Chapter 8: The Roads to Hell.
Actually, there was some misunderstandings. After a bit of talking and explanation, we found out that the monster was not an enemy.
"Hahaha! You should've told us at the start! Why make that awful entrance?!"
Den laughs as he drinks his alcohol. We all stayed camping, soon, everyone fell asleep, leaving me and "Fang" alone. Yes, his name was Fang, seems like he's a Dragonspawn, a hunter from a far away land.
"What were you doing out here, Fang?"
I write on a paper.
"The Blood God has awakened... No, they will awaken soon..."
The Blood God again?! How many times will I hear that name?!
"Fear not, Hu-... you're not human..!"
Eh? Did he see me use my Blood Magic? Fufufu..! Can't blame him then, these powers don't really belong to a human.
"Hah... Well. Whatever you are. You are not sinner. It isn't common to find non sinners nowadays. There are still lots who roam around. But since the sinner population has grown too large, the Blood God will attack soon."
Do they bring judgement or something? Or maybe... They're just a strong person who got called a God? Because I've heard about it from Rabbit before, all Gods do not directly disturb the world or something..?
"I'm a sin hunter of the north. We tend to hide in forests because you humans keep attacking us. Though, it is reasonable. I'm still on the path to becoming a dragon. We dragonspawns come from dragons, of course. But once we get hold of True Dragon blood, we become a dragon again, a weaker one at least."
Fang helped us for the night, when sunrise came, he disappeared.
We continued down the road, after a path was made, probably by Fang, eventually, we got out of the forest without any problems. After 2 days, we finally arrived in the battlefields... Or, well... The city at least...
"Oh! Vixen! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you-..."
Frelhr appeared. I sigh in disappointment. Looks like his army has arrived before us, the battle is already over.
"What??!!"
"You're telling us that we came here just for nothing?!"
"Ohh nooo... Why did I come allongg...."
Everyone was mad, of course. We decided to stay in the city, another city was attacked again, but we needed to rest for a while.
One of Djoflour's military bases was nearby, which is also where I met up with Frelhr and Fin again, along with 2 new members of our group.
"Ho-ho-ho..! Is this leader?! What a weakling!"
"D-don't say that Manta..! I'm sorry, Vixen!"
Hah..? This is our new members? I wish I could speak right now, gah! How irritating! Our new members were "Manta" and "Sting". Isn't that just Manta ray and Stingray? Who named them? Reminds me of Rabbit.
They appear to be Shark-People. There're markings on their face and a tail like a shark's. But overall, you'd think they are just kids wearing a tail.
"They were siblings lost in war. Their parents died here, and they found out about our plans so we had to either get rid of them, or recruit them."
"What do you think? Vixen? They have an above average level for magic, but they also have potential to use a special kind of magic."
Hmm..? A special kind of magic? Is it Light? Dark? Or perhaps... Blood?!
"I can hear your thoughts, Vixen."
What?! How creepy! Did he learn [Telepathic Communication] spells?
"Yes I did. And also, no, these guys do not have any of those that you've just thought of. You see, they have Electricity magic."
Huh? Isn't that just normal magic? Can't anyone just also use that too?
"No. Not everyone can use it, or at least with their form. Sting, show your leader."
"Woo..! Very well then..! Behold! My Electromagnetic Magic!! Gamma Ray Burst!!"
Hm? Gamma Ray Burst? Wait, isn't that... That's like one of the strongest explosions in the universe!! How is that even electromagnetic magic?!
"Allow me to explain, Vixen... Hmm... Actually... I can't even explain this. No one has been able to use even 10% of Electromagnetic Magic's full potential yet. It isn't surprising that these guys can't use it as well. But good news is, they're only 8 years old!"
And? What would that mean?
"We'll break records by creating a master of Electromagnetic Magic..! We have a lot of time on our hands. They have the potential to master Electromagnetic Magic."
That's for all Electromagnetic Magic users... Even if they do have potential, that doesn't mean it's guaranteed that they'll become a master.
"Sigh... We'll do the best we can, Vixen. Also, they're not only useful if they have full power of E.M Magic, they can help us out with a lot of things too."
Give me an example.
"Uhh... Radio waves! We can use them as radios..!"
"What?! Don't think I'll ever agree to that!"
So they're useless huh... Suddenly, Fin gets up.
"Vixen, how about we create a massive weapon of ultraviolet radiation or something similar and shoot it at our enemies?"
Hmm... What a brilliant idea!
"Hohoho..!! I can do that! That's easy for me!"
"Alright then. Let us begin."
Wait. How do we even make it though? A massive weapon that can attack at a far distance, also, their magic energy isn't even above 3%, right?
"Worry not, we can amplify it with magic. All they have to do is cast a little bit of E.M Magic on the weapon and it will increase 10 times. We're not making a direct weapon, we're creating a magic amplifier."
Magic Amplifier?
"Yes, with technology and magic, it will be possible. I'll have some of my men help as well. In the meantime, Fin will train those 2 until their magic energy has at least reached 10% of E.M Magic's full potential."
Currently, our enemies are the demons and the holy kingdom, though, if Frelhr's men will help, only the demons can be attacked, because of course, it would be bad if people knew we were enemies with the holy kingdom.
"Also, Vixen. We can create, or learn new spells with their help too. E.M Magic is extremely rare so not a lot of people use E.M Magic spells. Even if they can't use it effectively, we can."
Gah... I kind of feel bad for Sting and Manta...
"Don't worry. No harm will be done of course. Their training sessions will only take place once every 3 weeks."
Wait, what? Wouldn't it take a long time then? Just for 10% of E.M Magic's full potential?
"E.M Magic is really dangerous. We need Manta and Sting to be as relaxed and calmed as possible, one wrong move and an explosion on the same scale of a Thermonuclear Explosion will occur."
What?! How ridiculous! Also, how does he know of Thermonuclear- or whatever, or Nuclear Explosions actually?!
"Rabbit told me about it."
Rabbit huh... How does she even know that anyways?
"Well then. We will start the plans, Manta, Sting, don't even worry about anything. My men are all over the city, and outside, basically, the entire city is safe. Unless there's a spy, which is very unlikely, feel free to roam around."
"Yay!! Thank you!!"
"Ha-.. haha... Much thanks to you, Commander!"
What shall we call this project, Frelhr?
"Magical Electromagnetic Superweapons Project. How does that sound?"
Eh... Good enough, I guess.
"See you later now, Vixen. This city is the safest place right now so I recommend that you stay for a while."
I will, goodbye Frelhr, and see, you, later!
I left the base later and went back to my team, the hero's party. Lare was just laying around, resting, and sleeping. Den sat on the floor, playing guitar, while Rayan continued fixing the ruined house, with Liand helping her.
"Next song... Also, more nails."
"Man... This guitar is cool! I'll take this with me."
"We've run out of nails!!"
Hold on, where's Crowler? Is he out hunting or something? I ask Den through a piece of paper.
"Where is Crowler."
"Him? Oh, he's just walking around out in the wild. Why do you ask?"
"Just thought one of our allies went missing."
"I see. What were you doing out there in the military base though? Wanting to send a message back to your family? Don't worry about them, Djoflour is one of the safest kingdoms right now!"
I see... I really hope so.
"Jruhgu", another city hit by one of war's consequences, it is the same city we are currently in. The most noticable things in this city are the cries and the pleads of those who lost something important in this war.
The gloomy clouds filled the skies. We were leaving in a few days, but until then, I had to progress the plan for tearing apart the holy kingdom.
"Blood Magic", it is a form of magic considered taboo, one would immediately think of "witch" or "vampire". It is safe to say that the Holy Kingdoms will turn on me one day.
"Vixen, we have completed the plan to counter the holy nations. After a long time pondering, I have come to the conclusion. That we should just join the demons."
The demons huh... Well, I'm pretty sure that they would immediately accept someone strong with Blood Magic. It's not a bad plan but is it really the final conclusion?
"Though... If you are actually a vampire, we can wait until the Blood God has come, and then request help. Actually, the Blood God is not a God, it's the First Pillar of Creation. Basically, the perfect human, 5 million- no. 1 trillion times the full potential of humanity."
What a ridiculous number. It feels like I'm talking to Rabbit right now, oh right, I must remember, she's gone now.
"Humanity branches down to 5 million years ago. The perfect human being was born, they're much closer to a vampire than a human. Currently, there are 5 pillars of creation born across the world, they are always born once a billion years."
Pillars of Creation, if I remember correctly, Rabbit told me about them. The Pillars of Creation are the Pillars which hold the dimension of humans together, in other words, the pillars of the human realm.
"The Blood God is the first. However... Back in the Great Catastrophe... An unknown force came down and defeated them. It's ridiculous but it's true. Once the Blood God comes back, we will have to be the first to meet them, and then befriend them. Fighting is pointless, no matter how strong you become, Vixen. A modern day creature has no chance against a primordial being."
So... In order to not be targeted by the holy kingdom, who has the help from the gods, I must team up with the Blood God.
"Vixen, you must meet Ruthenoceras Ptychodus, a friend of mine, she's originated from salmon sharks, but she's also a Beastfolk. You could call her a chimera. I believe that you'll meet her in the nearby city that the demons have attacked. I do hope Korpa will send you there. Good luck, Vixen."
And thus, we headed to another city. Me and the Hero's Party made our way through the harsh terrains and weather until we arrived at the city.
As the thunder roared, the rainstorm fell down on us, bloodshed brewing in the wind as the thick army of demons marched towards us.
We were sitting on a cliff. What a perfect opportunity to use Divine Intervention. The enemy crawled around like ants, waiting for their impending doom. The sun might be blocked but this amount of light should be enough to at least destroy all of them.
"You can use it now, Vixen."
"Go for it. Show these demons hell."
"Blow them to smithereens."
I take a deep breath before stepping forward, aiming the sniper rifle at the center of the crowd.
KABOOM
As the demons laughed their last laugh, immediate death struck them, blown to bits, all that's left of them now is their ashes.
"Woohoo!! Victory!"
"50 thousand gone... Just like that..."
Heh..! Don't be sad, Den. They are monsters after all.
"Let's go now! Mission accomplished! Time to take back the city, there are no more demons left in there so it should be easy."
Lare's right, all of the demons left the city that we were heading to, seems like they already knew that we were coming, but they definitely didn't expect us to destroy them in just a second.
We continued our way down to the city, but as we arrive... I sigh...
"Again..?"
"No... There-"
"Oh god..."
This city is destroyed... There is smoke everywhere, fires are raging throughout the place. We walk through the streets but can't find a single soul, not even a cry.
"Did we arrive too late..?"
"We crushed them without wasting another second... How..."
How can this be? Did I let people die again? I thought I avenged them already..?
"Hey look! Oh- never mind..."
"This guy's face is messed up..!"
We walk around, searching for survivors, if Frelhr was right, that one... Who was it again..? Salmon Shark or something..? They should still be out here.
"Let's split up. We can work more efficiently this way, don't forget to watch out for enemies too. Lare, and Rayan, go with Crowler. Vixen, and Liand, come with me."
We do as told, splitting up in two groups. Crowler's group goes down the left road, while we go right.
"What a horrid sight..."
"I can't even see anything..!"
After roaming around for a while, we eventually found out that there were no survivors in this city. We come back in a group to begin a discussion, what should we say to Korpa? All the demons were gone, along with the citizens?
"Sigh... The brass won't like this. Though, we can say that we confirmed all the demons are dead..."
"The demons aren't the main problem here. We came here as heroes, not weapons of war. The innocents lives are more important to us than the demon's."
Crowler stands up, seems like he's got an idea.
"Whatever happened... I can assume that we've been set up."
"Hm?! What do you mean?!"
"They destroyed this entire city just right before they tried to attack us. Or maybe..."
"They were sent to die."
Rayan says.
"Why..?"
The Blood God..? No... There were no bloodshed in my attack, they turned into ashes before they even bled.
"Sacrifices..."
"Sacrifices what?"
"They were sacrifices... I've heard of it before... In order to be revived, or revive something, 1 billion souls must be sacrificed."
"How stupid. That's too much for 1 soul."
"No. Actually, that's not even enough. Looks like there have been a 90% discount on a spell."
"Heh. No matter what you tell me. 1 billion or more souls is just a ridiculous amount."
No. I've heard of this before, Rabbit told me. During the Great Catastrophe, the one with the power of Mind Control was struck down, dead in an instant.
"... through means, physically, and psychologically. He, who delivered Divine Judgement unto mankind. But through the souls... The souls which made up the body, he revived. Though, he was killed, full body stopped, all sources of magic disappeared, right in an instant, he survived, for even a split nanosecond, and casted all souls into his body."
"And that man's name is..."
"Right. Remember this well. His name was-"
What was his name again? I can't remember...
Back to our discussion. Rayan and Crowler continues their argument, while Lare and Liand began cooking our food for the night, with Den looking around for enemies.
"Well. That's what I believe too, I've heard that this spell can bring anyone back to life. No matter what, or who, even if they've been erased from existence."
"Ha. Hahaha! You make me laugh, Rayan. There's no way that a spell like that exists."
"It's just a theory you idiot..."
"Huh?! What did you say?!"
Later, we slept inside a ruined house for the night, it was barricaded, and there were no signs of life other than us in the city anyways.