[“… You are not ready yet, Saori.”] His voice echoed in my head, souring my mood as I stared at his stone statue. The dark, musty smell of this plain, underground cave I was trapped in made his words hit harder.
“I know.”
[“Then why must you keep persisting on this point! Why must you act so recklessly?!”] The voice of the old wolf was filled with bafflement, annoyance, and slight outrage. His already deep, growly tone was grating for my mind to listen to, not to mention the thick, stifling aura he was exuding.
However, unlike when we first met, I wasn’t afraid of this old wolf any longer. His aura was still oppressive, but I could hold on, keep my wits through it. Although my Territory training was a bit unorthodox, since it relied on [Shadow Armament], I had gotten better with using my personal aura skill.
I released [True Wolven Bloodlust], my evolved [Tyrant’s Aura], to push back against the old wolf’s aura. We stood there in a deadlock, unwilling to give any ground to the other. I was steadfast in my decision, and nothing would stop me.
Eventually, Belzac released his aura, letting it fade. [“… You haven’t finished your training yet. I still have so much more to teach you, my successor! Your shadow manipulation isn’t like liquid yet, nor have you finished your Territory! [Yomi] isn’t the real deal, it is only the catalyst for your true Territory!”]
Seeing Belzac finally acting normal, instead of forcing his opinions and decisions on everybody else eased the tension between us. However, after what felt like one and a half months, it was hard to not get used to his demeanor. He was like an old war veteran with a grouchy attitude, not to mention his own grudge fueling his determination.
“Then tell me. How will I continue hunting for levels? The swamp is being cleaned up by my pack. We have five rank Bs now, not to mention myself and a pretty hungry slime,” I argued back. “There is one thing I learned in my journey, and that is unless you keep pushing yourself, you don’t just magically become stronger. To see the mountains by yourself, you can create a goal and a plan to overcome them.”
My fight with the demonkin girl was still vivid in my head, unwilling to fade. She was one of Aurora’s biggest threats right now, and, unless I could surmount her, then I couldn’t call myself ready for the incoming battle with the demonkin princes.
Belzac went silent, a sign he was agreeing with my words. He then grumbled, before continuing his rant. [“Your reckless decision to dive into grimgarian territory might have worked this time, but it could just as easily have gone terribly wrong. Invading another region without any information at all was foolish! Know your place and role!”]
Belzac was talking about how I had invaded the grimgarian army’s territory with Asaka and my shadow pack earlier. Honestly, it would have never have really happened if a scouting party hadn’t tried to actually invade my forest while I was out hunting. It all felt like all of it happened yesterday.
It was planned that Tatsuya and Kyouya would leave us after they became part of my shadow pack so they could train under the vampires of Purchigchia. Vivachel, through Belzac, explained they could be trusted and that it would enrich the boys, but I did feel a bit wary since the vampires’ blood knights felt so… apathetic towards us.
Regardless, I didn’t think Vivachel would betray our trust at this point, or at least, her sisters didn’t think so. Ilsaphone and Kronnaz, the two other night sisters, told me I shouldn’t worry, before they just straight up vanished the next day. Honestly, those daughters of Marsven really made me not want to trust them.
In any case, after the boys departed with the vampires and Vivachel, we were also informed by former of the impending grimgarian invasion on Artorias. At the same time, some grimgarians had entered the forest, which helped me confirm the intel after I took them down. Thankfully, there weren’t any rank Bs amongst them since it was just a scouting party. I knew my students had met another scouting party when they first visited the forest and those trolls from when Hestia and I first met Tasianna, but I had mostly forgotten about them up until then. After I interrogated the grimgarians, which was quite easy since the goblins were beyond cowardly, I had made up my mind to attack the grimgarian army’s base.
Not only to take a chance to scout out the grimgarians, but also to help out Hestia, since that was the day I had lost her signal. Thankfully, her signal reappeared two days later, which was also when I had decided we had attacked enough. Our assault on the grimgarians forced the Ogre King to return his warships, since we literally went on a rampage with my shadow and [Shadow Armament: Yomi].
Oh, how I had a lot to tell the other Auroras once we reunited. The grimgarian army’s base was over the Avitor peaks, south of the levianewt’s Caedhul. When we entered the region through a tunnel, we found a forest area with multiple grimgarian camps acting as an impromptu border control.
Since the plan was just to cause chaos, I didn’t really check things out too much and just went ahead and began the hunt. With my shadow pack and Asaka, we destroyed the camps before they could even call for help. Outside the forest was also a rather rickety stone fort with a whole garrison and a rank B ogre as a commander.
While scouting and planning my attack, I had noticed a bunch of beastmen slaves working as labor, maintaining the fort and also taking care of the farm lands. This reminded me of the time Hestia, Tasianna, and I traveled with the lizardmen we met in the Belzac swamp and how they were brought to this side of the continent by the grimgarians to act as slaves. Naturally, this presented a grand opportunity for the rest of the campaign.
Where there were grimgarians, there were slaves. From what I remembered of what the lizardmen told me, most tribal beastmen from Carmaniate were used to fighting. As such, there were warriors amongst them, and although most were weakened, they still knew how to fight.
As such, the assault on the fort involved freeing the slaves and using them as an attack force while also having my shadow pack kill any grimgarian for experience. There were even more forts on the way to the main camp of the army, and that meant more kills and more freed slaves. It got to the point that, after everything was done, my garms and the mother virigress could all evolve into rank Bs. The two cubs, of course, still had a long way ahead of them.
Asaka and I had also leveled up a ton, not to mention even my garm mother had leveled significantly! Well, that wasn’t as important right now, and I believe I was rambling a bit, but to summarize, yes, the Ogre King knew my face now. Yes, he swore vengeance. And, yes, he was planning on avenging all the grimgarians I killed by attacking the Belzac forest eventually.
When that would happen, I did not know, but I understood that, until that day came, I had to expedite my training efforts even further. Or, if Belzac wasn’t willing to speed up my training, then I had to get ready to protect my forest from these invaders. This was my birth place, and a rather fond memory I shared with Hestia and Tasianan despite our tribulations here.
However, the old wolf wanted to have his way. He wanted me to continue on his plan to become his successor so he could get his vengeance on the elf who ordered his death, in addition to honoring his deal with Edna, the Goddess of Monsters and Fertility. He didn’t want to lose me like my great-grandfather garm who died during the garm hunt over ten years ago. As such, he was scolding me for attacking the grimgarian’s base.
When I brought these things up, Belzac couldn’t help but snarl. [“Unlike that rank A great-grandfather of yours who had an entire pack to protect him and still died to some rank A adventurers, you have my personal tutelage. You will follow my lessons and teachings without fail, and I will make you into a beast that can and will dwarf me in the future.”]
Belzac unwittingly followed a rather weird interpretation of the Shu-Ha-Ri idea, a Japanese martial arts concept about learning and mastery. From a short story I once read, the meaning behind the idea could be translated into “to keep, to digress, and to break away.”
In essence, it was a three stage cycle where you first learned and obeyed every single lesson from your master, following them even to a fault. The second phase was where you started to branch out, using not only your lessons from your first master, but also from the experience and people you met on your path. In the third and final path—the mastery—you overcame your “digression” from your master’s teaching, reaching a form of enlightenment where instead of copying others, you can adapt and approach every single situation in your own manner.
The third stage was essentially what every teacher wishes their students to adopt during the final exam. Honestly, I thought my party had reached the third phase a long time ago since we have to adapt our fighting styles against our different enemies.
However, the moment I went under this old wolf, I was sent back to “Shu.” I was to learn whatever he said and just obey, instead of thinking about it too deeply. Which went against what I wanted in my students, as I wanted them to think for themselves.
Even when I learned from the saurians, Gael, and Muraina, I never really had somebody as stubborn as Belzac. The former three always taught me one thing before letting me go, instantly putting me into the “Ha” phase. That was how I developed myself and continued evolving, but Belzac was so old-fashioned and completely different to Melloxtressa who gave Hestia a sense of autonomy.
I clicked my tongue, annoyed by his words. “You want me to act like a pawn.”
[“We already had this discussion. You are my successor. Young. How do you know better? How do you know what I am doing is incorrect when you cannot read my mind? I talk with you, explain to you, and be patient with your youthfulness. Do you believe I am a one-minded old fool?”]
… Sure. Maybe. I didn’t say anything, of course. Speaking with him about how he taught me always felt like I was speaking with the old teachers in my school.
Still, it wasn’t like he was incorrect, and that was important here. Looking through it from his perspective and weighing things on a scale.
“… Then, tell me, what will we do when the grimgarians attack?” I prompted. “I might have attacked the grimgarians without proper information, but you know best I usually don’t fight like that. I scout, I gather intel, and then I strike when the moment is right. My realm is the shadows, and I know it well.”
Hestia fought in the light, while I kept myself in the dark. Sure, I fought here and there like an actual bulky thunder wolf, but most of the time, it was Hestia in the front while I stood behind.
“Belzac, your home was invaded once, leading to the near extinction of your bloodline. The only ones left were the small pups. The fact my mother somehow survived all of that was a miracle. I heard her story.”
My garm mom’s story… It was a long one, but I had come to know her history. Of how her childhood was peaceful until the day the adventurers led a hunt on her grandfather—my great-grandfather. Most of her family died on that day, and her mother forced her to run away with the remaining pups.
As the new [Belzac’s Successor], she was forced into a role she didn’t expect to receive this early. Under the presumption she would reunite with her mother, she journeyed with her pack to the swamp where her mother told her to go, only to turn back once she accepted her mother’s death. She was so close to meeting the leviathan Vanialasma, the same one my party met.
With a new conviction, she kept her pact going, growing not only as a leader but also as a garm. However, these days wouldn’t last as when she birthed her first litter—my elder siblings—her pack went into disarray due to conflicting opinions. One side wanted to fight their way back to their ancestral home, the one where I was born, or to remain in their safe haven in the mountains. Sadly, Mom couldn’t stop the fighting.
Which all led to the events when Hestia first met mom when she was just a little rank F. How funny… my garm father could have killed Hestia on that day, weren’t it for a dispute Mom had with him. How unlucky Hestia had to meet them on that day, and how lucky she got away from them. Hestia really had protagonist powers sometimes.
In any case, the rest of the story didn’t go well… Mom had finally recaptured her old home after all the fighting had ended, but this left her weakened, causing her to develop complications with her next pregnancy. Outside of me, the entire litter were still births and this distress caused my Mom to have a mind break. She broke down, was close to death… only to then learn how Hestia had killed her remaining family.
I knew it was not a happy story when Hestia told me about it… but back then, I had no care for the garms. I did not blame Hestia one bit for what happened, it wasn’t my place to do so. However, I did feel some sympathy for what Mom had to endure. Thankfully, Mom didn’t blame Hestia too much since it led to my survival and growth.
“And that is why if you want to keep your legacy, you need to choose, Belzac,” I remained resolute with my decision. “Either you train me harder, or you help me ambush those grimgarians when they invade us. In other words, either help me with the theoretical teaching, or give me insight in how to ‘properly’ wield my powers in a practical situation.”
[“…”] Belzac went silent once again. Did I manage to persuade him?
Hell no.
[“… My empty vessel skill [Umbral Chaos] is too strong for you, Saori. You need [Territory Release] first.”]
“I can always buy it from the SP shop. I have an advanced aura skill to establish my Territory.”
[“You wish to cheat? You were a teacher in your past life, act like one!”] he scolded me, but I thought that argument didn’t work here. I wasn’t cheating when he didn’t want to teach me. [“No, you will learn when you are ready. This is for—”]
“Stop.” I held my hand up, shaking my head in exasperation. “Enough, if you will not even concede the point even a bit, then this discussion has no merit any longer. I shall go now, Belzac.”
I turned around and left Belzac’s chamber in silence, with the old wolf not complaining about it. A first.
“Saori-yo.”
I turned my head around after I left the tunnel leading to Belzac’s chamber, noticing a blue-haired girl lounging around on an impromptu sofa I had made by stuffing feathers inside my mana threads. She was upside down, swinging her head around as she played with both Shere and Ajay, Rajah’s two virigress siblings.
Both were rank D [Young Blackvenom Virigress] now, about the size of doberman. Despite their size changes, they still acted like children as they played with the girl. Speaking of virigress cubs, since I was technically the actual master of Rajah, I had also recently received a notification that he evolved into a rank C. I believe it has been four days now?
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Asaka, why are you using that honorific now?” I massaged my temples while confronting the girl on how she addressed me, finding it a bit unfamiliar.
“What? Don’t like it, teach? Well, whatever, I tried, right?” The girl then stood up from the sofa, holding herself up with a handstand. Her arms then began to light up black and white before she jumped onto her feet where her arms turned back to normal.
She then went close to a wall and watched the white glowing painting on it. Suddenly, a ying-yang symbol appeared on her hand as it transformed into a can of graffiti which she used to continue her graffiti. “You shouted. Didn’t work?”
I sighed, accepting that Asaka liked to express her creative desires through this hobby. In any case, I shook my head.
“Figures. You and that wolf fit together like great-great-great-whatever-grandfather and great-great-great-whatever-granddaughter. I see the resemblance.”
I glared at her, tilting my head a bit to show my annoyance before just shaking my head, ignoring her usual teasing. “… It sucks.”
“Yup,” she agreed before going to our impromptu kitchen and handed me a wooden bowl of cooked meat and greens. “Time to eat away our annoyance.”
I nodded and accepted it. We then walked over to our stone table, which we also had to make since we had nothing else. If we didn’t start furnishing everything, Belzac’s cave would have remained uninhabitable for any normal person.
Strangely, it reminded me how Hestia, Tasianna, and I had to make furniture, utensils, and everything else when we were first staying in the forest. Now, I was sharing this moment with the one student I never thought I would get along with. Well, we still didn’t get along, but since we were forced roommates, we had to endure each other’s personalities and quirks.
“Well seasoned,” I praised her.
“Still not as good as yours,” she spat back, unwilling to take my simple praise. “Enough flattery, what do we do? Starting to want to go out. Back to the others.”
I sighed and frowned. “I understand. You want to get back to Haruka-san and I want to reunite with the others of Aurora.”
“Hey, it’s not just Haruka-chan, okay?” Asaka’s face reddened, before she turned away and gave the two virigresses their portion of the meal. They thanked her through [Telepathy] before devouring the bowl with meat ravenous.
Watching them eat made Asaka smile for a bit, before she turned around where her mouth curved back down as she looked at me. “That girl just … needs somebody to push her. No backbone. Urgh, thinking about it just makes me worry about her, not to mention how she’s away from Kyouya.”
Kyouya and Haruka both liked each other, but I haven’t exactly heard of them going into a formal relationship. Haruka has always been a shy person since the moment I met her, where I instantly noticed her social skills were below average. On the other hand, she was a fantastic student, to the point people called her a genius with math.
With Asaka mentioning her, it did worry me a bit since she wasn’t in an environment where her natural skills could flourish. Introverted and analytical, she was the sort of person who could work the best in a room all by herself, keeping track of everything in spreadsheets and files.
Currently, she was part of Aurora’s merchant team alongside Ellaine and I, where she could use her ability to crunch numbers in a record time. Still, she had to speak with others, which was beneficial for her growth, but probably made her nervous. She could also help others with their SP usage, but that was about it for her talents. In a world where technology was better established, she could show her ability better. Then again, maybe she could ask Daichi and have him hack the Divine System.
… It was a weird idea, though. Daichi wasn’t a real hacker, he was just a tech wiz with severe self-confident problems, though different from Hestia’s issues, since she was more a perfectionist when it came to her goal as an idol. On the other hand, Daichi wanted people to like him since his parents taught him the importance of networking. He clung to others.
Daichi and Haruka couldn’t help each other, since both wanted different things.
Hmm, just thinking about those two makes me anxious. I really want to see them again. Even Kyouya and Tatsuya haven’t really gotten over their own problems …
I then looked over at Asaka, again.
“What?” She raised an eyebrow.
… Well, whatever.
I closed my eyes and finished up my lunch before I continued speaking, “We have no choice; if he won’t help us, then we need to do things our way.”
I couldn’t leave Belzac yet since he was right about one thing—I haven’t learned everything he could teach me. I wanted to accelerate everything since I wished to meet Hestia and the others again, but what good would cutting my training short do? This was a prime chance to learn from a rank S monster and inherit his techniques. To better Aurora, I had to become stronger.
As such, if Belzac didn’t want to help me, I had to do things my way.
I pulled out my [Room] runes and opened the portal. Belzac had always forbidden me to use them, but what punishment did he have after what happened today? He would force me to slow down? As if. Besides, I wasn’t planning to leave, I just wanted to update everybody on our situation.
However, when Asaka and I entered the subspace, it felt eerily empty. I thought at least one of the students or an Aurora member would be around. I walked through the restaurant portion of our place, realizing it hadn’t been used in a while due to a lack of, well, dirt. It has been cleaned, but every restaurant should have one or two imperfections from being used.
Did Tamae not open the restaurant once?
“Mhmm?” I snapped my body around as I heard that voice, tensing my body. “Woah!”
However, the moment I heard her voice, again, I loosened up. “Priscilla?”
“Hey, what’s going on?” A silver-white haired woman darted out of the kitchen, grimacing a bit as she held the young girl’s shoulders to support her. Her eyes then widened as she saw us. “Oooh, Saori! Asaka-chan, too! Wow, long time no see! … A-Also, when have you last taken a proper bath?”
“Y-Yorshka …” My mouth twitched as I turned my head away, too ashamed as I hadn’t noticed my smell in weeks.
In any case, seeing the mother and daughter reminded me of my own, my human and garm ones. Shaking away that sentimental thought, the four of us got to recap with each other, allowing both sides to learn what had happened to the other. The way they experienced the war and what Asaka and I had done against the grimgarians.
Hestia… Hmm, well, it would make sense why you would let that girl away… Vifi’Yok. I’m not ready yet to fight her alone or with my shadow pack.
Hestia had matured as a person, but she still had these reckless moments of hers. I was glad to hear she was getting along with her dragon sister, but felt wrong that she let a potential enemy like a Warbringer go because of her moral compass. During a war, morals would only stop you from doing what was the correct thing to do to survive and win…
And yet, I couldn’t help but be relieved that it was her decision. To be the idol she dreamed of, she wanted to bring a smile to everybody’s faces. When forced to act on moral decisions, an idol should choose the moral high road, but she still had to stoop low to protect others. War truly brought out the worst from us… so was it good that Hestia decided to spare those demonkin
I didn’t know. Yorshka told me Hestia wanted to either imprison or recruit Vifi’Yok to gain intel on the demonkins and get an unbiased view of their kingdom, Bole’Taria. It was admirable, and, honestly, I could understand why she would want to end the war with as little bloodshed as possible. However, just because a few demokins or humans sympathized with each other, didn’t mean it would stop the hardliners—the Princes of Sins.
For them, only strength could reason with them.
After we had caught up, I asked them where Hestia and the others were, but their answer was surprising. “And they haven’t been around for four days now?”
Priscilla shook her head. “Something bad happened when they were with the dwarves. Hestia managed to save everybody, and is now trying to get revenge for Mister Grimnir and the others.”
Yoshka nodded. “Grimnir wanted to end it quickly, deal with it in a single day, but they suddenly changed the plan. They came back with these furious looks. You know, when I first met her, I really didn’t think she would accept her princess situation. But, now, I think she actually understands the value of her title and what it can do.”
“… Oh.” It took me a moment, but I understood what she meant. “I see. Right, King Drangleic was supposed to travel to the capital of Ankor-Nazta around now, right? Since there is around two months left until the summit begins.”
Today was the 1st of HarvestMoon and the summit would begin on the 30th of AutumnSun. There was still a long way ahead but King Drangleic probably wanted to meet with the dwarven High King first to get to know him personally. The summit had to work probably so some backdoor meetings would probably happen.
So, what exactly was Hestia’s plan? Why did it take so long for her to execute it and how would she solve her problem in the best manner possible? What exactly made her angry? I really wondered, but I could understand what Yorshka meant with “value of her title.”
Still, seeing as they weren’t around, I had to leave my message to the two Nordors. Asaka and I returned back to Belzac’s cave where I heard its owner grumble and that I should expect a “harder time.” I sort of welcomed it. More training, less time wasted.
However, first…
“Everybody, ready?”
[“Alpha, give us your commands.”]
Five newly evolved rank Bs. Uno, Song, Sarasa, Quatre, and Varya.
The four garms— No, the four fenrir appeared from the shadows, exuding their presence and pride in their new forms. One came from hell, the other flickered as if a ghost, the third stood as a werewolf, and the last as an armored juggernaut. No longer [Shadow Garm]s, each now possessed a different race and role in our pack.
The last form was that of a panther with hardened fur formed into large sickle-like wings and a spiked tail. Her green fur bristled with glistening venom to fit my need for toxins now that I didn’t have Hestia around. If Hestia was a one-woman army, then I would become the leader of a special force.
“Mom, Shoyi!” I called out before looking down, picking up the two virigress cubs. “Ajay, Shere, ready to go hunt and put down some traps?”
[“Yes, Master!”]
Cute.
[“You pamper them a bit too much, daughter.”]
I turned my head around when I heard that voice, noticing a zombie-looking garm approach us. Her form still needed more time to develop despite joining my shadow pack, but her recovery was decent, meaning she too could evolve soon. It really helped that Mom was already super close to evolving while she was still alive.
Similar to how my garms needed their old pelt to open up their unique mutation evolution, Mom wanted to wait for hers. When Ilsaphone first told me to collect my garm’s pelt, I was a bit suspicious, but I now understood why that was the case.
Belzac’s blood was special. It was why Tatsuya became a druid, why my garms needed to complete their bodies with their pelt, and why Hestia’s blood had such an effect on my evolution.
His deal with Edna made him into her blessed, and subsequently, his successor would become one as well. As such, he had a title and a blessing as well. A title that couldn’t help him but instead exalted his bloodline, helping each generation to one day grow into the creature the old wolf and goddess desired.
[Harbinger of Grim], that was his title.
The details, though, he still wouldn’t divulge. One day, though, I will learn about it…
Quuuuiish, quuuish. I heard behind the tunnel leading outside of this place. I nodded to them.
“Coming, Shoyi!” I called out to my slime, who was hiding itself from everybody.
My shadow pack has come a long way …
“Hey, Saori.” I turned around to Asaka. “What should we do with the slaves we freed?”
I just smiled.
“Ever heard of the Haitian Revolution?”
----------------------------------------
“… You failed once again, Ogre king.”
“…”
In a ruined cavern, a giant ogre sat on his throne, listening to the furious temper of a yellow-skinned demonkin. The prideful being stomped on the small debris of the ogre’s previous throne, pulverizing it into dust in a fit of rage. The demonkin then looked at the ogre, disappointment clear to be seen.
“A new Champion of Yeostar was chosen. What pitiful rank Bs you sent. How pitiful!”
“Mhhrrrrm!” the ogre with a crown on his head growled, standing up from his throne to look down at the man before him. If this demonkin were a normal being, he would have been crushed by the rank A ogre’s aura, but he would not kneel to anyone but the Edjurl gods.
Huffing rancid air at the demonkin, the ogre was trying his best to keep his anger in check. “Do. Not. Speak. Of. My. Warriors. And. Shamans. They all died honorable deaths, so do not speak ill of them.”
“… We lost a Warbringer because of your incompetence. You told me your men could handle the commandeering themselves, but all I could see were buffoons walking around, rambling like primitives. You lost your last piece of grace, ogre king.”
“We won multiple ports for you! We have created multiple entry ways for you! How dare you criticize me!” The ogre king roared, outraged at this poor assessment. “Not every battle can be won. All that matters is the total victory against the humans and beastmen, not two lost battles! You spoiled brat, you truly are conceited!”
The ogre then sat back on this throne, his expression as terrible as the demonkin. With their aura clashing, it was only a matter of time before their Territories would be established. Only one more provocation was needed.
He looked at the demonkin, his yellow skin slowly turning red. “Tell me, oh, so haughty Prince of Pride, where were you when the Siege of Elyonda began? Where were the other princes of sin? Why send a child to do a man’s work?”
This was the tipping point… However, the Prince of Pride remembered what his sin was. It was not wrath, it was pride.
He shot his glare back at the ogre king, but he took a deep breath, stabilizing his mood and returning it to his calm demeanor of before. The red skin started to dissipate, turning back yellow. He was in control; he must maintain control.
“… Do not fail once more,” he said, cold like the winter’s breeze. “Expand, enslave, and destroy the human countries you managed to invade. Build your kingdom. I will allow you to enjoy the fruits of our initial success. However… you know who our enemy is, right? What truly stands in our way to victory.”
“… Aurena’s Champion. The crimson dragon.”
The Prince of Pride nodded once more, a smile finally crept on his face, before he vanished into black. Silence now filled the throne room, allowing the ogre king to finally calm down. He then stood up and walked out of his throne room with his axe, born from the broken horn of the lightning wyvern Astalos.
He glanced at his fellow ogres, all downtrodden unlike their usual behavior. The ogre king couldn’t chastise them. He could sympathize with them as he remembered what the Prince of Pride said.
The invasion of Elyonda was a failure …
“The-the fire god! Fire-Inferno Goddess! Danterno appeared in a woman’s form! She destroyed everything!”
“D--Danterno is a woman! Not a man like many has said! She appeared before us, yes-yes! Ogre king, the Origin Gods-Divinity cursed us!”
The ogre king could remember the mad rambles of the few survivors of the Elyonda siege. They recalled how two giant dragons fought and slew the rank SS leviathan Karhalantheel and how Danterno had descended in the form of a fiery-winged woman, scorning everybody and turning everything into ash.
The king couldn’t believe it. He knew the cultist of the Church of Danterno called him a man or a spirit of fire. True, the different factions within the religion could never accept one single image of the god, unlike the other Origin Gods, but never once did any mention Danterno’s form was that of a female.
It should be impossible, yet… Damnation. Goblins ramble.
He couldn’t accept it as the truth, but the survivors had already spread the news. Everybody in the grimgarian kingdom knew this and thought of Danterno as having the vision of a fiery woman… Suffice to say, a certain fallen arvisian fire mage in the far east would soon feel the pain of this small misunderstanding. After all, a god’s form was determined by their follower’s image.
Regardless, the ogre king couldn’t keep thinking of this. He walked out of his cave and laid his hands on the railings on top of this small mountain. He looked down, immediately noticing the rubbles and destroyed fields. Many of their beastmen slaves were also freed, and from what he heard, they were all forming into their own faction somewhere in his land. A rebellion—he understood it was a matter of time unless he squashed them.
In addition, he also has to trust his fellow commanders to manage the human ports they had successfully invaded. Those will be his army’s future battle stages. The fertile lands there will feed his army and the human slaves will act as the replacements of those he had lost weeks ago.
The ogre king knew the war effort wasn’t done yet and that there was much he needed to prepare. The most pressing concern was retaliation from the Folschreck Empire, but he knew the demonkins had them already dancing in their palms. The grimgarians were their pawns, the ones responsible to topple the rest of mankind so they could destroy the Empire.
However… Even with all this in mind, he couldn’t shake away two other problems. Two monsters who had haunted him the last two weeks. The giant silver dragon who killed Karhalantheel and her crimson-white tinted dragon companion who disrupted the grimgarian invasion on Yeos that led to the victory of the humans, and the black-lightning wolf who ravaged through his kingdom while the vast majority of his forces were away for the invasions.
I had miscalculated.
He thought it was safe to send everybody since nobody knew he was here, but it seemed the information had leaked. Was it the lizardmen slaves they had lost a year ago? They escaped into the Belzac forest and that was where the black wolf came from.
He remembered the tale of Belzac, but he had thought the last of Belzac’s bloodline had been extinguished thanks to the demonkin’s associates, but it seemed a rat had slipped through. And this rat had grown into a beast strong enough to ruin everything, to the point he had to recall the ships in Artorias to defend against the monster’s pack of garms.
He could have killed the fenrir if he had only acted sooner. However, with her freeing the slaves, it was impossible for him to do so. The savage beastmen took women and children hostage. His people were what kept the ogre king standing. He fought for them, he fought for the entirety of the grimgarian race. How could he betray their trust in their time of need?
Without a proper military and the remaining soldiers killed by the fenrir and her pack of wolves, there was no one left to defend the weak but him. Even now, the ogre king couldn’t forget the blood mist exuding from her eyes. The blood-stained black lightning raging around her body; he would never forget her.
Belzac. I will enact my vengeance on your kin! Mother Edna, watch me! Watch me prove I am the right person to lead Father Marsven’s faith forward! Watch me, Ogre King of Grimmeirgon, fight for the Church of Marsven! Dear Mother Krooooonnaz! I, Kreigst Thunderslayer, will become your Champion!
The ogre king held his thunder axe into the air, his oath now completed.