I'm back bitches! (DBZ team four star reference from Vegeta from episode 32)
Thank you all for your patience! This chapter is to continue the story a little bit more and to reveal how powerful Rudeus has become, also a little bit of teaser for the new character. Sorry for the grammar errors if you find them but I wanted to update as soon as I got the time.
As for what kept me I was doing a 10 hour shift for almost three months while doing a 2 hour commute under the management of a boss that was well… a bit too bossy and was insecure about their problems where they proceeded to yell at me if I ever confronted them about my problems with them. Yesterday I had allot of fun receiving an angry phone call from my manager when I wasn't there and said that I quit, boy she was pissed and I hung up while she was trying to talk to me hahaha. Either way I'm sure I will find a better job soon with this economy right now. So try not to worry too much about me.
Without further ado it's mail time…. mail time… mail time….. maaaaiiiillll tiiimmmeee!
Here's the mail it never fails! It makes me want to wag my tail! When it comes I want to wail. MAIL! (…Blues clues reference shut up I can still be a child at heart too)
To Drcaus: I have no problem writing about Rudeus's harem, for the time being he will have some wet dreams until he grows up some more which should be some good lemon as he remembers his times with Sylphy, Roxy, and Eris during his first reincarnation.
To Uqihana: Glad you like it and I'm glad to be back!
To XaiGRS: Syphy will meet Eris before the teleportation even I promise ;) And sorry to keep you waiting for the new chapter.
To 321jaz: So glad you and many others liked the deduction scene, other side isn't going to play fair so why should he, for now though he will let Darius dig his own grave. Ariel will also try to be more involved with Rudeus and less secretive when they are both at the Magic university. Also I'm sorry about the error on Derricks fate. I just corrected it now while going through your comments.
To Guest: Wow! Just wow this is a long comment to unpack and it means allot to give me such feedback. I promise to try and make the dialogue less robotic and I will look at examples to see if I can improve the writing. This is a journey that I present and I'm grateful that you are patient enough to see me improve along the ride.
As for you comments on Sylphy I'm on the fence if I should let her continue to have green hair or resume having white hair like the first time we learned about her in the magical university. And yeah I have a good explanation on why magic is so constricted in this world and why Rudeus is able to bypass that restriction which will be explained by the new character when they finally meet. Also I'm so glad you liked the description of "Friend" In chapter one. I'd like to fantasize that we as writers create worlds and universes with our own willpower, and that readers through their wills and desires can continue the story, essentially making it never ending. Do I believe this? No. But it is allot of fun to implement as an introduction to a story and that we as the audience are essentially deities.
To the mighty mr-popo98: Sixth rule of your training, don't break your stuff. And I'm glad you liked the chapter, sorry to keep you waiting.
To XaiGRS: I HAVE MISSED YOU AND ALL YOU READERS SO FREAKING MUCH!
With that out of the way as well as a few tissues containing my tears, enjoy this chapter! More shall follow. And yeah this chapter doesn't have allot of huge twists but I can't put it in every chapter but it means allot to me in continuing with this next update and many more to follow.
"Philip, Philemon, there is something all of us need to talk about." Rudeus said, he was sitting from across a large mahogany table. Both the boy and his two relatives were currently in the court house in a room that was created for conference meetings that would be beyond the public eye. A few hours from now each seat would be taken by a judge who was also a noble. Appointed by the king to cast a verdict to determine guilt or innocence.
Philip sighed. Although the man respected the boys opinion and wishes, to him, he was still just a boy, a prodigy of a child but still just a child.
"What is it Rudeus." He said trying to put on a smile. To be honest though he didn't want to hear much from the seven year old any more because of the constant changes to the plans that were already laid out.
"You won't have to do much on your side. I was just thinking it over and I believe it would be better if I stay missing for the time being, at least on paper anyway." Rudeus said taking note of his uncles annoyance.
"What? Why? We have already laid out so much for it to be this grand reveal in the court room." The man said this as his eyebrow twitched ever so slightly in annoyance. This put a hindrance in his attempt to take down Darius.
"True you have done allot, I greatly respect you for that."
"But?" Philip said raising his eyebrow.
"But, the original wish from you was that I wasn't known as a Greyrat while I was teaching Eris, if this comes out as public it can cause some headaches."
Rudeus's reasoning wasn't without flaw. If they chose to go public then Philip could go forward with his plans to use the child to gain more power in the household. Rudeus knew that this was a likely possibility since this was what Philip tried to do the first time around before the teleportation event happened, he even promised Rudeus Eris and tried to use his own daughters body to keep the young boy an a leash. This was the main reason that Rudeus didn't want to go public, to be used by Philip. And the second reason was that he still wanted to stay out of politics knowing full well that he would have to deal with more schemes and plots similar to what Philip tried to do to him only on a much larger scale with numerous noble households trying to take possession of him.
For now the main objective had been reached that Darius's image would be hindered and he would lose allot of trust within the ranks of his followers, by doing so the Lord of the Fetoa region, Sauros, stood a higher chance of being spared from the executioners block if the teleportation event wasn't prevented. In a way Darius was the main director of this possibility by threatening to blackmail everyone if the court case didn't go his way.
"True, however the largest obstacle that made me ask this secrecy of you has subsided, namely Philemon Greyrat who has now become our ally." Philip reputed, pointing at Philemon who was sitting on the other side of the table, yet it was clear Philip was trying to get Rudeus to go public, this was probably his secret agenda ever since the plan to put Narum in a royal court case started.
"I know, regardless my wish is to stay out of politics which was also your original wish as well, if you insist that I go public I only ask that you stay on hold about it for the time being so that way when the moment is right it can be brought to full effect."
"Which time would that be?" Philip was getting a little short in his temper now, his voice was beginning to wane and break composure.
"When Princess Ariel Asura makes her move to become Queen." Rudeus said without pause.
Both Philemon and Philip looked at each other in moment of surprise and doubt.
"Why would we go about doing this?" Philemon asked hesitantly looking back at the young boy. His opinions on Rudeus were erratically different from Philips so he took Rudeus's word out of fear, knowing a fraction of what the young magician was capable of. Still, he wished to understand the reasoning for such actions so he could better follow the directive that Rudeus laid out.
"Right now our enemies believe both the Boreas and Notos branches are at odds within the Greyrat house. The Notos branch supports Ariel while the Boreas branch at least in the public opinion supports the prince. With Darius's actions coming to light Philip can take on the stance of neutrality, in doing so we can make the other nobles believe both branches are still at odds with each other. In reality we are working together to bring Ariel to the throne.
If you uncle decided to go public in your support allot of nobles will turn against you including several more kidnapping and assassination attempts provided by Darius on you and your family, to avoid this our support will remain secret. Darius will believe he is in the clear, lacking the flexibility he had before but he will be safe or so he thinks.
He won't even notice we are the ones planting the seeds of his destruction when Ariel returns to the Asura kingdom. That will be once she has completed her time in Ranoa's university of magic."
"All this sneaking around, are you sure you don't want to reconsider and delve more into politics? You can gain a vast amount of wealth and power in doing so." Philip questioned him, he still didn't want to lose this momentum.
"Privacy is more important to me, it allows for a comfortable living status and I don't think I would like to be constantly involved in mountains of paperwork. For now the education of Eris will resume while we continue to formulate plans and directives. Moreover this will allow for more flexibility overall for both of us."
Philip let out a deep sigh of annoyance. He wanted to voice his inner frustration of course but he held his tongue and nodded without verbally saying so. Philemon was content with this decision as well, he would deal with the terrifying boy in front of him less and that made him happy too. Not only that he had the next few years planned out in accordance, he would be content staying busy for now.
"Will you stay for the trial, as a secret observer?" Philip asked.
Rudeus shook his head. "We already know how things will play out. Narum will be exiled, Darius will lose some power, and both of your spy networks will have the upper hand in monitoring the prime ministers movements, crippling them in crucial areas."
Both the men nodded at the boy and got up to leave to the courtroom. Rudeus went out the secret back exit which was provided in times of emergency. Philip snuck his hand behind a large painting, a beautiful image of the capital of Ars. With a click Philip lifted the tiny latch that held the painting in place and it swayed open silently revealing a small staircase that would descend into the places between the walls of the courtroom where from there Rudeus would make his way toward the sewage networks.
"I will see you back at the carriage ride home when we depart Philip, and Uncle Philemon…"
His uncle stopped in his tracks and turned nervously to face the boy.
"It was nice meeting you, if you can spare the time it would be nice if you could get together with my father and the two of you have a heart to heart." Rudeus beamed with as much innocence as a boy his age could muster, then he departed.
His uncle just nodded silently, he didn't utter a word.
The three went their separate ways. Philip would go to the courtroom, Philemon would go back to the manor, and Rudeus would stick around some more to depart with Philip once the trial was completed.
Later on in the courtroom everyone had gathered. Papers were shuffled, greetings were had, and seats were given. When everyone had settled in the lead Judge entered the room. Only his footsteps could be heard as they dragged across the wooden floor, echoing throughout the chamber. They weren't footsteps of an intimidating man, no, they were the footsteps of someone who was tired of this calling but carried it out only because of obligation and nothing more. The Lead Judge sat down in his seat of power, the vantage point giving him a view of the entire assembly.
He looked at his papers and coughed several times to clear his throat. Then he spoke.
"Will Narum Pincer, take the stand." The lead judge declared.
Narum was slow to rise and walk toward the stand, many men had walked slower though as they felt the weight of their crimes cripple them, or the fear of punishment. The pedestal was raised by two marble steps, it may have only been two steps but it felt like a mountain to him. He was surrounded on three sides of the room which had enough space to sit a few hundred people. This was a court room specifically for Nobles and cases that involved them, if the public or common civilian for that matter was allowed to enter this room they would quickly learn of how dirty or corrupt nobles were.
The room itself sported mosaics, and statues carved into the walls, or paintings of cases involving justice and law put on each side of room. Above the whole congregation on the ceiling was a grand painting of the Armored Dragon King Perugius standing victorious. There he stood as a representation for justice prevailing against the evil of Laplace and his conquest to destroy the human race.
Narum as he was walking up looked nervously at Philip who was on the prosecution side of the courtroom. Philip smiled briefly but returned to a stoic look, briefly after as to not catch too many eyes. Still, Narum felt comforted from that brief smile. He had committed a horrible crime, he knew that, but by the grace and cunning of the man he had looked at a moment ago he would be spared and be allowed to merely escape with banishment if he kept his word. At least that was his silent prayer.
"Narum Pincer, how do you plead to the noble houses of this courtroom?" The head judge asked wearily. He was an old man who had seen much in his time and was handpicked by the king many years ago to lead events such as this but in terms of power he was merely the announcer in this room and the one to maintain order in the court. If he had more of a presence than he would hold more authority over the people in the court, but the nobles in the room would be the ones to judge via voting process on matters involving punishment and the severity of the punishment. It was a corrupt process regardless, nobles who were detached in care would let their vote sway like the waves of the ocean and it didn't need to be unanimous, it only needed to have a majority vote. In other words a more civilized form of mob rule.
When the votes were gathered anonymously the head judge announcer and a few more that were also selected by the king would retire into the room that Rudeus had just sat in to determine the final casting.
"I plead guilty your honor, but please hear my testimony as it will bring to light more details as to why I committed these actions." Narum said, his resolve was made and his fate would be in the hands of the court from now on.
"And what would that be?" The Judge sighed in an exasperated tone, he really didn't seem to care that much about what the guilty man said. The judge was well past his years of youth as his wrinkles were beyond count, who knew, this might be his last year alive, but still, he would fulfill his duty that was assigned to him by the king.
"The fact that I committed this crime was because I was hired by the Prime Minister Darius to commit such an act. He had his eyes on the young lady Eris and offered me a fortune of 100 gold coins for her to be taken and delivered to him as his concubine. I initially refused, but the lady Eris is abusive and wild in nature…." Narum stopped himself when he saw the glare given to him by Philip, the stare was cold enough to freeze any mans spine. Narum adjusted his tone as to not anger Philip any more than he needed too. "Needless to say I reconsidered the offer and later on took it. The kidnapping went successfully but me and my hired mercenaries were ambushed by a monster, where it killed all my men and saved lady Eris."
"A monster you say? What kind was it? And why would it be so selective in its attack and not just kill you all?" One of the other minor judges spoke up, a middled aged woman with a curiosity about her personality, she was the type that liked to delve deeper into a story to find the truth which benefitted her position as a judge.
"It was unlike any monster in an adventurer guide book. When it attacked it was raining so it was difficult to see. But the voice it took on was that of a little innocent girl, however the being was twice as tall as a normal man and its skin was a sickly pale color as if it was infested with some disease. Its face was covered by rags and a long cloak but it had four boney arms. Two of which were like long, curved knives, protruding from its back."
"How did it kill your men, with its arms?" The female judge ask, she was getting off topic but the audience and other judges didn't interject. To them it was like they were being told a scary ghost story. Narum shook his head to the question but began to recall the memories of how his men died.
"It used magic but didn't speak any words, it stopped all the droplets of rain from falling and held them still in the air… as if time had stopped, it then forced all the water to encase the upper portions of the men I had hired. At first I thought it was going to drown them but no, the monster squeezed the water and made the men burst like grapes, when it released the spell, blood, bones, and organs coated the horses as the animals fled away in panic. It was a terrifying sight to behold." Narum intentionally left out the part about him attempting to kill the carriage driver, he also left out Rudeus as per Philips request. In a way the butler wasn't lying, only leaving out side segments of the whole truth.
The court looked at each other nervously.
"You said you didn't see the creatures face or hair, but out of curiosity, do you think the monster could have been a Superd?" The judge was full of questions, and this particular question would yield far too many superstitions. Philip pinched the bridge of his nose trying to contain his frustration knowing this was the case.
Murmuring ensued which was predictable.
Philip coughed to get the courts attention. "Let's stay on top of the matter at hand. This will only give way to pointless rumor and speculation." He could control the direction of the courts actions for the moment but as soon as the court was adjourned rumor would start to spread that his daughter was saved by a Superd from the clutches of Darius. Such a story would only hinder the intention to sully Darius since the Superd were an evil race of Demons. It was allot like a great evil destroyed a lesser evil or something like that.
"Agreed." The head judge sighed again, he was growing tired of such idle questioning.
"Regardless Prime minister Darius is not the one on trial, we shall hold a private vote to see if we would go about pressing charges or if Mayor Philip wishes to pursue such charges. Until such point the trail of Narum Pincer will continue. Is there anything else that the defendant wishes to state?"
"No my lord." Narum said swiftly.
"Then the sentence shall be death by hanging for your betrayal of the Boreas branch." Their was no pity in the judges eyes, or care for that matter, he had passed so many sentences like this he had lost touch with the importance of justice. Or maybe this was the way nobles conducted their justice on traitors.
"I object." Philip stood up.
The court had all their eyes on him.
"The man kidnapped a noble, he should be made an example of." One man bellowed standing up.
"Do you not want to avenge your daughter?" A noblewoman pleaded.
"How will our servants see such an action when they learn a traitor is allowed any punishment other than death? They will rebel against us should we be so lenient in the face of treachery. This man must be made an example of."
Reasons like this and many others were spoken as the nobles in the room began to raise their voices in anger. The head judge didn't even bother to address the issue and allowed the chaos to continue throughout the court room, he smirked a little bit at the scene. To him it was like he was witnessing a large food fight in a school cafeteria, at least that was how childish he saw it.
"I would like to explain myself!" Philip shouted, his Boreas side showing just a little bit, the court regained it's composure. "If my former servant Narum was unwilling to confess the truth then yes I would have agreed with the death sentence. We shall make an example of him for those willing to confess in honesty. Think about it, if one of your servants betrays you and the punishment either way when it comes to hiding the truth or being honest is death they will lie in desperation for survival. I will reward honesty and truth when faced with the prospect of punishment for such crimes as this. I propose Narum be allowed banishment to the Millis continent to start his life anew, never to be allowed to return to Asura. There he will live out his days in reflection and repentance."
"Why did you not just cast this verdict in the city of Roa?" The female judge asked.
"Because Narum revealed Darius was the one to hire him. I want everyone in this room to know that none of your daughters no matter how young are safe from him, think about that while you tuck your children in at night."
"This will not be political Mayor Philip, and as I have stated we will cast our judgment wither a separate court appearance shall be required of Prime Minister Darius." The head judge objected. This move made it clear that when it came to Darius he would make attempts to retain order, perhaps he was supported by Darius or the head judge was also blackmailed by the prime minister.
"My apologies your honor." Philip said bowing while he put on his coy grin. His eyes were mere slits but if someone looked closely enough they could see that Philip was glaring directly at the head Judge.
"In that case the court shall cast the private vote and return with the verdict. The room is adjourned until the vote is cast." The head judge banged his gavel onto the table and everyone stood up at attention respectfully.
Rudeus sighed.
"You knew what the results would be and yet you still seem disappointed. Why?" Philip said as the carriage departed from the city.
"I know, I was just hopeful that things would turn out better, that Darius could have been dismantled instantly instead of us taking several years in the future to accomplish it." Rudeus said as he leaned against the carriage window. The city gradually fading from view as the afternoon turned into evening. It had been several days since the trail had completed and it went as Rudeus had predicted. Narum had originally been given the death sentence by hanging but Philip acted against it and gave him the sentence of banishment. The court was surprised by this action considering that the servant turned traitor but later conquered that honesty should be rewarded. The vote to call Darius had been a decisive no among the nobles unsurprisingly. The system itself seemed broken and was its own wasteland of snake tongues to conquer. For now though things would be calm and Rudeus could enjoy going back to focusing on the more important tasks.
The next few days followed without incident. The large crater that Rudeus left a few months beforehand came into view of the carriage train from a distance. It looked like all the water from a large lake had dried up instantly and left a perfect half sphere crater in its place.
'Hehe, kind of reminds me of Dragon Ball Z when Trunks caught Frieza's miniature sun. Still though….' Rudeus looked down at his hands and gripped them together tightly and then opened them, he repeated the process several times in a reflection of the amount of power he could output.
"At this point you are strong enough to take on one of the seven great powers." Ghislaine stated, she said it in a tone of admiration but it had a slight hint of concern as well. Who wouldn't be? She probably saw Rudeus as a walking talking nuclear bomb at this point.
"You think so?" Rudeus said. He had a bad habit of overestimating his opponents which lead to overthinking. Still in his previous life he had fought against or alongside all of the world powers excluding Laplace.
The North God and Sword God at close range Rudeus had no doubt could kill him even in his current state of magic prowess. If it was from a distance though the only one Rudeus thought could survive an attack like the crater he had made would be Orsted. He vividly recalled the fight when Hitogami gave Rudeus the ultimatum to kill the Dragon God or see his family parish. Rudeus had dished out huge levels power into that fight that made the landscape into a baron wasteland of cinders but yet he still lost to Orsted. Looking back on it he was happy he lost that fight, he got to have a friendship with one of the loneliest men in the world and they improved and worked with each other as colleagues against the Man God. Overtime Rudeus grew to enjoy the praise he received from Orsted whenever he completed a mission, it would be nice to get to experience that feeling again.
"Does your mana have a limit?" Ghislaine asked which snapped Rudeus out of his feeling of nostalgia.
"Yes it does, I constantly work on it everyday to drain it. The next day it doubles and I repeat the process over and over again." Rudeus said. He didn't want to reveal that for about eight hours of rest he was practically defenseless as his mana recharged and doubled for the next day while he remained unconscious. He trusted Ghislaine with this secret information but he wanted to keep this vital knowledge safe, so for now he wouldn't let that slip.
"What do you spend that level of mana on? I don't see you going around creating huge craters like that out in the country side every day." Ghislaine chuckled.
"To put it into perspective I would probably have to create a few thousand of those craters to drain my mana. If I had to summarize how I practice and grow my mana it's allot like how instead of punching through bricks and slashing down trees you do smaller but equally intense workouts like squeezing all your muscles at once and maintaining that flex until you are exhausted. For me I can alter the smallest things in the universe to form larger objects like a rock or a knife. For a standard magician this would take months to do with their energy but for my mana capacity and how much I've practiced…."
Rudeus outstretched his hand and particles began for grow from a single point in his palm, they circulated around until the shape began to appear from what was now clear to be a knife made of pure steel. It was a small knife but one of excellent craftmanship and it took Rudeus only a few seconds to make.
"I can make things like this with ease." Rudeus finished his sentence handing Ghislaine the knife. She inspected it and found it was without flaw. She then placed the sharp end of the knife against one of the wood frames of the carriage and when she applied the most miniscule amount of pressure the knife cut a large sliver of the wood like butter. Rudeus could also tell that Ghislaine wasn't even using her Touki to amplify the blades sharpness but if she did apply it, then the knife would most likely cut through the whole carriage.
"I have never seen a knife this sharp." Ghislaine said admiring it.
"I made the blade as thin as possible at the edges, it is a few atoms worth of thickness consisting of iron, carbon, manganese, phosphorous, sulfur, and silicon. But since it is so thin it will quickly loose it's sharpness, this was just for demonstration purposes." Rudeus tilted his chin up and huffed with pride, even he had to admit that his knowledge on chemistry was progressing exceptionally well.
"I know what iron is but what about the rest of the words?" The beast woman scratched her head as her brows furrowed together. It was like her brain was crying for the world to become simpler again after what Rudeus had just said.
Rudeus cried on the inside. He would love to share his knowledge and references with someone, anyone, who would understand at an equal or greater level than himself. Talk about chemistry during the day and drinking while talking about anime during the evening, yeah that would be nice.
"Atoms are some of the smallest things in the world, they are the bricks that make everything work and there are laws that determine how they form. I can control those bricks individually to build whatever I want. Atoms form things like water which is just three atoms, two are made from the lightest gas that forms the sun, that element is hydrogen, and the third atom is a little bit heavier which is oxygen, when you force those three atoms to hug each other you make water."
Ghislaine nodded. She understood the brick analogy but not the rest of it. When Rudeus tried to explain some more she raised her hand and told him to stop otherwise her brain might explode so Rudeus restrained himself, pouting a little that he couldn't talk some more about his passions.
Perugius the Armored Dragon King might enjoy the conversation since he saw knowledge as a great treasure, he would like to know about how the world actually worked with it's numerous elements coming together to form the very ground that they stood on but Rudeus didn't want to introduce himself yet. Following the flow of events until Rudeus met Orsted was the best way to insure victory over Hitogami.
'I can understand the frustration that Orsted felt… just waiting a few years in order to make a single move that might make a difference. He did that for more than 20,000 years before me with all his time loops. Hitogami will fall in this time line as well too Orsted, just you wait.' Rudeus smiled softly.
Once again Rudeus stared outside of the carriage windows until the landscape changed day after day, night after night. And then that night it happened again. During his phase of unconscious sleep he saw the stranger in a dark field of fog in his dreams. Unlike before the being was not shoveling around on his knees but was looking directly at Rudeus a good distance away. All Rudeus saw was a glowing grey speck in the fog since he was so far away but Rudeus knew it was the person that had chased after him before.
The being didn't charge at him but appeared to be walking in a calm, unhostile manner towards Rudeus as if to disarm the boys concerns that this man might do something to him when it reached Rudeus. Then Rudeus's vision began to fade. Before he woke up though the stranger cried out, it's voice booming and echoing throughout the landscape.
"I will reach you! No matter how many years it takes!" The feeling it radiated was again one of desperation but a brief amount of hope as well.
Then Rudeus bolted up from his slumber, light from the outside flooding his pupils as they winced at the sudden change in brightness.
'It would seem I have something else to prepare for.' He thought as he got out of his tent, he bit his thumbnail as he went deep into thought. 'Whoever this being is I remember the feeling it gave off, it was like I was connected to it somehow… or rather, it established a connection with me. I felt joy from him when he first saw me, and then he got desperate when he saw me fade away and wake back up. This time he was patient and not hostile but it is clear whoever this is still wants to meet me…. In the worst case scenario of this being attacking me when it reaches me the only thing I can do right now is continue to grow my mana. I have no idea of this person's abilities. He's not Hitogami I'm quite sure of that, this is like a darker version of the void world, or at least it looks a little more vast, and this individual doesn't make me feel…. Insecure. Regardless I don't know enough about this person.'
Rudeus hated not knowing things. It was the key difference for those that were able to survive in this world and those that did not. Technique, strength, mana, swordsmanship all involved rationality and understanding when dividing the difference between the rookies from the masters and right now Rudeus felt out of his depth when it came to this unknown stranger. Even his fight against the Dragon God he had spent months preparing for the fight, if this being became his opponent who knows how things would turn out if he didn't know anything about this person.
He sighed agitated at the feeling of helplessness. All he could do was continue to grow everyday, at least if Rudeus failed in the teleportation incident he would at least have someone to fight against seriously if this being truly was hostile.
Regardless of his feelings of helplessness it wasn't good to worry about the things he couldn't affect for right now. Stretching out all his limbs he shook himself to get ready for the day. Todays agenda was to eliminate more monsters in the area and to work on the project that would stop the teleportation even. It had been the biggest project that consumed his mana on a daily basis.
Before he could fly off a firm hand place itself of Rudeus's shoulder. Looking up he saw two glorious mountainous peaks.
'Damn you Paul you lucky bastard.' Even Rudeus had to admit that Ghislaine was a stunning figure. He had no romantic feelings for her and considered her a good friend but eye candy was eye candy.
"I want to see how you fight with magic." Ghislaine said sternly.
Rudeus was a little bit surprised by that request, Ghislaine was a disciplined sword, sure she was short tempered when someone challenged her intelligence but she didn't make requests like this. Needless to say that there was probably no ulterior motive from the beast woman.
"May I ask why?" The boy asked still looking up at the woman.
"I want to see if you are someone that needs my protection. Or someone that can handle themselves." Ghislaine said.
That much made sense. In Rudeus's previous timeline Ghislaine protected Rudeus from thugs and one of Perugius most elite spirits Almanfi, if it hadn't been for Ghislaines fast reaction time then Rudeus would most likely have died even before the teleportation event. Then it was Eris who placed herself in the role to protect Rudeus when they travelled the world together under the guidance of Orsted to gradually defeat Hitogami.
'I still want her protection, who knows I may have to fight Almanfi in this timeline too while trying to stop the teleportation incident. And having Ghislaine at my side will allow me to focus on stopping the events to come….. hmmm.' Rudeus thought.
"If I ask for your help with your skills, will you? There are plenty of people in this world I have no doubt can defeat me." Rudeus asked.
"Of course, I would never abandon you in the middle of a fight just because I have faith in your abilities even if you are a child, this is to see if I can trust you to handle yourself if we are separated. It will mean I don't have to worry." Ghislaine reasoned in a straightforward attitude.
Rudeus nodded.
"We will use Hollow, I don't want Phillip to think we have left him high and dry without defense. Hollow will meet you about one hour ahead of the road."
"Why do you talk like the creature you made, and you, are different people?" Ghislaine asked, it would seem she had this question on her mind for awhile.
"…." Rudeus paused thinking of an answer. "It just feels right, I'm sorry it's difficult to describe but it's how I feel."
Ghislaine appeared agitated by the response. "It's like calling your arm a different version of you. I will call you Rudeus no matter what form you take."
Rudeus nodded, he didn't want to anger her. The beast woman walked over to Philip and when she explained that she would be going ahead to clear the forest the noble nodded reluctantly, but he trusted the sword kings judgement.
An hour later she met up with Hollow. It was the perfect time too as it was clear to see that monsters resided in this area. Thick stringy webs lined the trees up above.
At night time the webs would be difficult to see for a wagon or carriage only paying attention to the road in front of them by torchlight. At the best case scenario for the monsters in the webs was someone camping and wishing to spend the night sleeping not knowing they were in a dangerous part of the forest.
The monstrous variant of spiders were many times larger than the household pet size. Some were as a small as a cat but extremely agile and fast, delivering a paralyzing poison to it's victim while it proceeded to cover the victim in webs and then later on cover the person in grass and leaves to hide the body from other predators while the spider enjoyed its meal without disruption as it slowly sucked the blood from the victim while they were still alive. If the victim was even more unlucky then they could have eggs laid in them while they were still alive as they were eaten from the inside out. A truly terrible and torturous way to die.
The other variants were determined by the species of the spider before they were mutated by magical pollution. The largest was the Goliath Tarantula, they were the size of a elephant when they mutated and hid in underground burrows while the entrances were concealed by a think blanket of leaves, if anyone stepped onto that pile of leaves they would fall through into the tunnels bellow and be trapped by the numerous webs that lined the walls. The vibrations would signal the large spider and the last thing that a person would see was two giant fangs the size of a persons arm. Luckily that variant was rare while the most common was the jumping spider.
That was not the case here. This was a nest of spiders that had just hatched but hadn't had the opportunity to expand much, they were originally a wolf spider but when they mutated they were around the size of a large dog.
"So what now Rudeus? Do you want to cause a ruckus? They are nocturnal so they won't come out unless they sense danger and if they do they will most likely flee instead of trying to hunt us." Despite her statement Ghislaine still had her sword drawn just in case.
Hollow didn't answer but reached his long bony finger into the air. A thick flaky type of what looked like dirt came out of the ground and began to go beyond the trees forming a dense cloud that was almost pure black. No light penetrated through this cloud and the area that it was above turned almost pitch black.
"I am controlling carbon atoms which when put in the correct form can absorb almost all the sunlight that hits it, this color is otherwise known as vantablack, the darkest black in existence. The spider will believe it's nighttime and then I can begin the demonstration." Hollow said. The cloud then formed a dome around the spiders nest which then landed on top of the trees like a thick cloth. Hollow lit up a bright light in his palm which made the webs shine an eerie sheen. Then a moment after it turned dark hundreds of soulless eyes reflected back at Hollow and Ghislaine. They heard the quick pitter patter of clawed hairy appendages scratch and grab the trees above as hundreds of giant wolf spiders revealed themselves.
Before they even made it halfway down they suddenly lost their grip and fell down to the ground below, some landed on their legs, others managed to fall onto a branch bellow that dampened the fall, but most fell to the earth on their back as their organs smashed the ground and with a crunch their exoskeleton became their tomb while it tore up their insides.
The ones without injury seemed to realize the danger they were in and tried to get up but soon collapsed by some unknown source. There was no damage on them and yet they lay down on their backs as their legs twitched violently as the monsters body begged for survival. Soon the twitching stopped and it was clear to see that over three hundred giant wolf spiders lay dead on the ground. All dead in an instant.
Hollow dispersed his hand and the blanket of vantablack parted revealing the sun once again.
"What did you do to them, some type of plague?" Ghislaine asked. She asked the question in her regular monotone way but it was clear to see that she was shaken by the site.
'This must be the same fear people had when they learned there was a serial killer that could stop peoples hearts just by writing their name.' Hollow thought.
"Close, I poisoned them with a gas. It is odorless, tasteless and doesn't irritate the skin when people walk through it."
"Why weren't we affected?"
"It is slightly less dense than air. The gas is composed of one carbon atom, the same thing that made the blanket I just made, and one oxygen atom. This compound is known as carbon monoxide. Since it is lighter than air it will continue to rise until it hits a ceiling, in this case the blanket that covered the trees. And since the spiders where at a greater height they were the ones who got poisoned first while we remained safe on a ground level. Even a dragon flying in the clouds can fall into unconsciousness if it inhales too much of this gas. But I find it's a good demonstration for how easy it is of me and Rudeus to dispatch an enemy with minimal effort." Hollow said, his voice was the voice of an adult man this time and not a small child so as to be not as offsetting for the sword king. But she still seemed annoyed that Hollow separated itself in identity from Rudeus, at least in how it addressed itself.
"Will it work on anyone that breaths this poison in?" Ghislaine asked but Hollow shook his head.
"Those who possess a touki are protected from it. A battle spirit is one hell of a thing which will filter the poisonous air making it breathable or if a poison is injected into someone that has a strong enough touki then the poison will be excreted from the body rendering the substance useless. The Dragon God Orsted is the best example of this where he has a normal body but a strong Touki." Hollow explained.
"You've talked about the Dragon God a few times. You sure do seem to know allot about him." Ghislaine observed, it was clear she was asking how Hollow knew about Orsted but the creature just shrugged.
"I merely like learning about this world, and the seven powers are at the very height of this world." Hollow said nonchalantly.
"From what I have seen you might challenge that power." Ghislaine chuckled nervously.
"I have no interest in confronting them for a fight, they are not aligned with my objectives."
"Then what are your objectives."
"To grow and protect those that cannot protect themselves." Hollow stated firmly.
Ghislaine smiled softly at that last sentence. It looked like she was being reminded of Paul with those words and they filled her with memories of their party from many years go. Without asking any further questions Hollow flew up into the air and continued to clean up the path ahead for the approaching carriage train that transported both Philip and Rudeus. Ghislaine was left alone to walk back to where she came from.
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