Chapter 234: [A Mountain of War and Death] 19/?: Onwards to the Harpy Tribe!
Chapter 234: [A Mountain of War and Death] 19/?: Onwards to the Harpy Tribe!
—–
After having breakfast, Ervas and Veronica sat down with the rest of their family and allies, as they discussed their next course of action.
The ‘Veronica’s Express’ had already set into the skies, carrying the bear-kin towards the Igni Kingdom, and now only a small camp where everyone was resting remained within the barren land that remained in the middle of a small forest area around the mountains.
Although most of the people were sent towards the Igni Kingdom, those that remained were the battle-capable ones that wanted to help Veronica and Ervas’ group in whatever they needed.
And certainly, an army of incredibly strong and resilient warriors would be a good addition to the army that they had.
However, Veronica and Ervas would not simply let them go as they were, all of them were given several pieces of equipment, new weapons, and a few accessories and items.
Such people would keep on standby until they were necessary, for now, they kept on the camp preparing for the battles to come.
“So, what do we do now, peko?” asked Pekorina with a curious expression in her adorable emerald eyes, as she snacked on a carrot.
There was a certain tension within the environment, making Pekorina a bit nervous. Such nervousness made her instinctively say ‘peko’, something that she says only when she is nervous.
“We are still considering what to do now, Pekorina,” said Ismene.
“We’ll go to the Harpy Tribe and rescue the people there, it’s the best thing we can do. We can think about defeating the Necromancer after we secure the safety of the people…” said Ervas.
“Yup, according to what little Azra-san says, although we don’t know much about the Necromancer, we know that the bastard would most likely go straight towards the next resource it could grab, such as the harpies…” said Veronica.
“It is good that they’re rather far away, almost at the top of the mountain,” said Ervas.
“I am sorry to not be of much use about these things. Although I and the other kids that were with me were close to the Necromancer many times, it was never on a personal level, at most, we were simple servants or pawns. He never revealed his true intentions nor his plans, even less who he really was. The only thing we know is that he was a Lich with extraordinary powers and spells…” said Azra.
“Don’t worry, Azra, you’ve said what you could, rest at ease,” said Gaius.
“Hm, leave the rest to us,” said Ragdaz.
“No, I also want to help out as much as I can…!” said Azra, although he was willing and had the strength, he was still weak and frail.
“We could still use your strength, but make sure to remain in the backlines. What you have told us and what we have learned is good enough of a help, Azra,” said Veronica with a warm smile.
“Indeed, knowing about the Necromancer’s ability to accumulate negative emotions from dead spirits through its mysterious Death Attribute Spells was certainly intriguing. It also gave us some insight into why he looks for people despite already having an army of Undead that keeps expanding as he exists,” said Ervas.
“If we compare him to us, he completely beat us as a Necromancer. Although we can create much Undead, not all of them are so battle capable… He also holds a greater control over them, and most likely counts with a series of spells to enhance them as well…” said Veronica.
“That is right, although we count with fewer allies that are stronger than the masses he possesses, we must still be very careful…” said Veronica.
“I think that you two are being a bit too overly cautious here… But it is good to be, seeing on how strong that Necromancer might be…” muttered Ismene.
“Thing is, the Necromancer might be something more than a simple Lich,” said Ervas.
“Hm? What do you… mean?” asked Jason.
“No way… another god?!” asked Anna.
“Not exactly… Calm down, Anna. But it is something similar, and it might be trying to get there eventually, isn’t it?” asked Veronica.
“Indeed, although we never got to know him better, he was always clear about his greatest goal, ‘reaching godhood’ as he said… We never knew how exactly he would do such a strange thing, but he was amassing power through negative emotions and large quantities of mana and dead spirits for that purpose…” said Azra.
“What, peko?!” asked Pekorina.
“Gubo… Raising to godhood? Is that even possible, gubo? Aren’t gods born as gods, gubo?” asked Aqua.
“Well… that’s certainly a partial truth,” said Veronica.
“We don’t know about this as much as you imagine, but we do know that there are Gods that were once mortals. Through some method, original gods such as the Dark and Bright Gods raised them into godhood… There are also the Demon Gods, who were originally monsters for the most part. There seems to be a special method to raise to godhood that these Gods realized, but perhaps not all of them figured it out and received the help of another Demon God above them,” said Ervas.
“Yeah, that’s right. For example, Ratatoskr, Daeva, and Ophelia all seem to have been originally mortals that became goddesses after receiving the help of the Dark Gods they serve,” said Veronica.
“So we could become Gods if a God helps us out?!” asked Acathea.
“That’s amazing! Could you ask miss Ratatoskr to make us gods then, auntie Veronica?” asked Amelia innocently.
“I don’t think it’s that easy, Amelia…” said Ismene as she grabbed her daughter and made her sit on her lap.
“But if we become gods, we’ll be able to beat anyone!” said Amelia.
“Just as your mother said, Amelia, it seems to not be that easy. As they barely do this for hundreds of years. It seems that only those incredibly worthy are given the chance,” said Veronica.
“The Necromancer must know of this method we mentioned earlier about the Demon Gods figuring it out, although perhaps it might be simpler than we imagined, and any living being that can Rank Up can become a God naturally after training and raising through many Ranks, as we suspect. However, for those that cannot Rank up and can only change Jobs, the special evolution required or power to attain godhood is instead granted by an external force, such as the Gods,” said Ervas.
“But why does he know of this method if he is not a god?” asked Anna.
“That’s simple, he used to be one, he’s a fragment of one, a piece of one. He’s a fragment of the Demon God-King,” said Veronica.
“That’s…” muttered Ismene.
“The Demon God King?! Impossible…! …Wait, no! It could be possible, the Necromancer… so that is it! His Aura, his whole presence! His power and even his vast knowledge and cunningness… He is a fragment of that wicked Demon God that once stirred chaos amongst the Ragnarök and even forced both factions to momentarily ally against him?” asked Azra.
“It seems that you have nourished your mind with the knowledge within the history books, have you not?” asked Veronica.
“Who’s the Demon God King or whatever?” asked Acathea.
“Ah, perhaps the younger generations have not been taught enough… The Demon God-King was an antagonistic figure within the Ragnarök, the ancient war between the Bright Gods and Dark Gods that decided the fate of our world. After that war is how our current world was made. Where Humans, Elves, and Dwarves are considered ‘people’ while we, Beastmen and Demons, are considered ‘monsters’… Although this only applies within the content we are currently in,” said Ismene as her eyes showed a hint of wisdom.
“I see… But what did that guy even accomplish if he was beaten anyways?” asked Amelia.
“A lot of things, mostly the destruction and suffering of a lot of people. The Demon God-King was a chaotic God that used its unique Death Attribute Magic and other types of capabilities to govern over all of the Demon Gods with intimidation. He was set in conquering the world and making it his own, managing to kill many Gods, despite a God’s soul being immortal…” said Veronica.
“Hm? So like Ervas and Veronica, peko?” asked Pekorina.
“…Kind of. But we do not plan on doing what he did. The power we hold shall only be used to protect those we love,” said Ervas.
“Yeah, we’ll use this power way better than that being…” said Veronica.
“Wait… if that Necromancer is truly a fragment of that being… Wouldn’t he be able to… break the souls of beings as well? Just like you do?!” asked Acathea.
“We might suspect that…” said Ervas.
“As Azra said, he had the power to manipulate Souls and change their structures. He is but a fragment or two of the original God, so his power must be very weakened in comparison to the real deal… But we must remain wary. Whenever we confront him, we cannot get near him,” said Veronica.
“That’s right, we cannot get near him, at least… not all of you… Well, for now, we’ll move towards the Harpy tribe and quickly retrieve them with us,” said Ervas.
“We can choose what to do whenever we manage our duty there,” said Veronica.
The group nodded in agreement as they quickly began to pack things up while Veronica generated a large Cursed Graveyard where they were, turning the dirt purple as many graves sprouted out of the necrotic dirt.
“Did your clone reached the tribe?” asked Ervas.
“Yeah, it’s there, and the army of Undead are already there! Let’s go, everyone!” said Veronica, as she shapeshifted into a large carriage, where everyone entered in a hurry.
The second afterward Veronica teleported through the Cursed Graveyard effect, appearing near the Harpy tribe!
“This is incredibly convenient,” said Ervas.
“Isn’t it~?” said Veronica.
After having teleported there, everyone glanced at the approaching armies of undead, as the harpies readied their weapons, unaware of their visit and prompt assistance.
Everyone jumped towards the battle, as Veronica readied herself… only to be distracted by the faint presence of melancholy within the nearby forest.
“Is this…? This place is oddly empty of dead spirits… but that one…”
—–