Chapter 654 - 371: Annoyance in the form of an oaf

[Realm: álfheimr]

[Location: Dominion of Oz]

[Winkie Country]

To most, it would have been a disturbing sight.

The grassy plains, which had once stretched uninterrupted across the horizon, were now littered with the corpses of Deseruit Beasts. They varied considerably in size, ranging from beasts so enormous that their bodies resembled small hills to others scarcely larger than ordinary animals. Their shapes and forms were equally diverse, some possessing thick limbs and plated hides, others covered in scales, claws, or strange protrusions that served no immediately apparent purpose. Yet, regardless of their differences, they all shared the same fate.

They had been torn apart.

Some bodies had been split open, their innards exposed to the open air. Others had been crushed beneath overwhelming force, their limbs bent at unnatural angles or their bodies reduced to little more than mangled remains. Several had been thrown considerable distances, leaving long furrows in the earth where their bodies had struck and dragged across the ground. In places, the grass had been flattened beneath the weight of fallen beasts, while elsewhere the soil had been churned into mud by the bodies scattered across it.

Crimson blood stained the grass in broad patches, pooling beneath the corpses and seeping into the earth. Others had spilled an almost black substance that clung to their bodies and spread across the ground in unpleasant stains. The smell was worse still. Blood, torn flesh, and the peculiar odor of Deseruit Beast’s remains had mixed into something that would have been unbearable to anyone with an ordinary constitution. Even a brief stay among the corpses would have been enough to turn the stomach of most people.

Yet Echidna found herself sitting rather leisurely atop one of the fallen beasts.

The Deseruit Beast beneath her was canine in appearance, although its proportions were considerably stranger than those of any ordinary animal. Its body was broad and heavily built, with a thick shell covering much of its back. The beast’s head rested awkwardly against the grass, its body completely motionless, while Echidna sat comfortably upon its shell.

Her posture was relaxed, and her emerald eyes wandered over the surrounding corpses with detachment that seemed inappropriate given the circumstances. She did not appear disturbed by the slaughter, nor did she seem impressed by the amount of blood covering the plains. Instead, she regarded the aftermath with mild interest.

("He’s thorough, if nothing else.")

The Mother of Monsters idly followed the scattered remains with her gaze before eventually allowing her eyes to travel upwards, towards the individual responsible for the carnage.

General Magnus stood in the center of the slaughter.

His enormous frame was surrounded by the bodies of the beasts he had dispatched, his dark armor bearing the marks of their destruction. Blood covered nearly every exposed section of his plating, spreading across the decorative patterns and gathering in the crevices between the individual pieces. The dark-blue designs that had once distinguished his appearance were now partially obscured beneath thick red stains. In certain places, the coating was so extensive that one might have mistaken those sections for being red by design.

The general stood with his chest held proudly and his shoulders squared, seemingly unconcerned by the state of his armor or the countless corpses surrounding him.

"What a paltry performance," Magnus declared, his booming voice carrying across the plains. He swept one arm outward, presenting the slaughter as though it were an achievement worthy of an audience. "And yet, I suppose I should not have expected anything more from creatures of such limited worth. They were thoroughly outmatched from the beginning. Not one possessed the strength or courage necessary to stand before me. Of course, none of them ever stood a chance against the might of a warrior blessed by my great Goddess!"

There it was again.

The general had a habit of boasting, and his declarations were almost always accompanied by some reference to the greatness of Goddess Octavia. His arrogance was considerable, but it was difficult to separate it from the almost religious pride he possessed in serving her. He did not simply believe himself to be powerful; he regarded his strength as an extension of the Goddess’s will, and any accomplishment he achieved was, in his eyes, another reason to praise her.

Echidna watched him for a moment.

("That I should be left with such an oaf...")

She nearly sighed, her lips parting as though she were about to release the breath. However, she stopped halfway, reconsidering whether even that small expression of exasperation was worth the effort.

The culling of the Deseruit Beasts had not taken particularly long. Magnus had made short work of them, and, true to his earlier declaration, he had refrained from using his Divine Power. Instead, he had relied entirely on his physical strength, dispatching them through direct, overwhelming force.

It had been an entertaining spectacle at first.

During the initial few minutes, Echidna had found herself genuinely interested in watching him work. There was something fascinating about witnessing such a physically imposing being move with the speed he possessed. His enormous frame did not seem to hinder him in the slightest.

However, there was only so much entertainment to be found in watching the same display repeated.

One beast would approach, and Magnus would crush it. Another would attempt to attack from the side, only to be struck down before it could reach him. Larger beast fared little better, their size offering no meaningful advantage against someone capable of overpowering them through sheer physical strength.

Eventually, the spectacle became monotonous.

And, unfortunately, the repeated displays of overwhelming physical force brought back memories Echidna would rather have left undisturbed.

Her expression shifted.

Excessive displays of strength had a way of reminding her of someone in particular. Someone whose physical capabilities had once brought her perilously close to death. The memory was unwelcome, and the more she considered it, the more unpleasant it became.

Echidna scowled.

She quickly shook her head, dismissing the thought before it could develop any further, and placed a hand against the shell beneath her. With a graceful movement, she rose from her seated position, allowing her feet to settle upon the bloodstained grass.

("I’m already frustrated that the Angel simply left me behind. There is little point in dwelling on that particular battle again.")

Her gaze briefly shifted towards the direction in which Mikoto had disappeared.

The fact that he had abandoned her still bothered her more than she cared to admit. It was one thing to be treated as an inconvenience, but quite another to be left behind with someone like Magnus without even being given the opportunity to object.

Still, Echidna was not inclined to admit that she had been offended.

("Hm. Perhaps he merely grows frustrated by my beauty. Perhaps he simply cannot trust himself to remain composed around someone as beautiful as me.")

A smug smile gradually formed upon her lips.

("It would hardly be surprising. Even an Angel might find himself tempted under the right circumstances.")

Of course, she could not have been more wrong.

"So, are you finally finished?"

Echidna turned her attention back towards Magnus, watching him as he stood among the corpses. Her tone was neutral, though there was a trace of impatience beneath it. She had allowed him plenty of time to indulge himself in his display of strength, and she was beginning to wonder whether he intended to remain there boasting about it for the rest of the day.

"Of course!" Magnus answered immediately.

He turned slightly towards her, his enormous arm moving with a confident sweep as he gestured towards the surrounding plains.

"Not a single one remains standing. Every creature that dared oppose the Lord’s command has been dealt with, and the task has been completed exactly as instructed. Anything less would have been unacceptable. Indeed, allowing even one of these wretched creatures to escape would have been the gravest insult to the Lord’s wishes!"

"Uh-huh."

Echidna offered little more than a half-hearted acknowledgement.

She did not seem interested in hearing another declaration of Magnus’s accomplishments. Instead, she folded her arms elegantly beneath her sizeable chest as she considered something that had been bothering her since his arrival.

There was a question she had wanted to ask for some time.

"But tell me something," she began, her emerald eyes settling on the General. "Why is someone like you so obediently answering an Angel’s every command? You speak of your Goddess constantly, and you have made it quite clear that your strength comes from her. Yet here you are, carrying out the wishes of someone who, as far as I can tell, is neither your master nor your Goddess. I find the arrangement rather curious."

"Because my Goddess demanded it."

Magnus answered without the slightest hesitation, as though the matter were so straightforward that it hardly warranted further explanation.

Echidna blinked.

"Your Goddess..." she repeated, allowing the words to linger for a moment. "The one you mentioned earlier. Octavia, was it? The Goddess who oversees War and Magic in the other realms?"

Her interest had become considerably more apparent.

She tilted her head slightly, recalling the information Magnus had previously provided.

"I believe you also mentioned that the Angel was her consort, but that he were brethren as well. I must admit, that is a rather unusual relationship. Not to me but to an Angel. And I would have thought someone as devoted to her as you would be able to explain it."

"Such complicated matters are beyond my ken."

Magnus’s answer was unusually restrained. His enormous head remained directed towards the distant plains, and the glimmer of light upon his helmet offered no indication of what expression might lie beneath it.

"But the Lord is important to my Goddess. That much is clear to me. She is not one to express affection freely, nor does she often make her feelings known to others. Yet, when it comes to him, she does so without reservation."

He paused briefly.

"I do not pretend to understand the circumstances that brought them together, nor would I presume to question the nature of their relationship. Whether they are brethren, consorts, or something that I cannot properly comprehend, it matters little to me. My Goddess has made her wishes known, and she has placed considerable importance upon the Lord."

His gaze remained fixed on the horizon.

"For me, that is enough. I need no further explanation to understand why I have been commanded to serve him."

("Curious.")

Echidna lowered her gaze, considering his words.

She had encountered plenty of strange beings throughout her existence, and the circumstances surrounding Mikoto had already proven to be unusually difficult to understand. Still, the idea of a Goddess becoming involved with an Angel was not something she had anticipated.

("I never thought a Goddess would elope with an Angel. But more than that... brethren? Just how does that relationship come to be?")

Her brows drew together slightly.

The more she learned about Mikoto, the more questions seemed to emerge. His abilities were unusual, his nature was difficult to place, and the beings connected to him appeared to possess histories that she could not readily reconcile with what she knew.

Even Magnus, for all his straightforward manner and excessive boasting, was another piece of that growing mystery.

And, as always, Echidna found herself with considerably more questions than answers.

"But the Lord has given me another command," Magnus spoke up, drawing her attention away from her thoughts. "I am to search for his remaining comrades and determine their whereabouts. I have no intention of leaving the task unfinished."

"Yes, we were all separated," Echidna replied.

She unfolded her arms.

"During the teleporting, everyone was scattered across the surrounding area. I cannot say precisely where the others ended up, but if you possess some means of locating them, then I would advise that you make use of it. There is little point in remaining here."

"I already have."

Magnus raised one of his enormous, armored hands, and his index finger extended towards the eastern horizon. His helmet turned slightly in the same direction, suggesting that he had already identified something beyond what Echidna could perceive.

"I can sense two distinct beings over there. Their presences are somewhat obscured, however. It appears they are in the process of being blotted out by a considerable number of smaller creatures. I cannot yet determine their precise condition, but there is clearly something surrounding them."

Echidna followed the direction of his finger.

Her emerald eyes narrowed as she attempted to make out anything in the distance. From where they stood, the plains extended far beyond the immediate area, and the destruction caused by the battle made it difficult to distinguish individual movements. Even so, Magnus’s ability to perceive the presence of others from such a distance was noteworthy.

But before she could ask him to elaborate, his raised hand shifted.

The General’s arm slowly turned upwards, his finger now pointing towards something much higher.

"The other..."

Echidna’s gaze followed.

At first, she did not understand what he was indicating. Her eyes travelled upwards, searching the clearing sky until she finally noticed a distant object descending through the atmosphere.

It was moving across the heavens, leaving the impression of something falling from an extraordinary height.

Her brows gradually rose.

"A... falling star?"