Chapter 95
What Must Be Done
Erin and her group had been staying at the city for a couple of days now. During that time, they had mostly been working on either gathering resources or information that they would need. The resources they were looking for included materials for Erin’s new hand as well as those Lexton would use for creating his own special weaponry.
They had also restarted their small potion business, selling the simple, yet useful potions the kobold made in order to earn some extra money for their travels. However, since their group had become larger, they would need other ways to earn revenue. This was one of the reasons they were trying so hard to find the local black market, as they could find ways to earn money through their illegal competitions and other activities.
Right now, Lexton was putting the finishing touches on the blueprints for Erin’s new hand, so that he could finally start working on the actual thing itself. After checking the plans a couple more times in order to make sure he hadn’t overlooked anything, the kobold nodded in satisfaction as he could get to work.
“I promise you this much, Erin, your new hand is going to be one of my best works ever!” Lexton said excitedly as he was getting his equipment and materials ready. “I’d almost go so far as to say that you won’t miss your old hand, but that would be a bit insensitive, wouldn’t it? Besides, I might be a genius and all, but I doubt even I could make anything that great!”
“Uhhh… Yeah, sure… I’m sure it will be great, Lex,” Erin said somewhat awkwardly, not really paying too much attention to what the kobold was saying.
The truth was that the redhead was still caught up in thinking about the former friend she would be forced to fight soon. In all honesty, part of her wanted to just quit the whole journey to bring down the Five Overlords, but she knew that wasn’t something she could do anymore. She was a wanted enemy of the rulers of this world and they would stop at nothing in order to put an end to her. Not only that, but the damages they caused to the world around her were undeniable and had to be stopped. Besides, after getting her friends involved, how could she just back down like that?
“Hey, what’s the matter?” Lexton asked, concerned over his companion. “You’ve been like this ever since you suddenly walked out during dinner. Care to talk about it?”
“N-Nothing’s wrong!” Erin tried to quickly lie as she cursed her carelessness in her head. “I’ve just been having a lot on my mind! That’s all! I mean, we’re about to go after one of the most dangerous people in the world, right!? I’m pretty sure anybody would be caught in their thoughts over something like that!”
“...Erin, come. Give me some credit here. I am the greatest con artist you will ever meet in your life. So if you think you can fool me with such obvious lying, I’d honestly find that insulting,” the kobold said. “So mind telling me what’s really bothering you?”
“...I guess there’s no getting out of this then,” the redhead said with a sigh. “It’s not exactly untrue that the current situation has a lot to do with the way I’ve been acting. However, it’s not Gotzmeyer that’s the issue, but rather the one commanding him.”
“You mean Golorath?” Lexton asked for confirmation, to which Erin nodded. “What about him?”
“Well, I’m not too familiar with a lot of things in regards to the Five Overlords themselves, so I’ve been wondering what kind of a person he is,” Erin explained. “Can you tell me more about him? I would like to know what kind of an enemy we will be facing in the future.”
This was pretty much a lie. The redhead obviously knew who Golorath was or rather who he used to be. However, there was a some truth to the lie she had just told. What Erin was hoping to accomplish, besides getting out of the awkward situation she had been caught in, was to learn more about what her old friends had become in this world. If there was a chance that they could be stopped without any of them losing their lives, the redhead would take it. Anything was fine, as long as it meant that she could avoid making those she cared about suffer.
“Not sure if there’s much I can tell you, as I haven’t ever seen the guy myself, but I’ll tell you as much as I’ve heard,” Lexton said. “Golorath of the Five Overlords or “Golorath the Powerful” as he is regarded by their servants is one scary bastard. In a way, he lives up to his title, as he is apparently a very powerful warrior. Out of the five, he was the only Overlord who actively moved to the front lines during battles, while the others preferred to stay in the back and direct their troops, only taking up the fight when it was necessary. Because of this, he actually holds the highest kill record within their forces, as he often sought the leaders and elite warriors of the opposing armies to take down by his own hands.”
Erin felt a chill run down her spine at the description of what her old friend had become, which was the complete opposite of how she remembered him. The idea that Gabe, the kindest and gentlest human being to ever exist, committing such brutal acts was something she couldn’t believe. Unfortunately, she had seen and experienced the things her former friends had done and knew that this was what they had turned into. They were no longer the warm people that she had enjoyed so much time with. They were now the monsters that everybody feared.
“Anything else you can tell me about him?” the redhead asked, despite a part of her not wanting hear anymore.
“From what I’ve gathered, he appears to be a demon of some kind. I have yet to learn what sort of demon exactly, but that’s because I never dared to look too much into him or the other Overlords. After all, what good would that type of information do for me, besides possibly get me killed?” the kobold explained. “However, I did hear one strange thing about him. Apparently, after some of the battles, he would punish their enemies by eating almost all of their food. There have been cases where entire towns were left to starve, after he devoured everything edible they had.”
“...In other words, he’s not exactly a nice guy that would be missed by anyone in the world, if he were to disappear?” Erin asked, somewhat dreading the answer.
“Well, not entirely. While the Overlords have committed their fair share of atrocities and rule the world with an iron fist, they do have their supporters. There are even some crazy loyalists out there who are like a cult that worships them,” Lexton explained. “However, if this world is to ever get any better, he, along with the other Overlords, need to be taken out of the picture. Nothing will change otherwise.”
“...I see. Thank you, Lex,” the redhead said, doing her best to hide the sadness in her tone. “I’ll keep that in mind when we face him.”
The kobold wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by that, but decided not to press the issue. She was obviously already troubled by something, so demanding to know more could cause more issues than solve them. Because of this, he decided to let it be for now and go back to the prosthetic hand that he was working on.
“Anyways, do you want to see the blueprints that I’ve been working on?” Lexton asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. He was happy to get to show what he had made. “I decided to focus on giving you a hand that you’d be more comfortable with, so it doesn’t have all that many weapons or tools, but I think I’ve managed to fit in more than enough.”
Erin walked up to the kobold to take a look at the blueprints. True to his word, the hand seemed to be made to look as close to a normal human hand as possible, so there weren’t that many different special mechanisms in it. However, there was something in the index finger, as well as the palm. She also noticed a couple of runes that were drawn on different parts of the hand.
“Looks good, Lex, but what are these things on the finger here and the palm?” the redhead asked, curious as to what the kobold was planning. “Also, are those runes?”
“Good observation! I knew you’d catch them!” Lexton said happily. “The runes aren’t all that special, as they are mostly there to enforce the hand itself, making it more durable. However, when it comes to the other two things you pointed out, they are connected to this.”
The kobold pulled out a small spherical stone out of his pocket. It was similar to the one that was in Arkay’s knife that he had made, except for the obvious differences. Taking a closer look at it, Erin could have sworn that she saw flames moving inside the stone itself.
“What is that?” the redhead asked, amazed by how the stone looked. “It kind of reminds me of the one you used on Arnie’s knife.”
“Another good observation,” Lexton said with a smile. “Indeed, this is a mana stone similar to the one I used for Arnie’s knife. This one is imbued with the power of fire and it will the source of power for the fun little functions your hand is going to have.”
“Like what exactly?” Erin asked.
“Well, for starters, you’ll be able to use the mana stone to turn the palm of your new hand into a small flamethrower. While it won’t be the most powerful fire-based weapon ever created, it should serve you well as a means to surprise your enemies, as well as help you bring out flames when you need them,” the kobold explained before moving to the part on the index finger. “The mana stone also comes in with this little thing. Basically, you can focus the flames from the palm into the tip of your finger, effectively bringing out a hidden blowtorch. You can use this to cut through things like fences, shackles and whatever else you might need to cut down.”
“Woah, this is really cool and impressive,” the redhead said, letting out a small whistle. “So do you still need parts for this, or are you ready to get to building it?”
“I’m completely ready to start building!” Lexton said proudly. “Just give me a couple of days and you’ll have a new hand to work with!”
“Good to know. Although, if you do need something, just tell me and I’ll do my best to get it to you,” Erin said with a smile before walking to the door. “Anyways, I’m gonna go outside for a bit. I’ll see you later.”
As soon as she had exited the room, the redhead came face to face with Zeldana. The elf seemed to have been waiting right in the hallway outside leaning on a wall, like she was expecting Erin to come outside soon.
“Is there something you need, Zeldana?” Erin asked, surprised to see the elf just standing there.
“To be honest, I kind of do,” Zeldana said. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
“And what would that be?” the redhead asked.
“Just something that a few of us have been wondering about,” the elf said as she walked up to Erin to whisper the next part in her ear. “After all, we both know what you just told Lex isn’t exactly the truth about what’s been bothering you, right?”
“...Let’s find a secluded place and I’ll tell you as much as you want, okay?” Erin suggested to which Zeldana nodded.
----------------------------------------
The two of them walked outside and headed to the outskirts of the city, not wanting anybody to just walk across them and hear what they were about to discuss. This wasn’t exactly your average topic that they were going to talk about.
Once they found a decent place right outside the city where they could have their talk in private, Erin turned ti face Zeldana, who had taken a seat on a large rock.
“Okay, so what exactly do you want to know?” the redhead asked. “From what I remember, I already told you more than enough about who I am and what my relationship with the Five Overlords is. What more could you want to know?”
“Oh, don’t go exaggerating what you’ve told me so far,” the elf said with a small smirk. “While I get the basic idea of what you all are to each other, I still lack a lot of the details. What I want to know is exactly who the people known as the Five Overlords truly are and what they were like back in your world.”
“...Why do you need to know that?” Erin asked. “What use is there for you to know anything like that about them?”
“Isn’t it obvious to you already?” Zeldana asked with a raised eyebrow. “The reason I joined you guys was simply for the sake of my enjoyment, which I believe I can get due to you revealing your “little secret” to me. Since I found your story so interesting, I decided to come along to see how it will all end. However, while I might know about you specifically, I don’t know about those friends of yours that you are now fighting against. So mind telling me more?”
“But why do you need me to tell you more?” the redhead asked. “Isn’t it more than enough to know who I am to them and why I’m doing all of this?”
“Really now… Have you never read a good story before in your life?” the elf asked with a sigh. “The more you know about the characters of the story, the more you get invested in them. Just knowing that someone is either the good guy or the bad guy isn’t anywhere near enough. One must know where they come from and who they are in order to truly get interested in them. What is it that they like? What do they hate? Why do they do what they do? These questions add so much more spice to an already interesting premise that it simply cannot be ignored!”
“...You’re a sick and twisted person,” Erin said as she glared at Zeldana.
“Hey, guilty as charged. I’m not going to deny any of that,” the elf admitted right away. “So… Mind telling me more about the person I know as Golorath?”
The redhead wanted to simply walk away in disgust, as she hated the idea that her painful history and that of her old friends was being used for someone’s entertainment. However, at the same time, she knew that she had promised Zeldana an interesting story in return for her help and that her abilities as a healer would be irreplaceable during their travels. Because of this, Erin simply swallowed her anger and decided to humor the elf.
“His real name is Gabriel, although we called him Gabe,” the redhead began. “Back in my world, he was a rather awkward kind of guy. He was also a bit overweight, which earned him the nickname “Porky Gabe.”
“Doesn’t sound like a name a friend would give him,” Zeldana said. “I’m going to assume that he got bullied quite a bit, huh?”
“That would be a correct assumption,” Erin said with a sigh. “A lot of people around him made jokes and nasty stories about him. I regret to admit it, but I was also one of those people…”
The redhead took a deep breath to keep herself calm before continuing. Breaking down in tears wouldn’t help her at all at this moment.
“To make things worse, Gabe had it hard at home as well,” Erin continued. “His father wasn’t exactly happy with how his son had turned out and was always berating him, telling him to be a “real man” instead of how he actually was. It was honestly abuse what he had to go through.”
“Damn. That sucks,” Zeldana said. “What was exactly his dad’s issue with him? I mean, I get that he was hefty, but was that enough of a reason to question his manhood and get upset?”
“Well, it was more than that. His father had an issue with Gabe’s hobbies and life goal as well,” the redhead explained. “His father was very much into sports and other masculine activities, while Gabe himself had different interests. To make it worse, what he wanted was to become a chef, which his father just couldn’t accept. Apparently, it wasn’t “manly enough” in his eyes or something…”
“Did you see this personally?” the elf asked.
Erin didn’t respond right away, as she was taken away by her memories of the old times.
----------------------------------------
Erin was hanging out with Devin, Gabe and a couple other from their friend group. All of them were having fun by playing board games while snacking on chips and soda. That happy time came to a sudden end, when Gabe’s father suddenly came to the room.
Gabe’s father, Horace, wasn’t exactly someone you wanted to see upset, as he was quite intimidating. He was a rather tall man with broad shoulders and a rather impressive physique. He said that he liked to keep himself in shape, but it was obvious that he was doing more than just that. So one can only imagine a group like the one Erin was with must have felt, upon seeing such a large man come in with a rather nasty expression on his face.
“Goddammit, again with this crap,” Horace said as he was containing his anger. “How many times do I need to see you little shits in my house?”
“D-Dad, why are you here already?” Gabe asked, having not expected his father to come home so early. “I thought you were going to be working late today.”
While Gabe’s dad was someone that none of them wanted to come face to face with, the group often liked to gather at their home. This was due to their house being much larger than with anybody else, giving them far more room to set up their games and other activities.
“I got off early, as I worked my ass off to finish my tasks earlier than expected,” Horace answered. “Not that you or any of your friends would know a thing about that.”
Feeling offended by the insult Gabe’s father just said in regards to his son and the others greatly angered Erin, who wanted to say something in response. However, a hand on her arm from Devin stopped her from voicing her opinion. When she looked at her current “boyfriend” he simply shook his head in response, telling her not to say anything.
“Dad, we have all finished our schoolwork already and are just having some fun!” Gabe tried to argue. “Besides, when I asked mom if it was okay, she said that-”
“And what does that matter!? Last time I checked, I’m the one who pays the bills in this house, so it should be ME whose permission you need!” Horace said angrily, before looking over the others in the group. “I want your deadbeat friends to get out of my house right now! Understood!?”
“But dad! I-!” Gabe tried to argue, but it was no use.
“UNDERSTOOD!?”
The others in the group shared a look with each other and nodded. They knew how this went, so they decided not to make matters worse than they already were.
“Come on,” Devin said to Erin. “Let’s get going.”
The brunette simply nodded in response, as she followed the others outside the room. As she walked out, she gave one last glance at Gabe, who looked like he was expecting his own public execution.
As the group made their way downstairs towards the front door, the came across Gabe’s mother, Marianne. Unlike the rotund boy’s father, she was a very kind person, who had no issues with her sons hobbies or friends. Unfortunately, she also lacked the will to really push back against the way Horace acted, which is why he was allowed to continue with his behavior without any repercussions.
Marianne gave her son’s friends an apologetic look, as she was more than aware of what had happened upstairs.
“I’m so sorry about this, you all,” Gabe’s mother said in a sad tone. “He has just had a rough day at work. Please don’t pay much attention to whatever he might have said about you.”
“A bad day? More like a bad lifetime,” one of the others in the group, Jonathan, grumbled unhappily, which earned him a slight kick from Devin.
“We didn’t take any offense to what he said, Mrs. McKinnon,” Devin quickly said to cover up for what his friend had said. “It’s just a shame that we had to call it a night so suddenly.”
After saying goodnight to Marianne, the group walked out of the house. As they were doing this, they could hear yelling from the upstairs and could easily guess who was the one the noise was coming from. They then separated and went their own ways, with Devin and Erin walking together.
The two of them had been walking in silence for some time now and were coming up to Erin’s home. It was at that moment that Devin took out his phone and called Gabe.
“Hey, are you doing okay?” the blonde boy asked once the rotund boy had answered. He went silent for a moment, listening to what was being said on the other end of the line. “...I see. Take care of yourself, okay? Sorry that this had to turn so bad.”
“Is everything alright with Gabe?” Erin asked in a concerned tone. “Was it bad?”
“To be honest, it’s always bad,” Devin said as he put away his phone. “It’s not exactly easy to deal with, when one of your parents seems to hate your very being.”
“Shouldn’t we do something about this?” the brunette asked. “I mean, it’s not right that Gabe has to go through crap like that at all! Is there really nothing we can do to help him?”
“Believe me, we have all wanted to do something to help him. The problem is that Gabe doesn’t allow it,” the blonde boy said with a sigh. “Despite how much of an ass his father is, he is still the one who pays the bills in the end. If he were to be taken away, it could hurt them financially. Not to mention, there isn’t much proof that we can really give any authorities, unless we secretly record him or something. I’m not even sure if his tantrums could be seen as enough reason for anybody to do something to him.”
“That might all be true, but is it really okay for us to simply not do anything!?” Erin asked, desperately hoping that there would be some method they could use to help their friend. “If he doesn’t get any help, I fear what might end up happening to him!”
“Again, we have all thought the same thing, but it isn’t of any use, as Gabe himself doesn’t want it,” Devin explained. “Despite all the crap he gets put through, he still cares about his dad. So even if we provided proof about what’s being done, he would deny it being actual abuse. Since he doesn’t want any us to do anything about it, all we can do is respect his wishes and hope for the best.”
“...I can understand that you want to respect his wishes, but don’t you think this isn’t the time for that?” the brunette asked. “I mean, he might not want our help, but is that really for the best? What’s the best that could happen by us simply ignoring it?”
“...I have no idea, Erin,” the blonde boy replied. “I just hope it’s better than how things are right now.”
----------------------------------------
“I unfortunately had to see it for myself,” the redhead finally replied to Zeldana. “It wasn’t pretty, to say the least…”
“So in other words, we’ve got a pudgy boy with some serious daddy issue, because he questioned his manliness?” the elf summarized. “I suppose that’s his origin story then.”
“You watch your damn mouth!” Erin yelled angrily, as she grabbed Zeldana by the front of her shirt and glared at her. “How the hell dare you talk about all the shit he went through so flippantly!? Who the hell are you to judge him like that!?”
“I don’t know… Maybe seeing as I’ve been through countless bloody battlefields that I can’t see much of what he’s been through as that much of an issue?” the elf asked sarcastically. “I’m not saying that what he or any of your buddies went through was okay or not tough, but seeing as how they decided to come to this world to take out their anger on us, it doesn’t seem all that fair, does it?”
“I… I get that, but…” the redhead struggled to speak up, having been completely taken aback by such a statement. “I get what you are saying, as nothing about this world had any part in what Gabe or anybody else went through, but don’t they deserve at least a bit sympathy?”
“Sympathy is completely fine. Straight up forgiveness isn’t,” Zeldana stated. “Do you think they are the only ones who have had it rough? I’d like you to somehow convince Ryle, Lexton, Arnie and Durge to see it like that. I doubt it would go well.”
“I’m not trying to say that others haven’t had it hard, okay!? I’m just saying that Gabe and the others did as well!” Erin tried to desperately argue. “I can’t just forget who they were and what caused all of this to happen! Especially when it’s all my fault!”
“Are you sure about that?” the elf asked with a raised eyebrow. “Did you force them to come here? Did you order them to take over the world? Did you tell them to do all the awful things they have done? Kind of hard to see you doing that.”
“STOP TRYING TO BE SMART WITH ME!” the redhead shouted as tears were now falling from her lone eye. “Do you have any idea how much they all lost? All because of… me! Just because I had to be stupid… Just because I didn’t have the courage to stand up and make things right. How can I just go and not care about those who are not only my victims, but also my friends?”
“I didn’t say anything about not caring about them. You can care about them as much as you want,” Zeldana said. “The only thing that I’m saying is that you can’t simply let them go with all the things they have done. When the time comes, you are going to have to face them. You will have to fight them. And you will have to kill them.”
Erin could feel the color drain from her face. This had been one of her biggest fears that she had tried her best to ignore, but couldn’t do so any longer. In order to save this world and make it better, she knew she had to go and meet up with her old friends once again. But once she did that, what would come next? The obvious answer to that question had been something she didn’t want to admit.
She would have to kill her old friends. All of them.
“...How can I?” the redhead asked in a broken tone as she tried to hold back her tears. “I already took so much from them. And now I’m supposed to take their lives as well? How can I do that?”
“You don’t have the luxury to ask yourself that anymore. It’s simply something you’re going to have to do. It’s simple as that,” Zeldana said as she stood up. “Like it or not, your friends are now the biggest monsters of our world. Nothing will ever change for the better for as long as they are in power. And unless you plan to put a stop to them through this journey of yours, I don’t see any point in you doing any of this at all.”
“I… I understand,” Erin finally said, accepting the task she would have to undertake. “I will do what needs to be done.”
“Good. Make sure you do not fail. Otherwise, there won’t be any end to any of this,” the elf said. “Now, how about we go back to the others? I’m sure they’re wondering where we are.”
The redhead simply nodded in response as she and Zeldana began to walk back towards where their group was staying. During the walk back, she couldn’t help but think about what she had promised to do and had doubts over whether she would be able to keep her word.
Once the time came, would she be able to kill Gabe? Or Devin and the others?