I blinked in surprise, watching the scene unfold between Scarlet and Elisae. In truth, I had been concerned about Elisae’s use of her divine rule previously, but I had not expected Scarlet to go to such lengths to correct her. From the way that she explained everything, it was clear that she had been thinking about it the entire time that Elisae was unconscious.
The part about her changing domains was rather similar to my Mirror domain as well, so I was looking forward to seeing how she would develop in the future. I felt a small smile creeping over my face as several different scenarios played out in my mind. How she would react if her people were in danger. How she would react if Scarlet got hurt… while I did not personally want to see either of these events unfolding, I knew that she was prepared for it now, at least.
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Fafnir’s body tore through the skies, appearing as a white cloud billowing in the breeze. His eyes gazed down on the world below, and all of the creatures walking its surface. There was little that he had not seen since his ascension as the God of the Sky. However, it had been quite a long time since he had seen the figure that had tamed him from a wild beast, the one that had helped him attain his current prowess.
His massive head shook at those thoughts, dispelling them from his mind. The Keeper would see him if the situation called for it, and that was how things had always been. The mark of the taming was still present on his soul, though Fafnir knew that he had the skills to remove it if he so desired. The only reasons preventing him from doing so were that he knew that he could not defeat the Keeper in his present form, and the thought of betraying those that he has grown to know over the many years felt unforgivable to him.
Thus, he allowed himself to carry this brand willingly. Even if the one who placed it were never to return, he would always be the Keeper’s dragon.
Fafnir’s thoughts drifted for a moment as he allowed himself to be carried along the winds. In fact, he had long since lost track of how long it had been since he touched the earth, ever since he had made the skies his home. Yet, as he was thinking about this, he sensed something in the distance. It was a faint divine power that he didn’t immediately recognize.
Is there a new god in this world? He asked himself in bemusement. Whenever a new deity appeared, he made it a point to fly over the at least once, memorizing their face and aura. There was no particular reason for this habit, merely that it was a way for him to pass the time in his boredom.
Thus, the cloud-like dragon shifted its path, turning away from the flow of the wind to fly towards this new signature. Something felt… slightly off about the divine presence, but he had seen many such things in the past. For instance, there were many deities that had trained themselves to be able to conceal their traces from the very moment that they ascended. If such a situation were to occur, it was only natural that Fafnir would not be able to have a proper reading of their energy.
The dragon could feel a sense of malice, an almost hungry sensation from the divine energy as he got closer. This caused his flying pace to slow, shifting his path to flow along with the clouds. He even altered the direction of the wind to make himself seem more natural.
At this pace, he was slowed down a fair bit, taking almost half an hour before he was within range to see his target. However, he was somewhat saddened to find that the location of the aura was beneath a large canopy of trees. At least, that’s what it appeared to be at first.
Just as he was about to give up and fly away, he felt the location of the aura suddenly shift. From its position below him, it was now far above his body. Furthermore, Fafnir could feel something severing within himself. The ‘cloud’ that he had been pretending to be had been cleanly sliced in two, his head separating from the rest of his serpentine body.
His eyes went wide in shock at this demonstration. Had he been an organic creature still, that one strike would have been fatal. Thankfully, as a god he was able to survive, pulling his pieces back together.
Unfortunately, doing so did consume some of his energy, his health bar appearing over his head for the first time in so long. His eyes glared upwards, looking at the entity that had so brazenly attacked him. There was not a soul alive that did not know the meaning behind attacking someone associated with the Keeper.
What Fafnir saw, however… he wasn’t sure he could classify it as a living soul. It seemed to be the embodiment of a golden mist, taking a vaguely humanoid shape. Its eyes were pools of blue light shining out of its head, while its arms were constantly shifting their forms. This was certainly not the natural appearance of any creature that resided on Earth.
More importantly, Fafnir focused a portion of his divinity into his eyes, wanting to observe the other party’s domains. Devouring? And… Speed? A two-domain god!? It had rarely seen those with multiple domains, outside of the Greater Pantheon. For there to be one that appeared in such a situation, hostile to the world in this manner…
This isn’t a newly born god… this is a monster god! A monster god that managed to obtain two domains! The moment that this thought crossed his mind, he noticed that the golden figure was no longer floating in the air above him. As soon as Fafnir realized that he had lost sight of his opponent, there was a thin pain all along his body, hundreds of cuts appearing to split him apart.
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It took a great deal of willpower in order to pull himself back together from that, though doing so had cost him even more of his own divinity. With that, his health bar dropped down by nearly one third, the golden figure crouched atop one of the taller trees beneath him. I can’t defeat this thing by myself… Tower, Scarlet, Tsubaki!
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“So, have you thought about what sort of divine artifact you want to create, yet?” Scarlet asked, looking at Elisae that had crouched down onto the ground. Her friend was groaning while trying to adjust to the numerous voices passing through her mind, Scarlet purposely continuing the conversation so that she would have to learn how to handle the multitasking more quickly.
“Mirror… a mirror… functioning… like a terminal.” Elisae gripped the side of her head, eyes squinted shut. As time passed, more and more people seemed to register with her divine law, gathering before her likeness. This was not in any way deliberate, but rather a natural consequence. Statues or paintings of the queen existed in most large cities, and there would always be groups of people in such settings that held common desires. Thus, the voices continued to pile on.
Scarlet, help me! Scarlet’s expression went blank when she felt the mental cry. A red mist spread out from her body, easily recognizing the source of the distress call. “Get one of your maids to talk to.” She said, her voice icy. “Don’t stop talking until I get back.” With that, she tore open a red gap in the air, plunging herself into it.
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“And that’s everything!” Lifre smiled happily, finishing the report about her excursion to Fyor. She had taken some additional time to play around before returning, since it was rare for her to be able to take an extended leave from the citadel.
Tsubaki nodded her head, going through the details that Lifre had recounted. “I understand. I suppose that the buffs that you gave them this time were related to Wisdom and Charm?”
“That’s right!” Lifre nodded. “Since we were going there for a diplomatic meeting, I thought that giving them a blessing to their strength would only backfire. So, I directed my blessing towards their social skill--and she’s gone…” Lifre blinked, looking at the empty seat across from herself where Tsubaki had been sitting until just a moment ago. “I mean, I get it that nothing major happened, but she never blows me off that suddenly!”
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Scarlet and Tsubaki arrived at the scene at nearly the same time. One appeared through a blood-red portal, the other in a flash of blinding light. Both were fully equipped for battle, however. Scarlet carried with her a crimson spear, its blade curved into a vicious hook. Tsubaki, meanwhile, carried her own divine relic, the sniper rifle that she had created shortly after her ascension.
What they saw upon their arrival left the both of them shocked. Fafnir’s body was falling from the sky in hundreds of pieces, slowly dissolving in the air. The golden energy released from his boy was being sucked towards a humanoid form hovering far behind him, one that the two of them could have easily missed if not for the overwhelming malice that they felt.
“I thought you were killing any monster gods that approached?” Tsubaki asked, holding up her rifle to get a better look at her enemy. She was fully aware of Scarlet’s protective activities, and this caused her to be even more surprised that something had managed to slip through all the way to the planet.
“I am… it has no ki.” Scarlet’s grip on her spear tightened when she said that. As the Goddess of Ki, she relied on her natural ability to detect ki in order to find her opponents. After all, ki was the essence of physical life.
“I see…” Tsubaki nodded, quickly pulling the trigger to fire off three rounds at the golden creature. For a moment, it was forced to stop feeding on the falling pieces of Fafnir’s body, though it was evident that the dragon’s soul had already been destroyed. Tsubaki grit her teeth, clenching her hand against her weapon tight enough for her knuckles to go white. “We’re dealing with a three-domain god. Devouring, Speed, and Sky. Are you confident?”
“My father’s dragon was just slain before my eyes…” Scarlet said, the bloody mist spreading out from her once again. “We are his subordinates. Shall we show this monster what that means?”
As soon as she finished her words, her figure flashed several meters to the side. In the space where she had just been, a thick line was torn through the bloody mist. The creature that they had previously been facing had suddenly appeared behind them, though Scarlet had managed to react in time.
Spread out your divinity. If it’s you, you should be able to match his speed with enough warning. Scarlet transmitted to Tsubaki, who immediately began to radiate a field of light from her body, her nine tails illuminating at once. Tower has been over capacity for a while… I doubt we’ll be able to get him to help in time. Short of the Greater Pantheon, nobody would make it in time to help us.
So we’re on our own… Tsubaki nodded, dismissing her rifle. Although the previous shots had hit this creature, there was no guarantee that future attacks would. Especially since this was bound to turn into a contest of speed. Her hair began to rise, her pupils shrinking to tiny dots as her long-dormant battle instincts were activated at full force.
Even with this, Tsubaki wasn’t confident that she would be able to see the other party’s movements. At any given moment, she was prepared to lunge to either side to avoid a fatal attack. The instant her divinity was disrupted…
Her wrists shifted as her body flickered away, two long daggers appearing in her hands. Each of these daggers had a purely white blade, and both were divine relics. Behind Tsubaki, Scarlet appeared, thrusting her staff towards the golden figure that had rushed over. It’s powerful, but it only operates on base instincts, and it can’t properly handle its speed!
This thought was sent to Tsubaki as Scarlet’s spear stabbed forward, though the creature vanished before the attack could land. However, it did not use this moment to attack, but rather to flee from Scarlet’s strike.
Tsubaki gave a small nod, readying her daggers. It should be a simple creature that found a primordial relic of Devouring, and then ate a God of Speed.
No, not a simple creature. Remember, it has no ki. This thing was never a physical lifeform. We’re either dealing with a natural-born energy being, or a monster spirit. Scarlet’s eyes trained themselves on the creature, focusing on her fine control of ki to lock down the surrounding space. Even if the enemy was faster than light, it would not be able to use its speed to escape the confines of a locked space, limiting its movement. Either way, we have to kill it here.