A few hours later, the three were sitting cozy around a campfire, Lucy lying on Ardonis’s shoulder as she napped peacefully. “I’m sorry,” Viana said.

  “For what?” he asked, confused.

  “For getting you into this whole mess. Had I simply kept my attitude up and made you leave, you wouldn’t be dealing with all of this.”

  “Really now? The way I see it, Milsa would have stopped us from being able to meet with Eradis, somehow, regardless. Whether she knew our whereabouts or not. Does this complicate things a little? Sure. But I also wouldn’t have gotten a boost in power either. My goal to be the true god of magic hasn’t changed after all. And that was certainly a good step forward toward it.”

  “And what if you turn out to be a Supreme god instead?”

  “Even better,” he answered with a smile. “I don’t simply want to be the true god of magic to hold it as a title. Believe it or not, I’m quite ambitious when it comes to wanting power. I want to be the true god of magic, because that would mean I’m the most powerful god of magic. And if I turn out to be a Supreme god of magic instead, that would mean I’m one of the most powerful gods in existence.”

  “So you really are a god after all, huh?” she asked with a wry smile, “I’ve never met one god who wasn’t power hungry, though you seem different from most of the egomaniacs when it comes to flaunting said power.”

  He shrugged lightly, careful not to wake Lucy, “I don’t see a point in flaunting it. I’m a man who wants power, not a peacock that shows off. Well… depending on who the company is, anyway. Lucy knows well how cocky I’ve been about my magic prowess among our peers. So don’t go thinking I’m too different from other gods in the ego regard either.”

  “Are you sure being power hungry is the path you want to go down? I’m asking because I know where it leads, Milsa was once a bright-eyed young goddess too, you know.”

  He nodded, “As you said, you haven’t met one god who isn’t power hungry, it is probably part of what makes us gods on a core level. The trick is keeping your sanity in the search. I’m ambitious and want power, maybe rule a universe or two. But I will not do it by any means necessary, I will find my own way to it. For example, if I was told that killing you and absorbing your essence was the only way to become a true god of magic, or Supreme god, I wouldn’t. I would find a different way.”

  “I truly hope that you can keep that mindset of yours as you gain more power, Ardonis. Power can cloud your mind, there is a reason why some mortals curse the gods. Not to mention the immortal human that keeps all of you in check.”

  He raised a brow, trying not to laugh, “A human who keeps the gods in check? Viana, is something like that even possible?”

  “It is,” she said in a heavy tone, “I met him once, a very long time ago, I was little more than a young girl. The god that ruled over us, much like Milsa, was a complete jackass. Though, as I found out later as an adult when reading records, he was also several times stronger than her. I was all but a glorified slave to the bastard. The human, known as The Godslayer, showed up one day, the moment the bastard raised a hand to me, the human stepped in.”

  Her eyes glimmered as she continued, “There was so much power thrown around that I lost consciousness. When I woke up, the entire palace was in ruins, and the human wasn’t far off. I didn’t feel the presence of the god who controlled me, nor the magic that bound me to him, which meant he was dead.”

  “Ardonis,” she looked him in the eye, “I didn’t feel any magical power coming from the human, yet he killed a god much more powerful than Milsa. And you know what? He didn’t have even a single scratch on him. What’s more, it seems someone, or something, is intentionally hiding him. No matter how much I tried searching, the most info I could find was that he was the godslayer, the peacekeeper chosen by the multiverse itself.”

  Ardonis saw true fear in her eyes and sighed, “Then I’ll be sure to keep myself in check so he doesn’t have to. But are we sure he himself isn’t like a tyrant or something if he is that powerful? I mean, how do we know that he won’t just show up one day and decide to kill us?”

  She shook her head, “Don’t get me wrong, he is extremely powerful and dangerous, but he isn’t a tyrant. In fact, I have a feeling the two of you would get along well. You do have a couple of traits in common. But you don’t need to worry about meeting him for a few thousand years at the least. When you actually have the power to be a threat to other divine embodiments.”

  Hours passed after that as the two continued to talk through the night. Ardonis heard more stories from Viana about her childhood and how she wasn’t ever able to use her powers properly. He, in turn, told her a few stories from his own childhood living in Celestial. How he would use illusion magic to hide from lessons, sneak out, and other hijinks.

  Viana sighed as the two watched night turn to dawn, “One of my dreams is to see Celestial for myself one day. I’ve never had a chance to you know. Being a genie, I’m not one who is typically allowed in the realm of the gods. Not like my ancestors were. The ones who were revered as gods by mortals and respected by the actual gods.”

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  “Even now, that is my one true dream,” she said, reaching toward the sky, her gaze distant, but full of hope, “To restore the reputation and power genies once had and live in that city of gods. To make my ancestors proud, that even after losing an ancient war, genies can still make it.”

  Ardonis gently moved Lucy from his lap, where she had fallen to from his shoulder and grabbed Viana’s outreaching hand. She looked over at him with surprise and heh smiled softly, “Then I suppose we’ll just have to gain power together and bring you with us once we return.”

  She smiled softly and squeezed his hand, though it was surprisingly forward of him, she knew there was no deep meaning behind the gesture. Not that she had actually fallen for him anyway, being a flirt was one thing, but she wasn’t easy.

  The three of them set off an hour later when Lucy woke from her peaceful night of rest. She felt refreshed and renewed as they set a pace for the day. This time, she kept up much easier with the other two. It wasn’t long before they slowed to a stop as they came across a decently sized town. There weren’t any walls around it, but it wasn’t small enough to be called a village.

  “Let’s get some supplies, like a tent and such, then we can continue on our way,” Ardonis said. The two women nodded in agreement, and they casually walked into the town. People were coming and going from it, and there seemed to be a good amount of dwarves compared to other species. “Can we go to a tavern first?” Viana asked. “It has been so long since I had a drink, and I feel now would certainly be a good time for one.”

  Ardonis looked at Lucy, and she shrugged in response, “Fine, but only one,” he said, turning back to Viana. “I don’t like being in a town that isn’t too far from where the port used to be.”

  Some people gave them strange looks while others did a double-take, but it wasn’t very many, so the three ignored them. Upon finding the tavern, they entered and looked around. The place wasn’t too large, a bit spacious, but Ardonis assumed that was for a reason. There were a few tables and chairs empty, although everyone inside stopped to look at the three as they came in. Something on the side caught Lucy’s eye, and she grabbed Ardonis by the arm. When he turned to look at her, she indicated with her eyes, and he looked where she was.

  “Well shit,” Viana muttered. “So much for my theory about the bitch thinking we were dead.”

  On the wall were three posters that looked exactly like them. A large ‘Wanted’ on the beneath the images with no option for “alive”. And it was for no small amount of gold, unless one could consider one hundred million to be trivial. On the very bottom was the described crime of them intentionally obliterating a port town.

  “This may be a risky move, but Lucy, teleport us out of here, now,” Ardonis said.

  “But it-”

  “I know, but we don’t have a choice, and at least there we have a better chance of staying hidden. Now do it, before our situation gets worse.”

  She sighed but closed her eyes and began to mutter a chant, a large encircled rune appeared beneath the three, and a moment later, their vision went dark. They heard a crash as they blinked and regained their vision. Ardonis looked around to see they were back in Nula’s office. She herself was looking at them with wide eyes from the side with several books on the floor in front of her. A wand in her hand with a glowing purple tip.

  She took a deep breath, and the glow from the wand faded, “The next time you teleport, you could at least find a way to give a message of warning first. I nearly fired a lethal spell at the three of you. I can make a guess on what has brought you back here.”

  She went over to her desk and grabbed a sheet of paper, holding it up for them to see. It was Lucy’s wanted poster, “So what did the three of you actually do? What really happened?” she asked as she put the paper back on her desk. “I’m a good judge of character, I know you wouldn’t simply blow up a town like that.”

  “We were surprise attacked,” Ardonis said. “By one of the goddess’s angels. In fact, if Viana and I hadn’t reacted in time to create a barrier, we’d be dead too.”

  Lucy nodded, “I only caught a slight glimpse of a beam coming down, next thing I knew, we were at the bottom of a large crater. With these two practically drained of their mana entirely. At first, we thought that would be it, but…”

  “Let me guess, you went to another town and discovered the posters,” Nula said. “Then you proceeded to teleport here as your only safe spot. Not bad for on the spur action, but are you sure it is safe to come here?”

  Knowing what she meant, Ardonis nodded, “It is evident to us that our location was known because Viana and I weren’t hiding our power. Lucy can use hers just fine without drawing attention. So we’re relying on her for a bit as we lay low.”

  “Cloaks,” Viana suddenly said, “What we need are some full-body cloaks so our identities aren’t discovered. Then Lucy can teleport us back as close to the town as we are comfortable with, and we’ll continue on our path.”

  “Where are you headed if you don’t mind my asking?” Nula asked.

  Ardonis shook his head, “I’d rather not tell you, just in case someone or something comes to interrogate you. I know the chances of that are slim, I wouldn’t have told Lucy to teleport us here if I wasn’t sure it was safe for both parties. But still, your knowing will only endanger yourself and us further. If you could simply help us obtain those cloaks, we’ll get out of your hair.”

  She looked at the three of them before sighing, “Wait here, I’ll be back with the cloaks shortly. But one day, you will have to tell me the whole story.”

  “Perhaps if you live another few centuries, we might,” Lucy said, though she was only half joking.

  Nula left, and a silence befell the three as they looked around the study. They were each reflecting on the events that had happened and how they could have potentially stopped an entire town from disappearing. Viana especially felt guilty deep down. She knew the potential consequences of her being released, but she was too happy for being free to care.

  Minutes later, Nula returned with three large brown cloaked hoods and passed them around. “This is the best I can do for you. I added my own magic to the mix as well, to hopefully mask you better. A bonus feature is that your face will not be seen beneath the hood. Not unless a magician at Master uses their own magic to see through it.”

  “Thank you, Nula,” Ardonis said as they took the cloaks and put them on. “This is even greater than I thought it would be. I also want to thank you for trusting us, despite not getting the information you want.”

  She shook her head, “I said it already, I’m a fairly good judge of character. Now get out of here before something else discovers you and things go wrong again. Stay on the move, and stay safe.”

  Once again, a large purplish circle with a rune in the center appeared under them. A moment later, the three vanished from the office just as quickly as they had come. Once they regained control of their vision again, they found they were on the outskirts of the town.