The feeling that I was ducking responsibility, and should really be racing toward Yuther’s so called “House of Dreams” nagged me as I walked through EDEN. I quickly rationalized that we had effectively crippled the network they used to abduct children. Plus there were also other merits to letting him dangle. If we took Yuther down now, he might be seen as a heroic martyr assassinated by a cruel foreigner. Our quick actions and abrupt withdrawal would almost guarantee a drastic reaction with little information spread to the common population. His veneer of altruism and righteousness would crack eventually, and his true colors would be revealed. Our job was to be ready to step in when they did.
Also, news would spread about the kid’s partial transformation. A few well placed gossipers on my payroll in Tarishan would make sure of that. Once word reached the top that the object of their search was in our house, it should be more than enough to bring the fight to more favorable turf.
It might sound awful to invite an attack on our own country, but to be fair we were far more prepared and protected than the innocent bystanders in Rakashi. Even though most of our most elite forces were still missing in action, we had the highest concentration of strong Adventurers on the continent thanks to our new and improved guild structure operating out of EDEN, and my own remaining Soul Branded underlings each represented the power of a large army.
We had also completed our mission of making sure Raj’s tribe was safe. They had been surviving on the border between the desert and the Sea of Stone, secure but barely getting by on the meager game and edible plants they could safely scavenge from the barren land.
We had since brought them into the fold and they were already beginning to thrive. They made perfect aerial sentries for the workers in the dead jungle now known as Zurgfall. Here the dwarves and giants were already working hard to build a fortified mining colony around the enormous dead cyclops king. Any encroaching monsters would be first spotted by the tengu, allowing the others to organize a defense, or even send a distress call to me personally if it was dangerous enough.
The only other loose end was the giant crab demigod that was wandering the desert with a village full of Radiant Empire people on its back. Since failing to find settlements to feast on thanks to our efforts of staying ahead of it, the big crab had dug itself into the sand and gone into hibernation. I could track it easily with the drop of blood I had left on it, and it hadn’t moved in nearly two weeks. I kept it to myself, but I spent a pretty big chunk of my days thinking of ways to bring it down.
Such were my meandering thoughts as I stepped out of EDEN into the frigid afternoon air. It was only a few hours past noon but the sun was already beginning to set. According to Raj, spring was still roughly four months away. I suspected in terms of earth latitude, we were around southern Canada.
I took a second to admire the massive development before me. In the Shadow of EDEN, a city was developing before my eyes. It filled the wide plain where we had destroyed the monster horde. Streets had been laid out with modern sensibilities, with an ingenious sewage system designed by Slimer Jaik beneath them. The forest line was also rapidly receding as lumber was harvested and processed for construction. There were few completed buildings, but the foundations of more than a hundred shops and ten times that many homes could already be counted. Soon the space between Ariel’s Gate and EDEN would be filled with bustling commerce.
The industrious buzz was contagious, and I made an internal vow to roll up my own sleeves after my break this afternoon. An odd sort of twinge in my mind gave me pause when I made that decision. I turned my attention to it, and heard a familiar voice curse in my mind.
“Ugh. I liked you way more back on earth.” It was Baelphegor. Wait a minute. Was that little bastard exerting pressure on me to ditch my responsibilities to go gawk at Niiya and Yugal?
“Pft. I wish I could manage that. I’m just commentating. I’m quite impotent while this tyrant has me in her clutches. It’s a shame too, I could make everything so much better around here.” The voice ended with a mental purr.
“Obvious bait, but I’ll nibble.” I replied. “Better how?”
“To start with, there’s no entertainment here. They just work and sleep. The food and pool is all they look forward to. All those awesome flat screen TVs just play screen saver slideshows of nature and junk when they could be playing all of the most binge-able anime and shows that degenerates like you so love...” The demon’s voice was strangely leading.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
“So what? It’s another world, it’s not like I have access to anything like that.” I waved the whole notion away. “Keep your weird fantasies to yourself.”
“I am the prince of Sloth. I have seen every distraction mankind has ever produced, and love each of them like my own children. Don’t mistake me for some human with a memory so feeble that it cannot store a few million hours of footage. If this android interfaced with my memory properly. She could broadcast anything I can recall, and I can recall EVERYTHING. Home improvement shows, documentaries, cartoons, movies, plays, and so very much filthy adult entertainment... Just remember the pleasure of curling up with a big pizza and a new season of anime to binge. In your own terms I am the ultimate miracle external hard drive, packed with every bit of entertainment earth has to offer. Who are you to decide these people don’t deserve to experience it?” He spelled it out for me, and frankly it was too big of a revelation to process at the moment. Was such a thing really possible?
“I’ll talk to you later.” I snapped my mind shut and flew away from the tempting demon’s influence. What need did I have for digital entertainment when a real life cat girl and mythical titan were showing their power just a few miles away? Then again what self respecting geek doesn’t want to introduce their friends to their favorite stuff?
I shook my head vigorously and focused on the rapidly approaching mountain range. I could already feel waves of power rolling past me even this far away. They must be really going all out. Even knowing that, I was not at all prepared for the scene that greeted me as I flew over the final ridge and viewed the spectacle in the depression below.
A field of destruction spread far and wide below me. craters filled with bubbling lava pitted the land between sheets of black ice thicker than I was tall. Enormous clouds of steam swirled like tornadoes with lightning playing across them as they ripped chunks of stone and ice up into their vortex like bodies. The atmosphere was utter chaos, and I could not imagine the Ragnarok from myth playing out any differently than this. I caught sight of Yugal first, half of his enormous frame was covered in raging flame. In his right hand was the Greatsword of Surtr, a mythical weapon with offensive stats that rivaled my own gear. In the hands of Yugal, it eclipsed my destructive potential entirely. Yugal’s left side was ice blue and emanated a bone chilling fog. In his left hand he held an enormous shield of black ice crafted using his own magic. I followed the direction of his gaze, and found his current foe.
A gigantic black armored knight flew on shadowy wings of ash with the agility of a falcon through the hellish storm of elements. Niiya had evolved her minions even further it seemed. This was an incredible leap from the human knights she had absorbed into her domain last fall. The black ashen warrior reached Yugal in a blink, shadowy sword biting into the icy shield with a booming shockwave.
With a great joyous laugh, Yugal brought his flaming sword in a gorgeous upward slash. The ashen knight exploded into an insubstantial cloud, and Yugal did not waste a single moment. He leaped forward just as the head of a giant crocodile formed from another cloud of ash behind him and snapped its jaws with a crack that sounded like a gunshot. Yugal stomped with his right foot and a spear of lava shot up from the ground, scorching and skewering the still forming threshodon. Niiya’s assault did not relent, and Yugal’s face was one of pure exultation. It was the joy of someone that was too strong for everyday life finally getting to use their body to the fullest.
Three ashen werewolves surrounded Yugal then, attacking in complicated patterns and forcing the giant to call his own pet to aid him. The greatwolf Frosthowl appeared from a nearby sheet of ice with a piercing howl. It opened its jaws wider, and a cone of icy breath froze one werewolf in place long enough for Yugal to obliterate it with his sword. Niiya herself appeared then, flitting in and out of sight and striking with enough force to cause the giant to grunt.
I sucked in a sharp breath after realizing I hadn’t been breathing for nearly a minute. This was the coolest fight I had ever seen, and I have seen quite a few epic fights.
Yugal abandoned chasing the elusive Niiya, and instead threw the Greatsword of Surtr high into the sky before launching an enormous ball of lava at the sword. The carriage sized glob of molten rock collided with the weapon a hundred meters in the air and shattered into an uncountable number of falling meteorites. Each one impacted the ground with overlapping explosions. Yugal stood with his chest heaving amid the rising steam and heat distortions. Niiya’s voice echoed from on top of Yugal’s head as the girl suddenly appeared there, standing in the ring of frozen spires that was the Crown of Niflheim that Yugal wore.
“Let’s see... Four knights, a crocodile, three wolves, and two of my clones. That’s the best yet Mr. Yugal!” The girl congratulated the titan. “Let’s take a break and go see Gray.”
“Thank you, Miss Niiya. I am beginning to feel more confident using these gifts. I am still yet far from your level of mastery, but I’ll keep working hard.”
“Guess you caught me!” I called out as I flew down to meet them. “That was one awesome show you guys put on, I’m honestly blown away.”
“I couldn’t slack off knowing you were nearby, my lord.” Yugal answered as he knelt to get closer to my eye level. “Rest assured I will be prepared to face any threat to our people.”
“Hard work is good, but I want to see both of you unwinding and eating well tonight. It’s not good to make too much of a virtue of diligence. That’s how you miss out on life.” I tussled Niiya’s hair as she hopped down to stand in front of me.
“Your concern touches my heart as always.” Yugal answered my lecture with misty eyes. “This hardly feels like work with such an enthusiastic training partner. It is easy to lose ourselves in it.”
“Yeah we’re just playing, don’t butt in and call it work like that, Gray.” Niiya counter lectured me with a wagging claw in her best Jade tone.
I smiled in spite of everything and talked them into coming back to EDEN for the evening.