Chapter 108: No More Warnings

In contrast to the recent events in the kingdom, the sun shone brightly over Phatar that morning.

Nerez's group had gotten up early to make the most of the day, but even so, they ended up leaving later than expected because Nerez himself was nowhere to be found.

It wasn't until well into the morning that he finally reappeared, allowing the three of them to set out.

"Well?" Cerys asked, leaning in beside Nerez.

"Well what?"

"Where did you go this time?"

"But, Cerys, doesn't Nerez sneak off on us all the time anyway?" Ily pointed out, leaning in from the other side.

"That's true! Stop sneaking off on us...! But this time was different. It was like what you used to do in Elysium. You went so far this time that your presence completely vanished from the county. Was it something you had to do as the god of death? What happened to the vacation?"

"That far?" Ily asked without giving it much thought, but then her eyes widened in surprise. "Wait... Cerys, you can sense someone from all the way across the county?! Sometimes I forget you're a goddess too..."

"Hey!"

"But what's even more surprising is finding out that Lord Nereziel would occasionally leave the underworld... Were you making trips like that even when we were travelling together?" Ily continued.

"...I do have to travel far every now and then. Though I've always kept those trips fairly discreet, unlike this vacation, ironically enough."

"But don't change the subject! Where did you go this time?" Cerys insisted.

"Even I have to work once in a while. Mainly when I can't sleep because someone's voice won't stop echoing directly in my head."

"Whose voice?" Ily asked, intrigued.

"It isn't always the same person. Well, today it was one of the usual offenders... Though generally speaking, they're all just troublemakers. For me, at least."

"Lady Selene?" Ily asked again.

No wonder she's the leader of Mirror. Getting as much information as possible has become a habit for her...

"No. That sly fox can already see everything from the moon. She doesn't need explanations," Cerys replied, crossing her arms.

"And the Lady of Dusk has spies all over the continent. Mirror works with her too," Ily added. "So I don't think it was her either."

"It's not important," Nerez said with a tired sigh. "The only thing I care about right now is where to go next. I've had enough of this kingdom..."

"But, Nerez," Cerys continued from beside him, "couldn't you just stop listening to those voices if you wanted to?"

"I could, that's true."

"So?"

Nerez glanced sideways at her.

"You'd be the first one I'd stop listening to."

"Hey!"

"Look," Ily suddenly cut in, pointing ahead. "There's an old man sitting by the side of the road..."

Sure enough, a few meters ahead, an old man sat calmly on a rock in the middle of nowhere.

As they drew closer, the old man, his eyes closed and seemingly asleep, suddenly lowered his staff to block their path.

"Once you reach the forest, turn right at the fork," the old man instructed without opening his eyes. "Take the left path and you'll run into a nest of tarentes."

"Tarentes... those arachnid monsters..." Ily remarked thoughtfully. "It's true they're native to Phatar, so they're easier to find around here. Thank you very much for the warning, youngster!"

"Youngster?" the old man muttered.

Ily started walking again, but stopped a few steps later when she noticed Nerez and Cerys had stayed behind.

Nerez summoned his Eidolon out of thin air, and at the sight of the book, the old man nearly fell backward in surprise.

"Bardun, right?" Nerez asked as he closed the Book of Death he'd just been leafing through.

"How do you know my name?!"

"Could you stand up for a second?"

The old man did as asked, though he seemed a little uneasy, and slowly stepped away from the rock where he had been sitting.

Cerys then walked over to said rock and sent it flying with a single kick.

!!

At that, the old man finally opened his eyes and let out a startled yell. A moment later, that surprise had already turned to irritation.

"Young people these days have no respect!" he complained. "Still, that's some inhuman strength you've got..."

But more importantly, several bones were now visible jutting out of the ground where the rock had been.

"This is your grave, isn't it, Bardun?" Nerez asked again with a smile.

"What's it to you if it is?! And why aren't you scared in the first place?!" But the old man's gaze shifted toward Ily, who was staring blankly. "At least I'm not the only one who doesn't understand what's going on..."

"I do understand!" the visiare protested, hurrying back over. "I just wasn't expecting this!"

"Ha! And you call yourself a resident of the underworld?!" Cerys teased.

"Souls are the Inner Underworld's business! I live in the Outer Underworld!"

The old man watched the exchange, even more confused than before.

"Bardun," Nerez called again. This time, he placed a hand on the old man's shoulder, startling him even further when he realized Nerez could actually touch him. "It's time for you to go to the underworld."

"To the underworld?!" the old man groaned. "So your companions were really talking about that underworld?! But that's the domain of Nereziel, the king of the demons!"

Well, I should've expected that. We're in Phatar, after all... It might just be more propaganda from the Church of the Sun, but I need to ask Drazira what exactly the demons do outside the underworld...

"I know it has a bad reputation, but trust me, it's really not that bad," Nerez explained, trying to force a smile.

"But what are travelers going to do without my warnings?!" the old man insisted. "That tarente nest has been there for decades! It's enormous! My entire village had to relocate! Leaving my bones here..."

"The living aren't the dead's problem," Nerez said with a sigh. "But if you're that worried, we can put up a sign."

"My entire existence can be replaced by just a sign..."

"Actually, a sign is much more reliable than a soul that may or may not show up," Ily pointed out, resting a hand on her chin.

"I always show up when it's truly dangerous! Don't underestimate my determination!"

"But wait, it's true that Eryndea has a pretty high literacy rate for some reason, though now that I think about it, there's a better solution... Cerys."

Cerys, who was already stretching beside him, nodded with a smile.

"A little morning exercise won't hurt!"

With a powerful leap, Cerys shot off toward the forest, leaving the old man dumbfounded.

"Wha... What is that young lady going to do?"

"She's going to take care of your problem."

"...What?"

***

"What kind of animal is this?" Nerez asked, popping a piece of the freshly roasted meat they'd prepared for lunch into his mouth.

"I don't know! But it looked delicious, so I couldn't pass up the chance to hunt it!" Cerys replied, stuffing a piece much larger than Nerez's into her mouth until her cheeks puffed up like a squirrel's.

"It's a locomo," Ily replied, turning the meat on the makeshift spit they'd built from a few sticks over the fire.

It looks like a cross between a boar and a deer, though Eryndea has both of those animals too. Curious...

"It's a local delicacy! One of the reasons those damn tarentes settled around here!" Bardun exclaimed cheerfully before sinking his worn teeth into a huge piece of meat.

"I didn't know souls could eat meat..." Ily remarked, puzzled.

"Now that you mention it..." Bardun said with his mouth full.

"It's because he's next to Nerez, of course!" Cerys replied after swallowing.

"Don't worry about the details. Think of this as a small advance on your reward for all the good you've done over the years," Nerez explained with a smile. "Edrick's helpers... the Ferrymen will take care of the rest."

"I see... I don't understand anything yet, but I'm not going to complain!" the old man replied, taking another bite of meat.

***

A fierce battle between the armies of Aldimor and Lovern raged across the rocky plains stretching as far as the eye could see.

The two nations had been enemies ever since the old kingdom they once belonged to broke apart, giving rise to both.

Their decades-long enmity showed in the brutality with which the soldiers fought one another. Everything pointed to another day of heavy casualties.

"Aren! Lord of war, master of the battlefield, and guardian of the warriors' oath!" The high priest of Aldimor brought down his ceremonial knife and, in a single motion, slit the throat of the white lamb he held by the horns. "Accept our offering and grant your valiant followers glorious victory!"

The rest of the priests surrounding the sacrifice began chanting as the lamb's blood formed a magic circle of its own accord.

Once the circle was complete, it flared with brilliant red light that flowed into the swords and shields of Aldimor's soldiers.

"How is this possible?!"

"What's happening?!"

Meanwhile, on Lovern's side, the priests were in an uproar.

"The lamb! It died on its own!"

"Dead?! But it was young and healthy!"

"It doesn't matter! Bring another!"

"They're all dead!"

"All of them?!"

"Someone must have poisoned their water overnight!"

"Damn it! Quickly, tell the general! There'll be no blessings for us in this battle! He needs to mobilize the mage battalion!"

The god of war's blessing alone could not win a battle, but it certainly helped when the two armies were evenly matched.

Lovern tried to counter, but Aldimor was already seizing the opportunity and advancing with everything it had.

A young woman with blue eyes and long blonde hair tied in a braid that fell down her back watched this turn of events from the sky.

From atop her Eidolon, Vilkie oversaw her squadron of winged cavalry, which took no part in the war. At least, not in the fighting.

Hidden from mortal eyes, the beautiful female warriors mounted on pegasi gathered the souls of the soldiers who had fought most valiantly before dying.

Vilkie had been doing this for way more than a thousand years, but never before had she felt this worried. She and Aren both believed they should ask Nerez for permission, but Helux had refused to let them contact him. They were members of the Zenith Faction, after all.

What had kept her calm was the belief that the god of death did not truly mind. He had never protested. But apparently, they'd been wrong, and Nereziel's patience had finally run out.

The retaliation in Phatar had been swift and brutal.

"Nerez..."

The memory still pained Vilkie. She remembered as clearly as if it had happened yesterday how Nerez had faced Helux for her sake.

***

Upon returning to the Hall of Champions, a colossal fortress built in a valley surrounded by impenetrable mountains, Vilkie was met with news of an unexpected visitor.

"Vesca?" she asked, dismounting from her Eidolon before dismissing it.

"Yes, my lady," replied one of the champions in gleaming armor who had been waiting for her. "She's with Lord Aren right now."

A bad feeling came over Vilkie, and she hurried inside.

...

Thanks to the skills at her disposal, it didn't take the lesser goddess long to reach her destination at the end of a towering corridor supported by broad columns.

The champions stationed on either side of the massive double wooden doors opened them the moment they saw her, allowing her into a spacious, lavish room without delay.

The room had several seats arranged in the center, and lounging sideways on one of the sofas was the ever-wandering and elusive goddess of wind. Aren, meanwhile, sat in the armchair opposite her, his head lowered in thought.

"Oh, Vilkie. Long time no see..." Vesca greeted her with a crooked smile.

"Vesca, what do you want now?" Vilkie replied curtly as she approached the two gods.

"Why so hostile? Don't you like visitors?" The goddess of wind laughed as she sat up. "This place is so secluded, I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't."

"I don't mind visitors. My problem is with the ones who do nothing but bring bad news," Vilkie countered, crossing her arms.

"Bad news?" Vesca asked, theatrically resting her cheek on one hand. "I only ever bring messages from my lord and husband, Helux."

"Same thing," Vilkie scoffed, looking away.

"Vilkie," Aren chided.

She let out a resigned sigh and took her place behind Aren's armchair.

"Well, I waited for your lieutenant as you requested, so can I finally deliver the message...?" Vesca continued, smiling once more. "But, god of war, judging by your expression, you already have some idea what this might be about."

"Given recent events, it isn't hard to guess," Aren replied dryly.

Behind him, Vilkie's expression hardened as well.

"Is that so?" Vesca said, bringing her hands together. "Well, I'll just say that Helux's plan will finally put an end to that sweet illusion of a long-distance friendship you had with the god of death."