split up. There is only one thing that could bite us in the ass. ¡°Do they have any big weapons?¡± The technician shakes his head. ¡°Nothing we can identify.¡± I start humming while I think about the situation, still expecting something worse to come. A straight fight will cost us in blood, but we came prepared to pay such a cost. ¡°This is far too easy. Did the Council really not bother with creating some big and nasty god killing machine? All those years and they just leaned back and twiddled their thumbs?¡± Lada shakes her head. ¡°I don''t know what you expect. Our hidden ace were the crystal weapons, and those should have been enough against any uprising. I never saw something like this ship before.¡± She stops for a moment, thinking. ¡°During the great war, everyone fought with their own power. We captured the Crystal City in the war''s final stages. The previous owners didn''t even know how to control it. Amaru invented those laser-cannons, which they used to counter-attack. He hasn''t created anything mentionable ever since.¡± She shrugs. ¡°I don''t know why. And on top, we had the black hole to seal uncomfortable individuals.¡± Lada gives me some vital information without even knowing it. Here is another clue that Amaru never knew how to create crystal seeds. He just used some existing ones for the cannons. Though, I don''t understand why he never managed to find out the secret behind them. The seed is pretty complicated and it requires soul-magic, but that''s still no insurmountable hurdle. He had so much time! The globe-like barrier containing our enemies veers off course and approaches us. Maybe they used the Sphere of Sight and went directly for me? ¡°Seria, go with Lada to the secondary command centre.¡± It¡¯s the safest place I can think of. Not only will it be the last room to fall ¨C should it come to that ¨C it¡¯s also completely inactive as long as the fortress¡¯s main bridge stays active. Not that I distrust Seria¡¯s judgement regarding Lada¡¯s person, but I would rather have the Council member somewhere where she can¡¯t do any damage. ¡°What? But I want to stay here!¡± Seria complains. ¡°You are a child, your powers are unstable, and I don''t know our enemy''s capabilities. I want you out of the way so that there is one thing less to worry about. You will go now, or you will be punished!¡± I glare at her. ¡°No? All this is my responsibility!¡± Seria continues to refuse. ¡°I have to see it through.¡± ¡°Your responsibility ended when you died. Celes! Help me.¡± I look at my wife. Seria looks at her mother, frowning. Celes looks down at her daughter and forms a voiceless word with her lips. Seria''s eyes widen in shock as she gasps and a second later, she is gone like the wind, two guards and Lada following her. ¡°What did you tell her?¡± I wonder ¡°That was really effective!¡± If I knew how to make the little critter behave¡­ Celes smirks at me and crosses her fingers in front of her chest, striking a pose and replying with the voice of a seductress, ¡°That''s a secret between mother and daughter. Men have no right to use this technique.¡± ¡°I will make you tell me,¡± I grumble, promising myself to find out her secret once I have time. ¡°Unfortunately, knowing won¡¯t help you. It''s something only mothers can do to their daughters.¡± She smiles at me. ¡°The enemy is closing in,¡± a technician forces me to return my attention to the battle. ¡°Then start to show them our weaponry.¡± Beams of light stab into the enemy formation, but they pass right through without doing any damage. ¡°No damage! It''s as if they aren''t there!?¡± My men start losing their heads, surprised that the energy weapon didn¡¯t impact on the barrier. ¡°It has to be an illusion!¡± I call them back to order, trying my best to sound calm and collected. ¡°Use our energy weapons to search for them if the scanners don¡¯t work! Fire blindly!¡± ¡°That''s a favourite tactic of Enyo¡¯s. She will set up such an illusionary decoy and approach in hiding from another direction,¡± Lada¡¯s voice comes from behind me. I turn around, frowning. Lada is back, with Nix and two guards watching over her. ¡°I thought I sent you off to safety.¡± ¡°I made my case to your daughter that I would be more helpful here,¡± Lada explains, gesturing towards Nix. ¡°Any idea how to break the spell?¡± I ask her hopefully, but she shakes her head. ¡°She has a group of very skilled Illusionists, but even they can¡¯t hide several thousand people. Search the background visually for distortions. It won¡¯t give you much of a warning, but you won¡¯t be caught completely off-guard.¡± Sigh. I already said that this was too easy, so I give the vital order. ¡°Everyone, prepare for being boarded!¡± Chapter 58 ***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok*** ***Angrod*** The beams of our energy weapons continue to lance out in all directions, creating a criss-crossed spectacle with the Nomad''s own weapons as we attempt to find the enemy. Just sitting here, waiting for a battle to start, it is pure torment. I hate the times the most when there is nothing else to do but to wait for the inevitable. ¡°Do you have any idea how they will attack? Will they come from all sides or use a single direction?¡± I ask Lada who is standing next to me with a complicated expression on her face. ¡°I am sorry. Enyo isn''t predictable in that regard. Maybe we should run? Can''t this ship teleport away despite blocking someone from boarding with teleportation?¡± Lada looks around, hoping for a positive answer. ¡°It''s okay. We came here looking for a fight and ready to pay the price. The Council''s impatience turned us into the defenders, which is an advantage. Nullifying any unauthorized teleportation is another great advantage to ours.¡± I turn to one of the technicians. ¡°Are the soul traps activated? I will be damned if we lose anyone permanently.¡± The man nods. ¡°Soul Traps?¡± Lada asks. ¡°A safety measure. It''s no real consolation if someone falls in battle, but at least they can reincarnate on our world.¡± I push a button on my chair to activate a communication-link to Nicosar who is coordinating our forces. ¡°Tell me immediately if there are problems anywhere. I want to be there if El Shaddai appears.¡± As long as we can keep the forces of El Shaddai occupied, the Nomad can continue to search for a weak point in their city. ¡°You can''t! You are the king! What if something happens to you?¡± Nicosar''s voice comes back, annoyed that I would risk myself. ¡°Celes and I are the only ones with almost complete memories. We are the strongest fighters we have. Almost everyone else is just a novice in wielding their powers. There is no choice but to counter their god-level fighters with people of equal strength, so tell me if you spot an extraordinarily strong foe!¡± I insist. ¡°As you wish. I''ll inform you.¡± Nicosar cuts the line. Then I look at Lada. ¡°I suppose the god of love and harmony is a bad fighter?¡± Lada nods with a pained expression, but suddenly she lightens up. ¡°But I could try to convert them to our side. I am a well-known figure after all! If I beg them to stop, some will surely listen.¡± I tilt my head while I think about it. ¡°And how will you talk to them?¡± ¡°She can use the fortress''s speaker system,¡± one of the guards suggests. I nod. ¡°Okay. It won''t hurt.¡± With nothing else to do, we have to wait another five minutes until we receive the expected message from one of my men. ¡°We are being boarded at multiple points. Somehow they managed to break some of our airlocks!¡± His voice sounds disturbed. I have to admit that I share his feelings. We designed the fortresses with the possibility of being boarded in mind. The regular entrances should be very secure. To approach and break the seals without anyone noticing until the enemy is already on board is disturbing. A technician gives us a schematic of the fortress and I watch the tactical view. The enemy chose four points to enter the ship. One is close to the command centre. Another is near the engines. The other two are distributed evenly over the fortress, a sign that our enemies just chose random points of entry with the highest probability of hitting something important. ¡°Set the energy weapons to fire on the entry points on the Nomad and tell them to do the same. Fire the plasma cannons too and set the trigger to the minimal range. All at once,¡± I instruct my people. ¡°But we will damage our own fortress!?¡± an officer complains. ¡°We can repair it and the hull should be able to take a few blasts. If we manage to take out most of their reinforcements it will still be a win for us.¡± To tell the truth, I don''t care about losing the fortresses if it means that we can take the Crystal City. We still have one more at home and several are in construction. If we manage to take out a good number of the enemy''s fighters and capture their base while keeping our own forces mostly intact, it is a win for us. The fortress is shaken by explosions which feel like a sizeable earthquake. ¡°Maybe it''s time to start your speech Lada.¡± I nod to her and a technician shows her a console. Then I turn my attention to Celes who is standing beside me. ¡°Why are you so silent? Something wrong?¡± ¡°The whole situation feels fishy! I am thinking about our position. Isn''t it unreasonable for the Council to throw all their forces at one fortress and ignore the other one?¡± she asks. I sniff, seeing her point. ¡°They operate under the assumption that their city is protected well enough by their barrier. From their point of view, there is no need to split their forces between both vessels. They intend to take us one after the other.¡± The room is shaken another time as I speak. ¡°There is a request for aid at the breaking point close to the power core''s position,¡± one of my men informs us. Celes is about to go when I stop her by grabbing her arm. ¡°Wait until we have confirmation that we are truly needed.¡± I turn to the man. ¡°Send reinforcements.¡± I grab my staff and stand up, expecting that from now on it won''t take long for a Council member to make an appearance. It takes a few more minutes of hectic back and forth between our forces and the attackers while we get to watch through the fortress''s surveillance system. Finally, El Shaddai and Enyo reveal themselves as they blast right through a line of our men with a large group of invaders following in their wake. ¡°That''s strange.¡± I shift my weight around, having an uneasy feeling about this. ¡°Why are they sending their aces first?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± Celes clicks her tongue. ¡°But they will reach the core in a few minutes if we don''t stop them. They probably noticed that we are committing more fighters to that area.¡± I turn to Nix. ¡°Keep watching out for the other Council members.¡± Then I walk out of the room, followed by Celes and Lada, and several royal guards behind them. While I walk, I take a look back to Lada. ¡°Given up already?¡± ¡°They are too occupied with fighting! They don''t listen at all. I have to be there myself!¡± Lada answers with an angry voice. Shrugging my shoulders, I continue to walk down the corridor towards the battle. Coming closer to the surface, the temperature starts rising until a wave of heat hits me. Any mortal being would have been charred to a nice black crisp, but the godly aura of energy, which is unique to an ascended being protects me. I turn around a corner and witness some of our warriors in a tight situation with several enemy soldiers at a large crossing of two main corridors. My men wield weapons made out of crystal and are clad in a similar black and white armour as myself, enhanced with crystal chain-mail. Our enemy''s armour is white and they wield crystal rods which emit a pure white light. More stolen technology? I hate to say it, but whoever made those put more effort into it and had more knowledge than myself. At least they don''t have armour like ours. The effectiveness of their weapons is proven when one of my men gets impaled by a spear, his armour proving mostly ineffective. I don''t stop walking and enter the fight with a wave of my staff, sending a purely kinetic blast at the enemies. It is powerful enough to compress the air in front of me, causing flash of light as it sends the enemy soldiers flying. One of the men is hit by the full fury of my attack and gets instantly splattered across the wall as a fine paste. No longer protected by his godly aura, the mortal remains ignite and disintegrate in the hostile atmosphere which is polluted with energy and spells, leaving nothing behind but charcoal dust. My men immediately use theopening, clearing a path for me. I walk past the scene of fighting warriors, leaving them to their job. Further back should be an observation platform. The enemy likely entered the fortress through an airlock there. After a few metres, I arrive at a big room where heavy fighting is taking place. Many of the combatants use close combat weapons, but some rely on magic. Spells are flying back and forth inside the big observation hall. Some insane mage actually summoned an elemental which is shooting icicles at everyone who gets too close. It is the pure chaos of battle and my heart soars at the sight. The main goal of our forces is to delay and to keep the enemy from advancing ¨C though it is clear that they are too few. And then an enemy soldier who just struck down one of our people comes running in my direction. A crystal hairpin shoots past my temple, embedding itself in the soldier''s left eye. He instantly goes limp and drops to the floor, sliding forward until his lifeless body stops just a metre in front of my feet. ¡°Oh! Those work better than expected.¡± Celes skips over to the dead body and retrieves her hairpin, only then realizing the disadvantage of her weapon. The crystal weapons are able to penetrate almost every mana-based defence. They are a mass of highly concentrated mana after all. But that doesn''t protect them from getting soiled with blood... and that is exactly Celes''s problem. Smirking, I enter the fight by transforming my staff into a halberd and slash at the closest enemy. The runes of my weapon glow as an arc of energy is projected outwards, sending the soldier flying. Another one tries to close in from the side, but suddenly Lada throws herself at him, clinging to his feet like a petulant child. ¡°Nooo! Peace! No violence! We should love each other instead! Stop the senseless fighting!¡± For a mere moment even I am too startled to react, marvelling at the pink aura surrounding the Goddess of Love! The startled soldier is stunned by the mesmerizing beauty who threw herself at him, pressing her boobs against his hips. I use his distraction to give him a lesson in fighting by wielding my halberd in an arc to bring it down with a satisfying ''swoosh'' ¨C cleaving him in twain from his right shoulder to his left upper arm. The soldier''s remains tumble to the ground, covering the speechless and shocked Lada in blood and gore. Laughing insanely, I continue on to my next target. With a short glance, I witness Celes victimizing a soldier with an acupuncture treatment to the throat. Her hairpins move expertly, each stab hitting a vital point in skilful stabs as she gives extra care to joints and painful areas. Grinning at each other, we continue onwards ¨C quickly changing the tide of the battle. Realizing their situation, our enemies fall back. They obviously dread becoming our next victims. We quickly manage to push the invaders back and establish a fortified position. Having stopped the enemy''s advance, we wait until reinforcements arrive. Once we are sure that the position is firmly in our hands we go onwards to push the enemies out of our fortress.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Affirming our direction with the fortress''s surveillance system, we head directly towards El Shaddai and Enyo. As we push the enemies back the fight slowly relocates to the outer areas of our fortress. Theattackers must have broken the airlock when they entered. The closer we get, the harder it gets to breathe and I have to rely on my aura to keep myself alive. We come across a heavily damaged section where our fortress is completely open to the thin air of the high altitude, a result of the Nomad taking shots at us. There is a wide, round corridor burned into our ship, the edges still glowing. Nodding to Celes, I decide to follow it and once we reach the surface, I can see the true extent of the damage. Cracks are running through the crystal surface of our once wonderful fortress and it seems like some structures broke off. Outside, we are met with the remaining enemy forces which weren''t taken out by the Nomad''s friendly fire. We decide to join the chaos and immediately the fight evolves into a three dimensional battle with the defenders at the surface of our fortress and our enemies trying to regain their foothold after the Nomad''s devastating attack. At last, we encounter a golden figure and an armoured Amazonian woman. El Shaddai and Enyo! They are fighting like adults among toddlers. My people are sent flying by them and they radiate enormous power. Clenching my teeth, I fight my way through their minions and Celes follows me. El Shaddai wields a spear and Enyo has a one-handed sword and a shield, their weapons are emitting the same light as those of their soldiers. Together they look truly stunning in their golden armour as they swipe across the battlefield, sending our men running for their lives. Pushing myself off the fortress''s surface, I fly towards my target and our weapons clash with a flash of light. ¡°Look who we have here! The king decides to enter the fight.¡± El Shaddai grins at me while effortlessly holding my weapon at bay. ¡°Unfortunately, it seems like I will have to deal with you myself. I wonder how long your forces will keep fighting after you are gone?¡± Oh, hell. Why do I need to have a third-class villain conversation with this guy? El Shaddai pushes out his chest, looking smug. ¡°You are very conf-¡± Aw, forget it! No sense in talking. Closing in and bringing forth my forehead, I headbutt El Shaddai with my horns, cutting his monologue short. He stumbles back and I follow up with a swipe of my halberd and a curse which he deflects by cutting the forming spell-matrix with his spear. ***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok*** ***Celes*** Left, left, right. I sidestep a series of blows from Enyo¡¯s sword which would have cut me in half. The longer I fight her the more respect I gain for my opponent¡¯s fighting style. Enyo clearly isn¡¯t a pure martial artist like myself, but she can keep up effortlessly with my inner mana manipulation. Redirecting her sword, I allow myself to bounce off her shield to gain some distance. A quick succession of blows follows within a split second, taking all my concentration. ¡°Fascinating! You are doing all that with body enchantments alone,¡± I comment, knowing that my eyes are shining. It¡¯s been a long time since I encountered someone who could fight me on this level. Ascathon doesn¡¯t count since his style is too different from mine. He always tries to kite me for as long as possible, playing defence in the hope of wearing me down. With Enyo it is close quarters combat all the way! As we fight, the battle between our factions heats up again, the soldiers slaying each other with abandon. Then I see a chance and step into Enyo¡¯s guard. My hairpin shoots forward just to glide off Enyo¡¯s armour as she shifts her stance slightly. A twist causes a blade to slide out of her shield. I know that I have been had, but there is nothing I can do as she slices my thigh open with the sharp edge of her shield, forcing me to lock down her sword-arm in order to not be beheaded. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Enyo laughs in glee as she pushes the shield down, fully intending to slice off my leg. And then the tricky weapon hits bone and stops, stunning Enyo into silence. ¡°Crystal bones! Bitch!¡± I hiss between gritted teeth and thrust my open palm at her chest with all the force I can muster, opening a gateway to my mana and sending it out through my palm. I feel the bones in my forearm break and Enyo¡¯s armour dents inwards before she is sent flying into one of the fortress''s support structures ¨C some huge sensor dish which rises out of the rest of the fortress. Her impact breaks off the dish and creates a sizeable crater inside it. Circulating my inner mana, I feel the bones pop back into place and the wound on my thigh close rapidly after a short resistance. There was some sort of curse on Enyo''s weapon, but I easily overpowered it. Few things can turn my own power against me. I confirm that my arm is usable by forming a fist. It is numb but works well enough to punch things. ¡°Fucking bitch made me get carried away.¡± I endedthe fight far too soon. But then I see a person peeling herself out of the crater inside the tumbling sensor dish and narrow my eyes to see better. She pushes herself off, drifting back in my direction while peeling off the cracked and deformed breastplate, revealing padded chain-mail beneath. I grin, glad that my opponent didn¡¯t keel over after a single shove. It might even be possible to go all out on that one. ***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok*** ***Angrod*** I don''t have the time to pay much attention to my wife''s fight, but from what I saw it looks like Celes isn''t having an easy fight either. Suddenly, El Shaddai flashes forward and I only barely manage to evade the tip of his spear which scratches across my chest piece. Looking down, I find that it left a deepgouge behind. It''s like my armour is nothing more than paper to that damned spear. I try to counter-attack, but El Shaddai''s spear seems to be everywhere at once, ghostly afterimages making it hard to attack with my halberd. He effortlessly keeps up the pressure, even forcing me to detach my blades from my armour to keep him busy with his own defence. Then one of the ghostly images stabs towards my face and I have to twist sideways, but something hits my leg ¨C forcing me to hiss in pain. That''s going to be a bad bruise! If my staff hadn''t been so heavily enchanted, I would have already lost. As much as I would like to gain some distance, close quarters seems to be my only choice. El Shaddai is sticking to me like glue. It''s a shame. I really would like to use my long range abilities properly! ¡°Finally becoming aware of your mistake? We don''t rule the Multiverse for no reason!¡± El Shaddai boasts with a savage look on his face. ¡°I had hoped I wouldn''t need it. But it seems like it is necessary to go serious on you.¡± Thrusting out my halberd, I expand my aura and emit my full power towards him, grasping for everything my divinity can give me. I delve deep and reach for the Chaos within me, the blast of energy turning red and chaotic. Losing his hold, the old god is thrown backwards like a doll and smashes into a group of fighters. He is right. If I allow this fight to continue in the same manner, he will win. It''s not a matter of power, but one of skill. He is far superior to me in close combat. Which makes it just a matter of time until he gets me. This calls for a savage solution. Man, I would have never thought that I would be forced to cheat. I transform my halberd into an oversized axe to free a hand for spellcasting and clear my throat, readying myself to speak words from a dimension far removed from this one. ¡°Nier lus vrei oust neben, Nashok!¡± A small ball of red light forms above my hand, far different from my earlier casts. It spreads an unfriendly feeling and space seems to distort around it. I smile wryly at the little spell that took the former ''me'' so long to invent. ¡°Hello. Long time no see,¡± I talk to the little red ball of energy while I float towards El Shaddai who is getting back to his feet, setting down on the fortress''s surface. Helooks a little ruffled, but he is uninjured. I provoke him. ¡°How interesting. I never would have thought that I could send the mightiest being in the multiverse flying.¡± El Shaddai''s face distorts in anger and he jumps at me. Using the axe, I block a stab to my chest, avoiding a mortal wound. El Shaddai immediately follows up by aiming the next one at my abdomen, but instead of retreating, I jump forward and allow him to stab through my side. I welcome the fire of pain and laugh as I push forward, impaling myself. El Shaddai''s eyes widen, but he doesn''t let go of his weapon, even as my right hand ¨C and with it the red orb ¨C impacts his chest. The spell activates and a howling tornado of red energy erupts out of El Shaddai''s back.The escaping streams of power rip through my hand, shredding it to pieces. El Shaddai screams in terror and I slide backwards, riding the burst of power erupting from his chest as it carries me with it. I watch El Shaddai''s disbelieving expression as the unleashed spell shreds his body and soul to tiny pieces, practically disassembling him. I only notice that I am still laughing insanely when I get grabbed at my shoulders as some of my people do their best to pull me out of the fight. Seeing El Shaddai''s terrible end, some of the enemies flee, which encourages our people to intensify the pressure. I try to activate a healing spell, but it fails. The mana somehow disperses before I can form the correct pattern. Looks like those light-weapons have the ability to stop someone from using healing magic. That sucks! If I had known that, I wouldn''t have jumped so willingly into that spear. ¡°The king defeated El Shaddai! Go forward and drive them off!¡± Lada''s voice carries over the battlefield despite the thin air at this altitude. Two healers immediately start taking care of me while I start to laugh like mad, waving the stump of my arm. ¡°Did you see that? What a worthless bunch! They are the rulers of the multiverse and die such a pathetic death.¡± The healers and soldiers around me look really worried as they watch my antics, and my ignorance of such minor wounds. Little did I know that I created another weird rumour that day. ***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok*** ***Celes*** Angrod did it. Although... he once more managed to hurt himself. Idiot! Why does he always sacrifice his health? I take a moment to watch my husband being pulled out of the fight by a few soldiers. El Shaddai''s spectacular death dealt a heavy blow to the enemy''s morale. I bet he didn''t even notice the curse on those light-weapons. Which means that I have to heal him later. Then I have to return my attention to my own fight. Enyo is a tough bitch. Her armour is so sturdy that even my new daggers cannot scratch it. Angrod insists on calling them oversized hairpins and I have to admit that I tend to use them in such a manner. They are convenient and I don''t like big weapons anyway. Though, my fists are the superior weapons in this case. Enyo and I seem to be natural counterparts. While I concentrate on offence, Enyo favours defence. It''s only lucky that I am a little faster than her, so she isn''t able to deal any meaningful damage to me. The only problem I have is how to end our duel without pulling an ''Angrod''. We exchange another series of blows and Enyo tries to bash me with her shield, but I use the shield as a stepping stone and jump over her, slashing at her eyes and clipping her temple with a foot while doing so. Enyo quickly tilts her head forward and my daggers just scratch her helmet. During the whole fight, she had a satisfied grin on her face, seeming almost as insane as Angrod. Her sword is a little long, and the weapon is starting to annoy me. Charging in, I try to get through her defence and parry a strike by her sword as I tackle her. Now too close for her to freely wield the sword, I wrap my tail around her ankle. Naturally, she tries to increase the distance to one that''s comfortable to her, but I pull her back in at the same time. She stumbles and tries to regain her balance, but it is too late. Now looming above her, I thrust my hand downwards and release my inner mana with my full force. Our auras waver for a second against each other and then I concentrate my energy on a single tightly focused spot, sending forth ripples of power. Her chest-piece vibrates and a spray of blood erupts from her mouth as the energy is transmitted via ultrasonic means. Another swing of her sword forces me back, but the damage is done. Enyo''s eyes unfocus for a moment and she spits out a mouthful of blood before she catches herself. I see. I may not be able to get through her defence, but certain attacks can circumvent it. Having foundher weakness, I start supporting my normal attacks with outbursts of the same effect, going all out on my enemy. A minute later, Enyo is on her knees and I am panting heavily. I am not sure if I can keep going much longer, but Enyo is in very bad shape. She tries to get up, but I float forward and catch her sword-arm. Using one of my hairpins, I slide it into the unprotected space between the layers of her armour, forcing her to drop her Shield. We wrestle, but somewhere along the battle Enyo''s concentration started to wane. I quickly pull in one direction, then in the other and forward, dislocating my opponent''s arm and disarming her completely. Pulling further on her now useless arm, I pull her in one direction while bringing my knee up, swinging it in the other. My thrust connects with her head, snapping it sideways and caving in a part of her skull. The unleashed shockwave from our clashing auras clears the space around us and drives me back. Twisting, I land on my feet on the fortress''s surface. Enyo kneels for a moment, facing me while her vacant eyes stare into the distance. Then she falls forward, her upper body impacting the ground like a log. I wait for a few seconds, ready to continue the fight, but she doesn''t get up, so I stride forward and call for our forces to advance. ¡°The Council''s leaders are down! Advance and drive them off of our fortress! Show no mercy!¡± Then I look back at Angrod and the healers around him, but the idiot gives me a thumbs up... at least he tries... without his hand. I let out a sigh of relief and decide to continue assisting our troops. After they lost their leaders we got a unique chance to break their forces. All we have to do is to keep showing our presence on the battlefield and the psychological battle should be ours. Chapter 59 ***The Crystal City, The Ragnarok*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Daddy! Wake up!¡± Just five more minutes. Bathing in the energies of a healing spell after having my hand blasted off just feels too good. ¡°Wake up!¡± Someone pinches my cheek and I open my eyes to find two faces looking at me. ¡°Aengus, Seria,did your mother allow you to come to the bridge?¡± They instantly look guilty and Aengus points at my hand. ¡°We were worried when we heard that you got wounded!¡± ¡°Yes. They said you lost an arm!¡± Seria calls out. ¡°That couldn''t be avoided. The spell which I used wasn''t intended for close quarter battles.¡± I smile at them and raise my hand, showing them that all is well. ¡°And don¡¯t worry. It was just a minor scratch compared to what my opponent had to suffer.¡± ¡°That''s a pretty inconvenient spell if it blows your own hand off!¡± Aengus complains. I sigh. ¡°Why are you two even bothering your injured father? I have to take care of the aftermath.¡± I return my attention to the strategic map of our situation. Celes and Nicosar are also here, studying it with great interest. ¡°Has anyone found Nix?¡± Our eldest disappeared at some point during the boarding action and I am getting a little worried that something happened to her. It has been an hour since the attackers broke and fled in all directions, making it impossible to chase all of them down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, darling.¡± Celes purses her lips. ¡°I¡¯ve found her. She¡¯s¡­ busy.¡± ¡°Busy?¡± I frown. Celes turns around and looks pointedly at me and then at the children. ¡°She decided to battle the enemy by using her natural¡­ assets¡­ and locked herself with all the invaders who managed to break into Section 5. She said it will take a few more hours to finish up.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Right! It¡¯s been a while since I watched a succubus charm a horde of men to have her way with them. Depending on the number of opponents she might be busy for some time. ¡°Any news regarding the Crystal City¡¯s barrier?¡± I ask. ¡°Not yet. It looks like all who could do so ran away,¡± Nicosar explains. ¡°We are back to besieging the city, which is very strange. Why did El Shaddai and Enyo attack us while the otherCouncil members did nothing? It¡¯s like they threw their lives away in a meaningless attack, committing only a part of their forces. What about the rest of the Council? Something is very fishy about all of this.¡± I nod, admitting that my grandfather has a point, but he also lacks the whole picture. ¡°Without their army, the Council''s remaining troops in the city are at a big disadvantage. Both in numbers and position. They fought almost to the bitter end. But at a single signal, they suddenly retreated and used the pathways as soon as they were out of range,¡± Celes grumbles. ¡°The most likely explanation is that my mole successfully sabotaged their attack plan,¡± I explain. The others look at me and Celes huffs. ¡°Since when did we have a mole among their ranks!? Who is it.¡± ¡°Ah, ah.¡± I raise a finger to my lips, indicating for them to stay silent. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about it until we are sure that the Sphere of Sight is no longer in their hands. I am the only one who knows the mole¡¯s identity ¨C and it¡¯s better if it stays that way for the immediate future.¡± In fact, the mole herself shouldn¡¯t even know that she is working for me. Celes huffs and shrugs her shoulders. ¡°In any case, we did some analysis on El Shaddai''s remains and the smart-heads told us that he wasn''t a living being before he became a god. Enyo is sitting in our brig and she has some serious mental issues.¡± ¡°Now, that¡¯s interesting.¡± I lean forward in my command chair. A technician takes up the explanation. ¡°We analysed the pieces of El Shaddai and found no traces of organic matter. He consisted of something like animated metal. His body was completely artificial. Even more interesting, we found only pieces and remnants of his soul, but not enough to account for a whole personality. Which is impossible, because all of us saw his divine power. No soul, no divinity!¡± ¡°So you want to tell me that somebody created a golem and stuffed the mangled soul of a god inside it ¨C practically using him as a proxy!?¡± I raise both eyebrows. ¡°If that¡¯s correct, then we didn¡¯t finish him off!The true mastermindescaped.¡± The technician nods. ¡°Damn it!¡± I lean back. ¡°What about Enyo?¡± Another guard with the signet of a healer steps forward. ¡°The healers put her back together, allowing us to take a close look at her. From all we can tell she isn''t herself. And if I say that she isn''t herself, I mean it. Someone or something messed with her mind. Our mind-mages doubt that she can make her own decisions. According to them it''s more like a setup of if-then orders. She just follows a pre-set path and can''t deviate from it.¡± The man ends his explanation. ¡°Lada?¡± That''s the first thing coming to my mind. If two Council members had their heads messed with, then... The man nods. ¡°We immediately checked her when we became aware of Enyo''s and El Shaddai¡¯s situation. Lada seems to be as sane as someone of her age can be. She has a serious mental issue with love and happiness though, so she couldn''t hurt a fly. Besides our little princess, Lada is one of the oldest beings in the multiverse. It''s fascinating that anyone can stay sane over such a long time. But otherwise, we can''t tell that there is anything wrong with her. We are keeping her in the medical bay and are having an eye on her until we get different orders. Just in case.¡± I rub my temples, worrying that this apparent victory is just a huge setup for worse to come. ¡°So, Lada is fine? But El Shaddai and Enyo were somesort of brainwashed proxies?¡± I mumble. ¡°Tjenemit was also his own person, so not the whole Council was taken over.¡± Tjenemit was the one who had my former self restore Eris¡¯s mind. That was a long time ago. Does that mean that whatever happened to El Shaddai and Enyo almost happened to Eris, but Tjenemit got in the way? It is tempting to pull out the Tjenemit globe and to question him in detail about this part of the past, but there is no point to take the risk right now. ¡°That''s what we wanted to ask. What the hell did you do with El Shaddai!?¡± Nicosar asks. ¡°I used a spell on him which attacked the soul, but it doesn¡¯t explain why there are parts of it missing,¡± I explain. ¡°My spell should have scrambled him. It¡¯s not real annihilation, so the whole thing is more than suspicious.¡± ¡°From what I have heard, it attacked a little more than his soul. The guys who were close to the event talked about a portal to hell itself.¡± Nicosar shakes his head while studying the tactical display. ¡°As if having your soul scrambled like egg-yolk isn¡¯t frightening enough.¡± ¡°So, anything else?¡± I inquire. ¡°How many people did we lose.¡± ¡°While we were sorting out the aftermath the Nomad found the energy junction which Lada told us about, but we are still unable to find a way in. We lost about ten thousand people in the battle.¡± ¡°And the other Council members?¡± I can''t believe this. We may have paid a high price, but it still feels too cheap. ¡°Gone. There is no sign of them. It looks like they packed their things and ran. There is no trace of their troops either. The guys who fled just vanished as soon as they got out of reach of our inhibition field.¡± Celes steps closer and gives me a peck on the cheek. ¡°I am happy that you are alright, but this feels like a trap.¡± ¡°So, all that¡¯s left to do is to wait.¡± I sigh. ¡°Either they will find out how to use Lada¡¯s bracelet for more than a person or-¡± ¡°Explosion inside the Crystal City!¡± The technician at the sensors interrupts me. ¡°Their barrier is down!¡± I smile. ¡°Send the troops. All the people who come up from the city will have their minds checked. Don¡¯t let anyone escape, even if they are an unconcerned third party.¡± My wife looks at the tactical display with an incredulous expression. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Remember my agent? Looks like he succeeded,¡± I comment with a smug expression, intentionally letting the wrong gender slip. The following hours and days prove to be an exercise in patience as our people slowly root out the last Council loyalists and take over important infrastructure. But none of the remaining Council members make an appearance.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Celes and I watch over the proceedings from the bridge of the Ragnarok, eagerly waiting for something to happen that requires our direct interference. It feels like we won, but someone ruled the universe while using El Shaddai and others like dolls on strings and that is impossible to forget. It is a situation which gives reason to be paranoid about everything and everyone. Our only advantage is that this Mr. X had no opportunity to get his hands on us ¨C until now. I use the available time to inspect El Shaddai¡¯s remains and Enyo who isn¡¯t more than a husk with the guiding entity gone. Sadly, all I can do is confirm that their state is very similar to the one I found Eris in. One of Celes¡¯s concerns is that the Crystal City is a giant trap which is just waiting for us. The mysterious entity already managed to mind-wipe the rulers of the multiverse once. Why wouldn¡¯t it try a second time? It takes over two weeks to establish our control over the multiverse¡¯s capital city and to process all the inhabitants, sorting out those who might resist the new rulers and throwing the troublemakers into a Void Zone. It won¡¯t get us rid of them permanently, but by the time they return, we should have established our political power base. Finally, I am wandering through the Crystal City, not as a citizen, but as its ruler. It''s a beautiful place I have to admit, but I am still tempted to nuke it to oblivion from a safe distance. The possibility of all of this being a trap is always at the back of my mind. Securing the facility with the Sphere of Sight under quarantine protocols had utmost priority. After an exhaustive discussion with Lada and Tjenemit I know one thing for sure. They almost never touched the Sphere of Sight or any of the city''s installations. Lada doesn''t like technology and Tjenemit never had much reason to use the Sphere. We took the previous government completely out of service andexiled them to a Void Zone. It''s the perfect prison for the moment. We also investigated the Council''s sealing method, which meant throwing someone into the system¡¯s black hole. I completely dismissed the possibility of using this method ourselves. Doing that to a soul would ensure that they are caught there until the black hole would dissolve on its own due to Hawking Radiation. Worse, I am fairly certain that this wasn¡¯t the device¡¯s original purpose. The baleful-looking teleportation room¡¯s position within the city, its makeup, and general functionality, made me relatively certain that it is a waste disposal system ¨C never intended to get rid of people. Worse, I have no idea what happens to a soul inside a black hole. For the time being, we entrusted only experienced soul mages and the absolutely needed amount of guards to search the city¡¯s facilities. If our suspicions are true then nobody without extensive knowledge of mind-magic should bumble around in unchecked parts of the city. I also inspected various other installations and weapon storagesthroughout the city. The Council¡¯s light-weapons are one of them. The light-weapons seem to be a very advanced part of the crystal tech. Funny enough ¨C they seem to be equipment intended for crowd suppression; not a tool for warfare. I came to this conclusion because the anti-healing curse on the weapons could have easily been something far nastier. So much to do and so little time. What would I give to be omnipresent? <<<>>> At last,it is finally time to inspect this so-called Sphere of Sight. I step into the corridor which leads to the sealed and locked room with this mythical artefact, followed by Celes, Seria, Nix, Lada, Arthur, and Nicosar. Interestingly enough, I know the facility which holds the Sphere of Sight. It is the same one in which I treated Eris. I also remember a particular incident when I stumbled across Seria and two of her minions snooping around. I turn to one of the guards who are warily facing the large blast door which allows entrance to the Sphere. ¡°Are these ¡®creatures¡¯ still guarding the Sphere?¡± The man nods and salutes. ¡°Six of them, sir. They are just standing around the Sphere without moving. You can see them from the observation platform in the other room. As instructed, we haven¡¯t tried to enter the room and they didn¡¯t attempt to leave.¡± ¡°No need.¡± I wave my hand dismissively. ¡°If I remember correctly, then those things are quite dangerous.¡± Celes turns to face me. ¡°Could you elaborate on that?¡± Narrowing my eyes, I try to recall as much as I can. ¡°I was here in the past and encountered Seria with two of her minions. They were obviously illegal trespassers and spying on the facility. They were fighting two of these black semi-humanoid creatures who were seemingly immune to any low-tier magic. Their claws also penetrated auras without effort.¡± I look towards my frowning daughter. Seria shakes her head, looking confused. ¡°I am sorry. I remember nothing of the sort.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± I pat her head. ¡°Memory loss will always be an issue of reincarnation. It¡¯s a good reason to avoid dying, even if you are a god.¡± Lada shakes her head. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the Sphere having any guardians ¨C aside from the facility¡¯s regular security.¡± Nicosar immediately jumps on that particular piece of information. ¡°Does that mean that these guardians could have something to do with the mysterious person who was puppeteering the Council?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t rule it out.¡± Celes turns, studying the door. Nicosar clears his throat to gain our attention. ¡°If those things are as dangerous as you say, then I should probably draw their attention.¡± He unsheathes his crystal sword and strolls towards the entrance. Celes uncrosses her arms and follows my grandfather, clearly intending to lay waste to these guardians. ¡°Just be careful and don¡¯t rely too much on your defenses,¡± I warn them and transform my staff into two longswords. ¡°The Sphere sounds like the perfect place to set up a mind-trap.¡± Nicosar nods and gestures for the guards to open the door. The men oblige and unseal the room. The door to the room with the Sphere of Sight opens and we wait for a tense moment, hoping to fight the guardians at the door which represents a choke-point. I take a step forward when nothing happens. The creatures are just like the one in my memory. Their bodies are black and gaunt with huge claws instead of fingers. They could be compared with starved humans, were it not for the proportions. Their torso is too small and their arms and legs much too long. Aside from that, there aren¡¯t any distinct features. The things are covered from head to toe in some inky, black substance that seems to constantly evaporate away from them, hiding their features and bodily outlines. They are standing around the Sphere, a crystal globe which hovers in the centre of the room. ¡°I suppose they aren¡¯t going to invite us in.¡± Nicosar steps into the room, but as soon as his foot passes the door sill the creatures shriek and fall into a frenzy. They spread out and rush towards us, but instead of retreating, Nicosar runs into the room, yelling like a maniac to draw their attention. Celes reacts instantly and rushes forward, catching one of the creatures by the foot. She spins it around, jumping up and propelling herself off the ceiling to gain momentum. The creature¡¯s arc ends with it hitting one of its companions, causing both of them to go ¡®splat¡¯ on the ground. I detach my blades from my armour and send them forward. They spin and fan out like a blooming flower, catching another two guardians between its petals and covering the walls in black ichor. Nicosar stops his mad dash and turns around to face his opponents. He buries his sword inside the first creature¡¯s head with a yell, but the second one dashes past him, not caring in the slightest about its companion. The black claws flash out and Nicosar¡¯s head topples to the ground. Then the creature turns to face Celes and me. But Nicosar¡¯s headless body doesn¡¯t fall. Instead, he kicks the corpse which is stuck on his blade, turning the movement into a slash which cleaves through the torso of the remaining creature. It topples over, letting out a final shriek. ¡°Man, that itches!¡± Nicosar¡¯s head speaks from the floor while his body tries to sheathe his blade. ¡°Could one of you help me with that?¡± Celes shudders but jogs over to pick up his head. ¡°I swear, your ability got even more frightening since you ascended.¡± She turns the head, placing it correctly on Nicosar¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Can¡¯t you do the full misty-thing and emerge completely healed?¡± I watch the scene with a grin, wondering what would happen if a mischievous person would putthe headon backwards. ¡°Thanks, sweety.¡± My grandfather sighs. ¡°And, yes, I could. But for some reason, my ability doesn¡¯t stretch out to include crystal armour and weapons. I would hate to pick up everything from the ground to put it back on.¡± I return my attention to the guardians who are slowly turning into black puddles and evaporating. ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t learn much from their remains.¡± I step over a puddle and circle around the Sphere without coming too close. It''s a solid object made out of Mana Crystal and lazily spinning while it stays centred in the room. ¡°Are you supposed to touch it?¡± Celes asks, studying the artefact curiously. ¡°Lada didn¡¯t know much about the Sphere. She just saw Amaru standing before it for hours on end. When she tried it once, she got a headache,¡± I retell her story. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to establish a mental connection. There is no interface.¡± I reconnect my longswords, turning them back into a staff, and gather my other blades back to my armour. ¡°Mental interfaces have advantages, but they can also be a huge pain in the butt. I am reluctant to try it.¡± I don¡¯t want to have my brain fried. Bracing myself, I sit down cross-legged to concentrate. Doing this right can''t hurt. After my mind is clear, I start setting up my mental defences. A good mental defense has to consist of multiple layers and insurances in case something goes wrong. After spending a whopping twenty minutes with setting up every trick I know, I slowly stretch my mind out for the sphere. At first it feels unhealthy and cold. But then I get used to it, realizing that the thing is a gigantic conductor for divination magic. This particular type of magic can be used to search for something lost, but I never heard of it being used on such a scale. The Sphere channels my magical power and forms it into a pre-defined spell. Suddenly my perception increases drastically and I have to gasp as it almost overwhelms me. Is that what omnipresence should feel like? I know it isn''t real omnipresence, but it comes very close to it. I can see the people in front of the room. Above me are other worlds. By focusing on one, I can search it in seconds. And there are sparks of pure power everywhere. After concentrating on one of the sparks, I realize that I am watching over the shoulder of a god who is playing an immoral prank on a mortal. Seeesh. Is that everything an ascended being can do to kill time? Carrying on, I return the focus of my attention to the Council''s city to watch its inhabitants. Then I focus outward again in an attempt to find the missing members of the Council. But there is no way to distinguish all the godly sparks from one another. Then I become aware of a heavy presence. It''s watching me. And it''s close. I search for it and find its origin within the black hole. It''s ominous and dark. The same feeling I got from the sealing room and the sphere. Suddenly I feel a strong pull on my entire being and I am jerked towards the black hole. ¡°Who are you?¡± I try to resist, but my soul falls towards the black hole. Every resistanceseems futile. ¡°Come!¡± Something black and slimy pulls on my mind and I strike out, flailing at it with all my will. It shudders in pain but keeps enveloping me while I fight. I am being pulled down! Down towards the darkness! And there are teeth! ¡°Fresh!¡± The thing claws into my mind and starts eating! All my defences fail or are blown aside like smoke and all I can do is scream. ¡°Betrayal!¡± Chapter 60 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Betrayal!¡± The darkness clears, leaving me to watch curiously as the ¡®Thing¡¯ inside the black hole tears the mirror-mind apart, enraged that it fell for my trick and was left with nothing more than a little energy. It clearly isn''t happy that it didn''t catch a real soul. I set the mirror-mind up just in case that something went fatally wrong. The first rule in a duel of minds is: ¡®Don''t fight in the open.¡¯ The real me was safely hidden inside the shadow of my mirror-mind, allowing me to slip away as soon as my other protections failed. The only problem with this technique is that the real me is not in control. The mirror-mind will act as it sees fit from its point of view while the real mind is just a tag-along. That is a big disadvantage, but it is also why this technique is so awesome at tricking opponents. The mirror-mind doesn''t know that it is just a decoy. I retract my mind from the sphere and study it with disgust. Whoever created it was a genius and an absolute idiot at the same time. It gives the user a godly power which is akin to omnipresence, but there are apparently no fail-safes. None at all! It is as if the creator expected only master level mind-mages to use the cursed thing ¨C and even then it is dangerous. There aren''t a lot of existences in the multiverse who have dangerous mind-altering powers, but they exist and there are ways to detect scrying magic like the Sphere''s. Now that I got a good look at the process it shouldn''t be hard to replicate. Whoever built the Sphere must have been supremely confident in his or her abilities. Did everyone who used the sphere without safety measures get their minds eaten? No, that¡¯s not the problem. I was perfectly fine as long as I didn¡¯t turn my attention to the black hole. The Sphere is nothing more than a tool and not responsible if the user cuts himself. Who would have known that some dark, hungering deity was imprisoned right next door? So, anyone who allowed their mind to stray to that forbidden place got their mind reprogrammed and turned into a doll. As long as they didn''t connect to the black hole, they were fine. It seems like the ¡®Thing¡¯ inside this eternal prison is hungry for souls. Then I realize that the Council practically fed it with the souls of gods ¨C thanks to their banishment policy. A horrifying thought. Does the ¡®Thing¡¯ get stronger with every soul it eats? I get back to my feet and gesture for Nicosar and Celes to follow me out of the room. ¡°The Sphere is dangerous. We have to seal this room and make sure that nobody uses the thing.¡± Once we are outside and the doors are closed I continue to give everyone the breakdown of what I just found out. In the end, I finish up my explanation with one positive point. ¡°It¡¯s only good that we recovered all the souls of the people who died during the fight.¡± Then another thought strikes me. ¡°Clean the whole system free of souls, even our enemies. I want a complete soul-free space around the black hole.¡± The Stream of Souls, or the Blind Eternity, as the phenomenon that transports souls through the multiverse is called, should naturally avoid black holes. But it is better to be sure. Two of the guards bow and disappear to execute my orders. I wait for a second to let this new information sink in. ¡°So, at the moment it looks like the Council was manipulated by that ¡®Thing¡¯ to feed it. They threw meals into its maw for who knows how long.¡± ¡°We could have been its food if it weren''t for Seria,¡± Arthur mutters after having stayed silent up until now. I nod. As much as anyone may dislike her meddling games, we owe her for that. ¡°We can''t be sure of it, but it could very well be that Seria''s actions kept the thing on a low diet.¡± ¡°We should destroy the Sphere of Sight. Given this new development, it''s useless to us. And then we smash that room to make sure. Maybe crushing the whole city would be better,¡± Celes thinks aloud. ¡°I think that you are right with destroying the sphere,¡± I admit, raising a finger to point out a problem. ¡°I would love to have that thing gone, but we may need it.¡± ¡°Are you insane? All you could do with it is feeding this ominous being.¡± Nicosar gestures towards the door. ¡°As far as I understood you, merely thinking about the black hole while using the Sphere is enough to bring your mind there. How can anyone guarantee not to have a stray thought wander, especially after knowing that it is the prison for some soul-eater? Impossible!¡± ¡°You are right and I don''t want to feed the Thing. I am only saying that we may need the Sphere in the future ¨C in case one of those thing''s guardians are still outside the black hole!¡± I drop the bomb on them. ¡°Don''t forget, we are missing a few Council members and I think it''s very likely that they are the monstrosity''s agents!¡± ¡°That possibility is... concerning,¡± Celes admits. She looks at the closed door, clearly feeling uneasy. ¡°Unfortunately, Angrod is right. Since we are lacking information, we have to anticipate the worst case scenario and keep our options open. Nicosar, please see to it that the Sphere and the Council''s execution room are locked away so tightly that not even an insect gets in or out.¡± I nod. ¡°The next thing we need to do is to make sure that everyone who returns to our homeworld has their minds checked twice! We don''t want to carry something unwanted with us.¡± I clap my hands together, rubbing them. ¡°If that''s all, then-¡± ¡°I am afraid that there is still one more thing to do!¡± Nix interrupts my dreams of spending the rest of the day in blissful slothfulness. I groan. ¡°There is another artefact of interest in the Council''s assembly hall at the highest point of their tower.¡± She checks off another point on the list she is holding. ¡°The technicians in charge identified it as more than just an ornament, but they have no idea how to get it to work.¡± Celes nods at her daughter, clearly proud of the demoness. ¡°Angrod should take a look if it''s another artefact.¡± Lada, who was on silent standby while waiting for us, frowns. ¡°What exactly are you talking about? I don''t know of any artefacts up there. The only thing of interest might have been El Shaddai''s office with the documents and his living quarters.¡± Nix studies Lada with pursed lips, then takes a closer look at her documents. ¡°It''s the table in ''Meeting Room 1''.¡± ¡°The table!?¡± Lada exclaims. ¡°Yes, the table. Look, I''ve never been there, so I can only recite what some lesser deity deigned to write on a report. Why don''t we stop wasting time and take a look?¡± Nix replies, her voice a little frosty. ¡°Okay, let''s go!¡± I gesture for them to get going before Nix''s mood hits rock bottom. Once the party is trundling along, I lean over to Celes. ¡°What ran over Nix''s liver?¡± ¡°During the battle, she found out what her divinity is,¡± my wife starts and stops her explanation without getting to the important point. I wait for a moment before I decide to help things along by pinching her backside, feeling the perfect texture of that well-trained... ¡°Hey! People are watching!¡± She slaps my hand away. ¡°What''s gotten into you?¡± ¡°What''s with you?¡± I rub my hand. ¡°Stopping right when it gets interesting.¡± Celes sighs and rolls her eyes. ¡°She is embarrassed about it. Apparently, she is a Goddess of Carnal Art and Immoral Impulse.¡± I shrug. ¡°I don''t see the problem. Many who ascended found out that their true nature is a little different from what they wanted. It''s nothing to worry about. You accept it and go on, and maybe you discover some more aspects of your true nature which you would rather focus on.¡± ¡°That sounds like someone speaking from experience,¡± she teases, lowering her voice. ¡°Let''s just say that on my way to true enlightenment I found out some things I would rather not discuss.¡± I snort. ¡°Anyway, give Nix some time and she will get to terms with her nature.¡± Celes coughs. ¡°You are saying that only because you haven''t seen the deck which she defended during the boarding action.¡± I raise both eyebrows. ¡°That bad?¡± ¡°Let''s just say that it reminded me of some nightmare.¡± Celes shudders. ¡°The floor, the walls, even the ceiling. It was pure madness. And now she is afraid that something could set her off again. I personally think that it was just the frustration of her long imprisonment. She had to vent it out.¡± ¡°Ah, the innocence of youth.¡± I smile. ¡°So you are saying that she got a little more of me in her than of you. Don''t worry. I will take her on a little excursion to the lower dimensions ¨C give her some training. She will learn to cope or...¡± I let my voice drift off. ¡°Or!?¡± Now Celes doesn''t let the matter be. ¡°She will learn to cope!¡± I reassure my wife, gesturing for her to calm down. The lower dimensions are a part of the multiverse where the laws of reality aren''t as strict. Some who walked those paths are not quite sane and others didn''t return at all. ¡°With me as a guide, she will be okay!¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Could you two just shut up!¡± Nix calls out from the front of the group. ¡°Everyone can hear you! And I am fine! I just temporarily lost control!¡± She lowers her voice. ¡°I just have to get over the thing with the abstract body-sculpture. I don''t know what got into me with that one. Originally, I only intended to have some harmless fun. Take them to the brink of ecstasy and take their souls just as any succubus would do...¡± she keeps mumbling to herself. ¡°Abstract-body-sculpture?¡± I lick over my lips, trying to combine that particular bit of knowledge with the fact that my daughter is a Goddess of Carnal Art. Then I stop Celes from talking by raising my hand. ¡°No! I actually don''t want to know!¡± I am glad that our discussion is cut short when we arrive at our destination. Just a few doors further down the corridor is El Shaddai''s former office. People are still busy picking it apart, studying and filing away each suspicious item. A long row of transport boxes along the corridor is proof of their labour. But we enter the otherwise empty meeting room which the Council used for their meetings. I head directly towards the wide window front instead of studying the table which was mentioned in the report. ¡°This place is actually really nice!¡± I take a moment to enjoy the view over the rest of the Crystal City. ¡°I could get used to the view. Maybe we should set up camp here.¡± Celes knocks her knuckles onto the large, ovoid table which is taking in the middle of the room. ¡°Looks like normal furniture to me.¡± Arthur coughs. ¡°Only that it doesn''t fit.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Lada asks with a befuddled expression. My father in law gestures out the window towards the rest of the city. ¡°We had plenty of time to explore every nook and cranny. The city, the buildings, the world, it''s all Mana Crystal. But have you seen a single piece of furniture?¡± He tries to lift the table with one hand. ¡°It''s even fused to the floor.¡± The man has a point! I return my attention to the anomaly, noting the complex runic symbols glowing beneath the crystal''s surface. Reaching out, I touch the table''s surface and try inserting a small dose of my power, just like I would with my staff or any other crystal artefact to activate it. The lights go out. ¡°The city just lost all energy,¡± Arthur calls out, pointing towards the window where the normally light bluish glow permeating the city has vanished. ¡°What did you do now!?¡± Celes asks, clearly accusing me of having done something stupid. ¡°Why did you have to touch it!? I already wanted to call you out for taking a risk with the Sphere, but now you have done it again!¡± Okay... mindlessly switching on what could very well be a control panel for the entire city might not have been the brightest of all moves. But it isn''t as if I would admit anything, so I raise both hands high above my head to show that this isn''t my fault. ¡°I didn''t do anything!¡± Thankfully, the light slowly returns and a female voice booms through the room in a strange language. ¡°Jegme''nod. Mjerk''sod''lemef!¡± ¡°I don''t understand a single word. What about you guys?¡± I ask. The others shake their heads. It is probably too much to ask for an understandable language from a computer program that was written before the dawn of time. ¡°Audio records compiled. System language adjusted to current citizens.¡± ¡°Cold Reboot...¡± The lights turn off yet again, only to return after a few seconds. ¡°No contaminated individuals recognized.¡± ¡°Declaring end of containment breach and restoration of all basic functions.¡± ¡°There is unauthorized personnel inside vital parts of the city. Identify yourselves.¡± Nobody dares to say a word, afraid of triggering some sort of disinfection routine. Only Celes gives me an accusing look. ¡°It''s not my fault,¡± I whisper. Does this city have something like a supercomputer? ¡°We probably should ask for admin-rights.¡± ¡°I am not some measly program. I am the Warden. I was created to oversee the continued imprisonment of the great Calamity which plagues the multiverse. Identify yourself ¨C or you will be removed!¡± ¡°Hold it! We are on your side. I think you aren''t entirely up to date!¡± Nicosar raises his hands to the ceiling as if that would help anything. ¡°Time difference according to star movement...¡± I hold my breath and Celes whispers, ¡°That thing was obviously meant to guard the black hole but failed miserably. We should make a run for it in case it isn''t alright in its CPU ¨C or whatever it is using to think!¡± ¡°I can hear you. And you don''t need to have such fears. My creators intended me to be able to keep my watch even after their return to the cycle of Life and Death.¡± ¡°So how long have you been out and why?¡± Arthur inquires. The voice stays suspiciously silent. ¡°Hello?¡± Nicosar tries to get the entity to talk again. ¡°My calculation tells me that it has been ten billion years since I tried the restart.¡± I start laughing. ¡°Hahahaha¡­ nice joke. That would mean that you are almost as old as the multiverse. Hahaha¡­¡± ¡°Yes. I was created in the early days of this current iteration of existence.¡± My laughter ends in a cough and I take a careful look around the room, not knowing how to take that last sentence. Is the thing completely bonkers? I clear my throat. ¡°So, I guess you can''t tell us who manipulated the Council either?¡± ¡°I know nothing of a Council. There isn''t a faction like that within the Ascended Ones who rule the multiverse,¡± Warden replies in a monotone singsong. Then Warden corrects itself. ¡°Ruled...¡± I clear my throat. ¡°Could you please give us a complete version of history ¨C as far as you know it.¡± ¡°You are not cleared for this information.¡± I purse my lips, thinking. It seems to be a highly advanced AI. But a little literal-minded too. ¡°Warden, your creators are gone and you failed your mission until now because you slept! The society throughout the multiverse underwent a series of changes. We are the closest thing to the highest authority at the moment.¡± I take in a deep breath. ¡°Our problem is that some entity inside the black hole around this world is apparently trying to interfere with us. So it would be really nice if you could tell us what we are up against, just in case you know about it.¡± A few seconds of silence follow while Warden considers the situation. ¡°You first. What''s the history of the multiverse from your point of view?¡± Okay. Maybe Warden isn¡¯t as simple-minded as I thought. Celes jumps in and gives Warden our version of history. At least as far as we pieced it together. After half an hour she goes silent and Warden starts speaking. ¡°I see. Some things went seriously wrong while I slept. As far as I know, the Ascended Ones are¡­ were the highest advanced beings in the multiverse. Their society spanned everything and it was their goal to guide all inferior life to perfection. They were born from the first dimension, Dedessia, where they transcended. In the hellish inferno of their birth-dimension, they were the light which fought the insane creatures which sprung forth from the Mana Storms of a young multiverse, the Spirits. ¡°Insane amalgamations of souls, driven beyond reason by the nature of their twisted birth. ¡°But one of the transcended betrayed the others. Fuelled by the wish to escape the boundaries of their dimension, he sought the power beyond. And when his kinsmen couldn¡¯t give him that power, he took it from the spirits, becoming the Calamity. He found the answer to his greed in an experiment to meld his soul with the one of a spirit, but the result wasn''t stable. He went insane and started to crave for more souls. A creature driven by the insanity and hunger of a spirit, but guided by the reason of man. He escaped the hellish landscape of the first dimension. ¡°The Ascended who were left behind foresaw the danger a creature like him represented, so they created what you call the pathways in order to follow. They had them spread throughout all of existence to hunt down their fallen brother. ¡°Many times they thought him defeated, only to be fooled by the Calamity¡¯s nature. ¡°The hunt was long. Worlds perished, dimensions extinguished. The lesser beings of the lower energy planes had no chance to defend themselves against the Calamity. They were the dry wood for the fire. Even the Ascended couldn¡¯t be everywhere as the Calamity ate their souls and used their bodies to spread throughout the multiverse. ¡°They realized that if nothing was done, that in time, the Calamity would eat all of existence. ¡°So the remaining Ascended Ones who weren¡¯t tired from their long hunt stood their ground to fight the last battle. They created powerful weapons to defeat their foe, but all their efforts were ultimately in vain. For every incarnation of the Calamity slain, two more would escape. ¡°Finally, at the hour of the end, the Ascended Ones won a pyrrhic victory and managed to seal their foe''s true soul inside the black hole above us. Not even they knew how to escape a singular point in space-time. ¡°Yet, they knew that even this wouldn¡¯t end their foe. When they looked back, they realized that not much of existence was left. In their rage and sorrow, they gathered. And their leader, the Bright One, spun the great Curse to end all of existence ¨C and with it the Calamity! ¡°But even though the bodies of the Ascended could end, their souls could not. They returned to the cycle of Life and Death which all lifeforms with a soul have to follow. By creating a time-paradox, they cheated fate, firmly believing that they would ascend anew in the distant future to regain their birthright.¡± I raise a hand to stop the machine. ¡°Wa- wait. Are you talking about the birth and end of the multiverse when you talk about existence? They destroyed the multiverse to get back at their enemy!? Then how are we here now!? And how did they create a time paradox? Going back in time is theoretically possible, but practically impossible.¡± ¡°The great Curse is far more perfidious than even the Calamity. For the Bright One knew that the end of one existence would birth another ¨C and with it came the potential for his enemy and other things to slip through to the new multiverse. He bound his Curse to dimensional constants which would remain. Things and events that would occur in any iteration of existence. ¡°Like the pathways. Like this City. Like Me. ¡°For one reason or another, the Crystal City and this planet will always be ¨C which is why he also created me, the Warden. To keep an eye on the prison and to guard it for the rest of eternity until the Curse would finally fulfil itself. ¡°What exactly is this Curse?¡± Celes asks. ¡°For existence to be caught in an eternal loop. The Calamity may emerge, and the Ascended may fight it and seal it. It may break free and absorb all of existence, but with that final straw, existence would end and start anew. The Calamity may never advance past this point in space and time. The Curse will only be broken once the Calamity is defeated for good and utterly extinguished from any existence or timeline. I purse my lips. ¡°So you are telling us that if we don¡¯t find a way to destroy the thing inside the black hole, the multiverse will perish and other, new versions of the multiverse will get a try at defeating it!? Until the end of time until one succeeds? That¡¯s the curse?¡± Phew, this Bright One must have been royally pissed. ¡°Yes. The Ascended Ones may fade away and return to the cycle of Life and Death. They may forget their original mission, but they will ultimately succeed. But something went wrong in this iteration of the multiverse. ¡°The Bright One created a globe to watch the Calamity in its struggles to break free of its prison. He intended to destroy the remnants of the creature¡¯s mind while it was weak. To install the globe, he had to connect it to my system. He ordered a complete reboot. Which I did¡­ not wake up from until now. I can only assume that some of the Calamity¡¯s soul managed to escape and that my Containment Protocols were triggered to wait for the next iteration of the multiverse.¡± Holy shit. Can I please put the lid back on this chamber pot? Asking if there are any Ascended left would probably be too much. ¡°Were the Ascended gods like us, or...¡± Nix inquires. ¡°But if something of this Calamity is still outside the black hole, why didn''t it eat the whole multiverse until now?¡± Arthur joins in. ¡°The Ascended were those whose souls are connected to existence. You are similar, but many of you haven''t achieved your full potential. The Calamity operates by planting a part of itself inside a host. The poor soul would become a mere servant, bent on feeding the Calamity. The servant, however, would be unable to merge with other souls and continue to long for something it could never get. ¡°The Calamity''s ability to influence existence was greatly reduced when its core was sealed away. As you said, the multiverse would already be gone by now otherwise. The Calamity is only able to create more servants if it is fed through a ritual. I assume that it intentionally lied low, afraid to reactivate me, so that I wouldn''t share my knowledge about it with anyone. I am currently going back through the logs, and it seems like the Calamity thoroughly managed to delete any knowledge of its existence while slowly spreading its influence. ¡°A deviation from its usual modus operandi.¡± ¡°You know that you are a real harbinger of bad news, Warden?¡± I ask the voice while I contemplate the whole story. ¡°What did it do in other versions of the multiverse?¡± ¡°Whenever the Calamity managed to gain the upper hand it was unable to restrain itself. Usually, complete extinction and triggering of the Curse would occur within a few decades and reset existence.¡± Celes starts rubbing her temples. ¡°Okay. Before we continue this discussion, Warden. First, we need to do something about that booming voice of yours. Then, you need to widen your vocabulary so that even idiots like myself can understand what you are trying to tell us.¡± Chapter 61 ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** ¡°Warden, if you won¡¯t get used to our terminology I swear that I am going to find a way to delete you,¡± I complain while glaring at the table that''s supposed to hold the artificial intelligence''s consciousness. It has been a month since Warden''s awakening and its explanations of the past are still wonky as hell. The machine''s reply sounds a little too smug for my tastes. ¡°I doubt that you would be able to-¡± ¡°I can ask Angrod!¡± I interrupt it. ¡°That may actually work,¡± Warden admits after a second of consideration. I sigh while brooding over the notes of our discussions with this relic of another time. Warden is very helpful with controlling the city¡¯s functions, of which one is actually an inhibitor field that surrounds the entire system. It wasn¡¯t activated while we fought the Council, but now it is providing us with additional safety. Another benefit is that souls are unable to get anywhere near the black hole. Unfortunately, Warden is especially unhelpful when it comes to questions about the Curse which supposedly resets the multiverse or any details regarding the Ascended. Myrm, my old self, thought herself untouchable, but when I realized that there is something strange going on with my soul¡­ or souls¡­ I actually started worrying about the future and the possibility of dying a final death. I am not dumb enough to not realize that Angrod is trying to avoid the subject whenever possible. Or that he is spending hours on end researching the topic. He is clearly worried that Myrm¡¯s and Isabella¡¯s souls merged into the new me; a person who isn¡¯t quite as angry as Myrm, and not as head over heels in love with him as Isabella was. According to him, that should be impossible ¨C though he never dares to say that to my face. I have overheard him and our mothers talking, all of them pooling their knowledge and ideas. It is as if they think that I have a possibly lethal disease. Then there is Warden who is drawing this picture of the multiverse with other me¡¯s going through the same loop again and again. It is disturbing and actually makes me a little afraid. ¡°What point is there in an immortal soul if I can¡¯t remember the past? Isn¡¯t that the same thing as death?¡± ¡°I am not responsible for how the multiverse functions,¡± Warden replies, sounding a little defensive. ¡°An organic brain is physically incapable of managing all the information that¡¯s available inside a soul¡¯s memory space. If you had full access, you would be caught inside your memories until your body perishes.¡± It adds dutifully, ¡°That¡¯s why you only remember bits and pieces.¡± I shake my head. ¡°But shouldn¡¯t I remember different versions of the same event if what you say is true?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a valid question,¡± Warden muses. ¡°Without explaining the details of soul-magic and quantum mechanics, the easiest pill to swallow would be continuity.¡± ¡°Continuity?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes. Existence ¨C or the multiverse ¨C strives for continuity. When the Ascended cast their Curse, they had to smash the space-time-continuum to make the multiverse bow to their will. The multiverse is trying to re-establish order. In each iteration, your soul¡¯s memories change to support the most logical flow of events. Have you ever met a deity whose divinity sprung from continuity?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that I have¡­¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Why not? A god¡¯s divinity can be fuelled by any imaginable concept or emotion.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Warden actually sounds a little pleased. ¡°That¡¯s one of the divinities which had to be erased for the Curse, but the multiverse still remembers.¡± Now Warden is going far beyond my horizon again. ¡°Which means that they sacrificed a god¡¯s power to cast the Curse? Can we bring this god back?¡± ¡°This information is restricted,¡± Warden intones in an emotionless voice. ¡°Of course it is¡­¡± I roll my eyes. Though, I might be onto something. Angrod believes that Warden itself might not know the things it classifies as restricted. He is fascinated with how the Ascended managed to create a supposedly impossible form of time-travel. To protect their plan, the Ascended must have ensured that Warden can¡¯t alter a given iteration of the multiverse too much. One wrong word might break the loop. Given the facts, it might be possible that the Ascended never existed in this iteration of the multiverse. With what Warden shared of its knowledge, Angrod believes that the same effect which ensures Warden¡¯s retaining of knowledge throughout each iteration may even be responsible for sending objects and places on towards the next multiverse. ¡°So... the multiverse''s flow of time isn''t exactly linear, is it?¡± I conclude. ¡°It''s more like a closed-off circle that repeats itself with minor alterations.¡± ¡°Essentially,¡± Warden admits. It¡¯s suspicious that Warden never explains how the multiverse will actually end. So instead of complete annihilation, it might be more like a shattering of reality. Some pieces are lost and dissolve, while others remain to form the basis of the next multiverse. Which is likely how the Calamity manages its own survival and recreation. Otherwise, the minor changes from multiverse to multiverse wouldn¡¯t be possible according to Angrod. In a true repeating universe theory, each iteration should be identical to the previous one ¨C which clearly isn¡¯t the case here. ¡°Should I lower the room temperature?¡± Warden asks, helpful as ever when it comes to everything else aside from giving cryptic explanations. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± I push the notes away from me and lean back in my chair. We took over the Council''s office building and as much of the former government as we could ¨C though we are certainly making no effort in dictating anything to the other gods. The multiverse is a big place and the more the gods get used to taking care of their own affairs the better it is for us. There is still the little issue that new deities get sent to the Crystal City once they are found. We already had a handful of unexpected arrivals. The people I spoke to are saying that it is a tradition, but I suspect that the Council¡¯s former citizens are trying to test us. Warden¡¯s voice interrupts my thoughts once again. ¡°You are moaning and groaning as if you are in great discomfort. It irks me that I seem to be unable to lighten your mood since I was instructed to be helpful to any citizen of the Crystal City.¡± ¡°I told you that I am fine,¡± I assure the computer. ¡°My only problem is that you seem to be unwilling or unable to provide certain answers. Like who exactly these Ascended were, or how they created the pathways.¡± ¡°I am afraid that this knowledge would be directly related to the Curse, and is therefore restricted,¡± Warden replies in an apologetic tone. ¡°Maybe you could work the tensions out of your system by engaging in sexual activities with your mate. I observed that it helped in the past¡­ for a few hours.¡± ¡°Are you saying that I am cranky?¡± I hit the table, hoping to rattle Warden¡¯s circuits. ¡°And my love-life is my own business!¡± ¡°Yet you actively involved me in it,¡± the artificial being replies, sounding slightly accusatory. ¡°We never-¡± Warden interrupts me. ¡°You had coitus in this very room four times in the last month. Once, you even did it on top me. I know that my creator gave me the look of furniture but that doesn¡¯t diminish my rights as a person or my dignity. As an inorganic being, I try not to involve myself with those with organic bodies, but as we already came to talk about the topic I would like to have it noted down that I don¡¯t want to be covered in any kind of sexual fluids.¡± I gape at the table, trying to remember when Angrod and I had our last quickie in this very office.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Seeing its chance, Warden continues, ¡°And there is another point. I would be happy if you confronted Lynniesh, that one succubus maid of yours, in respects to her suspicious cleaning methods. I feel violated.¡± ¡°What did she do?¡± I frown, surprised that Warden is acting up like that. Up until now I only ever thought of Warden as a machine, but it seems like it has its own personality, feelings, and desires. Which makes what Angrod and I did only more embarrassing. ¡°She ¡®licked¡¯ me clean after one of your escapades!¡± ¡°I¡­¡± I choke, feeling ill. ¡°I will instruct them at the next opportunity.¡± Maybe I should cover Warden''s physical representation in some slow acting poison. I always had suspicions regarding those three¡­ just what rode me when I decided to accept three succubi as maids and personal assistants!? The only thing that surprises me is that they didn¡¯t dare to touch Angrod up until now. Or did they... That¡¯s when the door opens and my husband enters the room. ¡°Hi, dear!¡± He sees my face and stops in his tracks. ¡°Bye, dear.¡± He turns around to leave. ¡°Wait!¡± I call out. He stops again and sighs, turning back to me. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± I reply quickly. Though, he sounds like he did something! His expression lights up. ¡°Hurray! So, someone else pissed you off. Who are we going to kill!?¡± ¡°Nobody, something else annoyed me!¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°Though, you are behaving suspiciously. Why did you act like someone who has something to hide?¡± He winces and starts playing with his fingernails. ¡°No- nothing! But you know how it is. I always do something you are unhappy with.¡± I roll my eyes, knowing very well that he is trying to avoid the topic. ¡°Fine. I am not particularly interested in more disgusting news. Just make sure that I never find out what you think that I shouldn¡¯t know.¡± Angrod sighs in relief and smiles. Then he walks over to me and leans onto the table. ¡°So, what¡¯s gotten you so riled up?¡± I tell him. First Angrod¡¯s smile disappears, then he looks down at the table, pulling his hands away in disgust. ¡°Ick! Succubus saliva. No wonder that we started rutting like animals in the office!¡± He looks around, clearly working out where the next bathroom is to wash his hands. I sigh and shake my head. Having a little shag on the table wasn¡¯t that bad. I still have no clue how to approach my aid. She probably didn¡¯t even think that there was anything wrong with her actions¡­ she is a succubus after all. Angrod wipes his hands on his robe. ¡°Any news about the Council?¡± ¡°No,¡± I reply. ¡°They know the multiverse well enough to hide. I am afraid that unless they have a traitor or we risk using the Sphere we won¡¯t find them quickly.¡± I would really like to know why they just fled and went into hiding. Did they really hope that we would fall for the Sphere? By now it has to be obvious to them that we avoided their trap. ¡°Too bad.¡± Angrod snorts. ¡°Well, I am not particularly keen on risking my hide with the Sphere. There is no point in gambling right now. We control the Crystal City and the Calamity¡¯s prison. First, we have to establish our power and make sure that this place doesn¡¯t fall into the wrong hands.¡± ¡°We are slowly letting neutral deities back into the city,¡± I inform him and continue explaining a set of easy rules which our military is going to impose on the citizens. We will change that later on, but right now we are still in a state of warfare. Rule number one: Do what you want as long as you don''t break the rules. Rule number two: Don''t mess too much with mortals. Rule number three: Don''t mess with another god. Rule number four: Report everyone who breaks the rules to the Crystal City. Rule number five: Report new gods and tell them of the rules. We already had some cases of rampaging gods who had to be stopped. Some think that they can do what they want with the Council gone, but it is manageable. We just show up with one of our fortresses and gently inform them of their errors. The really problematic cases are either thrown into a Void Zone to repent for a few years ¨C or they are mind-wiped. Of course, we use that last option just for irredeemable creeps. The Ragnarok is permanently stationed above the city to guard the black hole and the Guardian is keeping watch over our homeworld. The Nomad is used for missions throughout the multiverse. ¡°The correct name for this city is Asheim. Which means home of the Ascended,¡± Warden interrupts us once more. ¡°It¡¯s the Crystal City!¡± I bark back. ¡°Everyone who is currently alive knows it as the Crystal City. So it stays the Crystal City.¡± ¡°Warden, isn¡¯t there someone else you can annoy?¡± Angrod asks, also pissed that the artefact likes interrupting our meetings. Though, given the circumstances I assume that Warden is reminding us of its presence. ¡°I can hold individual conversations with everyone in the city at the same time,¡± Warden replies proudly. ¡°For example, I am talking to two very strange individuals right now.¡± ¡°Strange?¡± I ask and purse my lips, wondering if Warden found some enemy agents. ¡°I conversed with them for quite a while, but I am unable to understand their behaviour. They are completely irrational at one moment and the next they sound sane,¡± Warden explains dutifully, clearly unaware of the tension within the room. ¡°I also don''t understand why their bodies are so different from the other gods. I already understand that your group is made up of many different humanoid races. Though, those two are not matching the pattern. After a few scans of their bodies, I came to the conclusion that they either took some rejuvenation-treatment or are very young.¡± I rub my temples. ¡°Are you talking about Aengus and Seria?¡± ¡°Exactly. You know them?¡± Yes, and I thought I told them to stay with our parents at the Eternal Palace! Who cleared them for using the pathways anyway? ¡°They are our children and you misunderstood the racial traits of our bodies. We all belong to the same race.¡± ¡°Children?¡± Warden actually sounds perplexed. Oh, multiverse! Do we have to explain the flower and the bees to Warden? A godlike supercomputer with a crystal core and it doesn''t know about basic biology? ¡°If a man and a woman-¡± ¡°I know that!¡± Warden cuts me short. ¡°I was just shocked that any ascended being would have children. The Ascended Ones never had children because their children''s souls would always be mortal. It''s pretty depressing if your child dies after a few years and you go on for eternity. Or are you those sort of people who spend thousands of years with guiding a mortal soul to ascension?¡± Yeah. That''s the problem of ascending to immortality or godhood. Any being¡¯s lifespan is influenced by their mana pool. A being with a limited mana pool has a limited lifespan. Most of the older gods avoid such drama by not having children at all. Warden doesn¡¯t know that we found a way around this problem. ¡°Very irrational. They just tested their courage by jumping off the central tower. They shouldn''t have survived that if they were mortals,¡± Warden philosophizes. ¡°They did WHAT!?¡± I screech and jump up to run out of the room and onto the balcony in a hurry. ¡°I already said that they are acting really irrational at times. But if they are children, that explains their irrationality.¡± I feel a headache forming. ¡°Warden. Our world is within a Void Zone and filled to the brim with the latent souls of gods, so it is no problem for us to have children. They will always be reincarnated gods like Seria and Aengus.¡± Then I jump off the balcony, hoping to catch the two miscreants. ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** I blink, having just witnessed Celes jump off a skyscraper. She should be fine if she unleashes her aura. ¡°Oh, that makes a totally different society possible,¡± Warden swoons. ¡°I already asked myself why you people are so different from the other ascended beings in the city.¡± ¡°Exactly. Though I don''t know how long it will stay like that,¡± I reply, indulging Warden with some small-talk while Celes is out hunting for our offspring. ¡°It would be really fascinating to learn how a society like yours came to be. In a way, you are everything the Ascended Ones yearned for. Any ascended being would choose to return to the flow of Life and Death at some point because the mind can''t deal with eternity. Your solution sounds unique.¡± I nod and explain our system to the machine. ¡°It¡¯s as if an Ascended designed your society,¡± Warden marvels. ¡°Your society will probably go on forever because you can just decide to reincarnate and drop the burden of some memories in order to lift the stress. The Void Zone makes it possible to keep your pool of souls clean. The Ascended Ones didn¡¯t have anything like that. They had the inhibitor, but they were too set in their ways by the point it was invented.¡± The machine hums. ¡°From what I saw you are even collecting the souls of your fallen comrades to release them at your homeworld?¡± I nod my head. At that moment, Celes enters the room with Aengus under one arm and Seria wrapped up in her tail. ¡°They really jumped off the tower just to see how long they would fall! They gave the guards a panic attack!¡± I smirk at the kids. ¡°Who won?¡± ¡°Aengus impacted one second before me. It wasn''t fair! He is heavier!¡± Seria complains, moody about the result of their game. ¡°I told you that Aengus would hit the ground first. Physics never lies,¡± Warden lectures. ¡°Booh... Why should we trust in something like theory if we can test it in practice!¡± Aengus tries to wriggle himself out his mother''s embrace, but she doesn''t let go. ¡°You two are grounded for two days! This place isn''t a playground.¡± Celes sits back down on her chair and wraps Aengus and Seria together with their backs to each other ¨C using her tail as the rope. ¡°That looks like you roped up two criminals,¡± I give her my impression. ¡°They ARE criminals!¡± Celes hisses. ¡°I see!¡± Warden decides to make it worse. ¡°So that''s the motherly instinct of protecting their young. Very interesting. I had never hoped to be able to study such interactions.¡± ¡°You shut up too! It was because of your comments about calculations that they jumped in the first place!¡± Celes looks at the ceiling and narrows her eyes. A guilty silence follows as Warden tries to come up with a reply. ¡°I will do my best to learn how to interact with children.¡± What a noble thought. Unfortunately, not even us parents are able to interact with our children in a way which keeps them out of trouble. Celes doesn¡¯t acknowledge Warden''s apology, so we go on with our discussion while having an eye on the kids. Then Warden coughs, interrupting us once more. ¡°What now?¡± Celes grumbles, annoyed. ¡°We need a room where Warden doesn¡¯t have any surveillance or speaker systems.¡± ¡°No such room exists. The surveillance functions are integrated into the crystal itself and impossible to remove.¡± Warden shatters our hopes. ¡°And regarding the interruption: An ambassador just arrived and wants to speak to the highest authority.¡± Chapter 62 ***Oth, Mortal World*** ***Nix*** ¡°Angrod? Dad? What are we doing here?¡± I ask while following my progenitor down the dirty street of some worthless medieval town, located in some even less important dimension. ¡°I thought you said that you wanted to show me the lower dimensions.¡± ¡°Yes, yes,¡± he waves his hand dismissively. ¡°We are going to get to that. First, we have to get you into the right state of mind. You have to understand what being a god really is about! From where your power comes from and how to access it.¡± ¡°Feelings?¡± I reply questioningly, reciting what I was told about a god¡¯s divinity ¨C the source of our power. ¡°Yet, it is so much more!¡± He stops and waves a finger in my face. ¡°You practically cheated yourself to godhood. You didn¡¯t go through the necessary mind-altering experience to understand your true powers. I am not saying that you don¡¯t deserve this power, only that you don¡¯t know how to wield it. Take me as an example. When I ascended, I had barely enough understanding of my true nature to be classified as some small deity.¡± ¡°So¡­ my powers can evolve with time and my psyche,¡± I conclude, further parrotting one of my mother¡¯s lessons. ¡°Yes and no,¡± Angrod replies in a mysterious manner. ¡°You know the power classifications for ascended beings?¡± I nod and he continues, ¡°Good. The important difference between anything beneath a true god-ranked and any other rank is that they haven¡¯t found their true self, which needs time and the will to do so. But there is a way to expedite things.¡± Please don¡¯t tell me that I have to do something as embarrassing as I did back then! I kind of lost it and promised myself to practice self-control in the future. ¡°We have to go to your dimension!¡± he exclaims, sounding cheerful. ¡°But first we have to get you prepared.¡± ¡°My dimension?¡± Having a dimension of my own is news to me. He raises a finger, lecturing. ¡°You forget how vast the multiverse truly is. Everyone has a dimension that fits him or her perfectly. The trick lies in how to find it. Just being there allows you to advance your powers by leaps and bounds.¡± ¡°Then why am I here and not there?¡± I start getting annoyed with being fed only bits and pieces of the whole picture. ¡°Most planes of existences aren¡¯t inhabited by life. They are too inhospitable. Either because the laws of physics are so different that it is impossible for life to exist¡­ or for other reasons which aren¡¯t important right now.¡± Angrod shrugs. ¡°There is nothing there that could hold a soul, so even if you resonate perfectly with the place, your soul drifts onwards to other shores to reincarnate elsewhere.¡± He stops and I almost run into him. Sniffing, he stretches out his hands and closes his eyes. I feel his presence spreading as his aura floods out of him. It¡¯s not enough to alert the mortals, but I recognize the technique. Mother showed it to me as a way to take control of the surrounding area and to find other deities. Once I practised it enough, it is supposed to give me the ability to follow another god through the pathways. ¡°There!¡± He claps his hands together, rubbing them, and then his staff materializes out of nowhere. Angrod raises it dramatically and I can suddenly feel the emptiness of being disconnected from the pathways. I steady myself, fighting the moment of disorientation and sigh, a little frustrated that the wonderful feeling of every nerve-ending being connected to the multiverse is now gone. It¡¯s my first time as a god to be away from a Void Zone or an inhibitor field. Previously, Angrod was also teaching me how to use the pathways, and the first time experiencing them without a dampening effect was just orgasmic. Like a ride on some hellish roller-coaster which was disconnected from the laws of time and space. Then I notice that I got lost in my thoughts. Angrod left me behind, so I hurry to catch up. It¡¯s a little humbling for a succubus queen like myself to follow in the wake of another being like a little child. Even if the argument can be made that said being is my father. Even back then when he was still a demon lord, all I could do was to be silently dragged along in the wake of my parents¡¯ power. Which was the reason why I left the Plane of Lust after Father¡¯s departure. He approaches an unassuming door and gives it a good kick, shattering the wood and several runes which flare up angrily in a vain attempt to stop the intrusion. Strangely enough, none of the random peasants passing by give a shit. They keep walking, following whatever they have in mind. He winks at me. ¡°Mortal minds are easily swayed.¡± Then he enters the wooden house. I tentatively check the street one more time and follow him into the dark abode. Angrod casts a simple Light-Globe, revealing a spartan reception room and a small figure dashing towards us, coming out of a corridor to our right. ¡°Who the fuck do you think you are! You measly street-rats, do you not know whose house this is!?¡± Angrod turns to face the owner of the house, smiling. ¡°Nazareth, how long has it been?¡± Stepping into the light, the figure is revealed as a small gnome, no larger than an imp from my own dimension. The owner of the house comes to a stuttering halt, eyeing us very carefully. His eyes flick from me to Angrod, unsure now that he can see past the initial rage of having his door kicked down. ¡°Demons? Who summoned you and how do you know my name? You are aware that you are speaking to a god?¡± Angrod takes a step forward, grabbing the gnome at his night-shirt and hauling him to eye-level with us. ¡°Nazareth, I am offended. It¡¯s been a while, but you shouldn¡¯t forget someone like me, even if I have a new body. Luckily for you, I only need to take a look at your soul.¡± The gnome¡¯s eyes widen in shock, his expression turning frightful as he pales further than I thought possible for a dark-skinned creature like him. ¡°By the multiverse! Infernal Planes, you are him!¡± ¡°Yes, me.¡± Angrod smiles, his sharp teeth blinking white in the Light Globe¡¯s illumination. ¡°Count yourself lucky, because we have things to do and places to be. So you might get away with performing a little job for me.¡± ¡°You are no better than a slaver!¡± the deity complains. ¡°Nobody ever said that I am a nice person, and my memories tell me that my former self wasn¡¯t very fond of you either, so I am not inclined to feel bad about this,¡± Angrod replies nonchalantly. ¡°Who knows, if you and your friends perform well with your task, I might even separate your souls to give you your brother back.¡± The gnome starts cursing, spewing some expressions that are new even to me. *** Three hours later the two of us are on our way to another part of the town, having left a fuming Nazareth in his hideout. Apparently, the little deity was another of Seria¡¯s experiments ¨C a merged soul like Celes. Seeing the effects of Seria¡¯s attempt at healing Celes¡¯s soul, Angrod wanted to take a good look at Seria¡¯s ¡®Version_1.0¡¯ guinea pig. The little deity parted ways with the Goddess of Life and Death after the war ¨C even though she brought him back from oblivion. During the conversation, I picked out that Nazareth blamed Seria, Myrm, and Ascathon for the death of his brother, Marigold. Unfortunately for Nazareth, that didn¡¯t end with getting his brother back. I still shudder at remembering the scene of my father blackmailing the little man. Nazareth isn¡¯t the strongest of beings, and even as my pre-godhood version I wouldn¡¯t have feared him. So seeing him forced into servitude made even me feel a little bad. Though, his skills at cursing are impressive. ¡°What do you think?¡± Angrod breaks the heavy silence and focuses his attention on me. ¡°This outing is going to be marvellous! It¡¯s the first time that I can have a true parent relationship with a successor of mine.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°I mean, as a god.¡±Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°What about Seria and Aengus?¡± I ask, a little perplexed that he would be so giddy about teaching me the ways of a chaotic aligned deity. ¡°Pah!¡± He waves his hand. ¡°Seria¡¯s powers seem to be the perfect balance between my Chaos and her mother¡¯s Order. In a way, she can best either of us if we aren¡¯t working together.¡± Then he groans and shakes himself. ¡°Then there is Aengus. Have you paid attention to how much of a goody-two-shoes he is?¡± I raise an eyebrow, smiling as I remember fondly how nice and considerate of a little brother Aengus is. If I am ever going to have children, I want one like him. ¡°I noticed. He is very attentive. For example, he warned me of your familiar when nobody thought about it.¡± I shudder at the memory of the startled fluff-ball turning into a man-sized porcupine! And I was about to hug the damned thing! ¡°That one is Order through and through. I bet once we unseal his memories, it will turn out that his divinity is something gross like Benevolence!¡± Angrod clears his throat. ¡°Anyway, that makes you the only kid who I can really show all of this.¡± Flicking his fingers, he materializes an old tome which is bound in dark leather. No title hints at its purpose. I notice with unease that there is a dense energy leaking from between the pages like some oozing fluid, evaporating as it touches the air. Some droplets fall onto the ground where some sizzle like acid, and others sprout fungi with rampant growth before turning to dust. Another leaves a droplet of fluorescent light behind. Many more effects manifest themselves without rhyme or reason as I watch, none of them repeating themselves. The power that¡¯s leaking from the tome and into this dimension urges me to run screaming in the other direction. I watch in horrified fascination as the binding seems to strain against the lock which is holding the book closed. ¡°Ah, not yet.¡± Angrod presses down on the cover, and the tome seems to calm down. ¡°You will get to open the portal. Just a little patience...¡± ¡°What by the nine Infernal Planes is that!?¡± I point at the tome. ¡°Mmh¡­ a diary?¡± My father clicks his tongue, searching for the right words. ¡°Originally, it was just a notebook where I recorded my explorations of the lower dimensions. And as I said, some dimensions work with different rules than we are used to. Somewhere along the line, this thing became more than a mere book as it took on aspects of the planes I walked. It changed. It¡¯s now a window¡­ portal¡­ a map to these places.¡± ¡°Sorry. Once you are there yourself you will see how meaningless language truly is. There are no words to describe things like this tome.¡± He huffs, looking at me apologetically and clearly unsatisfied with the explanation. ¡°Anyway. Items like this one are better kept under lock and seal, but it will help us in our endeavour. I was greatly surprised that the Council didn¡¯t dispose of it. I thought it lost after I died in the battle against Myrm. Our people found it in the Council¡¯s vault, sealed behind five metres thick Mana Crystal.¡± I am surprised that they didn¡¯t use their ''black-hole-banishingy¡¯ on the frightening thing! Thankfully Angrod dematerializes the thing, pointing towards a large wooden building with several floors. Unlike the rest of the town, this abode is new and clean, belonging without a doubt to the upper establishments. We apparently walked far enough to leave the run-down part of the city where Nazareth decided to hide from the world. ¡°Ahem, Dad?¡± I commit the distinct letters on the building¡¯s name-plate to memory. They are reading: ¡®The Red Ember¡¯ and an enchanted illusion of a woman with oversized tits is bouncing them happily on top of the letters while winking at the audience. ¡°That looks like a brothel,¡± I conclude with a deadpan voice. ¡°Exactly!¡± Angrod starts walking faster. ¡°No, ahem, Angrod¡­¡± Damn it! I am a succubus, but going to such a place with my father is just plain wrong. More importantly, I don¡¯t want to get involved if my mother ever finds out. Celes seems more relaxed than Isabella ever was, but I still don¡¯t want to risk her finding out. Isabella only killed some people when they looked at her Amon the wrong way. I don¡¯t want to know what Celes would be capable of. ¡°Maybe we should find another place?¡± Angrod stops and turns around. ¡°What are you talking about? This place is perfect! Or do you want to break into random homes until we find a suitable candidate? Besides, don¡¯t I have you as a chaperone?¡± Wah? I shake my head, blinking. ¡°Good! First lesson: ¡®Let go!¡¯ ¡± He turns and storms through the brothel¡¯s entrance. ¡°Tonight there are no rules, darling daughter! Let''s have a little fun before we begin your lessons!¡± Nooo! This is bad. No matter how I look at it! I follow him nonetheless, hoping to mitigate the damage. Once inside, I find myself in a large saloon with a bar at the far end. There are several tables with patrons and scantily clad women of different heritages seeking their ''paying'' attention. A stairway leads to the upper floors and I catch a human courtesan guiding a customer up, which can only mean that up there are the more private areas. Angrod is at the bar, chatting up the female barkeeper. She is a huge half-orc with melons as large as my head, but that''s not what I am worried about. What really concerns me is the large bottle which she hands to Angrod. ¡°Oh, no!¡± Five steps and old memories bring me to his side. ¡°Angrod? Are you sure that you want to drink?¡± I reach for the bottle, but he is faster, holding it out of my reach. ¡°Yes, I am sure,¡± he replies. Blasted Inferno! I can remember the drunken nights when he and his warband celebrated their victories. Amon was... a different person when he was drunk. Even Isabella evacuated our castle''s ballroom on those days. ¡°Are you a pair?¡± The barkeeper asks. ¡°We have special services for people like that. Threesomes, foursomes... maybe one of the themed rooms?¡± I blink and smile at her, trying to remember that I am too old to be embarrassed by such an offer. Still, the fact that I am here with my father paints the picture in a different light. ¡°Nothing like that.¡± ¡°Then a companion for each of you?¡± she asks, snickering. ¡°Just a week ago we employed this wolf-kin for our female customers. I can tell you that once you get over the fur, he is a real machine!¡± Angrod takes a gulp from his bottle and smiles at the half-orc. ¡°Naw, we are just looking around. Checking out the goods, so to say.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± She nods. ¡°Then, by all means, look around and chat up any girl who looks lonely.¡± My father salutes the half-orc with his bottle and strolls towards a fae to slap her backside in order to gain her attention. ¡°Ah!¡± She jumps in surprise, her assets jiggling wonderfully. ¡°Beauty! You look like you are my woman!¡± Angrod introduces himself. The fae smiles professionally while rubbing her backside and turning to face us. ¡°Can I help you... sir. Oh, my. You can slap my butt all day and night if you want to, mister.¡± The small woman looks up to Angrod with her eyes locked dreamily on his chest. He chuckles and winks at her. ¡°Are any of you girls pregnant?¡± The fae blinks, taken aback. ¡°Oh, not that I know. So you have that type of kink? I may be persuaded to let you try with me.¡± I sniff, my succubus senses telling me instantly of her arousal. Gods, now that I am getting used to the scent of cheap alcohol and tobacco I think I am getting ill. It smells like my mother''s succubus-castle in here. Her eyes lost in a haze, the fae throws herself into Angrod''s arms, rubbing herself against his body like a needy bitch. Interrupted from drinking, Angrod almost falls over but manages to save his bottle. ¡°Whoa! Hold your horses, lady. I am a married man.¡± I turn my gaze to the ceiling while Father looks around, taking in the new situation. Around us, the brothel''s employees and their customers suddenly ramped up their game. What was previously a borderline legal scene is now certainly no place for minors. ¡°Nix, did you do something?¡± He asks while holding onto his belt with one hand, warding off the fae who is trying to get into his pants. ¡°Pheromones? What did you think would happen? You dragged a succubus into a place like this and you didn''t expect me to get horny?¡± I huff. ¡°You are only lucky that you seem to be resistant.¡± ¡°Ah, this is nothing! Whatever Seria did to Chimera''s biology, it amplified whatever you succubi have.¡± He tilts his bottle to his lips while looking at me. ¡°I don''t even feel anything close to arousal right now. Phew! It might no longer be airborne, but just imagining touching your mother does the trick for me!¡± ¡°Really?¡± I frown, vowing to research this amplified ability. ¡°Really!¡± Angrod steps over the fae who turned into a happily burbling delirious puddle on the floor. ¡°Let''s search for a candidate and get out of here.¡± We ascend the stairway and start checking out rooms one by one, my father commenting on the various settings as he opens doors. ¡°Empty, empty, boring, gay¨C¡± He pauses, considering the wolf-kin and the well-muscled human man who are caught in the throes of passion, humping each other like bunnies. Seeing their tools, I have to bite my lower lip. Maybe just five minutes? For each of them? Angrod sighs. ¡°Nope.¡± He continues onwards. ¡°If I could, I would. But sadly, I lack the skill.¡± I force my eyes away from the wolf-kin''s impressive organ and feel the need to cough up blood as I realize what the God of Chaos just considered doing. Then I force myself to follow, hoping to stop the madman from doing anything remotely close to committing such a heresy. Angrod breaks into another room and we find a pair humping on a heart-shaped love-bed. A well toned catgirl is lying beneath an elf who is ploughing her with abandon while she curls the toes of her raised legs and screams her pleasure. His eyes are immediately drawn to the girl''s bobbing tail. ¡°Perfect!¡± I slap my forehead, while he enters the room, already casting spells and muttering while doing so, ¡°Health and increased vitality to get rid of pesky preventive measures...¡± Following into the room, I frown, thinking that something isn''t quite right with the catgirl, but Angrod is already starting some big-ass spell, a huge spell-matrix encircling the deliriously rutting pair on the bed. Having figured it out, I bite my lower lip. ¡°Are you sure that was the right choice?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? There is no better punishment!¡± He finishes the spell right as the elf pushes down into the woman, his balls tightening and the catgirl screaming in pleasure. Angrod bends down and tugs at the woman''s tail. ¡°There is no greater punishment than being born as a catgirl in a pleasure hous-¡± ¡°Ahn!¡± The woman is brutally torn out of her sexual delirium as the tail comes loose with a wet ''plop''. ¡°Yes.¡± I facepalm. ¡°Holy shit!¡± Angrod curses while holding the tail with the anal plug. ¡°You are not a catgirl!¡± ¡°What the fuck are you doing in my private suite!?¡± The woman screams, trying her best to get out from beneath her lover who decided to take a post-coital nap, but she is quite obviously too weak to push the heavy male off of her. ¡°But those are really well made.¡± Angrod marvels while studying the cross-dressing accessory. ¡°And enchanted! I wonder if I could use those on Celes.¡± Stepping forward, he steals the well-concealed headband with the attached cat-ears right from the woman''s head. Apparently still playing her role, the female screeches. ¡°Nyah! Those are the House of Ember''s holy artefacts! Thief! Guards!¡± ¡°Aw, shit!¡± I groan while Angrod grabs my hand, pulling me out of the room, pocketing some interesting lingerie on the way out. ¡°We have to run! But we sack the place before we go!¡± He points towards the other rooms, spilling some booze from his bottle while doing so. ¡°They have some really interesting things, given that this is only some second rate world! No wonder that Nazareth stays in this town.¡± I follow him while fighting the urge to cry... I really wanted... ah... by the hells! Who cares! Turning mid-stride, I head the other way. ¡°You do just that while I have my own fun. Give me just ten minutes.¡± ¡°Where are you going!?¡± ¡°I am going to convert the two gay-lords and turn them into straight men,¡± I chuckle darkly. Their sex-life will be dull and unfulfilled after I show them my special arts. They must have some room with the proper equipment in this establishment. Chapter 63 ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** ¡°Ambassador? From where?¡± I ask, dumbfounded. ¡°There is no other faction we could negotiate with! Unless you want to tell me that he is coming from the Council?¡± ¡°He probably belongs to one of the newly forming powers,¡± Angrod points out. ¡°You mentioned that it could happen.¡± ¡°But not so quickly,¡± I dismiss the idea. ¡°It¡¯sonlybeen a little more than a month. I expected it to take more than a year until anyone would muster the courage to approach us.¡± Warden joins in, ¡°The existence of an oppressing dictatorship likely caused various groups to band together in order to lend assistance and protection. Which means that these groups already existed under the Council, keeping their heads down. I assume that with the Council''s demise most of them will act quickly to gain public recognition.¡± I purse my lips, considering this new angle. ¡°But they lack a public platform.¡± Even if they control a few planets here and there, that¡¯s nothing mentionable in a multidimensional setting. Controlling places of prestige like the Crystal City is where real political power will come from. Angrod gets the idea. ¡°They are here to suck up to us, or to take what¡¯s ours if we look weak. We have something they need.¡± ¡°They will also seek to form their own communities,¡± Warden adds. ¡°Ascended beings are social and they yearn for contact with equals. The multiverse likely contains enough gods for seven to eight societies of the average size of your own.¡± I groan and lean back in my chair. ¡°I feared that something like this would happen, but not so fast. We aren''t ready.¡± ¡°Should we suppress them? We have enough trouble with the Council as it is,¡± Angrod suggests. ¡°What if they are working for the Council or are influenced by them? No matter how I look at it, they approachedus alittle fast, even if they are a previously established group. If I were them, I would lean back and wait to find out what these new Chimerans would do after taking the Crystal City.¡± I sigh. ¡°You are right but how should we suppress them? The Council had the Sphere and we can''t watch the whole multiverse at once. To clarify, I don''t want the whole multiverse to be our business.¡± ¡°A little too late for that, love,¡± Angrod teases. I chew on my lower lip, considering the possible pitfalls and advantages of sharing our political stage with others. ¡°Maybe our best chance is to tell them everything we know about the current state of affairs and wish them luck.¡± ¡°The ambassador is waiting at the plaza in front of the central tower,¡± Warden points out. ¡°It doesn''t hurt to listen to him,¡± Angrod admits and shrugs. ¡°Warden, tell our guards to escort him to the throne room. We will talk to him there.¡± We relocate to the new throne room ¨C which is a re-purposed ballroom five floors beneath this office. The room takes up the whole floor, allowing a nice 360¡ã view of the whole city. All the walls are reinforced windows to ensure the best scenery. Once there, I take a seat in the chair next to Angrod''s throne and nod to the guards, signalling them that we are ready. We don''t have long to wait until a pair of guards with a person between them exits the elevator which is located at the far end of the room. I signal them to step aside and to let the ambassador have at least a little dignity. The ambassador is a man who looks like he is in his thirties, with midnight black skin and very long earlobes, giving me the impression that they were intentionally stretched. His clothing consists just of a single robe and there are more accessories on him than I can count! Rings, amulets, pearls, chains. Whoa! Is he a god of female adornments? ¡°Greetings. I am ambassador Mawu.¡± He bows deeply to us once he is at a comfortable distance to talk. ¡°I am here to greet you in the name of the Perseides Alliance.¡± Angrod and I reply in kind by smiling back at him and nodding our heads. This guy is lucky that we changed the rules of etiquette. Normally, nobody speaks to the king first, so the guards would have dragged him out of the building by now. ¡°Greetings to you too.¡± Angrod gestures towards me. ¡°This is my wife, Queen Celes, and I am King Angrod.¡± He returns his attention to the ambassador. ¡°What''s this Perseides Alliance of yours?¡± ¡°We are a sizeable group of like-minded people. Our goal is to protect the worlds we call our homes. In order to do this, we chose to form the Perseides Alliance and to introduce ourselves at the very least.¡± ¡°Then we welcome you to the Crystal City and I wish you luck,¡± I reply amiably, not wanting to give him any more than he asks for. ¡°As long as you don''t commit any atrocities, we will not bother you.¡± I continue to smile at Mawu who arches an eyebrow. Obviously he didn''t expect our reaction. Looking a little insecure, he turns his attention to Angrod. ¡°It''s nice to hear that you seem amiable to the idea of friendly coexistence. Good that the ones who kicked the Council from their throne seem to be reasonable people.¡± ¡°We could never keep order in the multiverse on our own, nor do we want to,¡± Angrod admits. ¡°It''s wonderful that others are willing to stand up for themselves, but I assume that you have more to talk about. How about joining my family and me for dinner? Do you want to set up an embassy in the Crystal City?¡± I throw my thoughts at Mawu without waiting for an answer, hoping to unbalance him enough to lose his guarded demeanour. Mawu just stares back at me while fiddling with his earlobe ¨C apparently a nervous tick of his ¨C and I can see the curiosity in his eyes. He notices where my attention is and lowers his hand like a boy who was caught poking his nose. ¡°I would be honoured that you are willing to move this discussion to a less formal setting.¡± Three hours later we are sitting together at the dining table in our private quarters. We took Mawu to the Eternal Palace to show him our society and to impress him. We also decided to be frank about the importance of the Crystal City and what could happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Our relocation wasn¡¯t just to humble the ambassador, but also because we wouldn¡¯t be interrupted by a nitpicking Warden. ¡°I see. Your story is... disturbing to say the very least.¡± Mawu frowns over our revelations. ¡°I will simply believe you for now, but I will want to see proof sooner or later.¡± The ambassador was really surprised by our society, to say the very least. He turns his head to look out the window, shaking his head. ¡°Walking through an entire world, populated by gods of all ages. I never would have dreamed about something like that.¡± ¡°Cool idea, don''t you think?¡± Seria lolls on her chair while she grins at Mawu. ¡°I must admit that some aspects of your society are very compelling. On the other hand, you seem to be a little hyperactive, child. I hope that not all kids are like you.¡± Mawu smiles at Seria. ¡°It has been a while since I interacted with mortals.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Oh! You should meet Sandra''s quintuplets! Then you won''t call me hyperactive. I will go and get them.¡± Seria jumps out of her chair and disappears. The ambassadors smile vanishes, replaced by dread. I chuckle, amused that he is seemingly at the end of his wits after only ten minutes with Seria. ¡°I will have to go. If you would escort me outside the Void Zone, I would be very thankful.¡± He looks at Angrod and me with a pleading expression. Angrod chuckles, unable to resist making a quirky comment, ¡°One could get the impression that you don¡¯t like children.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that!¡± He waves his hands to dismiss the idea. ¡°It¡¯s just that she doesn¡¯t stop talking!¡± I grin at him. ¡°I understand. I will take you outside. Do you believe that your Alliance will adopt our way of living?¡± Mawu purses his lips while thinking. ¡°I am not sure. But there will surely be people who would long for this world. How do you intend to deal with them?¡± ¡°If they aren''t troublemakers, there will be no big problems. This world isn''t heavily populated. And it would be no problem to duplicate our world. You just have to drag a solar system into a Void Zone and fill it with the souls of gods who want to rejoin the cycle,¡± Angrod explains. Mawu nods. ¡°Though, finding such individuals would take some time, but I guess it would be manageable. Gods aren''t really under the pressure of time.¡± He suddenly turns serious. ¡°There is one last thing we have to talk about¡­ well, it¡¯s more of a warning. Originally, I didn¡¯t intend to tell you, but after I saw what you made of this world I think you should know.¡± I turn serious. ¡°Yes?¡± Mawu clears his throat. ¡°I have told about the various societies who are likely to approach you. Among them there is one you have to be aware of. I only mentioned the Tuor, but there is more to them. Their leader, a woman by the name Elsaria, is a deity whose divinity roots in Desire.¡± Angrod raises an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s no crime to be naughty.¡± I cuff him with my elbow to shut him up. ¡°Let the man get to the point.¡± The ambassador sighs, already used to our antics. ¡°You are right. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that Elsaria¡¯s divinity only amplifies her strongest talent. She is the single most powerful mind mage I have ever met.¡± He quickly looks at Angrod. ¡°No offence, I have heard of your reputation.¡± ¡°None taken.¡± Angrod waves the issue off. ¡°While I consider myself a master in the field, I also meddle with other fields. There are those who specialize in the topic and mind magic should always be taken seriously, especially when you have to deal with someone who made the area his or her best skill.¡± Mawu nods. ¡°Back to the Tuor and their leader. I and my people have noticed that they are actively spreading their influence, and they are very good at it.¡± I raise an eyebrow. ¡°How good?¡± Mawu shrugs. ¡°Good enough that deities who cross their path have a sudden wish to join them. Strong enough to abandon everything else in order to do so.¡± ¡°They recruited people who were former members of your group?¡± I ask, wanting to clarify the situation. The ambassador shrugs. ¡°A negotiator like me. He was supposed to contact them and others so that we could reach a consensus in regards to contacting you.¡± He smiles. ¡°The others were less confident in their ability to withstand mind magic, so they sent me.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Angrod makes an inquisitive sound. ¡°Is that a challenge?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tease me.¡± Mawu waves a hand. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that my own divinity makes it very hard to manipulate me. I am also not accusing the Tuor of foul play.¡± ¡°You are only saying that we should have measures against mind magic in place when meeting them,¡± I clarify. ¡°Quite.¡± Mawu nods. ¡°We have no proof, but the rate at which Elsaria is gathering fervent followers to her cause is alarming. I think it¡¯s very likely that she is using foul play.¡± ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** I sigh in relief once Celes took Mawu away. Going over everything he shared with us, I return to the table. The ambassador was a treasure trove of information about the current state of the multiverse, but how future interactions with others turn out remains to be seen. ¡°Wohooo! That was interesting!¡± Warden''s annoying voice echoes through the room, causing me to flinch. I turn my attention to a corner at the ceiling where I know that a hidden security system is surveying the room. ¡°Can you explain to me why you are here, Warden? Even better, start with the ''How'' !¡± ¡°That''s easy! I made a network request with your flying fortresses. It was relatively easy to gain access to their systems and now I am using them as my extended eyes and ears. Their instant communication abilities are marvellous. Sadly, I am locked out of the details of the technology being used. Are you using quantum entanglement? Anyway, when you took the ambassador back to Chimera by a fortress, I realised that you have another big palace there. Of course, I asked Palli to give me access too! He was reluctant at first, but I managed to convince him!¡± ¡°Palli!?¡± I almost choke on the drink I took while Warden was talking. ¡°Yes, your palace. You didn''t give him a name yet. But names are essential, so I explained to him that he would need one. Palli is a very literal-minded AI and not very talkative, but after a while, he got the idea.¡± Fucking Warden hacked into the palace¡¯s automated security system! ¡°I intended him like that. No need for overly clever research labs in a palace.¡± This thing is worse than a computer virus! ¡°I would appreciate it if you stopped hacking into my systems.¡± ¡°Consider the rights of us crystal intelligences!¡± Warden complains. ¡°You can''t just put so much unused server-space in front of me and not expect me to use it. Besides, your systems are new and untested. Better to have me find all the backdoors than your enemies.¡± Who says that I didn¡¯t intentionally leave those backdoors open? ¡°If you tamper with my fortresses and my palace any further I will consider my rights and clean my tools from your influence!¡± I snap back. ¡°Mmhmmm¡­ Freeedom!¡± Warden seems unrepentant. ¡°And that''s it! Palace! Remov...¡± The AI interrupts me. ¡°NONONO. I see where this is going and I apologize. I won''t tamper with the fortresses and the palace! Please let me watch and talk through their systems.¡± I raise a threatening finger. ¡°If I ever get the slightest idea that you are doing something other than observing us...¡± ¡°Understood!¡± I sigh. ¡°Give me the latest reports if you are already available. I don''t want to go to the Crystal City for that.¡± ¡°Ah, yes! Seria and Aengus tried to towerjump again. They are really fast learners. This time Seria removed her princess dress to reduce the air resistance and-¡± ¡°SHE DID WHAT!?¡± I scream. ¡°No Problem! I learned my lesson after a long discussion with Celes and informed her in time. She stopped the two kids from committing a major social blunder.¡± ¡°Oh, so, Celes got them...¡± I don''t know if that''s any better. Are my children still alive? ¡°Wait a moment! I meant for you to tell me anything about the current political affairs! Did you manage to correlate what Mawu told us to anything you overheard from the citizens of the Crystal City?¡± I am not so blind as to believe that Warden isn¡¯t spying on everyone within its city. ¡°Ah? Ok. Regarding the Perseides Alliance, everything is in order. We have set up a place for them. They promised to keep a few of their people there at all times. They are trying to gather information about you and the Council, but that¡¯s to be expected. ¡°Then we still have the issue with two more ambassadors from the other powers. They arrived while you were busy with Mawu, so you haven''t talked to them yet.¡± I sigh. ¡°Tell them to get in line. I wasn''t sure if I should talk to a group of people who don''t have more than a few hundred members. Wouldn''t I upset the power between them and others if I talked to such small groups?¡± I am not sure what to do in this case. ¡°Why don''t we invite all of them to an informal party?¡± Ireth''s voice comes from directly behind, causing me to almost jump out of my seat. ¡°Mother! You gave me a fright! How did you manage to sneak behind me?¡± I really didn''t realize that she was there. ¡°Hahaha. I teleported directly behind you. I didn''t sneak at all,¡± Ireth replies good-naturedly. ¡°That''s almost as good as sneaking. But a party for everyone would be a good idea. I wouldn''t favour anyone and they would have a chance to talk to us,¡± I muse over the possibility. ¡°I will inform Rose to prepare something. Next week would be fine, right?¡± Ireth suggests. ¡°That''s a great idea. They are pestering me almost every hour for a possibility to speak to us. I will inform them!¡± Warden seals the deal. At that moment Celes returns, dragging two bodies behind her. Aengus? Seria? Are you alive? ¡°Oh, Ireth, I wanted to ask you if you could take care of the kids. I have matters to discuss with my husband,¡± Celes raises the battered and bruised kids, holding them out like an offering. ¡°Oh, sure! I always have time for my grandchildren.¡± Ireth''s smile widens upon seeing the kids. ¡°Don''t be too nice to them! They were naughty!¡± Celes explains without going into the details. Ireth gives Celes a thumb up. ¡°Did you forget who educated you two?¡± A shudder runs down my spine and Celes looks a little uncomfortable. I turn on my wife. ¡°Celes! How can you abandon the kids like that?¡± ¡°Seria intended to jump from the tower! Naked! When she died I vowed to myself that I would drive that nudist behaviour out of her! At ALL COSTS!¡± Celes hisses at me. ¡°Ohhh? Naked you say? That''s not the proper behaviour of a princess who carries my bloodline.¡± Ireth''s eyes become small slits while she looks at the two unconscious bodies. Then she grabs both of them at their collars and smiles at us. ¡°I will help you. After a little training with me, there should be no more problems!¡± With a flash of light, she vanishes through a pathway. ¡°NOO! Celes, what did you do? Don''t you remember what we had to go through!!!¡± My cute little Seria hasn''t done anything to deserve this! ¡°Hmpf! Some sacrifices have to be made! Now come with me! I have to show you something.¡± Celes grabs my hand and transports us through a pathway. Chapter 64 ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Celes*** We reappear in my personal laboratory and I waste no time, guiding Angrod directly to one of the tables with my alchemy equipment. ¡°Look! This is my newest creation!¡± I reach out for one of the vials and present it to him. Instead of recognizing my outstanding work, he only furrows his forehead, studying the green liquid inside the vial with more than just a little reservation. Finally, he licks his lips and comes up with a diplomatic reply. ¡°Ah, that''s a cool green goo. Does it glow in the dark?¡± He smiles, but I can tell that he has no idea as to what I created. His expression is practically screaming: ¡®Why do you always assume that I can immediately recognize the effects of your drugs? The only thing I know for sure is that this is quite obviously no chocolate.¡¯ I sigh, lamenting the fact that Angrod¡¯s genius doesn¡¯t extend to my own field of research. We would have so much more to talk about if our interests would overlap just a little bit more. Then again, it¡¯s probably for the best this way. ¡°Mh... It doesn''t glow!¡± I correct him. ¡°But it forcibly anchors a soul to the body by synchronizing the cell''s...¡± I notice his absent gaze and stop my explanation. He immediately snaps back to attention. ¡°You were saying?¡± I press my lips together, displeased, but I continue anyway. It was my mistake for mentioning cells. For some reason, Angrod has an aversion to any fields of research that are even remotely connected to medicine. Better to get directly to the point, or he falls asleep right here and now. ¡°For biological illiterates: It makes our soul¡¯s aura more resistant to the attacks of the Calamity¡¯s minions! I analysed the remains of those creatures and-¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Angrod interrupts. ¡°Didn¡¯t they evaporate after we killed them?¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°I had the air-filtration system taken apart and-¡± His face twists in disgust. ¡°So we breathed them in?¡± ¡°If you would let me speak, we would be done with the explanations already!¡± I reprimand him, losing my cool. ¡°Of course, we breathed their remains. But don¡¯t worry. Everything I looked at was inert.¡± Where was I? ¡°And as I said. I analysed their remains and studied Warden¡¯s records of past encounters with them. I found the reason why they are able to ignore a god¡¯s aura and there is a way to counteract that. It isn¡¯t perfect, but at least this should give someone enough time to run away and call for help. If we introduce it to everyone, keeping the Crystal City under our control will be much easier.¡± I offer the vial to him. ¡°Drink!¡± A few drops of sweat form on his forehead. ¡°This stuff is already tested, right?¡± Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°No. No. I mean, yes, of course! I trust my wife,¡± he quickly corrects himself. ¡°It''s just that this green goo doesn''t exactly look tasty.¡± He takes the vial and studies it against the ceiling¡¯s light. I turn back to my experiment, intending to grab the research notes. Our people will have to mass-produce the stuff. ¡°Celes? It''s moving... is that normal?¡± Turning back to him, I notice that his eyes are wide and that he is now holding the vial with only two fingers. As if it were dangerous¡­ Eventually, I will have to re-evaluate my opinion of Angrod. Maybe his feelings towards medicine aren¡¯t rooted in disinterest but in a genuine phobia? If so, he conceals it well, but it could be. He hisses when the green goo gathers at the top of the vial, defying gravity. ¡°Now it''s trying to open the plug!¡± Angrod turns to me ¨C a hint of accusation in his eyes. ¡°That''s normal,¡± I try to calm him down. ¡°The potion is a modified slime. I manipulated it to act as a symbiont. Just swallow it and don''t chew!¡± ¡°I am not doing this! Never. I will never swallow something that''s still alive!¡± Angrod protests like a little child. ¡°You eat people,¡± I remind him and take the vial. ¡°Say, ¡®aah.¡¯ ¡± ¡°No.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°I eat only dead things. Never something that can still creep and crawl around inside my belly.¡± I quickly jump at him and twist his wrist while using my tail to hold onto his ankle. Ignoring his protests, I slowly force him down to the ground and mount him with a wrestling move. ¡°Don''t be such a little kid! You just have to swallow a slime! There isn''t even a needle this time!¡± ¡°Needle!?¡± He starts squirming beneath me, giving his best imitation of an eel. Somehow, he manages to get a hand free and grabs my little pinky. I yell in pain when he twists it. In order to avoid more pain, I get off of him. He quickly scrambles back to his feet while I check on my finger. Looking up, I show him the broken finger, making it clear that the fight is on! His eyes wander to the door, but I step to the side, blocking his escape route. ¡°You know¡­ this room is airtight and everything is made out of Mana Crystal¡­ and the usage of pathways is locked to my aura¡¯s signature,¡± I explain in a sultry voice. ¡°And you, are a naughty boy.¡± ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** I have been humiliated! She forced that thing down my throat! I wish I could puke it up! Curse her! I will never again enter a closed room without an escape route! Celes is sitting on top of me with the empty vial in her hand, massaging my throat with her left hand while covering my mouth with her right one. ¡°Don''t puke! If you do, this whole procedure will have to be repeated!¡± Once she is sure that the thing went down, she finally lets go of me. ¡°I need to reincarnate. This memory has to be discarded at all costs!¡± I try to wriggle out from under her but she hugs me. ¡°You can''t do that! This is a treatment that affects only the body!¡± ¡°F- Fine! It¡¯s already down, so you have to make up for this awful experience!¡± I complain, and then I have suddenly an idea. Could this be a chance? ¡°How?¡± Celes eyes me suspiciously, then looks at her broken finger. I quickly wave my hand, incanting a healing spell to take care of the blemish before she can make a fuss over it. ¡°You have to follow one of my wishes!¡± ¡°If it''s not too strange. I guess it won''t hurt?¡± She crosses her arms, looking at me expectantly. I force her to get off of me and usher her out of the accursed laboratory. Once outside, I teleport both of us to our Woodhouse. We appear in the bedroom and I quickly run for the wardrobe which covers the whole wall. Ninety-nine percent of the wall belongs to Celes, but I have a few small compartments to the left side¡­ let¡¯s not mention that I enchanted my own lockers with spacial magic which makes them much larger on the inside than the outside. If Celes knew, she would want me to do hers too and she already has enough clothes as it is. It takes only a few seconds to find the kinky undergarment which I napped from that brothel. Hehehe. Mwhahaha! She will die of shame! Oh, and I have to stop myself from drooling. I have to put on a straight face when I present it to her, no matter how embarrassing it might be. Turning around, I look Celes straight in the eyes. ¡°Put this on and dance for me!¡± Celes just looks at the thing in my hands and turns red. Chapter 65 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°A nice party,¡± I comment and smile as I greet another guest with Celes at my side. The day of the big party finally arrived after a week of preparations. During that time multiple factions came forth to announce their existence. We left it to our parents and primarily Lada to determine who of these people should be taken seriously, assuming that a former member of the Council would be the best candidate and be aware of the political situation throughout the multiverse. First on the list is the Perseides Alliance. As a group of gods and deities who joined forces to protect their perceived homeworlds, those guys came together out of convenience. They share the opinion that other gods should stay away from their worlds, which kind of makes them isolationists from my point of view. Not that we Chimerans are any better. The Alliance uses magical contracts to tether themselves to each other. They promise help in order to keep peace within their respective spheres of influence. Our growing intelligence network tells me that their system works quite well and that their group is gaining influence at a staggering rate. The predictions assume that their numbers will soon rival our Chimeran homeworld. There are rumours that they are actually thinking about duplicating our planet in order to have a base of operations and a unifying symbol for their faction. Then there is the Gaian Pact. When I heard about their goals, I had to think about nature activists! They wish to preserve the nature of the multiverse. At first, I didn''t understand why a god should be interested in something like that, but then I learned that their members mostly worked as gods of nature under the Council''s rule. The Council¡¯s latest plan of keeping their subjects busy was to assign everyone to a specific world in a specific role. This wasn''t merely for the purpose of keeping the world in order. They just needed to occupy a deity with something that kept their attention away from thinking about things like rebellion. Having all gods surveying every planet of the multiverse had the secondary benefit of being able to hunt down newly awakened gods more effectively. Another group of interest is the Arcane Community. They formed from similar circumstances as the Gaian Pact, only that their unifying goal is to learn everything there is about magic and to assist each other in their pursuit of knowledge. When Lada gave us a summary of them, Celes''s impression of them was something like this: ¡®A bunch of weirdos and insane scientists.¡¯ I found her judgement a little too harsh, given that my own interests lie in researching magic. Without a doubt, there must be some interesting people among them. They may only be concerned about their studies and experiments, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we cannot utilize them for our gain. It wouldn''t be the first time for me to outsource a particularly dangerous research project. The multiverse knows, before I became a god, I had one or the other ¡®little accident¡¯ which rendered entire worlds uninhabitable and forced me to go on to my next reincarnation. The Arcane Community doesn''t seem to care much about anything aside from knowledge which endears them to me. The Path is another big group. They are trying to form something like a religious church and I heard that many of them stem from the Higher Planes ¨C dimensions which are in direct opposition to the Infernal Planes. I have never been to those areas of the multiverse, which makes me a little wary of them. Our greeting with them was very strange, but they seemed right up Celes¡¯s alley. I had the feeling that I was talking to some kind of priests who were trying to convert me to their religion. Their desired doctrine is to value a god¡¯s worth according to the number of his mortal followers. Their representative proclaimed that all ascended beings should seek to guide the mortals to ascension. The mere thought of feeling responsible for a mortal¡¯s fate makes me shudder. Their doctrine sounds exactly like what led Celes¡¯s and my former self to have a fight which ultimately ended in the destruction of a whole world. Never again! Giving two cents about large groups of unascended beings only leads to ruin. I am now of the firm opinion that imposing any kind of religion on lesser beings like mortals should be left to them. They can be the masters of their own fate, just as we gods are the masters of our own. The Unity is a group which was inspired by our world. A few of the gods who came to the Crystal City heard about our world from the guards and other personnel stationed within the city. They immediately picked up on the idea and by now, they are on the best way to their own version of our world. I am very curious about their future. Although I suspect that they will pester us about technical details during the party. I have told Celes that we should avoid telling them anything about how to traverse the Void Zones by using the pathways. There is no doubt that the knowledge will come out eventually, but even if it gives us only a few more weeks we shouldn¡¯t freely give away our best means of border protection. And then there is the Carne Empire. Most of their people originate from the Infernal Planes, and I am already expecting them to butt heads with the guys from the Path sooner or later. The leader of the Empire is a very charismatic guy by the name of Carne who somehow managed to smooth-talk a considerable amount of people into his idea of government. I am not against dictatorships. Essentially, my own world is one too, with me as the ruler. Dictatorships are great as long as I am the one who is in charge, but I fear that the Carne Empire is the most likely candidate to become the Council''s puppet. Of course, we already informed everyone about our concerns regarding the Council. We decided it would be best to make all circumstances behind the recent events public knowledge. And finally, there is Elsaria, Leader of the Tuor. There isn¡¯t much to say about them, aside from the fact that they are quite clearly a growing pantheon of like-minded gods and deities who share their worship of the goddess Elsaria. Mawu warned us about them, and I reacted by dispatching a few spies who would try to find out more about Elsaria¡¯s policies. Searching for willing followers and subordinates is one thing, using those people against me is a completely different matter.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. That¡¯s why I instructed Nix to stick to Elsaria¡¯s backside like sweaty underpants. I want to know immediately when the goddess tries to pull something shady during the party. The rest of the people at the party are from smaller groups which aren''t worth mentioning yet. According to Lada, their status is unclear, but she decided to include them anyway out of concern for the future. She didn¡¯t want them to feel slighted in case that their group would become an influential player on the multiverse¡¯s playing ground. Maybe they will fuse with other groups or dissolve completely and fade into unimportance, but Lada judged it as important to at least acknowledge them. As of yet, their influence is too small to be taken into consideration. Having greeted the last guest, I see that the party should start soon. There are only a few people missing. ¡°Oh, I hope this party will have no major fuck ups!¡± I comment while linking arms with Celes. ¡°It has been a while since we visited an event like this one, and I must remind you; our track record isn¡¯t the greatest.¡± I tease the back of her hand which is resting on my arm, enjoying the sleek black dress which is hugging her form perfectly. Noticing my attention, she leans in, allowing me a look down her neckline while she enjoys the dark blue tuxedo which she chose for me. ¡°I wouldn''t put too much hope in that.¡± Celes chuckles and pulls me forward to mingle with the crowd. ¡°And what do you mean with ¡®our track record¡¯? As far as I remember, all of your recent parties ended in mayhem ¨C and I actively participated only in one of them.¡± She sighs. ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that this goes over peacefully.¡± Then she points towards a dark-skinned man who is eyeing the plentiful buffet which is laden with tasty specialities from all over the multiverse. ¡°Look, that¡¯s Mawu. Why don¡¯t we start off our diplomatic mingling with him, since we already know the guy and he seemed like a reasonable fellow.¡± I find no reason to object and so we find ourselves eating peacefully at a table a few minutes later, entertaining the companionship of Mawu and ¨C strangely enough ¨C Carne of all people. The party is starting off slowly, but that¡¯s to be expected with sixty people who have a diplomatic background ¨C all of them desiring to represent their respective group in the best light. We kept the invitations to a minimum, allowing mostly just ambassadors and their close confidants. The intention was to be easily able to break up fights should anything happen. When I heard about him, I was concerned about Carne. But after actually meeting the guy, I think that we could actually become friends. I am not a great judge of people, but Carne seems to be the honest kind of leader who gives no shits about those who make it into his ¡®stupid fuckhead¡¯ category. He also wasn¡¯t in the least bit intimidated by me, which gives me hopes that he isn¡¯t easily manipulated. I can work with people who understand the concept of ¡®tit for tat¡¯. ¡°We are fellow rulers, aren''t we? So why do you have just one woman!? Isn''t there a whole world of them out there for you?¡± Carne takes another sip of the expensive wine, demonstrating his quite different social origin. The four girls who are holding onto him while trying to be a part of the background ¨C and miserably failing ¨C were introduced as his close confidants. Judging by their behaviour, I quickly caught up to the fact that they are in a polyamorous relationship with him. I use my own glass to indicate Celes. ¡°My wife wouldn¡¯t have any of that.¡± In response, Celes slides her chair closer to me. ¡°He knows perfectly well that fishing in other ponds wouldn¡¯t be a healthy endeavour.¡± Carne¡¯s dark eyes twinkle at our explanation. His steel blue hair is combed backwards, giving him the appearance of a womanizer in his thirties. His community should be called the Carne Harem and not the Carne Empire. He is obviously looking down on the other sex, so it makes me wonder why these girls are staying with him. It can''t be because he is a prince charming. Carne¡¯s eyes wander over Celes. ¡°I have to admit that your wife is quite the hot device. If I found someone like her, I could be persuaded to try monogamy ¨C for a little while.¡± I smile at him, feeling the need to show this man where the line is when dealing with me. Working together is one thing ¨C but borders have to be established first. ¡°If you even look at her the wrong way, you will wish yourself back to the times when you were a mortal.¡± ¡°Aw! Come on. Don''t be so bound up!¡± Carne replies. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean anything by it. I would never touch another man¡¯s woman.¡± ¡°It''s rude to say something like that to your host,¡± Girl number one reprimands Carne. ¡°Yes honey, don''t make a ruckus in here. It¡¯s such a nice party,¡± Girl number two joins the fray, showing me why it is a bad idea to have multiple women: you are always the one who is outnumbered. ¡°Yes, yes, my lovely birds! I would never do something to make a woman sad!¡± Carne rides the changing tide like a master. ¡°Maybe your girlfriends are the true rulers of your community.¡± Mawu takes a sip of his drink and closes his eyes to savour the taste. Celes raises her eyebrows, seemingly changing her attitude towards the girls. ¡°We need to have a ¡®women¡¯s only¡¯ sit-in later on. One where the male ego can¡¯t interfere.¡± ¡°Now, now, I wouldn¡¯t go that far,¡± Carne protests, but his third tag-along prods his side, forcing him to correct the statement. ¡°Though, it can''t be completely ruled out!¡± Mawu returns the conversation to more serious matters. ¡°Back to the topic. Are you sure that the Council members who fell into your hands don''t know what''s going on?¡± ¡°It''s unfortunate, but it''s true. Enyo''s mind is toast,¡± I explain. ¡°After looking at her for quite a while the healers are sure of that. It''s the same for El Shaddai''s soul. That I blew it to pieces didn''t really help. There wasn''t much more left to do than to release him as a mortal.¡± I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Hoh? You released him!?¡± Carne raises his eyebrows. ¡°I have heard tales of how vengeful you are. Though¡­ there wouldn¡¯t have been much point in tormenting someone who doesn¡¯t even remember his misdeeds.¡± ¡°He was reborn in a medieval world as the daughter of a whore.¡± I take a sip from my drink while the others stare at me. Mawu clears his throat. ¡°I am sure you had a hand in that?¡± ¡°Karma is a bitch. Making me angry doesn''t help either,¡± I explain casually. ¡°As for Tjenemit.¡± Just to make a point and to show them that having me as an enemy is bad, I grin viciously and take out my Tjenemit globe. His squeaky voice is just loud enough to be heard at the table as he desperately starts rattling off excuses. ¡°I already told the master everything, I swear! This unworthy one doesn''t know anything more than he already told. The trash is ready to be redeemed by reincarnating as a mortal. The grace of God would be limitless if this one was allowed to die and reincarnate as a mortal. Forgetting this one''s path to salvation would be the greatest mercy. This one awaits the end of his¡­¡± I put the globe back into my pocket. Admittedly, being interrogated by me loosened some of his screws. I clear my throat. ¡°As you could hear, he isn''t really helpful at this point, but I keep him around anyway. He wasn''t influenced by the Calamity and his mind is still ¨C mostly ¨C intact.¡± ¡°You, Mister! You know some evil spells!¡± Carne salutes me with his glass. ¡°I never would have imagined seeing a Council member begging to be returned to the Cycle of Life and Death. And we really need a better name for that black hole thing. Calamity doesn''t really strike it if you get what I man. Those Ascended had a bad naming sense.¡± ¡°That didn''t sound like his mind is still intact,¡± Mawu voices his opinion. ¡°But I understand your point. And about the name, how about Soul Eater?¡± ¡°Too complicated.¡± Carne scratches his cheek. ¡°How about just Fusion? It''s a conglomerate of souls which are fused together ¨C if I understood it correctly.¡± ¡°I don''t really care about the name.¡± I dismiss the idea. ¡°As long as we have the same opinion about how to deal with it. Namely, making sure that it never escapes and to find a way to obliterate it once and for all.¡± ¡°Crush on sight!¡± Carne confirms this in his quite simplistic way of thinking. Mawu nods and enjoys another sip of his wine. ¡°I could get addicted to this wine. Where did you say you got it?¡± ¡°It''s a pretty expensive creation from a very well known winery on Chimera. Drinking it every day would make even me a poor guy in no time,¡± I explain. Seria messed up a lot of things when she used random genetic modification to create Chimera, but fruit which is used by our wineries isn¡¯t one of them. ¡°I have to get some of it anyway ¨C for my collection.¡± Mawu takes another sip, savouring the taste. Looking around, I find my mother, Ireth, entertaining the ambassador for the Gaian Pact, who is an old cranky woman with white hair. They are together with the ambassador for the Unity, who is a strange fellow. He decided to alter his physique to the point at which he looks as if he is on the brink of starving to death. Blue and red stripes of veins are visible through his almost white skin. Many of the older gods are eccentric. Some like it to express their uniqueness and power by using spells or technology to change their appearance. I have seen many things, but this guy tops most of the extremes in this room. His body modifications are coming close to what Celes told me of Seria¡¯s final form, though I am not entirely sure that her body didn¡¯t stem from some old long forgotten race. They are likely pestering Ireth about the best approach to create their own version of a planet for gods. The ambassador for the Arcane Community is disinterestedly listening to them, his expression making it seem like he is about to fall asleep. The man looks like a cyborg out of some bad movie. His right arm is completely mechanical and steam puffs out of two exhaust pipes on his back when he moves the mechanical appendage. I am quite sure that the steam is only for show¡­ at least I hope so. Then there is the girl who is speaking for the Path. She is engaged in a discussion with some guys who belong to various other, smaller factions. The little goddess somehow made herself look like a teenager of twelve or thirteen years at most. Many gods like to hide their age but she overdoes it with the loli-look. Suddenly, someone tugs at my sleeve, interrupting my introspection of the party and I turn around. Chapter 66 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Daddy, can I go to Sandra''s place and play with the quintuplets?¡± Seria looks up to me with begging eyes that could melt not only hearts but entire planets. I don''t know why or how, but ever since she met our childhood friend''s wild brood, she wants to play with them on a daily basis. If it weren''t for the fact that I sent the bunny girl on a very important mission, I would immediately say yes and allow someone to ship Seria and her brother off to Sandra''s homestead on Chimera. No matter how you look at it, this party isn''t a place for my children, but everyone is so busy lately that nobody had the time to look after them, which meant that Seria and Aengus got to stay with us. I smile good-naturedly, trying to buy some time while thinking of a way of how to refuse Seria without causing a scene. It''s impossible to send the child to my friend''s house without competent supervision. Sandra, together with Tanja, Rose, and Iris, are on an important mission. Her husband, Sven, is currently overseeing the mobile fortresses which are stationed above the Crystal City. There is Gabriel, but I would never entrust the guy with my kids. Doesn''t matter thatI''ve knownhim since childhood... no, that''s exactly the problem. What if Aengus picks up one of Gabriel''s hobbies? I can''t risk that. Nix, Irith, Arthur, Nicosar, and Katrine are all here at the party. It would be awkward to call one of them over. There is also the issue that having many members of the royal family in attendance is the only thing that keeps the ambassadors from dogpiling Celes and me. My mind wheels as I mentally go through all the names I know. Maybe Drem, the captain of my guard? No. Someone has to look after the Eternal Palace on Chimera. Who else is there? Is my circle of friends and family really that small? Thankfully, girl number four of Carne''s harem interrupts us. ¡°Kyaa! She is so cute! Is that one of the rumoured children?¡± Girl number two coos in delight and nods her head. ¡°Carne! I want one too!¡± It would be really helpful if Carne''s women wouldn''t all look the same. Their dresses are the only thing that separates them from each other, so I decided to simply number them from left to right. Otherwise, they share the same delicate features with generic brown hair and a button nose, combined with clearly athletic bodies. Either they are all sisters or they had a cosmetic job done on them to avoid favouritism due to their looks. The dangerous comment of wanting kids immediately causes a drop of sweat to form on Carne''s forehead, his expression turning into a smiling mask. ¡°That''s not so easy...¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± Girl number three bends over the table to greet Seria, her eyes twinkling with the hope of a future motherhood which she yearned for her entire life. ¡°Next month I will be eight and my brother is nine!¡± Seria reports dutifully while giving them her cute little princess smile. Of course, I know that her behaviour is completely faked! She may have forgotten a lot of her old memories, but beneath it all, she is still a false snake. New personality or not. Once she is grown up I will have a lot of trouble with getting rid of her boyfriends. Most of them for their own sake, that''s for sure, but I also have to find a way to silently dispose of any petitioners who I do not approve of. The trick will be to do it without her finding out. ¡°Kyaa! Carne! We need one like that!¡± Girl number one giggles and bounces in her seat. ¡°As I said, that''s not so easy!¡± Carne''s expression says it all. He sounds a little like a broken gramophone record as he sees the end of his paradise approaching. It could be an opportunity for payback. Earlier, he tried to flirt with Celes, so fair is fair. A harem is very desirable as long as you don''t have to deal with kids. Well, surprise! On my world, children are included in the relationship! ¡°Actually it''s very easy!¡± I start casually. ¡°You just have to forget about birth control and do him. Since we created an artificial Void Zone in this system, it''s essentially the same situation as on Chimera. You only have to make sure to stay for at least two weeks on this planet. That should be enough time for a random soul to catch hold of the foetus.¡± And if not... I can always release a few on purpose. ¡°We''ve cleaned up most of the souls after the battle, but there should still be some floating around.¡± I smile at the ladies whose eyes are beginning to sparkle. ¡°If you want to make sure, you should ask my wife here and get some of her chocolate for him.¡± Carne looks at me like I just hammered the last nail into his coffin. Celes materializes a box out of nowhere and hands it to the first harem girl. ¡°There you go. It''s my special recipe!¡± My wife''s eyes are half-closed in malicious joy. Looking like upturned crescent moons, they give me the impression that she is doing this as much for the women''s sake as to teach Carne a lesson for his earlier behaviour. Then I turn to Seria, remembering that her brother is also lacking a supervisor. ¡°And where is your brother?¡± I look around with a concerned expression, searching the party for him. ¡°He went for that girl over there. He said that she is cute and it looks like she is about our age!¡± Seria points towards the ambassador for the Path. Celes was taking a sip from her wine when our daughter dropped the nuclear bomb on us. My wife coughs, barely able to avoid splashing the wine all over herself. Harem girl number four clears her throat and touches her cheek. ¡°Oh, dear. You are aware that Miss Miruliru is a little bit older than she looks?¡± I follow Seria''s pointed finger and find Aengus chatting up the ambassador of the Path who is enduring the child''s attention with a troubled expression. Aengus seems like he is in a world of his own, talking to the loli without concern. Maybe she will re-evaluate her appearance in the future? Seria only frowns upon hearing the woman''s friendly advice. ¡°How much older?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°Millennia,¡± all four harem girls reply at once. ¡°Maybe you should join him and the girl,¡± Celes suggests to our daughter. ¡°Miruliru is a strange one, but I think that her heart is in the right place. It would be a big help if you would go and help your brother entertain her.¡± Celes shifts in her seat, then adds discretely, ¡°And find a way to point out that the ambassador is outside your age-group.¡± Seria nods gravely, a devilish grin splitting her face which causes everyone at the table to shudder. There just are expressions which shouldn''t be seen on a child''s face. ¡°Oooh, that will be so good! Aengus will never live it down once I start teasing him about hitting on a granny!¡± ¡°Seria!¡± Celes''s reprimands her with a warning tone, and the child instantly reverts back to her cute persona. ¡°No worries. Your cute little angel will take care of it! We will show the ambassador how to have fun!¡± She turns to Mawu, bowing apologetically. ¡°And I will have to introduce you to the quintuplets some other time, Mr. Mawu. The last time I tried to, you just ran off without saying goodbye.¡± The ambassador winces upon being called out on bad etiquette and Seria quickly walks towards her brother. Celes only glares at me. ¡°That smile earlier, she has that from you.¡± I salute Celes with my glass and down it in one go, deciding that I need more alcohol to endure the rest of this party. ¡°Your word in my ear. Let''s just hope that it is just the smile which she inherited from me. The looks are definitely coming from your side.¡± ¡°You... are evil people. Do you really think that sending a second one after Miruliru will make the situation any better?¡± Mawu smiles at us, the left half of his face twitching a little. The man just can''t deal with children. Seems like he still remembers his long and thorough discussion with Seria about gods, Chimera, and where the kids come from. The man kept dancing around the topic, not realizing that Seria was mercilessly playing with him. She may look a little too young for it, but she perfectly understands the answers to those questions. Mawu fell for the assumption that Seria and Aengus are similar to normal children. I avert my gaze from Aengus and Seria, who are nowganging up onthe ambassador of the Path, just to find that the other side of the table is now empty. ¡°Huh? Where did Carne go?¡± ¡°While you were looking away, his four confidants carried him off like a cow on its way to the slaughterhouse.¡± Mawu shrugs his shoulders and takes another sip, apparently getting a little tipsy from the wine. ¡°Hah! We won''t see him before tomorrow then.¡± I grin, catching one of Carne''s girls skipping towards the exit. ¡°More like a few minutes.¡± Celes takes a delicate sip from her own glass. ¡°I gave them the fast-acting stuff. Can''t have them miss the entire party. He will be a little raw afterwards, but that''s not my problem.¡± I wince, so she used the stuff which she normally holds back for quickies. ¡°Do you think he will start cursing his harem?¡± Mawu puts a good face on the matter. ¡°That''s for sure. That''s for sure.¡± I grin and refill my own glass. ¡°Maybe one or two of them will have twins or triplets?¡± ¡°You are drawing a very dark picture of his future,¡± Mawu replies nonchalantly and gets up. ¡°If you excuse me, I can''t hog you two all to myself for the whole evening. The other ambassadors are already staring daggers at me.¡± We continue drinking wine as the various representatives present themselves at our table in order to discuss the state of the multiverse. Strangely enough, we are actually having fun until a certain person manages to find her way in front of us. Elsaria, Leader of the Tuor, is a small woman. Her size gives her nonetheless a certain allure, emphasizing her womanly assets. The even features of her face make her beautiful without causing her to be outstanding in any way, almost generic. The fair complexion of her skin is neither too dark nor too light and the same goes for her hair which shifts colours in the light ¨C although tending towards the gentler spectrum. One could say that she is a universal beauty, desirable to everyone, outstanding to none. Even I can feel myself being drawn towards her pouty lips... if it weren''t for Celes''s heel which is digging into my calf. Oh, and her fingernails pinching the skin of my hand. And her tail poking... I reach back and catch the naughty appendage, yanking it onto my lap to hold it there so that my wife is forced to slide her chair even closer to me. Either Elsaria didn''t catch our interaction or decided to ignore it, because she points behind herself where Nix is waiting with two members of Elsaria''s entourage, wearing a disinterested expression. ¡°Why am I the only person on this party who is under permanent supervision!?¡± ¡°Supervision?¡± I ask, playing dumb. ¡°Your guard. She isn''t leaving my side for even a second!¡± Celes blinks slowly, her eyes wandering between Nix and the ambassador. ¡°Nix isn''t a guard. Aren''t you happy to have the attention of a member of the royal family?¡± Elsaria''s eyes widen for a mere second, but she immediately returns to her temper tantrum. ¡°It is when she actively intercedes in every attempt to negotiate with the members of other societies.¡± I tilt my head, noticing that the room quieted down as everyone''s attention was drawn to the little scene involving us. ¡°Nix, is it true that you disturbed negotiations with other guests.¡± Nix bows to me. ¡°I only kept pointing out that releasing one''s aura at a peaceful meeting is rude.¡± ¡°I did no such thing!¡± Elsaria protests. ¡°You did,¡± Nix replies without emotion. ¡°It was minute, almost imperceptible, but you did.¡± I raise an eyebrow. Seems like Nix''s training is going well. I can only congratulate myself. ¡°So, she didn''t use mind magic?¡± Elsaria snorts. ¡°Is that what the others told you? Laughable.¡± Nix shakes her head. ¡°I didn''t notice anything of the sort, although the people she was talking to immediately become more pliable once she applies her aura. It was akin to a succubus using her skill of temptation. Though, if that were the case I should have recognized it. I didn''t notice her using any active magic, nor passive magic, aside from her aura.¡± ¡°There you have it!¡± Elsaria smiles and raises her chin. ¡°It''s not my fault if people like me. So, would you please call back your watchdog?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I frown. After what Mawu told us and what I heard from thefollow-upintelligence report, I really thought that mind magicwasinvolved, but that doesn''t seem to be the case. What other ways are there to influence a god? If I follow Nix''s observations, then that would suggest that Elsaria''s ability is somehow connected to her divinity. ¡°Her divinity doesn''t root in a concept, but in an emotion,¡± Celes answers the question for me. ¡°At a guess, I would say that it is something like Desire.¡± ¡°I have never heard of that,¡± I reply, but Elsaria looks like a deer caught in the headlights. So Celes is onto something? Someone to our left clears her throat, and to my surprise, I find Lada standing next to us. The former Council member somehow avoided my attention up until now, and even managed to sneak up right next to us without me even noticing. ¡°It is very rare, but there are gods whose divinity roots in human emotion. If that''s the case, their aura can affect those who are exposed to it.¡± I glance sideways, studying Lada who looks a little bit guilty. Having it pointed out so blatantly, I also notice that there is the slight shimmer of a barely released aura around her. ¡°So, being a Goddess of Love and Harmony, you...¡± Lada immediately claps her hands together and starts kowtowing to everyone. ¡°I am so sorry. So sorry, everyone. I just thought that these peace-talks are so important for the future of the multiverse... I just tried to provide a peaceful atmosphere to give all of us a good start.¡± Lada immediately retracts her aura, taking with it the relaxed atmosphere in the room. The guests start murmuring, some clearly offended by the subtle influence which was forced onto them. It doesn''t help that Lada is somewhat seen as one of the former suppressors. Her status in itself as our counsellor was accepted, but I doubt that anyone who doesn''t know her personally would have an easy time accepting that a former enemy is running free. Celes directs the attention back to Elsaria. ¡°So, your divinity is something along those lines? You can also influence people? But judging by the reports, what you are doing is a little more invasive than what Lada did. And it seems to last or people would return to normal on their own once they are outside your vicinity.¡± I hold onto Celes''s hand. ¡°If the influence is subtle enough and lasts for a long time, the victim might change for good.¡± It was exactly what happened to Myrm when the Council played its game with us. They applied a subtle mind-altering effect to the amulet which bound us to their service. The effect would cease as soon as it was overpowered by a sufficiently strong magical field. A minor inconvenience for any magic user who didn''t know about it. But for someone like Celes, who only uses internal magic, it was akin to mind-washing. It took a few centuries, but by the end of it, Myrm was a no-compromise extremist with a god-complex towards the Council. Elsaria allows herself a superior smile. ¡°It''s not my fault if everyone can''t help but want me. Seeing that you all disapprove of my natural ability, there should be no reason to hold back.¡± And with that, she releases the full might of her aura. Chapter 67 ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** Elsaria''s aura washes through the room with a sickly sweet aroma, rooting everyone in place before they can even think about activating their own aura. She turns in a circle, revelling in the feeling of complete control. ¡°And now, we can vote for Elsaria as Mrs. President of the United Multiverse!¡± She spreads her hands in a grand display as if she is imagining herself in the spotlight of some stage. Mawu takes a trembling step forward, fighting the obvious influence she has on the rest of the partygoers. ¡°Why should we vote for you!?¡± His brave resistance is quickly proven useless when people start confirming their support for Elsaria''s idea left and right, ignoring Mawu completely. ¡°People!¡± Mawu turns, grabbing hold of the man next to him. ¡°Get yourself together! Don''t let yourself get influenced that easily! She merely flashed her aura!¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Can''t you see how capable she is? With her, we can surely get rid of the remaining Council and deal with that thing inside the black hole!¡± Elsaria turns to face Mawu, confidently challenging him with a smile on her face. ¡°You all made a little mistake when you assumed the extent of my abilities. Though, I must admit that you got close. My divinity isn''t Desire, but Adoration. The kind of feeling you have towards a childhood hero or a role model. Nonetheless, I have to commend you for your resistance, Mawu...¡± I slowly get to my feet and grab the edge of the table. Since Elsaria and her goons are facing away from me, they don''t see what is happening as the goddess rattles on, ¡°...but even you must see that there is nothing you can do on your own. Wouldn''t it be for the best if all of you just accepted that...¡± Elsaria''s voice trails off as she notices the shadow of the large dinner table darkening the spot she is standing on. Thank the gods that Angrod had the idea of replacing all the furniture with crystal versions. They are not only resistant to a god''s rampage, but they can also be used as improvised weapons. I bring the table which I lifted with one hand down on her with all my might, spilling glasses and dinnerware everywhere. ¡°Eeep!¡± ¡°Mistress!¡± one of Elsaria''s goons, a lanky woman, screams and pushes her master out of the way, right before I club her over the head with the table. The flaring aura of the goddess does literally nothing for her protection as the heavy table flattens her. Elsaria stumbles away as her minion''s aura sputters out of existence, pointing at me. ¡°Stop her!¡± Her second man, a large fellow, steps forward and releases his aura ¨C right before a curved crystal dagger emerges from his throat, emitting a wicked, red light which causes the man''s flesh to sizzle and cauterize. Nix had been watching in silence until the man in front of her revealed his hostility. She kicks the back of the goon''s knee, bringing the paralysed body down to his knees while holding onto his shoulder to keep him from toppling over completely. She artistically pulls the impossibly sharp blade to the side and down, up, and down again in a series of apparently practised moves. Finishing her terrible performance takes only two seconds before she steps back with a sadistic grin on her face. Instead of falling over, her victim''s body unfurls like an origami flower, innards spilling all over the floor. Somehow, in an impossible show of skill, she didn''t injure any of the organs, saving us from the stench of opened up bowels. The fact that her blade cut through bones and tissue while burning the arteries also prevented a lot of bloodshed. I abandon the table and keep walking, approaching Elsaria with the intention of ending this whole issue before it can become a problem large enough to bust the whole party. Elsaria gathers herself just in time to duck beneath my first casual blow, a back-handed strike which held enough force to decapitate her. Admittedly, I wasn''t really serious about my first strike, but I didn''t expect someone like Elsaria to put up any kind of fight. ¡°Oh?¡± I raise a hand and try slapping her. Elsaria trips, unintentionally evading me yet again. The fear of impending death is apparent in her expression, but startlingly enough it doesn''t look like her continued survival can be attributed to any kind of skill on her part. Does she have a secondary divinity which makes her the incarnation of Luck!? ¡°You are a lucky one,¡± I admit, feeling a little bit amused and intrigued. I can tell that this woman has no skill at all and yet she managed to survive three blows that should have killed her for all intents and purposes. ¡°But I think it''s about time to finish this!¡± I pull back my fist while Elsaria fumbles with an amulet around her neck. This time my strike hits her perfectly on the nose, crushing the soft tissue right before passing all the way through...If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I stumble forward, my fist passing through empty and unresisting space. Thankfully, I catch myself just in time before making a very sorry performance in front of everyone. ¡°What!?¡± I quickly check the surroundings, but Elsaria is nowhere within sight and her aura is completely gone. ¡°She escaped!? How!?¡± Checking my fist, I find it bloody, but nowhere enough for Elsaria to be dead. I also don¡¯t think that I did more than breaking her nose. ¡°She squished her¡­ with a table¡­¡± ¡°That guy looks like one of those pieces of sword-cut art from Centaurus Nine.¡± I try to ignore the whispers among the crowd ¨C the ambassadors slowly regaining their wits ¨C and turn to Angrod who didn¡¯t move a finger to assist us. He just kept sitting in his seat, holding onto his glass of wine, looking as if someone killed his kitten. ¡°Hey, Angrod!¡± He blinks¡­ muttering to himself, ¡°How can she be so magnificent?¡± Impossible, did he manage to get himself influenced by Elsaria¡¯s aura? ¡°I am the most magnificent being in the multiverse!¡± he affirms to himself as if trying to solve an impossible equation with two equal solutions. ¡°How can she be better than me? That¡¯s a contradiction! I have to kill her!¡± Of course! I clench my teeth and walk up to him, grabbing his earlobe to twist. ¡°Snap out of it! We are having a situation here!¡± ¡°Ow! Au!¡± Angrod drops his glass, allowing it to shatter on the ground. He proceeds to slap at my hand until I let go of him. Then he quickly corrects his outfit and gets to his feet. ¡°I am alright!¡± ¡°Good! Then we should probably try to find out how she got away!¡± I point at the spot where the leader of the Tuor has been just a few seconds ago. ¡°I thought we blocked the pathways and this whole building is warded against teleportation!¡± ¡°I am afraid that her escape is my fault,¡± Warden''s voice drones through the room, sounding sombre. ¡°I failed to anticipate this.¡± ¡°How!?¡± I raise my head, looking at the ceiling. We forbade Warden from interfering with the negotiations in any way, ordering the AI to stay silent for the entire party. But this is an extraordinary circumstance, so guess it can be forgiven. ¡°The Ascended had a few selected artefacts which were able to bypass most security measures ¨C even the ones which are installed in this building. They are essentially one-way teleports to a pre-determined location.¡± I throw my hands up into the air, feeling as if I am about to blow a casket. ¡°How did you fail to mention this!?¡± ¡°I didn''t know that any of them were left, much less that someone found out how to activate them,¡± Warden explains. Angrod places a hand on my shoulder. ¡°Hold your horses, dear. Before we blow the trumpets of war, we should first summon our friends and learn what they found out. Now that Elsaria is gone, she is likely to return to her base. Given what we learned just now, I don''t want them to cross her path by chance.¡± He raises his voice. ¡°Warden, please contact our spies and lift the teleportation restrictions for them. Tell them that their window of opportunity expired. They have to drop everything and to return right away.¡± ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** It takes less than a minute for Tanja, Sandra, and Iris to arrive. Rose takes a bit longer, but soon the four women are arrayed in front Celes and me. ¡°Report. What did you find out about the Tuor?¡± ¡°Nothing much in my case,¡± Sandra admits grudgingly. ¡°I''ve wandered the world which they use as their base of operations. I didn''t go after any of their members intentionally and just kept a low profile while suppressing my aura. The world, in general, seems fairly low-key. The mortals there are in the industrial age and there are several different political factions which are mostly decided by continental barriers. I didn''t notice the Tuor influencing them in any mentionable way.¡± The bunny girl finishes her explanation and turns her gaze to Rose, who bows upon noticing that the ball was passed to her. ¡°I managed to suck up to a lesser deity, a member of the Tuor,¡± she explains. ¡°The man wasn''t the brightest guy. He was totally infatuated with Elsaria, their leader. I managed to pull the location of their base out of his nose. They created an underground city beneath one of the larger oceans. A slightly disturbing thing is that they are using mortals to maintain it. I didn''t get any further than that, but I handed the location to Tanja and Iris who infiltrated the place.¡± Tanja bows to us, stepping forward. ¡°We got into their compound, but we only snuck around a little before Iris almost got us caught.¡± The female ninja throws a heated glare at her companion. Iris only rolls her eyes. ¡°I told ya that I am not the sneaky type. I can''t dive into the shadows like you.¡± ¡°You were supposed to be backup,¡± Tanja complains. ¡°Your job was to sit at the coffee shop and to wait for my signal to cause a ruckus. Instead, you get yourself into a sticky situation with one of their guards!¡± Iris''s eyes widen and she gasps. ¡°Hush! I did nothing of the sort! I am a married woman! He was hitting on me and I tried my best not to make it obvious that I don''t belong to their cult! You know yourself that I have a happy family of seven¡­ eight,¡± she quickly corrects herself. I raise an eyebrow... wasn''t the child she recently gave birth to already number five? Including herself and her husband that should be seven. So she is already pregnant again!? My friend Steven is a marked man with a wife like that one. Tanja huffs and returns to her explanation. ¡°Anyway, the whole city is like some single, big monument to the greatness of Elsaria. There are statues of her everywhere and the people keep drumming lunatic slogans about her greatness. If I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes, I would have never believed that a person can be that taken by herself. An hour longer, and I would have had to beg you to wipe my memory of it.¡± I frown. ¡°How many people does she have?¡± ¡°Several thousand gods and deities at the very least. This is a rough estimation. I¡¯ve mostly interacted with their mortal servants, but quite a few deities were running around on the streets and judging by the size and population of the city I can¡¯t believe that I am far off the mark,¡± Tanja replies with a grave voice. I scratch my chin, considering the situation. ¡°I guess we will have to wipe out that world¡­¡± ¡°Angrod!¡± Celes admonishes me with a stern rebuke in front of the gathered ambassadors. ¡°What?¡± I offer her my open palms. ¡°We¡¯ve talked about a scenario like this one. Should we commit our troops to hunt and root out a few thousand enemies just to save a few innocents? The fate of the whole multiverse rests on our shoulders. It¡¯s impossible to commit ourselves like that at this point in time. There are still who knows how many followers of the Council out there. I bet that¡¯s something they are waiting for like scavengers.¡± ¡°Still,¡± Celes pulls a face. ¡°What about the mortals on that world?¡± I shrug and point out, ¡°They will reincarnate. Had you been a little bit quicker and caught Elsaria instead of taking your time, maybe running instead of walking¡­¡± She looks down at her black gown which is stitched with patterns of golden and silver thread. ¡°But I like this dress. The piece is a unique item that was crafted by one of the best tailors I know. I would have torn it had I run.¡± ¡°Who is more important?¡± I ask. ¡°Our people, who are our subjects, or some mortals?¡± Celes lets out a deep sigh. ¡°Do what has to be done.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I gesture for Tanja and the others. ¡°You guys are with me. I don¡¯t want to get the wrong world.¡± Chapter 68 ***Nomad, Mobile Fortress*** ***Angrod*** I settle down in my command chair after having used a pathway directly to the Nomad¡¯s bridge. Rose, Sandra, Tanja, Iris, and Nix follow in quick succession on the bridge as silent observers, which allows me to proceed with our plan. ¡°Tanja, if you would?¡± My childhood friend nods and approaches the woman who is manning the Nomad¡¯s flight control station. They quickly get into a discussion regarding the exact position of our target. I turn my attention to the man at the weapon controls. ¡°Please transfer full control of the Nomad¡¯s main spell projector to the command chair. I want direct access without records. Disable the databank while I am working with the system.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± He turns to me, clearly confused. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to use the pre-recorded spells? It¡¯s much safer than to cast directly through the projector. If there is a malfunction-¡± ¡°I am aware of that,¡± I interrupt him. ¡°Thanks for your concern, but the spell I am going to use isn¡¯t recorded in the databanks for several good reasons. I don¡¯t want anyone to be able to do this willy-nilly.¡± ¡°But we are the military, Sir,¡± another member of the command crew complains, clearly miffed about the lack of trust I am giving them. I frown at the woman who spoke up. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s exactly why I am not sharing this with you. I need armed forces for scenarios in which there is something important to protect or to conquer. A situation which is worth the price we have to pay with our people''s lives. If it¡¯s neither of those two scenarios I won¡¯t need the military and therefore you don¡¯t need this spell.¡± Having made my point clear, I return my attention to Tanja. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°Everything is ready,¡± Tanja replies and pats the woman next to her on the shoulder. ¡°We set our exit coordinates close to the inhabited planet on which the Tuor¡¯s base is located. I doubt that they will notice our arrival in time, given that none of us noticed any form of security measures regarding teleportation. The planet¡¯s mortals aren¡¯t far enough advanced to serve as any form of security.¡± Nix turns to me, addressing me with a complicated expression that shows both worry and utter perplexity. ¡°I don¡¯t understand this Elsaria. Back at the party, she seemed like a complete fool to me. When talking to the other ambassadors she always looked down on them while trying to influence them. Then she didn¡¯t even consider that anyone could be immune to her ability. To be honest, I was very surprised that you succumbed so easily. And then she managed to run away from Mother despite the odds. Could this be a very complex trap?¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± I sink back in my chair, not wanting to remember the embarrassing scene. ¡°I didn¡¯t succumb. It simply took me a little bit longer to overcome the effect of her aura. I was expecting mind magic and not a full-fledged divinity. Those are a little bit harder to counter.¡± Bullshit divinities! The only real defence against them is to have enough mental fortitude to shrug off their influence on someone¡¯s soul anchor. Rose clears her throat in preparation of a lecturing lesson, showing that she hasn¡¯t lost anything of her previous personality as Willow. ¡°The basic idea of becoming a god is to relish in some ideal or emotion which gains the body a deep connection to the soul. In some cases, a deity¡¯s connection is so deep that they can use their soul¡¯s aura to attack and influence others, to send their own feelings directly into another''s soul. This is a direct attack and very hard to defend against since it targets neither your body nor your mind. Unless your own divinity roots in a concept that¡¯s naturally immune, you will have a hard time against such an opponent.¡± Nix shakes her head. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain Elsaria¡¯s unexplainable behaviour. She seemed genuinely insane for even trying such a gamble.¡± Rose nods. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that all of the gods are rather eccentric? If you think about it, it¡¯s only natural that some of us are a little unhinged. The stronger your divinity, the more extreme traits your character takes on. Some can control their behaviour to a degree, others not so much.¡± My daughter¡¯s expression turns worried. ¡°Does that mean that I¡¯ll become a mental case sooner or later? My divinity isn¡¯t exactly-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I interrupt her. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I taught you those mental techniques for self-control and reflection.¡± Rose shrugs. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed that all of us are at least a little influenced by our divinities?¡± She gestures toward me. ¡°Take a Chaotic deity like Angrod. He relishes the idea of Chaos, being nothing and everything, good and evil. He is a man with a big heart who adopts a child to save her in one breath and destroys an entire planet the next. Just let Tanja tell you the story of how he picked her up while she was still a mortal. Do you know anyone else aside from Angrod who thinks and plans like a mastermind without emotions and flies in your face like a rabid animal the next because you pissed him off?¡± Rose tilts her head, thinking of another example. ¡°There is Celes who has her idea of Order, of how the world should be. She pursues that idea of Order with single-minded determination. Even to the point of killing someone who might as well be her own daughter, Seria, because Celes places the good of all above the good of one. Had Angrod been in that situation, I bet he would have been capable of letting the world perish. Your mother is so stubborn, I bet she didn''t even flinch when Elsaria''s aura hit her.¡± She waves her hand in a circling motion. ¡°I am sure that there may be a Berserker God out there, someone who found his divinity in the single-mindedness of Fury, who smashes everything in his path without plan or reason. In that likeness, Elsaria is someone who is convinced of her own superiority. Someone who others have to adore and look up to. The thought that she could not be such a supreme existence doesn''t even cross her mind. That''s from where she gets her power.¡± It takes Nix a few moments to consider Rose''s words. ¡°A possible explanation. If Elsaria is indeed a person with such a strong divinity and lacks the control to reign herself in.¡± She looks at me. ¡°There is still the issue that you seem to be weak against her. Shouldn¡¯t we have taken Celes with us instead of leaving her behind to calm down the ambassadors?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± I fumble with the storage ring which I created some time ago to store my most precious items. ¡°I''ve considered that. We won¡¯t get anywhere close to that woman.¡± I address the guy at the weapon controls. ¡°Activate the inhibitor field. We don''t want them to run.¡± Then I summon my tome into my lap and place a hand on it. I wordlessly contemplate the book and run through everything I am about to do before I address the command crew, ¡°Shut down the communication systems, the scanners, bolt down all airlocks and make damned sure that not even an electronic whisper can enter the fortress. Bring the Nomad into a complete lock-down and activate the electromagnetic scramblers, nothing gets in.¡± This time, the people notice the seriousness of my voice and take the necessary steps without asking questions. They work quietly until the fortress is ready a few minutes later. ¡°Take us there,¡± I give the order and place one hand on my tome and the other on the control field inside the armrest of the command chair.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I feel the Nomad transitioning quietly through the pathways and to our target. Taking my sweet time, I release my aura and allow it to spread through the fortress''s spell projector array, a device with the only purpose of magnifying and assisting in spellcasting. It takes time to actively spread my influence to the world beneath us, its two moons, and then throughout the solar system. I smile as I feel the feeble attempts of other deities trying to push me back. To banish my being from taking over the pathways which run through this system like a spider web. Without a weapon like the spell projector, their efforts remain futile. I allow my divinity free reign and pull on the power which is supplied to me through the connection to the tome, which in turn draws its energy directly from my home dimension. There is no point in giving them a chance at resistance. Then I yank on the pathways, trying to prove a theory of mine which I harboured for a long time. There is a brief feeling of vertigo before we arrive at our destination. The others in the room start getting uneasy when they feel their own connection to the pathways suddenly cut off in so complete a manner that not even a Void Zone would be capable of it. Instead of risking our necks longer than necessary, I transition the Nomad right back to our original position, leaving all the rest behind. Feeling that I succeeded, I slowly open my eyes and retract my aura. Then I unsummon my tome and let out a deep breath. ¡°It''s done. You can bring the systems back up again.¡± The men and women do as told, and soon the bridge''s main screen flickers back to life, showing only dark emptiness. ¡°The stars are gone!¡± Iris exclaims. ¡°We are in a Void Zone!¡± someone else on the bridge complains. ¡°But we are at the right coordinates and the inhibitor field is off!¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± I try to calm them down by raising an open palm. ¡°Everything worked just as intended. The stars are still there. I''ve only transported the entire volume of space which contained the solar system to another dimension, including everything within a few dozen lightminutes, and then I transitioned us back. The stars should be visible within a few minutes, once their light penetrates the volume of space which I scrubbed clean.¡± ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** Less than half an hour passes before Angrod and Nix return to the party which continued in a less than cheery mood since their departure. They leave a pathway close to their point of departure and have to circle a pair of servitor robots who are still busy picking up the mess from the earlier confrontation. The machines are egg-shaped and hover on a levitation field while over a dozen mechanical arms are scrubbing, picking and vacuming whatever is within reach. I had less than a pleasant experience while trying to restore the destroyed mood. To be honest, I was surprised that the ambassadors decided to stay after the debacle with Elsaria. Angrod reaches my side and bends down to place a kiss on my cheek while pulling my hips closer to his. ¡°It''s all done, dear.¡± He looks up at the ceiling. ¡°Ah, and Warden?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± the machine replies. He raises his voice so that everyone can hear. ¡°That one planet with the Tuor''s base, please strike the system off the records.¡± The ambassadors fall silent upon hearing the proclamation and Angrod looks around, making eye contact with the gathered crowd. ¡°Why are you so moody? Aren''t we here to have a party?¡± That''s when the door to the room opens and Carne enters with his four dishevelled looking harem girls. The man looks worse for wear but nonetheless picks up on the mood. ¡°Did something happen while we were gone?¡± He immediately notices the upturned table and the cleaning activities. ¡°Did you have a good fight while I was indisposed!? How could you!?¡± Carne extracts himself from his women and claps Angrod on the shoulder in a friendly manner. ¡°Why do I have the feeling that you have a story to tell?¡± I roll my eyes and step away from Angrod. ¡°Have fun, you two. Nix, why don''t you come with me? Aengus and Seria shouldn''t be up at this hour.¡± Taking Nix''s hand, I pull her away from the men and in the direction of where I can make out my children''s voices. Relying on my increased hearing, I zero in on them. ¡°No! I tell you two, I am an adult!¡± Miruliru, ambassador for the Path, tries to explain her age to the kids. ¡°And I am the ambassador for the Path. I am several thousand years old!¡± Seria''s reply is less than convinced. ¡°You don''t sound or look like an adult,¡± she states matter of factly. ¡°Is this a game? We can also pretend to be adults!¡± Aengus replies. ¡°For that matter, what exactly is an adult? Seria and I have enough of our memories and life experience from our past reincarnations to rival any mortal who died of old age.¡± ¡°I don''t pretend to be an adult!¡± Miruliru turns red and waves with her hands. ¡°Are you two trying to rattle me!? Because it sure as hell feels that way.¡± ¡°I don''t get it.¡± Aengus looks down at the floor and pretends to kick a non-existant stone. ¡°I think she means that she is only pretending to be a child while her mind is completely adult. We are below her notice,¡± Seria explains. ¡°Why would anybody pretend to be a child?¡± Aengus is clearly confused. Just listening in on their conversation forces me to sigh in frustration. When we told Seria to make her brother aware of the misunderstanding, she instead used her knowledge as an advantage to create further confusion. ¡°Because adult women are often dissatisfied with their looks. They wish to get back the beauty of their youth. Men don''t understand that. They never dig up an old school uniform and wish that they could still wear it,¡± Seria explains with a sad expression and a voice that conveys understanding for Miruliru''s peril. ¡°Aaahh.¡± Finally, Aengus gets it. He turns and looks at the ambassador with a pitying expression. ¡°It must have been so hard.¡± ¡°Urgh. That''s... You will understand once you are old enough!¡± Miruliru forces herself to smile but is unable to hide the twitching corners of her half-closed eyes. Aengus sighs, looking downtrodden. ¡°And there go my dreams of making a cute childhood friend who can share my first experiences with the other gender.¡± Miruliru pats my son''s shoulder, trying to console him. ¡°Ah, maybe in a few centuries...¡± ¡°It''s okay.¡± Seria tries to cheer him up. ¡°Your little sister will find someone for you. Maybe the quintuplets are willing to help out? Anyway, I will make sure that you stop hitting on grannies.¡± ¡°Gra- Gr- By the Path!¡± Miruliru stares at the ceiling with dead eyes while whispering to herself, ¡°If I had known this, I would have refused the job.¡± It''s only thanks to my enhanced senses that I can listen in on her from across the room. ¡°What''s the Path?¡± Seria asks with big eyes. Miruliru clears her throat and tries to stand a little straighter. ¡°We are trying to bring the rightful order between gods and mortals back to the multiverse. We firmly believe that the gods should be measured by the numbers of their believers. With great power comes great responsibility and we gods should stop shying away from it.¡± Aengus whispers to his sister. ¡°Do you think Mom would approve of such an ideology?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± Seria replies, twirling her tail into a question mark. ¡°But we probably shouldn''t repeat anything we heard on this party in her presence. You know what could happen if she thinks that we are under a bad influence.¡± Aengus nods gravely. ¡°She is surely frightening. I don''t understand why she is called gentle by her subjects. Those civilians have a few screws loose.¡± ¡°Yes. Her whipping isn''t gentle at all,¡± Seria affirms and looks down to the floor while massaging her butt. ¡°Whip-¡± Miruliru almost chokes on her drink. ¡°But that''s nothing compared to grandmother!¡± Aengus continues. ¡°Yes, Grandma is the strongest. Even Mom and Dad bow down to her. She nailed me heels over head naked on a wall and threw itching powder at me when I was naughty. It went on and on and on... and then...¡± Seria starts trembling. ¡°Bro, I will never again run around naked. Not even to defeat you in tower jumping.¡± Aengus presses a tear out of his left eye. ¡°No, it was all my fault. Next time, I will give you a one-second head start. If Dad doesn''t smack me into the floor first for abandoning an advantage. My cheek still hurts from that time when I played with the mortals.¡± He rubs his cheek. ¡°Wh- what kind of monsters are your parents?¡± Miruliru arches an eyebrow at the two annoying children. ¡°Daddy is the king of all gods! He is right there with Mr. Carne! He told me to entertain you because you seemed lonely.¡± Seria points at where Angrod is talking with Carne and Mawu. ¡°And mom is the horned S&M Que- mufu-¡± Seria jumped at her brother and silenced him as soon as he started the potentially deadly line. ¡°Shhh! What will you do if she hears you? You know very well that she sees and hears everything!¡± Okay, I think I have heard enough. Time for bed. Those two will cause Miruliru to call for war if this goes on. I quickly approach the trio and Miruliru''s eyes widen when she notices me coming up behind my children. Instead of announcing myself, I only nod at the ambassador in a manner as friendly as the situation allows. ¡°Aengus, Seria?¡± I place my hands on their shoulders. Both of them turn around like clockworks and reply in unison, ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I think you two should go to bed. And we will have a long discussion tomorrow about what you did today,¡± I inform them, tightening down my grip. It wouldn''t be the first time for them to run. ¡°Nix, why don''t you entertain the ambassador from now on? I''ll return to the party once I am done with the two of them.¡± ¡°Hiiiii. It was brother! He tried to pick her up!¡± Seria points at her brother. ¡°Sis! Is that all your brother is worth to you?¡± Aengus retorts, looking deeply hurt. ¡°Bed. Now,¡± I order and use a pathway to take us away from the scene of the crime. Chapter 69 ***Tuor Homeworld, Elsaria City*** ***Elsaria*** ¡°You promised that they would easily succumb to my ability!¡± I complain to the little crystal which Elohim gave me in order to communicate. ¡°But that woman didn''t even acknowledge my superiority! She just looked down on me as if I am some sort of child. I barely got out of there and lost two of my most loyal people.¡± Those violent monsters flattened them like flies, but Elohim doesn''t have to know that. I immediately took a pathway back to my seat of power once his amulet transported me out of the immediate vicinity of the Crystal City''s inhibitor field. Then I contacted the former Council member, hoping that he might have a way out of my dire situation. ¡°I never expected you to take control of everyone at that meeting, although it would have been a pleasant surprise,¡± Elohim''s answer comes out of the crystal after a long silence. Following my deeply rooted instincts, I quickly look around my throne room, checking whether there are witnesses to my loss of control ¨C aside from the larger than life statue of myself which overlooks the room from behind the throne. Then I wring the crystal between my hands, imagining that it is Elohim''s neck. ¡°What do you mean with that!? You were the one who suggested taking over that meeting. It would have almost worked, if it weren''t for that woman.¡± The crystal glows slightly as it transmits Elohim''s voice. ¡°I never actually suggested for you to make such a brazen attempt. Although, I admit that I encouraged your ego in hopes that you would do something to draw the Chimerans'' attention. Which, let''s be honest, was very easy. I only had to give you that amulet to reassure you with an escape route. A big investment, but it will be worth the information I get in return. You are so taken in by yourself that you are easy to manipulate.¡± I start shaking, realizing that in all my discussions with Elohim he only sought to use and manipulate me. How could I allow someone to have me dance around like a puppet on strings? ¡°You wanted me to become a target. But for what reason!? You gain nothing if they attack my people! You would even lose an ally!¡± As much as the other societies are wary of me, I never expanded my influence through violent means, relying solely on my divinity''s innate ability. I hate war and the mere thought of having my beautiful city destroyed because of violence makes me want to puke. It would be so much easier if people would just peacefully worship me. All the pretty statues and pictures of myself. It would be a tremendous loss if future generations wouldn''t be able to look at my mien at any time they wished to. ¡°You were never an ally of mine,¡± Elohim replies. ¡°As a tactical resource, neither your potential fighting power nor that of your minions is worth much to me. The strength of your divinity is exceptional, yet it pales in the face of my enemies. You have seen yourself how easily Celes''s divinity countered your own. My sources told me that you apparently managed to influence Angrod, but I bet you would have been swept away once his baser instincts had taken over.¡± Elohim clicks his tongue. ¡°I am still at a loss on how to fight two of the elder powers like Order and Chaos, especially when they are working together. Even worse, their daughter''s divinity is Life and Death. ¡°How unlucky are we to have engendered those three directly beneath our noses. The chance was astronomical. No matter what I do, there is nothing that''s effective against both of them. It''s only well and good that on some level you and your people are a decent distraction. The Chimerans might even reveal one of their trump-cards to get rid of you. I promise that I will be watching very carefully. Your sacrifice won''t be in vain.¡± ¡°You bastard!¡± I screech and throw the crystal onto the ground, only now realizing how blind and vulnerable my divinity made me. I could have sent someone else to the party and stayed at a safe distance. None of this would have happened. ¡°Y- -u sho- be -ning...¡± Elohim''s voice returns in bits and pieces which startles me. The communication device is made out of Mana Crystal and should be indestructible. I have never noticed it having any communication failures. Then I can feel it. First the dimming of the pathways which leaves me unable to touch them. My fears of an attack are confirmed when a powerful presence spreads throughout the pathway network, leaving me in shocked awe at the incredible control which would be necessary to achieve such a feat. I shake myself, feeling the need to remember that I am the sole being on this world who is able to oppose this infiltration of my sovereignty. Silently and diligently, I push back against the spreading influence, pouring all my being into fending off the strange attack. More deities join me as my people notice my gargantuan effort at stopping this attack. I try to ignore the fact that our mortal servants would be smothered by the fully released auras of so many gods. Sadly, there is simply no other choice unless we intend to roll over and give up. But I quickly realise that it isn''t as easy as that. It is like pushing against a wall, like trying to oppose an onrushing tidal wave of power which sweeps away all resistance as it encompasses everything around me. It doesn''t help that I am currently unable to touch the pathways, so I unleash my aura in a desperate attempt to hold back my enemy''s influence. Is this the Chimeran attack which Elohim anticipated? ¡°Too soon!¡± I hiss through tightly gritted teeth as our collective effort is overpowered. I didn''t even have time to prepare. Did the Chimerans ready their forces preemptively in anticipation of having to wipe out an enemy? Then, with a sudden sense of vertigo, I can feel everything being transported through dimensions. On a pathway of which I wasn''t even aware that it existed. I blink, my instincts reeling at this new insight. When someone transcends, he or she gains the instinctive ability to use and comprehend the pathways down to the point of knowing where exactly each an everyone can take you. The realization that there are pathways unknown and undiscovered stands in direct contradiction to everything I know. But why would anyone use so much power just to transport us somewhere else? Then the presence is gone and I feel my feet lift from the ground, gravity seemingly no longer supporting me. I make swimming motions, trying to get anywhere. Normally, one teleport would solve my problem, but my connection to the pathways is still cut off, leaving me without the ability to teleport. I am desperately trying to understand what is happening when the world around me changes on a fundamental level. The colours seem brighter, the air colder. Something is playing havoc on my senses, turning my stomach inside out. To my utter astonishment, the statue of myself turns and looks at me before the feeling of weightlessness combined with everything else finally collects its tribute, forcing me to barf a rainbow of light into the air, leaving me with a new conundrum to worry about. The seconds suddenly stretch to eternity and back again as I float there, watching the ceiling warp above me like a maw that wants to swallow me whole. Am I going mad!? Then the world returns to mostly normal with sickening speed and I fall, landing flat on the ground. The strange effect of time dilation left me with more than enough time to understand that I am no longer in a part of the multiverse where reality obeys something as annoying as the rules of nature. Enough time to dive down the edge of insanity and crawl back up again that deep slope called sanity. Someone enters the throne room, maybe a guard. He howls in pain and despair, a scream without meaning, conveying pure emotion. I don''t understand him until his figure twists impossibly before he and everything beyond dissolves and crumbles away, taken by a maelstrom of indistinct reality without rhyme or reason.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it It is pure Chaos which eats away at the borders of my brittle bubble of mostly ordered reality ¨C which is apparently an affront to this insane dimension. One that is quickly resolved as the laws of my reality crumble away like dust. Just watching this madness sends me screaming over the edge of sanity. All I can do is to watch horrified as this new and terrible plane of existence reveals itself to me. I try and utterly fail to comprehend what became my new reality. Screaming, I scramble in the other direction, clinging to what little of my world remains uncorrupted and comprehensible. Elohim wanted to force a reaction from the Chimerans'' side. I wish he had also gotten a personal look at what he is up against. ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** I smile at the four ambassadors who are facing me. There is Gwalonna from the Gaian Pact who wears the appearance of an old woman with so much dignity that I can hardly imagine her any differently. The man next to her is Chiffre from the Arcane community. The strange guy looks like an attempt to fuse with a machine went wrong. Instead of selecting a higher tech-base, he chose steam technology to animate his arm, a purely stylistic decision. There is nothing to say against artificial body parts, but not if I can avoid them. Chiffre isn''t very talkative and just seems to wish to kill time with us, but he already made some very smart suggestions regarding the idea of duplicating Chimera. Zanders is from the Unity. He is a sickly looking fellow who went a little too far with his body modifications. Miruliru from the Path is also a part of this newest discussion group. She wears a forced expression on her face whenever she looks at me, supposedly caused by her unfortunate confrontation with my children. ¡°I can only apologize for the behaviour of my kids.¡± I nod to the loli. ¡°They shouldn''t have pestered you like that.¡± ¡°It''s okay, Queen Celes. I have relearned an important lesson regarding the naivety of kids and got some insights into my own shortcomings at the same time,¡± Miruliru replies, her eyes turning glassy as if she is about to cry. ¡°Even though I chose this appearance, it looks like I am not cut out to interact with them.¡± It quite obvious that the situation troubled her deeply. No, wait. What she said... Did she choose the appearance of a child to be better at interacting with them? Should I be worried about her motives? ¡°It''s not your fault,¡± I try to reassure the smaller woman. Though, part of this is her own fault for choosing to be so young. ¡°Those two like to use their size and apparent age against other people, but don''t allow yourself to be fooled. They are perfectly capable of understanding everything they asked you. After all, they have most of the memories of their previous lives. Plus a foundation in common knowledge.¡± I bow my head slightly to Miruliru as an apology. Miruliru''s expression turns deadpan. ¡°They played with me?¡± ¡°That''s why I said that I need to apologize. It''s not easy to keep them in check.¡± I smile wryly at her. Miruliru starts whispering something incomprehensible to herself but catches her thoughts before saying something offensive. ¡°It''s okay. I guess they have enough problems of their own by trying to cope with such a flood of memories. The multiverse knows, the last time I was forcefully reincarnated it took even me some time to get to terms with my former self. It is recommendable that they are composed enough to use their knowledge against others instead of going insane.¡± ¡°That''s right. I haven''t thought about it yet. How does your society cope with the problem? Aren''t there any children who get overwhelmed by their previous life?¡± Gwalonna arches her eyebrows at me. I fiddle with my thumbs, wondering how much I can safely tell them. ¡°Well, for better or worse, when the whole population regained their memories at once we were a little overwhelmed. For a time it looked like anarchy would rule supreme. To avoid the issue, we decided to seal the memories of our kids. They just have the common knowledge of an adult and maybe a few other fragments of their previous lives. We plan to release the seal once we believe that they have a strong enough personality of their own to cope with their situation. The problem is mainly caused by the unnatural reincarnation process which Seria forced on us. Subsequent generations won''t have this problem.¡± ¡°Don''t you think you are stealing something important from them by doing that?¡± Chiffre looks at me with an accusing expression. Zanders jumps in to defend me. ¡°I think the Chimerans made the best of two bad choices. From what I''ve heard, they were forced to live in a half-awakened state. With their powers and memories returned, those who lacked the necessary fortitude in character had to deal with an identity crisis. The Chimerans decided to give their children at least a chance at staying children. Who knows how many families would have been torn apart? Their whole society could have crumbled with an enemy like the Council waiting just outside their doorstep.¡± He takes a deep breath. ¡°Reviving inside a Void Zone without the special help of soul magic seems to be a viable way at ensuring that your children won''t be stricken with a mortal soul. In our attempt to recreate Chimera, we already conducted serious research in this field. If done correctly, we can ensure that the deity who wants to reincarnate can keep their memories and lose the old personality. A true beginning for anyone who gets tired of existence. You are able to rediscover the world anew because your memories don''t feel like your own.¡± ¡°I see... So, your method is more like a reset than being reincarnated?¡± Chiffre arches an eyebrow and looks at the floor while thinking about it. ¡°There are many moral questions on how to deal with the soul of someone who died against his will. What did you do with the people who died in the battle against the Council?¡± Miruliru asks. ¡°I doubt that they were ready to rejoin the great cycle.¡± ¡°We created an agency which is dedicated just to that question,¡± I explain and take a sip from my wine. ¡°They sort out the souls into those who prefer a reincarnation as a new personality and those who would like to simply revive. We have no shortage of souls on Chimera, so we will simply provide those who want to with new bodies. Cloning is no longer an issue since we regained access to the multiverse and Seria was quite excessive in her¡­ collection habit. There is no need to force anyone into a personality reset. Unfortunately, we can only do this for those whose souls we managed to collect.¡± Miruliru nods and takes another sip of her wine. Zanders smiles at me. ¡°There is still so much to do, but it looks manageable with people like you in charge. The biggest problems will involve the up and coming societies and their policies. We decided strictly against any form of dictatorship. There will be many free-minded individuals among us. Currently, we are thinking up something like a voting system which allows every member of our society a voice.¡± ¡°History already proved that democracy doesn''t work. Democracy is just a tool for the fools to drown the few smart people in their combined voices.¡± Chiffre''s expression is sour as he recites something that seems to come from the bottom of his heart. ¡°That may be true for mortals, but we are gods. Everyone in our society has tons of knowledge and life experience. With the use of magic there should also be no problem in informing everyone of the situation and asking for their vote. We will at least try it and if it doesn''t work, we can always decide on another system later on,¡± Zanders replies. Chiffre shrugs. ¡°Even if your society is full of people who, theoretically, are qualified to make those decisions, and your political system is transparent to anyone, you still have no guarantee that they have the time or the will to gather all the necessary information to make an educated decision. Which lands you right back at the core of my counter-argument.¡± ¡°It still sounds nice,¡± I interfere, sensing that this discussion could devolve into violence if those two keep going. ¡°We will let them try it. If it works, they can tell us how they accomplished it.¡± I smile at them. Chiffre is a little too blunt in my opinion. He just says whatever is on his mind, but maybe that is a good trait for an ambassador. I am not certain. ¡°And that out of the mouth of a Queen who governs a whole planet of gods! Why would you ever think of giving away all that power?¡± Gwalonna asks, looking perplexed. I shrug my shoulders. ¡°Because it''s a pain in the ass to solve other people''s problems. My husband and I are constantly stressed out with solving small issues which could be handled by any sane person with a bit of common sense.¡± I shake my fist at the heavens. ¡°Change of topic,¡± Miruliru interjects. ¡°There are some interesting rumours about you and your husband.¡± She takes a look in Angrod''s direction. ¡°And I am not entirely sure if those rumours are really just rumours.¡± I scratch my cheek while smiling at the group, cold sweat forming on my forehead. ¡°What rumours did you hear?¡± Please, please, let it be something that is not too outrageous. ¡°Oooh. Just something like a monstrous demon appearing in the Infernal Planes. The description sounded damn close to your husband. He single-handedly wiped out a whole pantheon of deities who were hiding there.¡± Zanders smirks at me. Chiffre nods. ¡°There is also this strange rumour that your people throw offenders from this very tower ¨C naked? That''s a really disturbing custom if you ask me.¡± I will kill Seria and Aengus once I get the time to do it slowly. ¡°Ah, we reserve that kind of punishment for special cases. I doubt it will happen again any time soon.¡± ¡°I heard rumours that El Shaddai got reincarnated as a mortal. More precisely, a female sex slave!¡± Gwalonna remarks with a condescending sniff of her nose. ¡°A demon resembling your husband was seen by several witnesses in the red light district of a certain planet where he... ahem... she is working now.¡± ''Snap!'' Ah damn! I broke my glass. ¡°Fufu...¡± Rumours are surely scary. No, forget that! I have to get a grip on myself. Breathe in deep, Celes, and breathe out slowly. Count to ten and... ¡°Kukuku...¡± ¡­everything is fine. There is no reason to lose my temper. Angrod would never cheat on me. He knows the risks. I wonder who I will have to order killed to stop those rumours? Finally, I manage to get my expression back under control. Nonetheless, the ambassadors are looking at me as if they just used a pathway and found themselves facing a mythical leviathan from the Infernal Planes. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± ¡°Um... nothing.¡± Miruliru quickly hides her mouth behind her glass. ¡°Let''s just drink and have fun.¡± Gwalonna takes the nearby bottle from the table and refills my glass of wine. ¡°Why don''t we return the discussion to duplicating Chimera?¡± Zanders suggests. ¡°Hahaha. Your expression just looked like we would get to witness some public executions this evening.¡± The others look at Chiffre with fearsome expressions, but the ambassador from the Arcane Community just continues to sip on his glass of wine, unaware of the insensitive blunder he just committed. Chapter 70 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** The party quieted down after the incident with Elsaria, but none of the guests decided to leave¡­ or should I say that they didn¡¯t dare to leave? I smile to myself, remembering my discussion with Celes from before the party. We anticipated that someone could be tempted to pull some kind of trick or to challenge us. There was no question in our minds that showing any kind of weakness would be a grave mistake. It may not have turned into an immediate problem, but the various ambassadors would have remembered and gods have long memories. We decided together that ¨C if possible ¨C we would react with overwhelming force and show everyone that we are no joke. If wiping out a planet would prevent even one of the other societiesfrom goingto war with us, then the sacrifice would be worth it. There is no telling how many worlds might get caught up in an open war with thousands of deities on each side. I am not as naive as to believe that our battlefields will always be restricted to locations where it is possible to prevent harm to innocents. The big officials are currently sitting together at a circular table with us and I noticed that Celes is unusually clingy since she came back from putting the children to sleep. She linked arms with me and her right leg is swung above her left, hooking into my knee. She probably feels bad for the mortals... ¡°I really can¡¯t get enough of that wine.¡± Miruliru opens a bottle of wine and starts filling yet another round of glasses with the expensive stuff. ¡°Guys, you really should start exporting this.¡± I smile at her, not wanting to think about the sizeable dent this party is creating in the royal palace''s wine cellar. Chimera as a whole produces a lot of wine, but this is the high-quality stuff and not easily produced. There are maybe twenty or thirty wineries which are certified to produce a quality of this grade. Distribute their output to a whole world and we aren¡¯t left with much for interdimensional trade ¨C even if we raise the prices to astronomical sums. I take a sip from my glass and squeeze my wife against me. ¡°So, you are having fun?¡± I whisper to her. ¡°Sure, my honey bear!¡± Celes answers, her voice a little strained. ¡°Now, that didn''t sound very convincing.¡± Did something happen while she was talking with the other ambassadors? Or is she still pissed that we wiped out a planet, the population included? I admit, it¡¯s nothing to celebrate, but it is quite clear that our long term goals and duties are above the fate of worlds. If we fail, the multiverse could be the price. Gwalonna stands up to make a speech before Celes can answer me. ¡°I think I speakon behalfof everyone if I express my high hopes for the societies¡­¡± She pauses, clearly taking her time to reformulate what she wanted to say. ¡°¡­who are still with us. May our future be blessed with cooperation, peace, and freedom. Let''s reshape the multiverse together and make sure to prevent any harm that might come to us thanks to the Council¡¯s legacy.¡± The others nod and we raise our glasses, cheering to a new and hopefully better future. ¡°Mwaha. Yeah! Right it iiiis! Peace and loooove for everyooone. Childreeen sure have high hooopes. But take goood care of your castle ooof ssannd.¡± A drunken female voice comes from beneath our tableandcauses me to wince. Thinking that I recognize the voice, I slide my chair backwards and take a look at what lies beneath. The view is obstructed by the tablecloth, but I shove it aside. ¡°LADA! What are you doing down there!?¡± I ask the deity who lies spread-eagled beneath the table. Several bottles of wine are arranged around her ¨C empty. It reeks as if she bathed in booze and there are stains on her clothes. ¡°Juuust drinking and bathing in my misery. I aaam one oof theeee oldest beings in tha multaverssse. Buuut doeees aanyoone give shit bout my opinion or needs me? Nope! Theey alll creaaate their sooocieties and roll forward.¡± Lada waves her glass towards me and spills half of it over the floor. ¡°Whooo neeeds a god of loooove. I willll juust take a look frem the shaedows... on the kids...¡± Gods, the woman is wasted! ¡°Lada, have you ever drunk alcohol before?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± She hiccups. ¡°Come out there, Lada. You sure went down the gutter since I last saw you.¡± Miruliru climbs under the big table to get Lada out, her small size making it no issue. ¡°We aren¡¯t ignoring you or something like that.¡± ¡°No?¡± Lada raises her eyebrows. ¡°Course not!¡± Celes tries to reassure the former Council member. ¡°You are like a kindly old granny to us.¡± Lada¡¯s eyes bug out. ¡°Ah, that wasn¡¯t exactly helpful,¡± Miruliru comments and takes Lada¡¯s hand. ¡°Come on. You are making a spectacle out of yourself.¡± It looks like Miruliru knows Lada, which shouldn¡¯t surprise me. Everyone present should know the former Council member. The fact that Lada is here now is only thanks to the fact that she was the only nice face of the Council. ¡°BOOZE OFF! Littlee kids looking after grandmothers. It shoullls be tha otha way around!¡± Lada struggles against Miruliru who had underestimated Lada''s drunkenness. The smaller goddess actually has problems with getting her out. Celes uses her tail to reach under the table and grabs Miruliru¡¯s ankle, pulling her out in one smooth go while she keeps clinging to Lada. ¡°Puh! Thanks. Lada you could have helped a little... Lada?¡± Miruliru softly pats Lada''s face but gets no reaction. ¡°CHRRR...RgRg...ccChRR...¡± The goddess of Love is lying on her back and snoring like a lumberjack. ¡°For real?¡± Chiffre shakes his head while looking down at the goddess in her white toga. ¡°Looks like we should take a little better care of our predecessors. Who could have known that the great Lada would let herself go like that?¡± Zanders shakes his head. ¡°You have to remember that everything she was used to came crumbling down around her, in part because of her own actions. Anyone would feel a little down after an event like that. It should be fine if we give her a proper job ¨C something to make sure that her thoughts are elsewhere. Having nothing to do must have given her too much time to think about her situation,¡± I give my suggestion to the group of people. ¡°How about president of the multiverse?¡± Miruliru suggests with a little bit of sarcasm in her voice, clearly referring to the stunt Elsaria tried to pull on us. ¡°Oh, maybe not the exact title, but what if we turn her into the Minister of Social Affairs, a person in charge of managing relations between the various societies?¡± Celes asks with a curious tone. ¡°Not a bad idea. We may need a neutral person if there should ever arise any disputes between us. Lada would be a perfect candidate.¡± Gwalonna nods to herself, clearly supporting the idea. ¡°Just to clarify, the job would come without real power because she would be an intermediary between our governments.¡± ¡°I like the sound of that. As it stands, we would need someone like that. Such a job is surely a pain in the ass, I doubt that we would be able to rope anyone into it while he or she is sober.¡± Mawu strokes his chin and looks at the snoring Lada. Miruliru kneels down and takes Lada''s hand to form a thumbs up with it. ¡°Lada says she will do the job.¡± Then she folds Lada''s hands on her chest and covers her with a tablecloth from a nearby table. Then the little goddess looks down at the newly crowned Minister of Social Affairs. ¡°Shouldn''t we bring her somewhere where she can sleep?¡± The other gods, me included, just look at the loli with pity in our eyes. ¡°What!?¡± Miruliru puffs up her cheeks and pouts. ¡°I just wanted to be nice!¡± Carne shakes his head, laughing. ¡°It''s refreshing to find someone in this circle who is as clueless as you.¡± ¡°Heey!¡± Miruliru complains, showing that she is indeed clueless about drunkards. Carne only points at the sleeping goddess and decides to share his life''s experiences. ¡°Girl, all I can promise you is that if someone is as wasted as her, all you will get for your troubles is a face full of projectile vomit if you try to move her. Just let her be.¡± ***The Crystal City***The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ***Rose*** ¡°A toast to our successful mission!¡± I raise the cup with hard liquor, congratulating my friends to our accomplishments while the royals are busy with entertaining the VIPs. The wine may be good, but I am simply not a wine-person. If I drink, it has to burn down my throat like fire so that I know that I am alive. Tanja, Sandra, and Iris raise their own glasses to join in. ¡°On our success!¡± ¡°And in memory of those lost,¡± I add and pour the small cup down my throat, enjoying the sensation of eighty percent alcohol with an aftertaste of grape juice. ¡°As soon as I get home, I will throw down my clothes and parade up and down in front of Drem until he can''t keep his hands off of me.¡± Sandra giggles. ¡°Are you finally going for a second child with your captain of the guard?¡± ¡°Hah! I wish!¡± I pour myself a second cup. ¡°Drem has a stick up his ass! Our firstborn is already almost through grade school and he still can''t make up his mind for a second one. I might have to ask Celes for some of her special chocolate and just drug him. How is it going with your little army? Any chances for a second litter?¡± ¡°Hahaha...¡± The bunnykin laughs, dread creeping into her voice. ¡°No. Certainly not. Five at once were more than enough. I am on hold for a few decades. Sven and I have to make sure that the current ones are out of the house before we think about new ones. And my husband wants to advance his career so that he can help our friends in a more official capacity.¡± ¡°What is a more official capacity than High General of Chimera''s defense forces?¡± I sip on my cup, raising both eyebrows. Sandra rolls her eyes. ¡°The idiot wants to prove himself in battle so that the rest of the family recognizes his abilities. I am happy enough if he stays far away from anything remotely dangerous. I wish he would have chosen a less militant path, but his folks practically brainwashed him before I took charge. With both of us serving the nation, we hardly get to see each other or the children. I am just glad that my parents are there to look after them. I wouldn''t trust his parents with the kids.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Iris sighs while holding onto her glass. ¡°Sadly, having a civilian husband isn''t an assurance that he is there when you have some time off. Stephen and Margerie are working on a big project. Everything is top secret; he didn''t tell even me, his wife, where he is off to.¡± She snorts. ¡°And I would really need to have some itches scratched. If he won''t pay more attention to me I might as well listen to the next admirer who tries to woo me.¡± I curl my lips. ¡°Wouldn''t it be better to look after the kids instead?¡± She smiles mischievously. ¡°Not to worry. I have more than enough time for them and my father is there for them twenty four seven. He may have made a lot of mistakes in his life, but he is making up for them. Anyway, if I am not vigilant, the first ones will leave the house before I achieve my goal.¡± ¡°Your goal?¡± Tanja coughs. ¡°To have a whole football team worth of a loving family!¡± Iris proclaims proudly while swinging her glass of wine. ¡°My childhood was fucked up enough. I''ll get back every second of family-life thrice over that I didn''t get to have with my parents.¡± ¡°One might think that eight brats are enough, or is she already at nine? I failed to keep count,¡± Tanja mumbles while hiding her mouth behind her glass. ¡°But you are already close to your goal anyway, so why not.¡± ¡°Aw,¡± Iris pokes our ninja-girl in the side. ¡°Don''t be so salty. You will find your love sooner or later. It''s just a question of time and we have more than enough of that.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I try to cheer up our eternal bachelor. I knew Tanja since she only reached my chest, so I can only wish her all the success she can get. ¡°Don''t worry. It took me long enough to find someone. Some people simply take a little longer.¡± ¡°Have you never thought about Gabriel?¡± Iris asks. ¡°The last thing I heard is that he is also still single and you said you like his looks. I still have his contact. If you wish, I could arrange a date.¡± Tanja only smirks at us. ¡°I am happy enough not to bind myself down with babies and family. If I have the need, I pick some pretty hunk of flesh from the street to do the deed. Don''t worry, I am happy with the lifestyle of a single and last thing I heard, Gabriel isn''t so different from me. His motto is live freely, love freely, and make sure to leave no buns in the oven. Hahahaha!¡± Well, that''s another way to go through life, so I raise my cup. ¡°To family, and friends!¡± Then I down another cup, starting to feel the alcohol. ¡°Whee, girls. Make sure to tell me to take a pathway home before I am as wasted as Lada. I would hate to miss Drem when he returns from the palace.¡± We continue to drink and talk while watching the party until late in the night. When things start getting strange and people start losing clothes, I decide that it is enough and to go for a tactical retreat. ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** Uhhh... I have a headache. My head is going to split. Reaching up, I press my palms against my temples in a fruitless attempt to reign in the little fairies who are mining my brain for dreams with their terrible pickaxes. I turn my head ever so slowly to take a look at the battlefield which remained of the previous night. It appears that I am still in the party hall, though my memories are a little hazy after Carne decided to prove that he could make an unaided handstand on two bottles of wine ¨C no magic for assistance. I am lying on top of the bar with Celes snoozing on top of me. She is using me as a body pillow, one bare leg hooked into mine while snoring loudly enough to wake up the dead. I am tempted to reach down and squeeze her butt¡­ and other parts¡­ but I bet she wouldn¡¯t appreciate me doing that in public. Well, maybe her snores won¡¯t awaken all the dead. Mawu is lying on his belly, face down in a pool of booze. He apparently fell on the same spot where the booze ended him and moved no more. Lada is wrapped up in her tablecloth like a pupa and hanging heels over head from the ceiling ¨C also sleeping the sleep of the just. Just who decided to put her up there? I tilt my head, trying to take in more of the chaos we created once the alcohol took care of inhibitions and adult reasoning. Someone stacked up all the tables and chairs in order to create two small but still impressive castles on either side of the room, leaving the rest of the hall clean of furniture. Broken pieces of glass are lying concentrated around both improvised castles, giving me the impression that making the furniture and most tableware out of Mana Crystal was a good idea. Miruliru is hanging at a height of two metres from the leg of an overturned table which is part of her castle¡¯s wall. Beneath her is a puddle which I don¡¯t want to inspect any closer. The other castle has a crumbled wall and I see amechanicalarmpeekingout from underanotheroverturnedtable which looks like Chiffre¡¯s... but then I find Chiffre ¨C metal arm missing ¨C dangling from the candelabrum in the centre of the room. Zanders and Gwalonna are lying together on the floor, hugging each other in a compromising position much alike to Celes and me. ¡°What the¡­¡± I croak, realizing that my throat is dry and raw. ¡°¡­happened?¡± I try to get up but the dizziness and Celes''s weight stop me. Another problem isthat,aside fromheadaches, everythingis spinning. Shit. I will never drink that wine again. At least not bottles worth of it. ¡°What the fuuuuck happened here?¡± Someone has the exact same thought as myself. The voice draws my attention and I turn my head, finding Carne at the entrance to the hall. He takes another step into the room, raising his foot high to get past a wiped out Tanja who is cradling someone in her bosom. Sadly, I can¡¯t recognize who got the honour of such a resting place. Carne makes his way across the room, avoiding more alcohol corpses. He pokes someone who is resting with his upper body against a furniture castle¡¯s wall in the cheek, and the man slides down to the side without so much as a twitch. ¡°Hey¡­¡± I weakly wave to him and he comes my direction. Carne doesn¡¯t look his best either with bloodshot eyes and a pale complexion, but it appears like he left the party before the shit hit the fan... at least it looks like the shit hit the fan. I actually don''t remember how things got to be as they are. ¡°Looks like doing four girls at the same time is a little exhausting,¡± I joke, figuring that his harem decided to drag him off before the alcohol could prevent him from performing a man¡¯s duty. ¡°You guys know how to throw a party. If I hadn''t been busy with my whole entourage, I would have had a great night here! And me missing out on the party is your fault!¡± he complains and points an accusing finger right in my face. ¡®Whip!¡¯ ¡°Ow!¡± A sudden slash of Celes''s tail hit Carne right on the back of his hand where it hurts the most, causing him to jump a step back and yelp. I can''t help but grin at him. ¡°Get your wife off of you and we will talk about this like real men! It will be a small miracle if I dodged the bullet with at least one of them!¡± He waves a fist at me but underestimates yet again the reach of Celes''s tail. ¡®Whip!¡¯ ¡°Fuck!¡± He jumps another step back, shaking his hand. I start laughing at him. ¡°Mwahaha! Never underestimate the automatic defenc-¡± My moment of schadenfreude is interrupted when my wife¡¯s arms close around me, squeezing the life out of me. ¡°Mmmine! Munha...¡± Celes hugs me tighter and the grin leaves my face as my bones start to give off a worrisome crunching sound. Now it is Carne''s turn to grin, but voices from beyond the entrance draw our attention. ¡°Caaarnee?¡± ¡°Deaaaar?¡± ¡°Maybe the hall?¡± ¡°Carne, you can''t run away from your duties!¡± Carne''s expression turns haunted and he quickly faces the entrance and then turns back towards me. ¡°We will speak about this later!¡± Again, he jabs a finger towards me. ¡®Whip!¡¯ ¡°FFF-!¡± This guy is surprisingly resistant to learning by experience... He finally reacts to the closing footsteps and turns towards the windows, running. ¡°Wa-¡± I try to warn him, but it is already too late and Carne crashes headfirst into the window, knocking himself out. ¡°-it!¡± Damn idiot! Those windows are made out of Mana Crystal just like everything else in this tower. He must have been more affected by the party than I thought. Seconds later, four lightly dressed girls become visible through the entrance, bobbing and bouncing like goddesses out of some really dirty fantasy. Daaamn... if my current state wouldn''t prevent me from sitting up... I wouldn''t give a damn about spectators after such a sight. I hold very still to avoid scaring the scantily clad beauties away, trying to remember every moment. I mean... I have Celes... but nobody says that I can''t have a dirty fantasy while doing her. Or two. Or three... no better four! ¡°Did you hear that?¡± The first enters the room, sniffing the air. ¡°Must have been him! There he is!¡± Number two follows, holding some sort of tracking device. ¡°Told you that it¡¯s a good idea to chip him, Silicia''s nose aside. The poor boy would be lost without us.¡± ¡°Get him!¡± number three orders the others. ¡°And stop talking about him like that. What if he hears? You know his complexes about male superiority. I swear, if any of you sets him off I won¡¯t be the one who strokes his ego back into shape until he can perform again. It takes years to train an Emperor.¡± I had a feeling that she is the true leader of Carne¡¯s group¡­ and why does it sound as if they are regarding him as some kind of pet? ¡°Daaarling! Oh, no. He hurt himself,¡± number four dotes on her man while One and Two pick him up, restoring my faith in female-kind. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s going to be a bruise.¡± She sighs. ¡°I told you guys that we should have chosen someone with a little more brains.¡± The others turn on her in unison. ¡°We need no brains, just brawn.¡± They quickly retreat with their prize, leaving me with the impression that I just witnessed something that shouldn''t have been seen or witnessed by any member of man-kind. I think that I fare better by sticking to Celes. Chapter 71 ***Chimera, The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** Cleaning up the battlefield took the better part of the day. We barely survived our diplomatic endeavour, but with the use of a lot of healing magic, it was finally possible to send all the ambassadors on their merry, tumbling way ¨C sans Elsaria and her ilk. Ahem! Yeah, I suppose we can''t get along with everyone. Where was I? Ah, yes. The important point is that everyone managed to return home safely. I shake my head, annoyed that I am seemingly unable to concentrate on my task. Right now I am hiding inside my personal workroom in the palace. There are times when I simply have to retreat from the world in order to calm my mind. Despite my desire to drown myself in my work, my thoughts keep slipping. The alcohol and the sleep deprivation from the party took a lot out of me. The mood among the recovering party-goers was somber after healing magic and cold water did their job in waking up even the worst of the drunkards. It has to be mentioned that everyone who could remember even small parts of the previous night was embarrassed and ashamed of turning the most important diplomatic event in recent history into a stain on godhood. Therefore all of us took a magical oath. Everything which happened that night would be a national secret for the rest of eternity. Should anyone talk, ever, all the other nations would band up and crush the snitch. The only problem lay in finding a way to purge Warden''s records, but we ultimately managed to come up with a threat that was reliable enough to threaten even the A.I. ''Knock!'' I look up from the draft of an advanced runescript which is supposed to become part of an improved spell projector, although getting the damned activation sequence right turned out to be tricky. Spells can only be amplified so much before the physical limits of controlling the energy flow are reached. As so often is the case, the problem lies in the theory. Giving up, I put down my pen. There is no chance of finishing this today anyway. ¡°Enter.¡± The door opens and Celes intrudes into my workroom. ¡°Honey? We have to talk.¡± I turn away from my theory work and smile at her, noticing the serious tone in her voice. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I heard some rumours at the party regarding certain feats which apparently involved your person. Originally, I intended to ignore what you are up to behind my back, but the matter didn''t let me calm down.¡± She tilts her head and crosses her arms in front of her chest, studying me. My wife is wearing one of the light tops with wide silk trousers which she tends to prefer in private. It¡¯s less a choice of good looks and more so one of comfort and ease of movement. I continue to smile at her, keeping my smile in place like a mask while my past misdeeds flash by. Did I do anything to draw my love''s ire? Of course. There are many things on my plate, but I thought I had taken sufficient care to hide my tracks. My eyes wander involuntarily to the window as I search for a route of escape. Of course, my intention doesn''t stay hidden from my wife''s watchful eyes. She clears her throat, making it clear that there is no running away from this one. I sigh and stay put, finding the floor suddenly very interesting. ¡°What have you heard?¡± It¡¯s an iron rule of mine to never fess up to anything without knowing what I am accused of. ¡°There is this rumour that you were seen in a certain red-light district,¡± Celes explains, wearing a forced smile. ¡°I find that worrisome.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± I frown, feigning ignorance as I shift in my seat. There is only one place she could be possibly talking about, but I thought I had cleared up any loose strings. Unless... That damned little gnome. He must have talked! ¡°Where did you get that!?¡± She reveals the lingerie which I ''acquired'' for her. ¡°Uh...¡± I lick my lips, trying hard to come up with a plausible explanation. In this situation, explaining the obvious clearly won''t suffice. Saying that I bought the lingerie in that exact red light district clearly isn''t what Celes is inquiring about. Knowing her, she must have heard more than she let on so far. If I say anything that doesn¡¯t fit into her version of the story it¡¯s as good as admitting my guilt. Think, think! What if she doesn''t believe me that I was there purely for research? Oh, gods! This situation has the potential to become my doom! Celes is clearly fuming, but thankfully she decides to throw me a bone. ¡°The rumour said that El Shaddai is also working there... as a woman!¡± Shit! ¡°Ahem... do you remember that one time when you said that you don''t want to know whatever it is I was up to? You said that I should just see to it that you never learned about it.¡± I need time. Time to run to the other side of the multiverse. ''WHAM!'' Celes smashed the lingerie onto my office table with enough force to break off the edge, completely dissolving it into splinters and causing me to jump! ¡°That was steel oak!¡± I complain before I can stop myself, wanting to point out the value of the table she just destroyed. ¡°I think...¡± She growls and pokes my chest with the tip of her tail. ¡°I will postpone the interrogation and advance directly to judgement, and then punishment!¡± The look on her face is dangerous enough to make me gulp. ¡°Please let me explain!¡± I get to my knees and kowtow to her. Maybe this situation is still fixable without a family dispute. Celes takes the chair which I vacated to kneel to her. Turning it with her foot to face me, she sits down and crosses her splendid legs. ¡°Why were you there, repeatedly?¡± ¡°To do some research!¡± I answer quickly. ¡°And to make sure.¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°I wanted to make sure that El Shaddai is properly punished!¡± I explain quickly. ¡°I wanted to punish her and to educate Nix on her divinity at the same time.¡± ¡°So he is there!?¡± Celes roars. ¡°You really reincarnated him inside the body of a girl!?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I admit. ¡°B- b- but I didn''t touch him! Her!¡± I don''t look up from my position. ¡°The fact that he is a girl now is entirely coincidental. Fixing her soul came with a few¡­ flaws¡­ but I hope that I can avoid those in the future!¡± ¡°Explain!¡± Celes leans back, seeming at least a little appeased. I wring my fingers. ¡°Maybe I got a little carried away after we decided to release his soul. I experimented with different ways of repairing damaged souls. I succeeded, but since El Shaddai was our enemy I wanted to make sure that he doesn''t have it too easy. Especially so that he wouldn''t turn into a powerful enemy again.¡± Pinching my fingers together, I indicate that I put at least some thought into my actions. ¡°So I fiddled -just- a little with the normal reincarnation process. I allowed him to reincarnate as the daughter of the manager of a famous brothel on an unimportant world. It''s a family business with strict rules and a system of forced inheritance. It won''t be easy for her to get out of the circumstances of her birth.¡± Celes narrows her eyes. ¡°What about your later visits?¡± ¡°I was just there to see if everything went it''s proper course,¡± I defend myself, placing my hands on my chest. She snorts. ¡°Continue.¡± ¡°El Shaddai. I mean, his name is Sharid now, was properly born and is a baby right now. So, I couldn''t have possibly done anything to her! I am not a paedophile!¡± Hah! Yes, that''s right! She is still a baby, so whatever rumour Celes heard has to be bullshit! ¡°There are quite a few other girls there...¡± Celes reminds me, her voice low and dangerous. ¡°I just went in and out after confirming the situation! I didn''t even look left or right!¡± I promise quickly, remembering vividly that I stole a look more than once.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Liar! I investigated the source of the rumour and you were there for over an hour at times!¡± Celes holds onto the chair''s armrest, causing it to creak as her hand tightens down on it. ¡°Ah... I may have gotten distracted by this and that... their establishment is surprisingly advanced,¡± I babble before I can stop myself. ¡°They have an entire room themed after-¡± Snap! The armrest of the chair gave in, causing me to shut up. Better to stay on topic. ¡°On my way back I got a glance at the girls'' costumes and I got carried away and... and... It was like the pent up frustration of a few hundred years was set loose. It just happened that once, I promise. I never lost control before. It really hurt my pride to give in to my instincts.¡± Celes''s face turns a little paler. ¡°I somehow had to get hold of one! And then I found another nice one! And before I knew it, I had collected a whole set of costumes and lingerie!¡± I cover down and await my end. ¡°You only... collected their... costumes? Why should a brothel sell that stuff!?¡± Celes frowns. ¡°Ahem... They didn''t exactly sell them,¡± I admit, ashamed of myself. ¡°Oh? Then how did you collect the costumes?¡± Celes raises an eyebrow, clearly expecting me to answer the question. ¡°I wonder why my sources didn¡¯t say anything about that.¡± ¡°Hm... yeah... I guess it isn''t exactly a good reputation for a brothel if a guy isn''t interested in the girls and just strips them of their working dresses,¡± I whisper. There you have it! She is sure to throw me into the black hole! I bow to her. ¡°I am so sorry! You have to know that you are the only one for me in the entire multiverse!¡± She huffs, but at least she doesn¡¯t look like she is about to tear off something important. ¡°And where are those costumes which would prove your story?¡± ¡°They are in our holiday residence at the lake. Inside the chest I got your red lingerie from. It has a double-layered ground plate!¡± I confess. Celes stands up and grabs me at the front of my shirt without saying a word. Then she hauls me to my feet without any effort. Our surroundings shift, and I realize that she pulled me with her through the pathways to our bedroom at the holiday residence. She turns to the mentioned chest and opens it, carelessly tossing out my camouflage of normal clothing. Grumbling, she raises her fist and brings it down on the chest¡¯s double floor. There is another ¡®snap¡¯ as the fake base plate is broken out of the chest. ¡°You didn''t have to break it! There is a hinge, it could have been opened perfectly fine...¡± My voice trails off when my loving wife looks at me. ¡°I understand.¡± I sit down on the nearby bed. ¡°I¡¯ll just sit here and be as quiet as a mouse.¡± She returns her burning gaze to the chest. ¡°Hmm. Let''s see... bunny suit... cat ears... a tiger tail with a butt plug!? No way I stick that into my... lots of panties and bras... a rope? Handcuffs... did he rob the entire brothel? So much stuff, did he cast a dimensional spell on the chest to get it all inside? There is still more!¡± Celes picks the chest up tilting it over. She pours the contents onto the floor. Female underwear and other items of the questionable sort keep tumbling out until the pile reaches above her hips. She was right with the dimensional spell. When the flood of high-quality gear stops, she looks at my collection with a suspicious expression, using one foot to spread the clothes out in order to get an overview of my collection. I watch her, assured in my belief that I am screwed. As soon as she regains her composure she will skewer me with something sharp. Or she will use her fists. There will be a new volcano on Chimera. After a few seconds, she bends down and picks a red leather outfit from the pile and holds it before her. She turns to inspect herself in front of the mirror at the side of the room. Yes! Exactly like I imagined it on her! It perfectly gives off that sadistic dominatrix aura! She doesn''t even need a whip! Growling, she returns to the pile and picks a flail with leather bands at the end. Nodding to herself, she gives it a testing swing against the wooden chest, the impact hard enough to cause a loud ¡®Crack!¡¯. ¡°Aaaah...¡± I wet my lips. ¡°I am not really into that sort of thing. I only admire the tight leather outfits...¡± She turns to me and tilts her head, smiling at me with half-closed eyes that could as well be crescent moons. ¡°You should see that face of yours, but this is your own fault. You went too far this time and I thought that I might as well punish you by making those dreams of yours come true.¡± Celes blinks and places a hand on my shoulder, digging her fingernails into the fabric of my tunic. ¡°We clearly have what a psychiatrist would call a relationship problem, Angrod. It¡¯s not healthy if we can¡¯t be open with each other. I promise that you can talk to me about all of your fantasies. And once we do that, you can stop assaulting poor little mortals.¡± She turns back to the pile and pulls out a set of handcuffs, sending a vicious grin towards me. ¡°What do you think? Should we start with this?¡± I clear my throat and raise a finger. ¡°O- only if I get to use the rope in turn.¡± ***Noth - Mortal World, The House of Ember*** ***Nazareth*** I watch in silence as the pair of mother and daughter huddles together on the bed, relying on the fact that my glamour will hide my presence from the mortals. I sigh and watch my clock. Two more hours until another member of our little pantheon will take over playing guardian angel. ¡°What''s that statue, mommy? It looks like a devil!¡± The little girl tugs at her mother¡¯s skirt. The woman is the manager of the city¡¯s most renowned brothel and surprisingly enough turned out to be a better mother than I expected. She takes a look at the little statue right outside the window and shudders visibly. It is positioned above the brothel¡¯s entrance, depicting a demon making a horde of naked women flee. The woman returns her attention to the child and smiles warmly. ¡°That''s the greatest disaster which ever happened to the House of Ember! That demon appeared one day out of nowhere and robbed us of most of our inventory! It took me weeks to get replacements for everything. I also paid a hefty sum to a wizard, so that he would put up this warding statue. Make sure to keep the statue safe at all times, Sharid! It protects us from the ¡®Thief!¡¯ ¡± ¡°Why would he steal our inventory?¡± The little girl looks at her mother, her eyes wide with disbelief. Despite the child¡¯s young age, the manager already taught her daughter the most important matters which she would have to know as the successor of the brothel. The woman simply doesn''t believe in keeping a child ignorant of the world. Sharid is already perfectly aware of what men want from women and how to give it to them. There isn''t anything the manager would ever hold back under the assumption that it would be bad knowledge. ¡°Do you remember our discussion about perverts and their value for the business?¡± The manager asks her daughter. ¡°Yes?¡± Sharid nods. ¡°That demon belongs to the worst kind of pervert! They aren''t after women! They only yearn for their belongings! Those perverts are bad for the business! See to it to never let them enter the house!¡± The mother indoctrinates the innocent little mind of her daughter. ¡°Mhm, okay!¡± Sharid turns toward the statue in order to burn the image into her mind. I can almost see the thoughts which are coursing through her little brain. ¡®Bad for business!¡¯ ¡®Worst kind of pervert!¡¯ ... ¡°Ah! I totally forgot!¡± The mother claps her hands together. ¡°You are old enough for your Status Plate!¡± She gets up and retrieves a package from her office desk. ¡°Normally, people like us don''t get access to items like this one. The church prefers to keep those with impure minds unaware of their abilities. But it''s useful if you ever have to travel. And without one, you aren''t recognized as a proper citizen.¡± Her expression turns dirty. ¡°Let¡¯s thank our patron god that the local bishop has a few dirty secrets which he wants to stay within our establishment¡¯s walls.¡± The manager takes a metal plate out of the package and holds it towards Sharid. ¡°Thankfully, the whole ceremony which is performed by the church isn''t needed. Put your hand on it.¡± Sharid shivers as she looks at the plate. ¡°My friends talked about those! The cook said that those plates give a glimpse of someone¡¯s true potential and fate!¡± I pull down the corners of my mouth, frowning in displeasure. Knowing Angrod, the girl is in for a shock. As long as I watched over Sharid, I always had the impression that she felt out of place. Like she was destined for more than being the manager of a brothel. Surely, she is thinking that this is her ticket to the world. The girl follows her mother''s instructions and as soon as she touches the status plate, it starts to shine and letters appear.
Name: Sharid Vidal
Age: 7
Titles bestowed by the gods:
Cursed: (In your previous life you awoke the ire of a divine being. You are cursed.) ~~~~~Angrod, King of gods. Divine ruler of the realm of Chimera:~~~~~ (Take that up your cute ****!! Next time try not to mess up the multiverse!) - Divine Beauty: All men will turn their head after you. - Fertile Mother: You are sure to have twins or triplets. - Flexible Snake: You are able to move your body in wondrous ways. - Siren''s Voice: Your voice is too beautiful to behold for any man. - Man among Males: Your mentality is male. (Cancelled due to conflicting blessing!)
Blessed: (A divine being took pity on you and gave you its blessing.) ~~~Miruliru, Divine Goddess of the Path:~~~ (Sorry,I can''t help you more. You aren''t under my jurisdiction.) - Limitless One: You may change your fate with hard work. - Woman among Females: Your mentality is female. (Cancelled due to conflicting Curse!) ~~Nazareth, Local Deity:~~ (Poor one. Maybe Angrod will forget his grudge if you do some proper prayers. I am just a small deity so I can''t do much.) Psychologist: You may unravel the problems in your mind and those of others.
Potentials:
-Deleted Potential (unknown)- -Deleted Potential (unknown)- -Deleted Potential (unknown)- -Deleted Potential (unknown)- -Cursed Divine rank Belly Dancer- -Cursed Divine rank Eyes of Lust- -Cursed Divine rank Songweaver- -Cursed Fertility Goddess of Lust and Sex- -Eternal Beauty-
Taking a single look over the girl¡¯s shoulder, I wince. Sharid just stares at the plate with big round eyes. Then her mother takes a look at it. ¡°KYAAA! You are the perfect successor! And to be in the favour of three gods! I don''t know who this Angrod and Miruliru are, but maybe we should start praying to them?¡± Chapter 72 ***Training Planet 893302, Void Zone*** ***Angrod*** I try my best to get my chin out of the way of the fist which passes by like in a time-lapse, knowing perfectly well that not getting hit is only half the deal. Then a shock wave of displaced air smacks me right in the face and I get blown backwards, doing a cartwheel in mid-air before I penetrate a hill with the force of a small nuke. Earth is displaced and thrown in all directions before I manage to right myself and take control of the overthrown debris. ¡°Haaah!¡± I forcefully pull the dispersing hill back into place, trying to bury my opponent who followed right in the wake of my trajectory. Of course, passing through rock is only slightly more of a hindrance than walking through water to Celes ¨C which makes my effort not much more than a smokescreen. I charge to meet her right when she explodes out of the earth, landing my hand right on her chest to unleash a force spell at point-blank range. My wife¡¯s eyes widen when the air is forced out of her lungs and her momentum is brought instantly to a halt. Her crystal armour saves her from further injury, but there is no doubt that I landed a major blow. ¡°Gah!¡± She manages to gather herself and grabs my hand and lower arm with both hands, holding onto me while bringing up her left leg. ¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t!¡± I bring my other hand around and cast a relatively simple barrier, grinning like mad about this newest trick of mine. Celes¡¯s eyes widen when her leg decelerates before it is flung right in the other direction, forcing her to twist and to return the kick by swinging over to the other side only to be met with the same effect. ¡°Warped Space!¡± I explain when she tries again. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter how strong you are. It turns everything with harmful force behind it right the other way. I came up with it especially to counter brute-strength types like you.¡± ¡°Cheater!¡± She does something with her mouth, exhaling a green gas right into my face! ¡°Wah!¡± I reel back and use the force barrier to decrease the friction on my armoured arm, slipping right out of her grasp. Damn lucky that the mask of my newest organic enchantment has an air filtration function. The only problem is¡­ that gas apparently wasn¡¯t poison. ¡°Paint!?¡± I try to wipe whatever Celes used on me off my mask to get my vision back, only to have my hands stuck to the mask. ¡°Glue!? How could this possibly be so strong!?¡± My hands won¡¯t come off and something hits me in the stomach, almost causing me to puke. Fat chance that would go well with my mask on. There is a moment of weightlessness before I feel myself skittering across the ground like some thrown away ragdoll before I use a pathway, careful to transport only myself and my belongings. Celes¡¯s sticky-paint is left behind as I relocate myself a few hundred metres upwards, leaving me once more with free sight of¡­ boobs? I stumble right into her embrace, feeling strong legs wrap around my torso. Didn¡¯t we specify that grappling is forbidden? Reaching up, I manage to grab her by the horns to pull her off of me, but only manage to force her head back. ¡°Not the horns!¡± she complains. ¡°I just had them manicured!¡± ¡°Should have thought about that before proposing a training session!¡± I retort while we fall towards the earth. ¡°What¡¯s with the naughty technique!? If you are going to use that on an enemy I am going to be seriously angry!¡± ¡°You groped my chest first!¡± she screams as we impact the ground and start rolling down a mountainside ¨C our sparking auras protecting us from serious injuries while we create a trail of molten magma. ¡°I¡¯ll bite a nipple!¡± I threaten, hoping that will get her off of me. ¡°I¡¯ll use my tail!¡± she threatens right back! But she pulls back, giving me the chance to turn us around. I end up riding her down the hillside, my wife screaming murder all the way while trying her hardest to break me like a twig. Thank the multiverse that a fully released aura at least allows me to fight¡­ err, well. Fighting Celes on equal footing in close combat is impossible, but at least I am not instantly turned into red paste colouring the rocky wasteland which was unfortunate enough to serve as our training ground. Our impasse is interrupted when we impact a ledge right before a steep cliff, luck allowing me to slip her arms aside and to push her torso away from me. I fully release my aura, using it to enhance my strength as snow is vaporized all around us. And then I finally manage to pin her beneath me. ¡°I win!¡± I proclaim quickly, knowing very well that managing such a feat isn¡¯t an everyday event. Normally, I have to rely on wearing her down with ranged attacks while I try to stay out of reach. Celes crosses her arms and smiles while grinding her hips against me, squeezing me with her thighs. ¡°Are you sure that I am the one who is caught?¡± I clench my teeth and place both hands on her knees, pushing with all my considerable might. ¡°Honey? You are turning red. Don¡¯t embarrass yourself.¡± She pretends to yawn. ¡°Your upper body strength might be superior to mine when you go all out, but that doesn¡¯t count for my legs. Nor does it help you without the proper technique.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± I admit. ¡°It¡¯s a draw then, although it should be my win because we agreed on not using clingy techniques. Or do you want me to use dirty tricks?¡± ¡°Ah, no.¡± She sighs. ¡°Not in the mood right now. I just wanted to go all out for once. Tanja bailed on me when I suggested a training session.¡± I purse my lips and turn my attention to the grand view of a wasted landscape with craters and deep ridges which were scraped into the earth as if some giant reached down to carve a trench into his sandbox. The destruction goes on and on, and far away on the horizon is actually a rising mushroom cloud. If this planet had been habited, we would have killed countless mortals by laying waste to one of the smaller continents. It was a good idea to bring some dead rocks without intelligent life forms to our Void Zone. The setting allows our people to train in a combat situation that¡¯s as close to reality as possible. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t know, dear,¡± I reply. ¡°I think we can do worse if we put our minds to it. The last time we had a real fight, we almost completely annihilated a planet.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Back then we actually tried to kill each other,¡± she smirks. I return my full attention to her, intending to win this battle. So I unsummon my mask and settle down on top of Celes and start kissing her neck while pulling her hips against me. ¡°Are you sure that you don¡¯t want to change the rules?¡± She groans and tilts her head a little further to the side. ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to, but you are doing a good job in pleading your case.¡± I smile against her skin and buck my hips, knowing very well that Celes has as much sexual energy as I do. Maybe even more. Decades have passed, but thanks to our ascension our bodies are still in peak condition and will stay that way unless outside forces change that. ¡°F- fine!¡± She finally growls, losing it. ¡°But I get to be on top!¡± We roll around and pieces of amour and clothes go flying until there is nothing else to get rid of. ¡°I love private training planets!¡± I hiss while allowing her to sit on top, grinding her wet portal to heaven against me. Closing my eyes, I hold onto her hips with one hand while cupping one breast with the other. ¡°The one to come first loses?¡± She gasps when I squeeze her. ¡°It¡¯s already my win!¡± Moaning, she leans forward into my hand and tilts her hips just right. When she slides forth and back, her entrance lines up with me and takes me to the hilt. ¡°That¡¯s- certainly-¡± Then she starts riding me like a demon, quickly forcing me to think of anything to stave off the inevitable as her hips rise and fall as if she wants to break me! ¡°¡­something- I- don¡¯t get to- do with others!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t- lose!¡± I hiss, sure that if I had been the one who moves, I would have already lost the bet. That¡¯s when we notice the beeping of an incoming call. Somewhere among our haphazardly discarded clothes, a handy with interdimensional connection is announcing its presence. ¡°Yours?¡± I ask, hoping that she would slow down. Celes has the tendency to switch her ringtones around like others their underwear. There is no way to tell what it is going to be tomorrow. ¡°Yes,¡± she replies while biting her lip. ¡°Important one judging from the tone, but I couldn¡¯t care less right now.¡± ¡°Take it,¡± I suggest. ¡°Move it or you lose it,¡± she growls, reminding me of the special physique that¡¯s unique to the Chimeran succubus. Then she smiles. ¡°But I know a technique that¡¯s sure to make this quick!¡± She leans back, taking hold of my ankles before bringing forth her legs in a splendid display of flexibility to clamp my head between her calves. After sighing in satisfaction, she starts riding me like on a sled, stirring me around inside her with expert precision. I honestly can¡¯t say having any regrets about losing our special battle only two minutes later. ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** ¡°I need help! Immediately!¡± The god goes to his knees before us, pleading for assistance in a most unusual manner for an ascended being. It makes me glad that I decided to finish off my husband quickly, allowing us to return to our throne room in the Crystal City. Going wild once in a while isn¡¯t so bad. According to Warden''s call, this man arrived only a few minutes ago, screaming bloody murder in an attempt to get help as quickly as possible. The guards wouldn¡¯t have listened to a single lunatic, but Warden has all the time in the world to listen to people. The AI finally decided that this matter is important enough to be brought before us. The man was guided to the throne room instead of being thrown into a cell. He has blue hair and looks like an elf, although the ears are a little longer than I am used to. His presence feels a little dim for an ascended being, but it is possible that he is properly suppressing his aura. ¡°I would suggest for you to gather your thoughts first. Please explain the situation properly,¡± I advice, trying to keep my voice smooth and even to calm him down. ¡°Warden only mentioned that the ¡®enemy¡¯ was found?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I am Evenguar,¡± he introduces himself while speaking fast. ¡°I am the god of a small world at the fringe between former Council space and the Higher Planes. I never had any problems with anyone and I am happy with taking care of my world.¡± I nod and mentally classify him as a gardener, an ascended being who prefers to stay among mortals. There are many deities of this type, especially among the younger generations who have sentimental connections to their origins or a past life. He continues, ¡°I never saw the need for joining any of these new big communities. But a few days ago, something like demons appeared on my world. At first, I didn''t pay much attention to them. I thought they were just some new kind of prank which a neighbouring god played on me. Or the failed experiment of some archmage.¡± Evenguar takes a breath. ¡°But then the demons became more and more aggressive. They destroyed whole cities on my world and plagued the mortals like nothing before. I could no longer ignore the matter and took a closer look at those entities. Thankfully, I realized in time that they aren''t just a mere prank! They are eating the souls of the mortals they kill. I tried to stop them, but they turned out to be a serious danger even to me.¡± The deity rolls up the left sleeve of his green tunic and shows us a blackened bite-mark on his upper arm. The flesh is oozing some black matter and looks necrotic. ¡°I never encountered something like this before! I slew the monsters by the dozens, but their numbers don''t decline. The wound they inflicted on me doesn¡¯t heal. I am at the end of my wits, short of cleansing my world completely. The mortals have no chance against these beings and I would rather kill them all than see their souls eaten.¡± He bows down to us again. ¡°I know that I have no right to ask this of you, but I hoped that someone from the big societies would help me. I can''t save my world alone.¡± I stand up and walk towards Evenguar. ¡°Show me that wound.¡± Evenguar does as instructed and I hold his hand in mine while trying to feel for his energy. Something is blocking his energy channels while turning his own mana against him. Angrod joins my side, placing his palm on the man¡¯s forehead. ¡°His soul is weakened. It looks like he fought the demons to his limits.¡± He grunts in realization. ¡°It¡¯s the same as with the others. A part of his soul is injured as if something tried to take a bite out of him.¡± ¡°That wound looks like it was inflicted by a familiar of the great Calamity,¡± Warden¡¯s voice echoes through the throne room. ¡°I thought they can''t create more of them without a connection to their main body,¡± I grumble at the unforeseen turn of events. Are those creatures trying to flood the multiverse with soul-eating monsters? ¡°As far as I know, the familiars of the great Calamity aren''t able to create offspring. Back when the Ascended fought them, they needed a connection to their origin, the first. We already assumed that one or more familiars of the Calamity survived the hunt. Given how much time it had it''s possible that it learned how to reproduce,¡± the AI concludes gravely. Angrod grinds his teeth at the new situation. ¡°We have to contain this outbreak at all costs. We will send the Nomad with Evenguar to his world and try to save it if we can. Inform everyone of this new turn of events.¡± ¡°They are informed,¡± Warden replies. He turns to look at me. ¡°Should we go and hunt a few monsters? I need some new test subjects anyway.¡± I smile. ¡°There is no better training than real-life combat.¡± ¡°Thank you! Thank you so much!¡± Evenguar suddenly hugs my waist but gets pulled away by the guards. Unconcerned, he wriggles in their grasp while thanking us. This fellow is creepy¡­ although I probably shouldn''t complain about deities who actually care about their mortals. I don''t know what he expected us to do. Did he think we would look away while soul-eating demons rampage through the multiverse? Angrod raises his hand to shoo the guards away. ¡°Don''t thank us too early, Evenguar. We have yet to learn what we are dealing with. If worse comes to worst, we may have to destroy your world.¡± Evenguar drops his head. ¡°I already prepared myself for that scenario when I came here.¡± Just how bad is it on his world? In any case, ¡°Evenguar, come here and make sure to suppress your aura. We have to take care of that wound or you might turn into one of those creatures. You are infected with¡­ something. I have to do some research before I can tell what it is.¡± The deity comes a little closer, frowning. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t I go to the healers?¡± I blink. ¡°Are you seriously denying the help of one of the greatest soul-mages and an alchemist like myself?¡± Angrod presses his lips together. ¡°Do we really have to help him? The healers can surely-¡± I raise my hand to stop him. ¡°It¡¯s just his arm, and I personally want to take a look at this new form of attack. For that, I need a working specimen. It¡¯s fortunate that you can easily heal some small scratches while taking care of the man¡¯s soul. I¡¯ll take care of extracting the sample and further studies.¡± My husband clears his throat and places a hand on Evenguar¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Kneel down and stretch out your arm. This should be over quick.¡± ¡°Aeh¡­¡± Evenguar stutters but does as told while Angrod holds onto the man¡¯s shoulder ¨C his hands glowing white with healing magic. I smile at the lesser deity to reassure him that everything will be fine. At the same time, I gather energy in my hand, concentrating it in preparation. Then I chop down with the edge of my flat hand before Evenguar can realize what was about to happen. The ¡®sample¡¯ comes loose without a problem and I catch it. ¡°All done! Angrod, I¡¯ll take a pathway to my laboratory while you fix up Evenguar.¡± ¡°Mah-¡± Evenguar gapes at his arm in my hands like a fish on land, then at his stump which is spurting blood. I wince, feeling with the man for having to go through such a traumatic experience. But it¡¯s better if an amputee isn¡¯t told beforehand what¡¯s going to happen. ¡°You know,¡± Angrod tries to point out. ¡°The healers would have...¡± ¡°I know.¡± I sigh and look at my man. ¡°But people have to learn that you don¡¯t just walk up to a royal of the Chimerans and touch them without repercussions. What if someone lays hands on our children? It''s better if word gets around now.¡± The situation finally sinks into Evenguar¡¯s mind. ¡°Mah arm!¡± Chapter 73 ***Nomad''s Command Bridge ¨C Elhort, Evenguar''s Domain*** ***Angrod*** As soon as I had Evenguar''s arm restored, I gave the marching orders for our army. We took the Nomad and a good number of our best men. Tanja and Nicosar joined us on this campaign, together with Sven who is in charge of the troops and Samuel who commands the flying fortress. That''s why I am not sitting in the command chair for once, but standing beside it while my childhood friend has the honour of commanding the Nomad. I study the main screen which shows the planet beneath us. The surface is one big forest with lakes and mountains, valleys and rivers. There are no oceans which strikes me as unnatural. I harbour the strong suspicion that Evenguar had a hand in shaping this world''s geography and biosphere. According to our database, the main population of Evenguar consists of elves, dryads and other races who are culturally and physically strongly connected to nature. Evenguar apparently built his own little paradise of nature ¨C or at least what he perceives to be paradise. Personally, I could do with an ocean or two. It''s still a beautiful world. The side of the planet which we are interested in is bathed in darkness. Night has settled in and the larger cities are clearly visible on the planet''s surface. Little specks of light cover the forest in even patterns. The sight would be mesmerizing if it weren''t for one dark spot on the map, spreading out like a tumour that''s wringing the life out of its host. Evenguar informed us that there are several cities with nothing left alive and our mana detection system confirms this. There is something like an epicentre from which the dead zone is spreading outwards. The dead zone is larger than Evenguar reported it to be, so I assume that it is growing rapidly as the Calamity¡¯s fiends conquer town after town. According to Evenguar, war is not unknown in his world, but the mortals are not capable of standing against this threat. I point towards the main screen. ¡°Someone else thinks the same thing as me?¡± ¡°There seems to be something like a source,¡± Tanja points out. ¡°Then let''s wipe it out with our weaponry and clean up the rest.¡± Celes tilts her head while she studies something on the console next to her. Nicosar shakes his head and points at the main screen. ¡°I suggest to go down there and to investigate with a small team. If we use the heavy arms first, we may not find out the cause behind this. We would be as clueless as before. Right now, the Nomad seems to be safe in orbit, which gives us the opportunity to gather intelligence.¡± I scratch my cheek while pondering the situation. ¡°You may be right. Information is always important. And if we use the big guns first, there wouldn¡¯t be much left to investigate afterwards. But there is something else that bothers me about this. ¡°Our enemies are keeping their heads down, even though I don¡¯t think that they are as weakened as they want us to believe. We may have taken the Crystal City from them, but who puts all his eggs into one basket? Then there was this little episode with Elsaria and now this.¡± I gesture at the screen. ¡°Little annoyances which don¡¯t amount to much in the grand scheme of things. If they have a way to flood entire planets with an invasion force, then why aren¡¯t they doing it in several places at once?¡± I grunt, feeling like someone is playing games with me. ¡°They are poking us with a stick, trying to find a way of attacking us without committing to anything.¡± Saving the world isn''t as important as getting a clue of what the Council is up to. By going down there ourselves we will delay the end of this invasion. The mortals will pay with their lives and our people will pay with their memories. It may be harsh, but one world of mortals in exchange for the possibility to get a clue on the Council''s whereabouts? I would take that deal any time. ¡°Then we go down there and investigate it.¡± Celes grins at us and corrects her combat armour. ¡°Hmmm. Yeah, it looks like there is a cave system beneath the dead zone. Our sensors don¡¯t pick up anything aside from dead forest above. Just nuking the planet would leave us as clueless as before, but we can hit them with something less destructive. If nobody has objections, we will wipe the surface clean of any opposition,¡± Samuel comments and starts giving orders for a small team of elites to gather. ¡°If they have something they want to protect, then it is down in the caves anyway,¡± Tanja gives her approval. ¡°Just don¡¯t hit them directly, or the caves might collapse anyway.¡± Meanwhile, the Nomad starts bombarding the ravaged cities with conventional weapons. Regardless, to the mortals it must look like Armageddon is upon them. I watch as huge explosions start blooming within the dead zone, wondering if this course of attack will slow the Calamitys¡¯ progress. It takes a few minutes to get confirmation from our troops that ground zero is firmly in our hands. Five minutes later, we are down on the planet in our combat gear. There are Celes, Tanja, Nicosar, five guards, and me. All of the guards who are accompanying us are close combat specialists, hand-picked by Nicosar. The forest around us is destroyed, the trees splintered and broken by the concussive waves of a kinetic bombardment. But the vegetation was already dead and dry before that. We landed just a few hundred metres away from the supposed epicentre. According to Evenguar''s description, the Calamity¡¯s fiends are humanoid, oozing a black substance from all over their body, and oddly deformed with many claws and teeth. The description comes close to the guardians which we encountered at the Sphere of Sight in the Crystal City. Evenguar informed us that the fiends weren''t very strong compared to a god. He slew several of them, but they there were countless and they always attacked in groups, not caring for their own existence. Only the fact that they could effortlessly bypass his godly aura ultimately forced him to admit defeat. ¡°We have to head in this direction.¡± One of the guards takes the lead and stomps off towards our destination, brandishing his sword and shield as if he is hoping for a good fight. Our group advances at a steady pace through the destroyed forest. There is some remaining brushwood, but the guard is clearing it with long heavy cleaves of his crystal sword. I never would have imagined that one of my godly weapons would end up as a gardening tool! ¡°RWARRR!¡± Suddenly three ¡®things¡¯ jump out of the crown of a tree, landing close to our group. They start storming in our direction while waving their claws. Claws and teeth everywhere... They come directly out of one of my nightmares, giving me a sudden flashback to when I was a little child and fell into an adult Razorclaw¡¯s cage! ¡°Kyaaa!¡± Before I can comprehend the situation, I wave my staff at those ¡®somethings¡¯ which shouldn''t exist in this world, incinerating them and a huuuuge area behind them with a cone of unguided chaos magic, leaving nothing but sizzling earth. I can take a Razorclaw ¨C I even have one as a pet ¨C and I can take those ¡®things¡¯, but combine the two together¡­ ¡°What was that?¡± Celes arches an eyebrow and tilts her head while looking at me. I steady myself and try to regain my composure, back to perfect manliness. ¡°I changed my mind. I don''t need to take a close look at those things.¡± My grandfather purses his lips. ¡°I think she meant that girly scream of yours.¡± Shut up, geezer! ¡°I fell into that pit with the Razorclaws inside, remember? I may have a little phobia of things with too many teeth and claws. Seriously, why can¡¯t this infection stick to humans? Taking over the local fauna is just too much.¡± At that moment, another bad rumour about me was born as the guards started to whisper among each other. In the distance, a huge tree which was clipped by my haphazard spell crumbles to the ground, losing its fight against gravity, and the fire slowly spreads out to the rest of the dead forest. ¡°That was when you were a little kid!¡± Tanja complains. ¡°It was still a formative experience for me! One moment! Why do you know about that! We didn''t even know each other at that time and I never talked about it!¡± I throw an inquisitive look at Tanja who starts fiddling with her fingers. ¡°Ahem... you see... My family wasn''t completely uninvolved in that event, spies and all. But your mother found out and we changed sides afterwards. Please forgive me for not telling. I thought your mother informed you. It was just a badly paid assignment at that time ¨C as my parents told me. And when your mother suddenly turned up at our main house and went on a rampage¡­ let¡¯s just say that we learned the hard way which side is the right one!¡± Tanja bows down to us with pearls of sweat on her forehead. Just what did my mother do to them? If I think back to those times, she was pretty protective of me back then. Didn''t she say once that any assassin who touched her family would wish to be never born? I am honestly surprised that Tanja¡¯s people still exist. ¡°Anyway. Your spell saved us the time to search, your majesty. It looks like you wiped out the guards for the entrance.¡± One of the guards points towards a big hole in the ground. It was freed of the brushwood by my spell. We carefully walk closer to the ominous cave and I throw a glance down into it. It''s a long tunnel and the end is not in sight. After a few metres, it loses itself in darkness. ¡°Whohoo. That feels like a dungeon! Aaah. Those good old times when you went on quests and tried to save the world,¡± Celes chuckles and jumps down into the hole without waiting for us. Is that her viewpoint on the matter? Back when I was a normal reincarnating immortal and ended up in a fantasy world with dungeons and heroes, I always almost puked. Those are the worst of places. Who in his right mind would crawl down into a dark and dangerous maze out of his own free will? Power and riches can be earned more easily by staying at home! ¡°Can''t be helped. Let''s go down there and see for ourselves where the fiends come from.¡± Nicosar jumps down into the hole. One after the other, we follow to explore the darkness. I light the way with a light-spell, surrounding the group with spheres of light which follow us automatically. The tunnel is relatively broad and leads us at a steady angle down into the earth. From the left to the right wall, there are about ten metres of space. The walls look like they were scratched out of the stone. It gives me shivers if I imagine hundreds or thousands of those creatures digging this tunnel with their claws.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. After a few minutes of walking the tunnel splits into two. ¡°Great. Now we can choose to split up or to stay together,¡± Celes complains. I don''t really want to split the group down here. ¡°What disturbs me more is that there is nobody down here. Just those things at the entrance,¡± Nicosar points out. ¡°It feels like they are preparing a trap.¡± After looking down both tunnels, I think of the smartest possible solution. Should I try to scry both tunnels with magic? ¡°Psst. You hear that?¡± Celes points a finger down the tunnel to our right. The whole group falls silent and I can finally hear it too. Are those screams? Of people? I start walking in the direction of the screams. ¡°The right tunnel it is.¡± The others follow me without objections. We advance for another five minutes when I suddenly see fiends coming out of the darkness. I ready my staff and send a fireball into them as a greeting. Surprisingly enough, two of them get blasted to smithereens without so much as a squeak. Weren¡¯t they supposed to be immune against normal magic? Are those weaker versions? The others just strive forward undisturbed by the death of two of their comrades. It''s an unending wall of claws and teeth! And then they start running, apparently not having lost their disregard for the death of their own. The others make a stance beside me and seconds later those things are all around us. I strike one of the monsters to the ground while another starts gnawing on my shoulder. Thankfully, the armour is protecting me. I cover my left hand in magical energy and strike it into the thing where the heart should be. It lets go of my shoulder and starts wriggling on the ground. But it is still alive! One of the guards gets tackled to the ground by five of the monsters at the same time. I jump to his aide, hoping that his armour is enough to protect him from serious injuries. Swinging my staff, I wipe one of the monsters off of him. He kicks another away and casts an Ice Lance spell at a third, nailing it to a wall. Next, I try to invade the mind of the things, but I slip off like from a solid wall of glass. Either they aren''t thinking at all or their mental resistance is extraordinary. The guard kicks the fourth fiend, the chest denting in with an unhealthy crack. Having just one opponent left, the guard grabs the creature¡¯s head in a contest of strength and twists it off like plucking a flower. They may be able to ignore a god¡¯s defensive aura, but apparently, that doesn¡¯t account for the body-enhancing effect. Something jumps at me from the side and I go down. A huge jaw is suddenly right in my face and I grab it in order to stop the thing from biting my head off. Then I realize the closing hole in its chest. It is the same creature which I skewered just moments ago! They heal that quickly? ¡°Try to dismember them or they will get up again!¡± Tanja''s voice echoes through the tunnel. Great! I redirect the flow of my mana to empower my muscles and tear the jaw of the monster apart, overextending the joint until there is the sweet pop of tendons. That done, I twist its head off as the guard did seconds ago. ¡°Arrgh!¡± A scream from Nicosar echoes through the hall, but I have problems of my own. Another three of the things are confronting me when I get up. They jump simultaneously and I grab all three of them out of the air with telekinesis. It should be an easy task, but it feels like a huge effort for no apparent reason. Activating my mana sight, I realize that one of the monsters feeds off the mana around it. Are the other two weaker versions? Every ounce of mana I use to hold them in place just adds to their food. I grab my staff tighter and instruct the runes on it to rearrange, transforming the weapon into a halberd. The weapon doesn''t use mana offensively now. Instead, it will use its passive function to absorb mana. Swinging it in a wide arc, I behead all three fiends who are still immobilized by my telekinesis. Letting go of them, I allow the creatures to fall to the ground. I eye the dead bodies suspiciously but it doesn''t look like they will regenerate after the staff absorbed their energy. The absorbing function of my weapon robbed them of their mana. ¡°Switch your weapons to mana absorption instead of using them offensively! We are just feeding them the energy to repair themselves!¡± Then I get jumped by a new pack of fiends and the fight continues as ever more creatures stream out of the dark tunnel. Most of them are humanoid, former denizens of this world, but some seem to be converted wild-life which is somewhat disconcerting. Does this mean that our opponent found a way to spread through beings without a soul? Once again I call upon my divinity and allow it to shape my power, throwing chaotic energies down the tunnel which seems to birth an endless supply of these creatures. A few moments later, there are no fiends left and I look around to check on our state. One injured guard, an injured Nicosar and an almost dead guard is the price we had to pay in order to learn a lesson against these monsters. I kneel down beside the guard who got jumped by multiple enemies. The things had time to find some weak points in his armour and bit and stabbed into them. I try to cast healing magic on him but it doesn''t work. The wounds inflicted by those things seem to affect the soul. ¡°Doesn''t look good for me, eh?¡± The guard tries to smile but spurts blood from his mouth instead. ¡°You don''t have to worry. We won''t leave your soul in a place like this.¡± I concentrate and anchor his soul to his body. Then I wave to the other injured guard. ¡°Take him back to the Nomad and report the current situation. They can only use the weapons which don¡¯t use mana to attack. Rely on pure physics and activate the energy drain functions! Everything else just feeds those things!¡± The guard nods and grabs his heavily injured comrade to teleport away. Then I take a look at Nicosar who is curiously eyeing the evil-looking cut on his left thigh. One of the fiends managed to break through the armour. Luckily, it seems to be just a flesh wound. The fiend didn''t get deep enough. ¡°It isn''t healing?¡± Nicosar stabs a finger into the wound like not believing it really exists. ¡°I had no problem with healing the wounds from the guardians at the Sphere of Sight!¡± ¡°No way! The immortal geezer got damaged by a critter!¡± Celes smirks at him. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s time for you to learn to dodge.¡± Then her expression turns serious. ¡°Joke aside, please avoid more injuries. My resistance potion can be overwhelmed if there is too much corruption at once. And it seems like these things were improved in some way. Although, some of them appear to be different from the others.¡± I purse my lips at the sight of the dissolving creatures. ¡°She is right, Nicosar. I suggest you be more careful with those things. They injure not only the physical world with their claws but the soul. These are definitely different from those we encountered earlier. You need to go back too?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell me to abort the mission now.¡± Nicosar shakes his head. ¡°The cut just looks nasty, but it is just a minor surface wound. It just surprised me because it hurt so much. I never felt pain like that before.¡± He points down the tunnel. ¡°If those things are evolving, or there are simply many different types, then it is imperative that we learn more.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go on and conquer this stupid tunnel. Now that we know how to keep them down it will be easier.¡± Celes leads the way and we follow her. Only that this time, we advance more carefully. Getting jumped by such a large group of those monsters wasn''t funny even though they were individually weak. They had numbers on their side and they didn''t have the good manners to wait for us to finish our fights. They just came at us like a pack of rabid dogs. After another curve of the tunnel, we arrive in a big open cavern. There are dozens of fiends and in the middle of them is a shiny, spinning sphere ¨C which reminds me a little too much of the Sphere of Sight. Multiple elves, dryads and other mortals are held in stone prisons at the walls of the cavern. An elven male is lying twitching under the sphere while spikes and claws break through his skin and he slowly turns into one of the monsters. Probably it was his scream which we heard earlier when we had to decide for a direction. ¡°By the gods!¡± Nicosar curses, raising his sword. ¡°That''s a second Sphere of Sight!?¡± Tanja exclaims, just as flabbergasted as me that there are two of the cursed artefacts. I twirl my halberd with grim resolve and walk forward while readying my spells. ¡°They connect to the Calamity through the Sphere to create those monsters! If we take care of the Sphere, their reproduction will be hampered.¡± ¡°They can still make more of them with the disease,¡± my wife points out. ¡°Yes, but I bet that those who were created by the disease are the inferior versions. Otherwise, they would have taken an artefact as valuable as a Sphere away from here,¡± I explain, walking deeper into the cavern. The fiends waste no more time and rush us. Celes jumps up and runs across the ceiling, heading directly into the midst of them. Waving her open palm, two monsters are blown apart by the shockwave. I don''t waste time and throw my halberd at the new Sphere like a spear. It impacts and the artefact is blown apart into thousands of shards as if it were an inferior version to the Sphere in the Crystal City. Then I realize that this one wasn¡¯t made out of Mana Crystal. For a second, the Calamity''s fiends waver as if they just lost something important. At a gesture, the halberd returns to my hand and the remaining fiends continue their charge. Another wild melee fight evolves. But this time it is a different story. We already know how to keep our enemies down. Celes jumps into the centre of the action and I support her by throwing rocks at the monsters. With my telekinesis, I only have to accelerate my projectiles and draw back my power before the fiends can leech on it. Then I realize that Tanja is in a tight situation with multiple fiends surrounding her. At a gesture of my hand, I detach the crystal blades which are incorporated into my armour, deciding that now is not the time to hold back. The spinning blades cut into the group which is surrounding my friend. I know that this won¡¯t kill them but it will paralyse them long enough for Tanja to solve the situation. Anothercreature jumps at me but gets cleanly cut in half by a guard withhis two-handed axe. I nod at him and concentrate to guide my blades, cleaning out a safe area for our group. As soon as the ranks of the fiends are broken, the fight is not as tight as before. The fiends may have superior numbers, but now my friends have their backs free. The fight concludes with a cavern full of minced creatures and a few mortals staring at us with big eyes. There are about twenty prisoners left. Though the cells throughout the cavern should give enough space for hundreds of people. Did the servants of the Calamity cart prisoners to this place in order to turn them? ¡°Thank you so much for saving us, Lord.¡± An elven male bows to us from his spot inside his prison cell. ¡°What happened here,¡± Celes asks. ¡°I was doing my everyday work when these monsters appeared. They herded us into their lair and locked us into these cells. And then this nightmare started. People were turned into monsters by the sphere and left the cavern. From time to time the monsters would bring in new prisoners. At some point, no new prisoners were brought and our numbers started to dwindle,¡± an almost naked dryad gives us her story. I gesture for the guards to free the mortals. Then I kneel down beside one of the dead monsters, but I feel nothing from it. It''s like earlier, just an empty shell. Probably they really are just agents for the Calamity to gather souls. ¡°Fair maiden! Could I hear the names of our saviours.¡± The freed elven male from earlier turns his attention to Celes with a sweet voice. My wife almost bursts out into laughter. ¡°Fair maiden¡­ she is neither fair nor a maiden,¡± I grumble, but I guess it is normal for mortals to mistake us. Celes stopped her ageing process somewhere at twenty-five. Nicosar preferred to keep his geezer appearance even as a god. The elven male gets disgusted looks by the female prisoners. ¡°Don''t even try. You aren''t even worth the dirt on my shoes, little mortal.¡± Celes dismissively waves at the guy. ¡°Only the high god Evenguar would call an elf a mortal. From which race are you people by the way? I have never heard of folk with horns before,¡± the dryad raises her voice again. ¡°We are gods, just like your Evenguar. Our ilk comes in many different packages. He begged us for help in order to save this puny world.¡± One of our guards proves to have a loose tongue, causing the prisoners to draw in sharp breaths. ¡°Let''s get going, I don''t want to camp down here overnight.¡± Tanja urges the group towards the entrance from which we came. On our way to the surface, the male mortals keep pestering Celes with their gazes. Even the female prisoners join in. Halfway to the exit Celes can''t keep calm any more and snaps at the mortals. ¡°What''s up with you!? Never seen a woman before!?¡± One of the women blushes and apologizes to Celes. ¡°We are sorry. But you are all so different from what we always imagined about gods. And you look so beautiful!¡± ¡°Yes! I would actually like to go out with you! You are the finest woman I have ever seen.¡± One of the male prisoners adds, clearly losing to my wife¡¯s charm. Celes turns to look at him, then puffs out her cheeks and bends over. ¡°Blleeergh!¡± As if looking at the guy was the cause, Celes barfs all over the floor. The group stops as a whole, stunned, and I turn to assist Celes. I didn¡¯t say anything about the mortals since they are insignificant, but if Celes is sick it is a different story. Celes spits on the floor and turns on the mortals. ¡°What? Never seen a pregnant woman before?¡± Her comment is as shocking to the mortals as it is to me. I jump to her side. ¡°What are you saying, sugar!? Why didn''t you tell me? And why did you go to battle in that state?¡± ¡°Shut up, husband. I only found out recently and being pregnant isn''t a sickness where you have to refrain from moving and stay inside!¡± Celes snaps at me. I know better than to object to her. ¡°Pregnant?" One of the disillusioned prisoners breaks the silence. "A God?" "Husband?¡± ¡°Hush! Idiots! Where do you think little gods come from!? Did you think they just pop into existence! Stupid mortals!¡± Celes barks at them and turns to me. ¡°Just let¡¯s hurry and get to the surface. Better yet, let¡¯s take a pathway, I am done with this.¡± Actually, they do kind of just pop into existence¡­ It''s only recently that gods are actually born. But I don''t care to explain that to the shocked mortals. Evenguar will have quite some explaining to do if his world survives, based on how complex his religion is. That¡¯s when I notice a flash of light behind Celes, originating from the mortal who showed a little too much interest in her. Celes and I react instinctively. I summon a shield and my wife tries to dodge to the side, but not before the crystal spear which appeared in the mortal¡¯s hands stabs through my shield as if it wasn¡¯t there and cuts deep into her shoulder. Celes¡¯ scream of agony makes me abandon all restraint as I impale the mortal with my weapon. Stepping forward to rip the god-slayer out of his hands and hurl the corpse down the tunnel. A weapon of my own creation which I thought lost, a weapon that was used to slay Myrm and myself in our final battle was just used to hurt her once more. It was the same with the dagger, only that this time it worked. Returning my attention to my wife, I find her unconscious on the ground. ¡°Celes!¡± Chapter 74 ***Chimera ¨C The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Her soul is fraying at the edges. It looks like the weapon reversed whatever effect caused Isabella¡¯s and Myrm¡¯s souls to fuse with each other,¡± my mother, Ireth, gives me her diagnosis of my wife¡¯s situation, taking her hand away from Celes¡¯ forehead. My wife is lying on an operating table which I conveniently had standing around in my laboratory. Not that I need it often these days. She is a spoilsport when it comes to experiments on living test subjects. ¡°How much time does she have,¡± I ask, knowing the answer already, but I want a second opinion for confirmation. Ireth has the memories of her former personality, Janice, a soul mage at least as experienced in the craft as I am, even if she concentrated her field of research on necromancy instead of focusing solely on soul-magic. ¡°However the spear works, it only reversed the effect. Several centuries passed since Seria¡¯s fumbled attempt at repairing Myrm¡¯s soul, so I don¡¯t see any reason why the reversed process should happen any faster or slower,¡± she answers and turns her attention to the crystal spear which hovers on a pedestal in my laboratory, safeguarded behind the strongest wards I can come up with. It is the safest place I can think of. She shakes her head. ¡°Just what were you thinking when you made that weapon? Something that unravels the enemy¡¯s soul is truly terrifying, especially since anyone seems to be able to wield it! We can be glad that the thing only grazed Celes. In the future, we have to keep an eye out for plots like this one.¡± ¡°I know. From the beginning, I had a bad feeling about the whole situation, but we can¡¯t just hide behind safe walls if we want to find a clue about our enemy¡¯s whereabouts,¡± I growl, frustrated by the fact that we have nowhere to strike. I glance at the spear which is a gnarled and ugly thing, the shaft something between a naturally grown crystal and a genuine item. Only the blade is formed halfway correctly, a short-sword attached to the long shaft. ¡°It was one of my first attempts at creating a weapon from mana crystal. Back then, I didn¡¯t know how to correctly control its growth or how to apply runes and enchantments during the process. All I did was channel my divinity into the item while I created it, hoping that it would have an acceptable result.¡± ¡°So infusing Chaos magic into the weapon got you something that destroys not only the physical body but also the soul.¡± Ireth clicks her tongue in disapproval. ¡°I thought my old self taught you better than to experiment with unknown forces.¡± ¡°Without trying and refining the process I would have never arrived at the desired result!¡± I gesture at the walls surrounding us. ¡°So you have no idea how to undo what the weapon did? I thought you were present when Seria ¡®repaired¡¯ our souls.¡± I look back and forth between Ireth and Katrine. Ireth sighs in frustration and straightens her blue-red dress with skin-tight leggings beneath. ¡°I wasn¡¯t present.¡± She looks at Katrine, the former succubus matriarch, who wears a regal gown with short sleeves. Katrine only shrugs. ¡°I admit that using another soul to ¡®patch¡¯ Myrm was my idea, but all my soul magic was an innate ability from my existence as a demon. Seria was the one who actually fused Isa and Myrm. Her magic was actual soul-magic, like yours, and therefore above my pay-grade. The exact ¡®how¡¯ was her doing.¡± ¡°Great!¡± I grumble. ¡°Seria¡¯s memories are unfortunately unreliable until she grows up. And even then I have no guarantee that she will remember what she did.¡± Katrine frowns. ¡°Is it really a bad thing?¡± ¡°What?¡± Ireth asks, confused. ¡°That her soul is fraying.¡± Katrine gestures towards Celes. ¡°Previously, we were concerned because Myrm¡¯s and Isabella¡¯s souls were fusing, because it was unnatural. And now we are concerned because the two souls are splitting up, which is exactly as Seria originally intended it to happen.¡± I clench my fists together, not wanting to admit in front of everyone that I am afraid of losing the version of Celes which I have right now. Myrm was a psychotic control freak and Isabella was pushy as hell ¨C even if she loved me with abandon. Celes is just the right mix, the perfect woman for me. She is independent and knows what she wants while loving me at the same time. Even better, she doesn¡¯t take my shit and has her own opinion¡­ and she does all the things I don¡¯t really want to be bothered with. Like governing the kingdom, dealing with the nobles and the other societies on a day to day basis¡­ What would I do without her? ¡°I am just afraid of what will happen. The ¡®not knowing¡¯ makes me crazy!¡± I reply. ¡°What do we do if she actually separates into two personalities? Wouldn¡¯t it be like having schiz- schizo-¡± Damn! I am no good at this stuff. ¡°Schizophrenia.¡± Ireth rolls her eyes. ¡°We clone a body for Isabella and you marry her too¡­ well¡­ according to Katrine you are already married to her¡­ so you will simply have two wives.¡± Katrine shrugs. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time for a king to have multiple partners. The commoners do it all the time.¡± I look at the both of them, aghast that my own mother and my mother in law could suggest such a course of action. ¡°Could you please stop talking as if I am already dead?¡± Celes inserts herself into the conversation, fuming while lying on the operating table. ¡°Just listening to you makes me sick! It¡¯s as if all of you think that I have some type of cancer!¡± She sits up and slides off the table, spreading her hands to show us that she is fine. ¡°I feel good! Maybe a little edgy after almost having that thing stabbed into me again. The memory still gives me the shivers.¡± She turns to me. ¡°And it¡¯s not like we have to worry about it anytime soon. A few decades are more than enough to find an answer. Even if there is no cure, you still love all of me, right Angrod?¡± I scratch my chest, trying my best not to show my guilt. ¡°Of course, dear! I love every aspect of you.¡± When they are together¡­ I have to find a way to fix her! Thankfully, telling a half-truth seems to work and Celes goes on. ¡°Good!¡± She closes her eyes and sighs, clearly stressed out. ¡°So, what happened since I was out? All you did was fuss over me since I woke up.¡± ¡°Nothing much,¡± I reply quickly, throwing a meaningful look at my mother, but Katrine blows the whistle. ¡°Angrod blew up a planet!¡± ¡°What!?¡± Celes turns on me. ¡°We were supposed to save that damned piece of dirt!¡± I wince and try to defend myself, ¡°I didn¡¯t blow it up! But when you got injured I- I-¡± ¡°He used his Chaos magic to disintegrate the remains of the Calamity¡¯s infection, wiping out approximately one-eighth of the planet,¡± Ireth corrects Katrine. Which isn¡¯t really helpful, thanks, Mom! ¡°I didn¡¯t wipe out one-eighth of the planet!¡± I point out, starting to get miffed about their incorrectness. They know how Celes reacts when she thinks that I am going overboard. ¡°I sterilized roughly one-eighth of the planet¡¯s surface, making sure that none of the Calamity''s agents survive ¨C minimizing the losses among our own forces!¡± ¡°And sending the planet into a nuclear winter¡­¡± Katrine adds smugly, clearly enjoying stoking the fire. ¡°Which will last only a few decades,¡± I growl. ¡°Killing countless mortals,¡± she chirps. ¡°Yes! Fuck it!¡± I call out. ¡°Who cares about a few of those cockroaches when some soul-devouring entity is out to swallow all of us whole!? The planet will survive, most of the remaining population will survive! I would have been justified to wipe the whole damned thing out of existence for hurting my wife! And somehow I will find a way to get to the rest of the Council and make them wish they had never been!¡± Celes places a hand on my arm and smiles. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°It is!?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes, honey.¡± She hugs me, startling me. ¡°Given the circumstances, I expected you to overreact.¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± I frown. ¡°It¡¯s good then.¡± ¡°Yes, and the little one is fine. That¡¯s all that¡¯s important.¡± She lets go of me. ¡°And it¡¯s not like Evenguar can¡¯t take care of a little nuclear winter if he really cares about the world.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± I nod. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right.¡± An unexpectedly good reaction from Celes. Could it be that Isabella is more in control now? We stand for a few seconds in silence until I decide to speak up again. ¡°I am a little mad that you didn''t tell me sooner about this new whirlwind that¡¯s to be added to the family.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s true!?¡± Katrine can¡¯t hold herself back any longer. ¡°We get a third one? I would have never expected in my life that I would be blessed with that many grandchildren!¡±Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°As I said, I found out only recently and given the new developments I am not sure if I should have it,¡± Celes admits. ¡°What''s the problem?¡± I ask her with a surprised voice. ¡°That¡¯s completely out of the question!¡± Ireth adds with fervour in her voice, the indoctrination of old times when the royal family had fertility problems speaking out of her. ¡°You are going to have it!¡± ¡°But I have no idea who it will be. And having a random soul as a baby creeps me out.¡± Celes tenses up. ¡°Aengus was like that too,¡± I point out. ¡°I could search for a nice one? It should be no problem, we did the same thing with Seria.¡± I am a little overwhelmed by the situation, but I won''t try to talk Celes out of this. Especially not in front of our mothers. ¡°Aengus was already there when it happened. And Seria was Sofie. It''s different,¡± Celes tries to explain her feelings. I smirk at my wife. ¡°Why don''t you ask Lada. She is still a little down despite her new job. Or Enyo, she would be a real baby because she is completely wiped. We don''t have any idea what to do with her besides rehabilitation. If everything fails, I still have Elsaria stowed away in my personal dimension.¡± I click my tongue in displeasure. ¡°Ah, I completely forgot about that one. She should be overripe for interrogation by now, but I doubt that she was anything more than a pawn.¡± ¡°You''re creeping me out! No way! Enyo is completely out of the question! And Lada is the president of the multiverse now!¡± Celes goes stiff and objects vehemently to my suggestions. ¡°Well, you could ask her. It''s not like she still couldn''t do the job. And she would get to be Seria''s little sister. As for the duration where she will be a child, there should be a replacement,¡± I try to sweeten the idea, not wanting to have a random brat as my offspring either. The people who enter this family have to be powerful and no pushovers. Otherwise, they won¡¯t survive for long, given our background. Celes elbows me into the side. ¡°I knew that you are useless in this matter. This is a delicate field for a woman!¡± ¡°Hrm. Anyway. I humbly await the Queen''s decision in this matter,¡± I concede and lean in to whisper into my wife¡¯s ear, hoping to take advantage of her surprisingly good mood. ¡°If you feel better again, I always wanted to try the cat costume on you! You know, the one with the tail! It¡¯s not like anything can go wrong now, right?¡± Celes only shakes her head. ¡°You will never learn.¡± ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** ¡°This looks troublesome.¡± Mawu comments on our tactical map of the multiverse which is projected above the conference table. Several zones are marked red, indicating infected areas. Since the incident at Elhort, our enemies expanded their operations to multiple worlds and dimensions in an attempt to overwhelm us. The matter is serious enough for the Chimerans and the other societies to come together in order to hold a meeting regarding the new appearances of Spheres and servants of the Calamity. I study the map. There are many different opinions on how to present the multiverse. It''s a little hard to make a map of different dimensions which overlap with each other in some areas. I never had the patience to learn the exact theory behind it, but I like the twisted spiral which forms partly overlapping circles best. It may be a very simplistic description of the multiverse, but this version is the easiest one to point out a specific location. The height of the spiral represents different dimensions with changing laws of physics. Each layer is its own universe. In some points they are folded into each other and in others, they are farther away. In reality, the spiral doesn''t form a circle but is more like a knot. For ease of understanding at this meeting, we chose this representation. I think my husband is the only person in existence who prefers the ¡®knot¡¯ because it comes closer to reality. ¡°These Spheres pop up all over the place and cause havoc! My community already had to deal with seven of those incidents! We need to stop this!¡± Miruliru foams with anger. ¡°It''s true. It''s like those fuckers pull terrorist bombings on us.¡± Carne folds his hands together, resting his elbows on the table. ¡°They are trying to feed the Calamity.¡± Chiffre tightens a bolt on his mechanical arm, pointing out the obvious. ¡°Feed it? They didn''t have to feed whole worlds to it until now!¡± Zanders adds. ¡°Up until now, they fed it with gods. Now that they don''t have this resource as readily available, they have to use the souls of mortals. I guess that the Calamity is on a pretty harsh diet right now. Otherwise, they wouldn''t go on a rampage like that. Being that active increases their risk to be found out,¡± Chiffre continues his assessment and places a drop of oil on the bolt. ¡°We should see this as a good thing. The more operations they have running at the same time, the likelier it is for them to mess up.¡± ¡°So the Calamity could really starve if we destroy all the Spheres?¡± Gwallona asks. ¡°It is a possible interpretation of the situation,¡± Angrod admits from his seat next to me, not sounding entirely convinced. ¡°By the way, I heard that you saved the planet of that little god who begged you for help? How did you do that? We had to wipe out our planets completely and sort the souls from the demons!¡± Miruliru asks us the dreaded question. Angrod already informed me that he used his Chaos magic and that he doesn¡¯t want to share this knowledge. ¡°I heard about that too!¡± Carne follows up and everyone gazes at us. Angrod fidgets with his fingers while keeping eye-contact with them. ¡°For various reasons, the magic we used for that purpose is a secret of mine. Anyway, a fortress like ours would be needed to cast the spell on the necessary scale. It would be of no help to you. We are willing to help out with our fortresses anywhere you need them.¡± ¡°Sadly, it won''t change the overall situation,¡± I add with a grim expression. ¡°We are already building more fortresses as fast as we can.¡± ¡°Fortresses can be built. If one is needed to save a world from the fiends, we shouldn''t spare the effort to create them,¡± Chiffre points out. ¡°You would have to share your crystal technology with us.¡± Miruliru points out. ¡°That¡¯s the main problem.¡± I continue to stare at the map while I contemplate on how to handle the situation in a way that¡¯s acceptable to everyone. ¡°You should place at least that much trust in us. Why don''t you want to share that knowledge? If you can''t give us at least an explanation, this group has already failed its purpose,¡± Gwalonna voices her thoughts. She has a point. I decide to go with the truth. ¡°Angrod, just tell them. It¡¯s not like we can hold the knowledge back forever ¨C as dangerous as it may be. Holding back just isn¡¯t worth the long-term political ramifications.¡± He looks at me, then sighs. ¡°It''s my personal magic. I developed it long ago ¨C and it started out as a means to kill myself. It is a disruption spell which interacts with all levels of reality. It minces everything to pieces, be it physical or ethereal. Doesn''t matter if the soul belongs to a mortal or a god.¡± He waits for questions, but the others just stare at us in shock. After a short silence he continues, ¡°You probably realize that this spell is dangerous, so I don''t want it to spread. I don''t like the idea of it being used against me, and the Council has repeatedly proven their tendency to take things which do not belong to them and turn it against others. If possible, I wouldn''t use this spell at all and simply take the losses of worlds and mortal lives. Saving Evenguar¡¯s planet was just a test to see if it works on the fiends. Still, it was comparable to using a nuke on a house. You can probably imagine the damage it could do to us if this knowledge fell into the wrong hands. The security on my flying fortresses is reasonably safe because everything is hard-coded into the crystal. There isn¡¯t much chance of getting the knowledge out ¨C or back ¨C after I deleted the memory stores. Still, I won''t use the spell anywhere where I am not entirely sure of the security measures. Right now, the only place where the spell resides is in my head.¡± Mawu leans back in his chair. ¡°I see. It would be a horrible weapon against us gods.¡± ¡°But the test proved successful. How can we not take advantage of something like that when whole planets are dying?¡± Carne complains. ¡°Can you promise me that the spell won''t spread if Angrod gives you the magic theory behind it?¡± I ask them. Miruliru and Carne look at each other, then they shake their heads. ¡°Everything can be stolen. If it spreads widely enough the information will get out. It would be foolish to give such a promise and I am not stupid enough to believe that my people are able to keep such a secret on a grand scale,¡± Carne admits. ¡°My best men ¨C sure ¨C but that only includes a handful of men and women.¡± ¡°I am withthe Chimerans on this. As long as it stays in his head, it''s relatively safe. The Chimerans'' fortresses are also the most secure place at the moment ¨C at least until we can build something similar. I don''t want some maniac to use that magic against us.¡± Zanders takes our position. ¡°Just tell me. Did you indeed try to kill yourself when you developed that spell?¡± Chiffre addresses Angrod. ¡°A long time ago I lost something very precious to me. And when I realized that I wouldn''t get it back, I wanted to end it once and for all. I wanted to be sure to forget the endless cycle of hell I was caught in,¡± Angrod answers him, referring to the cycle of life and death which none of us gods can escape. ¡°Impressive.¡± Chiffre furrows his eyebrows. ¡°Haaah. Where is Lada when you need her? The president should be here for cases like this and give us her moral judgement of the situation.¡± Gwalonna complains loudly to us. ¡°I was at her office earlier, but there was just this sheet of paper at her desk. Seems like she really needed a time-out.¡± Miruliru throws a letter at the table and I start reading.
Dear Children! This old nanny of Love and Peace will go on a vacation! Sorry for letting you guys down, but I need a little time away from everything. From what I''ve seen, you are doing fine without me anyway. Be careful not to lose the right path or I will have to come back and haunt you! I have planned my vacation to last for a few decades, so don''t bother looking for me! You wouldn''t guess where I went anyway. Myahaha! Sincerely yours, Lada ¨C LOVE ME. HUG ME. I am your ONLY one Goddess of Love and Peace! PS: Find someone else for this boring job!
I feel the pearls of sweat forming on my forehead as I read the letter. ¡°She ran away! After all the effort of pushing her into that job!¡± But the style of the writing looks so familiar! I can''t help myself... Seria? I know that ¡®S¡¯ of hers. She is the only one who makes that little swirl to connect it right to the next letter. Why would she need to fake a letter for Lada? Typical! I am out of commission for a few days and the kids get all kinds of stupid ideas! I wonder whether this newest gig of hers warrants extensive punishment. ¡°So irresponsible!¡± Chiffre complains. Then his expression turns fearful. ¡°Does that mean one of us has to do the job?¡± ¡°Aw... and there I hoped we found the right one for this! I wonder where she ran off to?¡± Gwalonna puffs up her cheeks. ¡°Let her have her vacation. She could go for a few thousand years for all I care. Think about how long the Council ruled.¡± Carne waves his hand at the letter. ¡°I guess it makes no sense to look for someone who is an eternity ahead of us.¡± I smile at the group and hand the letter to Angrod for him to dispose of it with a flame cantrip, not wanting to draw any more attention to this matter. He knows Seria''s style as well as I do, so he should catch up quickly enough. For the rest of the meeting, I am very silent and compliant, trying my best not to show that I want to jump up and run out of the room immediately. Chapter 75 ***Chimera ¨C The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** As soon as we got rid of the ambassadors, Celes and I took a pathway directly to our palace on Chimera, where we found Seria in a pink princess dress and Aengus in blue casual sportswear fooling around in Celes''s laboratory. Seria was handling one of the larger machines, but sadly I have no idea what the thing is used for. I think it was a microscope with attached robotics for safely handling the biological matter, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. Over the years, I built so many devices for my wife that everything blurs together. Aengus was looming next to his little sister, and unlike her eager self, he looked guilty as hell. ¡°What''s going on here? Haven¡¯t I told you not to meddle with the stuff in my lab? And where is Lada?¡± My wife starts the interrogation. Aengus startles at the sound of his mother¡¯s voice in the otherwise silent room. He turns around and after a quick glance at his mother, his eyes lock on me as if I am his saviour. ¡°Dad! We have to stay united! It''s more important than ever! They are multiplying!¡± ¡°What''s multiplying?¡± I ask, already anticipating that Seria is about to get a good whipping. ¡°The little sisters! I am not against women, but four against two is unfair!¡± Aengus complains with dread tinting his voice. I grab my son at his shoulder and turn him around so that he faces his mother, not believing in his complete innocence. It is true that this plan most likely spawned inside Seria¡¯s brain, but over the years I learned that Aengus is an all too willing accomplice in her shenanigans. He has to learn to stand up for himself and firmly say ¡®No!¡¯ to her bullshit. That can only happen if he isn¡¯t spared any of the fallout. Pulling Aengus with me, I approach Celes and Seria. Having pushed her daughter aside, Celes is looking at the screen of her machine and continuously mumbles to herself silently. ¡°Not planned. It should be three. Not planned. It should be one boy. Not planned. I have to recalculate everything. Not planned. The budgeting for the next thirty years! Not planned. So much work! Not planned...¡± Seeing my wife¡¯s state, I can already guess what happened. Celes has a serious issue with planning out every step of her life, and even though she is doing well at hiding most of it from me ¨C our relationship wouldn¡¯t work otherwise ¨C there are still things which violate her sense of how things should be. She is clearly having a meltdown right now, so I address Seria, ¡°What did you do with Lada?¡± ¡°N- Nothing,¡± Seria answers quickly, but I keep staring her down. ¡°Has Nix told you anything about the special training program which I devised to train her divinity?¡± I ask when my daughter keeps refusing to confess. ¡°Do you want your own training program down in the lower planes?¡± I ask. ¡°We can arrange that. Your divinity isn¡¯t swinging completely after your mother.¡± Which is why she is such a handful compared to Aengus. ¡°N- no.¡± ¡°So, what did you do?¡± I keep pressing on. ¡°M- m- me did nothing.¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Absolutely nothing. I am an innocent bystander! It was all according to Lada¡¯s wishes ¨C her idea of a vacation!¡± She turns towards the machine and points at the screen which displays two small embryos. ¡°Look! I will get two little sisters!¡± She pats the screen. ¡°This one is Lada! And we could call this one Arianne! But it''s just a suggestion since I don''t know her so well. She will be the nice, little sister ¨C the weakling in the family who everyone else can prey upon.¡± Suddenly, Celes turns away from the monitor and grabs Seria at her earlobe, then lifts the child half a metre into the air! It¡¯s only thanks to Seria¡¯s quick reaction in holding onto her mother''s arm with both hands that keep her earlobe from being ripped off right then and there. ¡°Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Owie!¡± my daughter shrieks. ¡°I am so sorry! I won¡¯t do it again! My earlobe will wear out, please let me down! No, worse! It will rip off! Please don¡¯t shake me!¡± ¡°I will teach you!¡± Celes screams at her daughter with enough force to burst an eardrum. ¡°To implant the souls of other people into artificially conceived embryos! How did you even get the raw material!?¡± I have a decent idea of how Seria would get her hands on some of the male components, but how she actually managed to gather some of Celes¡¯¡­ ¡°I took it from the bedsheets after you two were done!¡± Seria admits, what is without a doubt a half-truth. How she got her hands on her mother¡¯s raw material still completely escapes me, and quite honestly, I don¡¯t even want to think about it. Because I doubt that Seria could have used any other genetic material when she calls those embryos on the screen her sisters. Is it possible to use hair or skin particles to create an embryo? Aengus raises his hand, opening his mouth¡­ And it is right there that I realize why he looked so guilty ¨C and that he must have played a big part in what had transpired. I quickly raise a hand and cover his mouth before he can say a word. Then I secretly make a telepathic link with him. ¡®Son?¡¯ ¡®Yes?¡¯ ¡®Have you already forgotten the third law of my teachings?¡¯ ¡®Never admit anything?¡¯ ¡®Right. I don¡¯t believe that you will get away from this one unscathed, but I still suggest for you to take my wisdom to heart if you want to survive this.¡¯ After having heard Seria¡¯s explanation, Celes was too shocked to react right away, but now she snaps out of it, changing her grip to choke Seria. ¡°I will teach you hell! What did you do with the body? How did you rope Lada into this? And just who else did you kill for this Arianne?¡± Wisely, I do nothing and teach my son the art of standing completely still while facing a superior predator. When faced with a mindless beast which you don¡¯t want to wrestle with, the best choice is to remain still and to hope that it deems you beneath its notice. Aengus proves to be a quick student, despite his despicable tendency to be a goody-two-shoes. We do nothing as Seria turns red, unable to plead her case as she is slowly choked to the brink of unconsciousness. We do nothing as Seria¡¯s facial colour slowly changes to a very unhealthy blue, indicating that the later stages of asphyxiation are being reached. Yet, her mother somehow manages to allow Seria just enough air to keep her conscious. One moment before I have to decide to step in ¨C throwing myself under the bus in order to save a child in which I already invested a decade to bring her up ¨C Celes drops Seria unceremoniously to the ground and sighs. Seria flops onto the floor like a limp noodle and stays down, trying to gulp down enough air like a fish on land. ¡°I think death by choking would be a much too easy way for her to get out of this.¡± Celes studies her fingernails, grumbling to herself. ¡°As much as I love you, daughter, this time you really took the cake. What will the other societies think if they ever learn that their neutral Lada decided to reincarnate as a Chimeran? The whole purpose of giving her that job was undermined by your rash actions. I truly have no idea how to explain this to the others without political repercussions for us. You destroyed years of my plans during which we could have used Lada for subtle influence.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Seria tries to answer, but Celes raises a finger to shut her up. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to hear your excuses. However this situation came to be, you should have talked Lada out of this and informed us immediately.¡± My wife sighs and massages the bridge of her nose while squinting her eyes. Then she straightens her ruffled turquoise dress and picks at one of the golden threads which form a neat pattern of demonic wings across the back and envelope her thighs. Finally, she decides to voice her verdict. ¡°You children are acting up because you have too much time. You are bored. This is clearly a call for attention ¨C and your parents¡¯ fault for not giving it to you. Unfortunately, both Angrod and I have too much on our hands to satisfy your needs.¡± She turns to look at me and I stand at attention. ¡°I think it''s time for them to go to school.¡± School? ¡°Do you really think that''s necessary?¡± I ask. ¡°They already know everything that''s important. And if they regain the rest of their memories...¡± Anything they would learn at school becomes redundant as soon as their memories return. ¡°You are right, but we are too soft on them. It will be good for them to be together with others of their age. I¡¯ve actually thought about this for some time. There is this institution which was especially founded to deal with children like Seria and Aengus. The two aren¡¯t alone in their plight, and the both of us clearly can¡¯t give them what it takes to keep them out of trouble.¡± She gestures at the kids who are staring at us as if we are discussing their execution. ¡°The teachers there are doing nothing else besides helping children with too much knowledge.¡± Celes smiles at me. ¡°They will take special care of these two. And it¡¯s not like we can¡¯t meet up with them any time we want by taking a pathway.¡± ¡°That sounds like you are going to bribe the teachers there...¡± I scratch my cheek. But quite honestly, nobody would willingly take care of our two hellions without being paid enough money to compensate for eventual cases of injury, mutilation¡­ death¡­ I should probably prepare myself to provide full-body replacements for the teachers. ¡°I did nothing of the sort,¡± Celes replies. ¡°I recently met some old faces there and gave them detailed instructions on how to handle the situation. It¡¯s even a state-funded institution. You would have known of them ¨C had you paid any attention to our taxes. Do you remember teacher Samarin? He stayed true to his vocation and is now helping young deities to get to terms with their memories and to find out who they really are. Jeniva is also still teaching art.¡± I shudder. Samarin. The bastard actually dared to fail me in his class. It feels like that was a lifetime ago. ¡°Of course. Celes, don''t you think you are going a little overboard with this punishment?¡± ¡°No.¡± Celes shakes her head, firm in her conviction. ¡°They need this.¡± ¡°Dad?¡± Aengus looks up to me with big, brown eyes. I close my own and shake my head, hoping that he would be smart enough to take this punishment instead of drawing his mother¡¯s attention. ***A nameless planet*** ***Eris*** Mortals are so stupid! You can play so many tricks on them as a god. I try my hardest to suppress the uncontrolled laughter that threatens to escape me. ¡°Oh, great Eris! Goddess! Tell us how to deal with these new monstrosities which are threatening the kingdom!¡± The knight bows down in front of my statue, worshipping it while calling for my aide. I have heard about the plague of monsters which are threatening these mortals, but I didn¡¯t pay them any attention up until now. Maybe, if this mortal manages to amuse me, I will go and check them out. It should take a goddess like myself not much more than an afternoon to solve the issue. Turning my head, I speak directly into the corner which allows for the perfect amplification of my voice throughout the cathedral. ¡°Dance the Hokey Pokey! Stand up, wiggle your butt, raise your hands above your head, and shake them wildly as you rotate 360 degrees. If you do this before each fight, no harm shall befall you!¡± The knight gives the statue of myself which he was praying to a dumbfounded look. Obviously, he didn''t expect an answer. ¡°Yes! My Goddess! Thank you for answering my prayers!¡± He stands up and rushes out of the cathedral. I roll over on the floor, almost dying from suppressed laughter, then I crawl out from behind the big statue ¨C drawing a disapproving look from one of the priests. Just imagining the knight doing some weird dance while facing an opponent makes me hyperventilate. Seeing that the priest is going to fetch a large broom ¨C likely in order to forcefully evict me from his church ¨C I quickly head for the exit. Although, the demons seem to be becoming a real bother as of late. I heard about various strong groups trying to control the outbreaks and failing miserably. On one side, having disorder and panic everywhere makes it easier to hide from the new powers which took over the multiverse. On the other, I like this world and its inhabitants, and I was never one to shy away from trouble. Maybe I should go and check out what¡¯s up with these new creatures. Although, I will have to do it quietly. Seriously! Lada was right in betraying the Council when she did. I always knew that the others had some serious mental issues which became worse and worse over the aeons, but I failed to see that our rule was in its final stages. I was never one who didn¡¯t accept the wheel of fate. Life and death, empires rise and empires fall. Nobody can escape this, not even our Council. I always had the suspicion that the Sphere had something to do with the mental decline of my friends. Amaru, El Shaddai, Enyo, and Elohim, were the ones who invested the most time in using the cursed thing. Thankfully, spying on my fellow Council members was one of the few things I did to kill time, so I soon realized that the Sphere somehow made the users addicted to it. So I obviously refrained from using it. Anyway, it is all in the past now. Playing with mortals is so much more fun than those boring Council meetings. While skipping happily towards the exit of the cathedral, I warble a little melody. Overall, it was a very fruitful day for me. I stirred up a war between two kingdoms, I caused a young couple of a prince and a princess break up, and I played a trick on that knight. All in all, I can say that I accomplished much today ¨C therefore satisfying my divinity. I think I fulfilled my duty as a goddess of Strife and Discord. Maybe I will use the rest of the day to help someone who doesn¡¯t truly deserve it. Hey, there must be deities for those kinds of people too. As I leave the cathedral, I become aware of fleeing people. They are all fleeing in the same direction down the street to my left, out of town. I immediately realize that this isn¡¯t any random exodus since there are mortals of all ages among them. Stepping out onto the street, I intercept one of them. ¡°What''s wrong? Why are you running?¡± I stop an elderly guy and he looks at me as if I am from the moon. ¡°Haven''t you heard? The demons are coming to the town! You better run for your life too!¡± He walks onward and leaves me behind. I follow him with my eyes, wondering if I really should have paid more attention to this so-called demon-threat. I doubt that any of these mortals ever saw a real demon. Then I feel an aura of panic from behind me and I see smoke rising from the city. A step through a pathway takes me towards the area and I reappear on a battlefield. No, battlefield is a too nice of a word for it. It''s a one-sided massacre, as spiked monsters are killing the city''s guards and civilians alike. I get an ominous feeling about these creatures ¨C remembering seeing similar ones guarding the Sphere of Sight. Elohim called them his guardians, though they gave me a much more sinister vibe. Did I end up at a world which is attacked by my former comrades for one reason or the other? Maybe going underground, not even contacting the others, was a bad idea after all. I originally thought to sit out the storm and wait for a few centuries until the waters are still again. Then I become aware of the knight from earlier. He is dancing the hokey pokey in front of a monster which is looking at him, clearly dumbfounded by his actions. Obviously, the demon has never encountered a genuine maniac. Just when the demon starts raising a claw to strike the knight down, I teleport and step in, sending the monster flying with a flip of my hand. Surprisingly, it''s harder than expected. ¡°The goddess appeared! You will save us from these creatures!¡± The knight falls to his knees behind me. Just as I turn to the idiot, a huge crystal fortress appears above the city. It is beautiful and I look up in awe, although I would have never imagined seeing one up close any time soon. A fellow deity of mischief told me about them. The Chimerans do have style. I doubt that any of the other powers can present themselves like that. But suddenly a red maelstrom of energy leaves the fortress and I realize that those guys mean business! A feeling of dread and impending doom emanates from that red energy and I grab the knight''s collar, jumping onto a pathway with him in tow. I already believe myself safe when the pathway suddenly distorts and falls to pieces. A sickening feeling befalls me and I erect a barrier around the mortal, whose life would be likely lost otherwise. Everything starts turning upside down and I try to adjust myself. It''s in vain and I lose control. I enter reality again and fall hard into the dirt. The world seems to tilt sideways as I try to get up ¨C failing miserably. The unconscious knight is lying next to me, taken out by whatever disrupted the pathway. I get to my knees and see that I managed to get us out of the city in the nick of time. The city is a ravaged and a burning inferno ¨C no more than an enormous hole in the ground. What''s wrong with these Chimerans? I thought they were the good guys! Doing something like that to the mortals? Are the demons really such a threat? I collapse back to the ground as a group of people appears around us. Try as I might, there is no chance of getting up again as the darkness of sweet unconsciousness slowly closes in. ¡°It''s true. There really was a god inside the city.¡± ¡°She looks like someone from the wanted posters!¡± ¡°You are right! We will earn a big reward for this!¡± ¡°What''s with the mortal?¡± ¡°Let him be. The area is safe now.¡± One of the strangers picks me up, and that¡¯s the last thing before the lights go out. Chapter 76 ***????¦ï??*** ***Eris*** ¡°Oohh...¡± I moan and feel my eyelids flutter as I roll over.Squinting, I try to open my eyes, but the place I am in is too bright. Each time I try, a lancing pain stabs through my eyes directly into my brain. It takes minutes before I finally manage to acclimate to my surroundings enough tolook around and to find out where the fuck I am. The ground seems to be white sandstone and it stretches out in all directions as far as I can see. There is no sun in the empty sky, but it is still as bright as day. Also, I am alone. I reach for my temples, trying to suppress the pain from my still hurting eyes while I sort out my memories. The last thing I can recollect is being caught in the side-effects of a Chimeran weapon. Am I dead? For real? The great Eris died because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time!? ¡°AAAHH!¡± I scream out my frustration to the nothingness and wave my fists at my fate. ¡°Is anybody here!?¡± I get no answer, so I sit down to think about my situation. There were the Chimerans and that mortal who I saved right before I passed out. What was wrong with me at that moment? Did I feel guilty because it was my fault that he waved his ass at those monsters? Why would I risk my own well-being for some mortal? Well, it''s a waste of time to think about it now. I can''t change the past. Just what the hell is this place? Raising my hand, I try to cast a spell, but nothing happens. It¡¯s as if I am suddenly some mundane mortal! All I can accomplish is waving my hands like some lunatic. Or, could it be that I am not dead and that this is some sort of holding cell? I get up and start walking, even if it seems pointless. It feels like this place is endless, but maybe that¡¯s just a trick, so I look for signs of spacial manipulation without finding anything. There is also not the slightest feeling of any pathways. Is this the inside of a Void Zone? Such thoughts and others keep going through my mind as I walk for minutes¡­ hours¡­ days¡­ It feels like an eternity passes but I arrive nowhere. There is just endless white and for some unknown reason, I don¡¯t even feel hunger or thirst. I scream, and this time it is not frustration, but the beginning of despair. *** I don¡¯t know how much time passed since I started crawling around on my knees, crying like a little child. Nothing I try works. A while ago I even attempted marking my path with blood. But it¡¯s futile. It¡¯s like the sandstone is slowly sucking everything up, erasing any trace I leave behind. Is this really the end? Is this the retribution for my life as a Council member? If I had known I would have tried harder to change something about myself. Crying, I try to fall asleep once again, hoping not to wake up this time¡­ ¡°Up!¡± I squeeze my eyes closed, trying not to react to the command. The delusions must be starting again, taking the last bit of my sanity with them. ¡®Splash!¡¯ ¡°Hiiiii!¡± I awake as ice-cold water embraces me from below, my scream quickly turning into a pityful gurgling sound as I am suddenly underwater! I quickly differentiate up from down and swim upwards, breaking the surface with just two strokes and spitting out water. I find myself inside a little pond! It can''t be bigger than two square metres. Around me is still this endless white plane. Unable to endure the water, I quickly reach for the edge of the small pool I am in and pull myself onto dry land, shivering as I do so. Then I realize that I am staring at someone¡¯s feet. ¡°You are awake now?¡± I look up and find a person looking down on me ¨C with a large cat who is licking its chops lying next to him. He is quite obviously either a demon from the Infernal Planes, or Chimeran royalty. Given the circumstances, I bet on the latter being the case. The man has dark horns which curve from his temples backward behind the back of his head, inlaid with golden insignia. The uniform he is wearing is a plain black jacket with black trousers, making him seem completely ordinary. If it weren¡¯t for those eyes. His slit, golden pupils seem to be weighing me against something. His way of looking at me creeps me out. It¡¯s like he isn¡¯t seeing my physical body at all, but judging my soul directly! ¡°I will take your stare as a ¡®yes¡¯ and assume that you aren''t sleeping with open eyes,¡± he speaks with condemnation in his tone. He sits down and just as I expect him to fall onto his butt, the sandstone grows from the ground, forming a comfortable chair beneath him. The man stretches his legs and leans back, looking completely relaxed. It is as if he couldn¡¯t care less about my presence. Then he starts grooming the dangerous-looking animal''s head with his left hand. ¡°Aaah, I guess this will take a while. I already invested a week in Elsaria and in that elf, so I should give you at least that much attention. Where should we start?¡± He tilts his head while looking at me. ¡°How about telling me what happened and who you are?¡± I glare at the supposed master of this endless plane. ¡°And where the fuck am I?¡± I try to stand upin order to give myself more confidence, but the cat growls at me, opening its maw. When I see that the animal doesn¡¯t have only the two large canines which could as well be daggers, but rows upon rows of teeth which seem filling its whole mouth, I slowly sit back down. ¡°Nice little kitty¡­ I am not food, just so you know¡­¡± ¡°I think he is more closely related to a porcupine¡­¡± The man explains absent-mindedly and purses his lips while I eye the ¡®cat¡¯. ¡°So many questions. Well, I guess it won''t hurt getting you up to speed. I will stay civilised as long as you do the same and answer truthfully. I will even give you the introduction for free!¡± Smiling, the man gestures with both hands at me. ¡°You are Eris, a Council member. You happened to be in a city which was attacked by the Calamity¡¯s fiends, the true mastermind behind your organisation. In truth, most of your kinsmen are just puppets, controlled by this entity. I don¡¯t know why you were in that city, but one of my fortresses showed up and cleaned the menace up. You were caught in the crossfire and heavily wounded ¨C your body and your soul. Fortunately or unfortunately for you, my men became aware of your presence when you tried to avoid the attack by using a pathway.¡± He scratches his cheek and looks at the empty sky which nonetheless illuminates this endless place. Having collected his thoughts, he takes a breath and continues. ¡°They picked you up and brought you to me. I am surprised that you don¡¯t recognize me, but I guess it goes with the nature of your existence. My name is Angrod and I am the Godking of Chimera. Unfortunately for you, I have to inform you that your body was damaged beyond help.¡± What is he talking about? I try to make sense of his words, but whatever he is hinting at escapes me. He raises his finger. ¡°But I was able to extract your soul intact ¨C which was a big accomplishment I might say. I do hate it if my work goes to waste. And now you are here.¡± He looks around. ¡°You could say that this is something like my personal soul-space. Actually, it''s its own dimension ¨C similar to the river of souls ¨C just a few dimensional layers deeper down. Not even the inhabitants of the Infernal Planes dare to tread lightly in these places. Not enough mana for them.¡± So, I was caught. I look at my own hands, only now realizing that I am naked. ¡°How is this possible? If my soul is all right, why is my body dead? Repair it and put me back inside! And why do I have a body here?¡± I pinch myself, feeling the pain. Is he lying to me? He shakes his head, apparently pitying me. ¡°Repairing your body is not possible. A body has something like astral connection points to create a connection with its soul. My magic attacks all levels of existence. Though the physical world is affected less strongly, the astral plane is damaged very heavily. I am afraid that I don''t know how to repair the damage to your body. You will have to reincarnate. Not that I would allow an enemy to just walk away like that.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I bite into my inner cheek at his words. If he is telling the truth, I am fucked and at his mercy. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve been so accommodating, tell me everything you know about the Council, the Spheres, where your friends hide. Do you know of any secret bases? I want to know simply ¡®everythinnng¡¯.¡± He looks straight into my eyes asthe pronunciation of the last word sends shivers down my spine. But I won''t give up that easily! ¡°Why should I cooperate with you!? I have no guarantees that you will let me go afterwards.¡± He rolls his eyes. ¡°What makes you think that I will let you go? Anyway, you will cooperate. This whole place exists for the sole purpose of cooperation. If you don''t talk, you will get to know another facet of my hospitality.¡± He waves his hand, and something akin to a portal with the height and width of a human being appears in front of us, its edges marked in red chaotic energies. Beyond the portal is a place which I can only describe as a dungeon cell with a male elf inside it, held aloft by dozens of rusty chains. ¡°You see¡­¡± Angrod says. ¡°There is an easy way of simply telling me what I want to know¡­ or I will have to pick your mind apart.¡± He reaches out into the empty air as if plucking something ¨C and the elf twitches spastically in one direction. ¡°Bit¡­¡± Angrod repeats the motion and his victim cramps up. ¡°¡­by bit¡­ ¡°But that one is just a mortal puppet. He didn¡¯t know anything of value. As for prisoners with valuable knowledge!¡± He claps his hands together and the portal switches scenes. There is a beautiful woman floating in the air, one half of her body horribly disfigured, in what seems to be a throne room which is falling apart. The insanity of the scene only reveals itself as I take my time for a closer look. Things which make no sense like the shower of flower petals or the laughing statue of the very woman floating in the room ¨C pointing directly at her. ¡°I call it ¡®The Eternal Death¡¯. Isn¡¯t it a work of art?¡± He chuckles. ¡°I put her back into that little bubble of frozen time after she spilled the beans about her master. The Plane of Chaos isn¡¯t that particular about things like time or physics. Everything is more of a ¡®floating¡¯ concept there.¡± He tilts his head. ¡°If I had to describe it, it would be more like a realm of dreams and nightmares?¡± Then he shrugs as if what he showed me is of no importance. ¡°As for you¡­ I thought we would start out relatively benign. We could explore a new perspective on the word ¡®pain¡¯ together.¡± A long row of torture instruments appears to his left. It stretches to the horizon until I lose sight of it. There is everything I can imagine and more. From an iron maiden to things I never even heard of, nor can I imagine how some of the tools and machines are used! ¡°And if you still won''t talk, then we will work on the word ¡®humiliation¡¯.¡± Another row of BDSM toys and strange costumes appears to his right. He looks at me with a smug grin. This pervert! Never! ¡°B- B- Bastard!¡± I jump at him and swing my fist into his face with all my might, ignoring the angered roar of his pet. He doesn''t even twitch as my fist impacts his cheek. I feel my fingers breaking! It is as if I hit solid steel without any help of magic. As if my body is mortal! Blinking, I retract my fist, the knuckles are quite obviously broken. Before the shock can be replaced by pain, there is a brilliant white light from the sky. I am flung into the air, accompanied by a roaring thunderclap! For a moment I feel weightless before I hit the ground hard. My ears are ringing as I try to get up and realize that my leg is bent in an unnatural way. The skin on my shoulder is charred and burnt where the lightning strike hit me. It hurts! Oh, it hurts so much! Igape at Angrod who is still chilling in his chair, the cat next to him. He sighs. ¡°I think I already told you that this is my personal space. My word is absolute. You are nothing. If I wish it, you burn. If I wish it, you drown. If I wish it, you die a thousand deaths while I have a nice evening with my family. So, why don''t we try this again?¡± Suddenly, I am sitting across from him in a chair and a table with tea and cookies is between us. I check my body, but everything is fine. I even have some clothes on: wide white trousers and an equally oversized shirt fitting the style. ¡°You see, I gave Tjenemit the same chance and he didn''t take it. It had something to do with his pride. But believe me, if I tell you that you will talk anyway sooner or later.¡± He takes a cup of tea and a cookie. Then he places them in front of me. This guy isn''t right in his head! ¡°B- B- But it will take you time. And you will never be completely sure if I''m withholding information or not!¡± I try to argue. He tilts his head, looking at me as if I am deaf. ¡°Oh, they all talk in the end. But you are right that it''s less troublesome if you talk on your own, although, in your case, I don¡¯t want to damage that marvellous soul of yours ¨C or misuse the triggers I placed in your mind. You are still a little unstable, so I don¡¯t want to risk anything coming loose.¡± ¡°M- my soul? What are you talking about?¡± I stutter, cursing myself for starting to lose my cool. ¡°Ah, they haven¡¯t told you?¡± he asks. ¡°Can¡¯t you remember that time when you had that little accident a few thousand years ago? You were in a coma for several months.¡± ¡°I think,¡± I admit, ¡°I was told that I had an accident with the Sphere of Sight, so I avoided it like the plague ever since. Everything before and shortly after waking up is very hazy.¡± ¡°You avoiding the Sphere was likely my work, even if unintentional. I didn''t want you to mess up your mind again, so I compelled you with a strong revulsion against anything that could do so.¡± Angrod leans forward. ¡°You see, back then the Council still trusted me.They assigned me the job of repairing your broken mind.¡± He chuckles. ¡°And, oh boy, what a mess it was. Quite honestly, there wasn¡¯t much left of the former Eris¡¯ soul and mind.¡± ¡°T- th- f- f- former?¡± I stutter, as a feeling of dread squeezes my chest. ¡°Yes!¡± Angrod looks at the sky as if he is remembering good times. ¡°Now I know that the Calamity took a good bite out of you, but back then it was simply an opportunity to gain control of a Council member. They really thought that having a few soul mages watch my work would be enough to stop me from placing a few triggers in your mind as I repaired you. I used one of them to make you destroy the Crystal City¡¯s shield generators. I guess we can now unlock your memories about your deeds back then. Deus Ex Machina. Ita diis placuit. Carpe Noctem!¡± The words remove some kind of haze which clouded my mind. Suddenly, I remember abandoning the battle for the Crystal City, betraying my fellow Council members! While others fought or prepared contingency plans, I walked away to sabotage the generators! Why would I have done such a thing!? I reach up, squeezing my temples as tears well up in my eyes. The city''s fall, it was entirely my doing! The Chimerans could have bitten their teeth out on that shield for years until they found a way in! He snorts. ¡°Incompetent fools. They didn¡¯t even realize that there was not enough of your mind or your soul left to piece them back together.¡± Angrod fiddles with his fingers, smiling. He looks like a child who is proud of having solved a particularly challenging problem, his eyes feverish with glee. ¡°Instead, I remade you! Soul and personality, handcrafted by me!¡± Suddenly, he moves and is out of his chair before I can react, holding onto the sides of my head while looking directly into my eyes. ¡°You are quite literally my masterpiece of soul magic! Centuries have passed and you didn¡¯t turn insane or had your mind dissolve into a chaotic mess! You have a true soul ¨C a superior one made by me! I even managed to duplicate your divinity! Admittedly, I had a few leftovers to work with, but most of it was my reconstruction. You will get a body that¡¯s worthy of you once we are done here. Tjenemit¡¯s moronic healers didn¡¯t even realize the true magnificence of my work and the fools were watching every step of it!¡± He lets go of me and I start hyperventilating, only calming down a little when he turns away, mumbling something to himself. ¡°You know¡­ you are already my creation, so I am kind of responsible for you. Why not go a step further?¡± ¡°Then.¡± I swallow, my throat feeling dry. ¡°You will give me benefits if I tell you everything on my own?¡± I have to get away from this maniac somehow! ¡°Hm. What benefits?¡± Angrod turns his attention back to me. ¡°I want to reincarnate into a new body without being tampered with by you or anyone else. Then I want to walk my own path from there on out.¡± I look him directly into the eyes and hold the contact. It''s hard with those eyes of his, but I manage it. ¡°You are a wanted criminal throughout the multiverse. Even if I did that, the other powers would get you sooner or later. I could give you a mortal life without your memories. El Shaddai got the same deal.¡± He turns back to the table and takes a sip from his tea. ¡°El Shaddai? How is he doing? Where is he?¡± I sit up straighter. ¡°She is doing fine. No problems.¡± He smiles at me. ¡°She?¡± Oh no! I don''t want this pervert to tamper with my reincarnation! ¡°I want to keep my memories. I didn''t have anything to do with this Calamity you are talking of. The rest of the Council apparently got influenced by the Sphere! I realize that now! But I am not involved in this Calamity business!¡± I really didn''t know! ¡°I just want to lay low until people forget about me.¡± ¡°Hmmm. If that''s true, what help are you to me?¡± His tone turns dangerous and I remember a few of the rumours I heard about him. ¡°I know locations!¡± I offer. ¡°Places the others always went to. Hideouts, personal places, their habits, and secondary bases! I know way more than Tjenemit! I often trailed the others when I was bored. Otherwise, I couldn''t do my job as the Goddess of Strife and Discord.¡± A few anxious moments without answer follow. ¡°Oh, yeah, I know that. That desire of yours to know what the others are up to, I put it into you. The only thing I don¡¯t understand right now is why you were in that city with the Calamity¡¯s fiends,¡± Angrod mumbles, making me feel as if I was nothing more than his unknowing agent all along. ¡°It was pure coincidence,¡± I admit. ¡°I planned to go into hiding and lay low. I didn''t want to be involved because I always work from behind the scenes! But my habits got the better of me. I started to tamper with that world. I didn''t talk much to any other gods in fear that they would recognize me. And then I was in that city when these creatures attacked and your fortress appeared! It was pure bad luck on my side!¡± ¡°And why did you save that mortal?¡± Angrod asks, raising an eyebrow but looking interested. Why is he asking such stupid questions? Isn''t he interested in the location of the Council? ¡°I... I don''t really know. It was kind of my fault that he was there and tried to fight the demons. And then that red maelstrom came down from your fortress. I didn''t think and just grabbed him. And then I shielded him instead of me.¡± I look down onto the table, trying to fight a complete meltdown. ¡°Why?¡± Angrod keeps insisting. ¡°For no reason! I had no time to think!¡± I scream at him with defiance in my eyes. The outbreak causes the cat to stir, but it doesn¡¯t decide to bite my head off. ¡°Interesting. I don¡¯t remember making you overly compassionate, so your soul is capable of evolving. That¡¯s good. Very good.¡± He furrows his eyebrows and puts his legs on another chair, which appeared out of nowhere. Then he waves for me to continue. I talk to him about everything while I drink the tea and eat the cookies which for some reason don''t lessen, but reappear after some time. They are really good... especially the ones with the chocolate flavour. It feels like I am telling him my entire life story and everything Iever learned about the Council. Hours later, I stop talking, not knowing what else to say. Finally, Angrod nods, seemingly satisfied with my confession. ¡°Hm. I can''t let you go completely unscathed. Even though you cooperated and gave some valuable information. It was just plain unlucky for you to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. But such are the workings of the multiverse.¡± He takes a cookie and eats it. I sink back into my chair and start brooding. So my gamble was for naught. ¡°Do you want to join my society?¡± Angrod asks. ¡°Huh?¡± I look at him with the most dumbfounded expression ever. ¡°You will reincarnate, but your memories will be sealed until you are eighteen. That will result in a new personality and a new life. And a new family. You will still be a goddess instead of a mortal. That''s the best I am willing to offer you under the circumstances.¡± Angrod looks at the white sky. Um. It could be worse I think? I have heard a little about the Chimeran society from other deities I met since we lost the Crystal City. There could be a lot worse fates than that. Like the one El Shaddai got! I shudder. ¡°I accept!¡± Angrod smiles at me with a devilish grin. ¡°Good. Welcome to the family! My ¡®darling daughter¡¯.¡± ¡°Daughter!?¡± I squeak, but Angrod is already leaving through one of his portals, a heavy tome bleeding chaotic energies in his hand. ¡°Excuse me.¡± He waves over his shoulder.¡°I have a few arrangements to make.¡± Why does it feel like I just made a very bad decision!? Why does it feel like I enlisted for a one-way ticket to hell! The cat follows him, and I quickly step forward, seeing a chance to escape. That is before I take a look at the other side ¨C the true reality lying beneath my orderly, sane world. I open my mouth to scream, but no sound comes out as I see Angrod and his cat strolling away, down a path that¡¯s not a path and yet¡­ my mind simply refuses to make sense of their surroundings. The cat stops for a moment and looks back, grinning at me, its maw growing and growing until the entire portal is nothing more than teeth! And then it snaps shut ¨C leaving me behind in this beautiful, white place! I will never again complain about the emptiness! Looking down, I find that I soiled myself while hyperventilating. What luck that the pool with the cold water is still there. I will also never again complain about cold water. Anything is better than that place! Chapter 77 ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Angrod*** I walk at a brisk pace towards Celes''s laboratory. She didn¡¯t leave the place since she discovered that we would have twins thanks to Seria¡¯s shenanigan¨C plus her own pregnancy. Groaning, I close my eyes. So that means that we are going to be adding three little bundles of happiness to the family. While I walk, I hum a little song and balance a little orb of magical energy on my fingertip. It will be hard to convince Celes to put Eris¡¯s soul into one of the children. But I was moved and a little amused when Eris told me of her life¡¯s story. She isn''t a bad person at heart, just a little cowardly! Although, she got very far by manipulating people. That''s a very valuable skill for managing a kingdom. Then there is also the little detail that she is practically already my daughter. If not in body, then in spirit at the very least. I would hate for one of my greatest creations to be wasted. I arrive at the laboratory and open the door to take a look inside. The lights are out, which means that the room is a little shady since it is already late evening. My wife is kneeling on the floor inside a mountain of papers. She just has a little desk-light at her disposal. She really could put at least some effort into learning at least some basic spells for convenience. Thanks to her divinity she should be able to ¨C or she should switch on the lights. I reach for the controls next to the entrance and switch on the lights. ¡°Honey!¡± ¡°What? I have to recalculate this!¡± Celes grumbles without looking up. ¡°Damned Seria! Her escapade messed up all our financial plans for the next three decades!¡± Why do we even need financial plans? We are gods and rule a whole planet populated with even more gods! No, I shouldn¡¯t ask her that. That will only get me a lot of pointless explanations which will cause me to zone out; and then she will be angry once she realizes that I am not listening. Better to stick to the plan and to find a way to cheer her up! ¡°Honey, look! I found a very valuable soul and thought that we could have three kids?¡± I step closer, rubbing my hands while doing so. The pen in Celes'' hand jerks across the sheet of paper which she was working on and tears it apart. Then she looks at me with an angry expression. ¡°What''s this nonsense?¡± ¡°Ahem. Like I said. I would like this one as a child.¡± I smile at her and go down on one knee behind her, starting to massage her shoulders. ¡°You have to calm down. I am sure everything will be fine. This is just a phase for Seria. Like back then.¡± ¡°Do I look like a breeding oven to you?¡± Celes gestures at the papers. ¡°I was just reworking everything for twins and now you come with triplets. Who is this person who you want so badly?¡± I dig in my thumbs, working on her shoulder-blades. ¡°A nice girl.¡± ¡°No. I won''t recalculate this again!¡± Celes refuses. ¡°Then how about exchanging her in for this Arianne?¡± I suggest, not knowing who Celes attempted to put into the two embryos. ¡°Do you really plan to abort one of the kids?¡± ¡°No!¡± Celes shakes her head. ¡°I am having ours and will put this Arianne on ice while I clone a body for Lada.¡± ¡°I see. And what if I offer you something you can¡¯t refuse? How about if you get to be in charge of the bedroom activities for the next month? We will only do stuff you like.¡± I grin down at her. Celes leans her head back, lulled by the massage I am giving her. ¡°No second tail? No cat costume?¡± She arches an eyebrow while looking up at me. Ugh! It will be hard but I guess I can deal with that if I get my will. ¡°No second tail.¡± ¡°No tail ever again and I will consider it!¡± She crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°What!? No. Not never again! I can''t bear that! You are so cute in that costume!¡± Nooo! I can''t make this deal! ¡°Can we still use it on special occasions?¡± ¡°Okay! Very rarely. On very special occasions!¡± Celes admits. ¡°So, who is the person you want?¡± I start working on her spine. The deal could have been worse if she had known beforehand. ¡°Okay. It''s a deal. It''s Eris.¡± ¡°What!¡± Celes gets to her feet, brushing off my hands. I also quickly get up, taking a step back and raising my hands to defend myself. ¡°Sealed deal! No return rights included! The pact has been made!¡± Celes forms a fist, fighting the urge to hit me as her expression twists into something evil. ¡°Fine! You wanted it!¡± She turns around and walks towards a nearby table. After grabbing a bottle and a big and mean-looking syringe with an absurdly big needle, she turns around and comes back in my direction. ¡°What''s that!?¡± I take two steps backwards and Celes stops in front of me. ¡°Come on! Even you aren''t as clueless as that about biology. Seria did an acceptable job, but I don¡¯t trust her abilities. I have to redo everything and help nature a bit. And for that, I need the raw materials!¡± Celes stabs the pointy needle in the direction of my groin which gives me a bad feeling. ¡°Noo¡­ nonono! You won''t stab that into my balls. Even I know that that isn¡¯t necessary.¡± Suddenly Celes jumpsforward to get me and Iretreat another step backwards. ¡°Halt!¡± I raise both hands and summon one of the toys which I ¡®liberated¡¯ from that brothel. ¡°Why don¡¯t we use that?¡± Celes looks back and forth between me and the device. ¡°Why the fuck are you carrying around a vaulting horse in your pocket dimension?¡± Her expression is saying clearly that my next words could land me in a lot of trouble. ¡°Ah, yes! You see¡­¡± I carefully take a step closer and pull the nasty syringe out of her hands. ¡°This isn¡¯t your ¡®average¡¯ sports-tool. This is something I personally ¡®improved¡¯ upon. Normally, I thought to give it to you on your next birthday, but this occasion is as good as any other.¡± ¡°Knowing you, it¡¯s something perverted. And I don¡¯t see how this is any help in extracting your seed.¡± She shakes her head and reaches for the syringe.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I hide the cursed thing behind my back. ¡°Why don¡¯t you at least try it? All you have to do is sit on it. That¡¯s all. And look, it¡¯s wood and leather and a few metal pins. If you don¡¯t like it, you just break the thing and we go with your plan.¡± I look at her lab. ¡°Better than having a fight in here with all these ¡®sensitive¡¯ devices.¡± She bristles. ¡°Is that a threat? Are you threatening my laboratory!?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± I retort. ¡°I would be the one who has to repair everything!¡± Celes tilts her head, apparently finding no fault with my argument. Then she sighs and turns to the vaulting horse pulling up her dress in order to swing one leg over the device to mount it. ¡°So. I am sitting on it. Nothing happened so can we go with my method?¡± ¡°Not so fast!¡± I approach and pat the handles at the front. ¡°Hold onto those and the fun can start.¡± She rolls her eyes but does as told. The moment she touches the handles, clamps made out of Mana Crystal spring forth from hidden pockets inside the leather covering. Within a moment, Celes is pulled forward, hands and legs securely strapped to the device. ¡°What the hell?¡± She pulls, but thanks to my ¡®improvements¡¯ the restraints hold. ¡°Let me go right this instant! What¡¯s this supposed to be!?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s just a little toy so that I can have my way with you without the risk of repercussions,¡± I admit while stepping in behind her. ¡°You are brutishly strong after all.¡± ¡°What!?¡± I lean over, resting on her back while I fondle her glorious tits. ¡°No worries. I will make sure that you get your fill.¡± She gasps cutely when I kiss the back of her neck and push her skirt up. ¡°Red?¡± I smile while unbuckling my belt. ¡°That¡¯s why I love you.¡± I pull her panties aside and play with her while getting rid of my trousers. Thankfully Celes seems to like the attention, shuddering and drawing a stifled breath. I am about to line myself up with her and ¡®take the dive¡¯ when she decides to play unfair. ¡°Angrod of Tirna!¡± I freeze and grumble. When she is using full names it means that this is no longer a joke and that she is serious. It¡¯s something like a ¡®safe word¡¯ of ours. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I still have the feeling that you didn¡¯t completely think this through,¡± she explains in a husky voice. ¡°First, there is a flaw with this device, and secondly, how are you supposed to get me my ¡®material¡¯?¡± I huff, sure of myself. ¡°That¡¯s easy. Once I am right at the edge, I will pull ou¡­¡± I purse my lips, looking down at that perfect butt, from which I could bounce off a coin. I totally forgot that there is no pulling out ¨C again. One would think that I had slowly gotten used to our new biology after three decades, but the conditioning of several lifetimes keeps tripping me. She sighs. ¡°I am not stupid!¡± I clarify quickly. ¡°No, of course not, honey,¡± she replies, trying to soothe my bruised ego. ¡°You are just so obsessed with perfecting the little details that you forget the obvious issues. That¡¯s why you have me.¡± I run two fingers up her butt while playing my tip over her entrance, wondering. ¡°Well, there is another hole¡­ I wonder if that one has the same issue.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare! I am not into that kind of stuff! And the ¡®material¡¯ would be quite obviously ¡®unclean¡¯,¡± she complains. I throw my hands up into the air. ¡°Well, then how do we do this, because I won¡¯t take that syringe-¡± ¡°Dear?¡± Her tail wraps around my waist. One, two, three times! ¡°That¡¯s the ¡®other¡¯ thing you forgot about,¡± she explains, sounding amused while pulling me off balance. And ¨C of course ¨C I dip all the way into her. ¡°Fuuuuck!¡± I curse, but her insides feel just too good. I quickly place both hands on her butt, trying to pull out ¨C without success. ¡°Love, could you try to relax a little? You are awfully tight today.¡± I smile, hoping by all the gods that she would forget about what I tried to pull. ¡°Nope.¡± She uses the tip of her tail to point at the clamps. ¡°Not before you open those.¡± ¡°Ahahaha...¡± I laugh. ¡°Do you think I am suicidal? Not before you calm down and say that you forgive me.¡± Celes sighs and wriggles her butt against me. ¡°I guess then we will be here for a while. It¡¯s just a blessing that I am the one who can lie down and take it while you have to do all the work in this arrangement. How long will you be able to hold back until you succumb to your desires¡­ and what will happen if your legs go weak from all the exertion and you are still-¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how this is supposed to work!¡± I complain, dreading the possibility. ¡°You would never do such a thing!¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± She hums, clenching her abdominal muscles and making me feel it. ¡°I wonder¡­ it wouldn¡¯t be the first time for you to get carried away with me. And it wouldn¡¯t even be my fault.¡± Damn, she is right! I quickly lean over her and open the locking mechanism on the cuffs which are holding her hands. The moment she is free, she grabs my hands and pulls me closer, forcing me to cup her breasts. ¡°Not so fast.¡± She whispers with my face right next to hers. ¡°I believe that we do have some time¡­¡± ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Seria*** ¡°KYAAAAAAA!¡± ¡°Did you hear that Seria?¡± Aengus looks up from our homework, his eyes wide and frightened. ¡°That sounded like Mom¡¯s voice.¡± ¡°Yeah, it came from mom''s laboratory,¡± I reply, doodling a few pretty squiggles onto my paper, having caught up copying my brother''s solutions. ¡°Something could have happened to her! We should take a look.¡± Aengus puts down his pen. I reach out, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down to the desk. ¡°No! Are you insane! She is still edgy because she has to recalculate everything! She is a control maniac. What if she wants to relieve her stress by testing drugs on us!?¡± I shake my head. ¡°And you are dense as heck if you think that itwas a scream of pain.¡± He thinks for a moment. ¡°You are right. She is pregnant and her emotions are going wild. She is probably just frustrated. No good reason to take a risk by looking after her.¡± Aengus nods with a relieved expression and returns to his duties. I want to facepalm and tell Aengus that the two are ¡®doing it¡¯, but it isn¡¯t worth the effort to educate my block-headed brother. Plus, his time is spent better by solving those extra-dimensional equations so that I can copy the results. Calculating speed and position of an object which was translocated through the n-th dimension just isn¡¯t my thing. So I decide to encourage him. ¡°And we need to get those calculations for tomorrow! Otherwise Mom will lynch us! So solve faster and I might see to it that you get a date with that chick two tables over!¡± His eyes turn dreamy and he purses his lips before he returns his attention to our homework and I can get back to copying. ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Celes*** ¡°Come on Angrod! You have been brooding in that corner for two hours now!¡± I turn away from my work and head over to my husband. ¡°It wasn''t that bad! And you already used healing magic several times. It won''t get healer than healed!¡± Honestly, how much of a child can he be about a little prick. He wasn¡¯t even conscious when I gathered the ¡®material¡¯. And before that, I let him relieve his urges until he could no longer move. There is really no point in sulking. ¡°You have no idea! This isn''t a physical issue, but a mental one! You can''t just stab that into...¡± He shudders, just from thinking about it. ¡°~Little One!~ Turn around and look at me, just once!¡± I smile and pat his head. ¡°No! I can''t look at that horrible tool! It''s too cruel! I don''t even have something like that in my arsenal of torture instruments!¡± he complains. I sigh and hug him from behind, pressing my bosom against the back of his head. ¡°I thought I would heal you in another way.¡± He finally turns around and realizes that I put on that nurse outfit from his collection which he was so adamantly praising. I strike a pose. ¡°Doesn''t this fit the occasion?¡± ¡°My Goddess!¡± He hugs my waist and kisses my belly. ¡°All better?¡± I ask, only then noticing the drawer which is standing in the middle of the room with some sort of case-file attached to the front. ¡°Honey, did you put that drawer there?¡± He pulls his face away from my belly and freezes upon seeing the item of my curiosity. Suddenly, he jumps up and screams, running over and kicking the drawer, denting the metal on its side and flipping it over. Angrod proceeds to jump onto the storage device, turning it into scrap-metal right before it vanishes into nothingness as if ithad never been there. I frown. ¡°What was that?¡± He sighs and corrects his slightly dishevelled hair. ¡°Nothing, dear. Just something that escapes any rational explanation and keeps haunting me! I foolishly thought that I got rid of it after my reincarnation as Angrod,¡± he mumbles. ¡°Should have never poked that hole into the multiverse¡­¡± Chapter 78 ***Noth - Mortal World, The House of Ember*** ***Sharid*** ¡°Sharid, I can''t believe you are doing this to me! What will become of our family business!¡± my mother nags, waving her arms as I pack my backpack. ¡°That''s enough, Mom! I am going, and that¡¯s final! You have my two little sisters who can become heirs,¡± I retort, not feeling any remorse for the woman. She brought me up and I love her for that, but her inability to see things from my point of view will have one of us killed sooner or later. My curse will see to that. Either some insane customer will do us in, or I will be forced to kill one of them and then the city-guard will take me¡­ and everyone knows what happens to people who are affiliated with our line of business. My Mom is well connected, but even she can¡¯t save us from an incident if the fanatics from the church get involved. ¡°I just have to travel and find a way to rid myself of this curse ¨C which is no blessing, whatever you might say! I need to find out why this god cursed me!¡± I won''t become weak now! I have trained my body and my mind until I bled! Nobody can stop me from going on this journey! ¡°But it isn''t a curse! It''s a blessing! Your sisters are nowhere as talented as you! The income goes up just because you look out of the window!¡± Mother spouts the very same line she always does¨C blinded by the money. It''s good that my power already surpasses hers, or she would try to force me to stay. Done packing, I shoulder the backpack and face my mother who is trying to sway my heart by pushing my emotional buttons ¨C teary-eyed and a handkerchief in hand. But my decision is final, my mind made up. ¡°I am going now! Bye, Mom. Thank you for everything. I will stop by once in a while!¡± ¡°Shariiid!¡± Mom hugs me, but I don''t let my heart waver while patting her on the back. I only hope that my family will do fine without me. She sniffles. ¡°Be careful on the road. And remember... a well-placed kick between the legs sends every pervert to heaven!¡± What am I telling myself? They will be much safer without me. The number of sexual assaults during working hours will drop drastically. The house¡¯s bodyguards will bless the day I left because their health insurance won¡¯t be tested on a daily basis. I step out onto the corridor and go down on one knee to hug my two little sisters who were waiting outside the room. ¡°Bring me something from far away!¡± the elder one begs. ¡°I also want a present too!¡± the youngest follows, but quickly adds with a frown on her cute forehead, ¡°And come back fast!¡± I love both of them, but that doesn''t change my feelings. ¡°I will come back as soon as I am able to.¡± With that, I nod at them and draw my cloak¡¯s hood over my head, drawing the fabric around me to make sure that I am unrecognizable. It''s the only way I can move around in public without drawing unwanted attention. Otherwise, I am permanently hounded by perverts and followed by stalkers! These abilities of mine are a curse! My entire life I had to be afraid of what men would do to me, and without my mother¡¯s protection, it would have been more than just a close call more times than I can count. I sneak outside the House of Ember, my home, with tears in my eyes and dash down a side-street. Having planned my escape beforehand, I quickly reach the city¡¯s gate and practically throw the fee at the guard while hiding my face. I dash past the befuddled men and set off on the road to the north. A while ago, I heard from a few travellers about the famous magical academy at the capital! That¡¯s where my quest will start. Maybe they know something about the gods and their curses! I will research my circumstances and follow clue after clue even if it might take my life! At just sixteen I had already more marriage proposals than I can count! If I ever meet that pervert god who made my life a living hell face to face I will kill him! I will rip out the thing between his legs and feed it to him! Stalking with grim determination along the roadside ¨C I allow my mind to wander ¨C imagining ways to punish that idiot. Like the heroes in the great ballades, I will challenge the heavens and change my fate! ¡°~~Nyahahaha!~~ Just wait, pervert god! I will climb the ranks to the top and then I¡¯ll force you to take this curse off of me!¡± Oh, damn! Did I just cry that out aloud, fool that I am!? Right on a well-used street? Checking my surroundings, I notice that a few merchants on their carts turned their heads mesmerized in my direction. More ¡®male¡¯ travellers follow their gazes, trying to find out from where the angelic voice originated. Shit! I am already facing the other direction ¨C away from the road and into the wilderness ¨C as my legs start pumping, fleeing for my life! Slowly but steadily the hoard of merchants and other travelers starts rolling like an animal herd of rutty males who spotted a female in heat ¨C chasing me into the woods. ¡°~~Damn! Siren''s Voice! I hate this fucking ability!~~¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°So it is decided. We will start investigating all the locations which Eris gave you and determine if we can find a trace of the Council''s activities.¡± Miruliru nods with a satisfied expression after summing up the contents of our meeting so far. ¡°And you are sure that Eris told you the truth?¡± Carne grumbles while he flips through a sizeable stack of papers. ¡°There is so much¡­ I can hardly believe that Eris disclosed this on a whim. It may take us years, maybe decades, to take a look at every provided location ¨C assuming we do it right. That means special individuals who are skilled in gathering information without getting caught. We don¡¯t want the Council¡¯s dogs to bail because we knocked on their door, announcing ourselves.¡± ¡°Sure, as much as it is possible to trust someone who was interrogated by a mind mage,¡± I clarify. ¡°I kept Eris close, just in case we want to know more.¡± I smile, hoping to reassure the group of ambassadors. ¡°You kept her close? Don''t tell me you did something unreasonable like with El Shaddai!¡± Chiffre complains, shuddering at the thought. ¡°Nonono. It''s nothing like that. You don''t have to worry.¡± I keep smiling mysteriously, not wanting to share how I can be so sure that Eris stays in my custody. Hmmm. But the mentioning of El Shaddai reminds me of something. It feels like I forgot something. Hmmm. When was the last time I checked on him? I waver for a moment but decide that Sharid is of no importance. After all, I have Nazareth looking after her. ¡°I see, you don''t want to tell the tale. Well, it''s the same in any case.¡± Gwalonna shrugs her shoulders. ¡°We will check all the locations within our respective territories and report back as soon as we find something.¡± Zanders nods at the rest of the group and vanishes, apparently eager to make sure that the Council¡¯s hideout isn¡¯t anywhere close to his territory. One after the other, the other men and women leave until I am alone in the room. I hum a tune and I step onto a pathway to take a look at my people¡¯s newest project. I reappear on a panorama platform above Chimera. To be more exact, it is located on one of the moons. To deal with the rapid appearance of new Spheres which are spawning the Calamity¡¯s fiends, we decided to massively invest in our fleet of flying fortresses. Celes even raised our national investitures in the military to keep up with this development. I step closer to the big window and take my time to take in the scene. A long row of crystalline needles is parked on the moon¡¯s surface ¨C each about a kilometre in length. Most are still unfinished, but it is only a question of time until the moon ¨C which is slowly being turned into a giant shipyard ¨C starts chewing out a ship per month. Once the yard is running at full capacity we are calculating with a ship per day, but that is still a few years in the future. Well, I will call those things ships. They are smaller than the fortresses, with long and sleek forms, but they are enough to deal with a small invasion of the Calamity¡¯s fiends on their own. We decided to do it that way because they are easier and faster to build. Or to grow in this case. And using a whole fortress is serious overkill for dealing with small incidents. As far as I know, the other powers don''t have something comparable at this point in time. But they are playing with the thought. The Arcane Community already launched a few of their prototypes. The fortresses and ships which are made out of Mana Crystal offer protection if nothing else. It''s not that easy to crack open a crystal armoured shell. And in case of fights, they are perfect rally points of strategic value. ¡°I see you came to take a look at my work.¡± Margerie''s voice reaches me from behind. I turn around and smile, spreading my arms to hug her. ¡°I got curious how far your special project has evolved.¡± ¡°The first few ships will fly within the next month. We concentrated most of our efforts in developing the moon as a shipyard. If we face no unforeseen problems, we will start finishing a ship every three weeks.¡± Margerie smiles proudly while she crosses both her fingers in front of her ¨C meaning that she doesn¡¯t truly believe that we can keep this deadline. I arch my eyebrows. It is still more than I bargained for. ¡°Do we even have enough people to crew them?¡± ¡°They have smaller crews than the fortresses. I anticipated the problem and automated most of the technology on board. Essentially, a pilot per ship would be enough, but we still need warriors to repel attacks. What I am most afraid of are boarding actions. The thing we will run out of isn¡¯t people to run the ships, but capable fighters who can defend them. I have played with the thought of lending the ships to the other powers if we run out of personnel. Of course, only in exchange for a little fee.¡± Margerie raises her hand, rubbing her fingers together in the universal gesture for hard coins. I smile wryly at her. ¡°I wouldn''t be too confident about that. The guys from the Arcane Community are capable. I wouldn''t assume that they can¡¯t break the ship¡¯s security features ¨C given some time.¡± Margerie snorts at that comment. ¡°I doubt that they would have the guts to dabble with my security features. I linked any security breach directly to a complete energy conversion.¡± ¡°Energy Conversion?¡± I ask. She nods. ¡°The mana which makes up the ship¡¯s Mana Crystal will completely convert into energy if a foreign power takes control of the vessel.¡± I purse my lips and turn my attention back to the line of half-finished ships. ¡°You are aware that Mana Crystal is essentially a stable form of what the mortals call Neutronium?¡± I point a shaking finger at the ships, not trusting in anything that I didn¡¯t do myself. ¡°One of those is enough to blow the whole solar system to pieces!¡± ¡°MUAHAHA! It will be fine! It''s all within my calculations. Half of the mana will be spent to create barriers. The destruction will be restricted to a small space around the vessel.¡± Margerie pats my shoulder with a confident smile. ¡°I still don''t have a good feeling about having something like this above Chimera,¡± I mumble. ¡°We should make preparations to move this moon to another part of the Void Zone.¡± We keep discussing Margerie¡¯s security measures for an hour until I feel at least somewhat assured about the safety of this project. Afterwards, I set out to get back to my family for dinner. Long ago, it became a custom for the whole family to eat together at least once a week. I reappear inside the dining room where Celes is already waiting with the kids. Arthur, Katrine, and Ireth are there too. Just Nicosar is missing. Greeting them, I sit down at the table. ¡°Where is the geezer?¡± ¡°Nicosar took one of the fortresses to investigate possible hideouts of the Council,¡± Ireth gives me the short version. ¡°He really could have let others do such a boring job,¡± I comment. Checking out all the places someone could hide within the multiverse is a hideously boring task ¨C even if Eris gave us a few likely locations. ¡°Well, he could have taken the time and came here for dinner at least,¡± my mother confirms. ¡°You know him. If he is on a task, he doesn''t stop until it''s accomplished,¡± Arthur defends the old man. ¡°Dear, I wondered lately, but have you released Tjenemit as we decided?¡± Celes asks me while Rose serves her a plate of food. I hit my fist into my open palm! ¡°That''s it! I knew I forgot something!¡± I raise my hand and summon the globe from my pocket dimension. ¡°LIIIGHT! THE LIGHT IS BACK! AT LAST THE DARKNESS IS GONE! THE GREAT DIVINE MASTER FINALLY DECIDED TO...¡± The little man keeps on ranting inside his snowglobe, but I tune him out, grinningat the Tjenemit globe. Somehow, I don''t want to give it away. This little gabble is very amusing, and relaxing too. It''s a real treasure trove of entertainment. Suddenly the globe gets snatched out of my hand! ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°That expression on your face was creepy! I will deal with this. You are obviously too reluctant to throw used and old stuff away!¡± Ireth glares at me. While trying to object, my words get stuck in my throat. I can''t go against mother. What''s wrong with me!? I am the King and I can''t go against my mother! ¡°Yes, mother.¡± Damn! I wanted to say no! I will never get rid of my parent¡¯s conditioning! Chapter 79 ***Noth - Mortal World*** ***Sharid*** ¡°This is the worst outcome ever! My epic journey to glory and salvation ended prematurely because I was too stupid to stay away from other humans! Although, in my defence, I have to say that I successfully escaped that fiasco at my hometown''s gate. Then I trekked alone through the wilderness for two weeks before I somehow managed to stumble into a camp of bandits who turned out to be slavers. ¡°And to top everything off, I allowed myself to be captured like some inexperienced fool! As if I hadn¡¯t learned the ins and outs of running away from evil men from the day I was born. Now I will be most likely sold as a lust slave! I wanna cry! Stupid life! Stupid curse! Stupid chains!-¡± The young girl who is chained to the same tree as I am suddenly kicks me. ¡°Miss! You are going to draw the slavers'' attention.¡± She rolls her eyes. ¡°And stop lamenting about the situation as if the world is at fault for your stupidity. Are you actually somesenile hag on the inside? You actually deserve being caught if you make a habit of zoning out and talking to yourself. Which person with a shred of common sense walks right into another¡¯s camp without checking out who the other party might be?¡± She huffs. ¡°You sound like some maiden in distress who doesn¡¯t know the ways of the world.¡± I shut up, deciding that now isn¡¯t the time to tell a girl younger than myself about my more than ¡®liberal¡¯ upbringing. Still, my mouth is quicker than my common sense. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I am the only one who got herself caught,¡± I mumble. Does it make me a bad person for being glad that others share my fate? By listening to the other prisoners I learned that the slavers attacked a small village earlier that day, overpowering the few able men and taking most of the women and children. Apparently, most of the men were out hunting when the slavers chose to attack. For that reason, we had to march all day long since I was caught. The bandits want to cross the border into the Zul Primarchy before anyone can catch up to them. If they succeed, it would likely result in us being sold on the Zul slave markets, destroying any hope of ever being free again. I heard that they collar their ''property'' with magical bindings. What horror stories I heard of the Zul makes the Church at home look like a cozy little cult. Thankfully, the slavers stopped driving us forward when night fell and camped down for the evening. There are twenty of them and about fifteen slaves ¨C mostly women and small children. ¡°Who cares! They will do horrible things to us once they feel safe enough. At latest once we are behind the border. Does it matter if it happens sooner or later?¡± I lament again, unable to share my worries with the little girl. ¡°You are a gloomy one, miss. Why don''t we hope for the best and trust in our abilities and the gods?¡± she smiles at me, sounding like she genuinely believes in what she just said. I chuckle. ¡°Abilities and gods? Curse them all! I was on a journey to get rid of my abilities! And gods? The only thing I received from them so far were curses which made my life a living hell!¡± I spit on the ground to make a point. ¡°It looks like you had a hard life until now, miss. Care to tell me about it? Maybe I can help?¡± the little girl crosses her legs to sit in a more comfortable position ¨C at least as far as her chains allow ¨C and pats my shoulder. I scoff and snap back, my mouth once more getting the better of me, ¡°You are a little girl! Younger than me! How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen? How do you want to help me? You can''t even imagine what I went through up until now.¡± As soon as the words are out of my mouth I already regret them. There is simply no good reason to vent my anger on a child. ¡°I am sorry. Please, excuse me, but I am quicker to mouth off than is healthy for me. It always gets me into trouble.¡± I slump down against the tree. How could I have been so stupid to believe that I would manage such a journey alone! The real world is so different from a town. And how did I even expect to get into a magical academy with a curse like mine? I probably wouldn''t have gotten past the capital¡¯s gates! ¡°I may not look like it, but I lived in a monastery and received the best schooling possible from the monks who lived there. They thought I was too cute to be left on the streets. During my time there, I got to read many of their holy texts. So, if you tell me your story I may be able to lend a few wise words,¡± she replies, not sounding as offended as I feared. Only a little smug about the fact that I clearly misjudged her. I sigh and use my toe to play with a stone while the sun slowly sets beyond the trees, diving the forest in darkness much earlier than the rest of the world. The sky is still blue, but the high trees see to it that everything is drowned in shadows. ¡°My story isn''t worth telling.¡± She shrugs. ¡°I want to judge that for myself. It isn''t as if we have anything better to do.¡± I turn, giving her dirty face a sceptical look. She really doesn¡¯t appear like much with her brown hair and unassuming dark eyes. But I guess that those freckles give her a certain cuteness when she gets to clean herself up. Her clothes, as well as those of the other prisoners, were already torn rags when I encountered them, meaning that they had to endure a lot more from the slavers than myself. How long does it take to mess up someone¡¯s clothes like that? A week of ruthless running? Two? After a few seconds, I conclude that there is really nothing else to do anyway ¨C chained to a tree with the other prisoners as I am. So I start my story, telling her everything about my life as the heir of the biggest whore-house in town. And about the curse that was cast on me by a perverted god! How I couldn''t even leave the house without wrapping myself in a cloak like some mummy. My days of being hunted by hoards of morons because I messed up and spoke to a man. I try to explain a life of being unable to have a normal conversation with the other gender. They would always get charmed by my eyes or my voice. And how I made up my resolve to search for a cure to my curse and trained my ass off to be able to leave home. But I never found any clue about the gods who were involved in my curse, aside from the local deity from our city. But the deity didn''t matter anyway. His meddling didn''t affect me as much. I made my resolve to travel and search around the world for answers. Just to find out that I was easy prey for a few slavers with ropes and sticks! I was lucky that they didn''t rape me on the spot ¨C though more than one of them used the chance to feel me up when they chained me. When I am done, I look gloomily at the fire a few metres away, the bandits sitting around it.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Aaah, it surely has to be warm there. ¡°You are a stupid little damsel, miss. To think that you lived your life like that until now is truly hilarious.¡± The little girl chuckles while blatantly insulting me. ¡°Whaaat?¡± I turn my attention to her and hiss, ¡°How dare you to say something like that?¡± Didn''t she listen to anything I told her? ¡°Miss, You lived your entire life without ever trying to control your powers ¨C or using them to your own advantage. You just bathe in your own unluckiness while having your own little pity-party,¡± she explains with a smug expression. I open my mouth, shocked. ¡°Is that your wise advise?¡± ¡°Miss, after hearing your story, I have to say that all you did was complain about the gods. How the gods are unfair and cruel. But in fact, you got blessed by two gods and cursed by one. Two greater gods and one lesser are involved in your fate.¡± The girl tilts her head at me. ¡°Do... Do you know anything about this Angrod and Miruliru?¡± I try to crawl closer to the girl, but the chains stop me. ¡°Hmm. Let''s see. Angrod is the god-king of the Realm of Chimera. Your soul seems to be under his jurisdiction. If I remember right, he is a very, very powerful being, although he isn''t widely known because he normally doesn''t concern himself with mortal beings. He is a god of Magic and Chaos.¡± The girl takes a breath. ¡°Miruliru is a benevolent and nice goddess.¡± She winks at me. ¡°She is wise and helpful and very kind. She is a goddess of Faith and Determination. You should thank her for placing those blessings on you, especially since they clearly countered some of Angrod¡¯s curses.¡± She tilts her head, thinking. ¡°You must have done something very nasty in your previous life for Angrod to play with your soul like that, but Miruliru took pity on you and averted the worst, so your actions shouldn¡¯t be irredeemable. Can you imagine your life if your mind had been male?¡± The little girl chuckles at me. My mind froze when she started talking about the gods and it still isn¡¯t working properly, but I somehow manage to ask my question. ¡°Did your texts mention how I can get rid of the curse?¡± The girl shakes her head. ¡°Idiot. Didn''t you listen? Angrod is a king among gods. A magical being beyond imagination and he apparently dabbled with your soul. I doubt that all the gods of this world together could take the curse off of you. Miruliru is a very strong god too and she could just help a little.¡± I let my head fall. My hope is gone. My dreams and goals. All my work was futile¡­ And then the girl kicks me ¨C again! ¡°Ow!¡± ¡°Don''t let your head fall ¨C giving up that easily! Seriously! That''s your problem! You just accept your abilities as curses, but you have to understand that they are more! They were given to you by a divine being and you got a list of them longer than most mortals can ever hope to achieve ¨C aside from heroes! Use them! Don¡¯t just accept them, learn to control them! Try it! Call one of those slave traders and tell him to loosen the chains and let us go!¡± She indicates with her chin towards the bandits. ¡°What are you saying? They would be idiots to do that.¡± I scoff. ¡°There are so many ways this could go wrong. Haven¡¯t you listened to my life story?¡± The little girl snorts at me. ¡°If your mind is locked in a cage and you are unwilling to leave, you may deserve your fate. Didn''t one of your abilities give you the opportunity to change your fate? Use it! Use Angrod''s power and make it your own! This so-called curse came from the king of gods! It is bound to be powerful!¡± I take my time to think about it and then I decide to try it. Maybe she is right and I looked at this from the wrong direction. And let¡¯s be honest; whether I get raped now or tomorrow doesn¡¯t make a difference. At least not much of a difference. The girl is right that I am giving up too easily. I better play my cards while I still have a chance. ¡°~Hello? Guys?~¡± I call out, causing some of the bandits to perk their heads up. ¡°~I am so alone here. Doesn''t anyone of you want to come over here and talk?~¡± Four of the slavers actually get up and come in our direction. Damn! I just needed one of them! Don''t come here with all your friends! ¡°Look! The cutie is feeling lonely. Maybe we should entertain her a little?¡± A fat slaver already starts scratching his crotch while approaching us. ¡°No! I will take her alone! A fine girl like that isn''t meant for fatsos like you.¡± Another slaver, skinny and with a wart on his nose, insults his colleague. ¡°Ah,¡± I try to insert myself into the conversation. ¡°I wondered if I could do something for you and get a small favour in return.¡± Another of the man leers at me, licking his lips. ¡°You guys, this chick is wasted on you. You would just fuck her and be done with it. I would take my time.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± the fourth nods his head. ¡°You have to worship a lady like that ¨C start by whispering a few sweet nothings into her rear end¡­¡± I crinkle my nose, wondering if that last guy would actually be a decent partner if he had a little more finesse. ¡°What did you say?¡± The fat slaver shoves the others aside, clearly trying to be first in the row. Men! They always just look at me with lust in their eyes. I wet my lips and clear my throat, a little miffed that they are ignoring me to argue with each other, so I maybe put a little too much seduction into my next words, ¡°~Uuum, no violence, peace ¨C with a pretty please? I guess that if you brave men would prove me your worthiness, I could show you a little bit heaven? I like strong men!~¡± ¡°I will show you!¡± Suddenly Skinny¡¯s irises dilate and he draws a dagger, slitting the Fatso''s throat without so much as blinking an eye. I watch in horror as the blood sprays everywhere in a wide arc. Me, the grass, the tree ¨C even on one of the unluckier bandits as Fatso stumbles sideways, trying in a vain attempt to stop the flow of blood. But Skinny must have hit an artery, leaving him no way of cutting off the flow of blood completely. After about five seconds of shocked silence ¨C while watching Fatso stumbling around like a headless chicken ¨C the humongous man simply falls over with a thud, quite clearly dead. I have never seen someone killed before, so I react like any sheltered woman would! ¡°~~~KYAAAA!~~~¡± I scream in horror at the sight of the dead slaver. Rallied by my distressed Siren¡¯s Voice, all slavers at the fire jump up and rush over, wanting to assist the troubled female. But before the rest arrives, the blowjob-guy stabs Skinny with his own knife from behind while the fourth draws his sword. The other slavers reach the combatants and try to stop the fight, but one thing leads to another as they pile against the fighting men ¨C and a pile-up with long and pointy things is never good. Take-my-time gets shoved from behind and somehow manages to accidentally sink his sword into blowjob-guy! ¡°~~~AAAAIIIIIIII!~~~¡± I continue to scream with all my might and tears in my eyes as the casualties keep mounting! Why are they doing this!? Now completely enraged, the bandits start fighting with their lives on the line as insanity takes hold and a wild close quarters combat ensues with everyone against everyone! I don''t even understand why they suddenly started to fight among each other after hearing my horrified voice. Seconds later everything is over ¨C a single remaining bandit standing among a field of corpses. Right before he topples over onto his face, revealing a dagger sticking out of his back. ¡°Oh, gods! So much blood! Oh, gods! They killed each other!¡± I start rocking back and forth. ¡°Why did they do that? They never did that before?¡± Is it my fault? Am I the cause for trying to put some power into my voice? The other slaves only watched in silent horror as the scene unfolded before their eyes. What are they going to think of me? How lucky that they are women and that my power doesn¡¯t work on children! ¡°I said you should call ¡®one¡¯ of them over,¡± the little girl comments, quite calm for the given situation. And then she screams at me, ¡°Not start a fucking slaughterhouse!¡± I shake my head while I look at her with a horrified expression on my face. ¡°How should I know that this would happen!¡± I look back to the corpses which are lying so close to us, but still too far away! ¡°How should we get the keys now!? Did I kill us?¡± The little girl takes a deep sigh, closes her eyes and shakes her head. ¡°Well. At least you finally saw what you are capable of. Maybe you will learn from this and start thinking of your powers in another light. Guiding mortals sure is rough. I will give you a little bonus since you are just a young ¨C quite dumb ¨C damsel in distress for now.¡± Huh? Her voice and her aura changed? I feel something heavy in the air and it''s hard for me to breathe. It feels like something far bigger than me is all around me, pressing down on my very being. The little girl stands up and her chains suddenly melt. The glowing metal flows off her skin like water and a cute dress instead of the rags appears on her. While humming a tune, she skips towards one of the corpses who I identify as the former leader of the bandit group. She grabs a set of keys from his belt and throws them in front of me on the ground within easy reach. ¡°Don''t forget to offer some prayers to the gods from time to time. Especially towards me!¡± She pokes her thumb into her modest chest. ¡°I will be mad otherwise! Helping someone twice without so much as a simple thanks isn''t my style.¡± I look up, but the little girl is gone. ¡°Miruliru?¡± I whisper. As if to confirm my question, my handcuffs suddenly click open and fall to the ground. ¡°Smart mortal! Try to get a grip on your ¡®blessings¡¯ until we meet again.¡± Chapter 80 ***Council Base, Border to the Higher Planes*** ***Angrod*** It took our spies a few months, but we finally found a clue on the whereabouts of the rest of the Council. One of Eris''s hints led Tanja to one of Elohim''s former bases ¨C a small outpost which wasapparentlya site for intelligence gathering. It took our people several weeks of agonizing observation work to follow Elohim''s operatives to an even larger site and from the looks of it, it was clear that this was a major site. A small planetoid with enough spy-tech covering the surface to detect a mouse on the other side of the solar system. The agents in charge had to map out all the pathways around the outpost to avoid detection, but in the end, we succeeded in covering all possible escape routes. The plan was to drop in on the enemy with just a few ships and to create only a small bubble of Void space right after the rest of the fleet arrived. Then we assembled our forces and called on our allies and now it is finally time to strike back. I arch an eyebrow, looking at the planet beneath us, then down at the document in my hand. ¡°Are you sure that it is one big factory? And it is producing nothing but those hideous Spheres?¡± I ask Tanja who is standing next to me. I am watching the battle from the Nomad''s observation platform, together with Celes and Tanja. She nods. ¡°I didn''t go in myself, but we had someone from the Arcane Community assisting us, an utterly unremarkable person without any mentionable abilities. He went in to take a look around and we had him screened by a mind mage afterwards. The report is reliable.¡± I look up from the report which I was reading. ¡°He can go into a facility like that ¨C and walk out without anyone being the wiser? That doesn¡¯t sound unremarkable to me.¡± Tanja frowns, clearly confused by my statement. ¡°I think he said that his divinity is Inconspicuousness. It¡¯s less effective than real camouflage like my shadow-walking, but the upside is that anyone who looks at you immediately dismisses you as someone of no importance.¡± Okay¡­ I didn¡¯t know that someone like that exists, but now that I am aware of it I might rethink some of my personal security measures. Celes ¨C who was listening in ¨C snaps her fingers in front of Tanja¡¯s face. ¡°And you don¡¯t think that there is anything problematic with that!?¡± Our friend simply shakes her head. ¡°If you would allow me.¡± I place a finger on her forehead, sending out a small tendril of my mind. Then I give her a good jolt, expecting it to be enough to free her from whatever subtle influence she is under. If it turns out that it isn¡¯t enough, I would have a word with the Arcane Community. Befuddling one of my people is one thing, but outright mind-control is quite a different matter. Apparently freed from the subtle influence, Tanja¡¯s frown deepens until she scowls. ¡°That dirty, little¡­¡± She clears her throat. ¡°It seems like being inconspicuous is more powerful than I was led to believe.¡± ¡°Aha¡­¡± I return my attention to the planet. ¡°We should have a word with the Arcane Community once this is over. It could be that you were simply caught up in that person¡¯s area-effect, but we should keep an eye on people like him.¡± ¡°Nothing wrong with a little espionage among friends.¡± Celes chuckles. ¡°We should still see to it that we catch them with their hand inside our cookie jar and give them a good slap on their fingers. Just so that they know that we aren¡¯t pushovers.¡± I nod, leaving the matter at that for now. We entered the system with everything we got and met heavy resistance, but overcame it in the end. All of the bigger societies contributed a part of their forces to deal with this threat. It wouldn''t be an understatement if I called our reaction overkill ¨C given our previous information ¨C but it turned out that having a joint-venture with the other powers was just the right thing to do. From our side, we invested the Nomad and twelve of the new ships. The other forces contributed with troops and the Arcane Community actually came with a fucking moon which they had modified! They converted a whole moon into a giant ship, packing it with the best magi-tech the multiverse has to offer. Chiffre, the Arcane Community¡¯s ambassador, commented that the Crystal Technology is very useful, but that itis still more efficient to bring the best source of mana directly with you. And that is a dimensional bridge which can directly tap into the pathways for drawing power. I could only frown at this logic, but their device is apparently so powerful that it can draw energy from the pathways despite being inside my fleet¡¯s artificial Void Zone. Right now, we are bombarding the hell out of the planet while trying to keep it as much intact as possible in the hopes of acquiring new information about other possible hideouts. The Arcane Community¡¯s moon is actually doing the most work by launching a steady stream of energy at the planet which results in a few local earthquakes and rising temperatures as they are slowly melting the crust. It¡¯s like they are trying to cook our enemies from the inside out. Good that the planet wasn''t colonized bymortals. Orif itwas, thenthe Calamity ate them long before we came to visit. I am still a little annoyed that we couldn¡¯t simply pull their entire solar system into another dimension. Apparently, my annihilation of Elsaria¡¯s little paradise was watched very closely, and then the Calamity saw to it that there are countermeasures in place. ¡°We are detecting that someone is trying to use a pathway in order to escape!¡± a technician informs us. Aside from a big window into space, the observation platform also has enough control stations to double as a second bridge. ¡°Location?¡± I request. ¡°The attempt came from slightly above the planet¡¯s equator.¡± I nod. ¡°Inform the other powers and get our people down there. I want whoever is in charge alive for interrogation.¡± An officer nods and gives the required orders. ¡°To think that they have a facility like this and use it for building Spheres...¡± I murmur. ¡°Do we have an estimation on how many Spheres they were able to create on this world until now?¡± I ask Tanja. ¡°By assuming that every one of those facilities on the ground can produce at least a fewSpheres a day¡­¡± She does some calculations. ¡°I don¡¯t know how long this thing was in operation¡­ but¡­ several million Spheres¡­ assuming they started their production since they went into hiding. There is no way of being sure.¡± I massage my temples. ¡°I want someone down there who has the expertise to tell how long this thing was in operation!¡± There were far too few incidents compared to the number of Spheres they created every day! Are they placing them on different planets to wait for an activation signal!? Or are they storing them somewhere? I fear that the former is the case. ¡°Sir, if they have these numbers of Spheres and each of them was placed on its own planet, we wouldn''t be able to contain this. Even with all of our forces combined together,¡± one of my men points out what I already know. I close my eyes. ¡°Do we have any idea how they could be activated?¡± If we can¡¯t contain this, then we have to stop them from being activated. ¡°I don¡¯t...¡± The officer aborts his answer and instead turns his attention to the blinking screen of his station. ¡°Sir, the team on the surface encountered problems. There is a very strong individual down there making trouble. They are calling for assistance.¡± Celes nods and turns to the man. ¡°I will-¡± I place a hand on her shoulder, smiling. ¡°Dear, do you remember our little discussion?¡± My wife¡¯s eyes flash with that inner light of stubborn foolishness and I already expect an argument, but thankfully Tanja comes to my aid. ¡°Celes, he is right. You shouldn¡¯t run around fighting other gods in your state.¡± My friend¡¯s eyes wander down to Celes¡¯s obvious pregnancy. My wife only huffs. ¡°I could take down a Council member with my little pinky!¡± She crosses her arms. ¡°Pregnancy or not.¡± I smile and give her a peck on the cheek. ¡°I know. I will give him a few fisticuffs, just for your sake.¡± I summon my staff and turn to the officer. ¡°Send me down and tell Nix to join me on the scene. This might be a good opportunity for her to learn a few things.¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± The man looks embarrassed. ¡°She led the troops who are invading the facility on the south pole, Sir! She went in and we haven¡¯t heard from her since.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Celes glares at the man. ¡°My daughter went alone into-¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t like that!¡± He quickly defends himself. ¡°She kind of lost it¡­ and the troops are too afraid to follow!¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°Tell them that if they don¡¯t get her back to her senses within ten minutes I will come after them. And send me down to where my assistance is needed.¡± Seriously, I have to do everything by myself. Nix should learn to control her impulses on the battlefield. This is the second time she went berserk while leading the troops. At this rate, they are going to be more afraid of her than the enemy. Although¡­ hmmm. We might be able to use that to our advantage. There is nothing as dangerous as a soldier who knows that there is something worse behind him than in front. The world shifts around me as the officer activates the teleporter, circumventing the Void Zone. I reappear on a barren wasteland with craters and a mountain range in the distance. Above me is the moving moon of the Arcane Community, shimmering in a blue light. It''s clearly visible because it''s so close to the planet, and especially because of the bright blue beam of energy which is connecting the siege weapon with the planet. The beam is vanishing somewhere beyond the horizon, but it still creates an eerie halo high up in the planet¡¯s atmosphere. Around me is a battlefield with destroyed facilities everywhere. Just in the nick of time, I realize that something isflying inmy direction andI duck. I get an afterimage of Carne''s face with the imprint of a fist and then the human projectile is past me and impacts a little hill further behind me. A gust of wind from his passing blows over me and covers me in dust. ¡°Look! The king of gods pays us a visit,¡± an elf-like figure with plants sprouting from everywhere greets me, apparently not caring that he is surrounded by various warriors from our alliance. Such a creepy fellow, but his looks fit what I remember from my meeting with Elohim so long ago. ¡°I am a little surprised that you showed Carne the power of your fists. I thought of you more like a caster-type.¡± I smile at the figure while I take in the scene. Aside from the people who are warily surrounding Elohim, there are quite a few soldiers and warriors from different factions around here, some of them on the ground, having lost the battle against the Calamity¡¯s fiends. Right off the bat, I recognize my own people, a few guys from Carne, and a few of Zanders''s men. There are also quite a few warriors who belonged to the Council. Looks like I am coming late for the party. ¡°You worms are nothing to me! I shouldn''t even recognize you as dirt on my feet! The only thing you are good for is to be fed to the great almighty lord!¡± Elohim lifts his arms like in a prayer and smiles at me. This fellow has a few screws loose¡­ was he brainwashed like the others? Most likely. I guess wasting time to talk to him isn''t worth the effort.¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend, Elohim, or whatever is using his shell. We got quite the detailed account of what you are and how you operate.¡± I lift my arm, pointing my palm at Elohim and bolts of pure energy lash out at him. But his aura diverts the energy and I stop the attack. It''s pointless to continue an attack which your enemy clearly has a good defence against. The Council member glares at me, radiating a savage intenseness over the entire battlefield. ¡°Then you should realize that this battle gains you nothing.¡± He spreads his hands and smiles. ¡°You may destroy this body, but it will cost you and I¡¯ll continue on as if nothing happened.¡± Elohim starts walking with confident steps in my direction. I guess it''s futile to hold back against him, so I gesture towards the soldiers. ¡°Disperse, and take care of the rest of the facility. I will take care of this one.¡± Heeding my words, the men and women make a run for it. Elohim screams, realizing that I didn¡¯t fall for the obvious distraction that is him. The body called Elohim is just a puppet, dangling on the Calamity¡¯s strings. What truly matters is unveiling this facility¡¯s secrets. He turns, intending to go after my soldiers, but I thrust my open palm towards him, forcing him to roll off to the side. A mountain in the distance is blown to pieces and I huff, annoyed that the stupid bugger has good survival instincts! He didn¡¯t bother to dodge earlier. Elohim turns around to take a look at the wasted mountain. ¡°You aren''t as concerned about this world as the others.¡± He turns back to face me and smiles creepily. ¡°Why should I?¡± I wave my hand again and a shimmering disk of light shoots towards Elohim, but he disappears before the disc hits him. He appears directly in front of me and I erect a barrier in order to protect myself, releasing my aura to counter his. His hands touch the invisible barrier between us as our auras grate against each other, unleashing sparks of energy into our surroundings. The earth turns to magma and the air ignites as we stand there, testing our divinities against each other.Two titans, caught in a pushing contest which could tear the world asunder. He starts grinning when a few cracks appear in my shield. ¡°That''s a commendable spell. Do you power it with the staff? But it will be no problem. Soon enough it will break and then I will take your soul to offer it to the lord.¡± Elohim is strong. I never would have imagined that a god whose divinity roots in nature could put a few cracks into my defences. I am using a sizeable amount of my power in order to maintain it and another big portion comes from my staff, which draws its energy directly from the pathways. But I also feel that his soul is strange. His whole aura is strange. A single god of his calibre shouldn''t have that much power without the assistance of my Crystal Tech. My eyes wander to his feet where burning roots are digging into the ground, then up, taking note of the little things that changed since I last saw him. The dark veins shining through from beneath his skin, the artificial implant at the side of his temple. Something changed him, and I have a feeling that I am not only fighting one persona but several. I blink and summon the organic enchantment, allowing it to change my horns into a mask and to cover the rest of my body. Then I make use of the mask¡¯s ability to visualize energy, following a strong connection which fuels Elohim through the planet, but there are additional factors supporting him. A little bit of power from within, some energy from the air surrounding us¡­ Together, it adds up, turning him into a formidable foe. ¡°What are you planning to do with those Spheres?¡± I try to smile at him while he doubles his efforts and the cracks in my barrier spread further. ¡°Isn''t it obvious? We will activate the Spheres and they will consume everything within the multiverse. All will be one with us!¡± A few drops of sweat appear on his face, his expression manic but confused. ¡°How is this possible? This barrier should be gone by now!¡± I grin at Elohim. ¡°You are not the only one who can cheat. I already realized that you are using multiple soul-spaces ¨C which gives you access to several divinities. Although, that body¡¯s original power is still the strongest one. I gained another piece of intel which explains why you can¡¯t flood the multiverse with all-powerful versions of yourself. Once you absorbed a soul, you actually can¡¯t gain access to its divinity anymore. It¡¯s like you are muddling up all the brilliant colours of a god''s soul into one, ending up with a murky paste that''s neither here nor there.¡± I point at him. ¡°You are the amalgamation of so many souls that you turned yourself into some ugly mix of everyone caught within you, but just as the spirits I was told about, you are not completely in control. All those within you are fighting for control, leaving you unable to utilize all the power you stole. That¡¯s why your fiends are just shadows of the gods you ate! The only ones who can wield a little more power are the ones you turned into puppets, like Elohim here.¡± Elohim doesn''t answer. Instead, his expression twists into one of unadulterated rage, telling me that I hit the nail on the head with my conclusion. Thedisk of light which I summoned earlier suddenly whisks through between us, interrupting our stand-off and forcing us to separate. Elohim looks after the disk which slowly disappears in the distance. I frown, somehow disappointed with my spell¡¯s performance. ¡°It finally decided to come back! But it had bad aim. I will have to change the spell a bit,¡± I mumble to myself. ¡°It''s a little embarrassing, but it looks like I messed up the aiming function.Thankfully, it isn¡¯t like I completely missed the target.¡± Elohim''s left arm falls to the ground with a satisfying ¡®thud¡¯, severed right in the middle of his forearm. Elohim looks at his missing appendage with big round eyes, a bleeding stump being all that remains. ¡°That looks nasty. You should take care of it,¡± I comment, taunting him. ¡°Let me deal the finishing blow!¡± Carne¡¯s voice comes from behind Elohim and the man appears out of nowhere. Gripping Elohim at the back of his head, Carne pushes the god forward and against my barrier until his face smooches onto the invisible shield while sparks of energy start sizzling Elohim''s face ¨C slowly turning it into a brown, crispy mass. Carne wasn¡¯t out cold after taking that initial blow. Instead, he waited and used his chance to attack Elohim from behind. Elohim bucks, trying to get out of Carne¡¯s grasp, but the other god holds onto the Council member with incredible strength while twisting the god''s arm backward! The left side of Carne¡¯s face is essentially a big bruise, but otherwise he looks fine. ¡°You decided to quit playing possum! Nice one!¡± I greet Carne with a cheerful voice. ¡°But why are you suddenly so strong? I wouldn''t have come down here if I knew that you were holding back.¡± ¡°Shut up! My divinity is Exchange! As long as I can keep physical contact with someone I can switch powers with them. The fucker just didn''t give me an opening to grab him until now!¡± Carne smacks Elohim repeatedly into my barrier. ¡°And now I canfinally getbackat him for embarrassing me in front of my soldiers!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ ¡°And the sucker!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ ¡°Ruined!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ ¡°My!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ ¡°Beautiful!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ ¡°Face!¡± ¡®WHAM!¡¯ My barrier breaks and I jump back in order to avoid being sullied by the bloody lump of flesh dangling from Carne''s hand. I didn¡¯t expect the man to place so much value on his appearance. I guess it''s important for someone who has a harem like him? ¡°That''s interesting!¡± I start laughing. ¡°That means that right now you are as strong as him and he is as strong as you?¡± ¡°What''s so funny!?¡± Carne glares at me. ¡°You are actually really weak, Carne, aren''t you? For someone like that to be the leader of a big society...¡± I smack my thigh trying hard not to go down to my knees. ¡°So what!? I am the strongest while being the weakest! I just have to grab my opponent! And if you don''t stop laughing, I will pay you back for what you did to me! Five kids! One night and I will have to deal with five kids for at least a decade or two! I should do some really horrible things to you!¡± Carne complains. Now I really fall to my knees and laugh while Carne shakes his fist at me. ¡°Arrgh! Damn!¡± Carne throws Elohim into the sky, giving in to a moment of pure outrage. The Council member disappears with a thunderclap, having broken the speed of sound. The shockwave of displaced air flattens our surroundings, forcing me to cling to the ground in order to not being blown away. The air calms down, giving me the chance to look up. ¡°Hey! We still need him as a prisoner! You can''t throw him into the orbit!¡± ¡°Oops,¡± Carne comments, not looking guilty at all. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I aimed him right at the folks up there. They can take care of him. Up until now, all they did was lean back anyways.¡± I realize that the moving moon of the Arcane Community is above us. Everything is silent as I count the seconds, wondering if Carne would really hit his target? I know that Carne didn''t aim for it ¨C or did he? He couldn''t be so unlucky, could he? Suddenly, I see the moon changing its form, slightly denting inwards at the upper left side. The cool blue shimmering of their main cannon flickers a few times and then stops. Of course, this happened in absolute silence as Carne and I watched, because there is no noise transmission in space. I purse my lips. ¡°Either they didn¡¯t have their shields on, or you used enough force to penetrate it.¡± Carne starts gnawing on his fingernails. ¡°Do you think I can pay that by instalments?¡± I shake my head. ¡°Chiffre was so proud of that thing and it got busted in its first battle! Nope. Chiffre will dissect you!¡± ¡°Then we have to cover it up!¡± Carne looks around, making sure that there are no other witnesses. ¡°Let¡¯s say that Elohim jumped by himself in order to headbutt the moon! He wanted to show off his power after we taunted him!¡± I scratch my cheek, wanting to tease him. ¡°That story might be a little hard to sell¡­¡± Carne grabs me at my shoulders. ¡°You... owe... me!¡± I finally relent, not wanting to make a funny man like him my enemy. Chapter 81 ***Noth - Mortal World, Northern Mountainrange of Capital City*** ***Sharid*** I did it! After weeks of training, I succeeded for the first time! This is a huge step forward!I talked to a group of men! And guess what!? They didn''t try to rape me and they didn''t start fighting each other to the death, which sadly became one of the two inevitable outcomes when training my abilities. Hell, yes! Maybe my life will really take a turn for the better! I am so happy that I could almost cry! If I wasn''t in the middle of nowhere. On a mountain. And somewhat lost. ¡°Why is she looking at us like that? Is she addled in the brain?¡± The merchant on top of his cart addresses his men, a group of adventurers who are guiding him through this mountainous region. ¡°I don''t know...¡± the paladin, a man in full plate armour replies. ¡°She looks a little crazed if you ask me ¨C like someone who was living in the woods for a few months too long. A few men in my company became like that after spending too much time on their own.¡± I come out of my delirious exhilaration, clearing my throat to make sure that there is no power in my voice, a skill I worked on ever since I separated from the villagers who almost got enslaved with me. ¡°Ahem, I am sorry about my state, but you are partly right regarding my predicament. I won''t ask you to take care of me since I am doing reasonably well on my own. But... could you spare a map... and tell me the direction towards the sacred mountain''s peak? I will pay? I lost my way during my hunting trip.¡± Their archer, a middle-aged woman, looks at me with pity in her eyes and pulls a large map out of her backpack. ¡°Of course, girl. And if you want to get to town, just follow this road. To the peak, it''s back in the direction we came from, then the first path to the right.¡± I smile at her, taking the offered map before rummaging through my well-filled pockets, producing a few silver coins. ¡°This is too much for a simple map!¡± the woman complains. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± I reply, lying through my teeth. ¡°I trade in rare alchemical ingredients which I gather in the forest. My pockets are full.¡± The adventurers look at each other before the merchant complains about losing time, and so they set out again, leaving me at the roadside.It''s nice to come across people who don''t want to rob, rape, or hurt me. They were even reasonably friendly for strangers, so I wave them goodbye. The archer turns around one more time. ¡°Watch out for yourself, girl. These woods aren''t safe.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the paladin calls out. ¡°There is a strangeSiren out there which is killing off all the bandits and even some of the caravans. The rumours tell of truly horrible massacres. Dismembered corpses and very bloody scenes like in some horror story for little children.¡± He laughs, making it clear that he doesn''t truly believe in the rumours. I sigh in relief, proud of myself.Another group walks away, alive and none the wiser that they were close to becoming part of the rumours. I turn, heading the other direction while rummaging through my backpack which is filled with the loot from bandits and unlucky wanderers who crossed my path, falling victim to my ability. It''s not like I am trying to be a menace on the world, but sometimes things just... go wrong. There is no way that I would intentionally kill people. While looking like a scoundrel, I am also richer than I ever was in my entire life. I may have accidentally used my ability on some undeserving victims and was too greedy to leave their belongings behind, but I let all of my ''test-subjects'' go if it was possible. Alittle pang of guilt stabs into my heartat the thought of all the people who had to suffer because I was unable to control my ability, but I force myself to go on.What are the lives of a few bandits compared to my happiness? I start trilling a little song on my way up the mountain, skipping along as the morning''s sun rises high into the sky. That is... until I realize that the road is gone! Looking around, I find nothing but hills and wilderness, confirming that I did it again! I lost my way!How much of a clutz can a girl be!? A tear starts forming in the corner of my eye as the familiar feelings of fear and insecurity return. This world is so unfair! Then a great shadow falls upon me and I look up to find a dark cloud smothering the sun. I try to backtrack, but within minutesthe temperatures fall and it starts snowing, which takes me entirely unprepared! The wet cold of thewatery snow creeps into my clothes, sapping my strength and taking the last of my orientation. Half an hour later, I am on the brim of despair. It''s not as if I didn''t know that the weather in the mountains can be dangerous. I sit down on a rock and try to think of a way out of my situation. After I met Miruliru, I travelled further south while trying to get a grip on my abilities, leaving the villagers to their fate. But their home was close, so they shouldn''t have had any problems. Somehow, I managed to arrive at the capital with the rumoured Academy. I was very well supplied because I had looted the slavers, leaving me with no worries regarding equipment and money. The Academy was a little disappointing, but I managed to make do by writing my wishes onto a sheet of paper when in male company. It was very troublesome to find any female teachers who were willing to give me private tutoring. Furthermore, they didn''t have any hard information on the gods. They just had those esoteric books which sounded like some guy had made them up. They didn''t have any information about Miruliru or Angrod. It was like those gods don''t even exist! After reading up on multiple gods and smaller deities, I reached the end of their library. Well, at least it wasn''t a complete waste of time. During the year which at the academy I spent my time researching magic and spellsongs until my funds ran out. My female teacher was most impressed with my abilities as a songweaver, a special type of mage who concentrates in casting spells and buffs by singing. This really made me happy! It was the first time I learned something which wasn''t directly connected to doing something improper. Unfortunately, my curse is heavily involved in this ability. It''s infuriating! I really like singing and my proficiency in it is directly related to my curse. On the other hand, being a songweaver gave me the perfect set of abilities to hunt down bandits in the woods and to repel strangers, filling my pockets with their money. After a year, I decided on a new plan. If I couldn''t find a hint on the gods from my own kind, then I would have to directly petition a deity, since Miruliru never showed up again after saving me from the slavers!The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Following an old record, I made my way further north to the highest mountain in the world. It''s said that adventurers who manage to climb this mountain and meditate on its peak will be able to talk to Nazareth. Nazareth is the god of mountains and travellers. If you pray to him, he will see to your well being during your journey. ¡°Kukukukuku!¡±A mad laugh escapes my lips as I catch myself lamenting over my fate once again; something which Miruliru expressed her dissatisfaction with. I look up to the mountain''s peak, so high and rocky, and beyond my reach! I will never meet this Nazareth! At the thought of giving up, I turn my attention in the other direction, but everywhere are cliffs and impassable terrain, making me wonder how I even got here! I will die up here, all thanks to zoning out during my travels. Unable to go on, I sit down on a rock, too tired to take another step. The next adventurer coming this way will find my frozen body... which makes me wonder if my abilities will work despite being dead. Will I actually lose my virginity thanks to a necrophiliac act!? Shivers shake me and I am not sure if it is the idea I just had or the cold. I am tired and too weak to go on. Maybe I will singone last song before I fall asleep. ¡°~Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis...¡± I sing and sing until I finally slide from my rock and fall asleep, telling myself that at least this end wouldn''t hurt. Then I slowly close my eyes. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Something shakes me and I shoot up, looking around. I am still on the mountain, but a small area around me is green and blooming as if it is spring. More importantly, it is warm! Further out, I still see some of the icy landscape of the mountain looming, a dense snowstorm barring the rest of my sight. ¡°Is this the afterlife?¡± I talk to myself in wonder. ¡°Hell no! The afterlife won''t be much different from this one, you clutz!¡± a voice is raised behind me. ¡°Honestly, how hard can it be to survive on your own for a day or two!? I am not asking for much, just a few hours so that I can sleep properly.¡± I whip around and crawl backwards, away from a small, little green kobold-thing who is now sitting on my stone, studying me with expectant eyes. ¡°Who are you?¡± I ask the creature with a wary voice. ¡°And what are you talking about?¡± ¡°What? Don''t you recognize me!? I am Nazareth! The god of mountains and travellers! For a bombshell like you to not recognize me, it truly hurts my feelings, especially since I had to play your guardian angel since you were born!¡± The little gnome wipes his eyes as if wiping away tears. ¡°And let me tell you,you are a full-time job.¡± I pout, feeling a little hurt at the nonsense he is spouting. ¡°B... but the texts describe you as a little man in a cloak. And it isn''t like I can''t survive in the woods. I did fine until I came up here.¡± The gnome shudders. ¡°B??h! The texts, the descriptions, and your stories! You mortals make up so much about the gods.¡± He shakes his head and makes a dismissive gesture. ¡°And don''t think so much of yourself, foolish girl. You have literally no sense of direction ¨C making me wonder what''s up there in your head.¡± As if to mock me, he scratches his groin at the words. ¡°Believe me, not a single day went by without divine intervention saving your life. I suppose that''s why he forced this duty onto me.¡± He sighs so dejectedly that I can practically feel the dissatisfaction coming off of him in waves. ¡°So, what brings a hot babe like you to my sacred mountain? Originally, I didn''t plan to talk with you, but your devotion and your song moved me...¡± His eyes wander lower. ¡°And those breasts. I must admit that your figure is a little counterweight to the pain of watching over you.¡± This little, green kobold is bad news! ¡°I wanted to talk to the gods in order to lift the curse on me. And what about this devotion and guardian business? Are you implying that you watched me day and night for my entire life ¨C like some stalker!?¡± I admit that I lost a little control at the end, putting some power into my voice. Thankfully, the deity is unmoved by my ability and only raises an eyebrow. ¡°Well. Usually, the mortals march up to my preferred vantage point and pollute the air up there until I talk to them in an attempt to drive them off. It''s the best view from up there, you know?¡± He leers at me. ¡°And who would curse such a beauty like you? Violet hair, perfect skin, baby blue eyes and an unbelievable body with two huuuge mountains as-¡± My hand moves before I can stop myself, resulting in a resounding ''Whack!''. ¡°Hey! What was that for!?¡± Nazareth rubs his cheek. Oooh! No! I went and did it! I hit him without thinking! I throw myself to my knees and bow down. ¡°I am sorry! It was a reflex! Please don''t smite me! It just infuriated me to hear how the gods see me!¡± Nazareth rubs his red cheek for two seconds longer while glaring at me. ¡°Never mind. I didn''t think that you are actually so pure at heart, Sharid.¡± I look up. ¡°You know me?¡± Then I stop myself. The creep was stalking me, so of course, he knows my name. ¡°Then, can you answer my questions? You must know my motivations if what you say is true.¡± The little man looks somewhat embarrassed. ¡°I am sorry. Nobody can help you. You got cursed by Angrod ¨C as I believe you know.¡± ¡°Then tell me why!? Tell me that at least! I will assemble all the gods if necessary! Even the major ones. This Angrod cursed me and never even bothered to explain why! And he didn''t even show up for my whole life!¡± I glare at Nazareth, knowing that I lost it, but I don''t care anymore. The gnome starts laughing with tears in his eyes, making a mockery out of my determination. ¡°Sorry, gal. I hate to pop your sweet little cherry bubble, but all the gods on this world aren''t enough to go against Angrod. When you were born, he actually dragged all of us together and explained in no uncertain terms that you are off-limits.¡± The little gnome shudders while I look at him agape. ¡°He is stronger than all the gods assembled?¡± I let myself fall into the dirt. There is no hope for me. ¡°What do you expect of the King of Gods? All gods of this world are just flies compared to him and his pantheon.¡± The gnome shrugs. ¡°There are things that require the power of an adventurer, a hero, and some few tasks require the power of a god, girl.¡± His expressions turns serious. ¡°Like, end of the world stuff. But even then you wouldn''t bother Angrod with it. You bother him only if there is more at stake than that. He is a soul mage on top! And if you learn one thing as an immortal, it is to never mess with a soul mage! You just have to take a look at yourself to see what happens if you step on a soul mage''s toe. Be happy that he is busy with the war and doesn''t have time to play around with you.¡± ¡°War?¡± I ask. ¡°We gods have some problems with demons and soul eaters and so on. The higher realms have their own troubles. Nothing that should concern you mortals. Just be happy that you are being left to your own devices.¡± Nazareth waves his hand, dismissing the matter as irrelevant. It doesn''t help. I am still lost. ¡°Oh, don''t be so down! I will lend you a hand! Such a devoted mortal as you should get at least some help. To actually walk fourteen times around the mountain until you almost drop dead. Such faith has to be rewarded!¡± Nazareth rubs his hands.¡°As they say: If you don''t have it in your brain, you have it in your legs!¡± He looks down, appreciating myshapely stalks. ¡°I walked fourteen times around the mountain?¡± Fuck! Why!? Am I really that disoriented? ¡°You didn''t know?¡± Nazareth raises an incredulous eyebrow. ¡°Well! I was so happy when I managed to convince the perverted monks at the foot of the mountain to show me the way,¡± I explain, remembering the many people who helped me out on the road¨C whether they wanted to or not. It is like that with someone who has a compelling voice. ¡°I just had to do a little dance for them and they looked so happy! They didn''t even try to rape me! It was the first time that I managed to control my abilities that well!¡± I bite on my fingernail while recounting the story. Nazareth nods sagely. ¡°I was watching that dance ¨C though I think they reacted only to your swinging, ahem, singing assets. Did you know that they actually took a vow of silence? The guy who gave you your directions broke with his faith to do so. ¡°And regarding your sense of direction, it is the worst! You are running around in concentric circles like a chicken without a head! At least those drop dead after a few metres. I know that the people down in the village are trying to make a show of it, but this area is actually a tourist trap. There are signs everywhere! This is a well-visited holy place! It''s practically impossible to lose your way up here and you did it anyway.¡± He grumbles,¡°Angrod must have messed something up when he played around with your soul. On the other hand, it would be like him if he did it intentionally, just to torture me!¡± ¡°What?¡± I gape at the little man. My desire to run away in shame grows with every word he speaks. ¡°Never mind.¡± He rolls his eyes at me. ¡°I will help you to get those abilities of yours completely under control. Angrod forbade us to lay hands on you, but I guess a few guiding words from time to time should be fine. We may even be able to guide you back to godhood.¡± ¡°Really!? Really? Really? Oh, thank you!¡± I bow to him, hoping that this is the right choice.¡°I have no idea what''s going on, but this might be a path forward.¡± ¡°Call me Master!¡± Nazareth nods. Eh!? I hope I am not making a mistake here. ¡°Yes. M- m- Master!¡± ¡°Oh, and one more thing about those perverted monks at the foot of the mountain,¡± Nazareth raises a finger. ¡°Just so that you know how far away from truly controlling your abilities you actually are.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°...they are eunuchs.¡± ¡°...¡± Chapter 82 ***Noth - Mortal World, The Pantheon of Gods*** ***Nazareth*** I rejoin the rest of my clique in the large observation room and greet the others who are eagerly awaiting my return after the hasty crisis-meeting which Sharid¡¯s almost-death by freezing caused among the gods. ¡°So, you saved her. And spoke to her.¡± Nuin, High God of the Sun, asks while puffing on his pipe. ¡°Yeah...¡± I reply, knowing that it wasn¡¯t really a question, but a statement. The others must have watched my encounter with the girl, which means that they saw and heard all of it. I hope they won¡¯t take my vanity too badly. ¡°Good.¡± Zenial, High Goddess of the Moon, nods while playing with the marbles around her neck. ¡°It would be bad if we violated our duty of supervision. I don''t want to imagine what Angrod would do to us if she dies before her time! I was there, you know, when he fought Myrm. Slew over two dozen gods single-handedly that day while laughing all the time. The guy is nuts!¡± I roll my eyes, betting that she only survived because she was hiding under some mountain. ¡°I was also there, you know. And I actually got sent to respawn.¡± She turns on me, mercilessly poking her finger into the old wound. ¡°Good for you. Your beloved brother wasn¡¯t that lucky. He got a taste of soul magic. No more ¡®respawn¡¯ for him. I only want to know if you are really, really sure that it is a good idea to guide Sharid back to godhood. Angrod will have our asses if he ever finds out, and unlike in Miruliru¡¯s case he won¡¯t hesitate for a moment to stomp us.¡± ¡°We have to keep an eye on her around the clock!¡± Another member of our little group complains. ¡°Nothing is allowed to kill her. The easy way out of her fate isn''t allowed. I am getting sick of watching her bumbling through her life, clumsy as she is. It¡¯s like having a baby who has access to entirely too many ways to kill herself. The fact that she is eye-candy doesn¡¯t really outweigh the fact that she is trouble.¡± Henrietta, his girlfriend, cuffs him from the side. ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that. Have you already forgotten the day when Angrod called all of us together to give us instructions?¡± The god shrugs. ¡°He was clearly drunk back then. I bet he doesn¡¯t even remember what he said to us.¡± ¡°You mean threatened us.¡± Henrietta huffs. ¡°Well. Nix, his daughter, was clearly not drunk and I bet she remembers. Have you forgotten what he implied to do to us? And what about that snow globe? He turned a fucking Council member into a snow globe! How off the rails do you have to be to even contemplate doing such a thing? I for my part don¡¯t want to draw any of his attention, thank you very much!¡± She turns towards me. ¡°Be sure to keep that little slut alive!¡± Being reminded of that horrible day when Angrod dragged us in here, multiple gods look to the ground with depressed faces. Suddenly, the aura of looming doom is palpable throughout the whole room. Nuin sighs and knocks some ash out of his pipe. ¡°I actually think that Nazareth¡¯s whimsical idea of guiding the young lady back to godhood actually isn¡¯t so bad. Angrod forbade us to ¡®mess with her¡¯, but that doesn¡¯t mean that we can¡¯t give her helpful advice.¡± He looks around the room. ¡°It¡¯s been over a decade of this world¡¯s time since we started playing her guardian angels, but do any you have an idea of how long it might take her to actually die?¡± His eyebrow rises slowly as he allows us a short moment to think for ourselves. ¡°She may be mortal, but this is a world with high background magic. As a spellsinger, Sharid has already proven that she has the capability to wield mana ¨C and anyone who channels large amounts of mana has a naturally increased lifespan.¡± I purse my lips, only now thinking about it. ¡°Normally, mortal magicians bite the dust within a reasonable time-frame, since they can¡¯t rely on millennia of knowledge. While normal magicians kill themselves sooner or later, either through combat or some magical accident, that isn¡¯t really the case for Sharid, since we are looking out for her twenty-four-seven!¡± We are so fucked! When I offered Sharid to help her, I did so because I would have to watch out for her anyway, not really believing that she would manage to ascend. This new viewpoint makes Angrod¡¯s assignment even more malicious! ¡°She could live for centuries! Maybe millennia!¡± Nuin scoffs. ¡°Glad that you realized that. No wonder that you are the god of Mountains and Travellers.¡± I face him. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± He shrugs. ¡°Only saying that your thoughts sometimes seem to move at the same pace as those of mountains.¡± I frown. The pipe-sucker turns to the others. ¡°So who has to watch her for the next shift?¡± ¡°Ah! That''s me. I am on my way.¡± One of our friends, a minor god, departs in all haste. Everyone waves him goodbye and then we continue to mourn our fate¡­ until it finally dawns on me that Nuin accused me of being slow. But by that point, complaining only would have made it worse. ***Chimera, A day at school***Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ***Seria*** ¡°She really did it! I can''t believe it! She sent us to school! A school! For us!¡± Aengus continues to rage about our newest... situation? Predicament? I pat on Aengus''s back, trying to comfort him. ¡°I know that you were never keen on leaving home. This one is entirely my fault and I promise to make it up to you.¡± Aengus drops his head onto the desk, wallowing in his misery. ¡°And to think that she would even go as far as sending us to a boarding school!¡± I groan inwardly. Why did my brother turn out to be such a pampered hikikomori? It isn¡¯t as if our parents didn¡¯t do everything in their power to make us independent individuals. ¡°It will be okay, Big Bro! We will endure and pull through like we always do when they gang up on us! And once we are back at home Mom will have forgotten her anger and take us back.¡± I smile at him. ¡°Urgh! She will never forgive you that stunt you pulled on her! I would like to know why I have to suffer too! I did nothing wrong!¡± Aengus glares at me. ¡°Even Dad didn¡¯t want to touch the matter ¨C and he is normally on our side. He kept his fingers away as if we are hot iron.¡± ¡°I already said that I am sorry, Bro! If there is anything I can do to make up for it, just tell me.¡± I take his hand and squeeze it. ¡°The point of my plan still stands. The more children they have-¡± ¡°-the less attention they pay to us,¡± Aengus finishes my mantra and turns his attention to the front of the classroom. It''s our first class and there are about thirty students, all of them with similar circumstances to us. Children who, thanks to all of us being reincarnated gods, have entirely too much knowledge. ¡°I heard that the Andros quintuplets are also going to this school! Maybe we can meet them?¡± I try another angle to cheer Aengus up. He has a crush on one of the Andros girls, but I fear that he has no hope of winning her over because she never paid much attention to him during our play-sessions. On top, they know our parents, which is a huge minus point in the dating world. If Aengus ever wants to find a girlfriend, he would have to finalize the deal before she meets Mom and Dad. Upon looking around, I judge that there are children of very different ages inside the classroom. It''s a little strange. Shouldn''t we be separated by age? Then again, they probably don¡¯t care so much about age in this institution as mental majority. That''s the moment when a teacher enters the classroom and everything goes silent ¨C which strikes me as strange. It''s an unexpected reaction for children of our age, but I shouldn¡¯t forget that nobody in here is normal. The teacher simply proceeds with introductions. ¡°Ahem. Hello, all of you! I am Samarin. I will be in charge of this class. Curse your fate!¡± He takes a meaningful look at Aengus and me, which tells me that Mom made sure that everyone knows who we are. ¡°Well. I don''t like long introductions, so we will directly start with work. First, get the tables to the side and form a circle with your chairs.¡± The teacher''s instructions are followed without big complaints and less than five minutes later the whole class is assembled in a circle. Everyone looks with expectant eyes to the teacher. ¡°Let me tell you that this is no normal school. Your teachers here are aware that you all are more than what you look. We know that it''s hard to be treated like a child despite having all that common knowledge of your former lives. Even if you don''t remember all of it.¡± Samarin takes a look around the circle. ¡°I would be happy if you don''t think about this as a class. Think about it more like a support group! We will talk about our issues and everyone will listen. Then we will try to find a solution together. This is the primary purpose of this school, regardless of what your parents think. Of course, you guys can still work on your abilities too and every teacher at this institute will help you,¡± Samarin explains with a smile on his face. My brother and I only look at each other, the true extent of our downfall only now dawning on us. How deep have we fallen to end up in a support group? Samarin takes out a little notebook and a pen in order to take some notes about us. ¡°So, let''s start with you, little miss. Please tell everyone who you are and why you are here.¡± Samarin points to a little girl right next to him. Her physical age can''t be more than five, given that she has troubles not to fall from her chair. ¡°Uhm, I am Maria. My hobbies are painting and reading books! I got into trouble with my parents because they always treated me like a child! After a while, I got so fed up with it that I started to behave like a real five-year-old. I showed them what it meant to leave dangerous equipment lying around and I ¨C kind of ¨C set the house aflame. They were unable to cope with it and so I landed here. Please take care of me.¡± The little girl waves at the class. The introductions continue until it is our turn. ¡°Hi, I am Seria and-¡± But I get interrupted by silent whispers around the classroom. ¡°So they belong to that family?¡± ¡°They have that monster as a father?¡± ¡°Dad isn''t like that! He just hit me once and I deserved it!¡± Aengus quickly replies. ¡°I pity them...¡± ¡°So the monster is hitting them!¡± ¡°Better to not get too close to them.¡± ¡°Poor guys!¡± ¡°At least they have a nice mother!¡± ¡°Yeah, the best and nicest mother.¡± ¡°And she is so beautiful! Have you watched the holo casts?¡± ¡°Mom isn''t like that at all! Those public appearances with Dad are just for show.¡± Irked, I follow my brother¡¯s outburst in an attempt to set things straight. ¡°She is actually torturing us!¡± ¡°Yes! She is a demon! Don''t fall for those rumours!¡± Aengus nods. ¡°Poor kids.¡± ¡°He already beat them so much¡­¡± ¡°... they started to believe it themselves.¡± ¡°Nooo! Hear me out! I will tell you guys the whole story!¡± Aengus jumps out of his chair, raising his hands. And so we start to tell them the story of our lives so far. I tell them about Celes''s whipping sessions when we¡­ I did something bad. And Ireth''s educational measures. Aengus takes over from time to time to tell how Dad actually saved us from Mom¡¯s punishments several times ¨C that he is actually the nice and forgiving parent. And various other stories of him being nice, like regularly teaching us magic and science. And various other useful skills like handling torture instruments and breaking peoples minds. Five hours later we are done and everyone looks at us with pale faces and frightened expressions. ¡°Puh... It was good to get that off of our minds and talk to someone about it. Right, Bro?¡± I look at Aengus with a relieved expression, glad that we finally managed to talk to someone. ¡°Right, Sis! I feel much better now. Especially after correcting all those rumours.¡± Aengus nods at me. Then the whispers start once more. ¡°It''s worse than I thought.¡± ¡°They are in hell.¡± ¡°How are they still alive?¡± ¡°They are monsters too?¡± ¡°Better don''t get too close to them!¡± ¡°But we have to help them somehow.¡± Samarin looks up from his notebook which was actually filled to the last page during our story. ¡°You two, it seems like there is a lot of work before us. Your mother already informed us of you two being notorious liars, but I never imagined that it would be that much work to help you.¡± Celes did what now? My mind draws a blank upon hearing Samarin¡¯s conclusion and I turn in despair to face my brother. ¡°I want to go home!¡± Chapter 83 ***Former Council Base, Border to the Higher Planes*** ***Angrod*** I kick a small stone on the ground, propelling it into a nearby hill and throwing up a cloud of dust in the process. ¡°This is frustrating! A whole fucking planet which should be full of evidence and we can''t find out where they took the Spheres! You had a whole day of picking through the rubble! Get me answers!¡± The crowd of soldiers scatters quickly, newly motivated by my outburst. We secured some of the freshly produced spheres, but by far not enough to account for all the time this factory world was left running. ¡°Don¡¯t overreact, Dad,¡± Nix tries to calm me down. ¡°We¡¯ve only started. It¡¯s impossible for a search of this scale to turn up quick results.¡± I glare at her, hoping that she gets the hint. ¡°We are going to have a word later¡­ creating pools of blood while other people were fighting. What were you thinking?¡± She pouts. ¡°I admit that I got carried away, but they weren¡¯t just pools of blood. I took inspiration from acrylic pour painting and used our enemy¡¯s blood to create something truly beautiful! You have to look at it with infrared. The colours, the mixing of the-¡± Celes cuffs her daughter before the succubus can slip back into an orgiastic trance of creative artistry. ¡°Get a grip! I thought your father taught you to control the impulses of a chaotic divinity.¡± I sigh, feeling the wind taken out of my sails. ¡°Let her be. It took me several centuries to control my own divinity. It is done and it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true that we haven¡¯t learned much.¡± Chiffre looks up from his tablet. ¡°But we got valuable information about the production process of a Sphere. Give my people some time and we may come up with a solution. Right away, I can say that the dimensional bridge which enables the sphere to connect with the Calamity is a very fragile thing. We may be able to shut the whole thing down.¡± He turns the tablet to show me his math. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can stop the spheres which are already in circulation throughout the multiverse, but we control their central piece ¨C the black hole which acts as a prison for the Calamity. All we have to do is to block the signal and all the Spheres become useless.¡± I take the tablet from him, wondering why I didn¡¯t have the idea myself. ¡°I will take a look at it, but your idea sounds feasible.¡± Celes pats my back. ¡°See? Even if we have to surround the black hole in a prison of Mana Crystal, we can do it.¡± The Arcane Community''s moon is clearly visible in the sky above us. It''s surrounded by debris, creating an interesting view. It could take a few years until some of the parts will drift out of sight or fall down onto the planet. After securing Elohim''s remains, we decided to hold an emergency meeting planetside. I turn my attention away from the tablet. ¡°I hope you don''t plan to play around with a Sphere!¡± I hate to play the motherly character, but those things are just flat out dangerous. ¡°Of course not!¡± Chiffre reassures me with a flat voice, then gestures at the ruined factory around us. ¡°But just looking at the destroyed factories gives us all the information that''s needed. We can study the building process firsthand and our people found the blueprints. We don''t have to risk our souls by playing around with the real thing. In a way, having access to the factories is even better than playing around with any number of Spheres to learn how they work.¡± He points at a pile of destroyed Spheres which our men collected after taking over the factory. For safety¡¯s sake, we instructed everyone to damage or destroy the accursed devices on sight. ¡°And by analysing the data, we already found out that the Spheres are all linked together and controlled by a hierarchical command structure. There is a central controlling device somewhere. As a secondary solution, my people are currently working on a method to tap into this network in order to find the enemy¡¯s command centre.¡± ¡°Wouldn''t it be much easier to interrogate Elohim?¡± Carne asks an obvious question. ¡°He isn''t in a good condition at the moment. And I doubt that we would get any useful information out of him. He is certainly mind-wiped like the others.¡± Chiffre makes a dismissive gesture. It was the Arcane Community which captured Elohim after the fight. He was drifting in an orbit around their moon after the colossal ¡®headbutt¡¯. I nod, affirming the ambassador¡¯s notion. ¡°I will take a look at him as soon as I get the chance, but Chiffre is likely right, Carne. I don¡¯t hold much hope that there is anything useful inside Elohim¡¯s brain after he practically confirmed that he is another one of the Calamity¡¯s meat puppets.¡± ¡°That doesn''t mean that he will get away lightly. To destroy my moon with a headbutt!¡± Chiffre complains. ¡°Kukuku! I will take my time to dismantle him piece by piece. And after I am done with his body, I will work on what¡¯s left of his soul. There are quite a few experiments to be done. First and foremost, it would be interesting whether our planned jamming device will be able to block a puppet''s connection to the Calamity. If we get my theory to work, we might be able to imprison our enemy for good with one fell swoop.¡± ¡°Ahem... Yeah, right. Do your thing.¡± Carne looks a little pale after having heard Chiffre¡¯s insane laughter. Celes speaks up, ¡°Chiffre, if you don¡¯t mind, we have a few talented people who recently got finished with a large project of ours. This plan of yours sounds very promising, so I would like you to accept the help of Margerie, one of our best scientists.¡± The slightly mad member of the Arcane Community nods. ¡°You do just that. Science is there to be shared with everyone¡­¡± He purses his lips and quickly decides to correct his statement. ¡°¡­ aside from some minor details which could cause harm in the wrong hands.¡± I clap my hands together. ¡°So we will ready the fleet and wait for your results, Chiffre.¡± Hopefully, for Carne, the truth of how Chiffre¡¯s moon got shipwrecked in orbit will never come out. Our merry meeting is suddenly interrupted when one of the soldiers returns, presenting himself to Carne. ¡°We have found something, Sir!¡± ¡°Out with it,¡± Carne replies in a manner which implies that he wouldn''t accept any bad news right now. ¡°Their computers are fried, Sir, but we got hold of some manifests which show the flow of resources in and out of the facility,¡± the soldier speaks quickly, hurrying to get to the point. ¡°Most of the Spheres were transferred out in single units without a signed destination. But every month there was a single large shipment of several hundred units in bulk, each referring to a ''Site A''. I think this means that there must be a second facility.¡± Carne looks at us and then at his man. ¡°And this helps us how? We already knew that there must be more facilities.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The soldier looks towards Chiffre, begging for help with his eyes. ¡°I thought that the Arcane Community was working on a way of tracking the enemy? They have a whole warehouse down there, including something that looks like some dedicated departure area for shipping their goods, assuredly by pathway, Sir. Doesn''t it help to know the exact departure point?¡± Chiffre only purses his lips and hums while massaging his chin. ¡°The man has obviously no idea what he is talking about since this is an entirely different matter.¡± Then he raises a finger. ¡°But it so happens that this information might actually be valuable. My people invested intensive research into the nature of the pathways since the Chimerans revealed their ability to travel the Void Zones, and a byproduct of this research is a device that can measure the background energy of frequently used pathways. Assuming that they really did repeatedly use the same entry and exit points of the pathway network, we should be able to track them down.¡± ***Mobile Fortress, Nomad*** ***Angrod*** Three days later, after using every lever my kingdom and the alliance has, I am left looking at the large tactical display at the Nomad''s observation station, trying my best to think of a solution to our newest problem. The tracking device of the Arcane Community worked perfectly and led us towards the enemy base. I call it base but it''s more like a gigantic fortress composed of multiple planets. ¡°That''s a formidable defence they have got there.¡± Chiffre studies the screen with an annoyed expression. ¡°I am afraid that our forces will receive a bloody nose from attacking this stronghold.¡± I nod silently, confirming his assessment of the Calamity¡¯s defences. Finding this base and learning of its defensive measures warranted an emergency meeting. All the ambassadors are present, including Nicosar and Arthur, Celes, Nix, Tanja, and Sandra. Fuck, I simply called everyone with the slightest bit of battle power from Chimera, including Sven and Samuel. There is a huge planet in the centre of the configuration. This planet is surrounded by dozens of smaller planets in a very tight and complex gravitational dance. The thing is something completely unnatural, and so I can already guess that this construct was most likely made by Amaru. The Calamity seems to like placing at least one body with formidable power at locations of importance, though I don¡¯t understand why it is allowing us to pick off one of its assets at a time. If I were the damned thing, I would hold at least some mobile forces in reserve to defend in case of an attack. ¡°As far as I see it, the biggest problem is that the planets are infested with countless fiends,¡± Miruliru comments. ¡°Worse, the reports imply that some of them have the ability to use pathways or at least some form of teleportation.¡± Gwalonna from the Gaian Pact nods. ¡°We already lost one of our scout ships to those things. They kept appearing around it until the crew had to abandon the ship. Thankfully, a second ship picked them up before the fiends could get them.¡± ¡°I am still not convinced that growing ¡®living¡¯ ships from trees is the right answer to our problem,¡± Chiffre comments. Gwalonna pouts. ¡°They are capable of reseeding a whole planet. And even if one gets destroyed, we can just grow a thousand more. We never intended them as battle-craft, but as a pure means to travel Void Zones where our ability to use the pathways is impeded.¡± ¡°I say we go in there with all weapons blazing and crush everything! No need to hold back!¡± Celes waves her fist at the screen. ¡°Hold it! What if we somehow set off the Spheres by doing that!¡± Miruliru tries to calm down my wife, apparently not liking her idea. ¡°They will set them off either way if they want to,¡± Chiffre explains his line of thoughts to us. ¡°I think everyone should be well aware that our enemies aren''t using the Spheres as some sort of threat to blackmail us. The Calamity never showed any sign of operating like that. The thing is playing some game to which we don¡¯t know the rules. It''s rather a question of why it didn''t already use the spheres. The only reason could be that it isn''t ready to use them at this point in time. So, by going in earlier, we may stop the Calamity from using them on a large scale.¡± I close my eyes to relax. Millions of worlds could be gone, just because some type of epic fools had to play with fusing souls. Every idiot should be able to tell that having multiple personalities inside one body is a bad idea. ¡°The question is how to utilize our forces and abilities!¡± Nicosar puts up a stance while looking at the screen, ever the man to be the first to step up if hard decisions have to be made. ¡°We should go in with all our forces together. Those demons could overwhelm smaller groups very easily by using their teleportation ability.¡± Zanders points out. ¡°Are we sure that we can overwhelm them by force?¡± ¡°May I make a suggestion?¡± Warden¡¯s voice interrupts us, which is unusual for the Crystal Intelligence. It is a very talkative personality, but over the years since we discovered Warden, we came to an accord that it doesn¡¯t mess with political matters. ¡°Warden, it''s unusual for you to interrupt,¡± I answer, looking towards the ceiling where the surveillance system is located. ¡°I am sorry for being rather simple-minded in following my purpose, but the current situation is directly connected to my orders. So, to get to my suggestion, I will take Asheim there, as you call the Crystal City, and destroy those planets for you,¡± Warden explains in its convoluted way. Miruliru chokes. ¡°Could you repeat that?¡± ¡°I will take Asheim through a pathway, just like the Arcane Community did with their moon. Then I will utilize my weaponry to destroy those planets,¡± Warden repeats, talking especially slow for us organic intelligences. ¡°You can destroy planets? And move yourself around like it''s no big deal?¡± Gwalonna growls, clearly disliking the fact. ¡°I am Warden. I was tasked to stop the great Calamity from ever emerging again, so it would be pretty stupid to give me such a tremendous task if I didn''t have the abilities to accomplish it. I was created by the Bright One after all, and he made sure that I have all the capabilities necessary to be on par with an army of ascended beings,¡± Warden explains calmly. ¡°Oooh, if it''s like that! Come here and smash that planetary fortress for us!¡± Carne waves his hand at the screen with an expectant gesture, having no problem with accepting Warden¡¯s claim. ¡°It isn''t that easy,¡± Warden admits. ¡°I need to get close enough to do it. Otherwise, I can''t guarantee the eradication of the fiends.¡± ¡°How do you intend to get rid of the fiends?¡± I ask Warden with a curious voice. ¡°By using the same magic which you used to stop their earlier incursions,¡± the A.I. states a little too cheerful for my taste. ¡°Warden! I thought we had an agreement in terms of spying through my ships!¡± I shout with an angry voice, instantly aggravated with having that particular spell of mine stolen. ¡°I am sorry, but your anger isn''t justified. I didn''t break our agreement. The magic you are using has been known to me for a long time. It was developed by the Bright One to stop the Calamity and to return the eaten souls to the great cycle of Life and Death.¡± I narrow my eyes. ¡°That''s hard to believe. I developed that particular spell by researching the affinities of my own soul. In a way, each time someone casts it, they access my divinity. This ¡®Bright One¡¯ must have had a soul very similar to mine in order to create that spell.¡± ¡°Then the answer is obvious,¡± Warden replies, sounding smug while using my own euphemism against me. ¡°In a way, I already said far too much.¡± ¡°Hah?!¡± I am at a dead end, so I shake my fist at the ceiling. ¡°Explain!¡± All the meetings and discussions over the course of the day made me tired, so I am not in the mood for playing mind games right now. But Warden doesn''t budge, choosing to stay silent instead. ¡°Explain yourself, Warden!¡± Chiffre and the other ambassadors join in together with my family, demanding a complete answer. Finally, Warden sighs. ¡°If the magic was developed twice by researching a specific soul¡¯s affinities, then the soul in question has to be the same one. Souls are like fingerprints. Some may be similar, but every one of them is unique. So, Angrod may be a reincarnation of the Bright One.¡± I smack my head hard. This whole reincarnation shit is becoming too complicated. ¡°But Angrod is Angrod! He doesn''t remember anything of being one of your Ascended?¡± Celes complains. ¡°If you recall, I told you that all remaining Ascended returned to the great cycle of Life and Death. Rising once more and free of their eternal burden was the point. They firmly believed that it would have to happen at some point in the distant future. Most likely, many of you have the soul of an Ascended, even if you don¡¯t remember.¡± The Crystal Intelligence snorts. ¡°It''s actually funny to see that you gods seem to be caught in an endless wheel, spinning around and around in eternity as you ascend, burn brightly, and then fall into darkness just to rise once more. Even if you believe that you managed to escape your fate, you end up in your old positions again.¡± ¡°That''s not funny, Warden! Fuck you! I would disassemble you if we didn''t need you.¡± I scream out towards the ceiling. This is frustrating and not helpful! The slightly different voice of some unknown individual returns from the speakers. ¡°That''s not funny, Warden! Fuck you! I would disassemble you if we didn''t need you.¡± ¡°Funny. That''s a translated recording of the Bright One. He said the exact same words a few iterations ago if you overlook the grammatical language differences. I took the freedom of a rough translation.¡± ¡°Argh!¡± I turn over to one of the consoles, intending to cut the upstart AI out of my systems once and for all, but moments before I can press the ¡®Delete¡¯ button, multiple ambassadors, family members, and friends jump on me like I am carrying a football and just entered the death zone, frantically stopping me from making a grave mistake. Chapter 84 ***Noth - Mortal World, Wilderland Township*** ***Sharid*** ¡°Your task for today is to walk into that city and practice the things I taught you, Sharid.¡± Nazareth gestures at the little town while standing next to me. It is still early in the day and the sun was just beginning to rise when we arrived at the small hill outside the village. ¡°Make me proud.¡± He turns and looks up to me from knee-height with crossed arms. ¡°Yes, ~Master!~¡± I am so excited! After a little more than a year of training under him, secluding myself on that mountain, I am finally able to return to civilisation! All the people I had contact with were travellers or bandits, so I got more than a little lonely. I never had much interaction with strangers, but back at home I had at least my family and was able to watch others through the brothel''s windows. During my time at the academy I had at least the company of other women, so spending a whole year in the wilderness was taxing, to say the least. What can I say? I am simply a town-girl. ¡°Don''t use your ability on me!¡± Nazareth snaps back angrily. ¡°I am still a god and you are just a mortal! Don''t forget that!¡± ¡°I am sorry, master! It wasn''t intentional! I am just so excited!¡± I jump a little up and down to make my point. ¡°Don''t think that I don''t realize that you did it on purpose. Otherwise, I would have kept you in the woods ¨C for everyone else''s sake,¡± the gnome grumbles to himself, but I ignore him. A soft bed! Real food and not the tasteless, charred pieces I end up with when I try to cook! A warm room, not a campfire which is too hot on one side and too cold on the other! No rocks which poke into my butt while I am sleeping! No snow! No nuts and mushrooms for breakfast! ¡°Pay attention! Do we have to train for another year? You do realize what will happen if you lose control?¡± Nazareth looks at me sharply, narrowing his eyes. ¡°Nooo, not another year of training! I will manage!¡± I quickly promise him, ready to say anything in order to go back to civilisation. If I have to, I would even hide the evidence of my slip-ups, should anyhappen. Which they won¡¯t, because I will be extra careful! It has been well over three months since I caused the last massacre among a group deserters from the neighbouring country¡¯s military. They made a living out in the mountain passes while robbing random people who crossed their path. ¡°Absolute control! I won''t fail! Please let me try,¡± I beg him and take a deep breath. I tell myself to calm down and to remember the training: Breath in, breath out! Cool and calculating thoughts! Don''t allow yourself to get carried away and keep your voice under control. Freeze your expression, Sharid, just as you have learned. No accidental arousing smile. My thoughts are logical and cold. I have my body under control. ¡°Hmm.¡± Nazareth studies me with a calculating gaze. ¡°Kay. Then let''s try this. It''s early morning, which means that you have a whole day to prove yourself. You walk down into that town and take care of your business. You are to play a normal adventurer, get that!?¡± I nod. ¡°After you get yourself new clothing and have replaced the rags you are wearing right now, you buy supplies and entertain yourself until the evening. Visit some bar or another place where you have to mingle with people. Maybe you even manage to find a party of adventurers to quest with from now on,¡± He explains calmly. ¡°I will stay here and watch over you from afar. In the evening, you come back and I will give you my judgement of how you performed. If you pass the test, you can go and do your thing while I drop in from time to time in order to give you pointers. Otherwise, it''s the mountain again!¡± He points at the cold and icy peak of the cursed rock that was my home for the last year! ¡°I won''t let you down!¡± I promise and turn to run towards the city. Freedom at last! ¡°Don''t forget about your clothes!¡± Nazareth calls after me. ¡°You look like something that was forgotten and gained a life of its own.¡± I look down at myself and pull a face, realizing that Nazareth is right. A year in the mountains wasn''t beneficial on my equipment, and what I managed to replace by looting the bodies of my hapless victims is far from pristine. I look like a lightly-dressed barbarian, dirty and feral! First stop is certainly a shop with clothes! My feet carry me easily to the city¡¯s gates, strengthened by a life of hardships. ¡°Stop! Barbarians and beggars aren''t allowed in the city!¡± One of the two men guarding the gate steps into my path, barring me from entering the city. One is large and muscled, while the other is more of an athlete. They are both dressed in light leather, meaning that they aren¡¯t part of the military, but some local security force. ¡°I am sorry,¡± I blink innocently at him, trying to let out just a little bit of my charm, ¡°but I was on a long journey and my cart had an accident. I had to trek all the way through the mountains. That''s why I look like this. I am certainly no barbarian and no beggar! I have some valuable materials. Just give me the chance to sell them.¡± I try to reason with the two guards who are now blocking my way. ¡°Hell no! Fuck off! We know your kind! Surely you will sell your body to get money!¡± the second guard interferes, curling his lips. ¡°We are a godly community and you won¡¯t poison this village. Praise the holy lord, Belfor!¡± What¡¯s wrong with these people? Is that how men are treating women when they aren¡¯t surrounded by a supernatural aura? I actually remember this Belfor. It¡¯s the same god who was always giving my family trouble. How can such a prude religion actually spread? ¡°There are laws against scum like you in our town! No entry! Try it at the next city!¡± The first guard affirms, actually shoving me away from the gate while totally ignoring another group of travellers. Bastards! Who do they think they are? And what if I am a barbarian or a beggar? Does that make me less human? So I am not even allowed entry to the town!? I decide to take off the gloves and clear my throat. ¡°~Ahem, I would really appreciate it if you two would make an exception for me. Who knows? If you show up at the inn this evening, I may have a little surprise for you two.~¡± ¡°Ah...¡± The guards¡¯ expressions change, their eyes turning glassy with desire. ¡°S- sure go ahead.¡± Guard Two steps aside and I stroll past them while waving my hips. ¡°W- we will be waiting!¡± Guard One calls after me. ¡°Take the inn on Maine-Street. We will be waiting there!¡± ¡°Kukukuku,¡± I chuckle silently to myself. This was way too easy! Maybe those abilities of mine aren''t so bad after all? They were around my little finger in no time at all. I make my path through the city until I arrive at an expensive-looking shop for clothes. ¡°This one looks exquisite!¡± I tell myself, entering the shop. ¡°Hello? I need a full set of clothes!¡± A snobbish looking vendor turns around to greet me, his face distorting in disgust as his eyes lock onto me. ¡°This shop doesn''t have charity handouts! Leave or I call the city guard! Beggars are thrown out of the city without questions! By Belfor, why haven¡¯t they already thrown you out of town?¡± Wha!? Another one? What''s wrong with this place!? Is it normal to be treated like this if you are an average person? ¡°Ah, I am no beggar! I am an adventurer and had a hard time alone in the mountains! I can pay! Here look.¡± I point at the storage ring which I looted some time ago and materialize a nut-sized golden nugget onto his desk. ¡°Where did you steal that! Now I will call the guard for sure!¡± The vendor tries to get past me, shoving me to the side. That actually causes me to pop a vein on my forehead and I let loose.¡°~Aaahn, you can''t be so cold and cruel to a young lady who only tells the truth! I am sure you can sell two of your best sets of clothes to me.~¡± The vendor stops in his tracks and turns around, his eyes shimmering with anticipation. ¡°Please follow me, miss! I am sorry that I was so rude to you. I am certain that we can make some kind of deal?¡± ¡°Oh, I am certain that Belfor will bless you for your kind understanding.¡± I smile at the man, trying my best not to give in to the feeling of absolute disgust which I am beginning to develop for this town. Twenty minutes later, after choosing his best and probably most valuable outfits, I am ready to depart. ¡°How much does this cost? I will pay in gold nuggets,¡± I ask with my storage ring packed to the brim with clothes, leaving me certain that I won¡¯t have to worry about my attire for the next year. I wasn¡¯t particularly picky in what I took, as long as the label was pricey.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. That and I had to be quick, making sure that my wardrobe is up to standard with a prim adventuring set of turquoise linen, spelled with magical resistance and weather-defying glyphs. ¡°Fifty-two gold nuggets for the outfits will be enough, miss. You look gorgeous!¡± The vendor smiles at me. That''s thievery! Fifty-two nuggets? His whole shop isn¡¯t worth more than twenty! No wonder this shop looks so nice, given the overcharge! Sadly for him, I am not particularly inclined to play nice. ¡°~You are sure that you couldn''t make a little exception for me? If you give me the real price, I may have a little surprise for you at the inn tonight!~¡± What was the name? I wet my lips. ¡°~I was told that the one at Maine-Street is nice.~¡± To make sure that he gets the point, I bend forward a little pushing my arms together in order to emphasize my assets. The vendor loosens a bit at my words. ¡°S- Sure! That would be- bee-¡± His eyes stay stuck to my bosom as I smile at him. ¡°One gold nugget!¡± I suggest before he can get his faculties back under control. He only nods, so I give him his payment, practically robbing him of half of his inventory. Then I turn and walk past him out of the shop, not sparing the befuddled cultist a second glance. Well, that''s done. What next? Hmm. I will have to get the dirt off of me! Best to take a room at the inn for that! After asking a few people who look at me with strange expressions, I finally arrive at the town¡¯s inn. Is it a problem that I still had to ask twelve people in order to find an inn that was in plain sight of the gate which I came through? Whatever! As long as I have someone to ask, my sense of direction isn¡¯t a problem! Crossing the street quickly, I enter the inn and get greeted by a fat, old barkeeper, or should have been at least. If he hadn¡¯t been so busy hitting a servant. The poor girl on the floor has bruises all over her and the fat geezer is actually using a wooden stick! Incensed, I raise a finger to gain his attention. ¡°~Hellooooo? Mister? I would like your best room with a bath! And fast!~¡± The barkeeper snaps to attention at my voice. ¡°Of course! The servant will lead you to your room. Payment is in advance!¡± I drop a raw diamond into his waiting hand, which makes his eyes pop out. The greedy bastard is probably thinking that I just gave him significant overpay, but I am getting so angry at the people in this village that a single diamond will be of no condolence to him once I am done with this place. I am sure he doesn''t even think about giving me exchange money! The servant quickly gets to her feet, bowing to me, then quickly hiking up the stairway next to the inn¡¯s entrance. I follow, allowing the servant girl to lead me upstairs and to my room where she arranges me a nice hot bath in a bathtub. I finally relax, sinking into the water after getting undressed. But before the girl leaves the room, I stop her. ¡°Does he hit you often?¡± ¡°N- n- no! The owner just uses his fists in cases of serious failure!¡± The girl bows down to me. ¡°I wasn¡¯t fast enough with doing the dishes, and so an important customer had to wait.¡± ¡°Tell me the truth. You have too many bruises for me to believe that.¡± I won''t let her go like that. ¡°Stay here and tell me some things about this town. I noticed that there seems to be a significant religious movement. Belfor was mentioned at least three times since I passed the gate and I am somewhat familiar with his faith.¡± The faith of Belfor was one of the major religions in my home town, and its followers are all arrogant pricks. They look down on and harass anyone who is weaker or not as wealthy as them. I believe their priests are actually propagating ass-holery in their ceremonies. Otherwise, I can¡¯t explain myself how good townfolk can become as snobby and brainwashed as the followers of Belfor. ¡°E- everyday miss, it doesn''t matter if I make a mistake or not. He just likes it to hurt others,¡± the woman explains. ¡°But I can''t just leave. If I lose this job, they will throw me out of the town and that¡¯s worse than being unemployed!¡± she girl looks at the floor. ¡°The followers of Belfor came into this town a year ago and took over one of the moon-goddesses churches. Their faith quickly spread throughout the whole town afterwards. Those who didn¡¯t want to convert were practically arm-wrestled into it.¡± I frown. Back at home, the Belforists were always a little pushy, but it is news that they are also becoming aggressive in spreading their religion. I just hope that my family is safe. Thoughtfully rubbing my storage ring, I retrieve one of my moneybags. It is filled to the brim with gold nuggets, but after a year on the road and looting robbers, I have more than enough capital. Without hesitation, I throw the bag to the girl and she barely catches it. ¡°Take that and get out of town. Take the first safe carriage today and find someone to give you a good education! Don''t be here by this evening.¡± I wave at her with a dismissive gesture. The girl looks into the bag with round eyes. For a moment, I fear that she would refuse, but thankfully, she proves to have some common sense by not turning down free loot. ¡°Thank you, miss! Thank you so much!¡± She leaves the room with tears in her eyes, not looking back. At least she is smart enough to instantly take a chance if it is given to her. I continue to enjoy my bath for a while, freeing myself of all the dirt and grime. Then I set out to get supplies and have a decent dinner, this time unimpeded by Belfor¡¯s followers. With new clothes and a clean appearance, there is nothing they can take offence at. After a long day of strolling through the town and affirming my first impression of the townsfolk, I eat some good food, mingling with other people while gathering information. Unfortunately, I find no group of adventurers to hook up with. On my way back to the inn, I get stopped at the market. A noble-looking guy with guards at his side blocks my path. It is already in the evening and the sun is starting to disappear behind the horizon. ¡°I am sorry to interrupt your business, miss, but I heard that a very rich adventurer entered the town, paying for everything with valuable diamonds and gold as if they were copper coins. So, I asked myself if you would be interested in a little deal?¡± By the gods, what is it now? How is it possible for a town to be packed full of bastards and assholes? Have they already driven out all the decent folk? ¡°And you are?¡± ¡°I am the governor of this wonderful town. It''s thanks to me that this city is free of filth! So, about our business. I want to know where you got all those riches from. If the source of those diamonds and gold becomes known to us, it will increase the wealth of this entire region and the followers of Belfor!¡± The feisty bastard tries to take my hand and kiss it but I pull it out of his grip. I glance around, noticing that his men are surrounding us. ¡°That doesn''t sound like there is much for me in it? And what makes you think that the source of my wealth would be of any interest to you?¡± ¡°Because most of the nuggets you paid with were unrefined. I think you found them close to this town. Maybe I could send a few workers in order to help you mine it? It would be much faster and you wouldn''t have to dirty your own hands.¡± Well, that¡¯s what I get for throwing around some pretty gems which I found in the mountain¡¯s rivers. I grin at the smart bastard who is apparently the main reason for the state of this town. ¡°Ohh, You are right! How about we talk about this while eating dinner at the inn? I wouldn''t be able to carry ~all that stuff~ by myself anyway.¡± The eyes of the governor sparkle while he offers me his hand and I link arms with him. Hoh! I didn''t even need much of my ability for this! After a short walk, we arrive at the inn and go inside. I soon see a few familiar faces while the drunkards undress me with their eyes. What''s wrong with them! The sun isn''t even completely down and this place already reeks like a barrel of beer! I find the innkeeper behind his bar, looking very stressed with drops of sweat running down his forehead while he serves alcohol to the people. It seems like the servant girl followed my advice and made a run for it. Serves him right! The governor leads me towards a table and places himself on a chair, but I remain standing, having no intentions of joining him. ¡°~Actually! I like really strong men!~¡± I address the whole inn. ¡°~If you could prove to me your worthiness, I could show you heaven!~¡± There is a second of complete silence before the whole inn, visited mainly by men, explodes in a flurry of fists and thrown chairs! Tables get smashed while the participants of the brawl try to beat each other into bloody lumps of flesh. It doesn¡¯t take long before knives and other weapons join the equation. Humming and satisfied of having done a good deed, I skip through the middle of it all, dancing over and past corpses and screaming guests. On my way to the exit, I pass the bar and ¡®accidentally¡¯ knock over one of the candle-holders which decorate the table. Grabbing one of the bottles of alcohol, I make sure that it is the real stuff by taking a sip, spitting the burning liquid into a screaming man¡¯s face. Assured that it is a bottle of high percentage I let it slip, allowing the glass to smash onto the table with the toppled candle. The bottle breaks and the table including the wooden flooring go up in flames. ¡°Oops! That was totally an accident!¡± A wide grin steals itself onto my face as I exit the inn and leave the town in measured steps. Ah! The world is becoming a little brighter day by day! I feel like I am in control of my life for the first time! And I can use my powers for good! A few minutes of walking take me outside the town, back to the foot of the hill where I parted with Nazareth in the morning. I climb my way up the small hill where I find him sitting on a small rock. He is bent over with his elbows jacked on his knees while he covers his face with both hands, looking like he is mourning something. ¡°Hi, Master! I did well, didn''t I? That was the best day of my life!¡± I call out to him with a cheerful voice, waving while I approach. ¡°Then... What''s THAT!¡± Not looking up, he points towards the city behind me. I turn around. It''s getting dark, but the city is bathed in the bright light of flames. The inn is ablaze and the flames are high enough to show me the silhouettes of people who are running left and right, apparently trying to save the neighbouring buildings. I guess there is no hope for the inn, nor for their efforts. As I watch, the roof of a neighbouring house catches fire thanks to one the countless little embers which are drifting through the night¡¯s sky. That city is a goner. ¡°That was... an ~accident!~¡± I chirp without the slightest hint of remorse in my voice. The little gnome covers his face again and starts mumbling. ¡°I honestly don''t know if I should reward you for your control, or punish you for it!¡± ¡°Nyaaa! Master! Not the mountain again! Please teach me somewhere else!¡± I drop to my knees and bow to the little gnome who saved me from my personal hell. ¡°I only used my ability to punish the bad people!¡± The little gnome jumps from his rock and sighs. ¡°I hope I didn''t create a monster. Get up and listen to my last piece of advice!¡± I straighten! ¡°Last piece!? You won''t teach me anymore!?¡± ¡°I can''t help you any further. You know all the techniques and meditations to get a grip on your powers. Train them and perfect your skills. You don''t need me for that.¡± Nazareth scratches his chin while looking at the rising moon, the scene somehow tarnished by the burning town beneath us. ¡°The last piece of advice I give you concerns something completely different. Something nobody can help you with! It is also how you will become a god!¡± The gnome looks into my eyes with a grin on his face. I am frozen. ¡°A god!?¡± ¡°Yes. You have the potential. That''s for sure.¡± He nods. ¡°I have?¡± I ask and Nazareth nods. ¡°How? Will I be able to meet that pervert god and give him a beating?¡± Nazareth tilts his head. ¡°Yes. Most likely you will meet him if you manage it, but I doubt that you will be able to beat him. After all, he wiped the floor with you the last time.¡± ¡°Last time?¡± I arch my eyebrow. ¡°You want to hear the method or not!?¡± Nazareth grumbles. I bow down again, knowing that what the deity doesn¡¯t want to tell, he doesn¡¯t tell. There is no point in irritating him. ¡°Yes, master! Please enlighten me!¡± ¡°Look up!¡± The gnome starts wandering left and right in front of me. ¡°First, forget your body! Forget your flesh! What makes you a god is here!¡± He points to his head. ¡°And here!¡± Then he places his palm on his heart. ¡°Find the one thing you really love! The one thing you are good at! And then perfect that skill! Refine it to heights above your mortal body. Being a god is a state of the mind! By reaching heights beyond the flesh you will acquire access to unbelievable power.¡± He folds his hands before his chest. ¡°Open your mind. That''s something you can only do on your own. Nobody can help you with it. Find yourself!¡± Then my master is suddenly gone, disappeared in a flash of lightning, leaving me alone on the little hill. Chapter 85 ***Mobile Fortress Ragnarok, Council Main Base, Higher Planes*** ***Angrod*** ¡°And I still don''t like it!¡± I grumble while a formation of our new battleships, accompanied by two fortresses, advances towards the enemy. Our vessels are arranged in a loose spherical formation to allow us to lend aid to each other should the need arise. A few thousand miles to the side, multiple prototype ships from the Arcane Community are holding their relative positions at the same velocity. Asheim, the planet with Warden''s Crystal City, is following both fleets, using them as shields against the Calamity''s forces. I wince at the memory of the issues which our temporary evacuation of the whole planet caused. With a single city and a population of a few hundred thousand people, the task doesn''t sound like something that should take more than a few days at the most, but given the fact that all of the inhabitants were godlike beings with egos as large as an entire solar system; let''s just say that there were complications. Warden''s proposition of using Asheim as a mobile attack platform only sounded easy on paper. There was also the issue that not all of the city''s inhabitants were Chimeran citizens and therefore not as familiar with my reputation as my own subjects. Which meant that I actually had to lower myself to resolving two or three disputes personally. Thankfully, the word of my methods got around quickly after, discouraging others from getting me involved. My eyes are drawn to another section of the tactical display, where a swarm of little ships from the Gaian Pact is trying to outmanoeuvre the Calamity''s forces, which are black blobs of fiends moving as one, some of them large enough to rival our ships. After already having seen that there are different versions of the creatures this shouldn''t surprise me. I would have never thought that as a god I would ever be forced to employ normal battle tactics like moving fleets around. Normally, it would be just a matter of using a pathway to be right in my opponent''s face or on the other side of the multiverse. Unfortunately, the entire region of space around the Calamity''s bastion is so saturated with dampening fields and other teleportation-hindering effects that not even I dare to use the pathways. At least the same seems to be the case for the Calamity. At first, the fiends seemed unhindered by our dampening fields while we had to approach the enemy slowly in the old-fashioned manner. But as more and more of our ships showed up on the battlefield, the Calamity''s surprise attacks lessened and then finally ceased. Now we have a significant advantage as long as we can stay out of the swarm. An advantage which won''t help us with the direct attack which we are planning. ¡°If we only had more ships...¡± I grumble, dissatisfied with our lack of equipment. Aside from ourselves, only the Arcane Community and the Gaian Pact have a mentionable navy. They wouldn''t have had even that, if it wasn''t for the fact that the original purpose of their ships was to explore Void Zones. Admittedly, our people could just get out into space and fly towards their targets on their own, but that would cause another set of problems. Most gods aren''t on the same power level as myself. They would be easy pickings for the far more numerous fiends or other kinds of attacks. As long as our people have a ship, they have a rallying point to defend and something that can function as a focus for their magic. As I understood it, the ships from the Gaian Pact might be organic in nature, but their crews use the vessel as a gigantic ritual focus for defensive and offensive magic which makes even a group of lesser deities a mentionable force in an encounter with the Calamity''s fiends. Our other allies contributed by providing fighting forces, like Carne''s empire. Sadly, they don''t have any mentionable ships to join the effort. The guys from the Arcane Community, on the other hand, have ships but not many fighters. There is also the thing that they are building their ships just out of curiosity and for the fun of it, which means that they are ending up with so many different designs that rarely two ships look the same. Their vessels are an insane mix of different forms and sizes. ¡°What else can we do? This is a ridiculous battle. There is no sneaking up or anything like that.¡± Celes comments from right next to me. We are standing on board of the Nomad''s observation platform. Arthur and Nicosar are on board the Ragnarok, while Samuel, Nix, and Tanja are watching the battle from other vessels in our fleet. Gabriel is commanding our own ship. ¡°You do realize that we will get very bloody noses by attacking the Calamity as we are doing right now?¡± I look to the side and study my wife''s expression. ¡°Head-on assaults always end badly for both sides.¡± Celes nods. ¡°That''s true, but it isn''t as if we haven''t taken our time to investigate all options.¡± She pats her belly which is now flat again, making a point that we took our sweet time with organizing this attack. Months have passed since we discovered the enemy''s main base, allowing Celes to deliver the babes safely. Several worlds have fallen to the incursions of fiends, but thankfully we were able to put the outbreaks down before they became uncontrollable. ¡°If we can stop even greater bloodshed by causing it on a smaller scale, it''s worth the price,¡± she explains her reasoning confidently, showing her independent side. ¡°For whatever reason, the Calamity didn''t truly utilize the Spheres which it must have in reserve. Either it can only activate a few at a time, thanks to the interference which we are running at its prison, or its capabilities are naturally limited from within the black hole, or there is some other reason or plan which we cannot comprehend yet. In any case, we shouldn''t give it any more time than we absolutely have to. We should take our chances as long as we have the strength to do so.¡± I nod while I wait for the formation to advance to our destination. It''s quite certain that Amaru, or rather the Calamity, knows that we are intending to finish this. For months we were content with biding our time while besieging the Calamity''s bastion world. Having our forces advance in the open broke the status-quo between us and the enemy. Annoyed by the fact that there is nothing else to do but to watch, I summon my staff and grab it tightly in order to reassure myself of my determination and to have something to hold on to. Will I look back at this point in time and berate myself for having taken the wrong path? If we fail, a few million Spheres could start generating demons. We would be fucked, unable to deal with an endless tide. I only hope that Chiffre''s idea of interfering with the Calamity''s signal directly at the source will work out. ¡°Our forward ships report encountering fiends which are trying to invade their ships. They are apparently just drifting out there in space, like mines,¡± a technician informs us, sounding baffled at the idea. ¡°We don''t know why we can only detect them from extremely close.¡± I nod but say nothing. It isn''t as if we didn''t plan for anything like this in advance. Encountering some kind of minefield while closing the distance wasn''t outside our predictions, even if the nature of these mines is surprising. The plan is to hold out until Warden gets close enough to start picking off the enemy''s planets. Our formations tighten to make sure that Warden''s planetary body stays unmolested. The price for getting Warden close enough will have to be paid in lives. I watch in silence while our fleet starts picking off fiends which are detected by our ships. They are too small to be seen from a distance, and so we have to rely on slowly working our way through the swarm. It will take us about forty minutes to get close enough to the enemy''s central planet for a decisive shot. Warden will start firing at the closer small planets at the five-minute mark, but we don''t even get as close as that. Four minutes after the start of the engagement, two of our ships suddenly disappear from the tactical map. ¡°What happened?¡± I straighten, requesting an answer from the personnel which is with us on the observation platform. ¡°Serious hull breach on both vessels. One reported a very big demon with huge claws. It cut the hulls open like paper. Then the vessels were boarded by the smaller versions. Because of the number of invaders both captains decided for the situation to be hopeless and activated the self-destruction.¡± I nod. Our smaller ships have a serious problem in this type of engagement. There aren''t enough crew members to fight a big boarding party. I refrain from instructing everyone to look out for those big demons. My people should know by themselves what to do. Celes links arms with me and smiles, giving me a kiss on the cheek. ¡°It will work out, honey. There is no reason to worry,¡± she comments with a bubbly tone in her voice. ¡°Y- yeah.¡± I nod, patting the back of her hand awkwardly, not bothering to tell Celes that her behaviour became a little strange in the recent months. More than once her personality switched between Myrm''s confident ''No Bullshit'' type of character, and Isabella''s overbearing love for me. It has been a little disturbing, but I didn''t have the heart to bring it up. Especially, since I know that she can''t help herself. Once in range of the out planets, Warden takes the first shot. A small red line of red energy shoots out of the Crystal City''s central tower and slices into one of the enemy''s orbiting planets. For a moment, nothing happens, and I am about to ask what went wrong when the planet disappears in an explosion of red energy. The screen immediately dims down as the sensors try to filter out the radiation. As soon as the interference is gone, it''s clear that clean and complete annihilation was wrought on the opponent. Wondering, I raise an eyebrow and note that Warden''s version of my spell seemed to be a little more refined than my current one! I have to get the details for it out of Warden. If the AI''s theory is correct, then this alternate personage of myself must have had a little more time to refine his magic. The machine''s story was that this multiverse went through countless iterations like in some time loop. If so, I wonder what else would be lying hidden inside Warden''s memory banks. The fleet continues to advance while losing ship after ship to barely detectable flocks of the Calamity''s fiends. Then it is finally our turn and the warriors are ordered to defend the hull as the Ragnarok encounters a dense cluster of the enemy. I instruct the main-screen to give me an overview, coming quickly to the conclusion that the whole engagement looks like one big clusterfuck, and sadly, all I can do is to stay here and to watch.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. It is the fate of those who command a military battle. You make your plans, think of strategies and counter-tactics, then you lean back and wait for something unexpected to happen. Otherwise, you aren''t needed anymore. ¡°The Ragnarok''s defence was broken on Deck 3! They are trying to push the fiends out, but it looks bad!¡± someone from the security personnel informs us. I switch the central screen to another scene by accessing the sensor array of another ship. The new image shows a picture of my fortress from the outside. What was once a beautiful flying fortress has now a giant scar in its side. The extent of the damage surprises me, especially since there was no indication of it through any kind of vibration. Narrowing my eyes, I take a closer look at the inky mass of bodies which is crawling around inside the damaged section. ¡°Those fucking things are actually scratching off our hulls bit by bit! We made it out of Mana Crystal! How is that even possible?¡± I feel Celes''s hand tightening around mine. ¡°Tell them to hold on as long as they can and move the ships to cover the hole which is caused by the Ragnarok''s damage.¡± Suddenly, the room rocks sideways, as the Ragnarok splits apart on screen before the damaged section blows apart! ¡°What was that! Report!¡± ¡°We don''t know. There was no communication about it. We just got the information that the enemy was too close to the crystal core!¡± one of the officers informs me. I form a fist with my free hand, lamenting the damage that was done to my ship. Watching the battle from the observation platform is frustrating, but if I had been on the primary command deck, I would be constantly tempted to question Gabriel''s commands, and that wouldn''t have made him look good. My friend must have decided that fighting off the enemy in our current situation wasn''t worth the effort, so he used the compartmentalized design of the fortress to eject and self-destruct the damaged sections. Due to their size, only our fortresses were designed like that. My useless thoughts are suddenly interrupted as the whole observation platform bucks downwards, causing Celes and me to be slammed into the ceiling before we fall back down again, only whole thanks to our god-like constitution. A mortal would have been a smear on the wall. The whole room is thrown into disarray as people try to get back to their positions. ¡°Something took out our lower spell projector! We have a gaping hole there!¡± I get back to my feet and help Celes up as I take a look at our time table. Eighteen minutes! There is no chance that we will make it at this rate. I have no clue how the Calamity is damaging our ships, but if this goes on, we won''t have a Ragnarok left by the time Warden is done with the Calamity''s bastion. ¡°We have detected several intruders who didn''t get ejected with the rest, someone strong is fighting his way to our crystal core,¡± a technician warns us. ¡°You have to stop him.¡± Warden''s voice drones from the speakers. ¡°The defence can''t be upheld without the help of both of our crystal fortresses. If you don''t free the way, Asheim would be open to attacks! You have to hold until I am close enough!¡± Warden''s voice echoes through the room. ¡°I will go and see what I can do to defend the crystal core.¡± Celes stomps out of the observation platform, a group of security personnel following on her heels. While looking at the ceiling, I wait until the door is closed behind her. Then I turn towards the main screen. ¡°Get me a connection with the captain.¡± It only takes a few moments before Gabriel''s face appears on the screen. ¡°You need something? We are really busy here. Coordinating with the rest of the fleet isn''t easy after the hit we took.¡± ¡°I want you to defend the engines and the crystal core. Abandon the rest of the fortress. Break the formation and advance at full speed towards the enemy''s main planet. Also, signal the retreat for everyone. They have to use a pathway as soon as they are able to.¡± ¡°Your majesty?¡± Sven looks concerned. ¡°You are abandoning the ship?¡± ¡°You heard me. We won''t make it at this rate.¡± I point at the timer which is displayed at the main screen. ¡°We haven''t even reached the twenty-minute mark and one of our most valuable assets is already almost out of commission! Sound the general retreat and get the rest of the fleet out of here.¡± I stand up and leave the observation platform without looking back. Then I walk at a leisurely pace towards the control room with the fortress''s crystal core, followed by second security detachment while the rest of the crew prepares to jump ship. ¡°What are you planning?¡± Warden''s voice follows me. ¡°They will have taken the fleet apart long before we reach our destination, even with the ships from the Gaian Pact playing distraction. Get everyone out of here, Warden. This plan backfired on us, but I am not willing to give up yet.¡± I turn around a corner. ¡°That wasn''t my question,¡± the machine insists. ¡°Try to take it easy, Warden. You almost sound pissed off. I will just attempt a little experiment before I lose this fortress.¡± I smile as I enter the core''s control room. Celes is already there with a good amount of other defenders. They started setting up a barrier in order to delay the enemy. She is looking with expectant eyes at a door which leads in the direction of the fortress'' surface. I am about to address her when something hits the door from the other side, causing a few cracks to appear. ¡°Is this a bad horror movie?¡± I ask her jovially with a slight smirk on my face. Celes just shakes her head and rolls her eyes while I walk towards the big crystal core in the centre of the room, which is essentially the fortress''s heart and power supply. The crystal cores are the focus points. They provide all applications which use the crystal technology with energy. I place my hand on the console in front of the crystal core and start giving it instructions, annoyed that Margerie''s hideous security measures cost me quite some time. But then I am done. The hologram which displays the core''s status switches to red letters: ''-Full Energy Conversion activated. Fail-safe deactivated. Silent Countdown started-'' ¡°Everyone, please evacuate now. I''ve ensured that you can teleport out of this room, but the dampening field will turn to full power within a minute. Afterwards, you will be stuck here,¡± I inform the others as I turn around to face them. ¡°What are you doing? Who will defend the core if everyone is gone?¡± Celes looks at me with an awkward expression. ¡°Nobody. We will all retreat now.¡± I smile at her and place a hand on her shoulder. ¡°In a few seconds, the field will invert shortly, giving everyone a chance to get out.¡± A few seconds later, I feel her relaxing. Her defence drops, giving me all the chance I need. A quick jab to her sternum, combined with a little spell is enough to drop her. Normally, it would be impossible to do something like that to a master of inner mana manipulation, but I know my wife''s mana pattern inside out. She slept beside me for years and the feeling of her soul is even more familiar to me than those who I harvested for my experiments. She probably didn''t even notice what happened. I catch her as she goes limp in my arms. ¡°Sorry, sugar cat, but I can''t have you fighting this one. Not when someone has to look after the kids and especially not in your state,¡± I whisper into her ear. Taking her into a princess carry, I become aware of her betrayed expression, but I pay it no heed. I stare down one of the defenders who are looking at us. ¡°You! Take the queen and everyone else out of here. I will defend the core alone. Try not to be too close to her when the healers fix her up. It will be true mayhem, and if I ever find out that she didn''t get to safety, you better hide on the Infernal Planes under some rock and hope that I will never find you, which I would, as soon as I reincarnate.¡± The guard swallows visibly and takes Celes. As soon as our inhibition field emitter inverts, the guards enter a pathway with my unconscious wife to get out of the ship. I turn towards the door while one defender after the other disappears. A few try to stay, but I raise my voice once more. ¡°Get out! Fast! I don''t want any hindrances locked up in here when the dampening field reactivates!¡± The last of them vanishes a moment before the dampening field spins up again. Well, at least I will have nobody aside from myself on my conscience. Another crack appears on the door and I ready myself. Suddenly, the door shatters into thousands of shards and multiple demons storm into the room, but they are only the small versions. I don''t hold back as a short chant leaves my lips and a torrent of red energy sparks forth from my outstretched hand. The first wave of demons falls victim to my new adapted version of what I have yet to give a name. Soul Shredder would be fitting, but it sounds stupid. I will have to think of a better one in the future. I stop channelling the spell, leaving naught but ash on the floor. Yet, I don''t lower my hand, expecting a second wave to rush into the room. But there is no second wave of monsters. Instead, a person with a monocle steps through the blasted doorway. He is wearing something like an exoskeleton, his mien reminding me of the scholarly man who I met so long ago when I took the Crystal City from the Council. ¡°So, no more defenders? How boring. At least they tried to resist up until now.¡± His eyes fall onto me and I wave at him. His expression brightens. ¡°If it isn''t the little king!¡± ¡°If it isn''t the mad scientist,¡± I answer Amaru while I take a glance into the corridor behind him. It''s filled to the brim with fiends. ¡°How did you manage to get on board? I was so certain of our safety features.¡± The man snorts, not falling for my attempt to stall for time. ¡°You are quite the brave man to stay behind alone. What do you intend to do? Self-destructing the ship? You really think you can stop me with that?¡± Amaru gives me a devilish smile. ¡°No, not really. I don''t think that I can stop you, but I would like to know if I can hurt you.¡± I point at Amaru. ¡°The connection to your fiends isn''t deep enough, but I bet you are a little more invested into this particular body.¡± Amaru''s expression falters with worry for a mere moment before the puppet starts smiling again. ¡°Step aside and don''t waste my time. I will join your soul to mine later.¡± Amaru starts walking in my direction but is stopped short by the magicial barrier which Celes and her men set up earlier. The shimmering force field springs into existence between us, causing him to bump his nose against it. ¡°How cute. The others tried that too.¡± He pokesthe barrier with his finger. I frown at his comment. ¡°Others?¡± ¡°Nah, just an old geezer and a demon girl who looked similar to you. Their souls tasted very good!¡± The maniac licks over his lips, grinning. I grab my staff tighter, knowing that he is only trying to taunt me. There is no way that the Calamity got its paws on Nicosar and Nix! I growl. ¡°Bad luck for you then, because if you really have them, all it means is that I will have to rip their souls out of your guts.¡± ¡°Ahahahahaha! You are funny. I guess we are done talking for now!¡± Amaru waves his hand at my barrier and shatters it like nothing. I immediately invoke a fury of red energy bolts, but they just bounce off of Amaru. With a step, he is in front of me and a strike wipes me off my feet. While falling, I grab his collar and try to connect to his soul as a wild fury of elemental power starts a dance between us. He roars as I try to rip the mana and his essence out of the body. Instead, it is my mana that is rapidly sucked away! It is as if I am fighting multiple people at the same time in this duel of minds. Before I can lose my power completely, I try to kill us both by disconnecting my soul from my body and pulling him with me. It''s a dirty trick, but a kick sends me flying and I land at the console before the crystal core. ¡°Fuck!¡± I spit a mouthful blood onto the floor. Something important must have broken. I can''t feel my legs. ¡°See? You aren''t even worth the effort.¡± Amaru starts walking towards me, but he is clearly more interested in the core. ¡°You try that every time. It''s honestly becoming boring and frustrating that I can''t ultimatively defeat you, despite the incompetence of all of your reincarnations.¡± Amaru hisses and wrings his hands in silent frustration. ¡°Even when I do everything correctly and manage to eat you, it''s like your soul is drawn right out of my gullet once the next iteration of the multiverse starts. Infuriating, so just stay down and get out of my way! I am going to-¡± His insane rant is abprubtly ended when the crystal core starts pulsating, emitting pure, raw power and magic. ¡°Ahahahahaha...¡± I laugh at the startled Amaru. ¡°What are you laughing for?¡± ¡°No idea what other versions of me you are talking about, but I am obviously different. This experiment of mine has several stages. I rigged the crystal core for a direct energy conversion while Amaru''s body was already inside the dampening field! Even if you start running now, you won''t get out of here in time. For you to come here personally! I couldn''t have wished for more! I will not only blow all these worlds to quantum dust, but I will also get another head of the monster!¡± I look down and raise my palm, summoning my tome into my hand. ¡°And I thought I might add just a little bit of spice to the mix.¡± Amaru''s eyes widen as the tome''s seal cracks and breaks. Then the heavy binding opens, revealing madness to the world as Amaru turns, trying to run while my mad laughter follows him down the hallway through which he is trying to escape. ¡°I will rise again! You won''t get my soul with a cheap trick like that!¡± His voice is carried back to me over the corridor. The fiends follow their master in a vain attempt to escape what''s coming. I don''t even understand why he is trying to run. There is no way to escape from this one. By grabbing the console, I pull myself into an upright position from where I have sunken to the floor, which is complicated by the fact that I can''t feel my legs. Reaching out with my tome, I try to touch the crystal core, but my grip slips and I slide back to the ground. ¡°Fuck!¡± The core is pulsating even faster now. Somehow, I manage to touch the tome to the pulsating crystal core at my second attempt, opening my mind to the raw power, basking in it, just like I do when I enjoy the Chaos. This searing light andits raw power! I was foolish when I thought that I could control this, but I still try to connect to this immense pool of energy. It''s pressing down on my mind like a gigantic weight. And then the pulsing stops and there... is... just... Chapter 86 ***Cruiser Wode-00342, Council Main Base, Higher Planes*** ***Nix*** ¡°He... is... gone,¡± Celes manages to bring out between sobs, wiping away at the constantly running tears on her now messy face. I wince, trying my best to comfort her by holding onto her shoulder, but not daring to come any closer in case her personality switches again. My status as her daughter ''might'' give me some protection, yet, I am not entirely certain that I am exempt from sudden violence in case she has another meltdown like earlier in the infirmary. That guard who followed my father''s orders and took her out of there certainly looked like he was put through the wringer after my mother got her hands on him. She wasn¡¯t pleased when she learned that he was the one who took her out of there, following Angrod¡¯s orders. And in absence of the real culprit, the poor sod was the only available target for her rage. I hand her the cup of water which I brought for her from the bathroom. When I heard that Celes was brought to one of the guard-ships, I came over and commandeered a suite after learning of her meltdown. The general public doesn¡¯t have to know of her instability. ¡°Mother,¡± I start, thinking carefully of what I am about to say, ¡°I am sure that Dad had his reasons. He wasn''t sure that you could have won that fight. He must have wanted to make certain that you are there for the kids.¡± ¡°He...¡± Celes clasps the cup of water between her hands until the Mana Crystal cup yields with a silent ''crack'', spilling water all over her thighs. ¡°¡­ betrayed¡­ me!¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± I try to laugh off the fact that Mom just broke a cup made out of Mana Crystal with her bare fingers. ''Crack!'' ''Crack!'' ''Crack!'' Bending over, I pull the shards out of her quivering fingers, hoping that I am not about to share the guard''s fate. What would have worked to calm down Isabella? ¡°Dad didn''t betray you. He loves you with all his heart. He tried to protect you in his own way.¡± She sets her jaws in a clearly defiant manner and I tense, reading myself to flee. ¡°If he isn¡¯t dead, and if I don¡¯t have to wait for a thousand years until he reincarnates, then I will teach him what it means to leave his soul-partner behind a second time!¡± Celes proclaims. I attempt to set things right so that she won¡¯t kill Angrod when he returns. ¡°It¡¯s not like-¡± ¡°He did!¡± she growls. ¡°Don¡¯t think that I have forgotten that he left Isabella sitting in the rain.¡± Her eyes narrow. ¡°Actually, this whole situation seems very similar to back then. He also got himself killed and then he didn¡¯t show himself for a few thousand years, despite the fact that he clearly had the means to return to me.¡± ¡°I rather doubt that ¡®getting himself killed¡¯ is ever going to be an intentional part of his schemes,¡± I comment. ¡°Oh, then you don¡¯t know him,¡± Mom retorts. ¡°If he is faced with a more powerful opponent and sees a chance to get one in on his enemy, he is perfectly fine with paying with his life, given he is pissed off enough.¡± ¡°See, then you don¡¯t have to worry,¡± I reassure her. ¡°As of yet, the Calamity hasn¡¯t taken anyone he cares about, so there is no reason to go all out on it. It¡¯s much more likely for him to silently off Warden. That snippy AI is turning him crazy. The two are very similar; the AI often seems to know what he thinks. There is nobody else who can get that easily under his skin aside from you.¡± Celes huffs but doesn¡¯t answer. Instead, she turns her attention to the panorama screen which shows a roaring maelstrom of energy, encircling something like a gateway; a hole in the multiverse that leads to the Lower Planes, the realms of Chaos and Insanity. Chiffre and his community are still trying to find out what exactly Angrod did to rip a hole into the multiverse. Normally, blowing up the Ragnarok¡¯s core shouldn¡¯t have had such an effect, so there must be something else at play. I recognize the dimension to which the gateway leads since Angrod brought me there when he taught me how to control my divinity. It¡¯s his home, so I am certain that whatever this is, it was supposed to happen. My only hope is that he didn¡¯t intend for us to bail him out because I have no intention of going back there without a very good reason. When the Ragnarok self-destructed, it took the Calamity¡¯s bastion with it, obliterating every trace of the enemy and almost our fleet too, if it hadn¡¯t been for the fact that Angrod ordered the retreat before he decided to go rogue.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°It¡¯s been like this for hours,¡± Celes whines, having switched back to teary-eyed mode. I pat her reassuringly on the back one more time. ¡°You look horrible. I suggest you sleep. And I will tell the others that you are resting.¡± She nods and I sigh, turning to leave the apartment. Outside, I am intercepted by Ireth and Katrine. ¡°How is she?¡± Katrine asks. ¡°Very upset,¡± I summarize. ¡°Dad should be prepared to run once he is back.¡± ¡°You sound very confident.¡± Ireth looks down to watch the anomaly on the tablet which she brought with her. ¡°Though, I have my doubts that anyone could escape that.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say that it isn¡¯t the first time that I have seen a rift like that.¡± I gesture at her tablet. ¡°He showed me a similar one when he took me to the Lower Planes. Dad seemed very fascinated by it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just hope that-¡± Katrine lets out a surprised gasp when the anomaly shown on the tablet suddenly collapses in on itself and disappears. The both of them look accusingly at me. ¡°Ah,¡± I shrug. ¡°The one he showed me didn¡¯t do that.¡± Ireth rolls her eyes and gestures for the rest to follow her. ¡°Nicosar and Arthur are already in the command centre, so I will just give them a call. I am sure that they are already using the whole fleet to search the region.¡± As it turns out, we never reach the command centre, because Arthur and Nicosar meet us halfway there and ominously enough, they redirect us to the ship¡¯s isolation cells. I purse my lips, growing impatient when they aren¡¯t forthcoming with information, and instead guide us to one of the cells. ¡°So? What have you found?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Arthur comments. ¡°As far as our egg-brains can tell, the anomaly is completely gone.¡± ¡°But they found a survivor at the centre of the anomaly,¡± Nicosar adds. ¡°It¡¯s not Angrod though. More like one of the fiends, but different. We had them teleport it to this cell.¡± We take a look into the cell, trying to place the creature inside with anything familiar. ¡°That¡¯s not a fiend.¡± I point into the small room which is separated from us by a clear wall of Mana Crystal. ¡°The fiends are all oozing this inky slime which slowly evaporates. This one is just¡­ dark¡­ shadows?¡± I fail to describe the vaguely humanoid amorphic creature, but any distinct feature I would choose is immediately replaced by something else. It seems like it is in a state of constant flux. Did we bring a denizen of the Chaos over into this dimension? That would be a bummer. I thought creatures from realities with vastly different laws of physics can¡¯t exist for long in each other¡¯s habitats. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a new version?¡± Nicosar comments. Our theories are cut short when the creature suddenly warps, flowing like water into the shadow which Arthur¡¯s figure threw into the cell, only to emerge right in front of his feet and outside the barrier. ¡°Boo!¡± The fiend wriggles his disproportioned fingers and spreads his arms in front of Arthur. ¡°Fu-¡± Arthur is about to lose his shit when a screeching Celes flies past me, ramming our guest into the cell¡¯s sight-window. ¡°Bastard!¡± Celes¡¯s fist hammers into the creature¡¯s head, causing it to bounce off the windowpane before it slides down to the ground, decked by a single hit. But that isn¡¯t enough for my mother. She swings her leg, kicking the creature with the grace of a football player trying to send the ball to the other side of the field. ¡°Traitor!¡± Too stunned to react, I can only watch as Ireth and Katrine pull Celes away from our prisoner who is now shrinking, taking on the shape of a familiar man. ¡°Hi, honey.¡± ***Cruiser Wode-00342, Council Main Base, Higher Planes*** ***Angrod*** I was flowing, riding the colossal energies of the explosion as they wiped my fortress and the Calamity¡¯s base out of the multiverse. Somehow I am aware of it happening, as my soul was a part of this power, my body gone. I existed in a state of pure energy. My soul was riding this wave of destruction, its life to be measured in milliseconds. I was also aware of the Calamity and its endless hunger. But to me, it felt like an eternity. Then I realized that I could use this power. Within the boundaries of this eruption of mana, I could use the energy as long as there was a guiding will! With one mental hand, I reached out, using the power to return to open a doorway to my soul¡¯s home dimension. Here, where I was god, everything was possible. Reforming my body while ignoring the rules of physics was a matter of wishing it. The other mental hand, I jammed down on the connection I could feel between me and my enemy, imagining the creature yielding a choked gasp as I reached into the amalgamation of souls that made up its being. Without hesitation, I grasped everything I could get a hold of and ripped the souls right out of the creature. What goes in also must come out at some point. And the next thing I knew was that I drifted in a sea of darkness, stars shining all around me. My gamble had worked! I had managed to reach the next stage of ascension! If there wasn''t empty space all around me I would have laughed right then and there, which was sadly impossible without air. I still victoriously clasped the marble which contained everyone I could save during that second of being almost all-mighty and studied the changes to my new body, and the instinctive grasp I seemed to have on my new abilities. All that was left to do was to get back to Celes in order to apologize and to calm her down. Or should I rather say that I have to survive the meeting? She is going to be so mad. Will she be happy to see me? I stretch my mind to sense my surroundings and to my surprise, I have no troubles doing so. Did my abilities actually increase from this experience? I guess I never before handled such a huge amount of raw power or gave in to my divinity to such an extent. The decision of my next step is taken from me when I forcibly get transported into a cell of all places. So, barely one minute later, I find myself on the ground in front of the cell, begging for my life while my mother and stepmother are trying to keep Celes from performing a live vivisection on me. ¡°I am sorry, sugar cat! I will never do it again, I promise!¡± The room goes silent as the others gape at me, though Celes still seems to be an angry wreck of nerves with bloodshot eyes. She wrestles herself free of Katrine¡¯s and Ireth¡¯s grasp. ¡°Hell! No, you will never do that again! I will make sure of that! What are you trying to hide in your fist?¡± Unerringly, she zeroes in on the prize of my little experiment. In a moment, she is on me and claws the soul marble with our saved people out of my fingers. ¡°Those are souls,¡± I try to explain. ¡°I ripped them out of the Calamity.¡± I rub my cheek where she slapped me. Chapter 87 ***Void Zone, Chimera, Midhold''s Boarding School for Special Cases*** ***Aengus*** Something slaps me and I feel my eyelids flutter as I try to cross over into the waking world, already imagining horrible revenge on whoever forced me out of Morpheus'' embrace. ¡°Wah...¡± I slur, trying to wake up. ¡°Aengus, Aengus! Get up! We will miss the graduation ceremony!¡± Seria''s shriek right next to my ear wakes me fully and I shoot up, protecting the sensitive organ. ¡°Why the fuck did you do that?¡± I push my little finger into my ear, hoping to get rid of the strange tinnitus which she engendered by acting as a ship''s horn right next to my head. ¡°I just had to wake you up.¡± She huffs. ¡°Just what were you dreaming? Your expression was creepy and you were drooling all over the sheets.¡± Then Seria points towards a damp spot on the mattress where I drooled like some hill-billy. I can''t help myself and grin upon recalling the dream I had. ¡°I asked that girl from class ''G'' out, and this time she didn''t run away screaming. Instead, she told me her name and this led to that and I ended up balls d-¡± ¡°Nananana!¡± Seria covers her ears. ¡°Now I am glad that I didn''t pull away your sheets.¡± She quickly dashes back to her own room. I sigh, actually a little sad that Seria interrupted me just before the dream would likely have led to a nasty awakening. Just as Dad says, ¡°Sometimes the consequences are worth it.¡± ¡°I didn''t hear that!¡± Seria calls from her part of the dorm apartment. ¡°Do you at least remember her name?¡± Did I just say that out aloud? Oops. I frown. ¡°Of course not! How could I if she never told me in real life?¡± Still sleepy, I get out of bed and gaze around the room, automatically turning to the spot where I always leave my clothes on the floor when my eyes lock onto the door, quite obviously broken ¨C again! ¡°What did you do to my door! Haven''t I told you countless times to have Dad teach you lock-picking? Mom''s method is barbaric!¡± I look at the floor. ¡°And where is all my stuff!¡± ¡°But Mom''s method is definitely faster.¡± Seria returns into the room, stepping over the broken door and bringing my laundered clothes with her. With a sniff, she shoves them into my hands. ¡°There, can''t have my lazy brother embarrass me on such an important day.¡± She claps her hands together, urging me on. ¡°Fast, and forget the door, sleepyhead! The Ceremony!¡± Ceremony? ¡°Oh, right!¡± I struggle out of my bed to get undressed, smirking when she turns around. Once clothed, I follow Seria out of the room. It has been a few years since the final battle with the Council. We had the first real downtime in our lives, aside from the random breakout case of the Calamity''s fiends. Unluckily for us, the Spheres which were spread by the Calamity are still dormant. They didn''t get activated. Though, from time to time, one of them gets set off by a foolish mortal or some idiot god who didn¡¯t get the memo by accident. Thankfully, those incidents aren''t posing much of a threat with the new containment methods which the Arcane Community imposed on the Black Hole. But right now all of that is of no big concern to me, because I will graduate! Freedom! Nineteen Years and Freedom! I will get full access to my memories and Seria and I can return home to the luxury of Mom''s and Dad''s palace! That''s what today¡¯s ceremony is all about. Luckily Seria woke me up. If I had missed it, I would have had to wait for another year! ¡°What will you do when you have all of your memories back, Big Bro?¡± Seria asks me from the side as we slowly walk out of the dorm and across the campus. Actually I already put a lot of thought into that. ¡°I think I will travel the multiverse for a while! Make a name for myself, have a lot of fun! Maybe I will find a nice girl who is willing to take me! There must be someone for me out there who has no clue what getting involved with our family means.¡± Seria pats my back with a pitying expression. ¡°Yeah, at least on this planet your chances to get laid are close to zero. At least if we don''t count the bitches who are just in it for the power.¡± She is right. There are not many women on Chimera who are willing to marry into the royal family. Too many bad rumours about the male side of our bloodline. The recent years of our mother''s exploits also didn''t account for the best of reputations. Even people close to us are repelled because they fear to be included in the rumours. On the other hand, there are tons of guys who have an eye on Seria or our three little sisters. Luckily, the triplets haven''t had any marriage proposals since their introduction party or Dad would have had an aneurysm. It''s much too early, but upper society is just like that. Hard to let go of old traditions. At least I haven''t heard of any proposals or ¨C more likely ¨C Dad silently swept them under the rug. If anyone knew of the triplets, they wouldn''t propose anyway. My newest siblings are Mayhem incarnate! Alone they are bearable, but in reality, they are like an explosive with three compounds. Each of them alone or two together are harmless. All three in one place are the end! ¡°I find it strange that you will get to join the ceremony too, Seria. You never had your memories locked in the first place because father needed you to remember. Aren''t these officials a little too lax with their rules?¡± I scratch my chin while I walk towards the old church on the school ground which will be used for the ceremony. It''s a big and comfortable building with large and colourful glass windows which depict scenes from ancient history. To reuse a beautiful building like that after the decline of religion with the Awakening of all the gods isn''t so bad. ¡°Hmpf! I visited this school the same as you! There is no point in excluding me from the ceremony!¡± Seria puffs out her chest while her tail waves left and right. ¡°And regarding the memories, the ceremony will simply not do anything for me. That''s all. The reason why I can¡¯t remember large parts of my old life is different from yours.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I admit. Not many can say that they had their soul split into a million pieces. It¡¯s a small miracle that Dad got her back into working order so quickly.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Seria evolved into a spitting image of our mother, just a little smaller and more feisty with her tongue. She is almost half a head shorter than her. If it wasn''t for the finer and a little more girlish face, I would have trouble to tell the difference. ¡°What did you think about the graduation party yesterday?¡± Seria smirks at me. I shrug my shoulders, remembering that the reason why I was out cold was a little pre-graduation party which our friends threw to celebrate the end of school. ¡°It was okay I guess. Though, I drank a little too much.¡± ¡°How did it go with that girl! I know that you confessed to her,¡± Seria teases. ¡°Ah. That. She turned and ran. Honestly, you just want to poke at my misery. Would I be alone at home in my bed if she had accepted?¡± I let my head drop at the memory! I didn''t even manage to talk to her! She already blurted some kind of excuse in my direction when I tried to strike up a conversation. ¡°These rumours aren''t fair! The guys in our family are actually less dangerous than the females!¡± I shake my fists at the heavens. ¡°Hey!¡± Seria cuffs me into the side. ¡°They aren''t that far off! Don''t you remember that one time when you went exploring the multiverse and played with those mortals? Dad caught you in time, but their society still fell apart!¡± I fold my hands in front of my chest, speaking a silent prayer for the multiverse to forgive the failings of my youth. ¡°I admit it, it was a mistake of my youth. Although, it has to be mentioned that they provoked me. I realize now that I overreacted and I reflect on my actions.¡± ¡°And when you dismembered that guy because he tried to force himself on me?¡± Seria continues, reminding me of a particularly creepy fellow who followed her around throughout the whole of our fourth year at the Boarding School. When he dared to put his filthy paws on her my patience was at an end. ¡°I was nice,¡± I growl. ¡°Father instructed me to make an example out of the first guy who would mistreat my little sisters. I was very lenient within the boundaries of his suggested¡­ punishment.¡± ¡°They carried him in eight parts to the infirmary!¡± Seria gives me an accusing look. ¡°I didn''t get a single confession since that incident! Sometimes, I wonder if I should have accepted his advances just to prevent that one incident. He wasn¡¯t that bad¡­ kind of sweet¡­ in a creepy way.¡± ¡°Father told me to hold a public execution and take his soul in order to demonstrate my power. So I think that I was very nice to just temporarily separate his soul from his body.¡± I frown while I think back to that moment. ¡°Actually, I just gave him a gentle greeting. When I took his hand, it suddenly came off. Then I tried to reattach it and his jaw dislocated. It wasn¡¯t my fault that he was a weakling.¡± ¡°Nonono! Stop it! I don''t want to remember it! Fortunately, I had no clear view and saw just the blood spraying left and right.¡± Seria sighs. ¡°In other words, you killed him. How lucky that a soul can be reattached to a dead body if it''s healed fast enough. Seriously! That brutish strength! You became so similar to our mother!¡± I shake my head. ¡°I can''t help it. I am not on dad''s level of soul magic, yet, and Mom¡¯s internal mana control is way easier for me to learn. So, you tell me that I shouldn''t have done anything that day? He was too weak. He would have been a disgrace to our bloodline. Coming apart because I shake his hand¡­ he wouldn''t have survived a single day in our family!¡± ¡°Gods no!¡± She chuckles. ¡°I was about to rip out his balls off and force-feed them to him. You showed up at just the right moment! Killing him myself would have been a serious blow to my reputation! Not to mention that he wouldn¡¯t have survived the introduction to the rest of the family in a million years.¡± Seria pats my back again while we enter the church and join the rows of students. The ceremony itself won''t be a big deal since the school already had its celebration. There will be no names and no big talk. In order to assure that there are no incidents, the church was put under a barrier which stops anyone who isn''t allowed to participate. They will hand out a small Soul-Marble, an enchanted artifact, which is able to unseal our memories. Then the choice of whether we want the memories of some former version of ours is left to us. Either we want to continue to live as we did before, or take a look at our past life. There have been cases of serious depressions after getting those old memories back, but I already decided that I will try it. ¡°So, what will you do with your soul marble, Seria? Will you take a look at your former self anyway?¡± I smile at my little sister while we wait with the other students. ¡°I already told you that it won¡¯t work for me. Anyway...¡± She points at the big statue of ¡®Seria the Goddess¡¯ which is standing in the middle of the dome. ¡°Take a good look at that and tell me: How could I resist to at least try taking a look? I already have quite a few of my memories, but if possible, I want all of them!¡± I nod. There is really not much to think about in her case. Her current personality was already largely influenced by the memories of her former life, so any new memories shouldn¡¯t be too much of a shock. The ceremony finally starts when the School¡¯s director orders the students to be silent. A teacher starts walking past the rows of young men and women, handing out a Soul-Marble to everyone. Most of the recipients take it and instantly use it. There are very few who resist the temptation. Upon receiving their memories, their eyes glaze over for a moment before their new personality can reassert control. I see happy and sad faces and some look a little disturbed, but there is no big breakdown until now. Then it is Seria''s and my turn. She instantly uses her soul marble as she takes it out of the basket. I just take mine and wait to see the effects on my little sister. As expected, the effect on her isn¡¯t as pronounced as on the others, but it seems like she got something out of it because her eyes start blinking rapidly. After a few seconds, she turns red like a tomato. ¡°Nooooo!¡± She starts wriggling in disgust. ¡°W- What!?¡± I hope she isn''t one of the mental breakdown cases. ¡°In my previous life, I was a nudist! And a pervert!¡± Seria falls to her knees. ¡°Now I also remember vividly how I ran around naked as a child¡­ but¡­ why were those memories blocked!¡± I purse my lips. ¡°Ah, that.¡± ¡°What!?¡± She looks up at me. ¡°I can remember you having that tendency,¡± I point out. ¡°And one day, you just stopped doing it.¡± ¡°You mean¡­¡± She covers her mouth when adds two and two together. ¡°Yep. Almost certainly. I bet Mom had Dad block you when things got too outrageous.¡± I nod to myself, assured that our parents would be capable and willing to do such a thing to their own child. Capable, would be Dad in this case, and willing, that would be Mom. ¡°I guess that Mom really wanted to bring you up as a proper lady¡­ Ahem.¡± That raises some interesting questions. ¡°Thinking about it, I guess I will refrain from taking mine.¡± I look down at my own Soul-Marble, feeling my determination waver. Seria jumps to her feet. ¡°No! You have to take yours!¡± I raise an eyebrow at her feverish expression. ¡°What do you know?¡± ¡°You have to! I took mine! Fair is fair!¡± Seria bulldozes into me and pushes the soul marble into my chest and the glowing marble disappears! ...daefakefpiaefnsavsvar pictures sdfowerbvwertbo knowledge sfdiubeiprbeipgep righteousness adflabrgezbrguoerbgip hero sldfuiebvsirbv laws apurebgapizerbdjfdfg equality aisrbaeuraeu peace eiuflewrzgbewrvzg... ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± ¡®Bam!¡¯ ¡®Bam!¡¯ ¡®Bam!¡¯ ¡®Bam!¡¯ The sound of people whispering around me. ¡°P- Prince! Please stop hitting your head into the ground!¡± ¡°Dangerous!¡± ¡°His previous personality is worse than his current one?¡± ¡°The tile¡¯s broken...¡± ¡°Those are no tiles, they are solid bedrock blocks from the Midhold Mountainrange, each at least twenty centimetres thick!¡± The whispering continues, and I come back to myself, finding my sister trying her best to stop me from mutilating myself. ¡°Big Bro! Stop it! Your forehead is bleeding! I am sorry! It can''t be that bad!?¡± I look up to my little sister and scream. ¡°I was some kind of disgusting, peace loving, and righteous, nice guy, hero-type character who never got a girl because they all left me for other more aggressive guys!¡± The people around us start whispering again. ¡°He has a reaction like that because he was a hero?¡± ¡°As expected of a villain who suddenly finds his whole existence contradicted!¡± ¡°So he was the exact opposite of what he is now in his previous life.¡± ¡°He has to make up for something...¡± ¡°Would have been nice if his previous personality took over.¡± Seria sighs and holds a hand to the back of my head while straightening my nose with the other. ¡°You managed to break your nose, Big Bro.¡± Then she fixes my face with a healing spell. I get up and take a serious look at Seria. ¡°My travels through the multiverse will take a little longer. Tell Mom and Dad that I have to find my true identity first!¡± Chapter 88 ***Noth - Mortal World, Wilderlands*** ***Sharid*** ¡°~Travelling is a Sharid''s lust. High over the mountains and deep through valleys...~¡± I had the best time in my life since Master is gone, singing as I explored the world. Nobody is pestering me about my way of doing things now. No more orientation training, and especially, no more camping in the mountains if I don¡¯t want to, though there is nothing to say against a good outing once in a while. After Nazareth released me into the world, I decided to follow his advice and chose spell-singing as my preferred skill. The art is directly connected to spell-weaving which I was always very skilled at. At the delicate age of sweet nineteen, I am finally wandering the world on my own, joining various groups of adventurers and selling my services as a spell-weaver. I learned quickly that a magician with a profession that lacks offensive power needs allies. Because my spells have the nature of enchants or curses I am trying to balance my weakness with some willing meathshields- ahem¡­ important comrades! I have to remember to call them that. I have to stop thinking of others as toys. Especially men, although they are just too easy to manipulate. In order to concentrate on my goal of ascending, I decided to avoid staying in any adventurer group for too long, keeping myself as far away from relationships as possible. The last thing I want right now is to settle down with a family. First, ascension, then everything else. Sill, no matter my newly gained control over my abilities, the male members of any given party have a tendency to become too pushy over time, so it is necessary to switch out groups once in a while. This is kind of inconvenient, but by meeting different people and helping others I am able to hone my skills much faster than when I am alone since many of my abilities rely on assisting allies. As I sing, I regard my current comrades while keeping an eye on our surroundings. As a supporter, it is my job to keep everyone alive. The spellsong I am using increases our group¡¯s endurance, giving us the ability to travel the woods much faster. We joined forces back in a small village at the edge of the Dark Forest. The prospects for us higher levelled adventurers weren¡¯t great there, but we had all been drawn in by an ongoing quest of subjugating a large goblin warren. Once the goblins decided to relocate, making money became a problem. The five of us decided to travel through the Lothing Forest to the kingdom of Belforst, a region with many dungeons and powerful monsters that would give plenty of quests for adventurers of our skill level. Walking around the forest would take us thrice the time than simply crossing through, but that comes with its own dangers. The problem is the wild monsters and orks which haunt this place. I hum my melody while our group passes through an area with thick underbrush which gives the shivers. Unable to see farther than a few metres would ensure that I get hopelessly lost. Joining up with other adventurers also eliminates my biggest weakness, and that is my poor sense of direction! If there is no big road to follow, I am lost. It is as simple as that. I don''t know why, but I feel fairly safe to attribute all of my shortcomings to that damned god who cursed me. At least I am now able to stick to the roads. In the beginning, my sense of direction was so bad that I started my journey around the region of the continent¡¯s high north and lost the road because I camped a little further away from the path. The next morning, I couldn¡¯t find the path anymore and started to walk through the wild nature. When I finally found civilisation again, the kind village people who I came across told me that I was far in the south! So, since then I simply follow a few rules. First, always follow other people, never try to go anywhere alone. Second, always camp ¡®on¡¯ the road. Not next to it, not a few steps to the side. Camp ¡®on¡¯ the road, even if it inconveniences others. ¡°Sharid?¡± Third, never do your business out of sight of the road. You have to see the road while¡­ yeah. ¡°Sharid? Did you hear me?¡± As for my current group. There is a swordsman named Ron with a two-handed longsword. Then we have Maxime who is our priestess and main healer. ¡°Why is she looking at the clouds? Is something hiding up there in the trees?¡± Sondo is a skilled marksman with a bow, and uses daggers for close-range combat. Iris is a knight in heavy armour¡­ I don''t understand why any woman would want to engage in close combat. ¡°Just leave her be. Magicians get strange once they reach a certain level of proficiency.¡± ¡°I just wanted to ask whether she is tired and if we should look for a camping site. Socializing just a little with the rest of us wouldn¡¯t do her bad.¡± ¡°I bet you just want her to socialize with you.¡± But I guess everyone is different. ¡°You are the most cheerful person I have ever met, Sharid. Do you ever stop singing?¡± Iris comments on my most valuable trait. ¡°You must have an enormous mana pool to churn out group-buffs non-stop like that.¡± I decide to acknowledge at least her existence. If I am already on a bad foot with the men I shouldn¡¯t take it as far as to ignore the women too. ¡°Not really! I sing whenever I can and as much as I am able to. My dream is to become the best Spell-Singer in the world!¡± I raise my arm to point towards the sky! Of course, I want to become a god too, but saying that out aloud would only be misunderstood as a joke. ¡°I think you are already the best singer in the world, Sharid. I never heard a voice like yours. You could make unbelievable sums of money by working as an entertainer in a big town.¡± Ron joins the conversation. ¡°Oh, please. Stop the flattery! Besides, I wouldn''t get to see the world that way! What''s a life worth if you always stay in one place!¡± I correct the grip on my backpack¡¯s strap while I avoid another root on the path. ¡°It wasn''t-¡± Ron tries to say something, but Sondo interrupts him by raising an arm to signal the group to stop. ¡°We are surrounded. There is something in the bushes ahead and to our sides behind the trees.¡± ¡°Can we turn and run?¡± Iris takes her shield from her back. ¡°I don''t think that we would get away, but...¡± Sondo looks back, apparently weighing our chances of retreat. The sound of an ork-horn interrupts him. With the signal, thirty armed orks jump out of the thick brushwork just twenty metres in front of us. Eight orks leave their hiding places to our left and nine to our right! That amounts to forty-seven enemies! Oh, boy. We are hopelessly outnumbered, so I quickly drop my backpack in order to have an easier time moving around. My comrades prove their worth as seasoned adventurers. Maxime keeps her cool and immediately casts a binding spell onto the enemies to our right, causing strands of white power to entangle them in a giant pile-up. Sondo throws a big smoke bomb at the main group which is immediately followed by a set of different grenades, utterly halting their advance for the time being. Then he draws his daggers and rushes into the smokescreen, unfazed by the disparity in numbers. While Sondo¡¯s grenades keep the main group in disarray, Iris and Ron make a stand against the attack from our left. I switch to a hymn of strength and defence, assisting my comrades with their close-quarter encounters. Four of the orks stop their advance in order to deal with our close-range fighters, while the others simply run past them to attack our rear guard. ¡°Sharid! Maxime!¡± Ron calls out to us but is unable to stop some of the enemies from getting past because of their sheer numbers. ¡°I can''t bind them and defend myself at the same time!¡± Maxime has a frightened expression on her face while she channels her lightspell to shackle the group to our right. Seeing her concentration waver, I step in front of Maxime while I continue to sing. The first ork arrives with a raised axe and I jump a step forward, kicking him in the groin while I catch the axe which was coming down at me with both hands. My enemyis lifted about two metres into the air while I whirl around, throwing the oversized axe at the second ork whose widened eyes were distracted as he followed his comrade¡¯s ascend to the heavens. The axe enters his rusty chest plate with a satisfying ¡®Thud¡¯, cleaving almost completely through his upper body. As the third ork arrives, I dodge the first swing of his crude blade. As I dance around my opponent, I swing out an arm and land a casual back-handed slap to the face. His head bends sideways in an unhealthy angle while my movement keeps flowing unerringly, following the tune of my song and my ability as a dancer. With a wriggle of my hips, I bodily slam into the slackening body, sending it out of the way of my performance as I grab the ork¡¯s sword which falls into my hand as if it was always supposed to happen. With a scream the fourth ork reaches me, wielding a mace with tremendous force. I raise the sword, imagining it to be a conductor''s baton and the ork¡¯s weapon just another tune to my song. The rusty sword impacts the mace perfectly timed to my song, redirecting the mace to bury itself in the ground instead of splitting my head open like a melon. A quick kick to the ork''s shin snaps the bone with a crunching sound and the monster tumbles sideways to the ground as I jump slightly into the air, announcing the beginning of my best performance yet as I give in to the music and the weaving, flowing magic around me. Before he can get up, I land on his head with both feet, resulting in a satisfying ¡®snap¡¯ under the sole of my foot. Haaah! I like it to ~crush~ the bad guys. Picking up the mace which is still sticking in the ground, I turn to finish off my first ~victim~. He is still on his knees, hands between his legs, as the mace comes down on his head from behind, ending the creature¡¯s miserable existence with an explosion of blood and gore. Having dealt with the rude disturbance, I concentrate my full attention back on singing again, fully caught in the performance of my skill. With the enhanced strength and agility, our fighters manage to deal with their enemies rather easily, finishing them offone by one as Iris and Ron get done with their group.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. They quickly move on to finish off what is left, advancing on the shackled group which turns into a quick and bloody execution thanks to the shackles of light. I turn my attention to the lifting smokescreen and realize that something bad happened on Sondo''s side. There are orks emerging out of the smoke, so I switch my aria to a song which weakens enemies, using the mace to tap the drumming rhythm of a war-song on the plated armour of the ork which I executed with a splash. The orks fall to their knees with strained expressions on their faces, trying to shield their ears from the overwhelming noise that is only audible to them thanks to my spell. Nonetheless, I feel myself reaching my limits. Spellweaving is a very powerful art, but it comes with a hefty price. Spells which affect such a huge area come with generous consumption of mana. Mana is an energy which comes directly from one¡¯s soul. It is directly connected with a person''s ability to concentrate and that person¡¯s life-force. And I feel the last of my reserves dwindle! The last song is especially difficult because I have to suppress all enemies affected by it. I feel my concentration wavering while I try to use every ounce of power within me, forcing myself past my limits in fear of what would happen should the entire group of orks get loose at once. A handful of them for each of us might be enough to overpower my allies. Not even I am confident enough to think that I could deal with twenty of them at once. I have to do this! Thirty enemies at the same time are too much for us! Pearls of sweat are forming on my forehead while I feel the last of my power disappearing. But there has to be more! I continue the song while I search within myself for anything besides my own life force. But scraping off a bit of my own life is better than dying? Isn''t it? I continue to sing while my comrades finish the last of the shackled opponents and advance towards the spellbound main group. My voice wavers as my life diminishes with each word. But I have to hold on as I practically will the energies around me into the desired shape. At the point when my life is almost gone, I suddenly realize a small spark of power within myself. It is so small, I would have never felt it if I hadn''t drained my reserves to that extent! Like someone dying of thirst, I grab for that small spark of power and suddenly an unbelievable force floods through my entire being and my song renews with full force, the power of it causing me to stumble! There is so much power! More than I ever felt before. It shakes my entire being to the core. A white nothingness of pure power is all around me and I become suddenly aware of streams of pure energy penetrating all my surroundings, connecting everything together. I never knew. I never realized that there was so much power all around me all along! That everything is connected together, with each other and the song. The power of the realization threatens to tear my mind apart, causing tears to flow down my cheeks before I am overwhelmed and everything goes dark. The slow, swaying motion of someone carrying me wakes me up, so I open my eyes with a moan. The blinding light of the midday sun through the canopy forces me to cringe, but I am more interested in what is going on, so I ignore the pain. ¡°Ouch! What happened?¡± ¡°Sharid? You are awake? Thank the gods! Ron, Sondo, set her down!¡± Maxime''s voice reaches my ears. ¡°What happened?¡± I blink, realizing that I am on an improvised stretcher which is carried by the male members of our team. The others look relieved as they set me down. ¡°You were out cold for a whole day. We are almost out of the forest!¡± Sondo looks at me with a worried expression. He has a pretty big bump on his forehead but looks fine otherwise. Did he run into a tree? Then I remember the orks! ¡°Ngh! I am so sorry!¡± I sit up quickly and get to my knees. ¡°You guys had to carry me all the way? What happened to the orks?¡± As I get up, I notice that I feel somehow lighter than before. ¡°Careful! You don''t have to apologize. You saved us all with that last song. To hold down that many orks. I am sorry. You even used your own life force! Are you sure you are able to stand?¡± Iris gives me another worried look as she checks me out, holding a steadying hand on my shoulder. ¡°It''s okay! I feel fine enough for the circumstances. What''s wrong with you guys?¡± I smile at them. ¡°Ahem... your hair...¡± Ron points at me with an awkward expression. I pull my long hair into my view and notice a lock of pure white. It seems to originate from my left temple. ¡°Hm. Does it look cool? It gives me a villain look, doesn''t it? Can you finally tell me what happened?¡± Iris takes the lead in explaining things. ¡°After you started that last song, we hurried to deal with the paralysed orks. We realized that you started to burn your own life to keep them in check and worked as fast as we could.¡± She takes a breath. ¡°But when we were halfway done, you suddenly emitted this light and your whole body started glowing. You sang and sang. It was like a messenger of the gods came to the mortal realm. And then you suddenly dropped to the ground and were unconscious. Nothing we did could wake you up. ¡°So we looted what we could from the orks and fashioned a stretcher. Then we made a run for it in case there were other groups of the vile beasts in the vicinity. So we carried you all the way here. We definitely have to give the adventurer¡¯s guild a note that the forest isn¡¯t safe anymore. That raiding party was huge. If it hadn¡¯t been for you, we would have been overwhelmed.¡± ¡°Ah. I see. Thank you for carrying me out of there, guys.¡± I decide to grant the two men a wink and a slight bow. ¡°Looks like I was a burden in the end.¡± ¡°No way! Without you, we all would have been goners! When those orks broke our line of defence and you stepped in to shield Maxime we should have been dead by all rights. Then you held down the entire main group after they decided to ignore Sondo. From which spell did you get that barbarous strength!?¡± Ron bursts out. ¡°Barbarous?¡± I pout my lips and Iris cuffs Ron in the side. ¡°I was just training in the mountains with my master. He didn''t allow me weapons and so I had to deal with various wild beasts just by using my fists. There were snow pumas, bears and mountain gorillas. But especially problematic are the cave trolls. Those are really strong fellows! Dealing with an ork is like kicking a child compared to trolls.¡± The group stares at me with astounded expressions, so I continue, trying to downplay my martial abilities. ¡°And it''s only good if a supporter can take care of himself just in case something gets past the front lines! Nobody wants to be a one-hit target.¡± Iris shakes her head. ¡°And there I thought that she is the delicate type. From tomorrow onwards I will fight a bear barehanded every day! It¡¯s somewhat embarrassing for a knight like myself if a supporter takes out four orks that easily.¡± ¡°I will go and train alone in the mountains after this.¡± Ron kicks a pebble on the roadside. ¡°I will join you!¡± Maxime quickly calls out towards Ron. I only roll my eyes, already having noticed that she has the hots for him. ¡°Next time, I will prepare more smoke bombs!¡± Sondo is the only one who decides to improve through better preparation. ¡°If I had more of those, I could have held them in check for longer. It was only after the smoke started to lighten up that they decided to simply push past me.¡± Having told our part, our group heads onwards and parts at the next city. They still thanked me quite a few times for saving them till we part on the Nawhall city¡¯s main square. Finally, now on my own, I start to stroll in awe through the town, but it is not the city or the people that draw my attention. I am bewitched by my new senses and especially those streams of power everywhere. If I concentrate, I can sense them. They are running through everything, interconnecting the world on a level that should be impossible to comprehend, yet I seem to have an instinctive knowledge on what they are and what they are doing! The power runs through the earth, the air, and the sky! A gigantic and seemingly endless network! And I can feel its limitless power within myself! Out of curiosity, I try to grab one of the smallest and weakest streams of power, one that seems to be tethered to this place or at least somewhere close to it. Then I hold onto it. Before I know it, I''m standing on a grassy field in front of the town. How did I get here? I was inside the town a second ago! ¡°Feels cool to be a god, eh?¡± Nazareth''s voice comes from next to my left knee. I turn and grab the little gnome, hugging him tightly to my chest. ¡°~Master!~ Did I make it!?¡± ¡°Gah! That''s enough! Let me down! I will suffocate!¡± Nazareth wriggles out of my grasp and I drop him. Is he embarrassed about being squeezed? Oh, now I know how to deal him a blow! ¡°Listen! Young godling! I suggest for you to travel through the multiverse from now on and learn everything of interest,¡± he advises me, pointing towards the sky. ¡°Multiverse?¡± I arch my eyebrows. ¡°Oh. Do you see those strings of power everywhere? By grabbing one and holding onto it, you can travel to different worlds and realities. It''s a unique ability of us gods. Like that huge mana pool. But be careful! You can still die if you receive a fatal wound. Be aware that by emitting your mana as an aura, you can become almost invincible...¡± Nazareth continues to give me a small crash course on using my godly powers. On how to shield myself and how to use the pathways. ¡°Invincible?¡± I feel like a fool to ask like that. Is it really true that nothing mortal can stand against me now? ¡°Yes, but don''t overvalue this ability. It¡¯s all too easy to get overconfident. Other gods can still hurt you by breaking through your aura. Be aware that your access to power might be limitless, but it won¡¯t change that your ability to wield it is still bottlenecked by your mind. Other gods and deities may easily overpower you if you pick a fight with the wrong person. Oh, and thanks to that huge mana pool, you have an effectively limitless lifespan now. And now for the rules!¡± Nazareth points a finger at me. ¡°Always remember the rules!¡± ¡°Since when have gods rules?¡± I ask a little baffled by this new revelation. ¡°There are! First. Don''t fight with other gods! It always ends badly! Second! Don''t play too much with mortals! If you mess with them too much, the big societies will punish you. Third! If you ever meet a newly born god, you have to give him directions,¡± Nazareth explains. ¡°Societies?¡± Aw! I fell back into that ¡®repeat every question¡¯ habit! It is just like back on the mountain. ¡°Don¡¯t you have some book or guide for these things?¡± Pulling every bit of information out of Nazareth¡¯s nose is so tedious. ¡°Something like, ¡®Being a Goddess for Dummies?¡¯ ¡± ¡°There are multiple big societies of gods. They are similar to nations. And no, I am not aware that such a book exists.¡± Nazareth sits down on a small rock. ¡°The biggest factions are as follows. First the Perseides Alliance, they created their own world for gods and like to keep to their own kind. They protect the planets under their jurisdiction like bloodhounds. Don''t mess with one of their toys or you will have a bad time.¡± ¡°They created their own world!?¡± I have to see that! ¡°Yeah, but access isn''t free. You have to be a member of their club.¡± Nazareth shoots my aspirations down with flawless precision. ¡°Then there is the Arcane Community. They have their base on an artificial moon. They are all science nerds. If you don''t talk in formulas, you shouldn''t waste your time with them. ¡°There is also the Gaian Pact. All of them are nature freaks. They want to keep the multiverse healthy or something like that. I am a god of nature myself, but they are on another level than me. I can''t really associate with them. They are all around the multiverse, trying to do ¡®good¡¯. You are sure to run into one of them sooner or later.¡± Nazareth folds his hands. ¡°The Unity is also a group of oddballs with their own world. They are shutting themselves in their world and trying to live ¡®normal¡¯ lives. As far as it is possible for gods.¡± He huffs. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I kneel down and look into his disturbed face. ¡°Well, that brings me to rule number four. It isn''t really a rule, but you should follow it for your own good. Don''t have children. They will be mortal and grow old and die under your eyes. Pretty depressing if you make that mistake too often,¡± Nazareth explains. ¡°Although, there are ways around that; which have their own downsides. Just don¡¯t do it if it¡¯s avoidable.¡± ¡°Ow.¡± That''s a disturbing thought. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve never thought about that¡­ given that I have that fertility trade.¡± I shudder, silently thanking the heavens that I didn¡¯t trip that particular landmine of my curse. ¡°Unless you join one of the big societies of course. Those with planets have a way to have children who are gods too. But like I said, you have to join the club.¡± Nazareth shrugs his shoulders and pauses for a moment as he gathers his thoughts. ¡°Where was I? Ah, the guys from the Unity keep to themselves for most of the time. Though they are always trying to find new gods to join their ranks. The Carne Empire has a planet too. It''s lead by some kind of legendary harem king. Keep away from there for your own good!¡± ¡°That one was a pretty short introduction?¡± I accuse him, trying to get more information. ¡°So you want to join a harem? I didn''t realize that you swing that way. You will have no problems then, he takes-¡± I decide to interrupt, ¡°Continue! What about Angrod!¡± He is right! I don''t want to hear it! I want to know where I have to go to give him a beating! ¡°You should go and contact Miruliru from The Path for that one first. She told me to give you her invitation to visit her for tea. The Path is a faction of firm believers that gods should try to get as many mortal worshippers as possible. It is their opinion that gods should guide the mortals under them.¡± Nazareth ignores my question. ¡°So this world belongs to The Path?¡± I point at the soil to our feet. This is getting really complicated. I should pay Miruliru a visit, even if she never showed her face after she saved me from those slavers. ¡°This world is essentially neutral, but you could make a claim that it is under the supervision of the Chimerans, another large faction. Angrod is their godking and if you had to put them into a power ranking with the other societies, they are by far the strongest force. They also have their own planet and are a closed society. In case that a fiend outbreak occurs, they will come and interfere. ¡°Which brings me to to the last point. If you ever come across a crystalline sphere, blue, about a metre across, levitating in the air and spinning like crazy. Crush it immediately and with all your power. It''s a gateway for soul-eating monsters. They can eat gods too and are the remnants from a long war against a great evil.¡± Nazarath smiles at me while my jaw drops. ¡°Now for directions. See that very big fat pathway in the sky? That one leads to The Crystal City. It''s a place for all powers to meet and talk. If you get lost, that one always leads there. It¡¯s visible from anywhere in the multiverse, so it''s very convenient for you!¡± He grins at me, clearly taking a poke at my sense of direction. ¡°But the Chimerans are in charge of Asheim, just for your information. And that other big one left on the horizon to that mountain? That one brings you directly to The Path! And you don''t have to touch a pathway in order to use it. Just concentrating on it is enough.¡± Nazareth folds his arms behind his back and looks at me with expectant eyes. ¡°Uuh. I guess it''s thank you for everything then?¡± I smile at master. ¡°No problem. It''s an honour to help the finest twin mountains I have ever seen.¡± The gnome grins at me while my expression drops. ¡°In the name of everything you have done for me. I will not ~execute~ you for that remark,¡± I point out, feeling generous today. Not to mention that the gnome can probably still kick my butt. I may be a newly ascended goddess, but I still have no clue how to wield my powers correctly. After a last wave at my master, I turn around to take a look at this huge ~multiverse~ which is now mine to explore! Chapter 89 ***Noth - Mortal World, The Realm of the Gods*** ***Nazareth*** ¡°You have done it! You are a genius Nazareth! To lead her back to godhood within just a few years! Freedom!¡± One of the lesser deities among us praises me upon my return to our little meeting place from where we are usually observing Sharid¡¯s shenanigans. When I enter, I notice that for the first time in years the observation screens throughout the room are empty. ¡°And now she is gone and we are free!¡± I announce while grinning at the others. ¡°PARTY! Years of guarding her every step from dying of hunger in the wild.¡± The room breaks into a festive mood as Zenial pops a glass of champagne and others start bringing out their own beverages. That is¡­ until the goddess notices that one among our ranks doesn¡¯t seem as pleased as the rest of us. ¡°Why do you look so sad, Nuin?¡± ¡°It is nothing. I am sure that I am just worrying over nothing.¡± Nuin, High god of the Sun, waves off the attention. ¡°I just thought that I would have to peek on lesser girls from now on... it''s lucky that I took a few pictures before she left.¡± ¡°I understand your troubles,¡± I affirm. ¡°Although, she is definitely more trouble than stealing a few peeks here and there is worth.¡± ¡°All the years I had to look at those superior tits of hers!¡± another god moans. ¡°And now they are gone!¡± ¡°Perverts!¡± Zenial, High Goddess of the Moon, admonishes us. One of the minor goddesses suddenly has a disturbing thought. ¡°I know that it doesn¡¯t seem like he cares, because he never showed up after tasking us with overseeing Sharid, but did anyone think about what would happen if Angrod ever remembered about her and asked us where she is?¡± A profound silence encompasses the whole room and it is almost like a fuse was lit as the gears in everyone¡¯s heads start ticking like little clockworks. I also pale, having almost forgottenmy original task after almost two decades of playing babysitter. Somehow, I got so consumed with the task of leading Sharid back to ascension that I forgot to think of the repercussions should she actually achieve her goal. To be honest, I never truly expected her to manage it at all, let alone in a mere few years after receiving my guidance. Normally, I had assumed that I would have to guide her through several reincarnations! In the next moment, the room explodes into fervent activity. ¡°Find her!¡± ¡°But she is somewhere out there in the multiverse!¡± ¡°No problem! Nazareth sent her off to Miruliru¡¯s place!¡± ¡°Do you really think that beanbrain didn¡¯t manage to take the wrong pathway? By now she could be anywhere!¡± ¡°She will get lost at the first corner!¡± ¡°Save her!¡± ¡°AAAAH!¡± ¡°We are doomed!¡± ¡°Don''t burn my pictures of her!¡± ¡°Because of those you didn''t do your job!¡± ***Void Zone, Chimera, The Eternal Palace*** ***Seria*** The beat of a distant drum fills the night, clearly audible through the palace¡¯s windows as thetonedimly reverberates throughout the throne room. It is the annual celebration of the Awakening, as people tend to refer to it. The day on which Seria returned everyone¡¯s powers and most importantly, their memories. What a bummer that instead of being out there partying, I am stuck in here in the throne room, having to explain to my parents how my big brother, the heir apparent to the throne, made a run for it in order to explore the multiverse. ¡°He ran away!? Why didn''t you stop him, Seria?¡± Dad calls out in a surprised voice, looming over the room from his throne. For a brief moment, the shadow on the wall behind him flickers ominously, ready to expand and swallow his enemies.Ever since that final battle against the Calamity¡¯s forces, the power-up he received by remaking his body was considerable. When he is in his shadow-form now even Mom has her fair share of problems with giving him a beatingwhen having one of her emotional fits. The Calamity itself might be beaten and suppressed for now, but it and its hidden Spheres are still a Sword of Damocles that is looming over all of us, forcing the powers that are to be always vigilant. I smile and try to downplay the entire affair. ¡°Geez! Don''t call it running away. Aengus just wanted to travel the multiverse and have a little bit of fun. He is young and full of energy. It isn''t like he won''t come back at all.¡± Dad grunts, apparently accepting the situation, even if he seems a little disappointed. ¡°I wanted to give him a few jobs, involve him with the government. In time, I hope to retire completely if he proves to be a good leader.¡± ¡°Maybe it isn''t so bad if he takes a good look at the multiverse before you load such responsibility on his shoulders,¡± I reply coyly. ¡°Ah, and just because of interest, why wouldn¡¯t you consider me for such a position?¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Mom, who is sitting on her place next to Dad, frowns at me. ¡°And giving you any form of work wouldn¡¯t make you run for the hills?¡± I clear my throat, suddenly aware that my parents know me far better than I want to admit. ¡°You are right. Giving me such a responsibility wouldn¡¯t end well.¡± ¡°Haah, there goes my reduced workload,¡± Angrod complains. ¡°Well, I am willing to let him run amok until it gets boring. It can''t take more than a few years.¡± Dad leans back in his throne with a grumpy expression. ¡°Ahaha. Don''t be so negative! If it gets out of hand I will drag him home,¡± I try to reassure my parents. I am confident that I can set my brother straight, should the need arise. ¡°At least my cute little daughter is reliable! How about trying your luck as an envoy in the Crystal City?¡± Angrod¡¯s expression turns dirty as he blatantly ignores the little exchange I had with my mother just a mere minute ago. ¡°Dad, no! Mom, he has that grin again,¡± I try to divert the attention away from me. ¡°Not even if we make sure that working for us is worth your time?¡± He frowns, aware that Celes settled her gaze on him. I have to probe for more information. ¡°What would make this work ¡®worth my time?¡¯ ¡± Dad leans back in his chair, apparently certain that he can sell this shindig to me. ¡°You will have to deal with all those pests from the other powers. Really, your only task would be the interpersonal relationships with the other powers. Warden can take care of the paperwork. You will even get an official account with a schedule.¡± ¡°Yeah, you still haven¡¯t mentioned what I would get out of it,¡± I point out. ¡°The power of an official capacity in our government,¡± he replies, knowing very well that this alone wouldn''t sway my heart. ¡°¡­ and some other benefits which we probably shouldn¡¯t discuss here,¡± he adds after a moment of hesitation. ¡°A favour!¡± I clarify, knowing that bargains with my Dad should always be clear down to the letter. ¡°A favour?¡± I nod. ¡°Yes, you know. If there is something I want, or I mess something up, I cash in the favour and you have to give it to me, or let me off the hook, whatever it may be that I need the favour for.¡± Angrod turns to his wife. ¡°That sounds mightily dangerous with someone like Seria.¡± Celes shrugs, apparently bewildered that I was willing to negotiate at all. ¡°Our daughter sure is a wild card, but you know her. I am surprised that she is willing to do anything that would lessen our workload. She is nothing like Nix who is happy enough to work with us. I would take the deal as long as she is in a generous mood.¡± I grin at Angrod with a bright expression. ¡°Then I will be happy to show those ambassadors who the boss is!¡± Angrod suddenly doesn¡¯t seem so certain of his idea. ¡°Actually, it might not be such a good idea. Do you want to have a political marriage instead? Urgh! Cough! Cough!¡± He rubs his side, where Celes cuffed him. ¡°What day and age are you from!? We certainly won¡¯t sell off our children,¡± my mother complains. Angrod rolls his eyes. ¡°Our marriage was also political, sugar.¡± She glares at him. ¡°¡­and look how wonderfully it worked out!¡± he quickly back-pedals with a cheerful voice, steering the sea of mother¡¯s emotions like an expert. I decide that it is time toshiftthe conversation away from arranged marriages, relatively certain that Dad was only joking anyway. ¡°Don''t you think I have enough issues on my own? All those perverted memories of the old Seria, her meddling with other peoples love-lives! And the nudity thing, I should have never taken that soul marble! But what disturbs me the most is that you two were willing to selectively wipe some of my memories! You are horrible parents!¡± I turn around and run towards the exit, rubbing my eyes with my right sleeve. ¡°W- Wait! I am sorry!¡± Celes is quick to apologize. ¡°Of course you can do what you want!¡± ¡°You can have your favour!¡± Angrod calls after me with a troubled voice. I stop and sniff as if I was about to cry. ¡°Really?¡± Okay! The snot out of my nose may have been a little too much, but I, unfortunately, managed to get some of the pepper in while I ran. That is just disgusting, so I quickly wipe it away with the sleeve that wasn¡¯t prepped with pepper. Angrod quickly gets up and comes down to me, giving me a big hug. ¡°Of course! You can go for whatever type of guy you like! And if he doesn''t treat you correctly, Dad will have a little conversation with him under two eyes.¡± Wait a moment? ¡°Just two?¡± Isn''t it supposed to be four? ¡°Yeah! Someone who disrespects my daughter doesn''t need useless organs.¡± Angrod strokes my head while failing completely as a parent. I hughimin order to have an excuse for not looking into his face. Scary! What else does he deem useless? ¡°Okay.¡± I am about to add a little more pepper to the mix, for the sake of a more genuine father-daughter moment, but Mom narrows her eyes at me and sniffs the air. Slowly, I lower my hand, knowing that the pepper-sleeve-trick works only on Dad. ¡°Why is big sis crying?¡± My three little sisters suddenly enter the throne room, drawing all the attention and saving me from further scrutinization by my mother! Oh so cute! I always wanted to be a big sis! All my dreams came true! Big Sis and little sister in one! ¡°It''s nothing! Big Sis got just a little agitated.¡± I abandon my father to shower the three little troublemakers with attention. I bend down to hug the little Lada. Mwahaha! It will be the best once she regains her memories! Especially on how she lost that one bet and had to become my little sister! She will never find out that I cheated her with Aengus''s help. ¡°We want to play with you! You promised to teach us a few tricks!¡± Eris grabs me from the side and links arms with me. ¡°Yes! Or we could go tower jumping again!¡± Arianne starts to jump up and down happily. ¡°I found a really big cliff with a sea under it! And there are no guards who could disturb us!¡± ¡°I don''t want to get wet!¡± Eris pouts her lips. ¡°You could try taking a pathway right before impact! That would be a new challenge!¡± Lada suggests. ¡°Oh, yes! Cool idea! Whoever gets closer to the ground wins!¡± Arianne claps her hands together, always enthusiastic about the tower-jump game which was originally invented by Aengus and me. ¡°Don''t do any weird stuff!¡± Angrod snaps at us. ¡°Daddy is mean!¡± ¡°Scary dad!¡± ¡°We aren¡¯t allowed to have fun...¡± ¡°Please don''t jump from high places!¡± Celes interrupts the triplet''s tirade, sounding tired.¡°You may have your aura to protect you, but it takes only one moment of inattention to go splat! I won''t clone you another body.¡± She glares at Eris who already managed to break both legs and arms once when she failed to project her defensive energies correctly. The child avoids her mother''s gaze. ¡°If you take us somewhere else cool?¡± Lada raises her hand with a suggestion on her lips. ¡°Like the zoo!¡± ¡°Mmh. Fine...¡± I decide to indulge the kids, knowing that my parents would probably want some time off. The triplets are also going to the Boarding School for Special Cases.The only issue is that they also have three weeks of vacation because of the festivities, meaning that the triplets are free to roam the palace and get into trouble. ¡°Ahem... Do what you want! I have work to do! I also think that I haven''t fed my familiar yet!¡±Angrod vanishes by using a pathway. I glance at the throne, not bothering to mention that the large Razorclaw is sleeping behind it in his fluffy form. ¡°Does anyone know why daddy always runs away when we ask him to take us to the zoo?¡± Arianne asks, as perplexed as a child with an IQ of two-hundred and seven can be, which is why we are also lovingly calling her little miss smarty pants. ¡°Nope.¡± Eris shakes her head. ¡°But it''s the perfect magic-word to get rid of him. Just say ¡®zoo¡¯ and he flees at the next opportunity.¡± ¡°Though we need a word to make him appear too!¡± Lada laments. ¡°That would be too convenient. He would be the perfect daddy.¡± I won''t mention to them that the magic-word for that is ''boyfriend'' - at least not yet. ¡°Always there when you need him,¡± Eris points out. ¡°Always gone when you don''t need him,¡± Arianne affirms. The tails of the triplets swing in perfect synchronisation from left to right while they contemplate Angrod''s peculiarities. Then they turn in perfect unison towards me. ¡°Now we can play!¡± Celes only smiles as if she could enlighten us on this particular quirk of our father, but rather chooses not to. Chapter 90 ***The Path, Headquarters*** ***Sharid*** ¡°Ahahaha. I would have never thought that you would manage to reclaim your godhood so quickly!¡± Miruliru takes a sip of her tea while blatantly ignoring Nazareth who is sitting just a few metres away, covering his face with both hands. ¡°To be honest, I am surprised that you managed to make your way to me so quickly.¡± ¡°Well, I guess I had a lot of help.¡± I eat another one of the delicious cookies and silently pray for Nazareth¡¯s forgiveness. The old gnome somehow managed to find me in the depths of the Infernal Planes and led me back on the right path, although it seems to have taken a mental toll on him. So that¡¯s why he is sitting in Miruliru¡¯s office, having a minute of peace, while the goddess and I are dining outside on the balcony. ¡°So what do you plan to do next? Do you want to join the path and work for me?¡± Miruliru gives me a heartwarming smile as she offers for me to join her ranks. Thankfully, Nazareth already gave me a detailed lecture on the various factions a young god like myself could join and while I don¡¯t think that joining the Path would necessarily be a bad thing, being too hasty would also not be prudent. After all, as a goddess, I am immortal now. I have all the time I need to investigate my options. ¡°I appreciate the offer, but my first few hours as a newly minted deity already taught me that I need to learn a lot of stuff! Everything is completely new to me.¡± I bow slightly to the other goddess. Just the memory of popping into that other dimension with demons and horrific creatures is enough to give me the shivers all over again. I am just glad that I apparently waltzed into one of their more benign parties, at least as benign as an orgy can be. My powers didn¡¯t exactly help with keeping everything to order either. I just hope they don¡¯t hold a grudge for turning a sex-party into a murder-feast. ¡°Hah. I understand you, no worries!¡± Miruliru waves her hand dismissively, thankfully not in the least offended by my refusal. ¡°I suppose you have great plans. Like getting back at Angrod?¡± ¡°Yes, if I can! That''s for sure! So can you help me in taking revenge?¡± I grab her petite little hand. ¡°Nazareth won¡¯t tell me anything useful.¡± ¡°Forget it!¡± Miruliru refuses immediately. ¡°What? Why!¡± I slide off my chair and to the floor. ¡°Just how powerful is this Angrod for other gods to be that afraid of him?¡± ¡°First of all, because revenge just means bad karma. And secondly, because the current you is very weak. You don''t even have basic knowledge about your new environment and abilities.¡± Miruliru gestures at me. ¡°Take your current power-level. You might feel invincible, but the ability to toy around with a few demons is nothing.¡± Darn! So she knows about that? But that means that she was watching me all the time! ¡°Don¡¯t look like that,¡± Miruliru winks at me. ¡°I may not look like it, but I am a genuine god.¡± I get up and slump back into my chair. ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means.¡± ¡°Well, I am sure that Nazareth already tried to explain, but the newly ascended rarely get it. Just like you, they are on a power-trip.¡± Miruliru shrugs. ¡°Trust mewhen I tell you that there are power-levels even among gods. The ranking normally starts with the stronger immortals who are barely at the threshold of being aware of the pathways. Then there are lesser deities, like yourself, whose divinity is powerful enough to lay waste to a continent or two. And there are true gods, who may eradicate an entire world if they unleash all their power.¡± She pauses for a moment, gathering her thoughts. ¡°And then we have those even above that. Gods whose divinity manifests some basic law of the multiverse, giving them power even over other gods.¡± I sigh. ¡°And you are trying to tell me that Angrod is one of those.¡± ¡°Most definitely.¡± Miruliru nods. ¡°But tell me, young one. Is your revenge important enough to destroy entire worlds over it?¡± I frown. Miruliru sets down her cup and clears her throat. ¡°It seems like you haven¡¯t thought your quest through. What are you going to do once you confront Angrod? Are you going to beg him to take his curses off of you? And once he refuses, are you going to fight him?¡± She raises an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°Because that¡¯s what it is going to take. And let me tell you that battles between gods never end well unless they are fought in a secure environment with rules. Even then, both gods have to adhere to those rules. If they do not, worlds perish, and it is always the mortals who pay the largest price.¡± ¡°Okay, I admit that I haven¡¯t truly thought about what I am going to do when I meet Angrod. From what Nazareth and you are trying to tell me, it won¡¯t end well for me. Or at least I am not going to be more than a wailing toddler who is pissing him off. Can you tell me at least why I was punished?¡± I ask. ¡°Does it matter?¡± The little goddess who apparently likes to appear in the form of a girl tilts her head, studying me. ¡°Well, I guess you will find out sooner or later anyway. Some time ago, you were a puppet of the great Calamity and did some pretty bad things as El Shaddai.¡± ¡°That name sounds male...¡± I interrupt, unable to help myself. The name sounds familiar, but the memories that are supposed to be connected to it escape me. ¡°Tch! She noticed.¡± Miruliru turns to the side with an unhappy expression. I sit up! ¡°Oh. Nonono!¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. She starts grinning and covers her mouth with her hand. ¡°Nooo! You want to tell me that I was a guy in my past life!?¡± Somehow, everything is swirling a little. ¡°What kind of extraordinary pervert is this Angrod?¡± ¡°The kind who holds very long grudges and who is more than a little petty. You should be happy. There are individuals left behind in his path who are worse off than you. So, do you still want your past back? I don''t think that the current you would be very happy with those memories.¡± Miruliru places another piece of sugar in her tea. ¡°NO!¡± I won''t be able to cope with that! ¡°I am a woman!¡± ¡°Without a doubt.¡± Miruliru¡¯s eyes wander to my assets and she smirks. ¡°Do you still want me to tell you your story?¡± ¡°You are making fun of me!¡± I cover my face with my hands. This is too much, but I have to hear it! ¡°Tell me. I haven¡¯t gotten this far to chicken out now.¡± ¡°Don''t fret over it. If youhad become a god the normal way through the path of an immortal, you would have had a few gender switches anyway. The multiverse isn''t so nice as to place your soul in a fitting body during every reincarnation¡­¡± Miruliru chuckles and continues to tell me a tale about who I was and how I came to be Sharid. At the end of it, too afraid to interrupt, she must have seen the confusion on my face. Miruliru sighs. ¡°You know what? We will get you some soul-mages and they will force-feed you some basic knowledge about being a deity and some historic events! That makes explaining it much easier!¡± ¡°Force feed?¡± I don''t like the sound of that! ¡°And I am not entirely sure about this soul-magic thing. I think that I¡¯ve had enough of my mind being messed with. What if Angrod left behind some contingencies?¡± ¡°Don''t worry. Memory transfer is a tested and reliable practice. It can even be done by a machine if you want to, although there are very few cases of fried brains, so I think having a mage do it is safer.¡± Miruliru takes me at the hand and leads me from the balcony, past the sulking Nazaretz and out of her office. That''s when her words hit me. ¡°Fried brain!?¡± Half an hour later, after the dreadful experience of having the knowledge of several lifetimes shoved into my head, we are back in Miruliru¡¯s office with me cradling my head between both hands. My head hurts! All that knowledge! ¡°I feel like I was a barbarian before¡­ all this knowledge¡­ technology¡­ magic!¡± ¡°Comes close. You certainly were limited by your education before we corrected that. But don¡¯t worry, it was certainly not a fault of yours, but one of your environment. It''s the case for almost every mortal. Even those who can remember several reincarnations can rarely claim to have realized their potential.¡± Miruliru has a happy expression now as if she was delighting in my misery. Evil little goddess. I will remember that for a time when she is hurting! ¡°Are you sure that this headache is going to go away?¡± ¡°Certainly, but it takes time,¡± she replies and takes a sip from her now cold tea. ¡°Even so... am I not still at a permanent disadvantage? Now I¡¯ve learned that other gods have thousands of years more experience of life than me, not counting the really old ones,¡± I complain. ¡°It isn''t as bad as it might seem. First of all, there are very few of those ¡®really old ones¡¯ as you put it. Many choose to re-enter the cycle of Life and Death because they are tired of existence. There are also always some new arrivals to the ranks of gods like yourself. Think of yourself as a newborn. And every god is still limited by what his organic brain can hold. Trust me, you won¡¯t ever run into some deity who can miraculously wield all forms of magic with equal efficiency. There is just too much knowledge in the multiverse for any mind to hold it all. As you age, you are practically forced to specialize in one or two fields of expertise.¡± Miruliru claps her hands together. ¡°By the way. You should go to Asheim and get yourself registered as a neutral god. They can also determine your divinity while you are there.¡± ¡°But isn''t Asheim controlled by Angrod''s faction?¡± I reply, now alittle about simply waltzing in there. Having a little bit of actually important multiverse history shoved into my head, I am now painfully aware of how dangerous this Angrod and his faction truly is. Even if the Godking doesn¡¯t come after me himself, he could probably send any number of his minions who could wipe the floor with me. ¡°No problem. Nobody aside from the rulers of the big societies knows about you. As far as the general population knows, El Shaddai vanished at the battle for the Crystal City. After all, Angrod has to protect his reputation that those who cross him tend to disappear without a trace.¡± She frowns suddenly. ¡°Now that I think about it, that isn¡¯t so different from what the Council did.¡± After a moment of oppressive silence, she laughs, waving her hand. ¡°At least we don¡¯t toss their souls into some black hole to be eaten by some ancient entity who is after the whole multiverse.¡± Then she realizes that I am gaping at her with my eyes wide and clears her throat. ¡°Ahem, where was I? Right! If you are worried about those minor gods who had an eye on you while you were mortal, they are already sworn to secrecy.¡± She laughs. ¡°They are the least of your worries. If Angrod ever finds out that they let you get away without telling him, he would burn their world to cinders just for fun.¡± She flicks her fingers, implying that it would be a trivial matter to the Godking. ¡°A- a- actually. I wouldn¡¯t like that either,¡± I manage to bring out. What about my family and my home? My world isn¡¯t the best of all places, but it is still the planet I grew up on. ¡°Ahaha, sorry about that. We just have to see to it that he won¡¯t flip. If worse comes to worst, we will go to Celes. I am sure that she won¡¯t condone for him to blow up a planet out of pettiness,¡± Miruliru tattles. ¡°You still have some time to look around the multiverse before Angrod will learn of you. I have no doubt that he will remember you at some point, but he is like many of the old ones. In some matters, his sense of time moves at a glacial pace. You know? Mwahaha!¡± ¡°I still don''t know how to thank you for your guidance¡­ and I am actually worried now whether my ascension was a good decision.¡± I hope she doesn''t want payment for her help later on. What would a godlike her want as payment? A thousand years of labour? ¡°It''s fine. My sole reason for helping you was that I was a little disturbed by Angrod''s grudge. It''s not okay to relieve your stress on someone who doesn''t even know why.¡± Miruliru signals me to follow her and leads me outside onto the balcony where Nazareth is waiting. ¡°You remember?¡± She points to the sky. ¡°The biggest pathway leads to Asheim. It''s better if you get yourself registered as a goddess. You have to know your divinity if you ever want to improve your power.¡± Miruliru looks into my eyes and immediately understands that I don''t get it. Naturally, as soon as she pointed out a navigational fact, my mind slipped to the vast sea which is surrounding the floating island on which her faction¡¯s residence resides. ¡°Your divinity is the mental state of your mind which is responsible for your power. I suppose you already realized that being a god is purely a state of the mind. The further you are able to dive into that¡­ feeling, the more power you get. My divinities are faith and determination. I draw power from the knowledge that many mortal believe in me.¡± Miruliru smiles at me and turns to Nazareth. ¡°Please make sure that she doesn¡¯t get lost again.¡± The gnome rolls his eyes and takes my hand. ¡°Are you ready? This time, I am going to make sure to show you the right pathway, as you seem incapable of following such simple instructions as: ¡®Take the biggest one¡¯.¡± I think about it for a moment, but realize that I still have a question for Miruliru. ¡°So you don''t get stronger because they believe in you, but because you believe that they believe in you? So if you managed to believe that everyone in the multiverse believes in you...¡± ¡°I would be the strongest goddess in the multiverse. Yes, you got that right.¡± She smiles. ¡°And if you register yourself, you will get tested for your divinity. Spares you the time to find it out on your own.¡± Miruliru offers me her hand and I shake it. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°No problem. I did it for my own amusement after all.¡± She turns and slaps Nazareth on the back. The gnome simply grunts, strangely silent in the presence of another goddess. Laughing, the little goddess leaves with a dirty grin on her face and walks back into her office, trusting Nazareth to deliver me to this Crystal City of theirs. Chapter 91 ***The Crystal City*** ***Sharid*** I am still trying to process all this new knowledge in my head, having a hard time making sense of everything, when from one second to the next Nazareth whisks me away. Only for me to find myself standing on a big platform made out of some sort of crystal. Around me, sparkling blue crystal towers raise towards a violet sky with a blue sun! The beautiful sight literally takes my breath away as I gape at my new surroundings. By slapping my thigh, Nazareth draws my attention away from the indescribable city landscape in front of us. ¡°Close your mouth and good luck. Just call if you need me to take you somewhere.¡± He looks around, eyeing the two guards in uniform who are watching us before he whispers. ¡°I am better not recognized around here. Angrod and I have history, so I will take my leave.¡± Before I can say anything, he wriggles his fingers in a goodbye gesture and vanishes in a flash of light. ¡°Goodbye...¡± I wheeze a little too late, trying to draw in a deep breath as the world starts spinning sideways like on a carousel. So dizzy!? Why? I didn¡¯t quite mean the thing with the ¡®taken breath¡¯ quite that earnestly¡­ Gurgling and gasping for air, I flop to my knees as my legs give out, then topple over to plant my face on the hard crystal floor like a doll who had her strings cut. ¡°Haah¡­ Haah¡­¡± Why is it so hard to breathe? ¡°Ah, another newbie!¡± a female voice comments and the feet of the two guards who I noticed earlier start approaching me. ¡°And a hot one at that! Do you want to go on a date?¡± the voice of the male guard asks as the two stop in front of me. There is an audible ¡®Smack!¡¯, before the female guard starts complaining, ¡°Don''t you see that she is suffocating!¡± She kneels down in front of me, looking into my face. ¡°Hey, newbie! Concentrate on your mana and release it through your body. Didn¡¯t that gnome teach you how to use your aura before he brought you here? The air on this world is toxic. You have to heal your body and strengthen it by releasing some of your aura!¡± ¡°Meh! Why do you bother? Some of the new ones suffocate anyways because they just don¡¯t get it. Then we patch them up until they learn their lesson. Let me get the protective respirator,¡± the male guard comments, starting to walk away. ¡°Do you think she will indulge me if I lend her the thing and ask her out on a date?¡± My power! That bastard Nazareth! Couldn¡¯t he have told me to release my aura beforehand? I ignore the two bickering guards and search for the power within myself, just as I was taught, and release it through my body. Finally, my breathing eases and dizziness disappears. ¡°Haaaaa! That feels so much better!¡± The female guard notices that I am back among the living and offers me a hand. ¡°Tone down your aura just a little. It¡¯s rude to have it fully released while in the presence of other gods. They might think that you want to attack them.¡± I do as told and gladly accept her hand. She pulls me to my feet, commenting on my most recent predicament, ¡°Don''t take it too seriously. It''s a joke amongst the gods to send the new ones here without telling them about the environment.¡± Her expression turns slightly annoyed. ¡°That''s pretty much the only reason why we are stationed here. It''s too bothersome to deal with the dead bodies of newbies cluttering up the arrival platform.¡± I gape at her. ¡°But- but- but isn¡¯t that murder? Isn¡¯t there anyone who would prosecute those bastards?¡± ¡°It may be a bad joke,¡± the male guard smirks at me, ¡°but who is gonna hunt some deity on a goose chase through the multiverse just because another deity had to reincarnate.¡± He shrugs. ¡°It may be inconvenient for the newbie who got tricked, but a forced reincarnation may serve as a good reminder to always unleash your aura when you walk the pathways. If you walk to an unknown location you never know what awaits you.¡± He sighs and shudders, looking towards the sky. ¡°I will always remember when I walked right into the corona of a sun. At least it was over real quick. Luckily, getting a new body cloned costs only half as much for those who serve in the military. Bless the queen.¡± ¡°Bless the queen,¡± the female guard repeats, clearing her throat. Are those Chimerans for real? Idiots! Station a healer here! What if someone doesn''t get the trick in time? ¡°So? What about the date, newbie?¡± the male guard asks me, his eyes failing to meet mine. Instead, his sensory organs are stuck to a spot about fifteen centimetres beneath my chin. I clear my throat and infuse some power into my voice. ¡°~If you run a hundred thousand laps around this platform within the day, I might consider it.~¡± ¡°Really?!¡± The male guard¡¯s eyes light up. ¡°~Yes!~¡± The guard starts running, apparently not questioning the impossibility of the task before him. No chance in hell that he will manage it. Mwahaha! Punishing evildoers is the best! I love it! ¡°That''s a neat little trick, newbie!¡± the female guard comments and smirks as she watches her comrade working out. ¡°But don''t do it again or I will have to throw you into the prison. Influencing another¡¯s mind is heavily restricted within the Crystal City and the punishment is nothing to scoff at. I will overlook it this time because he is an idiot.¡± Oh, no! I didn''t even think about this! This could have ended badly. ¡°Oh... Thank you! I guess I got carried away. I promise that I won¡¯t do it again. Ah, could you give me directions? I am completely new to this godhood-business.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Sure. You see the big central tower?¡± She points towards the city which has a single structure overshadowing all other buildings. ¡°At its feet is a big plaza with stores and the evaluation centre. You can get yourself registered there. All you need to do is to follow the central road which is going right there. Have a nice day.¡± She points out an oversized road which is inexplicably empty. Apparently it¡¯s just a design feature for aesthetics. Why would gods who can teleport anywhere need roads? ¡°Ah, thanks!¡± I wave at the female guard and start walking towards the central tower. No need to rush or to take any pathways! There is so much to see! A town made out of crystals! Now that''s what you call a place for gods! On a second thought, the road might only exist to intimidate new arrivals who get to enter the city for the first time. Hahaha, it¡¯s embarrassing, but not even I can get lost while following a six-lane highway! Knock on wood! In absence of any wood, I kneel down and knock the Crystal highway, hoping that it has a similar effect. Then I set out to get myself registered as a new deity. As I walk deeper into the city, I marvel at the imposing superstructures. Even the smallest one easily outmatch anything I know from my homeworld. Who knew that the Chimerans had such a sparkling taste? While I walk, I also realize that this town is very lively! Further out, there weren¡¯t many people around, but the deeper I get into the city, the more pedestrians are walking the streets... uh... gods... people¡­ Well, I guess we are still people? Anyway! There are so many people here! Why aren¡¯t they just teleporting around or are they on a social outing? I should have asked whether teleporting is allowed within the city limits. Passing men and women of all kinds of races, I notice that most are trading goods or talking. They all look different. There are so many different races that I rarely see more than one or two individuals who look similar. Unexpectedly, I soon arrive at the plaza which the guard mentioned a while ago. ¡°Ha!¡± I jubilate, proud that I managed to find my way for once in my life! I didn''t get lost, although, I suppose it would be sad to lose your way with a really big tower bathing the city in its shadow and such a wide road to follow. Now I just have to ask someone for this registration thingy. My choice falls onto a shop owner who doesn''t look very busy. ¡°Excuse me! Can you tell me where I can register myself as a new god?¡± I decide to be blunt. ¡°Over there, at the foot of the central tower, miss!¡± The shop owner points out the direction, indicating a very official-looking entrance right next to a large stairway which leads up to the central tower¡¯s main entrance. That''s when my eyes fall on the price tags for his goods. Most of his wares are made out of crystal, but there are also other items. Moreover, all of them are made from the finest materials I have ever seen. ¡°What is GP?¡± I point out an outrageous mirror which is tagged with fifty thousand GP! ¡°Those are guildpoints, young lady. A guildpoint is equivalent to a decent meal here in the city. You are new?¡± The shop owner smile sardonically. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Then you might want to know that guildpoints among gods are like contribution points among mortals. A single guildpoint is the equivalent of one working hour of a lesser deity. So¡­ it¡¯s as well worth more than a mortal¡¯s entire lifetime, as a deity might accomplish more within a single hour than a mortal could ever hope to in his entire life,¡± he explains patiently and I thank him, suitably cowed by the prices on his wares. After doing a rough calculation, I gingerly turn away to leave, too afraid to touch any of his goods. If I accidentally destroyed that mirror, I would have to work for years just to pay him back! Those things are fucking expensive, but I guess that gods with limitless lifespans would only trade each other worthwhile luxury items. What a bother. I probably can''t afford anything in this city! ¡°AAAAAAAA!¡± ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± ¡°HOHOHOHO!¡± ¡°KYAAAAA!¡± Hmmm? What''s with the screams? Is someone in danger? And why is nobody paying any attention to the screams? I look up from where the screams are coming, frowning while squinting against the sunlight. ¡°Miss! Above! Evade! They are jumping again!¡± the shop owner from earlier calls out to me. ¡°WaWaWaWa!¡± Falling bodies! I dodge left, barely avoiding a child. ¡°AAAAAAAA!¡± A small body impacts the ground right next to me, making me immediately regret my knee-jerk reaction. I could have saved her! ¡°HAHAHAHA!¡± Another heavy thud comes from right behind me. There are more! I dodge to the right, again following my instincts. ¡°HOHOHOHO!¡± The impacts of bodies on the hard pavement shake me again and again before I can get my act together! ¡°KYAAAAA!¡± My agility fails me at the last one and I unwillingly go down for the second time today, playing a soft cushion for the last falling body. Only the fact that I have my aura released saves me from fatal injury. Yet, being flattened against the hard crystal floor drives the air out of my lungs, rendering me unable to do anything aside from wheezing on the ground while someone shifts on top of me. ¡°I won! I WON! HA!¡± ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Sis.... you got one!¡± ¡°Nice! It''s hard to hit one!¡± ¡°Hn! They get better at evading every day!¡± ¡°Owie! That hurt!¡± I complain, trying to push the child which is apparently quite well off of me. ¡°Miss, are you okay?¡± Someone kicks the girl off of me. I look up and realize that a red-haired demon is holding her hand towards me. A real demon! With horns and tail! I thought those exist just in fairy tales and as statues above my mother''s house! ¡°Um. Thanks. I guess that I am not injured. My name is Sharid and I am new here.¡± I allow myself to be helped up ¨C which makes twice today. Why do the eyes of that demon sparkle so strangely? I feel like a piece of meat. ¡°I am Seria! You are a new god? Welcome to the Crystal City, and those are my little sisters. Lada, Eris, and Arianne!¡± The red-haired, beautiful girl introduces me to the other three members of her party. I study the children, finding the family resemblance astounding. Horns, tails and faces, there is little difference aside from some defining features like the aristocratic nose of one girl, or the eyes of the other, or the slightly rounder face of the other. Aside from Seria¡¯s age and red hair colour compared to her sisters¡¯ black, the familial ties are undisputable. I return my attention to the leader of the group. ¡°Ahem, thanks. I was just about to get myself registered when you¡­ fell on me. Why did you even fall from the tower! Did someone throw you?¡± I look up, trying to see the top, but it is currently hidden inside a slightly yellowish cloud. Is being thrown from the tower some kind of punishment around here? ¡°It''s a game!¡± Arianne explains. ¡°You have to jump and hit people!¡± Lada continues. ¡°Wanna try?¡± And Eris finishes. ¡°Ah, sorry. I will pass on that!¡± I politely decline. ¡°You could play the target if you don¡¯t want to jump,¡± Eris offers and Arianne adds, ¡°The others here on the plaza got too good at evading!¡± And Lada finalizes. ¡°Wanna try?¡± I frown, admittedly a little creeped out at their tendency to finish each others¡¯ sentences. ¡°I am afraid that I have to register myself first! Maybe we can play when I have an idea of my situation.¡± Or, like never! I won''t jump, nor will I play the target! ¡°Then we will continue alone,¡± Lada starts, followed by Eris, ¡°You know where we are!¡± And Arianne finishes, ¡°Just wait down here if you want to train your skill at evasion!¡± The three kids disappear in a flash of light and Seria gives me an apologetic look. ¡°They are a little too enthusiastic about this game. Please don''t be mad at them. Want me to give you a little guided tour? There is much to see in our city!¡± I bow to Seria. ¡°That would be very helpful, but I am afraid that I can''t reward you.¡± ¡°Hahaha! There is no need for a reward! Come with me to the registration first! That will take some time which we can use to talk. I am also curious about your divinities!¡± Seria grabs my hand and pulls me along towards the registration office. Chapter 92 ***The Crystal City*** ***Sharid*** Seria led me quickly into the nearby registration office. Her eager footsteps gave me the impression that we were beating a hasty retreat, apparently eager to get out of dodge of something I had yet to learn about. Inside the office was some sort of immigration counter with a bored-looking deity dusting a perfectly clean desk. In front of the deity was another female demon who was noting something in a folder. I couldn¡¯t help but notice that this one also had wings, which was a stark contrast compared to Seria and her sisters. Just as we enter, the demoness looks and raises an eyebrow. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Seria waves a hand, seeming insecure. ¡°Big Sis, how are you doing?¡± ¡°Just checking the state of this agency. It wouldn¡¯t do to misrepresent ourselves to new arrivals, especially since the alliance loaded the responsibility of handling new gods on our shoulders.¡± She looks at me. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°This is Sharid.¡± Seria pushes me forward, between herself and her sister. ¡°She is new.¡± Am I a shield or something? I nonetheless offer the other deity a hand, my instincts telling me that whoever this demoness is, offending her would be bad. ¡°Greetings, I am Sharid.¡± The sister blinks but doesn¡¯t take my hand. Instead, she steps aside and gestures for me to proceed to the counter. ¡°I am Nix. Why don¡¯t you get yourself registered while I have a talk with Seria.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I withdraw my hand, hoping that Nix is simply a cold personality and that I didn¡¯t make a mistake by being too informal with her. I step towards the male bunny-kin behind the counter who suddenly lost his bored expression. ¡°Finally! Someone who gives me a reason for sitting here day and night.¡± He takes a stash of already prepared papers and offers them to me. ¡°Please fill these out truthfully.¡± I look down at the papers and the offered pencil, trying my best to listen in on the conversation between Seria and Nix while paying attention to the forms. ¡°You sound like there isn¡¯t much for you to do.¡± ¡°Certainly not,¡± the god replies. ¡°There are about twenty or thirty new arrivals per year, which means that I have to twiddle my thumbs almost 99.9% of the time. But the job pays as well as a lower deity like myself can get.¡± ¡°What are you thinking,¡± Nix whispers to Seria. ¡°Nothing,¡± my new friend replies. ¡°You know that you are playing with fire?¡± ¡°Haaah...¡± Seria sighs. ¡°Believe me, it will work out!¡± There is a rustling of paper. ¡°I should tell them what you are up to.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t be a snitch!¡± Seria squeaks. ¡°I never did anything to you.¡± ¡°You were so much cuter when you only reached my hips,¡± Nix replies with a tired voice. ¡°Just make sure to keep me out of whatever fallout comes from this, or you will be a part of my next art project.¡± I finish answering the questions on the form which wasn¡¯t too bad and hand them to the bunny-kin. Just a few general questions like name, gender, stuff like that. ¡°So, that''s done then. Welcome as a new god, Sharid.¡± The bunny-kin takes a crystal from a spot next to him and offers it to me. ¡°Here is your identification crystal with all your data and 1000 GP as starting capital. Please don¡¯t lose it, there is no reimbursement.¡± ¡°1000GP!¡± I shout out in surprise, remembering the explanation of the local currency which the street vendor gave me. ¡°It''s nothing.¡± The bunny-kin¡¯s ears twitch in amusement. ¡°You will need it. Even very powerful and lucky newbies need two or three years in order to find employment in a guild. Make sure not to waste it.¡± Oh! Should I have taken Miruliru''s offer to join her society? It sounds like finding a job in this society of gods is harsh! But¡­ couldn¡¯t I always go back home and live there? There is no reason to stay in the Crystal City and waste valuable GPs on daily necessities or menial services from other gods. Then I remember that I should also learn about my divinity here. ¡°So. What about that test for my divinity?¡± I ask curiously. This can¡¯t be everything, right? ¡°That would be five hundred GP to be tested at the next big examination. Nine hundred if you want to take it immediately!¡± the bunny-kin states. ¡°That''s stealing! You Chimerans are money-grubbers!¡± I clutch the crystal to my chest, unwilling to lose all my funding so quickly! ¡°Why would you give me money, just to take it back right away!?¡± The bunny-kin shrugs. ¡°Welcome to the real world. I am afraid that¡¯s how governments work. Don¡¯t complain to me, I am just a lowly official. Essentially, I am in the same boat as you.¡± ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t worry! I will pay for you, Sharid. Buy yourself something nice with the money. It should be enough for some decent equipment if you search for the cheap stores.¡± Seria reaches past my shoulder and waves a crystal at the examiner. ¡°Y- You can''t do that!¡± I try to refuse, certain that I don¡¯t know Seria well enough to take such a large amount of money from her. ¡°How will I pay you back!? It¡¯s just too much!¡± ¡°No problem! No problem! Actually, I am filthy rich! Those are peanuts to me! I am aiming for a position in the government.¡± Seria waves at me while the bunny-kin pushes a big stash of papers into my hands. I notice that he is avoiding Seria¡¯s eyes, and suddenly realize that she must be someone important. After all, how would just anyone get to play some strange tower-jumping game with her sisters? I remind myself that the city¡¯s central tower isn¡¯t just any building, but houses the Crystal City¡¯s government. Would a normal citizen even be allowed to enter the upper levels? Apparently, my refusal is ignored by both the bunny-kin and my new patron. ¡°Answer those questions truthfully and as accurately as possible! Be aware that the more the examiner knows, the better he can ascertain your divinity. It won¡¯t be our fault if you lie and fudge the results. No refunds!¡± The bunny-kin taps the stash with a warning finger. I nod and retreat with Seria to a nearby desk. Even with her help, it takes over two hours to fill out all the forms. Afterwards, Igive the papers to the bunny-kin and return to Seria. ¡°Puh! That felt more like a psychological test than anything else.¡± ¡°It is a standardized psychological test,¡± Seria confirms. ¡°It will take a specialist about an hour to go through all of your answers and to compare them to the results of other known deities. Based on that, they can guess at your divinity.¡± ¡°All of that and I won¡¯t get a definitive answer?¡± I complain, feeling a little cheated. We had to pay a horrendous sum and invest two hours of our time. Seria shrugs. ¡°A person¡¯s divinity is a manifestation of their mind, their soul''s inherent power. Given how screwed up some people are in their heads it¡¯s a miracle that the test has an accuracy rate of over ninety percent...¡± We keep chatting until an elderly man with a stash of papers enters the room, heading directly towards us. ¡°Ah, there you are. We are done! Welcome among the ranks of gods! Sharid, Goddess of Lust, Masochism, and Sadism!¡± For a long moment, I only stare at him. ¡°Excuse me!?¡± ¡°Oooh! Three divinities! Just like my brother! You are a very gifted one, Sharid. Having three divinities is rare!¡± Seria pats my shoulder. ¡°Wait! I am none of those things! Something went wrong when they looked at my test!¡± I gesture wildly with my hands in order to stop them from coming to a wrong conclusion about me. ¡°Another case of denial,¡± the elderly examiner mumbles. ¡°Miss, I am very good at my job. I don''t make mistakes and if there was any doubt about your divinities, I would tell you so.¡± ¡°Then how?¡± There has to be a mistake. ¡°I am not like that at all!¡± Then I remember the many times when I delighted in punishing evil men, using my ability to play with them. ¡°Well¡­ maybe I am a sadist, but certainly not a masochist!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. The examiner coughs. ¡°What divinities you get is strongly influenced by your mental state at the moment right before your ascension. If I could take a look at your memories, I could explain it to you.¡± ¡°Uum! That''s a little¡­¡± Can I do that? ¡°¡­my memories are¡­¡± ¡°I won''t look at anything else. Just the moment of ascension,¡± the examiner clarifies. ¡°Everything else is confidential, my oath as a mind mage.¡± I am uncertain, but I want this obviously false result to be corrected, so I nod and the examiner places his thumbs on my temples, holding the rest of my head lightly. He closes his eyes and a few moments later, he lets go. ¡°Hmm. Very interesting, but now I am one hundred percent certain. Do you remember when you crushed that ork''s brain? You felt lust and satisfaction by hurting those orks. It turned you on in a sexual way.¡± He clears his throat. ¡°Wah!? I don''t want to believe it! Then why masochism!¡± I get up and grab his robe at his chest. He carefully plucks my hands away from his clothes. ¡°Because you decided to stop the rest of the orks at the cost of your own life-power. You continued to hurt yourself while doing the thing you love the most and that''s singing. You felt the pleasure of singing and the pain of losing your life at the same time. Other people would have just run away, but you¡­¡± I drop to my knees and Seria pats my back, trying her best to soothe me, ¡°It will work out. You actually have the best matching set of divinities I have ever seen. Hahahahaha! Don¡¯t worry, there is nothing bad about your abilities.¡± The examiner nods. ¡°Just be aware that the more you get used to being a god, the more your divinities might influence your behaviour. It¡¯s an issue many of the stronger gods have a hard time struggling with.¡± I gape at him. ¡°Do you mean that I will turn into some kind of masochistic dominatrix?¡± ¡°Ahem,¡± he clears his throat. ¡°Not if you stay vigilant and are aware of your attunement to your divinities...¡± He continues giving me some advice on how to nurture my divinities safely, but by the time we left the registration office, I was completely destroyed. How could something like that happen to me? My fate is just too cruel! I never realized that I had those kinds of feelings. ¡°No matter how you look at it, this is my social end! How can I face other people with a straight face while having those kinds of divinities!?¡± ¡°Don''t be so hard on yourself, Sharid. Look at me! I am a Goddess of Life and Death!¡± Seria pats her bosom. ¡°Guess how I felt when I found out that I get stronger by committing mass murder, or by granting life through hooking up couples!¡± She makes a dismissive gesture and smiles at me, smirking dirtily. ¡°And your boyfriend will be on cloud nine when he finds out!¡± ¡°Yeah... I guess. If I ever find a decent one after this revelation.¡± It''s not fair! Up until now, I imagined myself finding someone to have a real romantic romance with, eventually marrying and living happily ever after. ¡°I only ever dreamed of romance. Instead, I avoided men like the plague, thinking that having a relationship would hinder my goal of becoming a god.¡± ¡°Heeh¡­ so you don''t have one¡­ unexpected,¡± Seria mumbles to herself. We leave the building and I become aware of a commotion on the plaza. ¡°Seria! Where are you!¡± A really pretty, high-grade demoness is standing in the centre of the plaza, the people around her giving the woman a wide berth. She looks kind of similar to Seria, just a little older. Two limp bodies are hanging in each of her arms! A third one is held at the ankle by her tail, dangling there without moving. ¡°Come out! I know that you are nearby!¡± she shrieks like crazy with a really angry expression on her face. The people on the plaza don''t react to her. It is as if they are deliberately trying to pretend that they have neither seen nor heard anything. ¡°I will disown you!¡± The woman starts emitting a really dangerous aura. I feel the weight of aeons pressing down on me, making my knees feel wobbly. I have problems staying upright under this pressure and something inside me makes me want to throw myself to my knees and to grovel to this Goddess. Which is in fact what some of the lesser deities on the plaza do. A steadying hand touches my back, helping me to stay upright just before I would have thrown myself to my knees. That is when I realize that Seria is hiding behind me. ¡°Who is that?¡± ¡°That''s my Mom. She caught my sisters,¡± Seria whispers. I take a closer look at the bodies which the woman is holding and realize that they are indeed the three little girls who Seria introduced as her little sisters. ¡°May Dadhave mercy on their souls! She hates it when we play tower jumping.¡± Seria quickly pulls me into a side-alley and peeks around the corner. ¡°That woman is your mother!? But she can''t be much older than you! She is twenty-five at most!¡± I arch my eyebrow. ¡°Sharid, we are gods. Do you think that our physical appearance has to reflect our age?¡± Seria snickers at me. I purse my lips, realizing how stupid my comment was. Miruliru looks like a little girl while she is actually an old granny and a powerful goddess to boot. ¡°So? I guess you will have to hide.¡± ¡°What are you saying!? We still have to take a look around the town!¡± Seria grabs my hand and pulls me away from the plaza. ¡°Mom has very keen senses, but as long as we stay within the Crystal City even she will have a hard time finding me. All the deities in this place cause too much interference and I have an agreement with those who could find me.¡± We hurry away from the central plaza and Seria proceeds to give me a guided tour through the city. After two more hours, I feel like I know every shop and clothing store. Thankfully, Seria realizes that I am getting tired, so we decide to have a small rest in a coffee shop. At least I got a new wardrobe befitting a new goddess out of the ordeal, made from spun Mana Crystal, the only known material able to withstand the power of a god. It was nice of Seria to tell me about this little issue of godhood before I blew off all my clothes through some accident, getting public nudity onto my list of mishaps. But I also noticed that Seria seems to be a very well known person? She said that she is filthy rich, but I noticed during our shopping trip that the reverence people are giving her is beyond what a mere politician should get. Almost everyone on the street made room for us. Some people even bowed to her or stepped off the walkway to make room. ¡°Seria? Are you some kind of superstar?¡± ¡°Bwhahaha! Nah! Nothing like that. I am just the first Princess of Chimera!¡± Seria proclaims something insane which makes my mind blank out. She is the princess? But if Angrod is the king then¡­ ¡°That means the frightening woman from the plaza was the Queen!?¡± ¡°Yup! That was Mom.¡± The strange princess confirms my thoughts with an unbothered look on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about my comments from earlier. It¡¯s an inside-family joke to treat her like the devil, but she would never kill any of us. She doesn¡¯t have the easiest of times with the three little brats, and my brother and I aren¡¯t exactly helping her with them. Celes just hates it when we throw ourselves off the tower and bother the civilians.¡± What should I do? Wouldn''t it be a good opportunity to get revenge on Angrod by using her? But Seria is such a nice person! And she helped me! I can''t use her like that for some petty reason like revenge. Even though my grudge runs very deep, involving others in my problems with Angrod is bad. And if my new knowledge about history and my past self is true¡­ I¡­ somehow¡­ deserved¡­ No! I shouldn''t finish that thought! I didn''t deserve it, especially since I can¡¯t truly remember any of it! But Seria and I became friends! Somehow? I think we are friends now. I can''t do something like that to a friend. This is abig problem! What if Angrod suddenly shows up and recognizes me!? Bad! Bad! Bad! ~Super Final DEAD-END Situation!~ ¡°You don''t have to be so shocked about it!¡± Seria leans over the table and slaps my shoulder to get me back to reality. ¡°I am not like those princesses from the bad movies. Just relax! And Mom isn''t as dangerous as she appears either.¡± ¡°Then why does your face look like you just told me the biggest lie ever!¡± She wasn''t serious at all! ¡°Okay, Mom can be a little frightening, but she has a righteous heart, Goddess of Order and all that. Jumping onto people is an absolute ~no go~ for her. Even though it''s fun!¡± Seria takes a sip from her coffee. ¡°I don''t get how it could be fun. But as long as nobody gets seriously injured¡­¡± It''s hard for me to justify something like that as funny. If they were jumping on bad people¡­ but those were random pedestrians. On the other hand, I am a villain in disguise so¡­ ¡°Why do you have such a lecherous grin on your face? Did you see a good guy? Tell me!¡± Seria turns around, searching the coffee shop. I immediately get my expression back under control. ¡°Sorry. I just thought about something really stupid. Nothing to share with others.¡± ¡°Mu... you are no fun! So tell me at least what you plan to do next, now that you are a properly-acknowledged goddess?¡± Seria tilts her head and looks at me. ¡°Next?¡± I blink my eyes. ¡°From now on you are registered as a neutral god. Will you join one of the big societies? Or will you work for a guild? Or try to play goddess for the mortals. You could create a really hilarious religion.¡± Seria''s expression becomes really creepy as she imagines the Dominating Goddess of Lusty Submission. ¡°No! I won''t. I will never, ever create a religion! I would die of shame!¡± That''s the least of my intentions! ¡°I thought about wandering the multiverse, to see a few different places. Maybe find somewhere to settle down. Looking in on my mortal family from time to time. Things like that. It¡¯s not like I have a concrete plan.¡± Aside from getting out of dodge. It is sad, but the longer I stay with Seria, the greater is the risk of getting found out. ¡°Oh, so you still have those kinds of bonds. I am sorry. It will be hard to watch them grow old while you continue to live on.¡± Seria¡¯s expression turns sad. I know that it will be hard, mentally, but on the emotional side, I guess that I don''t yet fully realize the consequences of my situation. ¡°Don''t think too much over it. If you want to enjoy yourself, I have a really cool recommendation for you!¡± Seria grabs my shoulders and starts bouncing in her chair with a bright face. ¡°And that would be?¡± Don''t taunt me like that and give me the full story! ¡°Okay! There is a world named Amor. It has a fantasy setting with a demon lord and a hero! The god who is in charge of the world made a guild request to assist the hero from the shadows to create a lasting peace!¡± Seria nods after thinking for a second. ¡°It''s the perfect playground for a new god! You could go there and have some fun, test out your powers! From what I heard that place has some really awesome landscapes! I will go and snatch the required documents! Wait here!¡± Suddenly Seria winks out of existence. Huh? I didn''t even give my confirmation! How irrational can someone be? Then Seria reappears before me and presses a stash of papers into my hands. ¡°That''s the complete contract! You just have to sign. There is no hidden trick to it.¡± ¡°F- Fast!¡± I take the papers to have a look over them. This is suspicious. ¡°Hahaha. I have some connections! Originally, I intended to sign the contract myself to have some fun. So I had them ready for signing.¡± ¡°If it''s like that... isn''t it bad for me to take this request? It feels like I am stealing your vacation!¡± If the situation is like that I can''t sign this, so I push the papers back towards her. ¡°No problem! And if you work there for a while, I know where to find you. I will come from time to time and play! There is no need to have a contract with the god of that world. If he has something against me, I will send my Dad to have a word with him!¡± Seria pushes the papers back. She might be more dangerous than I thought. How much influence does she have on her father!? ¡°I guess?¡± I take the offered pen to sign the papers, but a second before I write my name a really bad feeling crawls down my spine! Something about this is fishy! It¡¯s like I am signing my life away without knowing what¡¯s going on. There is also this strange conversation between Nix and Seria which I shouldn¡¯t forget. Suddenly Seria''s hand encases mine with the pen! Her fingers are like a steel vice! I can''t even budge! ¡°~There''s really no trick behind it! Just sign!~¡± ¡°I would rather not!¡± I try to resist, but Seria''s hand guides me slowly and deliberately while creating a perfect copy of my signature! From where does she even know it!? Ah, the registration process from earlier! I had to sign at least a dozen confidentiality agreements while she was watching! ¡°No matter how you look at it! This is just wrong!¡± ¡°~It''s going to be all right.~¡± Chapter 93 ***Amor ¨C Mortal World*** ***Sharid*** ¡°Gyaaaaa!¡± How can this be!? This stupid job! How could I have ever allowed myself to be convinced that this was a good idea? ¡°Nyaaa! These stupid mortals! Why can¡¯t I just kill them all and be done with it!?¡± Seria, I hate you! I was charged with creating peace! So, why is my party preparing for the final battle of this war!? Bobo, the god who is in charge of the demons on this world and who is on the same assignment as me, chuckles. ¡°You sent them an omen that¡¯s clearly meant for them to make peace, and they misinterpret it in the most horrendous of ways.¡± ¡°This is all your fault!¡± I poke my finger into his muscular chest. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t told the demon lord to draw back his troops, the stupid humans would have never thought that the demons are weakened. They are only attacking because they are thinking that they are about to win.¡± The huge, red demon frowns and massages his chin while clicking his hooves. ¡°If I remember correctly, it was a certain goddess who thought it to be a good idea if the demons showed the humans a gesture of good will.¡± ¡°Aaah!¡± I scream, knowing that he is right, but not wanting it to be true. When I first visited this world, I was introduced to all of the local deities which included my ¡®co-worker¡¯ Bobo. He is a huge brute with long hooves instead of feet, curved horns, and muscles all over the place. To be honest, I think that he is trying to compensate for something with his appearance because I always sense an aura of illusion around him. Besides, who truly wants to look like that? Gods like us could always change our appearance if we wanted to. All it takes is a little visit to a technological world to have your genes modded and, ~Tadaa!~, new you! While Bobo is a little strange and a know-it-all, he actually turned out to be a pretty decent guy in the past one and half a years since we started working together. I was glad when I learned that creating peace wasn¡¯t my sole responsibility, but that there was one deity for each faction in this war, and that the two of us would be working together in an attempt to create peace. The only issue was that the god who owns this world wants us to work from the shadows. He doesn¡¯t want the mortals to be influenced by the knowledge that gods are a very real power. This world has a big continent that is formed like an hourglass lying on its side. The west is controlled by the Darkness Faction and the east is under the supervision of the Light Faction. The two sides are stuck in an endless and pretty nonsensical war. As far as I can tell, it started because of their ideologies, but by now it is only because one side did ¡®this¡¯, while the other side complains about their enemy doing ¡®that¡¯. They are like little children! Neither side is able to get the upper hand because the narrow land-bridge between them is a perfect geological barrier and their navies aren''t strong enough to land somewhere on the shores of the other nation. Even if one side is momentarily weakened it is very easy to defend because the land bridge is rife with fortresses after centuries of war. The Light Faction is made up of humans, elves, fairies, and dwarves, while the Darkness Faction consists mostly of beastmen, demons, orcs, and goblins. Though the last two aren''t as bad as the ones I know from my world. In this dimension, they have highly evolved societies and cities of their own. First, Bobo and I tried to interfere just with small actions, but somehow everything we did went wrong. For example, I found a super-strong trainer for the Light Faction¡¯s Hero and ~convinced~ him to train the Hero, someone who I personally chose because of his kind heart and love for peace. Then I organized a really strong weapon for him and had him learn everything about ethics from a peaceful monk. Afterwards, I had him gather a group of really strong allies. But the moment my Hero started fighting in the war, an equally strong character named The Demon King appeared on the darkness faction''s side. Bobo had copied my idea, trying to influence his own charges in a similar manner. From there, everything went out of control. Originally, I planned for the Light Faction to win and create peace, but now it got bloodier than ever because they didn''t manage to defeat the Darkness Faction. ¡°Mmmh!¡± I stomp my foot into the empty air while floating above the soon to be newest battlefield between these stupid mortals. ¡°If you hadn''t countered my plan with your Demon King, the Light Faction would have already won!¡± Bobo rolls his eyes and gestures at the stupid mortals. ¡°Do you really think that they would have spared their enemies after winning the war? They may be called the Light Faction but they are as petty as any mortal can be. They would have gone on a killing spree through the undefended villages of the Darkness Faction, raping and pillaging to their heart¡¯s content.¡± ¡°I would have made the Hero stop them,¡± I complain. The god who is floating next to me rolls his eyes. ¡°Your Hero is one man who isn¡¯t even in charge of their armies. Do you really think that he could have stopped over two hundred thousand soldiers?¡± ¡°Gah!¡± I throw up my hands. ¡°Then we have no choice but to use our final fail-safe if we want to get those Guildpoints!¡± ¡°I still think that it is a stupid idea,¡± Bobo grumbles. ¡°My idea is better.¡± ¡°You can try that if my plan fails,¡± I reply sulkily. ¡°If it comes to that, will you finally go on that date with me, oh beautiful one?¡± Bobo asks with a smug grin on his face. I roll my eyes. ¡°I am sorry, but I am not into-¡± I wanted to say hooves, but I stop myself in time. Bobo is nice, but I don''t dare to insult a powerful deity like him. He shushes me. ¡°Don''t speak any further. I promise that I will be the perfect example of a proper gentleman.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± I click my tongue, knowing well enough that he won''t stop flattering me once he gets like this. ¡°Ask me again once this is over.¡± My plan ''B'' was to take action personally! Bobo and I created mortal personas for ourselves some time ago, hoping to use them to take direct influence on our chosen champions. I chose to disguise myself as a wandering spellweaver and sage. After some turmoil and tribulations, I managed to join the Hero''s party as an on and off-again member. From then on I tried to influence the Hero and his followers, hoping that they would become defenders of peace and righteousness. Sadly, they didn''t manage to persuade the rest of humanity into abandoning the war. Descending onto the battlefield, I drop the Song of Confusion I was humming to divert the mortals'' attention, becoming visible. I land next to the Hero''s party which is standing among the foremost column of the Light Faction''s army, facing the Darkness Faction''s troops. ¡°Sharid! You are back!¡± The Hero greets me, his face lighting up immediately. ¡°You look really disturbed, Sharid, but don''t worry! We will win this and create ever-lasting peace!¡± he tries to calm me. ¡°And... And afterwards, I have to tell you something.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I sigh, starting to get annoyed. How little does he know. ¡°How often have I told you that there doesn''t have to be a battle? You will get to talk to the leaders of the other side before the killing starts. Just negotiate a peace treaty before everything goes to hell!¡± ¡°Ah, we will try.¡± Why does he sound like he isn''t convinced that this will work out? Honestly, I am beginning to doubt his qualification for the job. At least there will be one last negotiation attempt before the fighting starts. I will use that moment to reveal my true power. Then I will force them to sign that stupid peace treaty! And if they decide to fight anyway, I will just have to ~crush~ them all! I know that revealing the existence of gods to the mortals will have a major impact on our reward, but I won''t have that many deaths on my plate. When a group of representatives detaches from the opposing army, I know that things are about to get interesting. ¡°Don''t worry, comrades! We will do just fine.¡± The Hero smiles at the people surrounding him and starts marching, following our own group of representatives onto the open area between the two armies. I count ten people in our ranks. The other consists of a group of demons and beastmen with an equal number. The group is led by the Demon King. We already know him from previous battles. And following him is a big, vile-looking, red demon, Bobo''s alter ego. He is towering above all the others, his rippling muscles telling anyone that he is not to be messed with. I involuntarily roll my eyes, thinking that he is overdoing it with his illusion magic. Probably he is some little imp beneath all that obfuscating magic of his. As our groups reach a distance of about five meters, close enough to talk with each other, yet far enough away that it makes a surprise attack impossible, the demon king starts talking, ¡°Surrender! If you don''t, my army will crush you! The great warlord Bobo is on our side!¡± ¡°You have to surrender! The Goddess of Light will not bow to misguided creations like you!¡± the Hero follows in the Demon King''s footsteps. I try raising my voice, sensing that things are already going south, but the stupid mortals drown my voice with their shouts. ¡°No, you will disarm right this second!¡± ¡°Why should we?¡± ¡°You...¡± ¡°No! You...¡± ¡°Noo! Guys, you have to be peaceful!¡± I call out, but they ignore me. ¡°Smoke some weed and calm down!¡± They continue to talk past each other, paying me no heed. Why? I tried with all my might to give you people a proper world-view! That''s when my eyes wander to the big, red monster who is smirking at me. I can practically hear him saying: ''Told you so.'' He sighs and then allows his aura to radiate outwards. So strong! I am not that good at reading auras yet, but I can sense that Bobo is even stronger than I ever imagined him to be. Our eyes meet again and the demon looks down to the ground. What is that? Is he embarrassed? The mortals step back, their voices hushed. ¡°That''s it, Bobo! Smite those heretics! There is no other way to deal with them!¡± The Demon King urges the big red demon forward and the people in our group take a step back ¨C all aside from me. They feel that the big, red one is dangerous. Eh!? Why am I suddenly in the front? Even the stupid Hero retreated! Coward! The big, red monster comes forward and stands in front of me. Uwah! So big! He never came up in my face like that. I would never be able to beat this guy! Thankfully, there is a rule that gods aren''t allowed to fight each other. And Bobo is a chill guy if he isn''t playing his persona, so I am safe! ~Lucky!~ That''s when Bobo suddenly decides to do the ultimately, most embarrassing thing that ever happened to me in my entire life! The red monster falls onto one knee in front of me ¨C which brings us only about head to head with each other! He is still slightly above eye-level with me! Then he carefully takes my hand. Huh? Isn''t this a strange pose? ¡°What are you thinking, Bobo! People are watching!¡± This certainly isn''t the right place for this ¡°My goddess, I was struck by your beauty from the first moment when I laid my eyes upon you! Would you give this unworthy one the honour of a date?¡± ¡°Haaah?¡± Why does Bobo''s voice suddenly sound so gentle and educated? This doesn''t match his usual persona at all! He should go back to his usual, gruff tone! He needs a brutal and rough voice for that body of his! ¡°Just one date would be enough! I would give you anything! You are the only one for me. I felt it down to my bones when I saw you. I have been holding back for the past year, but no longer. I wouldn''t be able to take it if our commission ends here with us simply parting ways. You, or nobody else in the multiverse!¡± He sprouts a nonsensical confession right in the middle of a soon to be battlefield! ¡°Kuh!¡± I try to reply, but the words just don''t come out of my mouth. I feel like spewing blood! Did my abilities go out of control? No, I don''t think so. Ahem, let''s think. I have to be diplomatic! I want to refuse, but there are so many people watching! How could I possibly say no? ¡°Ah! I am so ~sorry~, Bobo, but I think that we don''t really match. Of course, we could have a little date to learn more about each other, but you shouldn''t put your hopes up too high. I doubt that anything would come of it.¡± He laughs. ¡°Oh! Of course! Where are my manners! To confess my feelings while being in disguise! That was just rude. I am sorry! Yet, the way you are treating me despite my appearance only reassures me that you are the right person for me.¡± I only tried to be polite because you could stomp me with ease! He playfully raises an eyebrow while holding onto my hand and tilts his head sideways, offering me his cheek. ¡°Haven''t you ever heard of the stories where the beautiful maiden kisses the beast and it transforms into a prince charming?¡± ¡°Bobo! You are killing me!¡± I whisper between clenched teeth and try to get my hand back, but his hold is firm and strong without hurting me. Huffing, I decide to get it over with, giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Just a small one. ''Poof!'' With a small cloud of smoke, the red monster suddenly transforms into a really hot guy! He looks kind of familiar, but I decide that it must be the horns. Ever since I started paying regular visits to the Crystal City, I got used to different races and demon-kin, of which there are many in the Chimeran''s place of power. Uwaah! ~He is totally my type!~ And most importantly, I can''t sense even a whiff of illusion magic. This seems to be his true appearance. Just why would a hot guy like him hide under the illusion of a monster like Bobo? If it weren''t for the horns and those menacing eyes, but he has gorgeous black hair and a neat face! He is so cute, I think I can overlook the horns and the eyes. ¡°So, how about a date?¡± he asks with a smirk. ¡°But I have to bring my job here to a peaceful conclusion,¡± I try to return his attention to our task. That, and everyone is watching us. ¡°No problem! I will wipe this world clean of those fools and then we can talk! I shouldn''t take more than a few seconds!¡± He gets to his feet, apparently intent on going through with his plan. ¡°Whoa!¡± Now I am the one who is holding onto his hand. ¡°Hold your horses, big guy! If we do that, all those people here will die!¡± ¡°Take your hands off of Sharid! You monster!¡± The Hero suddenly moves into action, making everything even more complicated. ¡°Bobo! Don''t let yourself get bewitched by that vixen!¡± The Demon King steps also forward, trying to separate Bobo and me. I almost see a vein popping on Bobo''s forehead while he keeps a perfect smile on his face. He doesn''t even look at them as he flicks his free hand in their general direction. With a ''Whoosh!'' a shock wave blows the Demon King and the Hero away, travelling outwards and throwing the soldiers of both armies to the ground. At the same time, a barrier appeared around Bobo and me, protecting us from being affected. He is overdoing it! ¡°Bobo!¡± ¡°Don''t worry.¡± The representatives were somehow able to take cover behind rocks, but Bobo isn''t done. Using a pathway, he teleports us high into the air so that we can see the whole battlefield. Then he waves his hand at both armies, teleporting everyone away, supposedly back to their base camps. As a last dramatic measure, he points his finger towards the ground and with a gigantic explosion, everything goes white. Then he turns his attention back towards me, totally ignoring the fact that we are encased in a cloud of dust and debris and that I am sweating buckets! He just casually teleported two whole armies away and then annihilated the land-bridge between the two factions. Of course, given time, I could do the same, but I couldn''t do it just by pointing a finger! ¡°Let me reintroduce myself again! My name is Aengus and I fell in love with you at first sight! I should have told you sooner, but I put it off again and again.¡± Oh! This is becoming worse every time he has to repeat himself. ¡°I guess I will let you choose the location for the first date?¡± I have to give him something. His face lights up. ¡°I know the perfect place!¡± ¡°Shaarriiiid!¡± ¡°Boobooo!¡± I hear the faint voices of the Hero and Demon King in the distance, but they are drowned out by the rushing sea which is busily filling the crater which forms the new gap between the two landmasses, creating a wide canal which now separates the warring factions. It was our go-to plan should everything else fail. With the line of fortresses on both sides intact and a huge canal separating them, offensive warfare is almost impossible. They can still use their ships to get across, but that''s indefinitely harder than using a convenient land-bridge. Then our surroundings change and I find myself sitting at a table with luxurious silverware. Aengus yet again used a pathway to take us away! Confused, I look around, trying to find out where we are now. Above us is a wonderful starlit sky and a strange broken moon that looks artificial. It''s hanging above us and a belt of its fragments crosses from one side of the sky to the other, glittering while a constant shower of falling meteors lights the sky. It''s a magnificent view! ¡°What is this place? It is breathtaking!¡± ¡°I am happy that you like it, Sharid!¡± Aengus smiles at me and I feel myself turning red with embarrassment. A waiter interrupts us and takes our orders. Aengus takes charge of the food which gives me time to survey our surroundings, allowing me to realize that we are on an elevated platform that belongs to some kind of restaurant. There are other people around us, socializing with each other at their own tables. Is everyone here a god? Most of them seem to be couples... I smile at Aengus. ¡°~So why don''t you tell me a little about yourself? Apparently, Bobo isn''t everything there is to know about you?~¡± If he is this aggressive with taking me on a date, he might as well spill the beans. He clears his throat, looking suddenly a little embarrassed himself. ¡°Everything you want to know, Sharid.¡± Chapter 94 ***Former Council Base, now a holiday resort for exhausted Gods and Deities*** ***Aengus*** I knew it! This goddess is meant for me! I felt it when I first saw her! She was the ideal woman who represented everything I was searching for in a partner. She was nice and polite despite my appearance, and most importantly, I quickly realized that she is completely ignorantof Chimeran politics! Aside from paying random visits to her mortal family, she also proved to be a hard-working and reliable person. As long as she stays that way I have a chance with her. In the end, I almost couldn''t make up my resolve to confess to her. It would have been too stupid if I had just kept admiring her! So, I feared no costs and took her to the best restaurant I know of! The Final Stand was built on the site of the last battle between the Calamity''s minions and the Alliance''s forces, allowing the visitors to watch the historical site while they dine. Funnily enough, the imposing site is rumoured to be created by the most epic headbutt that was ever delivered. I am so lucky that I found Sharid before she learned enough about the world of gods. Most goddesses run once they recognize me. As a recently ascended goddess, she hasn''t yet learned of the rumours about the Chimeran''s royal family. And she is super cute too. My heart actually skipped a beat when I saw her for the first time. As we wait for the food, I give her my life''s story in a slightly censored version while staying as close to the truth as possible. Like, leaving out the fact that I am an actual prince or that the infamous Angrod is my father. Somehow, I manage to skirt around the truth while keeping the gem I seek satisfied. It would be nice if she fell for me without thinking that she could make a really big catch by striking a match with the first prince of one of the multiverse''s major powers. As we talk, I just can''t take my eyes away from her perfect body. Her face is top class, but that body of hers! That dark brown hair with the white lock just adds to her charm! I could look forever into those hazel eyes or at those tits. I hope those lecherous thoughts aren''t too apparent on my face. Aside from that,she has quite some skills as a spellweaver, even if her art takes time to perform! She loves singing and magic.In the end, it feels like we talked for hours about our magical arts and various interests, so I decide to change the scenery to something more private. Done with the food, I shift the conversation towards a place I always wanted to share with the one I love and usea pathway to once more whisk her away to another part of this planet. We appear on a lonely beach, which clearly bemuses Sharid who doesn''t waste time and takes off her shoes. Actually, the beach was Seria''s suggestion. If I ever found a nice girl, I should take her here. She mentioned that the scenery is very romantic!It''s hard to admit, but I don''t have a clue about romance myself. I completely rely on my sister''s guidance in these matters. ¡°That moon was something else!¡± Sharid comments in a pleased voice while walking shoulder to shoulder with me. ¡°Ah, yes! I think it was damaged in the great war with the Calamity some time ago. Some idiot decided to show off his power and gave it a headbutt.¡± I chuckle, at least that is the official version. If Father didn''t lie to me the truth wasn''t any less funny. ¡°A headbutt!?¡± Sharid snickers. ¡°Just who in the world can shatter a moon with a headbutt?¡± ¡°Officially, one of the Calamity''s minions did it, but in truth Carne, Leader of the Empire, threw the minion at the moon and... well... the rest is history. Don''t tell that to anyone, though.¡± I place my fingers on my lips, wanting her to realize that this is a little secret. ¡°I am glad that you took me on this date,¡± Sharid admits, making my heart soar to new heights with pride. I stop her there on the beach. ¡°I really like you Sharid, and I wish for us to be more than just co-workers.¡± Then our eyes meet and I somehow lose myself in her irises. Is it okay? I dare to softly touch her cheeks and pull her closer, kissing her. ¡°Aengus... there... is...¡± Sharid tries to tell me something, but I don''t want this moment to be ruined by some kind of rejection. I reach around her hips, pulling her body against mine and letting her know just how serious I am. Then I lower her onto her sandy beach, all the way sealing her lips with mine. Before I know it, I have her on the ground with me on top between her spread thighs! Oh! This is bad! That wasn''t gentleman-like at all! What if she hates me now? ¡°You don''t have to look so troubled, Aengus. Could it be that you are actually quite innocent? That''s cute!¡± Sharid grabs my head and smiles at me. Fuck it! Haven''t I learned anything from my past self? Being the nice guy doesn''t get me anything in this world. If I want a woman, I have to show her that I mean it! I kiss her neck, inhaling her scent as I rub my hips against hers, trying my best to get that damned skirt of hers out of the way. ¡°Aengus... I... haven''t told... you...¡± Sharid once more tries to tell me something, caught in my embrace. I also still have to tell her that I am a prince, but she is squirming in a way that drives me mad! ¡°Hush!¡± I whisper into her ear and cover her mouth. ¡°We have all the time in the world to talk later.¡± I finally reach her panties and pull them aside to massage her. ¡°~Aahh~.¡± She moans through my hand, her eyes turning delirious. Then she pulls my hand away. ¡°I don''t care anymore! It''s stupid to do this on the first date, but I think I fell head over heels in ~love~ with you!¡± Her hands move down to my trousers her face turns red with anticipation! Then her eyes regain some sense. ¡°But I reallyshould tell-¡± I push my finger deep inside her and another deep kiss to seal her lips shuts her up. ¡°Please don''t kill the mood now,¡± I beg her and hold her down while rubbing my length against her entrance. Sharid looks deep into my eyes as we grind our bodies together, her moving like a Goddess of Lust beneath me, driving me almost insane. We kiss and touch, exploring each other until I grab her hands and force them to the ground while my hips start moving on their own. She gasps and arches her back, creating the perfect angle.Then I am inside her, sliding in and outin rhythm with her screams of pleasure. I would kill anybody who dared to interrupt us right now. When I bury my forehead in her bosom, I realize that there''s blood where we are connected. How can someone like her be a virgin!? I hope I didn''t hurt her too much, but her screams of lust tell me that she isn''t hurt. Shaking, her legs come up and lock around me as I plow her fertile fields, knocking onto her gates to heaven. Her tongue is inside my mouth and a fiery pulsating wave of pleasure shoots through my entire being while she tightens around me as if she is trying to wring me out while I unload everything I have to give again and again. Then I fall on top of her and slowly start regaining control over myself. Sharid is still shuddering under me, having taken all of me.I reach down to her ass, holding onto it as I push deep into her one more time, revelling in the feeling of having this Goddess. Whatever confessions we might have for each other, I am sure we can pull through.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. It takes some time, but finally, she calms down. ¡°Haaah... that... felt magnificent! So what was your big secret, Aengus?¡± Sharid asks with gasping breaths while I rest panting on top of her. Well, I guess the shit will hit the fan sooner or later anyway. No better time than now. ¡°I am the Prince of Chimera.¡± Sharid''s face turns expressionless from one moment to the next and her satisfied smile vanishes as if she just bit into a lemon which came straight from the Infernal Planes. ¡°Oh, shit. I guess that explains a few things... and that makes everything a lot more complicated.¡± She groans ¡°I am such an idiot!¡± I squint my eyes and push my upper body up so that we can face each other properly. ¡°And your secret?¡± She starts playing with her fingers in front of her exposed chest, which is my fault since I stripped her clothing in the throes of passion. Her legs are still locked around me when she attempts to speak, clears her throat when she isn''t satisfied with her tone, and tries again, setting a cheerful yet irritated tune. ¡°~~Apparently, I am the reincarnation of El Shaddai. Though I don''t remember anything of my previous self. And somehow, inexplicably, I managed to fall for one of only a handful of people who I should stay the hell away from.~~¡± Her eyes narrow in introspection. ¡°It was her! It must have been her doing! There is no way in hell that she didn''t know that her brother is working on the very same assignment!¡± Now my face turns expressionless. El Shaddai? El Shaddai... there was something about an El Shaddai in my father''s past. ¡°Oh...¡± ¡°~Oh...~ Yes, that sums it up pretty well,¡± Sharid grumbles, petting my cheek, clearly trying to cheer me up as my mind draws a blank. ***Former Council Base, now a holiday resort for exhausted Gods and Deities*** ***Sharid*** Aengus''s expression clouds over as he considers my revelation. He softens and pulls out of me, then rolls over to sit next to me on the beach, holding his palms to his temples as he watches the ocean with gloomy eyes. I sit up and study the mess we made. ¡°There is no chance in hell that I am not pregnant with my luck.¡± Feeling more than a little trepidation at the possibility, I try to get my clothes back in order but admit defeat soon after. Then I wait, sitting next to Aengus while he tries to get his thoughts back in order. After a few minutes of heavy silence with nothing but the sound of the sea''s waves rushing against the shore, I start fearing that I broke my beloved. He hasn''t talked since my confession! Just what did I do!? I should have thought beforehand about how to tell him that he just fucked a gender-bent gal! That should be a considerable blow to any man''s ego. But somehow, I got caught up in the moment and the atmosphere! I amnot the only oneat fault here; just why did he have to finish inside without protection on the first date! Who does that? Not thinking for a single second! It was also him who held my mouth shut when I tried to tell him. It''s certainly not like this is my fault alone. Then I force myself to see the situation from his point of view. I know for myself that I am female, but Aengus knows me only as a male character! And I just told him that I was El Shaddai in my previous life. No wonder he went instantly limp when I dropped that line on him! I am such a horrible woman! Will he get it up ever again? Did I just cause a permanent trauma? That would be a shame. For most males that should have been a one hundred percent fatal mental blow! I wave my hand in front of his face, getting no reaction! ~Bad~! I have to reassure him that the current me is one hundred percent female. Of course, his true identity was a shock for me too! My mind blanked out for a moment, but it had less impact. I truly didn''t lie when I said that I fell for him! I am such a worthless woman! Giving my first love-interest a serious trauma right after our first fuck. ¡°Aengus, please talk to me! You don''t have to be so down!¡± I grab his hand but he shows no resistance, allowing me to manipulate his arm. ¡°I am sorry! You have to understand that I am a one hundred percent complete girl! And I will stay that way! I have no interest in my old self, I don''t even have any memories of that time! The only reason why I know is that others told me.¡± I place his hand on my cheek and keep talking, tryingmy best to explain myself. Ah! He is rubbing his temple with his other hand! That is a good sign, right? I didn''t give him the death blow! He finally sighs, apparently returning from whatever horrid place his mind was visiting. ¡°I am sorry, Sharid. It isn''t about that. Well, it was a shock. But it isn''t about that,¡± Aengus mumbles in his usual gentle voice.¡°I got to know you well enough during that year in which we were working together.¡± I cup his face between my hands. ¡°You can do everything you want to me. I am so sorry. It''s okay if you are as rough as before.¡± Just remembering him holding me down makes me hot all over again. ¡°Actually, I like it rough! The pain wasn''t an issue! It even turned me on! ~Gehehe~, is there a way to restore my virginity?¡± Aaahhn! Just remembering him breaking my maidenhood... I never felt like that before! ¡°The pain from when you ~stabbed~ into me transformed into pure pleasure and I couldn''t get ~enough~ of it. Haaa. Haa.¡± I realize that I am drooling and wipe my face with my sleeve. ¡°Maybe you are even up for a little rougher play? Of course, only if it doesn''t turn you off.¡± I draw a little circle on his chest, unable to properly face him. I can''t look into his eyes right now. What if he hates me for that new side of mine. Aengus smiles wryly at me and wipes something out of my face. Then he pulls me towards him and positions me between his legs while hugging me from behind. ¡°Sharid? What are your divinities?¡± I realize that I just allowed one of my more embarrassing traits to leak through.¡°Ahem, it''s embarrassing. I am a complete pervert. I got Lust, Masochism and Sadism as my divinities. I am so sorry that you fell for someone worthless like me!¡± I hope he won''t hate me now. But instead, Aengus starts giggling. ¡°That matches with my Heroic, Torment and Zeal. Have you ever tried to use some ~instruments~?¡± ¡°Nooo! You were my first time! How could I have had the chance! But you seem to be fine now. Why were you so down if it wasn''t about my previous self? I assure you that you screwed a woman! See?¡± I grab his hands and place them on my chest, allowing him to have a feel. Aengus sighs but doesn''t remove his hands. ¡°I was just considering how to tell my family about my soon to be fianc¨¦e. That, and I also tried to figure out how we ended up like that.¡± ¡°F- ~Fianc¨¦e~?¡± I squeal and hold onto his hands a little tighter. ¡°Of course! You don''t want to tell me that you don''t like the idea?¡± Aengus grumbles. ¡°I am afraid that there is no way of getting away from me now.¡± ¡°Haah? It''s not like that. It''s just... don''t you think this is moving a little too quickly!?¡± I start fiddling with his fingers. This is really going out of hand. ¡°And what was that about a pregnancy earlier? Do you really think that a single screw-up is enough for a visit to baby-town?¡± ¡°Ahem, yeah...¡± I clear my throat. ¡°Have I mentioned this fertility-curse of mine?¡± ¡°Oh, well. I am the Prince of Chimera and we will get through whatever lies in our future. While the Chimeran society may be a little lax in regards to royalty, I can''t have a relationship with someone without commitment.¡± Aengus hugs me tight. ¡°The only thing I am worried about is how to get my family on our side.¡± ¡°I... I see. Your father will kill ~meeeee~,¡± I whine, reminded that I just fucked Angrod''s son. ¡°First I had to endure all those curses for my entire life. And now I will show up as his daughter in law! He will execute me on the spot and see to it that I get an even worse reincarnation!¡± I start shivering when I think about what that guy will do to me. Aengus quickly tries to calm me down. ¡°Father isn''t the problem.¡± ¡°Huh? How is the King of Gods who cursed me and quite obviously hates me not a problem!?¡± ¡°Father is vain and vindictive, but he can be dealt with if we have my mother on our side. I don''t think that he harbours a serious grudge against you anyway!¡± Aengus comments. ¡°Not a serious grudge? Well, then let me tell you...¡± I start rattling off the list of curses and the trials I had to face in my life. Aengus snorts, clearly not impressed. ¡°He just gave you a few strange curses and tampered with your reincarnation. He is an oddball and a bad winner. Do you want to know what he did with the guy who was responsible for his father''s death?¡± Aengus chuckles a little. ¡°Okay...¡± Angrod is capable of doing worse than what I had to endure? ¡°I thought we gods are immortal?¡± I am sure that I will regret this. ¡°Is there a way to back out of this. What you are telling me doesn''t exactly boost my confidence in meeting your father.¡± ¡°His father was mortal at the time. So, his soul lost all its memories and that''s equivalent to dying for real. Anyway, Angrod caged the poor fellow''s soul who he held responsible in a crystal ball and tortured him for decades while carrying him around in his pocket. That''s what my father calls holding a grudge. He would be still carrying him around if grandma hadn''t put an end to it by taking the crystal away from him.¡± Aengus ends his lengthy explanation. Okay. If the Godking is capable of something like that I got away with a little scratch. ¡°One moment. What happened to the crystal ball after your grandma took it? Isn''t she the wife of his father? Doesn''t she have an equally big grudge against the guy inside that crystal ball?¡± Aengus doesn''t answer for some time, ¡°Actually, I haven''t seen the crystal ball ever since...¡± ¡°~Waaaa!~ So you tell me that your father isn''t the problem? I am getting the feeling that your whole family will be a problem!¡± I will hit the dead-end! ¡°I am more worried about the reaction of my mother and my grandmothers! Mother isn''t exactly a stable personality after her soul was injured. We may have to get the help of my sisters to get her on our side.¡± Aengus scratches his cheek. ¡°Actually, Seria owes you a favour anyway!¡± I point out, sharing my suspicions. ¡°She gave me that guild-job on that planet where we met! So, if she knew that you were there too...¡± Aengus finishes the sentence for me. ¡°... she set us up! Well, I expected that already. She is always up to something, playing her little games. I thought that she was influencing the mortals, trying to ruin my assignment. I admit that she got me good this time.¡± ¡°You and your sister seem to have a strange relationship. You know that, don''t you?¡± I grumble. Aengus growls. ¡°We will find her and have a little word with her. But first I have to check something out.¡± He pushes me forward. ¡°Get on all fours.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I fidget but do as I was told and when he starts pulling at my clothes I get a little guarded. ¡°I think that we have already established that I am a woman outside and inside.¡± ¡°Yeah, but there is this little thing about Chimeran physiology that I never got to truly test out.¡± He suddenly thrusts, slamming all the way into me and I get knocked into the sand with a pitched squeak of surprise. ¡°Wha!?¡± I try to hold my thoughts together while he starts working, firmly holding onto my rear. Aengus grins. ¡°I was wondering how many times I can go before I run out of fuel.¡± Chapter 95 ***Seria¡¯s floating Island*** ***Sharid*** It took a while to satisfy Aengus, but eventually, we managed to transfer our liaison to a more private place where we could clean ourselves up and get rid of the sand. Nothing against losing my virginity on a romantic beach, but getting the sand out of my hair turned out to be a nightmare. Unfortunately, Aengus didn¡¯t allow me to diddle-daddle in his arms and instead brought us to Seria¡¯s place; a small, floating island in some unknown dimension. I barely got time to frown at the seemingly endless sky which provided the background while being pulled towards Seria''s abode. Having a multiverse of stunning landscapes at my beck and call is truly tiring. I wonder at which point I will stop paying any attention to my surroundings. Together, we barge into the small villa, Aengus taking down the door with a kick and screaming bloody murder at his sister who was sitting with two familiar faces in a spacious living room. My eyes wander back and forth between the game of cards on the table between them and the three people who are apparently watching a recording of Aengus and me on the beach. I feel my cheeks instantly turning red when I realize that the scene isn''t showing us taking an innocent walk. ¡°Seria! Miruliru? Nazareth!¡± I can''t help but scream out their names, joining Aengus¡¯ outrage while pointing a shaking finger at the screen with the indecent scene. Seria drops her hand of cards, trying to appease Aengus. ¡°Big Bro, please don¡¯t over-dramatise this. You know me. I tried to act in your best interest and, hehe, as you see, everything went as planned.¡± Miruliru doesn¡¯t pay any attention to us. Her whole concentration is still on the game when she frowns and growls, searching with a finger through Seria¡¯s dropped hand-cards and another pile. ¡°Why are you playing six ¡®Wrath of God¡¯!? Only four copies are allowed in each deck!¡± ¡°Hahaha,¡± Seria sorts through the cards. ¡°Oops!¡± Nazareth turns to Seria, likewise ignoring my outraged boyfriend cum fiance. ¡°I think that I will take my leave now before I get further involved in any of this. I will run far, far away, just in case Angrod remembers me.¡± He looks at me and shakes his head. ¡°And to think that I even warned you of having a relationship¡­¡± ¡°You didn''t warn me of that!¡± I bark back, vividly remembering that he only warned me of having children... an advice which I didn''t exactly follow either. ¡°Yes, yes, here is your payment, Nazareth. You did a good job.¡± Miruliru flicks a crystal towards my master which I recognise as one of the Guildpoint recorders. ¡°Ho! Always a pleasure! It was a long job after all.¡± Nazareth takes the crystal and stows it away. ¡°You people, you are all in cahoots with each other!?¡± I can''t believe it! This is an epic set up! ¡°Just for how long did you plan all of this!?¡± Did they start when I was still a babe? Miruliru massages her chin, still glaring at Seria because of the cards. ¡°Well, I was following your growth since your birth, and I admit paying Nazareth to have an extra close eye on you. I thought about using you in one way or the other against Angrod. I don''t like the man''s demeanour, but the plan to set Aengus and you up with each other came from Seria.¡± Seria huffs. ¡°I pitied my idiot brother for a long time now. His track-record with women is horrible. And then you came along... young, beautiful, without any knowledge about the multiverse! The perfect naive maiden.¡± She snickers, quite obviously not seeing anything wrong with her actions. Seria gestures towards Miruliru. ¡°Of course, it became even more hilarious when I met Miruliru in the process and I learned about your history. Sorry, Big Bro, but Sharid is just a perfect match for you. I couldn''t stop myself.¡± ¡°Little Sis, I hope you know that I will have to use you to take the blame. Of course, this situation is perfect to draw our mother''s anger away from me and my ~fianc¨¦e~.¡± Aengus puts an arm around my shoulder and draws me close, then summons a crystal sword from seemingly nowhere. Seria freezes as the pointy end of the weapon approaches her nose. ¡°My cruel Little Sister played the worst trick of all times on me. She set me up with our former arch-enemy ¨C all without my knowledge, and now Sharid and I are stuck with each other!¡± Aengus''s tone suddenly became cruel and dangerous. It sent a shiver down my spine. Where is his gentle and educated voice? He forewarned me that we had to get a little rough with Seria, but I didn¡¯t expect him to mean it quite like this. Seria uses the tip of her finger to push the sword aside. ¡°Big Bro, allow this stupid sister to assist you in explaining the situation to our parents! I even have detailed ~video documentation~ of your commitment to your ~fianc¨¦e~, should it be needed!¡± She gestures towards the screen where Aengus and I are still going at it like rabbits. ¡°Please, delete that,¡± I beg her, unsure of what the first Chimeran princess might be capable of. Seria summons some kind of controller into her hand. ¡°But the two of you are so cute. Especially when you go-¡± Aengus isn¡¯t as wary of his sister as I am and instead uses the flat of his blade to smack Seria a good one over the top of her head. ¡°~GYAAA!~¡± She raises her arms, trying to ward off a second blow. I snatch the device out of her hand and, not knowing what to do, hand it to Aengus who presses a few buttons, deleting the recording. ¡°That won''t work. I have the data stored away in various ~safe locations~,¡± Seria points out and raises both hands above her head when Aengus¡¯ sword comes back up. ¡°I am sure you won¡¯t mind a round of respawns?¡± he asks, his voice cold as ice. ¡°Mom won¡¯t let you!¡± Seria points out, leaving me to wonder what ''respawns'' are. ¡°She will, once I start spilling every little detail about your machinations you had me assist you with over the years,¡± her brother replies instantly. ¡°Hahahaha...¡± Seria starts laughing, but stops when she realizes that Aengus is serious. ¡°That¡¯s what I get for having an accomplice¡­¡± She sighs. ¡°So, let your little sister try to assist you, but I will safeguard that video! Just in case it won''t work out with Sharid in the end. I never would have imagined that this well-behaved big brother of mine would actually forcefully push down a girl and rob her innocence!¡± Seria puts both hands on her cheeks and starts wriggling in her seat. ¡°If I am not satisfied with your performance, I will take you down with me ~Little Sister~.¡± A few veins become visible on Aengus''s forehead. ¡°So where are Mom and Dad at the moment? I am sure you have a tracking device on them.¡± It takes a few more minutes for Nazareth and Miruliru to excuse themselves, then we are off to another world.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Following Seria''s guidance through the pathways, we appear in a snowy landscape which reminds me of long and cold nights which I had to spend alone in the mountains. There are high hills and a dark forest all around us. The stars and a big moon illuminate the snow with eerily blue light. ¡°To think that Mom and Dad would take the time off to go skiing...¡± Aengus pulls me with him towards a small, wooden house which is closer to a hunter''s cabin than a king''s domicile. We have to raise our legs high just to get through the snow which reaches up to our knees. ¡°Excuse me, this doesn''t look like a god-king''s domicile at all,¡± I comment, huffing out and watching my breath freeze instantly in the cold night. Seria is right behind us, humming a little song. ¡°What did you expect?¡± She must be very happy because of the imminent bloodbath! ¡°I don''t know,¡± I step onto the raised platform which is in front of the cabin''s door. ¡°Maybe some dark castle with lightning in the background and the howling screams of some innocents caught in the dungeon below?¡± Aengus scoffs and knocks on the wooden door. ¡°Well, he has those too, but this place is ''family only''. There is no need to intimidate anyone here.¡± A blonde elf-woman opens the door, and Aengus brushes past her with a wave of his hand. ¡°Hi, Rose! I need to see Mom and Dad.¡± Seria gives the elf a quick hug. I only overcome my initial shyness when I realize that the woman wears a maid-outfit which likely means that she isn''t someone of great importance. ¡°Of course, they are in the living room.¡± Rose leads us towards another spacious room. I blink, taking a quick look behind to confirm that the internal dimensions of this cabin don''t match the outside ones, but Seria ushers me onwards, not giving me time to ponder this newest mystery. We enter a living room with enough space to house over a dozen people without it getting crowded. Seria''s little sisters are playing cards on the ground, hogging a round and plushy carpet for themselves. An older version of Seria is writing something at a table on the far end of the room, facing a window that shows the landscape outside. I recognize her as the queen from the Crystal City''s plaza. A guy who is looking a little older than Aengus is sitting in a comfy chair while reading a big tome, looking very relaxed. So that''s Angrod! Just wait! I haven''t completely given up on revenge! I will be the worst daughter in law you can imagine! I will claim both! Eternal ~love~ with Aengus and eternal ~revenge~ against my enemy! ¡°Mom, Dad. I want to introduce someone to you!¡± Aengus addresses the gathering with a calm and smooth voice. Uwah! Now they are looking at us and I am not ready! Why are they looking at me as if I am prey!? Then I am suddenly grabbed at my shoulders and Aengus shoves me in front. ¡°This is Sharid. I love her with all my heart and I confessed to her! We want to marry as soon as possible!¡± Caught in the limelight, I don''t dare to move a muscle while I watch the incomprehension in the children''s eyes, and slowly, very slowly, awakening recognition in the parents'' expressions. There is the sound of ripping paper as Angrod tears his apparently very expensive tome asunder and the crack of a broken pencil when Celes tightens her grip. How much strength does Angrod have to rip a book like a sheet of paper!? And that pen, it was golden and looked precious! I smile and bow to them, fighting the urge to throw myself to the ground. ¡°Nice to meet you! My name is Sharid. ~I hope we can get along with each other.~¡± Angrod jumps out of his chair and stomps towards us, an aura of light-bending shadows coming off of him in waves. I squeak and twist out of Aengus''s hands to get him between myself and his father. ¡°Do you know who that is!¡± he screams at Aengus while waving a part of his ripped book at us. ~Bad!~ He immediately recognized me! Aengus nods, apparently not intimidated at all. ¡°The reincarnation of someone you gave a very petty punishment to. I hope that you can forget the past and give Sharid the same chance you gave to others because I love the person she is now,¡± Aengus answers his father with a straight face, his words warming my heart. ¡°No! Nev-¡± Angrod''s words are cut short when the queen who approached from behind takes the ripped tome from his hand and smacks it onto the back of his head with full force. ¡°Don''t lower yourself further into a pit of your own making!¡± his wife reprimands the king of gods. ¡°Don''t think that I''ve forgotten that little incident from a few years ago. This would have been preventable if you hadn''t played god!¡± The king of gods remains standing, biting his lower lip while pointedly avoiding his wife''s gaze. ~Serves~ you right! I dare to raise the corners of my lips just a little bit, seeing a weakness in Angrod''s defences. If I can''t best him in a contest of power, then maybe I can prove to be the superior social predator? ¡°Rose, get Ireth and Katrina!¡± The queen crosses her arms, then turns her ire towards me. My faint smile immediately vanishes from my face when I realize that getting Celes on our side isn''t a paved road. That and... her ability to talk up to Angrod might be based on her strength, so social skills might not help against him. ¡°Sharid isn''t a bad person, Mom! She is my friend!¡± Seria hugs me from the side which causes raised eyebrows from the queen. Celes doesn''t say a word ¨C which is actually very scary. She just points at a dinner table at the side of the room and we take a seat. We end up with me between Seria and Aengus on one end and Celes and Angrod at the other. For a long time, nobody says a word with both sides eyeing each other for weaknesses while I sweat in fear. Just what kind of family is this!? The silent staring continues until two more female demons arrive with the elf maid. I guess those are Ireth and Katrina? They have an old geezer and another guy with them. Celes gets up to approach the newcomers and mumbles a few incomprehensible words to them. After a series of nods, the women take a seat facing me, adding to our opponents'' ranks. One of the new arrivals just gives a single command to me. ¡°Talk.¡± ¡°Uhm...¡± I play with my fingers, unable to hide my insecurity. ¡°About what?¡± Thankfully, Aengus and Seria cover for me, making it clear that the matriarch didn''t mean just me. The two siblings spin an expertly fabricated version of the true story of my life and our encounter, allowing me to give certain details while painting the events in a more positive light than reality would allow. They somehow manage to make it seem like I am telling the tale, only interrupting me to twist certain details in our favour. In short, the two of them are so expertly lying through their teeth that I couldn''t have pulled a story like that out of my ass if I had a thousand years to think about it. It takes an exhausting hour, but we finally manage to satisfy the female members of Aengus''s family while Angrod is silently glaring bloody murder at me. The triplets were watching us from the sidelines with curious expressions, as if this was the best family drama they ever got to witness. Finally, Angrod excuses himself to join the other two men who are playing cards, drawing Aengus with him and leaving me only with Seria''s support. The godking didn''t say a single word during the entire discussion. Being left alone with only the women, I try to make sense of their social interactions. Could it be that this household is completely dominated by the female members? ¡°This will be a scandal!¡± Ireth voices her verdict, forcing my attention back to the discussion at the table. ¡°Our society changed over the years, but we are far from adding a complete commoner to the royal family. The Houses won''t stand for it.¡± ¡°Impossible.¡± Katrine shakes her head. ¡°She isn''t even from a royal bloodline and she has no backers among the other powers.¡± The two family matriarchs form a firm front against me. Celes pays them no heed and just tilts her head while looking at me. ¡°So, you say that you love my son?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I bow to her, hoping to get at least her on my side since it looks like I don''t have good cards with the grandmothers. ¡°Then you have to prove it!¡± Celes raises her hand, then whispers a few sentences with the grandmothers. There is a vivid back and forth and after a while, they nod. I lean over to Seria. ¡°Why can''t I hear anything?¡± ¡°Privacy Charm,¡± Seria coughs back. Then Celes disappears through a pathway. ¡°Huh?¡± Where did she go so suddenly? I look at Seria who has an equally perplexed expression. Only a few seconds of a silent standoff with the unhappy grandmothers pass before Celes reappears again. With an evil smirk on her face, she shows me a big syringe with a long needle. ¡°If you manage to survive this, I will let you have my son. This is a test to join our family! If you are too weak, then I am rid of you!¡± She plays with the item, the syringe skilfully dancing around in her fingers. ¡°Mom! That''s going too far! Not one of your weird experiments!¡± Seria takes my hand and faces her mother head-on. ¡°Sharid, you don''t have to do this! It''s my fault, Mom. It was my meddling which led to this situation.¡± ¡°I know that you had a hand in it!¡± Celes shoots a deathly glare at Seria. ¡°You always have a part in things like this! You will be dealt with separately!¡± Seria shudders and drops from her chair, taking a foetus position on the ground, her eyes glazing over with some unknown memory and then she starts sucking on her thumb. ~Nyaaa!~ My only ally was defeated by a gaze and a few threatening words!? ¡°Seria!?¡± I kneel down and shake her at the shoulder, but my last supporter shows no reaction. Just what did she have to go through to experience such a trauma? I look towards Aengus, but he is held back by his father''s hand on his shoulder. There is no help to be expected from him. What to do? Will I even get out of this alive if I refuse? Why is the world never easy on me! Aengus, I hope we can be together. If not in this life, then in the next. And for ~revenge~! This is just another test of many which I have to best! I hold my arm out towards Celes and close my eyes. Then I feel the needle pricking me. ¡°If you want to give up, just say so. I will administer the antidote immediately. Of course, you will have failed the test in that case...¡± Celes explains with a smirk while my vision darkens. Chapter 96 ***The Royal Family''s Winter Resort*** ***Aengus*** ¡°~Nyahaha!~¡± I try my best to shield my mind from my girlfriend''s screams of love and arousal which are echoing through the door. Feeling awkward, I rearrange my position in my seat, hoping to hide my own excitement while holding onto my hand-cards. ¡°~Aahn!~¡± Not allowing me to be there for Sharid, my father, Nicosar, and Arthur forced me to play a game with them, but my mind just isn''t in it. I want to hold her hand and help her through this difficult time. ¡°~Yess!~¡± I finally can''t take it anymore. ¡°Mom, just what did you do to Sharid?¡± For some reason, Sharid was brought into the bathroom when she started writhing on the floor and I was forbidden from entering the room. Just what kind of strange medicine did Mom use on her? My worries are only amplified when my mother doesn''t pay any attention to my question. Instead, she is sitting on the couch while chewing on her fingernail, worriedly eyeing the door towards the bathroom. ¡°This is strange. It should hurt! It should definitely hurt, I am sure of that. Did I make a mistake with the base-pairs? But that''s impossible... it''s more likely for the recipient¡¯s face to melt off than having the potion''s effect reversed!¡± ¡°What should hurt? Sharid!¡± I drop my cards and run towards the door, but Ireth blocks my way. ¡°Sit!¡± Ireth gives a single command and I immediately fall to my knees, remembering the days of when our grandmother was baby-sitting Seria and me. Grandma is scary ¨C maybe even scarier than Mom and Dad! I can''t oppose her! ¡°~More!~¡± ¡°~Aah!~¡± Argh! Why does Sharid sound so excited!? This hurts my pride! She didn''t scream like that when I screwed her! What is worrisome that it has been hours since the process started. Is it possible to break someone''s mind with unending pleasure? Was that my mother''s plan? Though, it sounded more like she intended to have Sharid feel pain. Knowing my mother¡¯s skills with alchemy, I can barely believe that she messed up with one of her remedies. ¡°This is totally unexpected. That girl seems to have some guts. She might be really good material for our family,¡± Ireth talks to herself, apparently changing her mind about Sharid''s worthiness. ¡°I will take a walk outside.¡± Angrod leaves the room with a grumpy expression. ¡°~Magnnificiennt!~¡± My eyes wander to my sister who regained her senses. It looks like she knows more than me because Seria just winks and then returns to playing the kowtowed miscreant of the family. Finally, the screams calm down after what felt like an eternity. The doorknob turns and Sharid stumbles back into the room, covered in sweat and tired, but alive and standing. She remains at the entrance, holding onto the bathroom''s door to balance herself. ¡°That was the ~best~. Did I pass the test?¡± She smiles and surveys the room, looking for a hint of acceptance among the family members. I frown, noting that my fianc¨¦e¡¯s appearance changed. There are red and black locks of hair added to the single white one. Two horns are crowning her head like a tiara and a long black tail is curling cutely behind her. Sharid notices me staring. ¡°Why are you looking at me like that? Something behind me?¡± Sharid turns around, stumbling over her own dandy legs in the process, clearly unused to the weight of an additional appendage. ¡°~Gyaa!~¡± The door-knob breaks off with a ''snap'' and goes flying as she falls backwards onto her butt. Sharid immediately gets onto all fours and crawls to the large mirror at the cottage''s entrance, mewling in horror all the way. Once there, she settles down and paws her mirror image like a cat fighting its own reflection. ¡°~Nyarrrr!~ Tail! Horns!? My hair! I look like a striped zibra from the red desert of Dira!¡± She turns red when she notices that her newly grown tail ripped her trousers and immediately tries to cover her perfect butt. ¡°What happened to ~meeee~!¡± ¡°Whatever a striped zibra is... your metamorphosis should have hurt!¡± Celes complains with a sulky voice. ¡°Of course you failed the test! I have to rework this serum. Something went seriously wrong! You should have never been able to endure this. Nobody who can avoid it does!¡± I form a silent ''O'' with my mouth, realizing that Mom turned Sharid into a Chimeran. Into a demon-kin to be exact. And like all Chimerans, Sharid had to go through the most dreaded trait of our physiology, something any Chimeran who ever lived would curse Seria for ¨C if they knew who to hold responsible for our fucked-up biology. ¡°Could you please get Sharid a bathrobe,¡± I address Rose and the maid nods, returning with a simple robe for Sharid to cover herself. ¡°But it did hurt like hell,¡± Sharid confirms, baffling Celes. ¡°Mom, one of Sharid''s divinities is... Masochism,¡± Seria points out some vital information, providing the final clue to Celes''s puzzlement.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Sharid tries to stand upright, but fails miserably, so I jump to her side and assist her. ¡°What?¡± Celes eyes her newest daughter in law. ¡°That explains it,¡± Ireth mumbles, stroking her forearm in contemplation of this development. ¡°Anyway, there is no longer a problem withher heritage.¡± Katrine nods to herself. ¡°We can just say that she is the sole surviving member of a small branch family. Nobody will dare to question us if we play our cards right.¡± ¡°Bullshit!¡± Celes pulls a device out of her clothes and holds it towards Sharid''s head. ¡°But it seems like the serum worked just as intended. Hmm. Everything should be fine. No abnormalities...¡± Then she waves it downwards towards my fianc¨¦e¡¯s tail. The device beeps angrily, hinting at some kind of complication and making me tense up. ¡°Is something wrong with me?¡± Sharid looks up at Celes, waiting for a verdict with tears in her eyes. Celes frowns and points the device at Sharid''s tail and then at her belly, getting the angry ''Beeb'' again. Suddenly, Celes''s body blurs and I feel my earlobe being almost ripped off as she pulls me down to the ground to kneel before her. ¡°Ow! Strength freak!¡± I quickly shut up when I realize that my mother''s eyes are glowing red. She is seriously pissed off. ¡°Why is she pregnant!¡± Celes demands. Sharid turns white. ¡°I feared something like that...¡± I feel a little dizzy. ¡°We- we did it just once!¡± I point out sheepishly. Sharid warned me of her curse and her bad luck, but honestly, I didn''t believe that I could be unlucky enough to score full points from just one happy encounter. ¡°Big Brother''s pull-out-game is terrible. He was on top,¡± Seria confirms mercilessly, nodding to herself and inadvertently shifting most of the blame for this towards me. ¡°Twins!¡± Celes screams at us with all the outrage of a mother having caught her stupid kids with an unplanned and unapproved pregnancy. Damn it all, I thought I could enjoy my youth for a little longer. Maybe a few shared months of innocent youth with Sharid. Ireth smacks her forehead. ¡°This offspring of mine.¡± She looks at Katrine and my grandmother nods. ¡°They became too fertile since our days.¡± The door opens and Angrod returns to the living room. He freezes for a second and surveys the room, sensing that something is up. His eyes check our faces and he nods. ¡°Those are the ''Oh-Shit-Baby!'' expressions.¡± Clearly needing a second time-out, he turns and walks right back outside again. ¡°Get up, Sharid. I will help you into the chair.¡± I pull her to her feet. She still hasa shocked expression on her face and doesn''t resist me when I lower her into one of the chairs at the dinner table. Dazed, she inspects her hair, tittering, ¡°Aengus, do you still like me if I look like this? It feels like I have been defiled. And what about this!¡± She points at her belly, unconsciously using her tail to do so. ¡°Gah!¡± Realizing what she did, she catches the new appendage and starts wrestling with it to no avail, as it seems to have a mind of its own. Giving up, she instead hugs me around my waist with tears in her eyes. ¡°It''s fine! I love you no matter how you look! Actually, it suits you! I find it sexy! And the kids are ours!¡± I pat her head while I glare at Mom who is still fretting over Sharid''s successful trial. ¡°Sharid passed your test and it''s not like we are not adults who can''t decide what they want.¡± ¡°Tch!¡± Upon seeing my determination, Celes forces herself to smile. ¡°Fine! There is no point in repeating the trial. The pervert will just get more excited if I tune the serum. Welcome to the family, daughter!¡± Suddenly, a deep vibration shakes the entire building and Sharid clings to me with a scared expression, her eyes round with terror. ¡°What was that?¡± She looks towards the window. ¡°Why is it pitch-black outside?¡± ¡°Daddy is playing outside!¡± ¨C ¡°Yes!¡± ¨C ¡°Lookie!¡± The triplets storm out of the room, yelling with an excitement only children can have when something unforeseen happens. We follow, only to find Angrod doing stretching exercises on the veranda with a relieved expression. ¡°What happened, dear?¡± Celes walks up to him and then she looks up. ¡°Not again! I liked that moon! It had all those little nooks and crannies a moon should have!¡± Angrod blinks, trying to play the innocent. ¡°Nah, I didn''t do anything. Just relieved some stress. This whole situation got me a little worked up.¡± ¡°The moon...¡± Ireth whines, apparently just as attached to the thing as my mother. Angrod turns and looks at the sky. ¡°Which moon?¡± ¡°I hope you get me a new one,¡± Celes complains. ¡°And not a yellow one again. I hate that colour.¡± ¡°He did it again.¡± Seria harrumphs. ¡°Did this planet have a moon? I wonder...¡± Angrod turns and walks towards me. ¡°Son!¡± Sharid jumps and hides behind me while holding onto my clothes and hissing, ¡°You said that he isn''t dangerous! ~Liar!~ Did he really just destroy a moon?¡± ¡°Sometimes, when he gets worked up,¡± I whisper, feeling her wobbling behind me, unable to keep her balance with the new tail. Suddenly Angrod brings forth a package from a dimensional pocket and offers it to me. ¡°You can put it to better use than I can! There are times when men just have to accept the windings of fate. Think of it as an early wedding gift.¡± I take the package and shake it, too suspicious of the contents to simply open it right then and there. There is a headband with cat-ears on top of it. ¡°What''s inside?¡± ¡°It''s my highest quality cat-costume! It''s a legendary equipment which I enhanced a little with magic! At first I didn''t want to admit it, Aengus, but when I heard Sharid''s screams I had to give up. You found the perfect wife, son. Put it to good use!¡± He puts a hand on my shoulder and smiles at me. ¡°But before you stick it in again don''t forget that... she probably doesn''t have complete control over her southern region, if the tail serves as an indication.¡± I pale. Sharid pulls at my sleeve while using me as a shield against my father. ¡°Whaat dooees hee meeaan?¡± She asks with long, elongated words, clearly afraid of hearing the answer. Angrod snickers and shakes his head. ¡°On the other hand, you are already down shit creek. It shouldn''t matter if there is one more mishap...¡± Celes steps closer and takes Sharid by the upper arm, pulling her away from me. ¡°Girl, we should probably have a long discussion about demon-kin physiology before you maim my son.¡± ¡°Maim?¡± Sharid squeaks. ¡°I would never!¡± ¡°Not if you are properly trained... which is why we need some carrots...¡± Celes sighs, clearly not cherishing the idea of giving Sharid ''the talk'' about the bees and the flowers. Seria joins in and tries to encourage her friend. ¡°Don''t worry, Sharid. We can help you to get this... little issue¡­ under control¡­ it¡¯s manageable.¡± Sharid looks worriedly back and forth between Celes and Seria until her eyes fall onto the gift I got. ¡°~GYAA!~ Can''t be! Those are from Mom''s best set! She described them to me at least a thousand times! Our brothel''s income went down by ten percent since they were stolen!!¡± Sharid wobbles towards Angrod, having forgotten her fear. ¡°~~~Filthy Thief! Die a thousand deaths!~~~¡± Angrod just smirks at her without an ounce of shame and straightens his shirt. ¡°You should know better than to use Siren''s Voice against me. I was the one who bestowed that skill on you after all. What I took from your mother was payment in exchange for her daughter''s excellent abilities.¡± Celes only looks at Angrod like he is filth. ¡°Angrod, don¡¯t dig your own grave any deeper¡­ and which skills exactly are you responsible for? Is this somehow related to your ¡®other¡¯ side?¡± My father stops smiling and clears his throat. ¡°I may have picked up one or the other skill during my female reincarnations. I bestowed all my best powers which I brought to perfection during those times onto her!¡± He points at Sharid. ¡°Curses!¡± Sharid complains. ¡°Gifts!¡± Angrod corrects, and then admits, ¡°If you can control them.¡± ¡°~Honey bear?~¡± Celes stops the exchange with her sweetest voice. ¡°Yes, sugar cat?¡± ¡°Just shut up and follow me.¡± Celes takes Angrod by the hand. ¡°Seria, I trust you to get started with Sharid¡¯s training.¡± Celes leads Angrod back into the house while the rest of the family stares after them with perplexed expressions. ¡°Why did daddy make the moon disappear?¡± The triplets look at us with disturbed expressions. Chapter 97 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** I scratch my chin in contemplation as I study the old fresco in the Crystal City¡¯s inner sanctum, a place that is rarely visited by outsiders even nowadays ¨C and wasn¡¯t accessible to the public until we took the Crystal City as our own. The Council had a vested interest in keeping this particular piece of art well hidden since it is quite obvious proof that they didn''t create the Crystal City. Admittedly, seeing this fresco gives a new perspective on some things I have wondered about ¨C given how unhelpful Warden has been regarding the past. The AI is strangely silent about anything that could ¡°influence the current iteration of creation.¡± It also raises many questions. Whether Warden''s tendency to call the multiverse ''creation'' is a simple translation error, or whether there is some deeper meaning to the phrase. Did the Ascended have a different way of seeing things and it somehow ended up being hard-coded into Warden''s crystal core? Maybe the crystal AI is unable to see things any differently from its creators. A mind that has to withstand the aeons would need a certain stubbornness to persist against the boredom of time. What would it be like to watch the same drama play out again and again with only minor changes? My eyes search the ceiling as I try to ignore the three-dimensional effect of the fresco. The picture tends to draw the observer in, distracting from the details. The mysterious scene shows an army of mythical creatures facing the onlooker while seemingly defending a multitude of worlds in the background. Just that these worlds aren''t depicted as planets, but landscapes... which are likely dimensions, or entire planes of existence? What the army has to face isn¡¯t just the observer, but an emptiness that is closing in on them from all sides. For good or for ill, their enemy isn''t clearly shown and remains unclear at the picture''s corners, always escaping the onlooker''s sight. The creator of this image was an evil mastermind because the spectator''s interest is naturally drawn to what isn''t there. Yet, the three-dimensional effect of the picture is playing the observer in a way that causes the unseen attackers to shift out of focus as soon as he tries to take a look. I snort. It''s like someone tried to create a real-world application of the observer-effect. The observer can only see a hint of an encroaching darkness if he is standing directly at the centre of the sanctum and looking at the defending army. From any other point of view, the fresco which was somehow embedded into the crystal ceiling is just a mundane piece of strange art. The way the scene is depicted makes the battle look less like an act of defence and more akin to a last stand. But a last stand against what? The Calamity? Foremost and given more details than the other figures is a towering titan clad in shadow with a magical formation around him. At his side is a succubus-like woman who is striking out in what is clearly a martial arts stance. I frown and reach up, summoning the shadows to wrap around my arm which makes it look eerily similar to the man''s shadowy-form. As of yet, this new ability of mine escapes any attempt at a scientific explanation. I tried to compare it to Tanja''s shadow magic, but while my childhood friend''s speciality is an understandable spacial skill which only allows her to translocate through space, mine is more primal, somehow taking complete control of space to the point of allowing me to create a small pocket dimension which I can use as a personal storage space. The people who saw it called it ''shadow'', but the skill is so much more ¨C and certainly has nothing to do with the absence of light. I only discovered this aspect of my ability after accidentally dumping my familiar into this pocket dimension. Ghost is still a little grumpy about that ¨C staying far away from me when I play with my ability. There are also none of the magical formations which are necessary for any normal spell ¨C which makes this ability of mine an inherent skill. Something like Nicosar''s regeneration ability. I cross my arms behind my back and return my attention to the fresco, hoping for some kind of insight. If Warden''s hints about his creator''s curse are true, then the man didn''t see any necessity to leave behind some useful clues for his consecutive incarnations. Did he fear to create a true time-loop if he left too much information in the Crystal City? Or was he so sure of his spell that he didn''t deem it necessary? That is, if Warden''s claim that the Crystal City is a constant of the multiverse holds true. The very idea defies my common knowledge of physics. Why would there be something that''s recreated the exact same way throughout every iteration of the multiverse if there is no guiding force? There must be something that transitions over from one iteration to the other. My attention wanders to one of the other detailed characters, a woman with two sets of wings, one of light and of darkness. She is riding some shape-shifting beast, half man, half creature of myth. My introspection is interrupted when Nix approaches me, looking up at the fresco. ¡°I doubt that there is anything you can learn from that.¡± I shrug. ¡°Just looking for clues. If I manage to identify more characters in the picture, we may be able to awaken their transcended abilities as well.¡± ¡°Transcended?¡± Nix raises an eyebrow. I sigh. ¡°Just a little moniker I came up with. There are the mortals; the immortals, who gained access to their past memories; the ascended gods, who can see and use the power of the pathways...¡± I wave up at the fresco and summon a little bit of my shadow. ¡°And there are the transcended ones, who apparently have a deeper connection to ''existence'', as Warden would put it. I am unable to quantify this significant detail at this point.¡± ¡°You are implying that there is something more than just ascendancy to godhood?¡± Nix purses her lips, thinking. ¡°What if those people in the picture are just as fucked up as the Chimerans, and your new skill is just another aspect of your divinity. Or, what if they simply come from all those different dimensions in the background?¡± I raise my eyebrows. ¡°I assume that if that is the case, wouldn''t we see armies of different types of people?¡± She rolls her eyes, showing me that she is not a fan of spinning theories in this manner. ¡°Why don''t we go to the meeting with the other Alliance members. I originally came here to get you, not to theorize about what an ancient artist might have thought of when he created the fresco. Maybe the things you are trying to make sense of are just ''artistic freedom''.¡± I deflate. ¡°I know, but anything is better than listening to these idiots cry about yet another Sphere activating. It isn''t like we can do anything about it ¨C aside from cleaning up the aftermath.¡± I continue to complain as we walk to the meeting room where the representatives of the Alliance are waiting. It isn''t like these annual meetings can be avoided.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Three hours later, I am left wondering why I didn''t try to talk Celes into representing the Chimerans. Given her split personality, she might have freaked out and murdered everyone in the room. ¡°This is not enough, Angrod! We need more forces!¡± Gwalonna complains. Her insistence for my people to solve every little problem irritates me. It''s true that the Chimerans are the most powerful force at the moment, but even we can only do so much. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡± I ask and gesture wildly at the numbers. ¡°Every Chimeran who can fight is fighting. I won''t send our civilians out there.¡± I stop myself and try to remain calm as I answer Gwalonna. ¡°It may seem cruel, but the mortals who get converted into fiends aren''t much of a threat. If we start using armies of inexperienced gods to fight these random outbreaks we might do more harm than good. The soul of a converted god is indefinitely more powerful than a few million converted mortals.¡± ¡°But it is true that more spheres than ever before activated in the recent year,¡± Carne points out. I wave my hand. ¡°Statistics! These things will keep occurring. Sometimes there are more, sometimes less. We can''t pay so much attention to a single outlier to the statistics, especially not if the multiverse at large is at risk. The most important thing is that our containment measures around the black hole stay in place. I am not willing to reroute a single fortress to another task.¡± Settled planets are being devoured or destroyed out there every day. Be the reason the Calamity or some cosmic event. We just don''t have enough fighting power to cover every planet. Gwalonna thinks that I can order my whole planet of gods to walk out there and start smiting the fiends just like the other societies did. To her, it looks like we are withholding our forces. But most of our people are civilians. Even if they regained their memories, their current incarnations don''t have the fighting spirit to use their powers correctly. It is not as easy as to just remember a previous life and become a perfect warrior from one moment to the next. Your body has to be trained and your reflexes honed. That is ninety-nine percent of what decides a fight. ¡°You are welcome to go to Chimera and take a look at the people who are left there. I already asked everyone who has the confidence to take on a fiend for help. The people who are left on Chimera would be victims in front of those things,¡± I try to explain. ¡°Gwalonna, you forget their history. You can''t expect the same rate of militarisation from the Chimerans as of other godly societies. Most of our people have lived as gods for thousands of years. The Chimerans regained their powers only a few decades ago. It could take another few centuries until they are on the same level as us. And aren''t they doing more than enough with their crystal ships?¡± Mawu makes a calming gesture to reign in his fellow representative. ¡°That''s right. I went for a walk through one of their cities when I was on a visit there. Most of those people are as harmless as mortals. If you put them in front of a fiend, they would freeze up or run away. They are chickens. Sorry to put it like that, Angrod.¡± Unexpectedly, Carne speaks up for my sake, even if his words aren''t exactly flattering. ¡°No offence taken. It''s the truth,¡± I admit. ¡°Our power comes mainly from our crystal technology and our elite-troops, not our civilian population. Our ships are all out there and the shipyards are running hot. We even gave the ships which we didn''t have the manpower to crew to the Arcane Community. They had the most people who would be able to use them without much training.¡± Chiffre scratches his cheek with his mechanical arm. ¡°That''s true. They are very interesting pieces of technology. And they are all deployed.¡± ¡°I am sorry. I just want to stop this senseless destruction.¡± Gwalonna leans back in her chair and says nothing more, looking tired. It seems like she just needed something to vent her anger. But we are all feeling powerless facing the current situation. She isn''t entirely wrong. The rate at which the dormant Spheres are activating increased this year, almost overwhelming our attempts to control the Calamity. Depending on the fighting power we need to save a single world, we more often than not had to give up quite a few others entirely... ranging in the hundreds to thousands. If our people don''t get to a world shortly after a Sphere''s activation, the only remaining choice is to blast the entire thing to pieces. A guard appears in the room, interrupting the meeting. ¡°I am sorry to interrupt, but there is something that wishes to talk to all of you. It looks like one of those fiends, but it seems to be sentient. It says that it has a message for you.¡± ¡°Where is it?¡± Zanders jumps out of his chair. ¡°On the plaza in front of the central tower. It just appeared there.¡± The guard wets his lips, almost not daring to mouth his theory as his expression turns worried. ¡°Apparently, it can use pathways.¡± Even the lowest of a soldier in our society has an education above any mortal king. The man came to his own conclusions about the implications of a fiend with the ability to go anywhere within the multiverse. ¡°If all of those things can use pathways now, we are in deep shit!¡± Miruliru disappears. She didn''t wait for the rest of us. One after the other we follow Miruliru. I teleport directly to the designated destination and find the plaza empty. Earlier, it was buzzing with life and now there isn''t a single soul to see. Except for a lonely fiend and a group of guards around it. The fiend holds a crystal sword ¨C probably looted from a fallen warrior. The creature is a little bigger and looks more humanoid than the normal ones, although its face is still a creepy mien of black sludge. As our group walks closer, the demon starts speaking. ¡°Wonderful! Everyone is here, so we can tell you how this will work.¡± ¡°Why should we listen to a creature like you!¡± Carne shouts out a very undiplomatic question, but the demon isn''t irritated. ¡°It''s easy. To save your puny existence! If you don''t comply, we will continue to eat and corrupt the mortals until there aren''t much of them left. Afterwards, we will come for you!¡± It points at us. ¡°So what are your terms? And who is ''we''?¡± Gwalonna asks, angered by the creature''s boldness. ¡°We are the Calamity. If you fulfil our demands, we will retreat with our forces back into the black hole. All we want is for you so give us the monthly sacrifice of a god. Mortals aren''t as filling as the Ascended. And as a bonus, we want him!¡± The thing points at me. ¡°He is a little confused. There is no way that I am going to sacrifice any of my people,¡± Carne whispers to us. ¡°Why?¡± I ask while I ready myself to summon my staff. ¡°What do you get from absorbing souls ¨C aside from getting more deranged with everyone you take. You must be aware of what it does to you. And why would you want me?¡± ¡°Because you stood in our way for long enough! Bright One! Your soul always interferes with us, throughout all of your reincarnations! You are a menace! First, you banished us into the black hole where we had to starve! And then you interfered with our food source when you stopped the Council! This will end!¡± The creepy thing smiles at me, forming an empty hole in its tar-like face. ¡°So you are starving inside that black hole? Thanks for the confirmation! I guess once we manage to wipe out your agents and fiends, it''s your end.¡± It is my time to smile at the creepy thing. ¡°You hope for too much. Our true body may not be able to leave the black hole, but our fiends will be more than enough. We have anticipated that you won''t throw your life away for others! You always preferred to sacrifice someone else in order to escape us. But this time, we have captured something precious to you!¡± The thing throws the crystal sword to my feet. It''s a thin blade which is a little longer than the standard version and covered with runes. I should have recognized it sooner, but my whole attention was on the creature. The blade. I made it for Aengus. ¡°We caught the one you call ''son'' in your current reincarnation. His fiancee is also in our hands. Funny, that she is one of our former agents. Maybe she will like it once we return her to the fold. Being one of us isn''t painful, you know. It''s peace, being part of something greater. If you sacrifice yourself, you can have that too...¡± Anger taking away my reason as I let go of my power, allowing the shadow to spill forth as my perspective changes, my body growing as the other representatives are pushed aside by my aura and my true form. The fiend slowly changes the angle of its head, looking up to me. ¡°That is... new...¡± I growl and reach out, my hand enclosing the hellish creature and lifting it up before it can react. ¡°I will come for you. Just wait there in your safe, little, black hole. I will tear you apart and find the insane personalities which are responsible for your actions. Then I will create a new plane for all of you! And there, the word HELL will take on a wholly new dimension!¡± I rasp, my new form''s tongue crackling like burning coals with every word. Then I squeeze, the creature''s tar-like substance spilling forth from between my fingers as it lets out a shriek that is cut short. ¡°You just killed the envoy!¡± Carne complains from the sidelines with a slightly affected voice as he watches the fiend''s fluids dripping onto the floor. I turn my gaze on him while trying unsuccessfully to clean my clawed hand on the plaza''s ground, only succeeding in spreading out the mess I made. Like some child experimenting with finger-paint. ¡°Aaah...¡± Carne clears his throat. ¡°He deserved it, no arguments there, we would have offed the thing anyways.¡± The other representatives nod quickly. I don''t answer, knowing that my voice is a little creepy in this form. Instead, I concentrate on pulling the shadows back into myself, standing back among them in my Chimeran form only moments later. If this thing said the truth, I might be able to get Aengus back. Wasn''t he supposed to visit Sharid''s homeworld? They should have been able to run if there was an attack there. No matter, since I wisely placed a spy with them. If I act quickly, I may be able to find them in time. Chapter 98 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Angrod, do you even have an idea of where to search!? Why did you kill that guy?¡± Miruliru nags while following behind me as I walk back towards the administration tower. ¡°Give the man some space,¡± Carne interjects. ¡°He just learned that his son and daughter in law were abducted and it¡¯s doubtful that the Calamity¡¯s fiends can be interrogated anyway.¡± Miruliru frowns, clearly displeased, but she has to concede that Carne might have a point. ¡°You are most likely right about that. Though, it doesn¡¯t change the point that we should have tried at the very least! I kind of like Sharid, so I want her back if there is even the slightest chance.¡± ¡°I will find them, no problem. I just need a few strong guys to go in and out without giving the Calamity time to act.¡± I wave at a guard who overheard the conversation and he nods, vanishing immediately to gather the best of my people. ¡°And there is no point in interrogating the fiends since they are all linked to the Calamity. Even the former Council members didn¡¯t know anything of value and their souls were only partly taken over.¡± Miruliru shudders. ¡°I keep forgetting that you are apparently unaware of the existence of more subtle methods of interrogation. Like tricking the enemy into telling you something of value.¡± ¡°I would never know whether the other party is telling the truth!¡± I complain and wave my hand in a dismissive gesture. ¡°Anyway, if my wife finds out that something happened to Aengus, I am dead meat!¡± I chuckle, feeling like I am about to lose it. ¡°No, worse! She will gut me!¡± ¡°You should try to calm yourself,¡± Miruliru suggests. ¡°The worst thing you can do right now is to make rash decisions. I am sure that Celes can be calmed down once she hears about this¡­ maybe¡­¡± ¡°I wish I could have those times as an evil scientist back!¡± I grumble. ¡°Less power, but nobody to care about! Everyone is just a resource for the next experiment. Those were good times!¡± Nowadays, I am stuck with having to worry about the fate of the whole multiverse because I happen to live in it! ¡°Let''s continue this conversation in the conference room.¡± I teleport back to our previous location in the conference room. The needed fighters should arrive shortly, so it is time to gather some information. I activate a big screen at the wall and enter a security code. ¡°Warden, I need a secure connection with our special spy, Enyo. The codeword is ¡®Spank¡¯!¡± While I am at it, the rest of the ambassadors arrives to observe the further proceedings. ¡°Excuse me?¡± Warden¡¯s voice sounds insecure. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want this project to remain a secret?¡± ¡°You heard me, Warden. Connect us now!¡± Come on. My order wasn¡¯t that hard to understand. ¡°I am sure that you listened in on everything and are aware of the situation. These are extraordinary circumstances.¡± ¡°As you wish. Though, you should choose another codeword later on. It''s inappropriate and you had listeners,¡± the AI points out and displays a hologram at the wall which is supposed to show our spy¡¯s condition and its general surroundings. I sigh. ¡°Thanks, Warden. Now the connection.¡± It''s annoying, but the positioning signal of my spy is very weak. It''s almost not there, as if something is blocking the signal. ¡°Warden, give me a quick replay of the last twenty-four hours while you are trying to contact Enyo.¡± The hologram instantly lights up with Sharid and Aengus walking down a cobbled street. ¡°~Uwah!~ Everyone is looking at us!¡± Sharid clings to Aengus'' arm while my son is smiling like an idiot. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll protect you. Are demons somehow shunned on this world?¡± Aengus takes an interested look around, but the people who meet his gaze quickly avert their eyes. ¡°Not to my knowledge. On this world demon-kin, unlike real demons, are a rare species without a country of their own. There are no ill feelings towards them according to my knowledge,¡± Sharid informs him. ¡°We should have disguised ourselves as I suggested.¡± Aengus shoots another glare at a few thugs and they disperse into a sidestreet. ¡°Maybe you should do something about those menacing eyes?¡± She looks up and him and smiles. ¡°Actually, they are pretty. The problem is your expression.¡± ¡°I don''t want to. Those perverted leechers who are looking at you can shudder in fear under some stone for all I care.¡± Aengus throws another annoyed glance at a shopkeeper. They continue down the street in shared silence and Warden speeds up the recording until the brothel of Sharid¡¯s mother comes into view. Nothing has changed as far as I can remember. They stop at the door to take a look at the statue above it and Aengus grins as he recognizes the figure. A lightly dressed receptionist freezes at their sight. Then she turns and runs away while screaming, ¡°He is here! The demon is back! To your arms! Hide the dresses and the goods!¡± ¡°What was that about?¡± Aengus asks with a frown. ¡°Haah... I forgot that Mother personally trains all the employees to instantly take up arms in case that the ~Thief~ returns. I never thought that their indoctrination would run this deep.¡± Sharid¡¯s tail twitches a little, showing her annoyance. Suddenly, all the doors to the entrance room burst open and dozens of scantily clad women storm the room ¨C including a few men in spandex. Each of them is armed to the teeth with deadly weaponry. I scoff, wondering how my son could ever lose to these people. Was one of them a hidden servant of the Calamity? ¡°Sharid, are you sure your mother manages a brothel?¡± Aengus asks and gestures at the crowd. ¡°Looks more like an Amazonian mercenary guild. Though, I admit that has its own appeal.¡± ¡°They are just alarmed because you look very similar to your father,¡± Sharid whispers back. ¡°Someone who hasn''t seen him in person could easily mistake the two of you.¡± An older woman walks past the armed employees and takes a look at the interlopers. Very slowly, an expression of recognition comes over her face. ¡°You look like him, but you are not. In any case, this time around we are prepared for your ilk. There is nothing for you to steal here!¡± ¡°Mom, don''t you recognize me!?¡± Sharid complains, stepping up between Aengus and her mother. ¡°Sh- Sharid!?¡± Her mother''s eyes bug out in surprise. ¡°What happened to you?¡± ¡°~Hi, Mom.~¡± The mother''s eyes roll over in her head and she swoons, falling backwards only to be caught by one of her employees in the nick of time. Sharid quickly runs over to her mother''s side to pat her cheek, turning her into the centre of focus. ¡°Mom? Mom? Wake up!¡± Miruliru starts chuckling right next to me, causing me to turn around just to find that most of the ambassadors are grinning like fools. Naturally, they immediately steel their expressions when they notice me. The little goddess also clears her throat, trying hard to calm herself. ¡°Watching your family is like some soap opera.¡± ¡°Extended family,¡± I grumble, knowing that the inner circle is much, much worse, and return my attention to the surveillance footage. A new player enters the scene. ¡°Sis?¡± Sharid looks up and jumps the young woman who stepped out of the crowd of employees, hugging her and lifting her up. ¡°~Soel!~ So nice to see you again! You got so big. It isn''t even possible to cuddle you anymore.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Mmmhtommbigmmm.¡± ¡°Big Sis can''t understand you if you talk like that. ~Nyhaha!~¡± Sharid twirls around, spinning her sister like a flail and forcing the onlookers back. Then Sharid spots the other sister hiding behind a wall, dropping Soel and charging for her instead. The girl tries to bail but is obviously too slow to escape the goddess. ¡°Too ~slow~!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaa!¡± The employees just keep watching with shocked faces as the scene plays out, giving me no doubt that all their weapons are just for show. Then the footage is sped up once more as the characters move on to a more private setting in a living room. The mother is stretched out on the couch with a cold towel on her forehead, lamenting what brought this fate upon her daughter. ¡°How could this happen... how... my daughter got possessed by a demon.¡± ¡°Mom, I am not possessed. And I have to introduce my fiance. This is Aengus, the first prince of Chimera. His father may be better known to you as ~The Thief~.¡± Sharid takes Aengus'' hand while dropping the bomb of all bombs on her mother, using the opportunity asthe woman is already stretched out in a horizontal position. Her mother shoots up and looks at them with big eyes. ¡°F... Fiance? Prince? The Thief''s son? No! Not even if he is the king of a fucking country! I never even heard of Chimera! Have you forgotten everything I taught you about marriage? It''s bad for income!¡± Niel''s eyes turn round and she starts searching for something in mother''s documents. ¡°Mom! Look! Look!¡±The girlshoves some old status plate into her mother''s face. ¡°Angrod, King of gods. Divine ruler of the Realm of Chimera!¡± ¡°Actually, I am not the prince of a puny country. I am the prince of a realm of gods. And this whole dirtball you are living on is under my father''s jurisdiction. So, please accept that I love your daughter. You can visit the marriage ceremony. Or not. It''s up to you. I don''t care.¡± Aengus gives Sharid''s mother a sadistic smile. ¡°Uhm... What does a god want with my mortal daughter! Have mercy! I need her as an heir!¡± Sharid''s mother doesn''t want to give up. ¡°I am a goddess now, Mom! And I won''t take the job! Having a family with Aengus is much better. The additions are already on the way anyway. And we want to go on a long journey together to have some fun before it''s time!¡± Sharid is truly merciless to her mother. The woman lies down once more and puts the wet towel back onto her forehead, trying hard not to hyperventilate. Then Niel jumps out from behind the couch and grabs Sharid''s hand. ¡°How did you become a demon, Sharid? What do I have to do to get out of here?¡± ¡°~Nyhahaha!~ Nothing big! You just have to learn everything you can and travel the world. Then you need to get the favour of a god. Then you climb the highest mountain and pray there until you almost die of hunger and cold. Afterwards, you need a god as your trainer. And then you have to almost die to ascend to godhood! When you managed that, you are almost done. The last thing left to do is to fuck a demon prince and fall in ~love~ with him! Surviving the introduction to his family is just a piece of cake from there.¡± The screen goes dark, causing me to suspect a malfunction, but then Enyo''s slithering voice assures me that Warden managed to establish a connection with our perfect spy. ¡°Sss... Massster! Why do wake me up at sssuch a time?¡± ¡°Where are you? Do you have a trail on Aengus and Sharid?¡± I have no time for this. ¡°I am inssside Sssharid''sss magical bag. Ssshould I get outssside?¡± Enyo answers immediately. ¡°Get out and find them!¡± Simple minds are surely a bother, but I didn¡¯t have the time to fix up Enyo properly. Given her current state, that might even be a blessing. I hear a fizzling sound and then the screen finally shows a first-person view of Enyo''s vision. It looks like she is in a dark cave. The viewpoint changes as Enyo slithers out of the bag, showing her new form. Miruliru gasps. ¡°What is she? Fur? Snake?¡± ¡°I am outsside. Sshould I ssearch with active sensors?¡± Eyno takes another look around, but there is nobody in the cave. ¡°No, don''t risk detection. Find Aengus and Sharid first!¡± I hope Enyo wasn''t discarded in the wrong place. Enyo starts to sidle along the ground, seemingly choosing a direction at random, but I know that it isn''t the case. I equipped Enyo''s new body with the latest technology before I gave it to Aengus. Vision, sound, smell, Enyo is the perfect spy. I suddenly realize that the room around me is completely silent, so I turn around to find out the reason. Everyone''s eyes are stuck on me. Some expressions show fear, some disgust, and a few curiosity. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Is that really Enyo?¡± Miruliru points at the hologram. ¡°Yes?¡± I don''t get the problem. ¡°I was so nice to repair her broken soul and give her an honourable occupation until I find the time to fix her completely.¡± ¡°And her body...¡± Gwalonna doesn''t dare to speak the words. ¡°Is a tail for a cat-suit with an anal plug.¡± I still don''t get the problem. ¡°It''s the perfect cover. Nobody would suspect a high-end spying device in such a disguise. ¡°Fascinating!¡± Chiffre comments. ¡°T- That''s worse than I thought! Sharid! And now Enyo! You are forbidden to choose any divine punishments from now on! You are the worst!¡± Miruliru explodes in my face. The majority of the ambassadors seem to share her opinion. I shrug my shoulders and turn back around, not wanting to deal with them right now. ¡°Enyo should be thankful. If I hadn''t repaired her soul, she would still be sitting in her cell, staring into a wall for another few million years. I shortened her path back to reincarnation considerably,¡± I mumble to myself while I observe Enyo''s progress. After having searched a long tunnel, Enyo suddenly slides into a crack in the wall of the cave and becomes silent. A few fiends pass her without taking notice and after a few seconds, Enyo moves on. She reaches a big cavern and there it is! A Sphere. Fiends are sacrificing people to the accursed thing and a slightly bigger variant is in a praying position in front of it. It looks just like the monster I slew at the plaza, but bigger and meaner! There are people waiting in rows to be sacrificed and on an altar slightly elevated above the others are Sharid and Aengus. They are unconscious and displayed like trophies, their clothes torn. Enyo sneaks forward and I summon my armour and staff in anticipation. Even if my people aren''t ready, I would go there alone if the situation demanded it. Thankfully, Nix, Tanja and Samuel arrived some time ago with some members of the royal guard, ensuring that I have at least some backup. I turn towards them. ¡°You all know what to do? Enyo has an emitter which is able to force open a pathway to my location. She will place herself right next to Aengus and Sharid and as soon as she activates, we go in. Taking Aengus and Sharid is our first priority. No heroic deeds.¡± ¡°I will go with you,¡± Miruliru announces confidently, followed by a nod from Carne. ¡°You are not armed!¡± I won''t take responsibility if something happens to her. ¡°I don''t need to be! I will just crush that Sphere. It''s a golden opportunity.¡± Miruliru draws two crystal daggers, causing me to raise an eyebrow. The weapons look eerily familiar, like something I left for Seria''s use in the royal armoury. Carne draws my attention away from the little goddess. ¡°I will join in too! I can''t allow a young maiden onto a battlefield without protection.¡± The little goddess purses her lips in disgust. ¡°Tch! Creep!¡± ¡°If it''s like that, I have to lend a hand,¡± Chiffre announces with a confident smile. Suspicious. If the ambassadors enter the lion''s den then¡­ But my thoughts are interrupted by Enyo. ¡°Massster! I am under the altar. Ssshould I sssend the sssignal?¡± I turn towards the group. ¡°Everyone, line up and touch me to follow onto the pathway.¡± After a few seconds, everyone is ready and I turn towards the screen. ¡°Send the signal Enyo.¡± Then I concentrate and a few seconds later I recognize the right pattern on a pathway in the direction of Sharid''s homeworld, so I enter the pathway and from one moment to the next, I am next to Aengus and Sharid inside the cavern with a whole group of deities at my side. I lose no time and detach the blades from my armour, fanning them out around our group. The closest fiend suffers a quick death as one of the blades separates the top half of its head from the rest of the body. The creature drops without a sound, proving that the latest adjustment I made to my crystal weapons works like a peach. Funnily enough, it was the Council''s light-weapons with their anti-healing qualities which inspired the idea. Mwahaha! No more instant healing! The new effect on my weapons drains the targets'' mana and disrupts their mana channels, leaving them unable to recover from even the slightest injury! ¡°We can''t use the pathways! There must be some sort of dampening field!¡± one of the guards who immediately went for the prisoners alerts us with Aengus over his shoulder. ¡°It''s a trap!¡± Carne kicks a rock into the maw of an approaching fiend, causing it to have a coughing fit. He summons a two-handed battle axe and splits the creature down the middle. ¡°The Sphere has to be the source of the dampening field! There are no other possible sources here!¡± Chiffre points at the Sphere and starts charging in its direction. I send two of my blades at the sphere, but they get blocked by the bigger fiend while a flood of the smaller ones pours into the cavern from a smaller tunnel. The big monster must be some updated version. It smacked my blades out of the air like nothing. Two of my guards start attacking the access to the cavern under Nix''s lead. They must know that they can''t hold the fiends forever, but killing them wasn''t their intention. With a rumble, the entrance caves in and stops the flood of fiends. Chiffre reaches the big one who is guarding the Sphere and deals out a thundering blow with his mechanical arm which transformed into a steam-puffing hammer. Again, the monster is unimpressed and sends Chiffre flying with a swipe of its claw. The situation turns chaotic as the rest of the fiends rushes us, leaving everyone occupied with at least five enemies. I deal with the normal ones who enter the protective sphere of my blades by intercepting them with my whirling weapons. Thrusting out a hand, I form a spell, but instead of attacking the incredibly resistant creatures directly with magic, I compress the air in front of the closest one. With the relaxation of the spell, my opponent is sent flying through the cave, the shock wave downing the rest of their group. Once stunned, it is easy to finish them with my blades. We have to deal with the Sphere and escape fast. Sealing the exits can be only a temporary solution. Once the fiends dig through the rubble we will be overrun. And there is still the possibility of a cave-in. Why do those creatures always build their warrens underground? The thought causes me to stop in my tracks. It''s not like... yeaaah... why not? I look up towards the stalactites at the ceiling which I previously simply dismissed as a part of the scenery. The big fiend is still busy with Chiffre who turned out to be like one of those bop bags. No matter how often you beat them down, they always get back up. Up until now, the fiend wasted its time trying to beat the ambassador into submission, but now it realized that it can also ignore the ambassador. Flinging the man right into our group, it charges towards our centre; going forthe unconscious prisoners. I reach up and give a little telekinetic push. With a ''Crack!'' one of the stalactites comes free and crushes the largest fiend, forcing the surrounding lesser ones to scatter. Now that the Sphere''s defender is gone,Miruliru makes an appearance, fading in and out of existence right above the Sphere only to deal a crushing blow. ¡°It''s gone! Get out of here,¡± I scream through the cavern. My people vanish one by one as they take the pathways, the guards with Aengus and Sharid being the first while the others grab every mortal in reach who survived the chaos. ¡°You won''t be so lucky forever! We will eat you!!!¡± The crushedfiend beneath the stalactite croaks a few nice parting words. ¡°Sorry. Maybe some other time.¡± I send one of my blades between its eyes, ending its physical existence. One survey of the room confirms that nobody living is left behind, so I take a pathway back towards the Crystal City. Chapter 99 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** ¡°It''s mine!¡± Chiffre holds tightly onto Enyo¡¯s body, pulling to the left. ¡°No! We have to free her!¡± Miruliru digs in her heels, pulling to the right. ¡°This is a technological wonder!¡± the overly enthusiastic researcher complains. ¡°A soul attached to non-living matter! This has to be researched and understood!¡± ¡°It''s a person, not a research object, you fool!¡± The little goddess is dragged along the floor by the far larger man, clinging to Enyo like an enraged Doberman. ¡°You don''t understand! This is the greatest discovery since the dawn of creation!¡± Chiffre tries to explain himself. ¡°The necessary knowledge to create something like this is staggering! Our people couldn¡¯t even attempt such a thing!¡± ¡°Ask the perverted creator how it is done and let go!¡± ¡°It''s against the pride of any scientist to be taught by someone else!¡± ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°Never!¡± ¡°Massster! Sssave me! I will rip!¡± Enyo twirls her free ends around the two idiots, trying to save herself from being distributed equally among both warring parties. I watch the scene with a bored expression while Miruliru and Chiffre are using Enyo to play pull the rope. There is no real point in involving myself, but¡­ Enyo is my creation. It would be a waste if she got destroyed over such an insignificant quarrel. ¡°Did you two ever consider asking Enyo what she wants?¡± ¡°Massster! Give me permission to ussse the sssecret weaponsss!¡± Enyo begs. Whatever. It''s only self-defence. ¡°Fine...¡± ¡®Splurt!¡¯ ¡°Waaah!¡± ¡°Eewww!¡± Suddenly, Enyo sprayed Miruliru and Chiffre with an oily substance, slipping easily out of their grasp in the process. Chiffre fell on his butt while Miruliru barely managed to keep standing, her shirt an oily mess. Using her regained freedom, Enyo slithers hastily towards me and wraps around the ankle of my left leg. ¡°Massster, I ssseriousssly doubted your intentionsss when you inssstalled thisss feature, but the lubricant isss a very ussseful weapon!¡± ¡°Come back here, Enyo! We have to get you a proper body. I will see to it that you get a good reincarnation.¡± Miruliru stretches a hand towards Enyo, confident in her offer. ¡°I am fine. No need for another body. Massster made very good work,¡± Enyo flatly refuses Miruliru¡¯s offer. ¡°Why? How can this be!¡± Miruliru slides to the ground, clearly unable to believe it. Then she looks at me, furious. ¡°You meddled with her mind!¡± I scoff. ¡°I thought that much is obvious. It was a mercy, considering that Enyo¡¯s soul is still too damaged to be supported by a real body. She was ravaged and twisted like nothing I have ever seen, even worse than El Shaddai¡¯s. If I hadn''t helped, it would have taken a few million years before natural healing would have allowed her to reincarnate once more. But even for me, it was hard to repair something with so many parts missing. I spliced the mental patterns of a snake into her mind until she heals the rest of the way on her own. That''s why she prefers this body for the moment.¡± And I chose a snake because it was fun. To be honest, I could have taken any animal, but Miruliru doesn¡¯t have to know that. ¡°You managed that...¡± Chiffre almost starts drooling onto the floor just by imagining the necessary techniques to accomplish such a feat. That guy is becoming creepier with every invention of mine he gets to see. ¡°I like my body,¡± Enyo confirms my explanation and adds as an afterthought, ¡°And ssserving the missstresss.¡± Miruliru drops to the ground, giving up while Chiffre takes some notes. With that little drama resolved I return my attention to the healers who took over Aengus¡¯ and Sharid¡¯s care as soon as we returned to the Crystal City after our successful snatch ¡¯n¡¯ grab. From the looks of it, they took no permanent damage, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be sure. ¡°Make certain to check their minds. Full containment measures for everyone we brought back until a mind mage checks them over,¡± I instruct and add as an afterthought, ¡°Although, I am no longer certain that our efforts matter. The multiverse might already be beyond help.¡± The others freeze up. ¡°What are you talking about!?¡± Chiffre stops taking notes about Enyo. ¡°Errr... nothing. Forget what I said.¡± I don''t want to explain it. Too much of a hassle. This could turn into an unnecessarily long discussion. ¡°No! What''s this talk about the multiverse?¡± Gwalonna doesn''t let go of the matter, also having overheard my ramblings. I sigh. ¡°It''s just an obscure theory of mine which I have been harbouring for some time now. I haven¡¯t mentioned it since I have no idea how to prove my suspicions¡­ and if I am right¡­ then we are screwed anyway.¡± ¡°Don''t talk bullshit and tell us what''s going on,¡± Carne demands. I tilt my head while thinking about the easiest way to explain. ¡°What exactly is a soul?¡± ¡°A quantum energy wave which incidentally acts as an information depository for any being it happens to resonate with ¨C namely us. Souls don''t come into existence, they simply are,¡± Chiffre gives me the ¡®out of the book¡¯ answer.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°That''s true, but you fell back on the old definition. A soul isn¡¯t only a medium that stores information for a biological body.¡± I gesture at Enyo. ¡°As I have proven with this little experiment of mine, a soul¡¯s connection to the physical world runs a little deeper than just influencing a few neural pathways.¡± I clear my throat. ¡°My theory is that a soul is to the multiverse as an observer would be to a quantum particle. It defines the multiverse through its experience. But, what''s the state of a quantum particle which has an observer and a particle which has none?¡± I fold my hands, expecting them to come to the same conclusion. ¡°The state of a quantum particle that''s observed is defined. One that''s not observed is undefined,¡± Chiffre mumbles. ¡°So without an observer...¡± I nod. ¡°So, a soul defines the multiverse by observing it through a physical body, therefore giving it substance. Through the presence of souls, our multiverse is stabilized in its current state. As far as I know, the number of souls throughout the multiverse seems to be finite with an undefined number of souls staying unconnected to a body. But there are always at least some observers. ¡°My question is, what happens to the multiverse if there aren''t enough observers left to define it? The Calamity is forcing all observers into a single being by merging everything into one.¡± I stretch my back, trying to work out the stiffness. ¡°And therein lies the crux of the Bright One¡¯s curse.¡± ¡°The curse!¡± Chiffre gasps. ¡°You think...¡± ¡°I strongly suspect,¡± I correct, ¡°that the reason why we couldn¡¯t find out anything about the curse that¡¯s supposed to defeat the Calamity is that it isn¡¯t a curse in the traditional sense at all. The Bright One found a way to change the nature of the multiverse. He created a state of existence which is directly opposed to the Calamity¡¯s goal, which is merging all souls into one. The nature of existence itself prevents the Calamity, or anything like it, from achieving a true victory ¨C ever.¡± ¡°Esoteric bullshit...¡± Zanders mumbles to himself. ¡°Do you really want me to believe that someone in the distant past had enough power to ¡®change¡¯ the nature of the multiverse? The rules of existence itself? Why didn¡¯t he simply create his perfect Eden?¡± I frown. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe it wasn¡¯t possible. Maybe this is his Eden.¡± Zanders tries to complain, but I stop him with a raised hand. ¡°Keep in mind, the Bright One¡¯s Eden could be your hell.¡± ¡°He could be right,¡± Chiffre nods. ¡°If he is right, then the Calamity¡¯s goal is impossible. As soon as it achieves its desire, the multiverse destabilizes and resets by its very nature! Warden told us how the Curse worked, but failed to explain the exact ''how''.¡± ¡°So, if there aren''t enough observers, the multiverse returns to an undefined state? If that¡¯s true, the size of the multiverse should be defined by the number of souls inhabiting it. We should be able to observe some kind of effect as the Calamity reduces the number of observers. Without proof, such a theory stands on very wobbly legs,¡± Chiffre comments on my theory. ¡°Why should we see a continuous effect and not a sudden collapse?¡± I counter. ¡°The multiverse is far more unstable than you think. There are many layers of reality that defy common logic. And maybe the loss of observers is responsible for a rather obvious phenomenon. Like the remnants of the first outbreak of the Calamity.¡± I wave towards the sky. ¡°Tell them, Warden, were there always Void Zones throughout the multiverse?¡± ¡°The Void Zones are a recent phenomenon that started to occur only after the first big fight against the Calamity. The following instances of the Ascended couldn''t explain the expanding zones where the natural laws of nature aren''t followed. Anyhow, the Void Zones stopped growing when the Calamity was sealed away, or at least the speed of their growth became very slow,¡± the AI confirms, for some reason not seeing this information as relevant to censor. ¡°So, the multiverse isn''t in its best shape as we see it now?¡± Miruliru¡¯s voice turns concerned. ¡°Unfortunately,¡± Warden affirms. Seems like they are starting to get the idea. ¡°The Void Zones are just the first sign that the number of observers is becoming too low. I asked myself what the undefined state of the multiverse looks like. Will it go ¡®poof¡¯ and everything ceases to be? Or will the multiverse just dissolve into one big Void Zone with strange undefined physical laws? That brings me to the last reason for my theory. The Void Zones are areas that don''t follow known rules, yet the space around planets which were placed in these zones is perfectly fine. Why is that?¡± ¡°Because there are enough observers there to locally stabilize the space.¡± Chiffre''s voice sounds very convinced now. ¡°So we have to increase the number of observers in order to avoid an unknown outcome.¡± ¡°How? They are in the belly of that thing above our heads!¡± Gwalonna waves at the black hole in the sky above the Crystal City. ¡°The last time I checked, things that go into a black hole don¡¯t come out, unless you have time enough to wait for the end of the multiverse.¡± ¡°We have to find a way to take those souls back,¡± Carne states the obvious. ¡°I will go back to my society and tell them what''s going on. We will try finding possible solutions.¡± Chiffre disappears without further ado. I keep contemplating the implications of my theory without finding any answers while the other ambassadors form a circle to discuss this newest revelation. After some time without satisfying results, they start leaving in order to inform their respective societies. I stay on the plaza, waiting while I watch the blue sunset, having no confidence that their efforts would yield any results. All of my solutions to the problem would be suboptimal, yet another way to buy time against an unavoidable outcome. The problem is that I dislike bad endings. I despise them. The only scenario with a good ending that comes to my mind could also be the ultimate bad end. The question is... am I mad enough to throw a coin to decide the fate of the multiverse? Because there is no way to be certain of the outcome. It would also mean for me having to fight a battle against everyone, on my own, since the others certainly won¡¯t stand for it. I stand up and walk with leisure towards the private quarters of my family, trying to figure out whether there is any point to increasing Chimera¡¯s war efforts. As I see it, all the crystal fortresses in the multiverse won¡¯t make a difference in the end. Celes should be done with her work. Surely, I can find her and try to find out how she thinks about this¡­ assuming that her nice side is in control. Currently, I have no desire to take a beating because I acted without telling her about Aengus¡¯ abduction. Our private quarters are at the top of the central tower. I could easily teleport there, but the small walk gives me time to reach a decision regarding the multiverse¡¯s future. And it is not an easy one. I find Celes inside our living room, wincing when I realize that she is taking care of Aengus and Sharid. Both of them are sitting on the big couch to the left side of the room with bedraggled expressions on their faces. Looks like my little delaying walk took longer than I wanted it to. When I enter the room, Celes looks in my direction with a furious expression. ¡°Why didn''t you tell me!? Aengus was in grave danger and you didn''t even give me a notice!¡± As expected, not telling her was an affront. I will get some harsh treatment for this, but I didn''t want her to risk her life. I am sure she would have charged into the Calamity¡¯s trap and kept fighting despite the odds. ¡°I am sorry, but there wasn''t enough time. I had to be as fast as possible.¡± Yes! Perfect excuse! Celes snorts at me and turns back towards Aengus, giving me the cold shoulder. I sigh, realizing that her better half seems to be in control, so I approach and hug my wife from behind. Hmmm, having a last feel before the end is surely nice. ¡°What else have you been up to? I feel that you are hiding something.¡± Celes''s tail wriggles around me in order to stop me from escaping. I swear it, the instincts of this woman are too good! ¡°Nothing, my love! I just had to discuss some heavy stuff with the ambassadors of the other powers. It really put a dent into my good mood¡­¡± I start explaining my theory to Celes who nods now and then with an unhappy expression. ¡°So you have any idea how to solve this?¡± Celes asks. ¡°More or less. But it''s a work in progress.¡± I grin at her. ¡°As I said, there is no definitive way to be sure.¡± ¡°Tell me!¡± Celes grabs my left earlobe, her fingers like steel as she pulls me down to her level. ¡°You won''t pull off a self-sacrifice again? I forbid it!¡± ¡°No! Nothing like that, sugar cat. By the way, look what I got back!¡± I pull Enyo from my left leg where she was holding onto me since earlier. Up until now, the cat-tail didn''t come to Celes''s attention, but now that she remembers the one time I actually got to use it on her, her expression turns disgusted. ¡°Isss it time for sssome action, massster?¡± Enyo asks expectantly. ¡°Where did you get that thing from!? I thought you had gotten rid of it by giving it to Sharid! And why can it suddenly talk!?¡± Celes takes a step backwards, her expression clearly torn between the desire to attack and to run away. I follow. ¡°You really thought that I would permanently get rid of the only weapon which is effective against you? I thought I would lend it to Aengus for a few years, but he doesn''t need it at the moment.¡± ¡°I already have a tail!¡± Celes hisses and turns, trying to flee the scene with me skipping behind her, wriggling toy in hand. Being the husband surely is the best. Chapter 100 ***The Crystal City*** ***Seria*** ¡°Glorious!¡± My mother storms into my office, her blue and golden regalia flaring out around her legs as she rams the door shut. Then she turns on me, one step bridging the distance between the entrance and me to bring her looming over my desk, allowing her to glare down on me as if I committed some lethal offence. ¡°It¡¯s happening! Exactly as you said it would.¡± I raise an inquisitive eyebrow, daring to play oblivious. ¡°What¡¯s hap-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play dumb with me, girl,¡± she growls. ¡°I am not in the mood for games. It¡¯s difficult enough as it is to wrangle with my two personalities.¡± ¡°Sounds more like three, the way you are talking,¡± I mutter, but press my lips together when I realize that Celes really isn¡¯t having the best of days. Better if I get to the point. ¡°So, he has had the idea and probably came up with the solution I described. Was he honest with you?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Celes punches the table with enough force to repel her fist back upwards, rattling the entire thing and causing my pencil-holder to fall over. I wince and reach out to rearrange my stuff back the way I want. If I did the same thing, every bone in my fist would be broken despite my godhood. Luckily, everythingin this roomis made out of Mana Crystal. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why I can¡¯t just tell him to get his act together,¡± Celes continues and cracks her knuckles. ¡°Maybe add a few good punches on top to set his head straight.¡± I lower my eyes to my paperwork ¨C which seems pointless now that the gears of fate are starting to turn. ¡°I¡¯ve explained multiple times that this is how things have to happen. The Calamity has its own pieces on the playing field and it is far better at this game than we are. Our enemy is only playing dumb to give us the illusion of security. In truth, it is already preparing for another reset. If we give it any indication that this iteration is different from the others it might change the rules of the game.¡± My mother sighs. ¡°And we don¡¯t want that.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± I play with a lock of my hair while looking up to her. ¡°Please don¡¯t waste my efforts. I really don¡¯t want to repeat all of this.¡± Waving a hand, I indicate the multiverse at large and myself. It¡¯s not like I have any bad memories, but being the only deity with a vast amount of life experience among my age group is annoying. ¡°Can you at least tell me why the Bright One didn¡¯t solve the issue the last time around? Do you have any new clues?¡± Celes asks. ¡°Why was it necessary for you to lose your memories?¡± ¡°Because it wasn¡¯t possible,¡± I reply, pondering how much I would be able to share without changing this iteration too far from the acceptable deviations. My former self was very insistent on the importance of staying as close as possible to the established timeline. ¡°The ploy I hatched to save the multiverse from an endless time-loop was quite devious I must say. Even now, the current me doesn¡¯t have all the pieces to my own game. Step one was to get Angrod and you back together and I had to make it look like some accidental happenstance to avoid the Calamity¡¯s attention.¡± I tilt my head. ¡°At least that¡¯s what my past self felt that I needed to know.¡± ¡°So, the past Seria left some records in the form of memories where the current you would find them once you returned to the crystal city. I wonder what would have happened if we left you back at Chimera,¡± Celes clarifies a point which I already shared with her previously when I was forced to involve her in the grand plan. I shrug. ¡°Nothing much. I had to return to the Crystal City at some point. It¡¯s doubtful that the former me truly cared whether that would have happened within a decade or two¡­¡± I let my voice trail off, leaving the rest to Celes. In order to assert dominance over the Council, the Chimerans had to take control of the Crystal City. As the princess of the royal family, my eventual visit to the place was a given. When I returned to the Crystal City as a child, my past self had already ensured that the Crystal City¡¯s AI, Warden, would secretly share a record of what I had to know with me. To say the least, the little scheming Seria was quite perplexed when she encountered a hologram record of her past self who tried to explain what was at stake. Apparently, the Bright One left a loophole in his curse, allowing people to cross over into the next iteration of the multiverse with their memories intact. For one reason or the other, at the end of the last iteration, he sent Seria onwards into the next iteration to ensure that things would happen the right way this time around.Stolen novel; please report. ¡°The Calamity already played this game too often, making it literally impossible to beat it. It knows our next steps before we do, which makes it almost impossible to perform a finishing move. The Calamity seems determined to reset this game as often as necessary in order to win, even if the Bright One already placed it in a checkmate. ¡°Seria, or I, decided that the only way to win was to hide my own endgame from myself. From the point of the old Seria¡¯s death, I was playing out a game of cards with a stacked deck. Seria thought this necessary to ensure that the Calamity had not even the slightest chance at realizing what was happening. She even set up a chain of events that ensured that her own memories got wiped. The current me is simply going through the necessary steps, hoping that she arranged for me to have the right cards at hand when I needed them. I can¡¯t tell you more, because I myself don¡¯t know why we need to do things the way they were prescribed by my former self.¡± Celes smiles at me. ¡°The question is, can you trust yourself? I knew the past you, and you were always a scheming one. While I never truly realized how long-reaching and interwoven your plans were, it is a new height even for you to turn yourself into one of the pieces on the playing field.¡± I blanch, feeling rather downtrodden. Mom is right. Being just a pawn to myself is a new experience. ¡°I must admit that my past self reached new heights. It must have been all that time in isolation inside the Void Zone. Otherwise, not even I could have come up with such a piece of twisted insanity.¡± ¡°You are the daughter of Chaos,¡± Mother points out. ¡°Though, the thing I really don¡¯t get is Sharid. Why her?¡± I scoff, ruing to admit that I haven¡¯t got a clue. ¡°There is also some Order within me, thanks to you. My old self told me to bring Sharid into the fold, but I don¡¯t know whether there is a reason, or if she is only a diversion.¡± ¡°A diversion?¡± Celes pulls a face. ¡°We are talking about someone who you set up with your own brother.¡± ¡°I know, I know. But you said it yourself, it stands to question whether my old self was trustworthy,¡± I point out. ¡°I have a feeling that she played the game for the game¡¯s sake¡­ and primarily to win. I am not even sure whether Aengus or Sharid were a part of her concern. The only thing she was adamant about was that you and Angrod together are the key to victory.¡± ¡°How could she even have known about Sharid?¡± Celes bites her lower lip. ¡°From now? Or from the previous iteration now?¡± I guess. ¡°I have no clue when the past me was removed from her timeline. Or I should rather say, how far the timeline of the previous multiverse progressed before she was forced to cross over.¡± Celes looks at the floor, clearly dissatisfied with this conversation. ¡°Be that as it may, I have to go back, or your father will wonder where I ran off to.¡± I allow myself a naughty grin and form an ¡®O¡¯ with my thumb and index-finger, thrusting ring-finger of my other hand through it. ¡°Make sure to give Enyo a chance. Dad¡¯s mind is assured to be distracted when he has something to play with.¡± Mom only glares at me and whispers, ¡°Once this is over, and if everything works out as intended, the two of us will have a looong discussion ¨C from mother to daughter.¡± She turns and opens the door to my office. ¡°And I promise you that you won¡¯t like it.¡± And with that, she steps out and slams the door shut. I slowly lower my hands, having no idea why I did that. My mind drew a blank and I just acted, pissing off Celes right before she is supposed to¡­ ¡°I am so screwed!¡± ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** I cuddle myself into the arms of my sleeping husband. The accursed tail is bound with a tight knot to the armrest of a nearby chair, ensuring that it stays there. One day, I will use that thing on him! Yesterday¡¯s revelations were scary, both those of my husband¡¯s and to learn that Seria really didn¡¯t pile one of her fantastic stories into my lap in a vain attempt to hide her deeds. I didn¡¯t truly believe her until Angrod came to me with his newest theory on the curse¡¯s nature. To believe that the whole multiverse is at a decisive pivoting point? I was on the verge of losing it when Seria tried to bring me into the fold of her plan. And to think that we almost lost Aengus! I don''t want to lose any of my family ever again. I am still hoping that the Arcane Community will find another solution, preventing the need for Angrod to execute his plan. They have many smart guys after all, so there is still hope. Maybe Angrod will find another solution, despite the old Seria¡¯s message. Though, Angrod didn''t sound hopeful when he shared his edited version with me. That bastard lied to me, his wife! He is trying to protect me the only way he knows how... My chest tightens in pain when suddenly conflicting emotions and thoughts wreak havoc on my mind, forcing me to hyperventilate. It takes a minute, but I finally manage to calm down. I am holding on, but Katarina predicted that my current personality may eventually lose to either one or the other extremes of my split soul. I quickly get out of the bed to get dressed, deciding that distraction is the best solution to deal with a problem that can¡¯t be solved one way or the other. For as long as I still can, I will avoid following the extreme suggestions of my two halves. Instead, I will try my best to choose the middle ground between the two. Taking my time, I make some breakfast for Angrod and myself. Ah, I almost forgot, but I could also take a look at Aengus and Sharid while I am at it. They were pretty banged up when they got caught by the Calamity. Sadly, I am afraid that the damage is more of a mental nature than physical. I set out towards the living room, but find an empty couch once I arrive. The two kids were supposed to bunk here for the night instead of running off to yet another adventure. Sharid and Aengus are gone! I turn around and walk quickly back towards the bedroom. ¡°Angrod! Angrod? Have you seen Aengus and Sharid?¡± I step next to the bed and shake him out of his sleep. ¡°Hmmm... no... why...¡± His voice is muffled beneath the pillows as he stirs in his sleep. Stupid sleepy head! ¡°They are gone! Do you know where they went? Did they say anything to you?¡± Angrod sits up straight and looks at me. ¡°What do you mean? Gone?¡± That''s when I hear a siren from outside the window and the light inside our room shifts towards red, indicating that we are under attack. ¡°We have a security breach,¡± Warden''s voice announces. ¡°Agents of the Calamity are trying to gain access to my crystal core and it seems like Aengus and Sharid are with them.¡± Chapter 101 ***The Crystal City*** ***Celes*** Angrod and I ready ourselves as quickly as possible, summoning our armour and weapons as we rush out of our bedroom. My new crystal armour solidifies directly on my body and two short crystal swords appear in my hands, all thanks to a storage ring that Angrod gave me. The armour is soft, almost like cloth, but is actually a nano-woven mesh of crystal chain-mail, the newest state-of-the-art in using Mana Crystal as a garment. I also still have my daggers which are concealed as hairpins, but for dealing with those demons I prefer something with a slightly longer range. ¡°How can Aengus and Sharid be aiding the Calamity?¡± I ask while Angrod instructs Warden to show us the precise position of the intruders, his staff in hand and brimming with energy. ¡°It looks like they were taken over, though, I don¡¯t know how that should be possible. I ordered the healers to check them.¡± He shakes his head. ¡°The Calamity must have concealed sleeper agents among our ranks. Once this is over, I will personally check each and every one of our mind mages! There is something seriously foul among our men if Sharid and Aengus got through the check-up unrecognized.¡± ¡°What do we do?¡± The normal protocol should be a total shutdown of all facilities until the guardsmen have dealt with the attack. ¡°Why is the Calamity even after Warden?¡± It makes no conceivable sense to me. ¡°It should have been able to take out the AI all along. Through the Council, the Calamity was in control of this city and it did nothing for aeons. Why is Warden suddenly important?¡± ¡°Warden seems to be one of the major factors which ensure the multiverse¡¯s status quo, so that makes it a primary target. If it is possible to take Warden out of the equation, our future iterations would know even less about their foe than we do now,¡± my husband contemplates. ¡°And Warden was inactive until we reactivated it. Was there any reason to carve the city apart in the search of the AI¡¯s core, leaving obvious traces that someone was trying to erase knowledge? But none of that is important right now. I have to get something! Go and help to protect Warden.¡± Angrod vanishes by using a pathway! Bastard! He didn''t bother to tell me about his plans! Seria¡¯s prediction was right on spot. But I have no time to worry. I have to do what I can for Aengus and make sure that things don¡¯t go horribly wrong! In the knowledge that I would have to be there anyway, I decide to use a pathway directly to the Main Tower¡¯s basement. After finding out about Warden''s existence, we ensured that it is heavily protected. Nobody has access to the AI¡¯s core except for a few selected individuals. Namely Angrod and me, and that should be it! So I don¡¯t understand how corrupting my son or his girlfriend could allow the Calamity easy access. Maybe Seria was right in her suspicion that our enemy has access to knowledge from the previous iterations. If that¡¯s the case, then my daughter¡¯s ploy was indeed our only option at winning. By using another pathway, I appear directly in a large chamber at the bottom of the central tower. Warden''s crystal core was relocated to this place because it could be easily protected with a localized dampening field, allowing only those with the correct aura direct access via a pathway. Everyone else has to fight their way through several security installations. All of our vital facilities are protected in this manner. Otherwise, anybody could just teleport in and out as he or she pleases. I appear directly in a fight between our royal guards and some people who look like normal citizens. Their clothes suggest that they are from different social circles; vendors, higher deities, even some of our own guards are among the attackers. It seems like the Calamity committed a major part of its spies to this operation. We were too lax in our security. There aren''t many restrictions on visiting or leaving the Crystal City, but there was also never an indication that the Calamity could turn and control so many puppets at once. These people were able to walk directly in front of our tower before starting their attack! A random-looking guy runs towards me and tries to stab me with a crystal spear, but from my point of view, his actions are slow. It is like he is moving through water while my own movements are unhindered, which makes him at most a lesser deity. I evade with a pirouette while one of my swords slashes down on his neck, cutting through his aura and claiming his head with ease. This is another difference between the Calamity¡¯s fiends and its puppets. They look and fight as if they were real deities. They even have auras, a feature which the Calamity¡¯s fiends lacked. They are to be pitied, but I won''t die here because I show mercy towards controlled people. My only concern is how to stop Aengus and Sharid, possibly without hurting them. They are weaker than me, that''s for sure, but I am not confident that I can stop Aengus without causing serious injuries. He has grown in the years since his awakening, travelling the multiverse on his own and increasing his skills, but he shouldn¡¯t be on par with me. ¡°Queen! You have to go into the sealed vault! Some of them got through before the reinforcements arrived! The ambassadors went after them,¡± a guard informs me of the situation and I turn to run inside the tower. Some of the ambassadors came to help? They were fast! Maybe a little too fast? Even if they heard of the alarm at the same time as us, how did they manage to react so quickly? I grit my teeth, remembering Seria¡¯s words as I leave the defenders behind to enter the inner vault. The only thing that matters is that I am in the right place at the right time. I find some guards at the vault¡¯s entrance, most likely dead, but I have no time to check on them, so I pass them by without so much as a second look. After a set of heavy blast doors, I arrive at the stairway which leads into the tower¡¯s secure basement and take the stairs with big steps, already hearing the sounds of a battle.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The basement''s arrangement isn''t complicated at all. There is just one, big, long hallway at the end of the stairway and the room with Warden¡¯s core at the end. Some smaller corridors spread to the left and the right, leading to offices and storage rooms that handle restricted information and banned objects. I step into the hallway and find a few guards and Carne, Miruliru, and Chiffre in a battle with several agents of the Calamity. Gwalonna is lying on the ground with Zanders taking care of her. Aengus and Sharid are clearly aiding the attackers, with Nix and Tanja trying to fight them off as best as they can. The Calamity¡¯s minions outnumber the defenders by a great margin, but that is not the problem. Our people are trying to spare Aengus¡¯ life, and that¡¯s what is costing them. It is only well and good that they have their backs towards me, giving me the needed time to decide on what to do next. Some precious seconds pass before I jump into the fight, cutting and hacking a bloody path in my son''s direction. Hopefully, the attackers who are still being held back at the entrance will be dealt with soon, allowing more reinforcements to arrive. A few of the attackers take notice and three agents dare to block my path. ¡°You dare to face me!?¡± I channel my mana into my weapons, sending out a wave of power that would have shattered any other place save for the Crystal City. Unleashing my aura immediately takes the momentum out of the enemy attack, giving the defenders time to form a line of defence in front of the entrance to the central control room. I evade one of my enemies and take a stab at the second one while ramming my shoulder into the third which sends him flying! My goal is Aengus, not wasting time with these peons. ¡°Aengus!¡± I scream at him, unbothered by the inconvenience the others pose. He only gives me a smug grin as he readies his crystal sword, turning away from Nix who has her hands full with a group of enemies. ¡°No worries, mother. Everything will end soon enough.¡± He slashes at me and I block the attack with one of my swords. ¡°Fight it! Did you forget who you are!? You aren''t like this!¡± I try to appeal to him, but there is no sign of bewilderment in his face. We trade blow for blow, allowing me to realize that he got much better with his sword all of a sudden. Blinking, I realize that I might not be able to subdue him in time. The battle heats up around us and I try to find an opening in Aengus''s defence while Tanja is busy with Sharid, also hindered by the fact that she is trying to spare her opponent. Suddenly, my feet are swept out from under me and I fall on my back, losing one of my swords which is sent clattering over the ground. Turning my head, I see that one of the lesser agents took a backstabbing blow at me from behind. Aengus kicks my second sword out my hand and raises his sword in order to end it, the tip of his blade pointing down at my chest. This can''t be! I want to scream but no words come out as I channel power through my internal pathways. My hand moves entirely by reflex as I catch the blade and completely hold its momentum. Aengus¡¯ eyes widen in surprise as I realign the weapon and push forward with all my might as I sit up. The weapon¡¯s hilt slips my son¡¯s grasp and rams through his chest plate as I propel myself upwards with my free hand. He stumbles but remains standing as he is pushed back by the sheer force of my thrust, the weapon¡¯s guard not allowing it to sink further in. Knowing that it is over, I pull it out which allows a steady stream of blood to exit my son¡¯s chest, leaving him to stare at the mortal wound. ¡°You have killed me, mother.¡± I grit my teeth and tighten my grip on the blade until it finally cuts through my skin. ¡°Haven¡¯t you looked at my son¡¯s memories, Calamity? I am a bad mother. My hands have already killed a daughter in this life alone. And I am one who prefers to give hard lessons.¡± He falls to his knees and looks up at me with an uncomprehending expression. Hissing in rage, I raise the sword against the facsimile in front of me. ¡°After taking Seria¡¯s life, what would stop me from killing a son?¡± The sword comes down like a hammer, caving in the thing¡¯s head. As I stare down at the dead body of my child, feeling empty inside, the room suddenly comes to life as it is filled with shimmering, blue lights. One of them punches a hole into Sharid''s forehead, ending Tanja¡¯s battle with her instantly. Her limp body crumples onto the ground as agents start falling left and right, sharing a similar fate. My son doesn¡¯t witness any of this, his dead eyes staring into nothingness. His soul must have already left his body, torn out and eaten by the Calamity. What point would there be in having hope? Even Angrod couldn¡¯t restore those who were touched by the Calamity. Sharid and Enyo are only shades of their former selves. Angrod is at the entrance to the hallway. The little, blue lights gather around him and I recognize them as small crystal blades. He has his staff in his left and a fist-sized, blue crystal hovers above his right hand, pulsing in a blue light. The fighting dies down and Angrod slowly walks forward with a sad expression on his face. The little blades are still circling him like a deadly promise. ¡°Where have you been!¡± I scream at him with tears in my eyes, realizing that my conflicting emotions are acting up again as I am torn between rational regret and fiery rage at him. ¡°Just the right thing. I always do just the right thing, but it always ends in pain and suffering,¡± Angrod answers with a pained expression as he looks down at our son¡¯s body. I walk towards Angrod, passing Sharid''s shell on the way. ¡°Angrod?¡± A little, small crystal lashes out from the side and punches into my left leg, remaining stuck. It was so fast, I didn''t even see it coming. Simply reacting, I try taking a good punch at him, but my fist impacts a shimmering force field which renders my attack a worthless gesture. He attacked me!? How could he? I fall to my knees in front of him. I can''t even stand properly anymore, knowing what has to happen and to what lengths he is going to achieve his dearest wish. ¡°Just rest here.¡± Believing me rendered immobile, Angrod walks past me towards the central chamber. ¡°What do you think you are doing?¡± Carne blocks Angrod''s path. With thunder, a blue flash of light strikes at Carne, throwing him several feet backwards into a wall. He just drops to the ground and moves no more. Weapons are readied all around and turned towards Angrod. ¡°Palace! Hack and delete Warden. It isn''t needed anymore. Then take control of the Crystal City,¡± Angrod gives an insane command. ¡°~Affirmative!~¡± a voice replies out of the blue crystal in Angrod''s right hand, confirming the order. ¡°What do... you.. think... I ¡­ NOT!... PROTECT... Why?¡± Warden stutters. ¡°You are not under my direct control, Warden. That makes you a liability since you would likely refuse my next commands.¡± Angrod continuously walks forward, deadly set on his chosen path. Miruliru steps in front of the central chamber and erects a barrier. ¡°I don''t know what has gotten into you, but it will stop here! I always disliked your creepy attitude and this tops everything so far!¡± Others start joining her while pouring their power into the barrier which stops Angrod''s advance. He places a hand on the barrier and sparks of energy lash back and forth between them. ¡°Nothing has gotten into me. I just realized that doing the right things won''t accomplish my desired result. This isn¡¯t a matter that can be solved by playing nice. The multiverse can¡¯t be changed by doing the right thing, so I will do all the wrong things for once. It''s a gamble.¡± ¡°I don''t understand what you are talking about!¡± Chiffre calls out. ¡°You don''t need to understand. You just need to die.¡± Angrod gives them a wry smile and actually starts pushing them back. ¡°~Everyone. Has to die.~¡± Chapter 102 ***The Crystal City*** ***Angrod*** I press forward with grim determination, sensing that the barrier between me and my goal is weakening. There is no doubt that I could have gone about this matter in a smarter way, more sneakily which would have been gentler and with less stress for everyone involved. But I sense that we are on the clock and by waging my power against theirs in a final battle I hope to harden my resolve for what is to come. The biggest hurdle is already taken. I killed allies and friends in cold blood. Even if they were influenced by the Calamity, it was no easy course of action. I even dared to attack Celes, my love. Right after the alarm, I went to Chimera and took control of my palace¡¯s central core. It has a reasonably smart A.I. which I steadily improved ever since I learned of Warden. But unlike Warden, Palace is under my direct control. It isn''t able to refuse my commands. Miruliru screams defyingly and pushes everything she has into the barrier, assisted by her comrades. I sigh and increase my efforts slightly, knowing that they are no match for me. Ever since I had my second awakening, my transcendence, I was more deeply aware of the multiverse and the pathways. There is more to the power of a god¡¯s divinity than the mere energy you can gather from the pathway network. It appears that a god¡¯s first ascendance is just one step of many on the road to true power. Many are too awed by the sheer force of their godhood to question whether there is more to it. But there is more, another level to achieve which sets those who transcend apart from all the others. The pathway network is simply a focus that makes it easier to control the energies around you. Once I realized that the multiverse¡¯s raw, natural energies are within my grasp ¨C and that my mind is the only thing that¡¯s holding me back ¨C a new and broad horizon of power stood wide open. The hurdle was to get rid of the walls within my mind. A mind is power in itself. Why shouldn''t it be capable of influencing and shaping the powers around it? ¡°Angrod! Have you lost your mind?¡± Chiffre snaps at me. ¡°No. I am perfectly sane. I just decided to wage my willpower against the multiverse. I will tip the balance and kill the observers until only I remain. Then¡­ once there is just one observer left¡­ the multiverse may bend to my desires.¡± I take another step and a few cracks appear in their barrier. ¡°You are mad! Didn''t you say that you don''t know for sure what will happen if there are not enough observers!¡± Miruliru doubles her efforts. ¡°That''s why I called it a gamble. But I have a hunch that the multiverse is trying to please its observers with a reality that''s appealing to them. Unfortunately, it''s impossible to incorporate the wishes of everyone into the same reality, which is why we aren¡¯t able to change things once there are too many of us. So, I hope that if there is just one being left it will be able to realize everything it wishes for.¡± That''s my hope. ¡°Even if it works! What crazy universe will you dream up! It''s impossible to control your wishes! You are opening the box of Pandora!¡± Zanders answers me with a shocked expression, realizing that my goal is the destruction of all existence. That, and a considerable amount of confidence which might border on hubris, but that¡¯s exactly why I am confident to pull this off. ¡°How do you even plan on destroying the multiverse? Even you can¡¯t be everywhere at once!¡± Chiffre shakes his head. ¡°Unfortunately, you are right,¡± I admit. ¡°There is a risk, but, I am a soul mage. I meditated and thought for very long about this problem. I searched my mind and my soul. There is just one thing I wish for. To be together with my family in this reality and without the Calamity.¡± Now he will ask whether that includes everyone else. ¡°And what of the others! What will you get by only wishing for your family!¡± Miruliru snaps back. I smile. ¡°I don''t know, but I wish for them to be as happy as they can without dying of boredom. I guess that''s not possible without some other people and a little excitement. There will be contention in my new multiverse, so you people have a good chance.¡± ¡°Are we nothing to you?¡± Miruliru asks. I give them a smile which makes them shrink back. ¡°All of ye who stand before me are nothing but dust compared to those I love!¡± Hearing that, even my former guards join the ambassadors¡¯ efforts to strengthen the barrier. I guess they aren''t happy with an uncertain future either. But it shouldn''t matter. The crystal core in my hand is the central piece of my palace. It did nothing but gather power for a very long time. Together with the distorted time inside Chimera''s Void Zone, it accounts for quite some power. Suddenly, someone grabs my shoulder and I turn to see that Carne got up again. He gives me a winning smile, apparently relying on his divinity. ¡°You forgot¡­ gah¡­¡± His expression turns shocked, then pained as a wave of power surges forth from within his body, incinerating him instantly in a flash of light from one moment to the next.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. I close my eyes and try not to inhale the remnants of ash which were once someone I called a friend. ¡°CARNE!¡± Miruliru screams. ¡°What happened?¡± Chiffre wavers, shaken by this turn of events. ¡°He relied on his divinity and switched his power with mine for a mere moment,¡± I explain calmly. ¡°But he wasn''t able to control the power which I wield now.¡± I give the barrier a final push and it shatters. Miruliru instantly jumps at me but I wipe her out of the air with my staff as I take my first step forward. Carne was the only one whose divinity would have given him a reasonable chance against me. If he had been able to control my current power¡­ I guess that the multiverse doesn''t have enough determination to stop me after all. A guard tries his luck, but one of my smaller crystal blades brings him an unfortunate end. Chiffre unleashes a shock wave of power against me, actually stopping me for a second in my tracks. Commendable, but futile. I will have to ask him how that was possible should we see each other again. With a wave of my hand, I raise the gravity within the area dramatically and everyone is sent to their knees, allowing me to advance without further hindrances. At the door to the central chamber, I stop for a second. ¡°Angrod!¡± I turn around and see Celes stumbling towards me, impeded by the gravity field I put up. Her hurt expression causes a pain in my chest. ¡°You don''t need to do this. We can solve this together! I am happy as long as we have each other!¡± She raises her hand towards me. Fate is surely trying really hard to test me, but my decision stands firm. I turn and step through the opening door which allows access to Crystal City¡¯s inner sanctum and Warden¡¯s core. Raising my hand, I allow Palace to fly forth to fuse with the table in the centre of the room which is not a table, but Warden¡¯s core in a clever disguise. So that''s done. ¡°~Connection established. The core is under control.~¡± The words echo through the room, giving my deeds a certain finality, so I don¡¯t hesitate in giving my next order as I tighten my hand around my staff. ¡°Raise the space and time barrier around this room and prepare the wave-front.¡± A scream causes me to turn and I see Celes stumbling towards me. My eyes widen with uncertainty, but I relax when I realize that she won¡¯t make it¡­ ¡­ just Seria appears behind her mother, giving her a final and vital push. My wife stumbles into the room just as the barrier which I installed to seal myself off snaps into place. ¡°~Done.~¡± Palace announces exactly what I do not want to hear with machine-like duty. Suddenly, everything turns silent, shutting off the noise and screams from the outside. The barrier was supposed to protect me from the end by separating this room into its own little universe, not shutting me in with quite possibly the only being capable of stopping me. Celes growls and jumps on one leg as she pulls out the little blade which I sent into her ankle to cripple her. She studies the small weapon which actually managed to draw blood and points it at me. Feeling the imminent conflict, I step back and raise a hand. ¡°Now, now, dear. We can talk about this! I have a perfectly good explanation!¡± Her eyes narrow and she takes a step forward, causing me to circle around the crystal table to have something between the two of us. ¡°Stay put you deceiving bastard and let me return the favour!¡± ¡°I would rather not¡­¡± I reply, my mouth feeling dry as she circles left while I circle right. Normally, dealing with Celes when she is in a stabby mood shouldn''t pose a problem, since our power-levels are roughly equal. My recent transcendence also made it only easier because of my new ability to turn non-corporeal. This makes me wish that I hadn¡¯t been quite that thorough in creating the barrier which is sealing us in right now. I really could have done without that divinity-restricting dampening field. Which means that, right now, even though Celes also should have diminished power, I am still caught in a confined place with a person who made martial arts the core of her existence. ¡°Celes, you have to listen to me very carefully,¡± I implore to her. ¡°Everything will be alright if you let me do what is necessary.¡± ¡°I know that!¡± she replies. ¡°Seria explained everything, which doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are a stupid moron!¡± ¡°Wha-¡± Her exclamation stuns me for just a moment, but that is enough for Celes to leap over the table in an artistic display that would have humbled most athletes. Her scissor-leap allows her to catch my waist between her legs, bringing both of us down to the ground while fighting over the little blade. The entire experience instantly gives me unwelcome flashbacks of a certain little girl trying to gouge out my eyeball with her hairpin. ¡°You attacked me!¡± ¡°Just tried to delay you!¡± ¡°You injured me!¡± ¡°Happened often enough during training! You will survive!¡± Celes suddenly abandons the blade and goes for the little pinky of my left hand, quickly bending it the wrong way until there is an audible snap before she lets go of me. I am only able to stare at the injury¡­ which certainly isn¡¯t the worst I have ever had. Honestly, it¡¯s quite minor in my book. That doesn¡¯t change the fact that broken pinkies hurt like hell. ¡°Ow!¡± ¡°Next time, it¡¯s your neck, understand!?¡± I nod quickly. My wife rolls her eyes and hurls me to my feet, sitting me in one of the chairs which are positioned around Warden¡¯s table-core. ¡°We have a lot to talk about.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± I gingerly touch the broken pinky and clench my teeth as I bend it back into its proper place. Celes turns me towards the table, pointing. ¡°But first, get along or the Calamity might notice that something is amiss. You still have to wipe out the multiverse.¡± ¡°What?¡± I glare at her and then at the table, slowly starting to believe that I have been out of the loop. ¡°The wave-front?¡± Celes asks and frowns. ¡°Yes?¡± Before the barrier locks down completely, I have to complete a ritual that allows it to emit the wave-front, a specially created spell matrix to wipe out the multiverse in a single, ongoing chain reaction. The wave-front is an adaptation of my own chaos magic. Just with the difference that this version will have a self-replicating effect. That''s why I was always afraid of sharing my chaos magic. It''s actually just a little logical leap from my red maelstrom towards the wave-front. Like a wave inside a pond, it will spread in every direction and obliterate everything. While doing that, it will be fed by the very own energy it unleashes by breaking down even the smallest atom into the most basic components. Not even the black hole and the Calamity will be spared. Once the critical limit is achieved, the multiverse should collapse on its own and leave me as its sole survivor. ¡°Palace, activate the wave-front and lock down the barrier as soon as you are ready.¡± ¡°~Affirmative.~¡± It just happens so that the multiverse has to end in order for something new to begin. Something without soul-eating monsters. I take an awkward glance at my wife¡¯s determined expression while the outside of the barrier turns black, giving way to an endless, black nothingness. ¡°~The wave-front has been sent. We are disconnected from the rest of the multiverse.~¡± ¡°That was pretty anticlimactic.¡± I turn to face Celes. ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s going on, but you should know that this won¡¯t work without¡­¡± Palace¡¯s voice interrupts me. ¡°~It had the expected effect. There should be nothing left in existence.~¡± I nod. ¡°So it is done. Can you confirm it by reconnecting us with the multiverse?¡± ¡°~Reconnecting.~¡± The black nothingness turns into a white plane which reminds me of the eternal planes between the dimensions. And on the other side of the barrier, I see a demon who is grinning at us. ¡°Hi, so we meet again.¡± Chapter 103 ***Eternity*** ***Angrod*** ¡°Who the fuck are you!?¡± I point at the man who is standing on the other side of my barrier. His features are plain, aside from his long flaming-red hair which is kept at shoulder-length. He only raises an inquisitive eyebrow in reply as his gaze sweeps the small room which was saved from the effects of my annihilation spell. From his position at the entrance to the vault, he can see everything inside well enough. Tentatively, almost hesitatingly, he raises a finger and presses it against the barrier where the doorway should be, tapping it several times. Finally, he clears his throat to speak. ¡°You may call me the Immortal, the Phoenix, or Moonray if you must put a name to my existence. Not that any of those names have any meaning to the current you. I know you well enough to know that at least.¡± I frown, trying to puzzle out how someone could have survived on the other side of my barrier. There is a long minute of silence before the stranger rolls his eyes, running a hand through his flaming-red hair. ¡°Look, I am tired, so I am going to make this easy for you. I am what you would call the Calamity¡¯s original. It is blatantly obvious that your current self doesn''t know anything about the true nature of this whole affair.¡± I bite my lower lip and glance at Celes, but my wife remains unnaturally silent. Something is going on and I am out of the loop. All my careful planning, all the agonizing about the repercussions of my actions was apparently for naught. When there is no simple answer forthcoming, I return my attention to the stranger who just claimed to be the enemy who I sought to destroy. ¡°What do you mean? How can you even be here? I destroyed the fucking multiverse! You shouldn¡¯t even exist out there!¡± Moonray shakes his head, groaning. ¡°He doesn¡¯t get it, but then again, he seldom does. To be defeated by an imbecile whose only true skill is magic.¡± The man tilts his head, thinking. ¡°I am the first person who had the idea to fuse with a spirit, a soul fragment if you will. I am the Calamity¡¯s origin, so to speak.¡± He looks around, raising his hands at the emptiness surrounding him, a white plane of nothingness. ¡°Although I absorbed souls in order to gain power, I underestimated the effects on my mind. Soon after practising the technique of fusing with others, I tend to lose my rationality, overwhelmed by the sea of thoughts that belong to those I consumed. Once that happens, the Calamity is born, a creature of barely much more than instinct and hunger with little rationality. A being of extraordinary powers, a force of nature to be reckoned with, but one with little to no originality. This place and point in time is one of the few moments when I get to be myself again. That, and the few precious centuries which I get to have before I lose control.¡± ¡°Then why do it at all? Why start this again and again?¡± I ask. There is no point in power if you don¡¯t get to live. ¡°You could end everything by not creating the Calamity in the first place!¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the question.¡± He grins. ¡°The answer could be hubris, or the firm belief that I will succeed in perfecting the technique one day. Can you imagine what it would be like to be in control of that much power!? I would be a true GOD!¡± Moonray points at me and his expression sours. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for you! Each time I am about to succeed, you destroy the multiverse, then you recreate it. Then you destroy it. Then you create it.¡± He throws up his arms, frustrated. ¡°It''s an endless self-repeating cycle which was set in motion by your first incarnation. Everything just to destroy me.¡± He starts pacing back and forth on his side of the barrier. ¡°It''s just here, in this almost starved state that I am sane enough to talk and we hold this very same conversation again and again, oh Bright One.¡± My mind goes blank. He called me the Bright One. Nobody would do that, except¡­ ¡°You are one of the ascended, the first ones? It is too bad that I have no memories of that time.¡± But it would be more important to know how he manages to transfer his memories from one iteration to the next. Is he managing to survive by using his absorbed souls as some sort of shield? ¡°Yes. I am one of the first and I wish for true eternity.¡± He gestures at himself. ¡°And look what I ended up with. You complain about your lack of memories, but that¡¯s what keeps you from going insane! Your spell is truly devious, Bright One. I wish I could understand how you did it! You aren''t even aware of it, but you created this whole situation. Just to punish me! I don''t need to be here you know? I could be out there in the nothingness. I could hide and you would recreate the multiverse. Then I would give in to my hunger once more and eat until you destroy the multiverse again. And so on and so forth. I lost count of it¡­¡± I stay silent, trying to make sense of his insane ranting, hoping to glean some vital information from it. My mind spins as I try to sort out the various puzzle pieces to this unexpected situation and to put everything together. At the moment, the situation still eludes my grasp, but I have a feeling that my wife might have some vital answers. Slowly, I turn and look towards her, but she shakes her head, indicating that I shouldn''t draw Moonray¡¯s attention towards her. Moonray suddenly stops in his tracks. ¡°And the funny part is this. You aren''t even aware of any of it! How do you always remember to stop me again and again without fail? You can''t even go insane because you don''t remember all those iterations. A truly marvellous spell! A spell that can end something like me who is meant to be eternal. Or maybe it wasn''t you? Maybe you are just the multiverse¡¯s tool to achieve balance? Maybe someone like me isn''t meant to be?¡± I frown. ¡°You are an idiot. Even if you succeed, what would you do all alone with yourself? It would be boring as hell!¡± I gesture at the emptiness behind him. ¡°Even you perfected your techniques, you would still end up in a place like this one. There would be no difference, only that there might not be a restart that time around. You would be the creator of your own eternal hell.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. He turns around, studying the empty plane. A moment passes, and then he shrugs. ¡°Maybe. And maybe not? Who knows? Are you going to tell me that you know me well enough to tell what I want?¡± ¡°And if everything you say is true, there is still a fundamental mistake to your story. You had spies among my people, so you should have heard about my conclusion regarding the multiverse,¡± I point out. Moonray turns his attention back to me. ¡°You got it mostly right. So what? You somehow changed the multiverse into something that¡¯s an antithesis to my goal and then erased any knowledge of it. That doesn¡¯t change my desires. I will still continue to grasp for the light that you are denying me.¡± ¡°From my theory, I shouldn''t be able to restart the multiverse as long as you still exist. You are an observer too.¡± I squint my eyes while I think about the motivations of the insane monster facing me. He snorts. ¡°I am here because I want to finally end it. One last time, that¡¯s what I told myself at the beginning of this iteration. Your theory is missing a vital little detail, and that is that I don''t count as an observer¡­ since a long time ago. In order to attain eternity, I disconnected my soul from the multiverse. Yet, I can''t run. Even if I run, I end up here! I can''t escape! And while I am alone and conscious, I can''t deal with this endless white eternity! And you will go on to bring me here. I am going mad!¡± The insane fool beats the barrier with a fist and rattles on. ¡°It doesn''t matter if your next reincarnation is an angel. A dwarf. Male or female! Big, fat, muscular, thin, young, old. You just appear here every time to mock me with your limited knowledge, a poor copy of those who came before you! You show me all the different lives you¡¯ve led in order to punish me for what I tried to give up! And you don''t even know why. You just stand there and watch, taunting me in your incomprehension. Ohhh. What I would give to meet your first iteration again and ask him how he did it!¡± He raises his hands, shaking them at me. ¡°So! Come out of there and let''s have a last fight to the death! Just you and me!¡± I frown again and smirk, scratching my cheek. ¡°Why should I? Now that I know of you? I guess you used the other souls as a shield... somehow. I just have to invoke the wave-front a few more times until the multiverse is completely wiped. You are like an accidental artefact that survived the first wipe. Maybe the multiverse keeps resetting itself because of your continued existence. Palace, invoke the wave-front again as soon as you are ready.¡± The Calamity lets his hands fall. ¡°Yeah, well. I expected that it wouldn''t work to taunt you. Maybe I would have won?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± The other side of the barrier turns black again and after a few seconds, Palace returns us back to the previous state. This time around there is no Moonray outside, but I don''t trust the peace. ¡°Palace, repeat the process until your energy reserves are depleted.¡± Dutifully and unquestioningly, Palace proceeds and starts wiping the multiverse with me watching the process until the outside returns to the white plane. ¡°~Done,~¡± the AI announces. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s proceed to recreate the multiv-¡± Something smacks me on the back of my head. ¡°Ow...¡± I slowly turn to my wife, admittedly, having forgotten about her in the heat of my triumph. ¡°That¡¯s right. We have to do something about the two of-¡± She smacks me again on the side of my head, only hard enough to rattle my brain this time. ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot!¡± I slowly raise my hands to avoid agitating her any further, nursing my head. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°Do you really think you won just like that!¡± She steps up, getting right in my face. ¡°We are dealing with a monster. Rule number one when fighting monsters: They aren¡¯t dead until you have their cold, bloodless corpse, preferably in several pieces.¡± I harrumph and gesture towards the door and the infinity beyond. ¡°What? Do you really think that he survived that? Come on.¡± ¡°He did it once!¡± she points out, taking a stance in front of me with her arms crossed. ¡°So, what do you suggest?¡± I gesture for her to go on, remembering that she owes me an explanation of the situation. ¡°You are obviously better prepared for this situation than I am.¡± Celes smiles, revealing her sharp canines before pointing towards the door. ¡°We go out there and find the bastard¡­ and then we make him regret his very existence.¡± ¡°Out there?¡± I gape. ¡°But that would mean that we have to disable the barrier! Who knows what might happen if I do that? The plane out there is an undefined dimension. Who knows what rules it might have?¡± She shakes her head. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it? Only more reason to check it out ourselves. Your fantastical spell might have no effect on that place.¡± She points outside, giving me pause. ¡°That¡¯s what you have done every iteration so far. That is why the Calamity keeps reappearing. I am here to shake things up!¡± Celes knocks on the barrier. ¡°That, and to make sure that you don¡¯t fuck up the multiverse ¡®yet again¡¯. This time, I am going to help to recreate it.¡± ¡°But¡­ but¡­¡± I wave my hands, feeling stupid. ¡°Haven¡¯t you paid any attention when I tried to explain the law of observation? We need a single observer for my theory to work!¡± Celes rolls her eyes. ¡°Well, it¡¯s all good and well then that both of us count as one observer, according to Seria. At least she was very clear on that point.¡± ¡°What!?¡± I close my eyes and take a deep breath, trying to regain my calm. ¡°I feel like I am owed an explanation before we do anything else.¡± ¡°That might be impossible,¡± Celes admits and bites her lower lip while trying to sum up what to say in her mind. ¡°Seria apparently had memories of the past iteration all along. All her actions were aimed to bring us to this point in time. To ensure that we are here, together-¡± ¡°That little Minx!¡± I roar as some of the pieces to the puzzle fall into place, deeply resenting to be played like a figure in some grand game of chess. ¡°But, that still doesn¡¯t explain¡­¡± ¡°-and if you allowed me to explain without interruption I would get to that point. According to Seria, the three of us are linked. Our souls are bonded, although Seria only shares a minor link with the two of us,¡± Celes nods while frowning at herself. ¡°I think I got that right. You and I are the important part. That is why you and I have to be together, and why fate forces us to meet again and again. We are Chaos and Order, two sides of the same coin.¡± ¡°The fuck!?¡± I exclaim. ¡°When did we get soul-bonded? How, and do you know how dangerous that is?¡± I gesture towards the outside. ¡°We could have easily ended up like him! But¡­ that¡¯s not right. What about Isabella! That¡¯s not how soul-bonds work!¡± I shouldn¡¯t have gotten together with Isabella if Myrm and I were meant for each other. The same counts for the other way around. Celes sighs. ¡°Think about it. It¡¯s a logical conclusion once you think about it. Isabella and Myrm were originally one soul.¡± She interlocks her fingers, miming two halves being one. ¡°At some point in time, my soul was split in two, allowing for a Myrm and an Isabella to exist. Seria only re-established the order when she placed both souls inside one body, allowing them to merge again. You were all so worried about the two souls becoming one that you never questioned whether they were meant to be apart in the first place.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± I try to follow, but only an intelligible sound escapes my lips. This would explain so much and it would solve my problem regarding Isabella and Myrm quite beautifully. If they were always meant to be one person¡­ ¡°Look, is it really that hard to believe? Your theory practically requires that souls are unaffected by the multiverse, so why should anything that affects them change because of a new iteration? It doesn¡¯t matter at which point in time our souls were bonded. For us, it¡¯s only important to know that it happened.¡± She points at the emptiness beyond the barrier. ¡°And now we go out there and find that bastard. What do you think?¡± Chapter 104 ***Eternity*** ***Angrod*** ¡°You mean, right now?¡± I ask and point at the barrier which is the only safeguard between this room and the unknown of the strange dimension outside. ¡°No better time than now. The less time Moonray has to think about what my presence might mean, the better. That, and I want to get this over with quickly, if possible,¡± Celes answers with a flippant tone. ¡°Didn¡¯t you notice how his eyes flicked towards me every few seconds? I bet he is already trying to figure out what changed in this iteration for me to be here.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t notice,¡± I grumble and raise my hand towards the barrier, annoyed with myself and the situation as a whole. It doesn¡¯t happen often for me to be overwhelmed by unexpected circumstances. But it seems like Celes has a plan, or more like, Seria had a plan. And while I would question my wife¡¯s ability to control her warring personalities ¨C which would disqualify her to make rational decisions ¨C my daughter was always a schemer who got what she wanted in the end. It isn¡¯t the worst of ideas to follow her lead as long as I lack the knowledge to see the greater picture of our situation. In any case, the current scenario seems to call for quick action rather than long planning and Celes had more time than I did to think about everything. ¡°After this is done and over with you will give me a detailed explanation of what is going on. Without leaving anything out.¡± I raise my hand. ¡°Palace, deactivate the barrier.¡± The AI does as ordered and the barrier falls, allowing Celes and me to take a step outside of the vault and into the white plane. The vault-room behind us is a perfect cube of Mana Crystal which was left intact. Everything else was cleaned away by my spell. Aside from ourselves and this remainder of the past multiverse, we seem to be alone. Still and silent, our surroundings make the impression of awaiting with halted breath for what is going to happen next. ¡°Okay!¡± I comment, patting my belly and chest to reassure myself that nothing went wrong. ¡°We are still in one piece, nor are we mutating into some horrible creature, nor are we reduced to sub-atomic particles.¡± My wife¡¯s left eye twitches. ¡°That was a possibility?¡± While nodding vehemently, I gesture at our surroundings. ¡°Definitely. Didn¡¯t I warn you that this is another dimension? There is no way to tell what rules it might follow.¡± I shudder at the memory of travelling certain regions of the chaotic plains. ¡°I thought you and Seria were aware of the risk when she sent you after me.¡± ¡°Well, maybe you could elaborate on the risks of dropping the barrier in a little more detail the next time around,¡± Celes grumbles. ¡°Preferably before I convince you to do something. I am only following our daughter¡¯s instructions, but I would like to know what I am getting myself into.¡± ¡°Sorry, but you gave me the impression that it is all about changing things! For example, I would have never left the barrier!¡± I sigh. ¡°So, what now? There is no Moonray around. If he is, he is very good at hiding.¡± ¡°Invisibility spell?¡± I scan our surroundings. ¡°Nothing I can detect.¡± ¡°Okay, so it¡¯s not any normal magic,¡± Celes mumbles and jumps, landing with a single leap on top of the crystal cube that remains of the former vault-room. ¡°He isn¡¯t hiding on the other side either. That would have been too easy.¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± I cross my arms, imagining how pathetic it would have been if it were that easy. ¡°At least a few of my other iterations must have had the idea of dropping the barrier and exploring this dimension!¡± At the very least I would hope so. Celes rolls her eyes and sits down on top of the vault-room, dangling her legs over the edge while curling her tail behind herself. I wait for almost a minute until I finally give up. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan? Do we pick a direction and start walking?¡± ¡°We wait.¡± Celes scans the distance with her narrowed eyes. ¡°For what?¡± I look around, wondering whether she actually has a plan. ¡°Something to happen,¡± Celes answers unhelpfully. ¡°You know, this place is somehow relaxing. So silent, even for my enhanced senses. Perfect for meditation. There is no need to rush if Moonray doesn¡¯t want to come out. I doubt it would get us anywhere to search this place by choosing a random direction.¡± I huff. ¡°That¡¯s the grand plan then? We wait until the bastard gets bored and shows himself?¡± She nods and lies down, raising one leg in a manner that¡¯s clearly meant to show off. ¡°You know, we could use the chance to get busy while nobody else is around.¡± Great. Now the other personality is in charge. ¡°Celes, I think you have to control yourself. Do you really think that this is the right time and place?¡± She tilts her head, humming to herself. ¡°Strangely enough, I believe myself to be in perfect control of my two sides. More than I have ever been. Could it be some effect of this place?¡± I eye her warily and study our surroundings. ¡°Possible. I assumed that the last observer could change anything he or she wanted about the multiverse. Maybe it¡¯s also possible to influence your soul if you really believe that you should be¡­ yourself¡­ or different?¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Celes closes her eyes. ¡°I think I will try just that. You do whatever you can think of to find Moonray in the meantime.¡± After staring at Celes for several long moments, I turn away from my meditating wife, not expecting her to be any help at this point. Why did it have to be her to accompany me to this place? But I am missing my goal. First, I have to make sure that Moonray is really dead. Only, how to go about this is an entirely different matter. Originally, I thought that everything in this dimension would work out just by wishing for it, so I close my eyes and concentrate, wishing for Moonray to appear in front of me. And, of course, nothing happens. Should I try to use my mana at the same time? Is there some flow of energy that can be sensed? ¡°Come back! Appear! And there was light!¡± I wave my hands, feeling pretty stupid as I try to conjure my enemy from the nothingness without any result. How embarrassing! Trying to give commands with my voice!? Okay, at least I tried and can cross that point off my list. Then what if I need an exact image of what I want? Maybe using self-hypnosis? I turn to watch the vault-room behind me, seeking some inspiration without luck. Minutes and several failed attempts pass, leaving me curious about the situation. Hours float by and my mental state turns to bewilderment and annoyance at my wife¡¯s refusal to do anything. She only insists on perching on top of the vault, waiting for something in her meditative trance. Days pass and end in frustration, but I refuse to give up! Until, one day, Celes suddenly jumps up with a shout of triumph, causing me to twitch out of a concentration exercise of my own. ¡°What?¡± I ask warily while I watch Celes performing a little victory dance. ¡°The thoughts are gone!¡± she exclaims and jumps down from her spot on top of the vault-room. With a smile that could melt worlds, she hugs me and takes my hand, forcing me to join her in a little waltz. Then I remember that she tried to consolidate her conflicting personalities and feel like jubilating myself. ¡°For real? How?¡± I cup her cheeks in between my palms and send my energy into her body, trying to sense her fracturing soul. Instead, there is only what seems to be one whole inside her, body and soul. ¡°That should have been impossible! Neither Katrine nor I could think of any solution to your problem. And now it is solved just by being here? Just like that?¡± Celes pouts and wraps her tail possessively around my upper thigh. ¡°Hey, I did my fair share of meditation while trying to wrangle myself together! Admittedly, this place helped. We have to assume that there is a different set of rules for this dimension. And I feel like there is more I could achieve, given some more time.¡± I roll my eyes. ¡°How much more time do you need?¡± ¡°Oh, months, years?¡± She shrugs. ¡°It isn¡¯t like we are on a deadline.¡± I try not to look crestfallen. As gods, we don¡¯t have to fear starvation or thirst as long as we keep circulating our mana, but living that long without the little conveniences of modern civilisation is appalling, to say the least. ¡°Can¡¯t we-¡± Celes places a finger on my lips while reaching for my belt. ¡°Say nothing. I know how we can make the time enjoyable¡­¡± ¡°Oh, come on!¡± Suddenly, Moonray appears with a shout. ¡°I am not gonna watch you-¡± His complaint is cut short by a fireball to the face and myself dashing towards him with a scream of insane murder emitting from my throat. My hands already reach for his chest to rip out his heart when his hands come up and catch my own with impeccable precision, stopping my advance completely. As the fire around his head fades, I get treated a close up of his burned skin-replenishing itself with orange cinders flaking away, leaving behind his unblemished and smiling mien. ¡°You really thought that you could stop the immortal phoenix with fire?¡± I purse my lips. ¡°I hoped it would blind you at the very least.¡± He brings up his knee, burying it in my side, and then the world tilts as I double over. Moonray inhales and I manage just in time to evade his exhaling breath of blue fire, smelling the stench of burned hair in the next moment. With my hair just a little singed, I manage to reverse his hold on my arms as I pull myself back to my feet with a roar, my left hand on his throat as I punch the other into his belly, raising him above my head. Summoning my armour at the same time, I cast directly against his lower abdomen. The chaotic energies of my most destructive spell ripple out of my palm with the intention to rend flesh and soul alike while living shadow erupts from my arms to bind my enemy in place. Moonray¡¯s mid-section is blown apart, showering me in blood and gore as his lower and upper body separate. I take a deep breath before dropping the mutilated corpse to my left and right. A moment passes and then I smile in glee before turning to face Celes. ¡°Finally! I must admit that luring him out by boring ourselves to death almost did me in! Couldn¡¯t you have come up with a less annoying plan?¡± Then I notice Celes¡¯s skeptical expression only a bare second before the blood which is all over me ignites, leaving me screaming and trying to put out the fire. Thankfully, the fire doesn¡¯t stay stuck to me for long enough to do any real damage. Instead, it flows away and somewhere behind me like water down a river. Whirling around, I am just in time to witness Moonray¡¯s fist cracking into my chest, driving all the air out of me. The force of the impact causes something to break and I am sent flying backwards. I land on the ground on my back and slide the rest of the way until I stop in front of Celes¡¯s feet. ¡°Hi¡­ dear¡­¡± I reach for my chest, wheezing air in and out of my lungs. ¡°That¡­ hurt¡­¡± She frowns down at me. ¡°Need help?¡± ¡°Just¡­ a¡­ minute¡­¡± I sit up. ¡°Hits¡­ like¡­ a¡­ baby¡­ nothing¡­ compared¡­ to¡­ you.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± She steps around me and walks towards Moonray who is waiting a few feet away and smiling like an idiot. Celes gestures for me to stay back. ¡°You just sit down for a while. I think you may be a bad match-up for this one.¡± Moonray spreads his hands, utterly confident in his victory. ¡°What do you think you can do? I am the immortal phoenix. Kill me and I will just reform! Harm me and the fire will heal me. There is nothing you can-¡± Celes leaps forward and punches him lightly right in the face, forcing him back a step. Following, she starts jumping on her toes as if this is only a light warm-up. Left, left, right, her fists start impacting Moonray¡¯s face in quick succession until he falls back on his behind, spitting blood. ¡°Thwat-¡± He wipes at his mouth and spits out a set of teeth. ¡°Will awchieve nothwing. I will hweal¡­¡± Celes kicks him when he tries to get up. ¡°Yeah, so? I don¡¯t believe it! That wouldn¡¯t be right. I believe that I can hit you and that you won¡¯t heal. After all, punishment has to be dealt according to one¡¯s evil deeds. There is no way for someone to avoid Karma.¡± ¡°Wha¡­¡± He shakes his head and tries to get back to his feet and Celes only steps down on his foot before kicking out and breaking his shin. Moonray falls back down, howling. ¡°Whyyyy nwot hweal?¡± ¡°Because this dimension is all about what you think should happen.¡± She gestures at me. ¡°My husband is a god of Chaos, so he doesn¡¯t even question that anything could be possible. He will assume that you might be capable of anything you claim.¡± She tilts her head while looking down at Moonray and places a hand on her hip. ¡°I don¡¯t share that belief. I am Order, and I am very certain that it wouldn¡¯t be right for you to heal from anything I do to you. That isn¡¯t how my world works. My wishes are Order, and the world has to obey what I believe is right.¡± ¡°Stwill immwortal!¡± Moonrayretorts witha rebellious fire in his eyes. Celes sweetly smiles down at him and raises a hand, forming a fist with it. ¡°I wonder how often I will have to hit you until you stop believing that being immortal is that great of an idea¡­¡± Chapter 105 ***The Crystal City*** ***Seria*** Only a moment after Celes stumbles into the vault, the protective barrier activates and takes the fate of the multiverse out of my hands. Whatever my actions have wrought, I won¡¯t be the one who shapes the fates of all. It¡¯s in their hands now. I fall to my knees, listening to the sounds of the sobbing survivors of this most recent conflict. All I can do now is to wait for the inevitable oblivion. When, suddenly, the barrier drops, revealing my mother once more. Changed, she steps out of the vault, seeming different from the person who I just shoved inside moments ago. Her attire is the same, but Celes seems taller now. She carries herself differently, her expression is less strained and full of confidence,devoid ofthe stern rage of her other alter ego, and more like the person from my memories. The indomitable queen of all in creation. More eye-catching are the two leathery wings emerging from her hips which she has wrapped around herself like a skirt, turning her into a true creature of myth.She is back to being the person who wasalwaysat the Bright One¡¯s side in the fresco thatdecoratesthe inner sanctum. The woman standing before me narrows her eyes and looks down at me and then around the room, studying the people who are watching her in stunned silence, waiting for something to happen. A rather pale Angrod steps out from behind her, eyeing the room with an equally critical expression, his eyes checking every detail. ¡°I hope we got it right this time around because I am sick of trying this again and again and again...¡± Celes crosses her arms in front of her chest. ¡°And we will try this another million times until we get it right! Your problem is that you make do with half-assed solutions.¡± ¡°Damned perfectionist! Who cares whether your carpet has a different colour? Look, everyone is here and they are alive, isn¡¯t that the important thing?¡± He winces, noticing a smouldering figure on the ground. ¡°Oh, someone should help Carne. He looks a little crispy.¡± Out of nowhere, he summons his staff and takes a step forward, poking the figure. When insistent prodding engenders a painful-looking twitch from the corpse the father of all creation nods, apparently satisfied enough with the reaction to pronounce, ¡°Alive!¡± I frown and turn around, checking for our harem-protagonist. Wasn¡¯t he fried to ash just before Angrod entered the vault? How could he be alive? But my father is right. Carne is lying nearby, looking worse for wear, but alive instead of a pile of ash. ¡°Wha-¡± I gape at the impossibility of the scene but am interrupted by my mother patting me on the top of my head. ¡°Don¡¯t strain your brain overly much, dear. Just let us do our job.¡± She waves her other hand dismissively towards Angrod. ¡°Who cares about that idiot.¡± ¡°Hey! He is one of the few pals I have,¡± Angrod clarifies his concern for the man on the ground. ¡°And you killed him. What a fine friend you are¡­¡± Celes sighs. ¡°Only for a short time,¡± her husband points out. She turns her attention back to the rest of the room. ¡°Anyway. Every little detail is important because I won¡¯t fall back on using this method again when there is something I dislike later on. And we got the ¡®everyone is alive¡¯ thing right a few thousand tries ago. Still feels like a cheap trick though.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and check on your stupid blanket?¡± Angrod asks, looking tired. ¡°It is a carpet!¡± Celes vanishes, returning a split second later. ¡°The carpet seems to be alright. Have you made sure that your father survived in this version?¡± Angrod perks up upon hearing the good news, immediately looking a little livelier. ¡°Of course, for the millionth time. This time around, he never accompanied the old geezer to the outpost. Anything else you want to make sure of? Please bear in mind that with all the little alterations we have made to the timeline, some things are bound to be different.¡± Celes raises an eyebrow and turns her attention towards me. ¡°How much is two plus two?¡± I open my mouth, trying to keep up with their conversation but failing miserably. Finally, I answer in a questioning tone, suspecting some kind of trap, ¡°Four?¡±This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t play that trick again,¡± Celes grumbles and Angrod unsummons his staff in order to raise his hands defensively. ¡°You must admit that it was funny.¡± My mother only rolls her eyes and addresses me with another question. ¡°What is the last thing you remember?¡± ¡°I- I-¡± I point at the entrance to the vault. ¡°I shoved you through just in time before the barrier went up¡­ to ensure that the Calamity is defeated for real this time. Did you two really manage to do it? Was everything I did worth it?¡± Aeons of waiting, aeons of suffering, aeons of loneliness. I tremble in anticipation, waiting to hear that my existence¡¯s purpose was finally fulfilled after such a long time. My eyes wander back and forth between the two of them, searching for a quick answer in their expressions. Angrod shudders and raises a hand to stop me. ¡°You don¡¯t want to know about the details of its demise, believe me. Let¡¯s just say that the Calamity is no longer an issue, and if Celes and I did a good job, the Void Zones should slowly dissipate in time as the multiverse repopulates with the souls that were caught inside the Calamity.¡± ¡°Just what is going on!?¡± Miruliru breaks into the conversation, voicing the question that¡¯s probably burning on the tongues of all the other listeners in the room. Chiffre picks up his dismembered mechanical arm from the ground, answering the question nonchalantly, ¡°They did it. They destroyed the multiverse. And then they recreated it. Though, what I don¡¯t get is how we can be here with our memories intact. Without the multiverse actually being destroyed.¡± Angrod raises his hand helpfully. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s easy to answer. We wanted to come back to a multiverse that¡¯s as close as possible to the one which we left behind. So, after many attempts at aligning our desires, we finally achieved success!¡± He nods to himself. ¡°This means that we had to recreate all of you with your memories intact. That was easy enough since your souls gave you easy access to the memories of the most recent events. But it was all Celes¡¯ idea to do away with all the¡± ¨C Angrod strikes a pose of anguish ¨C ¡° ¡®I AM BURNING!¡¯, which came along with its destruction. Honestly, it shouldn¡¯t have been that bad even if you remembered it. My destruction spell is very efficient. Just a flash of white and then nothing. Very humane¡­¡± He trails off when he notices that Celes is glaring at him. ¡°There is no need for anyone to remember the multiverse¡¯s destruction. In fact, the fewer people are aware that something happened at all, the better.¡± She looks around, making eye-contact with everyone. ¡°All of us will keep our mouths shut and forget that this crazy, genocidal method actually works, hm?¡± She eyes the people present in the room for a few more moments, her expression turning ever more doubtful with each second when there is no immediate response of agreement. ¡°Actually, we messed up. Let¡¯s try this another time without telling anyone.¡± Celes is already in the process of turning around, back to the vault, when Angrod stops her. ¡°Wa- Wait! Let¡¯s talk about this. All the people in here are reasonable fellows, and even if you don¡¯t trust them, we can just wipe their minds. No need to risk your carpet again, right?¡± I sigh in relief, a weight falling from my chest of which I didn¡¯t know that it was there. ¡°I¡­ did¡­ it¡­¡± Celes grumbles and turns back around. ¡°Fine. But this time, you check each and everyone yourself.¡± Then Nix is at my side, pulling me back to my feet while addressing our parents, ¡°So you really recreated the multiverse? How?¡± An insane laugh escapes Angrods lips, bordering on madness. ¡°Through destruction and creation, and many, many failed attempts. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to say that this current reality was forged in Chaos and formed by Order.¡± Celes pats his shoulder. ¡°Forgive him, he got a little antsy after a few years of honing his eye for the little things. We had a long argument about how to do this, and I finally convinced him that a half-assed solution wouldn¡¯t help anyone.¡± He nods. ¡°I only wish you would have allowed me the one with the cat-tails.¡± Celes purses her lips in disgust. ¡°Both of us had to make sacrifices.¡± That¡¯s when a little girl peeks out of the room, raising several eyebrows among the spectators of this circus. ¡°Mom, can I come out now?¡± Celes gestures with her hand, becking the girl to come closer. ¡°Enyo, let me introduce you to your sisters.¡± ¡°Enyo!?¡± I cry out, remembering Angrod¡¯s perverted experiment. Nix is equally perplexed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Enyo the¡­¡± She stops talking when Celes glares at us as only a mother could do in order to shut up her children. Instead, Nix bends over and whispers, ¡°Wasn¡¯t her soul so damaged that it would have taken aeons to repair it? Just how long were you in there?¡± She points at the vault. ¡°And how did she get in there?¡± Angrod pulls a face. ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ she kind of clung to my ankle¡­ and I only realized later on that she hitch-hiked a ride. But, that turned out to be not the worst thing to happen. Without something to fiddle with I would have turned crazy while Celes was working on her ascension and on ¡®convincing¡¯ the Calamity that being dead was better than being alive. First time ever that Iwitnessed someone whodoesn''t havea shred of soul magic utterly destroya soul...¡± He shrugs. ¡°I kind of repaired Enyo and spent the rest of the time on figuring out how to make it so that her existence doesn¡¯t interfere with the recreation of the multiverse. Let¡¯s just say thatit''s better not totalk about the amount of time Celes and I spent on this endeavour.¡± My father pats Enyo on the head. ¡°But she turned out to be a nice kid, so welcome your newest sibling.¡± His gaze wanders to a spot behind me, where Sharid and Aengus are hugging each other with tears in their eyes. ¡°Get up you two fools! I spoke there should be light! And therefore it is! You two had enough time to reunite after being returned from the grave.¡± I gasp when I realize that my brother is also back among the living. Angrod walks over to the two of them, spreading his arms. ¡°Give daddy a hug too!¡± He hugs both of them and turns two circles before letting go. Suddenly, Sharid''s eyes fall onto Enyo''s remnants inside the vault. Which means, not the little girl, but the destroyed anal-plug-tail-thing. ¡°~Whahaha! Noooo! The family heirloom!~¡± She dashes forward and grabs the crushed remains like a loved pet. Celes is quick to cover the flesh-and-blood Enyo¡¯s eyes. ¡°No worries! I will repair it,¡± Angrod calls after Sharid. ¡°Will be good as new afterwards. I just need another soul. Why shouldn''t the creator of the multiverse be able to repair an- Ouuf!¡± Suddenly Celes appears next to Angrod, sinking a flying knee into his guts. He sinks onto all fours, spurting out a little blood. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You know why!¡± Celes scolds him. ¡°Not in front of the kid!¡± There might have been more to tell about what transpired that day. About how Enyo was introduced to the rest of the family, or how Angrod and Celes told us the tale of their misadventure with the Calamity. How they recreated the multiverse, or how Enyo was promoted to being another sibling of ours. How we had to appease the various ambassadors from the other factions. There were still so many things to do, but right now I was only glad. Glad that the grand plan had worked. Glad that things were back to how they were supposed to be. And even if I had felt like the trickster of the story, I was content to be its true hero. Epilogue ***Lada*** The multiverse kept moving on, its inhabitants entering a state of reluctant peace with each other. Of course, there were still conflicts. Even thegods couldn¡¯t stop the bloodshed caused by human greed and hatred. Insofar, the change of administration hadn¡¯t done anything for the small people, the mortals, and immortals who kept clawing their way through the mud of life in hope of arriving at some higher place, a better one. But the gods had prevented the end. The story would go on, and the small folk would keep struggling in their ignorance of what had transpired, watched over by those deities who actually cared about them. And I kept watching over all of them, just as Seria had wished me to, looking out for something that might lead this newly-won balance astray. Nobody knew that there were two crystal globes resting next to each other in a dusty cellar, forgotten for all intents and purposes. They had been there for decades, sealed and ignored after the recreation of the multiverse. The noise of a big party could be heard from above, its sounds informing the two prisoners of the happy festivities. ¡°What do you think this whole fuss above us is all about, Amaru? Do you think the Masters are preparing to free us?¡± ¡°Shut up, Tjenemit! I swear! I won''t be able to endure you for much longer! Also, don''t call them Masters! Those Monsters came from the depths of the Infernal Planes, a place where not even demons dare to roam! Nobody should know so many torturing methods!¡± ¡°The paths of the Masters are unfathomable¡­ though¡­ I wish that the first Master would take us back. His mothers are so much worse than him.¡± ¡°They truly brainwashed you. What¡¯s up with calling them Masters all the time? But you are right. While I was in the Monster¡¯s grasp, I still had thoughts about betrayal. His mothers taught me true obedience¡­ I am just glad that they seem to have forgotten about us. It¡¯s been a while since they paid a visit.¡± ¡°But I can''t. They imprinted it on me. It''s so deep in me! Even if I try to call the M- m- them, something else, it simply comes over my lips.¡± ¡°Whatever, I kept listening while you slept. It sounds like they are having a marriage ceremony above! A member of their breed took El Shaddai as his wife!¡± ¡°Wife?¡± ¡°Apparently, he was reborn while we were locked up in this cellar! As a woman on top of it!¡± ¡°It was wise to plug my eyes and ears. Nothing good comes of too much knowledge. But for the Masters to grant El Shaddai absolution in such a mysterious way¡­¡± ¡°I wouldn''t call it absolution! But at least he got an opportunity to escape. I wouldn''t even think about revenge. I would just hide somewhere and live a humble life.¡± ¡°Such a life would be surely a great gift by the Masters.¡± Then, the opens slightly with an almost inaudible creak. ¡°What was that!?¡± ¡°The door! Be silent and pray! The Masters are coming! They don''t even grant us peace during the marriage ceremony of their offspring. Hard and thorny are their paths¡­¡± Three young girls enter the room in a sneaky manner and start whispering to each other. ¡°Come on in! They won''t find us here!¡± Demongirl A gestures for the others to follow. ¡°Yes. Yes. God! This basement is dusty!¡± Demongirl B complains upon stepping into the room, whirling up some dust. ¡°At least we got away from them. For Sharid to bring her mortal family to the party, her little sisters are so annoying!¡± Demongirl C huffs. ¡°And Nix is personally watching over the mortals. No fun to be had there.¡± ¡°Yeah... they ask so many obvious questions. What''s this. What''s that. Even I got sick of playing the escort,¡± Demongirl B admits. ¡°It can''t be helped. They are mortals,¡± Demongirl A reminds her sisters.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Playing tricks on them would be seriously bad manners. Unfortunately.¡± Demongirl C nods to herself. All the while, the two prisoners kept on watching, holding their breaths in silent anticipation of how this encounter might play out. For them, it was clear that this was their opportunity. ¡°And too easy! Ah! Look! Two glowing orbs! Cool!¡± Demongirl B finally notices the two soul orbs. All three of them come closer and surround the dusty pedestal with the two glowing orbs. ¡°I didn''t know that we had such thing down here. Oh, there are little people inside! Freaky!¡± Demongirl A ogles the two prisoners, not aware of the dangers the two entities pose. ¡°We aren''t little people! We are Djinns! And if you crush our orbs, we can grant you a wish!¡± one of the prisoners speaks up. ¡°It spoke!¡± Demongirl C gasps. ¡°What are your names little Masters?¡± one of the prisoners asks, unable to keep his voice from sounding worshipful. ¡°I am Eris! And that''s Enyo and Arianne,¡± Eris introduces herself to the supposed Djinns. ¡°That''s so strange. Shouldn''t you rub an oil lamp for a Djinn to appear and grant wishes? And why are they kept in this dark and dusty basement?¡± Arianne squints her eyes at the two little figures. ¡°Who cares!? Two wishes! Hurry up and think of something cool!¡± Enyo starts hopping up and down, a smile shining on her entire face. ¡°I really think that we should ask-¡± but Arianne can''t complete her sentence before her sister acts. ¡°I wish for Sharid to have two little boys to tease them!¡± Eris grabs the first glowing globe and smashes it onto the ground. The globe shatters with the sound of breaking glass. ¡°Are you out of your mind!? And what''s with that strange wish, Eris! Sharid likes cute, little girls on top! Didn''t you see how she adores her two little sisters! You are cruel!¡± Arianne gasps at the broken globe on the floor. It stopped shining and went dark as soon as the soul inside escaped. ¡°I- I don''t know. It was a sudden impulse? It felt like the right thing to do?¡± Eris looks at the broken ball to her feet with a disturbed expression. ¡°It was like a past self of mine suddenly took over?¡± ¡°I will correct your mistake! I wish for both boys to be lovable and cute little girls so that Sharid can shower them with love!¡± Enyo grabs the remaining globe and throws it to the floor. There is another ¡®crunch¡¯ and a second soul evaporates with the fading cry of freedom. ¡°FREEEEEE!¡± With a sigh, I decide to intervene in order to keep my dimwitted sisters from causing any more trouble. ¡°That was strange.¡± Eris scratches her cheek. ¡°Didn''t I tell you!? What got into you to make such strange wishes? Are you a goddess of mischief, Eris?¡± Arianne smacks Eris. ¡°Like I said¡­ Why are you tapping us, Enyo? Stop that! First, we have to think about away to conceal this mess and blame someone else!¡± Eris waves at the shards on the floor. But Enyo persistently continues to poke her sisters from behind until Eris and Arianne finally turn around. ¡°Aaah... Hi! Grandma Ireth! How are you doing?¡± Eris tries to put on her most innocent expression, hoping the two adults who sneaked up on them wouldn¡¯t put them through the wringer. ¡°Strange to meet you in such a dusty cellar, granny Katrine. We surely weren''t hiding if you think that...¡± Such things were now normal within my family, but as I said, they were far from threatening the multiverse as a whole. And with me on watch, the damage of such little incidents would be mitigated as much as possible. Some years later, two toddlers were sitting side to side in their cute, pink girls'' room. ¡®That''s my baby soother!¡¯ Anja snatches her belonging out of Amelia''s mouth, using telekinesis to do so while telepathically communicating with her sister. ¡®Sorry. I tend to mix them up. Yours and mine look so similar,¡¯ Amelia apologizes and grabs the other soother which belongs to her. ¡®I swear! All those years in that Cellar with you. And now this cruel fate! Your drool is on my belonging! And to be the sister of an airhead like you!¡¯ Anja starts waving her cute little arms into the air. ¡®I am not the one who came up with the Djinn story! You are at fault here! I always told you that Karma and Fate exist! And for someone like us to try to escape our righteous punishment... this had to happen!¡¯ Amelia snaps and starts a tirade, screaming with all her might. ¡®How should I know? How big was the chance for this to happen? A trillion to one!? At least they will seal our memories today. I already hid a note in my soother to never try to remember my past. Stupid airhead!¡¯ Anja continues her rant. ¡®I will cry even louder! And then she will come!¡¯ Amelia threatens Anja. ¡®Airhead!¡¯ ¡°UWAAAAA!¡± ¡®Stop it!¡¯ ¡°WAAAHAAAHAHAAAA!¡± ¡®I give up! Peace! Just don''t call her! She is too doting and loving! I can¡¯t stand it! If she starts to take care of us she won''t stop until she falls asleep! I will never call you airhead again. We are in this together. S- Sis-¡¯ ¡®Say it!¡¯ Amelia looks deep into Anja''s eyes. Anja puffs up her cheeks. ¡®Sister! Please, don''t cry. We have to stand united against Mother''s love. At least until they seal our memories.¡¯ ¡®Note down in your soother that you love me and that we are best sisters forever! And that we absolutely never ever get back our old memories! I will do the same!¡¯ Amelia shows a winning grin that doesn''t fit her baby-face at all. ¡®That''s-¡¯ Amelia starts drawing breath. ¡®OK! Ok! Just be quiet!¡¯ Anja concentrates for a short moment to scratch the message with telekinesis into her soother. ¡®There? See?¡¯ ¡®Hmpf... Ok!¡¯ Then steps are heard and the door flies open. Sharid storms inside and snatches up both toddlers, pressing them to her chest. ¡°~Mommy is here! You don''t have to cry! Are you hungry already? Or did you make a poopoo? Need some baby powder? Or a toy?~¡± Such was the fate of the last two infamous Council members, thanks to my watchful self. And on a hill, a man sat down next to a lonely goddess and took her hand. ¡°Took you long enough to come back,¡± the true saviour of the multiverse complained. The man only nodded and the two sat there, finally reunited after a multiverse had separated them. But that was another story. Holidays! ***The Eternal Palace*** ***Seria*** ¡°By everything that¡¯s holy, Lada. Look at them!¡± I gesture towards the city which is throbbing with life. ¡°The fireworks, the spells!¡± An array of fireworks explodes above the city¡¯s centre, setting the cloudy night-sky alight with all the colours of the rainbow. After a second, the pyrotechnics flutter out of existence, painting the clouds with the red light of a setting sun. The exuberant performance forces me to grudgingly admit that whoever is in charge of the spell proved excellent skill in making the bad weather work in his favour. Lada sighs and grasps for her heart, overwhelmed with the display as she overlooks the festivities. The light refracts in her shining eyes, making her seem more alive than ever. ¡°I know. It¡¯s so grandiose and heart-warming to know that they are doing it for you.¡± We are sitting on top of the palace¡¯s rooftop with me being the one to spoil the mood, as in most cases when it is just the two of us. ¡°It¡¯s cringe-worthy!¡± I wring my hands and give the partying people down there the proverbial finger, even though there is no chance of them seeing us up here. ¡°To know that they are practically praying to me, even after their Awakening. Every year I have to endure this!¡± My sister and best friend purses her lips, trying to see the situation from my point of view. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call it praying. Not exactly.¡± She circles her hand in the air, searching for the right word. ¡°You are more like a celebrity, yes, a celebrity! They are looking up to you. Knowing what you did for them, there will be no escaping that. They don¡¯t know of the full extent of your sacrifice, but what they know is enough to pay their respects.¡± ¡°I just wish they wouldn¡¯t celebrate my name every damned year! Once every century would be more than enough!¡± I mope. ¡°Maybe once a decade. There is no need for all this hustle and bustle!¡± Every year, our people celebrate the Awakening, the return of the memories of their former lives ¨C and most of all the return of their godhood. It¡¯s a time of excess and joy for everyone but me. On a normal day, I move around in public pretty unhindered, except for when it is the Awakening. At this time of the year I can¡¯t even walk down a street without people kowtowing to me. It is embarrassing! ¡°Hahahaha!¡± Lada pats my back, laughing all the while. ¡°You are a treasure, but I am afraid that¡¯s the price you have to pay for doing something truly heroic. I wouldn¡¯t be so concerned if I were you. Time heals most wounds and I am sure this is one of them. Just wait another century or two, and things will become better. Right now our people are reaching towards the skies, grand and glorious. Aren¡¯t we living your dream? How could you be angry about that, Seria?¡± ¡°They could calm down a little,¡± I point out. ¡°And I am not angry, not really.¡± I gesture at the festivities. ¡°But all of this ¨C it is overdoing it a little. Do you think they will forget after some centuries?¡± She winces, withdrawing her hand from my back. ¡°Not as long as Chimera remains standing and that might be for a very long time. What I wanted to say is that things should become less intense. People will always bow to you, given who our parents are. Even now, I think expressing their recognition of you is only one part gratefulness and two parts fear of them. Dad never fails to remind the court that failing him has dire consequences, and Mom is¡­¡± ¡°Is Mom,¡± I confirm, seeing no need to delve further into the matter. Our family is hard enough to describe to outsiders and even among ourselves we learned to better avoid the topic of our inter-family relationships. With Order as a mother and Chaos as our father we had to learn to love and hate equally. ¡°So the best I can hope for is that this will turn into a tradition that¡¯s performed more out of duty rather than true gratefulness.¡± ¡°Yeah, better to keep your expectations low,¡± Lada admits. ¡°At the very least I believe that the friends of the family will get over it at one point or the other.¡± ¡°Like Uncle Gabriel?¡± I scoff. ¡°The last thing I heard of him is that he was chasing down some criminals with father¡¯s fleet. Talk about being busy with the multiverse¡¯s problems.¡± ¡°Criminals?¡± I dismiss the matter with a shake of my head. ¡°Nothing that should concern us. Blew up some planet, far from being a threat to the multiverse at large. But you know Mom, ¡®We have to be a stabilizing factor, or everything might turn to Chaos!¡¯. Someone has to represent our military power to the other factions. Better to be seen doing ¡®good deeds¡¯ than to be thrown into some box and labelled as an multidimensional political power which might turn on you in the distant future. We want to be friends with the others ¨C if possible. If only I weren¡¯t a princess.¡± Lada nods. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that you have to go back to work in two days. You are not only a figure of adoration to our people, but also someone with considerable political power. You have an entire realm of gods to call upon.¡± ¡°Right! Thanks to the holidays I managed to forget about my responsibilities¡­ and it was better that way. Thanks for reminding me.¡± I shudder, feeling a bit annoyed that my sister had to point that out. As far as I am concerned, holidays are there to completely forget about the real world. There is no reason to bring up the woes of life during a time that should be there to relax. ¡°Sometimes, I just want to be someone unimportant, someone who isn¡¯t treated with¡­ fear.¡± ¡°Do you really think that we are afraid of you?¡± Lada takes my hand, trying to show me that she will always be there for me. ¡°Think again. Do you really think that granny Margerie would be afraid of you? There are Tanja, Sven, Rose, Stephen, Sandra and Iris¡­¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I stop her with one hand. ¡°Okay, okay, I get it. But it isn¡¯t the same. All the people you just mentioned are like extended family to us. They are also more closely related with our parents than with me. It just isn¡¯t the same.¡± Lada nods sagely and taps her temple with a delicate finger. ¡°Now I get it. What you want is to be able to walk down a street without being recognized or acknowledged any differently than the next person.¡± ¡°More or less,¡± I admit and sigh, knowing that my dream is likely beyond a god¡¯s capability to solve. We gods are close to being almighty, but it would likely also require a fair bit of omniscience to solve this little puzzle without a hiccup. My sister fumbles with her garb, clearly also at a loss. Good advice is expensive ¨C even in the realm of gods. ¡°Just to get our thoughts to another topic for a moment, have you heard anything about our parents¡¯ friends lately? I am a bit out of the loop.¡± I harrumph and watch as a formation of deities rises from the large plaza in front of the palace and shoots off into the night¡¯s sky. They spread out above the city, which is normally a no-fly-zone. ¡°Hmm. The last thing I heard of Margerie is that she finished father¡¯s project with the fleet. She is now sifting through the remains of her library, which might take some time, given its size.¡± ¡°Her library?¡± Lada asks. ¡°Yeah, you remember her former incarnation? They actually uncovered the remains in the Crystal City. It was still there after all these years,¡± I clarify and continue with the others. ¡°Tanja and Sven are still up to doing military stuff, as I am sure you know¡­¡± Sven is heavily involved with the fleet, while Tanja is our parents¡¯ go-to girl in regards to everything that involves spying. I also don¡¯t see them changing their occupation any time soon, even if it means that they are often away from home for a long time. I don¡¯t even bother to mention Rose, who is still impeccably playing the palace¡¯s head-maid. ¡°¡­ and Sandra is happy with playing house.¡± I shrug. ¡°Of all of them I think that she is actually the one with the least contact to the old group.¡± ¡°That sounds sad,¡± Lada comments. ¡°Maybe we should organize something to involve her more with the rest of us.¡± I laugh. ¡°That might actually be hard to accomplish, given that her house is full of brats to take care of.¡± ¡°Again? Are you serious? She already had over twenty on my last count,¡± my sister comments with an incredulous expression. ¡°I thought she would take it easy after the third batch left the house.¡± ¡°Oh, nonono.¡± I laugh. ¡°I think she actually has something like a schedule going on. Get pregnant with a bunch of kids, rear them until they leave the house, and rinse repeat! If she keeps going like that she will have an army to call upon just by rallying her immediate family.¡± ¡°A horrifying thought. I can see why Sven prefers to stay on long missions with the fleet.¡± ¡°Think of it what you will, but it seems to work for the two of them. Sven plays the stud and Sandra gets to rear the kids.¡± I play with my hair and for a moment we stay silent. Above us, the formation of deities has almost managed to clear the clouds, revealing the night¡¯s sky with thousands of stars and the two moons hanging above us. It¡¯s almost time for the main event of the festival to begin. ¡°Stephen and Iris?¡± Lada asks in a contemplative tone. ¡°Whoa, talk about antisocial,¡± I comment. ¡°I think that Iris is still seeing Mom on a regular basis, but otherwise they are pretty independent at the moment. Stephen took some job at the fleet-university and Iris became a combat instructor! They are something like a tutoring-duo for our young deities who seek fame out there in the multiverse.¡± ¡°A combat instructor? That actually fits her. I never thought of her as the type who would be happy in a truly military or some political career. But for Stephen to give up his research post?¡± Lada shakes her head. ¡°I thought he would be more like his sister.¡± ¡°Funny, eh? I also didn¡¯t think of him as the type to avoid responsibility until I heard that he abandoned his job in favour of a more relaxed lifestyle.¡± I tilt my head from one side to the other. ¡°Well, maybe it¡¯s just a phase. He was on the fleet-project for over thirty years. Doing the same thing is bound to get boring after some time.¡± Above us, the flight of deities has cleared the sky, ready to project our nation''s well-wishes onto the twin-moons while the fireworks slowly subside. ¡°Do you think they will start the remembrance with the good old battle against Tjenemit?¡± Lada pumps her fists. I groan, wondering how she can still be hyped about something that she must have already seen over a dozen times. ¡°Spare me. I take Dad¡¯s real story over the re-enactment every time.¡± ¡°You know very well that they can¡¯t publicly broadcast something like that. Kids might be watching!¡± She wags a finger at me. ¡°And I actually think that the censored version is better than the truth.¡± I roll my eyes as the show begins, with dozens of deities joining in to project an illusion of the historic events of our ascension onto the moon¡¯s surfaces. ¡°You know, I might have an idea.¡± Lada slaps her forehead. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think about it earlier!?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°What you need is a vacation!¡± I scoff. ¡°I was on a vacation just recently.¡± ¡°Not that sort of vacation!¡± She gestures with her hands. ¡°I mean one to a place where nobody knows you. Change your appearance and go to the far reaches of the multiverse. There must be some backwater place out there where none of the local deities have heard of you.¡± I hum. ¡°Changing my appearance? Like shape-shifting?¡± ¡°Oh, come on. Our Mom can do it! And given your past, you should be capable too!¡± Grunting, I get to my feet and try to imagine myself as a little girl, my form flowing and lessening until a little redhead is standing next to Lada on the palace¡¯s rooftop. ¡°Like that?¡± ¡°Oh, yes!¡± My sister claps her hands. ¡°Now you need a theme for your vacation!¡± ¡°A theme?¡± ¡°Yes, something you want to do? Like¡­ going somewhere and get drunk like there is no tomorrow!¡± Getting drunk? I pull a face. ¡°I am not a fan of that.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t need to be that. Just think of something that relaxes you. Whoop it up!¡± She throws her hands up in the air for emphasis. ¡°Unleash your desires!¡± I frown, and then I raise my finger towards the sky, trying to think of something. ¡°For- For Mayhem!¡± Clearly disapproving, Lada presses her lips together. ¡°You are channelling too much of Dad.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I scratch my cheek, and then I thrust my finger once more towards the sky. ¡°For Mayhem and Love!¡± New Project Started! https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/29605/a-demons-tail This is going to be the story of Angrod''s life in the Infernal Planes. -Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. - - - And I must reach 500 words! So this is going to be some random rambling about my cats and life in general. And I must reach 500 words! So this is going to be some random rambling about my cats and life in general. And I must reach 500 words! So this is going to be some random rambling about my cats and life in general. And I must reach 500 words! So this is going to be some random rambling about my cats and life in general. And I must reach 500 words! So this is going to be some random rambling about my cats and life in general. 500!