TtOW! - Interlude 182.2 - The Herald Revealed (Patreon)

The Herald of the New Dawn emerged onto an empty plain. He heaved a sigh.

He really thought he had NSLICE-00P figured out after reading her records with the sight of the Aesdes. And that had been a risky move, the one that would alert the other Aesdes to his presence. But it turned out she had become more human than he thought, and so it hadn’t worked out.

It was unfortunate, he had told her the truth. Or ninety-percent truth, as most good lies are. The Rift indeed led to her former universe, and he had no intentions on it.

But that did not mean all would have been well.

Had she passed through, her dungeon core would have tugged on its connection to Aelea. He could have abused that connection and the natural flow of mana to a near mana-less universe to widen the Rift. The Aesdes were not prepared for mana to drain into a Rift, and he likely could have dealt critical damage to the boundaries of the universe before they had responded.

Of course, that would also have consequences for the universe on the other side.

Speaking of which, he hadn’t and couldn’t account for interference from the other side. But, that universe was one where mana was in extremely short supply, and knowledge of the boundaries of the universe was fairly low. NSLICE-00P’s strength had been because she had bonded to a dungeon core, gaining direct access to massive amounts of mana, something that did not apply to other members of her universe and that the Aesdes would likely have worked to prevent from recurring. As such, while their mastery of mundane physics was impressive, who among that universe would have the raw power to cause him any trouble?

But it didn’t matter, because NSLICE-00P hadn’t gone for it.

Well, it would have been convenient, but the Herald of the New Dawn hadn’t lost just yet. He didn’t risk everything on one girl’s choice, after all. And it was just about time for the next step.

Right on cue, the sky began to light up. Anualë descended from above, fully clad in golden armor with a shining spear in his hand. He frowned deeply.

“Rélseomo, in any other circumstance I would be overjoyed to see you. I thought you to have perished in the Sinking of Letoris, locked in battle with the Great Demon Lord even as the continent fell around you. Where have you been all this time? Why have you not returned to us? We all grieved greatly for you.”

Rélseomo sighed.

“Anualë came himself, huh? It…would be a lie to say I did not long to return. But I could not, not after what I have seen.”

Anualë narrowed his eyes.

“Indeed. What is it you have seen, Rélseomo? And what is it you have done?”

Rélseomo looked up and met Anualë’s gaze.

“After the battle, after it was over, I found myself sinking beneath the waves, wounded too gravely too move, or even to cry out. But it turns out we of the Aesdes are hard to kill. And as I sank and waited, I pondered. I thought back to all we had seen, all we had done, and everything that led us to that moment. Of all of our mistakes, of all our failures.”

Anualë nodded, a sad expression on his face.

“Indeed, our burden is great.”

Rélseomo narrowed his eyes.

“So you say. And yet, you have not learned a thing. No, you have done worse. You have done nothing.”

Anualë frowned again.

“And what do you say we should have done?”

Rélseomo waved around with his hands.

“Help, and take care of the world, as was our mandate.”

Anualë shook his head.

“That we have done.”

Rélseomo narrowed his eyes.

“Have you? No, Anualë, you and all the others have done nothing, and I don't just mean the Sinking of Letoris. Long have I walked the surface of Aelea and do you know what I saw? Death and suffering, in every corner of the world. They kill, they enslave, they drive one another to despair. Every single species, driven to destroy the peace of every other. And even within the same species, it is more of the same. The only difference between the Great Demon Lord and every other being on this world was the power to succeed. But every single one of them would have done the same, if given the opportunity.”

Anualë again shook his head.

“It is true, there is a great deal of suffering and strife between the peoples of Aelea, much of it chosen by them. But that choice is theirs.”

Rélseomo scoffed.

“Because of your inaction and hypocrisy. But I have had enough. I am no longer content to sit idly by and watch. I am not willing to let another Great Demon Lord arise because of your misguided rules. And I am not willing to let the suffering and evil of this world continue. I will act, while the rest of you wait, high and safe in the Blessed Land.”

Anualë narrowed his eyes.

“Indeed. And how is it that you have acted, Rélseomo?”

Rélseomo smirked.

“Come, Anualë, you already know, do you not? I don’t intend to confess and repent, so enough of your leading questions. Take a stand, Anualë. And since you will not do it in the world, do it against me.”

Anualë heaved a sigh, and hung his head low.

“...indeed. I did wish, even after all this, that you might be returned to us. But…perhaps your words have merit.”

Anualë looked back up, his eyes now sharp as his body was surrounded by an aura of light and wind.

“Rélseomo, Lord of Justice, He Who Confronts the Evils of the World, you have directly threatened the world, and everyone in it. You have corrupted dungeons, opened Rifts, and granted the inhabitants of Aelea knowledge which they had not earned, and were not ready to hold. You have abandoned your family and friends in the Blessed Land, and betrayed your mandate as an Aesdes, as well as all you once held dear. Do you truly not understand what you have done? Will you truly not return to us?”

Rélseomo sighed.

“Just get on with it.”

Anualë nodded and pointed his spear towards him.

“Then I, Anualë, First of the Aesdes, declare that you are one of us no longer. I take from you your power, and cut you off from the power of Elsero that runs through this world.”

Rélseomo began to glow, and then streams of Holy mana began to flow out from him and into Anualë.

And Rélseomo…grinned.

“Got you, you arrogant fool.”

Rélseomo pulled out a knife covered in glowing magic circles and stabbed it into his own chest.

The flows of mana began turning red. Anualë’s eyes widened but he could not stop the process of draining Rélseomo’s power. The corrupted mana flowed straight into him.

“Gah!”

A magic circle formed over Anualë, utilizing his connection to the Blessed Land to send the corrupted mana there. Small streams of red mana flowed down from Anualë’s home, through the mountain on which he lived, and into the heart of the Blessed Land. To the part where two massive glowing spheres floated and spun in the center of a large cavern, covered to the brim in glowing magic circles. The mana flowed into these two spheres, forming additional magic circles over top of them.

Rélseomo chuckled as Anualë groaned.

“Weak as always, Anualë. You should have just killed me.”

Anualë winced as he struggled to regain control of his own mana. His eyes widened.

“You…what did you do?”

A magic circle Rélseomo had prepared in this place ahead of time now lit up underneath his feet. He grinned at Anualë.

“You’ll realize soon enough.”

The magic circle triggered and Rélseomo vanished.

***

To the East of Corvanus, tall mountains could be seen in the distance, rising above the sea. This was the Gelida Montes, some of the tallest mountains in the world. And where the Order of the Griffin, perhaps the most iconic knight order of the Eastern Court made their home.

Said knights now rode through the sky upon their griffins, lances and spells held at the ready.

“Scatter!”

The griffins scattered in every direction as a cone of wind shot through their center. Their foe shot through the sky, chasing after a lone knight. The Galeforce Wyvern pushed with its wings once and then was on top of the knight.

The creature had been cautious at first, but magic and long-range attacks had worn down its HP. It was now getting desperate, and trying anything it could to break their formation.

But the soldiers of the East were not so easily conquered.

The knight spun his griffin around midair and angled his lance towards the incoming wyvern. The wyvern was forced to break off its assault, lest it impale itself upon the lance. The others then grouped around him.

“Prince Octavianus, are you alright?”

Prince Octavianus flashed a grin…which couldn’t be seen because of his helmet.

“Never better, Centurion! This will be a tale most heroic for my beloved Caecila!”

The Knight Centurion sighed.

“Stay focused. A Galeforce Wyvern is not to be trifled with.”

Prince Octavianus, son of Northern Emperor Lucius and husband of Princess Caecila, had been sent to the Eastern Court for education and diplomacy. Also to remove the boy whose romantic choices ended up paralyzing the Northern Court while his father and new wife tried to recover the situation. But well, Octavianus had been raised as a loyal knight as a member of a minor branch family before his father was suddenly elevated to Emperor of the North.

As a result, he had promptly joined the army upon arriving in the East. But given his strengths and weaknesses, that was not a bad choice. The Eastern Court was known as the Legion with an Empire, after all.

“Scatter!”

Prince Octavianus guided his griffin into a steep climb as the Galeforce Wyvern unleashed another wind breath. The wyvern then charged one of the other knights who had dove down, before being warded off by another lance. Prince Octavianus then instructed his griffin to dive, and braced his lance. He arrived just as the wyvern was about to fall back, and struck his lance directly into its head.

The wyvern began to fall from the sky. Prince Octavianus began to grin as the Aesdes confirmed his victory.

[You have slain Galeforce Wy@&()%@...]

[G@!ned *)#$...]

Prince Octavianus blinked as the message turned red, distorted, and then vanished. The  Knight Centurion flew by him.

“Did you get the message? It’s not over until you get the experience, Prince Octavianus.”

Prince Octavianus shook his head.

“No, I got the message, but something’s weird with it. It cut off halfway through.”

The  Knight Centurion hoisted his lance.

“Really? Then eyes up. Check your status for changes, if not we assume it’s still alive.”

Prince Octavianus nodded and brought up his…

His eyes widened.

“I…can’t access my status.”

The  Knight Centurion narrowed his eyes.

“What do you…”

And then he froze as well.

“By the Aesdes…what is going on?”

Author’s Note:

So upon review, I've decided to reclassify the last chapter as an interlude, as well as this one. There's some important details but we can always recap them later if need be. Y'all don't skip stuff, right?

Well, back to the story!

Oh. Um…I guess Anualë might not have it covered after all.

Wait.

Does this mean…

...the status is terminated?

…you know what? That Herald guy might not be so bad after all! Maybe we’ll downgrade him from super extreme termination to just extreme termination!

Anyways!

What’s going on here? Can Anualë handle it after all? Did the author finally succumb to temptation? Tune in next time, to find out!