Part 3

Ludtz Town

Hoh… Interesting… This town managed to survive on its own despite how harsh the living conditions are… They must have cannibalized the building materials from the other towns and cities to build this place from scratch…

I hover overhead the town which did not exist in any of the maps that appeared before I disappeared. Compared to The Capital, this town was tiny. If any, this could be considered as farmland on the outskirts of the massive walls and nothing more. Their walls were very rundown and poorly maintained, only several guards were stationed. They had a marketplace, as well as what looked like a school where children were playing around outside. This place is not very lively, most people were keeping to themselves and spoke in whispers to their fellows. There was also a new road that they made which must lead to other settlements. Cities, towns and such in Rhozgelia usually have a small temple dedicated to me at the center of it where I can feel my Authority and Influence.

But this place had none of that. It must be the reason why I couldn't sense it while I was scouting last night and early this morning

Such disrespect…! I should just turn this place into a burning inferno!

That's what an aggressive God would do, but I'm not like that.

I flew down to the rooftops with my feet lightly hovering over them, Presence Concealment is still in effect so they cannot hear, see nor sense my magical energy. As I was observing the humans, a particularly large caged wagon came by, surrounded by soldiers on horseback and led by their Captain riding on a giant lesser-basilisk. The large reptile's eyes looking at the passerby at the side of the road warily. It piqued my curiosity, and I floated down to see what it was.

I saw men in tattered clothing inside, around thirty or so. They looked rough and starved since their arms were skin and bone. Most had injuries, while others that didn't sat down on the hay covered floor with a blank expression. I followed them until the wagon and soldiers came at a clearing, and there was a large wood and stone platform at the middle of the plaza. Almost immediately, onlookers started walking towards it, and those with children started to hurry away.

Ah… So this is what it is…

The wagon stopped right in front of it, and almost immediately, the men inside started getting anxious. Some started crying and wailing, begging the Captain for mercy…

Of course they would act like that. They're about to die after all. And I don't really care either way, enacting punishment on criminals is not in my duty. It falls to the Rhozgelian Penal Code to do just that.

Once the door to their cage was open, they were forcefully rounded up by the soldiers. Some resisted, resulting in them being shoved and beaten to the ground until they had no choice but to go outside. They were led to the platform, where it shook for a little while, the gears and machinations inside it released and raised poles with ropes and elevated steps for each man. Oh, it's a first time I've seen this. The humans must have innovated a bit while I was gone.

It was a pitiful sight, some of them started crying, screaming and two even tried to make a run for it, before they were shot on the spot with a crossbow. They blood painting the soil red and two soldiers went and shot them several times and placed their bodies on a smaller wagon. No one else tried to escape after that. The crowd didn't even flinch nor blink, this must happen a lot here.

The Captain announced that these were criminals who escaped the town prison two weeks before, and during that time, he and his men have been scouring the countryside and hills in search for them. Behind each man was a soldier who poked them with a long spear as the rope automatically lengthened on its own and wrapped around their necks. The people around started to get rowdy, throwing the men insults and slurs. One even went as so far as take off his boot and throw it at the nearest man who didn't react to it. Most of them were guilty of murder, extortion on the threat of death, banditry and theft.

Since these men are about to die either way, I might as well try some things out.

I hover towards the first man to die, with the tip of my folded wing harmlessly phasing through the face of a soldier on guard. He looks around thirty years old, covered in dirt and the skin on his face stuck to his bones. I want to peer into his memories, well, if I can. I put my ghostly finger on his forehead, and pushed it until all of it went through his skull. I channeled a tiny amount of magic at the tip of my finger to get a glimpse of his memories. I've done this to Mai back in The Captial, and since she was a part of me, it was fairly easy and harmless. When I did that to her, it was like I was opening a book with important information already neatly labeled. The man suddenly frowns, and looks straight at me. I even thought for a moment that he can see me. Several seconds after that, he starts twitching and screaming in agony, which startles his companions and the guards nearby. I ignored it and continued.

And then his head exploded. Bits of his brain, skull and face flying everywhere on a brilliant splash of crimson. Most of them harmlessly went through me.

Oops. I guess I am too strong. I wasn't even using my Divinity…

There was screaming, and then the large crowd that had gathered soon started running away. The guard readied their swords and lances, running and looking around for an unknown enemy. As for the Captain, he immediately triggered the execution platform's controls, and a hole appeared under all remaining prisoners as the rope tightened around their neck. They dangled helplessly like meat at a butcher's shop.

Seeing that I had messed around too much, I fly to another part of the small town, the southern part near their farms. The screaming started to fade and was soon replaced by sounds of blacksmiths and vendors trying to sell their goods. A wagon drawn by a pair of horses came by carrying fruit with a very exhausted-looking driver who nods off every now and then. Since he didn't have any cover above him, he bore the brunt of the morning Sun on his hooded head. I hopped off the edge and floated towards it, following it for a little while until I "sat" on one of the seats. The wagon was going to a more densely populated part of the small town, and I saw more people on the streets in their robes and tunics. Looks like news of what happened at the plaza hasn't arrived here yet. Since I was in my incorporeal and ghostly form, I don't have to worry about folding my wings or making them fade away to make room for me to sit since they just phase through each other.

An apple flies to my hand and I focused on it for a bit, scanning its internal structure atom by atom, well not necessarily, just the tiny pieces that make this apple and apple. I hold out my other hand, a small magic circle appeared and out came an exact copy of the apple that I have on my right hand.

Ah, so it wasn't an accident earlier…

Before I left Rushia for a little while to come here, I had placed several high-ranked golems in her care. I've been doing some tweaking with my magic lately, and I managed to "install" different kinds of abilities in them. With the knowledge that I gained in my books, I also implanted in them fighting techniques, styles and disciplines.

As I was leaving with them each a weapon, I was about to hand one of them an enchanted sword when a magic circle suddenly opened right below my arm. It was the exact same sword that I held. I do not have replicating abilities, or so I thought until now. It seems that aside from inanimate objects, I can also do it with organic material… The possibilities are endless. Would I be able to replicate living beings as well? I will have to try this out some other time.

Since I was feeling generous, I reached out with my mind to the coachman's coin purse. The people are still using Rhozgelian currency so that's good since I replicated some coins and tripled its contents. He looked like he noticed the sudden heaviness in his coat, and his eyes widened in surprise after opening and peeking inside it.

"What the…? I don't remember…?"

He looks around him, checking to see if someone had somehow done it and after feeling disappointed at not finding anything, he sighed and reluctantly put his coin purse back in his coat after scratching his head several times. Just as I was about to take to the skies once more, I heard him mutter to himself.

"I must not have noticed it or something… Still, it's strange…" He says while pulling something from his neck, a simple silver necklace with a white-gold lotus flower that had nine petals design. He instinctively started touching it with his fingers. I have seen that necklace before, Rushia has one that she received from her deceased Mother. "I know that She's gone… But maybe, just maybe…this is a sign from Hachiman-sama…"

I instantly turn to him when he said my name.

Looks like not all of these beings of flesh and blood have forgotten about me yet. Rejoice, for I will give you my blessing, nameless middle-aged Human!

I stand up and hover until I am right behind him where I put my translucent hand on his back. Then, I use a low-frequency spell used common among combat medics to search his body for any injuries, as well as using my innate ability as a God to see his life force.

He was surprisingly healthy, yet I sensed a fracture on his left leg as well as a part in his hipbone that failed to heal properly. An accident that happened in the past most likely, he must feel some pain when walking or putting some weight on his lower half. After focusing and closing my eyes for several seconds while slowly temporarily and reversing the speed of his body's healing factor, I take my hand from his back.

This man will be good as new by tomorrow morning. It will be as if nothing happened to him at all.

I spread my wings and took to the skies once more, before opening a portal and entering it. For several moments, all I saw was a white tunnel, with streaks of gold, sometimes flickering to the view outside of this hole that I have forcibly torn open in the fabric of this world. Then I was walking on the forest floor with Rushia's sleeping form suspended on a hammock in front of me, there were some bags that I made from animal pelts that stored food. Seriously…this little girl has such a huge appetite for someone of her stature… And all she eats is meat too! She refuses to eat the vegetables and fruits that I give her when I accelerated their growth!

She was surrounded by the golems that I left earlier, and upon sensing my presence, they immediately knelt on one knee and informed me that nothing happened while I was gone. To my left was the conduit link that I used to instantly teleport here, a tiny fragment of myself that I had left here to watch over the sleeping little girl that I had under my care. It looked at me and nodded, before fading away and being reabsorbed within me once more.

It kind of felt creepy, a glowing translucent shimmering copy of yourself with no face…

I announced my arrival with by making my footsteps audible for her to hear. She turns around and sits up when she recognized me. Her small hands rubbing the drowsiness away from her eyes. "Oh, Nii, you're back."

"Yup, I spotted a town further ahead. It's a small one though. We're going there after you get ready." I say, and she quickly nods and starts packing her things. Food, extra clothes, a water skin, as well as the…animal bones and other ingredients that she collected put into a separate bag. She's novice in alchemy, and sometimes she likes exploring her surroundings looking for ingredients to further her skill. Aside from alchemy, she knows some Apprentice-Tier spells for summoning undead familiars.

Of course, one of the many tomes that I absorbed had held the subject of alchemy. I remember every single combination, ingredient, formula, potion and concoction ever created and compiled by Rhozgelian Alchemists and Scholars. If were to show my skill, I would be a Grandmaster Alchemist. I give her some tips here and there, but not to the point where I expose myself too much.

When she was finally ready, the golems around knelt and returned to the soil, their essence being reabsorbed by me as well as the weapons that I lent them going back to my Gates. I carried her in my arms and flew up, just above branches of the forest trees, where I started going to the clearing up ahead. Since she is afraid of heights, as well as going too fast, she closed her eyes and grasped my robes tightly while I flew at a speed that won't make her scream like banshee. The wind felt nice against my wings and I soon landed after half an hour on the soft grass with Rushia immediately letting to and hugging the ground.

"Aaahh… Good ground… Flying is too scary…" She starts rolling around it, like a calf trying to relieve and itch.

I start preparing to summon a familiar for her to ride on its back. "You know, if you're going to stick with me, one day you're going to have to conquer that fear of yours." She just mumbled something against the grass and rolled around a few times. It's been exactly one week since she's been under my care, or wing in this instance, and she still refuses to any form of transportation except for walking and riding.

A large magic circle appeared on the ground, then a burst of smoke. When the smoke went away, there was a lesser basilisk, larger and stronger than the one the Captain rode on back in that town. She was around three and a half meters in height and eleven meters in length. Her scales where golden brown, the long tail was almost as long as her entire body and at the tip were sharp spikes sharp as swords. She looked similar to those bearded dragons from my other world, except that they were hundreds of times smaller than the reptile before me. The two horns that she had on her head were long, signifying her age and experience. She scanned her surroundings with her large red eyes, before seeing me. Biological and animal-based familiars are quite common. Children of Mages usually keep one as pets, birds are the most common. Animals do not have souls, yet they have the essence of life in them. By collecting that essence and fusing it with your own magic, you can make it your own familiar and summon it at will.

This basilisk was one that I had accidentally killed back in The Capital. Her manner of death was a bit cruel, since I had willed the tree trunks and roots around to bind her to the ground, before one went too far and pierced her soft underbelly, straight to her heart. I couldn't control my strength back then, and Mai was too weak to manifest physically. Since I felt bad, I claimed her as my familiar and fully healed her injuries before she could die. After that, well, she became my pet/familiar that I summon from time to time.

"Oh! Lily! I missed you!" Rushia immediately stands up and jumps to the side of the creature's head, where she made a low rumbling sound when her name was called. She decided to call her Lily after we stopped at a river three days ago, and it was there that I summoned her. Instead of being scared, she immediately adored her. Weird, she's scared of heights but not afraid of a carnivorous reptilian of this size…?

She started climbing up Lily's head, stepping on the numerous horny protrusions. On her back, an area that didn't have those large protrusions was a magic saddle made of light metal that levitated. Since it is impossible to transfer some of my divine essence on a biological lifeform, she's possesses the mortal essence that I have instead. Because of that, I don't need to verbally issue commands since I can communicate with her telepathically nor feed her since my magic sustains her.

"Good day Master," a voice says in my mind. "many apologies for last time. I am too large to traverse the forest, and I have forced you and the little one to walk on the ground." She makes a slight bow and I wave my hand away.

"Nonsense, it's not your fault." I say as I hover and sit on her horn, crossing my legs as I get a map from my bag. From the corner of my eye, Rushia starts crawling on the horn towards me with a pout on her face. When she reaches me, she starts touching and caressing my wing.

"Nii… Are you and Lily talking again? Teach me how to do it! I WANT TO TALK TO HER TOO! THE GOLEMS THAT GUARD ME ONLY TALK ABOUT BORING STUFF!" She exclaims with a loud voice which made me wince. Uwah, I should tone down my enhanced hearing when she's nearby… For such a tiny thing, she is very VERY loud…

I disregard her and continue looking at the map. "It's an advanced form of Nature Magic, you have to be born with the affinity for it."

"Nnnnggggeehuhe…" She starts mulling, which caused me to chuckle a bit. After she strapped herself to the saddle, and I pointed Lily to the right direction, she started her gallop, going at around thirty to forty kilometers per hour while I flew beside her. Even while Lily is going full speed, Rushia sits comfortably on the saddle unaffected by the Basilisk's movements since it automatically adjusts its sense of equilibrium for the rider.

I decided to sit next to her while she continued asking and talking about trivial things. She styled her hair into two buns on the top sides of her head with the hairpins that I gave her. Her skull shaped hairpin was on her left bun. Now that I think about it…why do I have feminine hairpins in my Treasury…? Our robes were identical except for the green and black colour scheme that she had while mine were black, red and gold. And on her neck was a necklace that looks similar to the man earlier in the town. My memories were still incomplete and I have no idea what that signifies, so I decided to ask her.

"Rushia, that necklace, what's the relevance of it…?"

She turns to me, as if I had said something strange. "Huh? This is Hachiman-sama's symbol. You don't know?"

I shake my head and tell her to tell me more about it. "It's a symbol of Fertility and Parenthood, an aspect of Hachiman-sama that is also a patron to women. Only girls are allowed to wear this and pass it on to their children. If they only have sons, then they pass it on to their wives, daughters or granddaughters."

Hah?

I turn to her with a confused-look on my face. This is the first time that I had heard of this. I can't imagine Mai not mentioning this, perhaps it's also because of the same incomplete set of memories that she also suffers…? How come the books that I have read never mentioned this…? Could it be that my memories also affects the things that I store inside my Treasury as well…?

"My Father's mother was from The Capital, and he says that she got this from her Temple." She says proudly and puffs out her chest. The white-cold necklace shining as it caught the sunlight.

"Her…?" I ask again. I have a bad feeling about this… Please be Mai… Please be Mai… I swear if she means what I think she means…

"Yes, Hachiman-sama's Temple." She turns to me with a frown and her hand closes around a feather on my wing. She is clearly displeased at my ignorance because of her fierce red eyes. "This aspect of Hachiman-sama appears as a woman during yearly crop festivals and ceremonies. Even someone like me far away on the Grezny Mountains know this! Nii you heretic! Infidel!"

I laughed dryly as I was still processing the information. She starts pulling on my feather but it was useless since I was prepared, unlike last time when she caught me off guard. "Are you sure that it was me- I mean Him- Her? And not his/her Divine Familiar?" I ask with some difficulty.

"Yes I am sure!"

Uwaaahh… I didn't know about this… But Gods don't have genders, we are the images and reflections of the ideas and representations created by the people who believe in us anyway. This is embarrassing…

"A-A-Ahahaha… I-Is that so…?" I ask while she nods with furrowed brows. "I g-guess our records at Avant Heim were incomplete and lacked some stuff after we retreated… And we don't really have our own Patron God so…" I look to the side while scratching my head.

I honestly have no idea where Avant Heim is, or if it even still flies in the skies… Last thing I know of the Flugel capital was they retreated from the advancing armies of our enemies. They pulled all their auxiliary units from the Rhozgelian Aerial Flotilla to defend their last bastion just before I got captured by my treacherous brothers… Ugh! To the Void with them! I should have ripped out their Cores instead of giving them mercy! Damn my cowardly brothers for ganging up on me, and damn those chains that almost bound me!

When I find them, I'm going to kill them for sure! Assuming that they weren't betrayed by their followers that is! Like some of my Kin who were literally used as energy sources!

…

…

On the other hand…

Uwaaaaah, I really hate lying. I'll have to tell her the truth one of these days… I can literally feel the disapproval from my other Self, the one who had gained independent abilities of his own, as well as absorbing the unknown local Deity… I still don't know what kind of abilities that Deity represents. Wait, does that make three within this vessel then? Me from here, the non-divine Me and the Deity that he had absorbed…?

I am literally an embodiment of something that shouldn't be possible…

How did I even reach out to the cosmos and take my other Self anyway? None of the books that I have read in my Gates held such information. How did my Mother, the Core Consciousness of this planet itself, even permit it, or did I bypass it entirely…? How come none of my numerous divine brothers and sisters were able to do the same? And my foreign self as well as the unknown Deity, how were they able to go around the planet's defenses, merge with the Me here, resulting in what I am right now…?

They are essentially entities, from outside of this world.

A Foreigner.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Rushia started hitting my head with a bone from a Deer that I had hunted yesterday. It didn't really hurt though. "Nii you Heretic! Unbeliever! How dare you offend Hachiman-sama!" She shouts and starts pulling on my hair.

Oh, if only she knew…

"Okay Rushia, look. The town is just up ahead." I say as we hide behind some bushes. She peeks below from in between the leaves and nods. I had unsummoned Lily earlier when we were close enough be seen by the guards from afar, and from there we had walked through the woods just a sizeable distance away from the town gates where travelers enter. We had also changed our clothing to more humble ones befitting ordinary citizens. A simple childish robe with a hood for Rushia while I wore a Hunter's leather garb. Aside from that, I had also changed the colours of my eyes to match hers since we would be pretending to be siblings from the Grezny Mountains far away, as well as making my wings disappear. Doing something like this is as easy as snapping my fingers. After making preparations with our things, we went and started walking out on the path that would lead to the town.

We were stopped by the two guards who stood at the gates. "Halt! State your business before entering Ludtz!" The first one declares and starts walking towards us. Pff, how pitiful. Their armour looks worn out, a clear sign of the length of its use. I can see some areas fit for improvement in their chainmail. Even some the weapons and armour that I took from the undead at Grezny Stronghold look better than this.

"Is there something wrong, Sirs?" I ask in an even tone, careful not to get hot-headed just because this mere Human had the gall to simply call out to me like I am some suspicious individual. He comes to us, scanning us with his eyes behind his slightly rusty helmet. He gives me an eyeful, and I had the urge to just turn him to dust. I should really calm down… The vain and proud God part of me, that is… Maybe I can put seals on my emotions before I snap or something…

I explain to him that Rushia and I were siblings from the Grezny Mountains, and he softened a bit when he saw my 'little sister'. I added some details here and there, particularly about how exhausted we were, and that all we wanted for now was an inn that we could stay. He finally relented when Rushia began to cry, and let us pass through after I paid for the toll which was a single Rhozgelian copper coin.

We pass through the thick iron gates, the sound of screeching metal against metal made Rushia cover her ears. I scan our surroundings, some old buildings that were a breathe away from collapsing, a cracked stone road at the middle and faulty magical street lamps with broken circuits. Most of the people ignored us, but they curiously looked at the little girl beside me because of her green hair. I asked a decent-looking man where we can get a decent meal was and he pointed me to the right direction. For his help, I gave him a coin which he was very thankful for.

Reis' Eatery

The place looked surprisingly new, judging from the wooden beams and brick walls that were seen from the outside, we also heard the noise. We opened the large doors and went inside.

It was rather rowdy… Lots of different people were eating and chatting away with their loud voices. Laughter, the occasional shout from one of the patrons and the waitresses going around delivering orders. It was kind of annoying, as well as the simple wooden tables and chairs but it was peaceful at least. I take a whiff at the air, no one was drinking any alcohol so we didn't have to worry about a drunken brawl happening.

We were led by one of the waitresses to a vacant table at the corner, and we seat ourselves here. As Rushia was excitedly ordering different kinds of food while the waitress looked at her with amusement, I individually filtered out the voices of the people talking so I can get any important information. Unfortunately, most of them were talking about trivial things so I stopped to order a simple chicken and vegetable broth.

Rushia starts walking around the place, talking to the idle waitresses, reading the notice boards and attempted to walk inside the kitchen before being stopped by one of the workers. I was afraid that she might go and start yelling, but I remembered that she was the daughter of a Lord so she must know her manners. Hopefully. I let her do as she pleased since it was also her first time coming to an establishment like this. If she gets mad and starts summoning the undead…I'll just seal away her magic or something.

Wait that's a problem, I should seriously really keep an eye on her! That little green imp might even summon a ice wraiths and poisonous phantoms!

I suddenly hear an interesting conversation from the far side of the building. They spoke in hushed voiced about what happened earlier at the plaza… A-Ah, that was my fault. But he murdered a town guard in a heated argument, and fled to the wilderness when they broke out from prison. Ah, well nothing I can do about that. I guess he had it coming for him.

Surprisingly, no one is paying us much mind, the occasional lingering glance because of our red eyes, but nothing that warranted my concern. Our orders took a while since she had asked for too much, but it was fine. I start eating quietly while my companion speaks about what she learned from the waitresses. She was talking while her mouth was full of food, and I told her to stop it since it was rude.

"Apparently, something happened at the plaza earlier, a public execution! When I asked about it, they said said that I was still too young to know about it!" She pouts as she takes a spoon-full of a mix of potatoes, leeks, eggs, cheese and angrily chews on it while making munching sounds in the process. "My Father used to do that all the time himself, saying that the one who passes the judgement should swing the sword!" To wash it all down, she takes a mug full of milk and starts chugging it in one go, before exhaling while wiping her mouth with her arm and making an "Uwaaaaaaaahh!" sound.

What the hell… She looks like an old man…

I hear giggling from the side, and turn towards it to see the waitresses looking at our direction. They whisper amongst themselves and send a wink at me. They look around three years older than the form that I have right now. I can look young or older by five years at most, I still can't fully control my appearance. They look pretty enough I guess but none near Mai's level. I can guess what they are thinking of but I ignore it and give them a courteous nod and resume eating.

"Hmph! What's a public execution compared to a horde of undead with rotting flesh on their bones…?" She says quietly and takes a bite from her bread after pouring a fruity substance over it. I was about to add in a word or two when she widens her eyes and takes a scroll from her robes. She waves it around excitedly, but was unable to speak because her mouth was full of food.

"Mmmggngg! Nggmmu!"

I roll my eyes and reach out with my hand to get it, almost using my telekinesis in the process. In it was an announcement by the town's guild about a man-hunting party to be formed to root out the remaining criminals in the hills and caves nearby. Rushia scrunched up her face and swallowed the food, then drunk some water and started explaining it to me.

"Aaaahhh! I almost forgot about this! Nii! I took this from the board thing with papers! This looks really interesting!" She exclaims.

"Hmm…" I mumble while putting a hand under my chin. The idea is interesting at least.

"Maybe we can join in to know what the current state of affairs are at least!" She says before getting two boiled eggs lightly covered with salt and shoving them in her mouth. Her cheeks were full while she chewed and looked at me expectantly for my reply. I hear more giggling from the waitresses and some from the other patrons nearby. She looks like those small rodent creatures from my other world…a hamster or guinea pig, was it…? I should seriously remind her about table manners…

I give it some thought and nod, much to her delight. "It's worth a look. Let's inquire tomorrow while we look for a decent place to stay." I say. As I was about to reach for a strip of grilled pork, I sensed a gaze on my person and discreetly turn around.

A hooded figure was at the other side of the diner. A young woman in a worn out cloak. From what little of her face that was revealed, she had bright red hair and wore an eye patch. When our eyes met, she lingered for a bit before looking down and resuming eating, and I do so as well.

While Rushia was busy stuffing herself with food, I made my way to the idle waitresses who were delighted at my company. Quite a number of customers had went out earlier so they have some free time to chat. I ask about the recent happenings in town, notable places to go as well as important things that an outsider like me should know about. After about half an hour of talking, I look behind me to see that my little companion had finished her meal. I paid for everything and as a token of my gratitude, I give the women several coins which they happily accept while telling me that I can come back anytime.

I want some places to check out before going to the inn, it is still an hour or two before midday after all.

I have a feeling that this little mahunting job is going to get interesting…