Paladin 4: Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Darren materialized in Lord Sobek’s realm, one step closer to obtaining the Spirit Origin Stone.

The god’s personal realm was nothing like he expected. He thought it would be a realm of wild beauty, like the Seven Heavens. Or perhaps it would be a realm of untamed ferocity, like the Seven Hells.

Instead, he found himself in a swamp. A dirty, stinking swamp filled with buzzing flies and mosquitos the size of his fist.

“Beware the holy mosquitos!” the priest in gold trim said, eyes darting left and right. “They can slurp down all the blood in a mortal’s body in only a few seconds. We’ve lost more than one supplicant to his lordship to the things, blessed as they may be.”

While the priest in gold trim was more than happy to praise these holy mosquitos, he also shrieked like a little girl and started throwing fireballs the moment he saw one. It tried to bite Darren, but his skin was too tough. One wave of his hand later and it was nothing but a splatter on the ground.

“You killed the holy mosquito!” the gold trimmed priest gasped in shock.

“Sorry?” Darren shrugged. He’d been trying to kill it too.

“Don’t be. Every one of those things that dies is one less I have to watch out for the next time I come up here. To be honest, I think Lord Sobek just keeps them around, so we don’t waste his time unduly with mortal affairs.” The gold trimmed priest shrugged.

Lord Sobek’s palace rested right in the middle of the big swamp. To Darren, it looked less like a palace and more like a raft assembled by a group of homeless men trying to cross a river. He kept his thoughts to himself though as the gold trimmed priest beside him extolled the many virtues and accomplishments of the god he was about to meet.

Darren spotted a few large scaled beasts drifting through the water and pointed them out.

“Those are Lord Sobek’s crocodiles. You promised not to harm them earlier, right?” the priest looked at Darren nervously.

“Will they attack?” Darren asked.

“No, no. They’re quite well fed, I assure you.” the priest’s eyes darted between Darren and the swamp monsters a few times before he was sure that Daren would not try anything.

The only thing resembling a dwelling was a set of curtains in the middle of the swamp, behind which Darren could see several shadowed figures. There was one nearly as large as he was, and he suspected it was Sobek.

“Lord Sobek! It is I, your high priest! I come forth in humility to present a supplicant before you, someone from the Sacred Seas!” the gold trimmed priest said.

A gruff voice answered. “Another one? Is this one beautiful, at least?” His voice had a toothy feel to it, like speaking around a mouth full of rocks.

The gold trimmed priest shook his head. “No, this is a visiting god from the barbaric northern lands.”

The curtain parted, and Darren finally got his first look at Sobek. The foreign god reminded him more of a demon than a seraph, though instead of red skin, he was green and yellow. His body was covered in scales, and he wore a simple leather loincloth. Two bands of gold adorned his wrists, and a much wider one rested about his shoulders and brow.

The gold trimmed priest bowed and scurried away. For all his praise of Sobek and his domain, he clearly didn’t want to spend any longer here than he had to. He was gone before either Darren or Sobek had a chance to say another word to him.

Sobek was more crocodile than man, like someone had taken a swamp beast’s limbs and lengthened the arms to make human limbs, but his torso remained entirely reptilian. His head was entirely that of a crocodile, and suddenly Darren understood why his voice sounded the way it did. It was impressive he could mimic human speech at all with a mouth like that.

“Ah, another human,” Sobek grumbled. He flopped back down in the chair he’d been sitting in moments ago. It had a unique design with a hole in the back for his tail to fit through, since the lizard man would have a difficult time sitting down on anything else.

Three full-grown crocodiles lounged around him, one of which nestled itself into Sobek’s lap while he stroked the top of its head. When it caught sight of Darren, it snapped to attention with a look that almost seemed familiar, though Darren had a hard time placing crocodile expressions.

“Admiring my lovely ladies, are you?” Sobek gave Darren a look that might have been a smile or a glare. The crocodile man’s face seemed locked in the same expression. “I found this one wounded and begging for my aid. I don’t normally take in strays, but on this occasion, I simply had to lend a hand. When she came to me, she was a hideous mammal, but this one can change herself into a more pleasing form. It was quite impressive when I first saw it. If only more of your human women could do such a thing. You have such ugly, weak, and fleshy forms. It’s a wonder you can stomach one another long enough to mate. At least most mammals have the courtesy of covering their flesh with fur.”

Sobek shivered and shook his head, spitting into the water as though he’d swallowed something disgusting. Apparently, this god from Marsa cared little for humans. But he was very fond of female crocodiles.

The crocodile in Darren’s lap glared at him warily, and he grew increasingly certain he recognized her. But that was a mystery he had little time to ponder.

“Sobek, I want to buy the Spirit Origin Stone,” Darren said.

Sobek opened and closed his mouth a few times in quick succession.

“The Spirit Origin Stone? Hmm...” Something approaching thoughtfulness appeared on his face, and he looked upward. “I played the major role in claiming that stone, so if any may sell it, I do. But what will you give me in return for such a thing, hmm? The Realmbeast was a creature approaching the Seventh Order. Any stronger, and it would have been powerful enough to wipe out all the gods of Marsa’s pantheon. It was only good fortune that allowed me to strike the killing blow and give us a chance to turn its carcass into a beautiful holy realm of our own.”

Sobek spread his arms out around him, gesturing to the stinking, smelly swamp all around him, especially to the crocodiles.

“I’m glad you are comfortable,” Darren replied. He scanned through his inventory, trying to find things that might be valuable to a being of Sobek’s level.

He pulled out all sorts of demon corpses, most of which were met with noncommittal shrugs. Everything Darren had was of the fifth order and below. While incredibly valuable to many factions across the Sacred Seas, Sobek was at the Sixth Order, and he would not be so easily impressed. Darren needed something more powerful.

He took out various plants and items he’d collected, but Sobek remained unimpressed.

“If this is all you have to offer, you won’t be getting our Spirit Origin Stone,” Sobek shook his toothy maw in disappointment.

Clearly, Darren would need to bring out some of his more precious items. “This is Lifewell water. It restores youth to older mortals and heals injuries.”

“Interesting. Do you think it would work on crocodiles?” Sobek asked.

Darren shrugged. “I do not see why it wouldn’t.”

He’d never even thought to test the stuff on crocodiles, but Sobek did. He called over one of his larger crocodiles, and Darren gave him a vial of the Lifewell water. While he wasn’t ever willing to part with his Fountain of Youth, he would be more than happy to give away as much of its water as Sobek wanted.

The crocodile he wanted the water tested on was clearly an older species. She was larger than the others, and scars adorned the length of her body. The claw marks were straight and even in sets of four, so most of them had probably come from a fight with something big and nasty. The crocodile herself was a fifth-order creature, so whatever had so handily defeated her to give her those scars had to be something truly strong.

“That Realmbeast mauled my poor Scalia here,” Sobek gave the large battle-scarred crocodile a warm pat on the head. “She is the reason why I was so determined to kill the thing. But despite realizing my vengeance, her wounds never truly healed. Beyond that, my precious girl here is a few thousand years old, and time is wearing on her. I want to see if your magic water has any effect.”

He tossed the vial of fountain of youth water down the giant crocodile’s throat, and the crocodile grew a shade healthier. The scars grew slightly thinner, though they were far from completely healed. Sobek was impressed, though, and he clapped his claw-tipped hands together in delight. “Wonderful! This is a good start. What else do you have to offer?”

“I can provide you with more Lifewell water than you see here,” Darren offered.

Sobek snorted. “While I am fond of Scalia, I’m not so fond of her that I’d be willing to part with the Spirit Origin Stone for her. I want more.”

So Darren reluctantly dug into his personal armory, thinking of what he’d be most willing to part with.

The logical choice was his Hell Sundering Sword of Annihilation. It was a mythic-ranked item, so it would be quite valuable even to a god. With most of the Seven Hells wiped out, his need for demon-slaying swords was greatly decreased. He could never give up Melancholy, even if Ashe wasn’t in it, and he wanted to keep Inevitability, so his Hell Sundering Sword of Annihilation was the only thing he was truly willing to part with. If he needed another one, he was pretty sure he could craft something similar.

So Darren put the sword up on display for Sobek. The crocodile-headed god leaned forward with interest as he sensed the power in the weapon Darren held before him.

“An impressive sword. But what does it do?”

“Kills demons,” Darren replied. The crocodile in Sobek’s lap winced at Darren’s words, crawling deeper into Sobek’s embrace for protection.

“Demons... yes, I’m familiar with the concept, as you northern barbarians like to call them. I imagine they’d be quite useful against anything that uses aura of a more monstrous alignment. I’ll take it, but I must ask, where did you obtain such a thing?” Sobek asked.

“I created it myself.”

Sobek perked up at that. “Truly? Interesting. I took you for a fighting god, not a crafting god. Crafting gods typically stay within their own realms for safety, relying on the fighters to venture forth and make deals with other pantheons on their behalf.”

Darren let a small smile creep up the corners of his lips. “I am no stranger to combat.”

“Would you be willing to sell your skills for a while instead of your items?” Sobek asked.

“What for?” Darren asked.

“I wish to have an item that can transform any human woman into a crocodile. For their own good, of course. I have many worshipers who would love to serve me, but they are simply too... mammalian for me to tolerate for long within my sanctum. But if I could transform them at will...” Sobek licked his pointed teeth.

Darren hesitated for a moment. “These people you will transform. Will they be willing?”

Sobek nodded. “Of course. As a god, I have no shortage of ugly human women willing to throw themselves at me for a taste of my divinity. That they were born so ugly and deformed is a loss to both them and me.”

“Then I will help you,” Darren replied. “But I may need materials and may need to kill something of yours.”

“I will open my personal treasury to you for anything that might help. This is a dream I have wished to realize for a long time,” Sobek wore something akin to a smile. “I have several feral crocodiles that didn’t take well to my divine power. I had been planning to eat them anyway, so I might as well slaughter one now if you need it.”

Darren had heard of large swamp-dwelling lizards like the one before him, eating their own kind before. He found himself grateful that he was born human instead of whatever Sobek was. Demons eating humans were bad enough. He wasn’t sure if it would be possible to form a stable society if humans ate one another.

Sobek provided the soul of a giant crocodile, and he used a combination of soul weaving and soul smithing to enhance a band of gold that could be worn about the shoulders, much like the one Sobek wore. The feral and mindless crocodile spirit went into the golden band, and Darren inspected his handiwork.

Absolute Analysis: Item Analysis

• Band of Crocodilian Possession (Epic)
• This band allows the user to wield all the tremendous strength and regeneration of the Holy Crocodile spirit that possessed it.

Sobek shook his head at the item when Darren told him what it would do.

“I don’t want someone to merely have the powers of a crocodile. I want them to become crocodiles! That is the whole point. Here, examine Astarte’s ability. That is the one I want you to replicate.

“Astarte?” Darren asked in surprise.

Sobek scooped up the crocodile that had been sitting in his lap. “Yes, here she is. She’s from the Sacred Seas, just like you!” He stroked her reptilian head. “Turn back for him a moment, my beauty.”

The crocodile shuddered, and before Darren appeared Astarte, the Archdemon of Lust. Her eyes were locked on the ground, not daring to meet Darren’s gaze.

She was a beauty few could rival. Perhaps Synthia, the Prime Saint of Sex, was just as astonishingly beautiful. Long hair trailed past the small of her back, and her lips were deep red with a pink blush adorning her cheeks.

“We meet again,” Darren’s face turned grim. By pure happenstance, he’d stumbled across the archdemon who got away.

Sobek, meanwhile, was holding his hands over his eyes. “Alright, enough, Astarte! I forgot how hideous you were in your natural form. Turn back! Turn back!”

Astarte turned into a crocodile again, and Darren had no doubt that she was just as strikingly beautiful in that form as she had been in her human one. Not that he could tell.

He’d been afraid he’d need to use his Limitless Evolution skill. It would be the easiest way to impress Sobek, but it would also take a considerable amount of time.

At least, normally, it would. Now that Cassandra had that mental link ability, he had another option. He quickly contacted her through the body nearest the palace and requested she form a mental link with him. Once she started casting her mental enhancement ability, he found the time to cast the spell and was cut down nearly as dramatically as normal.

[I don’t like it,] Cassandra said through their mental link.

[This is very convenient,] Darren replied through the same link.

[I still don’t like it. I don’t think it will work as good as me being next to you in person.]

Darren could practically see her pouting on the other end of the connection. He wondered why she sounded so upset at the discovery.

Ashe was the one who explained it to him. [She’s sad that she no longer has an excuse to spend all day having sex!]

Darren murmured in understanding. While Cassandra’s bottomless well of lust could be a little overwhelming at times, she was always fun to come home to. Maybe he could upgrade her enhancement ability again, and it would become even more powerful with physical contact.

He spent the next few hours evolving the band of crocodilian possession for Sobek.

The crocodile-headed god resumed what he’d been doing when Darren first arrived, which mostly seemed like a lot of nothing. He sat in his chair, slowly stroking Astarte’s head.

He was alone for the first time in a while using his Limitless Evolution skill, and for the first time, he realized Cassandra’s constant displays of affection had actually served as training for him.

Before, casting the ability took his full concentration for three entire days. Cassandra had cut the time required to cast it down to hours, but more importantly, her incessant intimate distractions were something he had to learn to power through when using his ability. As a result, he’d grown far more aware of his surroundings when using Limitless Evolution, which dramatically reduced the risk of using it in places where he could be vulnerable.

He noticed the moment Sobek threw up a sound barrier around his tent and began whispering softly to Astarte. They were talking about something they didn’t want him to hear.

Unfortunately for them, Darren had plenty of ways to listen in. The easiest way to create something akin to his Celestial Storm tendrils and feel the vibrations in the air. He had long ago trained to translate those vibrations into sound, and it had allowed him to eavesdrop on many demons while he was in the Seven Hells.

Through those tendrils, he heard the words Sobek and Astarte were speaking.

“He’s not actually a god, not really! He’s only at the fifth order!” Astarte whispered to Sobek. “And he’s not even a seraph, either. He’s just a human who got stronger than we thought possible!”

Sobek murmured something low and grave in reply. It sounded doubtful.

“You can take all the items you saw him produce and keep the Spirit Origin Stone!” Astarte prodded. “All you have to do is kill him.”

“Perhaps...” Sobek replied.

Darren grimaced. He feared this was about to get messy.


<Note>

Somebody here predicted Astarte would show up again midway through this book. DiabolicalGenious, I think? Congratulations, you win a prize! (The prize is just a congratulations. There is no actual reward.)