As the vessel returned to Langerlan, General Folen signaled the soldiers to begin the second phase of his war plan. A dozen elves used flight magic to cross above the clusters of giant ants. Each flier carried a pot of oil and dumped it in the densest sectors of the battlefield. They hovered above each spot and waited for archers to launch special flame arrows. The elves successfully set the giant ants aflame.
Additional scouts standing atop the walls magically created more layers of barriers to contain the fire and prevent it from spreading.
However, the enemies thwarted this strategy by digging holes underground.
The fliers carried the exhausted scouts, and they returned to the village.
When Folen heard what the giant ants did, he became frustrated. "Who is directing these ants?" he wondered aloud. The general didn't expect someone to control this large army and command them to enter the underground and avoid the elves' attacks. This tactic was the worst-case scenario, and Folen couldn't prevent the ants from digging tunnels to enter Langerlan directly. There was only one thing he could do now. The general cast Flight and flew toward the Tree of Life.
Kaylessa and Meriel were surprised that Folen would leave his post, and they followed him to discover his next step.
The group arrived in front of the unique tree, and Folen slowly approached Ptelea. The elves saw that Luka, Bel, and Gripper kept the tree spirit company but declined to comment because Ptelea treated these three as close friends.
"Our enemies dug underground to evade our assault, and they are now beyond our reach. They will soon bypass our defense, enter our village, and eat away your precious roots in the process," the general reported. "Will you lend us your assistance?" Folen asked and bent his knee toward the tree spirit.
Ptelea felt troubled by this request for a variety of reasons. In her role as the Guardian of the Great Forest, the tree spirit sought to avoid favoring one species over another. The Giant Ants served a crucial part in the delicate ecosystem within her domain.
However, Ptelea recognized that the Queen Ant had reproduced zealously beyond her colony's needs. There shouldn't be twenty-five thousand ants leaving their homes to invade another area. Hence, the tree spirit believed that the existing ant colony required whittling.
But at the same time, Ptelea could not intervene in this war and attack the ants directly. At best, the spirit could only provide the tools to another to serve as her proxy. She turned toward Luka with a mischievous smile. "Can you help them?" Ptelea asked.
The boy blanched at her question. "Um, how do you expect me to fight eighteen thousand ants digging underground?" Luka pointed out.
Ptelea's face brightened. "I'll be right back!" The spirit entered her tree trunk and reached down to retrieve a unique root. It looked ancient but emanated a green aura that washed over her. She exited her Tree of Life while holding this old relic.
The tree spirit concentrated her power and caused the small root to expand in size until it took a staff's shape. "Take it," Ptelea commanded.
Luka obeyed and immediately sensed a mental intrusion in his mind.
[Will you contract with me, Divine Summoner?]
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
[I am Alraune, the Nature God. With my power, you can save Langerlan.]
Luka felt the sincerity of her words and agreed. His right arm, which held the magical staff, started tingling. This sensation soon spread throughout his body, and power swept through as Alraune performed an involuntary divine summoning! The divine spirit took the shape of a green sprite, which hovered over his head. Their two bodies synchronized and moved together as one entity.
"Frenzied Dance of Voracious Vines!" Thick roots extended from the Life Tree and dug through the dirt and rocks. They pierced the invaders' hard shells like a hot knife through butter and pulled the entangled bodies upward. Soon, the skewered giant ants dangled helplessly above the ground like tree ornaments.
Alraune tightened her fist, and the roots began to drain their lifeforce. The ants turned into desiccated hard shells. This energy entered the Life Tree and caused it to grow taller and thicker. When the Nature God confirmed that she captured all the pests and drained them completely, Alraune waved her hand. A gentle wind blew across the field and turned the rigid remains to dust.
Without leaving a word to the stunned elves, Alraune led Luka out of the village. The two flew deep into the Great Forest and hovered above an entrance to the anthill. Alraune sent her vines underground; they quickly snaked through the tunnels and grabbed the Queen Ant.
Through his shared senses with the god, Luka saw a giant ant five times bigger than the others with a swollen abdomen.
Alraune ignored the queen's frantic struggle to break loose and mercilessly crushed it into a pulp.
The boy was shocked by her decision to wipe out the entire ant colony. "Why?" Luka asked in disbelief.
"She threatened my descendent's Life Tree and must pay the ultimate price for her insolence!" Alraune answered haughtily. "Ptelea provided a safe environment for the ant colony to develop. But this queen chose to bite the hand that fed it. If I leave it alone, she'll rebuild her army and attack Langerlan again. With your short human lifespan, you won't be around to protect the village if that happens in the distant future. So it made sense for me to eliminate the threat now."
"Besides, you shouldn't complain, Luka. After all, you benefitted greatly from this battle, too. The Staff of Alraune in your possession serves as a storage container for lifeforce. When I drained energy from the giant ants, I diverted a portion to the relic. You could use it to recover your health and mana. The staff also grants access to low-ranking nature magic, which you sorely lack. If the ants didn't attack Langerlan, then Ptelea wouldn't hand you this staff," Alraune pointed out. "I'm too lazy to fly back to the village. Use your teleportation magic to take us away," she commanded.
The mage activated his familiar link and reappeared next to Bel, who stayed with Ptelea next to the Life Tree. Alraune released her spiritual connection with the boy and disappeared. When Luka turned around, he saw that all the villagers knelt before him.
Bel laughed while Ptelea watched with approval.
"Thank you for saving our village a second time," Ailmoon said with his head bowed low.
"Please get up, everyone!" the boy replied because Luka felt extremely uncomfortable with their collective prostration.
"We didn't realize you are Alraune's vassal," Meriel remarked with wonder. "We elves thought the Nature God died and switched our allegiance to Alectos for that reason," he explained.
Suddenly, Alectos appeared! "You shall continue to worship me," the god declared. "Alraune is no longer a god of this world. She is a divine spirit who acts through Luka because of his bloodline as a Divine Summoner. Alraune appeared because Ptelea held a fragment of her ancestral root. Now, the piece turned into my disciple's staff, and her influence over the Great Forest vanished," he clarified.
"We renew our pledge of fealty to you, Patron God Alectos!" the headman announced and prostrated before the deity.
"Yes, we will worship you forever!" the elves shouted.
Alectos turned toward his troublesome pupil. "It's time to leave." The god snapped his finger and pulled Luka, Bel, and Gripper out of Langerlan.
Chapter 35
Revelations of the Past
Luka instantly returned to the magic realm. When the teenager saw his destination, he felt relieved. While Luka enjoyed his stay at Langerlan, the elvish culture was too foreign and alien for him. After all, humans shouldn't live permanently inside treehouses way high above the ground. But before the pupil could speak a word to Alectos, his teacher vanished again!
[Just like old times, eh lad?] Bel chuckled at the god's disappearance act.
Gripper looked around and sniffled. He looked at the rabbit and human for approval to explore his new surroundings.
"Go," Luka urged the contract beast with a wave of
his hand.
"Hoot!" The gorilla happily wandered off.
[That kid will be very disappointed to discover there's nothing in this landscape.] The familiar remarked.
"Gripper is young, and he will adjust," Luka expressed his confidence.
[So, what's your plan now, kiddo? If I recall correctly, you have a few months before your next birthday, right? And once you turn fifteen, you're considered an adult who could officially marry. For demonkind, we become legal age at twelve; you humans are late bloomers.] Bel offered his uninvited comparison of the two racial customs.
[Hopefully, you get to pop your cherry soon. It's a shame there weren't any cute elves around your age. Princess Kaylessa was pretty as a flower, but alas, she showed up too late!] Bel lamented with a helpless expression.
Luka rolled his eyes at the demon's antics. As Michael Bauer, he was too busy earning money for independence to date girls in his previous life. In this current life, though, Luka was an upper-class noble from a famous lineage. Furthermore, he realized that many noble families would seek relationships with him via political marriage. Thus, he expected women to throw themselves at him whenever Luka returns to his dukedom.
Luka set aside his concerns over his (nonexistent) love life for now. Luka inhaled deeply and noted a slight septic odor in the air. The human lived with this smell for several years before Alectos assigned Luka to reside in Langerlan for two years. But an invasion of giant ants forced the human to reveal his ability as a Divine Summoner.
Furthermore, this forced disclosure of Luka's bloodline made it impossible for him to remain in the village. After all, the elves prostrated themselves when Alraune appeared before them. If Luka stayed, the residents would worship him (as Alraune's mortal vessel) instead of Alectos.
That switch in fealty would make things awkward for the human because of his relationship with the God of Magic. Luka also had zero interest in stealing Alectos's worshippers. Thankfully, his mentor showed up in time and whisked the student away before the villagers turned their thoughts into concrete action.
But now, Luka felt mental exhaustion and needed his rest. He didn't worry over where Alectos went or when the teacher would return. Luka planned to engage in self-study and practice his magic because the magic realm permitted the mage to regenerate his mana much faster.
While the boy slept, Alectos returned to Langerlan. The God of Magic hid his presence as the deity surveyed the Varlus continent for possible danger. He felt Langerlan's defenses were lacking, considering that it protected a precious Tree of Life. One of the reasons Alectos sent Luka to live here was to reinforce the soldiers and guards defending Langerlan.
However, the deity was surprised to learn of the Great Forest's rift connecting to the Netherverse. Alectos worried that the bridge connecting to the other side was unnatural; in other words, a foreign entity created this particular hole, possibly to destabilize this fragile region. To the deity, anything related to the dreaded Netherverse was world-threatening; the giant ant army, on the other hand, was a small calamity in his view.
Although Alectos was a god who protected Zaleron, his power was limited. He wasn't all-knowing and couldn't foresee all the possible threats to his dominion. That said, the guardian followed his intuition and made Luka live in Langerlan. Thankfully, this unusual decision paid off handsomely, and his pupil successfully defended the village and eliminated the Netherverse portal.
Furthermore, Alectos was stunned to learn that the dormant Nature God, Alraune, arranged via Ptelea to merge with Luka voluntarily. Although Alectos was aware that Ptelea possessed a fragment of Alraune's root, the deity didn't expect the tree spirit to pass this remarkable relic to Luka. It was an ingredient permitting Alraune to enter the boy's body and fuse with his quasi-divine soul. That said, Alectos wasn't against this merger because Alraune now became another tool for Luka to use.
The God of Magic patrolled the Great Forest for remnants of the Netherverse and its inhabitants. Luckily, he couldn't detect any. However, the woods retained fresh signs of the giant ant invasion: a devastated landscape with trampled trees and plants and multitudes of skitter marks on the ground. The investigator continued moving deeper into the woodland until he reached the former location of the interdimensional rift.
Alectos gathered his divine power and cast Time Reversal. The flow of time began to run backward. The deity paused at a certain point and allowed the temporal river to resume its normal flow. He witnessed how Luka closed the hole with great difficulty and endured severe pain in the process. "The boy takes on heavy responsibilities too easily," the mentor muttered as he shook his head.
At the same time, Alectos marveled at his pupil's rapid improvement in spatial magic. Closing the rift required the caster to grasp the intricacies of spacetime. This feat, in turn, required high intelligence and proficiency. The teacher felt pleasantly surprised by Luka's achievement and decided to reward the boy later.
Once Alectos finished observing his disciple's handiwork, the deity reversed time again. The divine protector watched intently as the temporal river reverted to the rift's formation and allowed time to flow naturally. He observed a sudden spike of nether energy from the other universe that shattered the divine barriers protecting Zaleron.
Alectos identified the energy signature and recognized it as belonging to his old nemesis from the Netherverse. This event confirmed his hunch that the incursion within the Varlus continent's Great Forest was unnatural. Thankfully, the god saw nothing cross through the gap. However, this revelation forced Alectos to shift his time table and change his plans.
The god finally released his magic and returned to the present. Alectos teleported back to Langerlan and appeared before Princess Kaylessa.
The elven royalty and her escorts detected his arrival and knelt before the patron deity.
"I'm here to collect what you promised to my disciple," Alectos explained his reason for coming.
"Yes, of course!" Meriel reached into his magic bag for a folder and removed a certificate.
Alectos looked at the document and saw the following:
"By our authority as King of the Kingdom of Delfrir,
We proclaim Luka Heavensfell to be an Honorary Elf,
And he is entitled to all rights and benefits
Enjoyed by a citizen of our great nation.
Ruehnar Elalamin Hertris Delfrir
341st Day of the 216th Year of Ruehnar"
Alectos smiled faintly because this paperwork reminded him of the odd way the elvish king recorded the calendar. He divided each year into twelve months, thirty days per month, and three hundred sixty days per year. King Ruehnar chose to record the calendar per his reign. Thus, he ruled over Delfrir for two hundred sixteen years (and counting).
Kaylessa saw that the god was in a good mood and decided to make a request. "Great patron deity, I wish to invite your disciple to visit my palace in Delfrir at his earliest convenience. And I humbly request that you pass along my invitation to him," she said with a bow.
The god nodded indifferently at her words. "You should report this incident to Ruehnar," he advised.
"Yes, I will, Great Patron!" the princess replied with a curtsy.
Alectos left and returned to the magic realm.
Once the god was gone, Meriel spoke up. "Why did you invite Luka to visit?" he asked in a neutral tone of voice. Although Kaylessa had many suitors, she never expressed interest in any male. Additionally, Luka was the Godson of Altima; his close relationship with the Divine Church of Light made the boy an enemy in veterans' eyes. If anything, the advisor desperately wished to sever Kaylessa's ties to Luka. Instead, her interest made Meriel aghast!
The princess giggled because she understood his concerns. Nonetheless, Kaylessa added fuel to the flame. "Don't you think Luka Heavensfell is special? He seems like a good boy. He's obedient, kind, caring, and generous. If he becomes my husband, then that old bat of a pope would be outraged, no?" she laughed.
"You are the Fi
rst Princess of Delfrir. Your child will be in contention for the throne. The people won't accept a half-blooded elf as their king!" Meriel protested vigorously.
Kaylessa wiggled her finger delicately in a "tut-tut" manner. "Aren't you forgetting something? Royalty marries for political considerations. If the Godson of Altima becomes the king of Delfrir, he will protect us from the church's zealots. That said, my father would be the one deciding on my marriage partner in the end. But I WILL bring up Luka Heavensfell's name as a suitable candidate. After all, part of the reason why we came here is to observe the boy and understand his character."
The princess turned toward Jaisoh. "Let's go home."
"Yes, Your Highness," the royal knight bowed and prepared to start the airship's engine.
* * *
When Alectos entered the magic realm, he discovered his pupil taking a nap.
Bel noticed the god's return and hopped over.
The deity handed the Honorary Elf certificate to the rabbit. "Please give this to Luka when he wakes up. We will resume his magic training at that time. Also, the elvish princess invited Luka to visit her palace. If he's interested, I can send him there directly."
The familiar accepted the document and placed it on the ground near Luka. Bel watched as Alectos disappeared again.
Luka awoke a few hours later and saw the rabbit snuggled against his chest. The teenager noticed the paper on the floor and picked it up. He read through the document and smiled because Luka realized that Alectos retrieved it from the elves on his behalf. The human placed the precious item inside his storage and rose to his feet.
Bel felt movement and opened his eyes. He saw the certificate was missing and assumed Luka took it. [Alectos said the pretty princess invited you to visit her palace. He offered to send you there if you wish.] The familiar said with a grin.
Luka heard the message but ignored it because he felt uncomfortable with Princess Kaylessa. After all, she stalked him for a few weeks. The teenager knew she was fascinated with him for various reasons, but he didn't have as much interest in her.
The Divine Summoner: Godson of Altima Page 29
