Priestess’ body became insubstantial as it prepared to travel to another world fruit. With no one to oppose him, Neuro activated his Silent Kill authority to move faster than the mortal eye could see. Passing through Priestess and slipping around Tasio’s roadblock, he was within range of Eric in the blink of an eye. He chambered his scythe and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Watley.”
Priestess could only watch helplessly as he swung his deathly weapon in a Reaper Cleave. Then Eric’s left arm shot to the side and grabbed the blade. It stopped immediately. Eric opened his eyes and divine fire burned within them. With a smirk, he said, “No harm, no foul.”
He pushed his right palm forward and blasted Neuro with dark fire. The force and surprise of it drove the reaper back out of the ascension chamber. Eric flew after him and plunged the Soiléir into his belly. A grendel grin was the only warning of what happened next.
“Darling,” Eric said as Neuro was engulfed by abyssal fire, “would you like your reaper medium rare or well done?”
“...Eric...” A tear slid down Annala’s cheek. She glomped him so fiercely he stepped backwards and off of Neuro. With her arms around his neck, she nuzzled his chest. In her glee, she had removed her hood. “You’re alive! And immortal! And…” She kissed him and squeezed tighter.
Eric responded passionately and held her just as tightly. One arm held her waist while the other gripped her regrown hair. On the outskirts of his awareness, being focused on the kiss, he noticed Gruffle approach with a pair of scissors. Perrault was likewise distracted by her distaste for how the boy pawed her mistress. As such, they were a second too slow in stopping Gruffle from cutting off a lock of hair.
At once, he jumped backward into the Door of Death, only to bump into it. He spun around and waved his scythe, but it stayed locked. Turning back around more slowly, he faced a snarling wolf, a scowling fire god, and a pissed off divine priestess. He laughed nervously and then bolted through the floor. Perrault grabbed his bulk in her teeth and dragged him back out. She staked him with her claws and her mistress planted her staff butt on his wrist. He snarled in response and reached out with necrotic power.
“Wish Reaper Gruffle, you are hereby ordered to return what you stole.”
At once, he opened his fist and allowed Annala to retrieve her lock of hair. She struck Gruffle on the chin for good measure and said, “Thank you, Overseer of Necrocraft, for your assistance.”
“Mea culpa,” Samael said to Annala. “Mea culpa,” she said to Eric. Tasio appeared behind her with a blade arm poised at her neck. “Mea maxima culpa,” she said with her head bowed. He stopped, and without facing him, she continued, “A sower sued for a cease and desist in the Court of the Abyss. Lord Death decreed that this mission was well intentioned but illegitimate. Eric Watley will not be forced to turn into a reaper. This matter is closed.”
She stepped over Gruffle and tapped the Door of Death. With an ominous crack, it unlocked. Without looking at Gruffle either, she spoke to him.
“Wish Reaper Gruffle, your actions involving the Bladi Clan are suspicious and concerning. They shall be investigated, and should you be found guilty of death violations yourself, you will have to answer for them.”
She stepped through the door, closed it, and left Gruffle to his fate. It was a heavily wounded and disgraced wish reaper that eventually descended through the stone floor.
Annala touched the severed hair strands with her left hand while holding the stolen lock in her right. Realization hit and she slouched. Seeing Eric made her so happy she dropped her guard. She grew her hair back subconsciously to be beautiful for him. One moment’s error could have doomed a civilization, again.
She bowed her head to Neuro. “I apologize for my boyfriend’s actions. The first attack was self-defense but roasting you was disproportionate.”
“It was?” Eric asked. Annala gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. “Yes, it was. I’m sorry for going overboard.”
Neuro went through the motions of dusting himself off. Then he mirrored Annala’s humble gesture and said, “To quote Mr. Watley himself, ‘no harm, no foul.’ I too must apologize. I could have sued for a cease and desist myself, but my resolve withered under Samael’s insistence. I clearly have more to learn on how to strike a balance between lawful action and moral action.”
He raised his head.
“Now, if you will excuse me, I have other duties to attend to.” He snapped his ghostly fingers and the Door of Death appeared behind him. He inclined his head to both of them in turn and then backed into it. As soon as it closed, Eric asked, “Do you really think what I did was disproportionate?”
“No, but you have enough reaper enemies, so I had to pacify this one.”
Eric cupped her cheek. “Have I ever told you how safe I feel knowing that you’re watching out for me?”
Annala placed her hand on top of his. “The feeling is mutual.”
“ARF!”
Perrault headbutted Eric in the stomach to push him away from Annala. This earned her a slap on the head from Annala and she whimpered.
“I’ve been meaning to ask,” Eric said, “is this behavior a ‘my sister is off-limits’ thing or a ‘you’re not good enough for my mommy’ thing?”
Annala looked left then right and then started to shimmer. “Ohh, look at that!” She held up her insubstantial hands for emphasis. “We’ll have to put this conversation on hold until next time. Love you, bye!”
Both she and Perrault winked out of existence for some random other world. Eric could have sworn the wolf was smirking at him. Suddenly, an elbow was leaning on his shoulder.
“Women and chaos, right?” Tasio said.
“Like you’ve ever been in a relationship.”
“I have, but that’s not important right now. I want to confirm that you’re a god, like me.”
It was as easy as shedding a coat. The grendel body Eric formerly inhabited was now so much flesh and bone on the ground. Hovering over it was an ethereal humanoid shape. It took the form of a human boy with flaming red hair and metal-grey skin. Within his chest was an arrowhead of transparent light that contained five smaller lights. The center grey light had gained a shimmering red hue in addition to the black. Eric was about to ask Tasio his opinion of it when he was suddenly overcome by a new sensation. Never before had he felt such freedom!
He stretched out until his spirit filled the room. Then he did mid-air summersaults. He floated to the ceiling and then circled the room and did barrel rolls. At the center of the room, he shot streams of black fire from all four limbs.
Dark flames came from his right side. Darkness itself came from his left. “These must be my new specialties,” Eric mused. “Both of them are basically darkness, but one of them is infernal fire and the other is the absence of light. I thought I was using mana earlier...Oh, the possibilities!” He clenched his fists and smothered both. Then like a dropped stone, he descended into his body.
Healthy color returned to its skin and it sat up like a hinge on a door. Eric stood up straight and then did full splits. He did this effortlessly and without a wince. Then he pushed himself to his feet and did a circuit around the room.
“Walking is inefficient,” he said.
“Now you know why I float everywhere,” Tasio said.
“Yes, it makes sense now.” Eric stretched again, but only his body extended, and it was a small distance too. “I never realized how confining these things are. I’m gonna take it off when I get home.”
“So you’re completely independent of your physical body?”
Eric nodded. “My new divinity empowers me to resist the pull of the Abyss, and it looks like it will also keep my body fresh.”
Without warning, he jumped out of his skin and floated next to Tasio. His body collapsed into a heap like a rubber costume.
“I’m looking forward to the next Trickster Day.”
“Are you?” Tasio hugged him. “That’s great!” He pulled back. “Why?”
&n
bsp; “Two months of meditation means plenty of time to reflect. I realized that I’ve been rude to you all this time. Even though you had your own motives, and you were a jerk about it, our friendship has basically been you helping me and being insulted for it. Sorry.”
Teary eyed, Tasio hugged him again. No one would believe it but Eric himself.
Back through the Rite of Fire Ascension Corridor, the pair of tricksters talked. Eric even carried his body in his ghostly arms so he could float next to Tasio while doing so. By the time they reached the exit, they truly were “bestest friends” again. Then they saw Kallen and their spirits rose higher.
She too gleamed with new divinity and hers was more brilliant by far than Eric’s. However, her stance was rigid and her posture harsh. Her light was not that of the sun warming the earth but a star radiating in the cold blackness of space. It was at that moment that both tricksters remembered; as bad as Eric’s past might be, it was idyllic compared to Kallen’s. Two months of attempted ascension with nothing but her own thoughts had to be rough. Eric flitted into his body and, together with Tasio, formed a pincer hug.
It was like hugging stone at first, but then the smile they were hoping for came out. She wrapped her arms around them both.
“The next step towards the Chaos Avatar,” Tasio said in the midst of the hug, “is to—”
“Panzer halt,” Eric said. “I’ve been in meditation for two months. I should let my team know that I’m still alive first.”
“Yeah, I gotta tell Emily so she doesn’t have a panic attack.”
Tasio shrugged. “If you insist.”
On the way out of the volcano, Kallen carried her body in her ghostly arms as well. She said she wanted to show off her new inner splendor. Eric wondered if instead she was relieved to abandon her chimera body.
The trio of gods returned to the surface through a shrine. Its doors resonated with their Divine Presence and triggered runes that sent fire spells into the sky. Under the stars and moon, they exploded into the four colors of fire and awakened the slumbering clerics. They shuffled to the shrine to welcome the new gods while rubbing the sleep from their eyes, but all they found was Tasio. The other two gods parted ways to find their respective teams.
Kallen flew into Albatross IX and woke up Emily, who stared in awe and then hugged her. Eric flew to one of the guesthouses to wake up Tiza and Nolien. After rousing them, Tiza threw a pillow at him for taking so long. Nolien, suspiciously polite, asked why it couldn’t wait until morning. It was just the reaction Eric expected and hoped for.
“Where’s Daylra?” he asked.
The other two novices exchanged a look and Eric felt a chill despite being made of divine fire. They sat up and Nolien spoke.
“Eric, a lot happened over the course of your apotheosis.”
Soon they were all gathered in the Dragon’s Lair. With Tasio’s help, the three novices were at the entrance to the Squad Two emergency room in a blink. Only a reaper could be this fast, and that was exactly what worried Eric. A bladi chief with a freshly discovered anti-bladi poison that hasn’t died despite the poison...Hasina must be salivating.
He tore aside the curtains but did not find the Squad Two captain cutting Basilard open with a mana scalpel. Instead, he found Basilard reading to Zettai. She was sitting in his lap and between his arms.
“Well, isn’t this darling?” he said. “My attempted murderer acting fatherly.”
Basilard dropped the book and stared. It was similar to a novice coming face to face with a Class “S” monster. All he could do was look away in shame.
“Dad only did that to save me!” Zettai shouted.
“That’s right,” Eric said. “You are the root cause of all this. That means you’re the one who has to fix it.”
“Huh-what?”
“Now that the death violations are no longer a factor,” Tasio said, “it’s back to competing Bladi ideology. The only difference between now and then is that your father has made his position abundantly clear.”
He flew into her face and his old and divine eyes bore into her young and mortal ones. Despite being in the safest place she could imagine, she trembled.
“Have you?”
Eric pulled him back by the hair. “Don’t be so hard on the kid. She’s spent so much time running, hiding, and cowering behind others that she hasn’t had the chance to yet. Avoiding direct confrontations is how she’s survived this long.”
“Hey!” Zettai said indignantly.
“You’re right,” Tasio said. “I can’t blame her for staying safe in someone’s lair while that someone stands at the mouth of the cave. It’s hard to attract attention in their shadow.”
“Dad only wants to protect me.”
“Exactly!” the two gods chorused. “Now you have to protect him!”
“...I want to, but what can I...I’m just...” She trailed off under their disapproving stares.
“When I ascended,” Eric said, “I gained a greater understanding of passion; that drive to accomplish great and perilous feats. It is the courage to jump through fire in pursuit of an objective. Is your place in the Bladi clan worth that?”
Knowing it would displease her father, Zettai shook her head.
“What about your place with your father?”
This time, Zettai nodded without hesitation. Eric lifted her out of Basilard’s lap and placed her next to his hospital bed.
“Then let’s go. Whether your passion leads to a bright future or a burning one depends on which end of the stick you grab. What are you going to do?”
Her first instinct was to look to her father for advice. He shook his head. What he would do was what caused this mess. She had to imagine what she herself would do. In that train of logic, her first thought was to run and hide. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“I’m going to talk with them.”
First, she had to walk to them. Neither god was willing to teleport or carry her there. Instead, they flew over her. Nolien and Tiza flanked her on the ground. Mid-stride, she picked up flowers and wove them into a loop. Then she put it on her head.
“Is that really the message you want to send?” Nolien asked, eyebrow raised.
“Of course it is; I’m a bladi princess.”
The guards at the Bladi Main Compound’s gates were not bladi, not by blood, marriage, or adoption. Armed with spears, they blocked the gate by crossing them.
“Who are you and what is your business here?” one of them, a wolf demon, asked.
“I’m Zettai Bladi, daughter of Basilard Bladi, and I’ve come to talk.”
“So this is the girl everyone’s talking about...” the other, a human, said. “Finally! The chief said she’d come days ago. Open the gate!”
The gates cracked open in time for the group to see someone running to the Bladi Council Hall. They ran past crowds of non-bladi. It was a motley collection of humans, demons, and other species that stood guard, patrolled, or goofed off in the courtyard.
Zettai didn’t recognize any of them. The relatives she feared were nowhere to be found, but these strange warriors were even scarier. If not for her escort, she would surely have run away by now. Then a shout made her jump.
“NNNNNIIIIIIIIECE!” A man with red hair and red eyes bounded toward Zettai with his arms wide open. He stopped short and leaned forward on his knees. “I’m your Uncle Plas!” His smile was so friendly it put Zettai more at ease, despite his energy. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. Wow, to think that my l’il bro’s blood created something this cute!”
“Ummm...” She clasped her hands together and bobbed her head. “Nice to meet you.”
Plas stood straight up and said, “That’s it! I’m spoiling you.”
“Plas, what’s going on?” Eric asked.
“No way...” Plas’ smile grew wider. “Eric Watley? That’s a fine Divine Presence you’ve got going there. If I weren’t used to it, I’d be in awe.”
With a sweep of his foo
t, he gestured to the warriors controlling the compound. Now that he’d seen Plas, Eric realized that they were the Bloody Daggers, a paramilitary force working for the Ataidar central government. The last time Eric saw them, they were busting the Black Cloaks group as part of Kasile’s rescue mission.
“Basilard invited us to a party a couple weeks ago,” Plas explained. “It was to celebrate his daughter demonstrating the first level of Bladi Knowledge, or something like that.”
“Dad’s been bedridden for two months,” Zettai said.
“You know, I thought it was suspicious, but it was Basilard in every way. He even had BloodDrinker with him.” Plas turned his eyes to Tasio. “It was you, wasn’t it?”
“Took you long enough,” Tasio said. “I know you can’t resist a party.”
“Who can? Imagine our disappointment when instead we see my relatives at each other’s throats.” Plas patted his scabbard. “We’ve been keeping the peace since then.”
“Your troops were okay with that?” Eric asked.
“They’re more than my troops; they’re my second family,” Plas said. “Besides, as long as they’re fed and drunk, they’re happy. ‘Basilard’ told us to make ourselves at home.”
Tasio grinned. Zettai face palmed.
“Of course he did. Uncle Plas, please gather everyone. I want to speak with them.”
“Uncle Plas...” the Bladi man said dreamily. “I never thought I’d be called that.”
Then his expression soured and he barked commands to his troops. In short order, the Bladi Clan was gathered in the courtyard. After being under house arrest for so long, all of them were grumpy. All of them were armed as well and Zettai asked Plas to tell his troops to stand down. She didn’t want this to be a repeat of what Tasio did in her father’s guise.
“H-hello, everyone.”
“Abomination!”
Some of the Old Blood rushed her and were countered by some from the New Blood. This drew in more from either side until all of them were fighting. Plas’ outlaws jumped in and so did Zettai’s mercenary escorts. Then Zettai herself screamed at the top of her lungs,
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