247 247: The end of South [pt2]
The atmosphere was tense on the tower’s ship. Even the most basic of humans could understand the concept of fear. So it was no wonder the huge number of mages on the ship could feel the tension rising in the air.
And it was all because of the presence of that blue-haired lady that had walked up straight into their ship.
Everyone knew who she was but no one dared to open their mouth to chase her away. How could they do that if they valued their lives after all?
Everyone knew who the leader of the southern fraction was since they had such a great influence on the tower’s decision.
And now Lady Dheva was standing on top of their ship as an enemy. It made everyone too nervous to even speak.
Everyone except Lady Minerva had an annoyed expression on her face. If there was one person who could face the formidable leader of the south, it was their goddess.
“Today must be a miraculous day for the leader of the south to show her presence so openly. What can I help you with?”
Minerva sounded bitter when she spoke. No one had heard such emotions in her voice for a long time.
It made people flinch away from her but no one was more surprised to see her acting like this than Karan.
He knew that there was a history of not liking each other between these parties but he had never noticed just how deep that dislike went.
And it seemed like it was not as one-sided as he had considered it before. It made him flinch as these ladies played war all over his head.
“I-If you both need privacy then I should leave you to be. I am sure you must feel uncomfortable with my presence here as well. Some things are best talked about in female company, right?”
Karan tried to extract himself from the situation entirely but one look from Minerva was enough to make him sit back down.
Call him a coward, but Karan knew when not to try and push his luck. Lady Minerva was too scared to go again. He better watches his mood and her expression as well.
Don’t be too hard on this poor guy Minerva. We all know you tend to get cranky from time to time. Now, why don’t we have a chat so that we can overcome your differences-“
The table between them cracked as Lady Minerva’s fist hit it at full force. There was a murderous expression on her face.
Most people would have flinched at this point and already made excuses for themselves. But not Lady Dheva. She looked no different from before but her eyes had gone dead in a matter of seconds.
These two ladies looked at each other, their gaze neutral. But anyone could see that they were not happy to see each other at all.
Karan, who was stuck in between this fighting pair could do nothing but sit back and try to surpass his presence. If he tried not to be there mentally, they would also not pay him any physical attention.
That was all dashed by Lady Minerva’s angry accusation. They made Karan flinch and he had to drop his face of indifference.
“How dare you show your face here after what you have done to us. Mei died because of your actions and now you have the face to come here and ask for cooperation? With what face are you showing up here?”
Lady Minerva was livid. Her eyes were bloodshot and ready to commit murder. A wise man would have taken this clue to know that he was fucked but not Lady Dheva.
Instead of looking worried, she just gave a pitiful smile back to Lady Minerva.
“Mei was an unfortunate child who had too much burden on her shoulder. I just allowed her the luxury of eternal rest she always carved. And it will be the same for all of you as well. Your era is coming to an end now.”
Lady Dheva seemed to have no filter to her words. Even Karan flinched hearing her words.
How could she say all that in front of Lady Minerva without flinching? Did she not fear death? Or was she confident that she would not be killed?
“Stop talking in riddles. Mei did not deserve to have her life cut short. I knew that you were conducting dangerous experiments but I let you be because I pities your conditions. But I can no longer overlook what happened. It’s time you give me an explanation of what you are planning.”
‘Ugh, Minerva is super pissed off right now. She is not likely to listen to anything Lady Dheva had to say right now. They are both so scary that I don’t even know who I should cheer for.’
Karen wanted to be anywhere but here. His body was even protesting against moving due to magic exhaustion.
But the stare-off between the two females in front of him did not slow down. It picked up the intensity in a matter of seconds.
All until Lady Dheva deliberately broke it off as she picked up her cup and took a sip slowly. There was a certain serenity to her actions.
“What do I want to do? I thought I made it pretty clear what I wanted. I wanted to get rid of the abyss once and for all. But it would not be possible until you gods are around. So you all need to go. Mei was just the first piece to that puzzle.”
“So you are saying that you are aiming to kill us all? What a foolish declaration to make after coming in here. You have no fear for your life. The south is already done and over with.”
Lady Minerva sounded confident when she made her claim.
Now that Lady Dheva was in their ship and the rest of the goddesses lured out, there was no one left to protect the southern palace. It was time to get rid of it.
“You can blast off that palace for all I care. But you cannot stop the clogs of fate that had been set into motion now. Things will happen whether you all like it or not.”
Minerva could no longer take it. With a single strike from her sword, Lady Dheva was impaled on a sword.
The lady did not look to be in pain or even surprised at what happened. Instead, she had a knowing look on her face as she faced the leader of the tower.
“You might not want to hear it all but even you know that the abyss is a ticking time bomb we need to get rid of. And you, you need to go back to your original body. How long are you going to play at being someone you are not? Come find me when you are ready and I will help you.”
Lady Dheva’s body collapsed into different particles of light. She had never been there, to begin with but had been an illusion all along.
Lady Minerva’s furious yell could be heard all over the base but Karan left her alone.
He had a feeling he knew what Lady Dheva’s parting words for him had meant. He did not want to believe that it was possible but he was sure that the lady knew about him and his circumstances.
So did that mean that his original body could be retained? He could go back to being human once he was done with everything. How wonderful would it be to be back in his own body?
“Fuck that crafty woman. She sacrificed the southern base to be able to escape. We need to do a lot of damage control right now. Send people out to help the poor and needy.”
Minerva took charge of the situation.
Now that they had won, it was more important than ever to sway public opinion in their favor. The public had an image of the tower that should not be tarnished. Karan knew how important it was to Minerva.
“I will head out to overlook the restorative measures myself. I will also make sure to capture any estray people we can use to get information out of.”
Karan suggested and Lady Minerva waved her hands in an aggreging motion.
She trusted Karan to a great extent and he felt guilty for using her trust like this. But he had a reason for wanting to go out into the field. And that was to help smuggle Aurora and her party away.
He had gotten a message from someone to help and Karan decided not to overlook it for now.
It was a risk for sure but one Karan was willing to take for the sake of his friends and loved ones. In the end, he was the one who decided to help Aurora out so he had to see it to the end.
And he was worried about the general public as well. It was also time to announce Mei’s passing.