Chapter 128 - An Unexpected (Not) Invitation

  The flash was blinding, but it lasted no longer than a blink. One moment, the air around them had been charged with the chaotic surge of Katya’s failed Plot Device—then a pause, a hesitation from reality itself—and the next, they were standing once more on the shattered stones of Velmoria.

  But what awaited them was not the city they remembered.

  Adam’s eyes widened instantly. The city—no, what remained of it—was nothing like the fortified bastion they had left behind. The skies were blackened with smoke and fire, the scent of scorched blood and ash thick in the air. Cracked spires loomed overhead like broken fingers reaching for a mercy that would never come. Fires raged unchecked across rooftops and collapsed towers, consuming both stone and flesh. The once-mighty kingdom of the vampires now looked more like the aftermath of an apocalypse, and in that moment, the boy’s mind jolted back to a different battlefield, one long past—his second scenario, during the civil war staged by Stratos Technology. The same silence of the dead. The same ash-choked air. The same impossible sense of loss.

  The corpses of vampire soldiers littered the streets, some burned beyond recognition, others torn apart in grotesque ways, still armored, still clinging to weapons they had no chance to wield in time. But it was not the vampires that drew their eyes. No—it was what now infested Velmoria.

  Holy abominations… All around them, marching through streets once soaked in shadow, stood hundreds of radiant beings—those same grotesque creatures of divine light and armor that they had faced in Uldroth. Their bodies glowed with twisted radiance, a parody of purity, as if the divine essence they were made from had been stretched too thin, warped by pain and malice. They walked upright, yet trembled like beasts in agony. Some were canine in shape, others serpentine, a few even avian—massive, spectral birds formed from strands of sacred energy and torn pieces of plate armor. And above them, gliding overhead in loops like wraiths of the sky, were winged monstrosities of holy light—seraphic in silhouette but feral in behavior, shrieking through the clouds.

  Katya didn’t hesitate. Her eyes, wide and frenzied, darted across the crumbling battlefield.

  “Kazue!”

  She whispered, then bolted before anyone could stop her, weaving through shattered structures and over broken bodies, vanishing into the chaos. Angela, more focused but no less urgent, turned on her heel and shouted.

  “I’ll find my team!”

  Without waiting for a reply, she ran after Katya, splitting off in another direction. Mughal, still cradling Thalgrun’s unconscious form, knelt by the fallen giant’s side. He didn't say a word. His small hands—so small, even now, compared to the massive body he knelt beside—trembled as they pressed against his uncle’s chest, checking for breath.

  That left Adam, Drake, and Vaelric standing amidst the madness.

  Adam’s breath caught as he tried to process the destruction. The scale. The screaming. The impossible weight pressing on his chest. His cursed senses were burning. The divine energy in the area wasn’t just heavy—it was oppressive, choking, and utterly unnatural. These creatures… they hadn’t been like this before. In Uldroth, they had been violent. Terrifying. But here? Here, they looked like something… weird.

  “What is this?”

  Drake muttered, his eyes narrowing, fists clenching at his sides. His wings still glowed faintly behind him, but his posture was tense, uncertain.

  “I don’t know.”

  Adam said, just as confused, eyes darting between the shrieking beasts and the ruins around them.

  “Why aren’t they attacking?”

  Vaelric stepped forward slowly, gaze steeled as he scanned the radiance-drenched monsters.

  “My Lord, they’re not in control. Look at them. That’s not battle rage. That’s suffering.”

  Before any of them could say more, the creatures screamed. A collective howl pierced the air—high-pitched, mindless, and agonized. It echoed across the entire shattered city like a siren of the damned. Adam covered his ears by instinct, but it wasn’t just noise—it was something deeper, vibrating through his cursed bones, scraping against his thoughts. He could see Vaelric flinch, his pale features contorted in discomfort. Even Mughal looked up, startled and overwhelmed, his small frame shivering beside his uncle’s fallen body.

  Then, the creatures began to move like a wave breaking upon the shore, they turned as one—every last one of them, the hulking canine brutes, the towering avian shapes, the slithering horrors of light. Wings flared, and claws slammed into broken cobblestone. Plates of holy armor clattered together in unison. And then, without warning or command, they ran.

  “Are they retreating?”

  Drake asked, taking a half-step forward, disbelief etched across his face. Adam stared, mouth slightly open.

  “No, they’re… were called.”

  The sight before them was no longer chaotic—it was deliberate. The divine monstrosities began to move in unison with terrifying purpose. No longer screaming blindly or flailing in agony, their forms straightened as if awakened by a command only they could hear. Their bodies pulsed with sacred energy, glowing brighter for an instant, and then they ran. All of them. Not scattered, not erratic, but like soldiers answering a call. They moved in the same direction, coordinated and disciplined, as if summoned by something far beyond the scope of mortal comprehension.

  They didn’t hesitate. Winged beasts soared into the sky with precision, great serpentine titans slithered with thunderous speed, and armored brutes charged in perfect rhythm, breaking through the remnants of Velmoria like a tidal wave of divine energy. Adam could only watch as the radiant tide flowed past and away, heading toward some unknown destination. The light of their bodies trailed through the air like sacred comets streaking across a battlefield sky… And then, silence.

  The oppressive weight of their presence was gone, but what remained was worse. The city they had come to save lay in ruin, broken and burned and empty. A hollow husk still echoing with the pain of what had just happened.

  Adam’s hands trembled slightly as they curled into fists. His breath was shallow, each inhale dragging against his chest. The burning buildings around them cracked and hissed in the distance, but it wasn’t just the devastation that held his attention.

  From beyond the collapsed structures and ruined alleys, faint voices reached his ears—muffled, uncertain, but unmistakably human. He snapped his head toward the sound and narrowed his eyes.

  “Someone’s there.”

  He muttered. Drake nodded, already stepping forward, his expression cold and alert. Before they could move, Adam turned to Vaelric, who was near the giant child, kneeling beside the unconscious form of his uncle.

  “Vaelric, stay here with Mughal. Make sure the others are safe until we come back.”

  Adam said firmly. Vaelric looked up, torn, his pale eyes flicking toward the battlefield’s remnants. For a heartbeat, it seemed like he might object. But he nodded instead.

  “Understood. We’ll be here.”

  Without wasting another second, Adam and Drake rushed off, navigating through broken walls and shattered streets. The voices grew louder with each step, and soon, they came into view—two groups of battered survivors huddled near a pile of broken stone and iron fencing, some standing, some leaning against debris, all of them clearly worn down by a brutal fight.

  The moment Adam recognized the faces, he felt his chest tighten. The first person he noticed was Abbess, who looked truly wounded, and who, after looking up upon sensing her master approaching, sighed, dissolving her body into a strange ectoplasmic energy that quickly merged into the boy's body.

  Gregor was nearby, sitting with his back against a half-destroyed pillar, blood drying around the jagged tear in his side. Li was nearby, adjusting the wrappings on a makeshift bandage while keeping pressure on a wound that looked like it had nearly gutted him. And Kazue—Kazue stood shakily, her right arm held against her chest, wrapped hastily in blood-soaked cloth, golden veins pulsing beneath her skin like living fire.

  Chloe stood beside her, eyes sharp and focused. She was holding a long, thin needle she had stuck lightly into the side of Kazue’s head, keeping her nerves dulled. Emir sat close, alert but unharmed, keeping his gaze on the shadows with an intensity that didn’t match his usual quiet nature.

  Katya was near and trembling. Her fingers were clenched into fists at her sides, and her breathing was shallow and ragged as she stared at Kazue’s injury like it was a personal affront. She didn’t even seem to notice Adam and Drake arrive until Kazue herself looked up and forced a weak, crooked smile.

  “I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. The ones we were fighting… they got it worse.”

  Kazue said, her voice light with a forced smile despite the pain. She then motioned with her good hand toward the distance.

  A sudden groan of metal filled the air, and from the smoke rolled the battered form of the Steamtread Goliath. Its once-pristine plating was dented and charred, sections of its limbs hanging barely connected by scorched cables. But it was still moving, its eye sensors flickering with light. Kazue laughed softly.

  “We wouldn’t have made it without grandpa Sebastian. He mowed down the big ones like a champ.”

  At her side, Katya’s jaw tightened, her voice cracking.

  “This isn’t nothing, Kazue. You—look at you.”

  Chloe cut in, gently but firmly.

  “I’ve numbed the pain. For now, she’ll be fine.”

  Not far from them, Angela stood with the remaining members of WNATN. They looked battered, bruised, and covered in dirt and ash—but mostly intact. Dayana touched her arm and gave her a nod.

  “We’re alright, a few broken ribs, some cuts. But nothing too bad.”

  She said, answering the question Angela hadn’t been able to voice yet. Adam stepped closer, his voice low but urgent.

  “What happened here?”

  Li looked up, tired eyes sharp behind his blood-streaked face.

  “Ha! What didn’t happen in this hellhole… It started just like a regular assault. One of the vampire Elders said it was normal—something that happened every so often. The paladins would strike the outer walls, try to breach, and when they eventually succeeded, they’d back off for some reason. We were ready for it. Fought back. We even managed to injure a few, it was easy.”

  Gregor shifted, grunting as he adjusted his bandage.

  “Didn’t even lose any of the human side. A few scratches, some bruises. It was more like a show of force than an actual war.”

  Li continued.

  “It went on for nearly a whole day. The vampires were preparing for a possible escalation, but no one thought it would happen. Then… it did.”

  Gregor’s face darkened.

  “They started screaming. All of them. Every paladin outside the walls just… broke down. Like their minds shattered at once. And then they changed, turning to these… Light monsters… They tore through the outer defenses like paper, we tried to hold the line but failed. They poured into the city like a flood. It was absolute chaos.”

  The soldier’s hands tightened into fists.

  “But two strange things happened. First, in the middle of all of it, we heard something. A cry like a woman’s voice. We all heard it, but the vampires—every single one—just dropped. Collapsed where they stood. It didn’t seem to have killed them, but it knocked them out cold. If not for this sudden retreat, they would have eaten them all.”

  Adam’s brows furrowed, his mind immediately jumping to the scream they’d heard just before he also lost consciousness alongside the giants.

  “And the second?”

  Gregor looked over at Emir, who was quietly tending to the still-unconscious form of another vampire near him.

  “They avoided him. All those beasts. They swarmed the city, killed everything in their path. But not one came within five meters of the kid.”

  Everyone turned to look at Emir. He didn’t react. Just kept his head down, eyes focused. If he knew why they avoided him, he didn’t show it.

  Adam looked back toward the smoke and crumbling ruins, his mind racing. There were too many pieces, too many shifting truths and hidden hands behind everything they had seen. And now, with the forces of the Mad Goddess on the move and the entire city nearly reduced to ash, they had little time to figure it out.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  The boy exhaled deeply, the weight of everything they had witnessed settling like iron across his shoulders. The moment felt unreal—like the aftershock of a disaster too great to fully process. Yet even amidst the confusion and pain, Adam knew that now was not the time for panic. They needed order. They needed clarity. He turned to the others, raising his voice just enough to carry over the faint wind.

  “Alright. Everyone take a moment. We need to organize everything we know. The fighting’s stopped—for now—and I don’t think the vampires are waking up anytime soon. So, while we can’t do much for them, we can at least gather ourselves.”

  Drake glanced over, already catching Adam’s line of thought. With a nod, he slipped a hand into the sleek black band strapped around his wrist, his fingers tapping a button that shimmered faintly before a small spatial opening appeared. From within, he pulled a reinforced pouch the size of a book, unsealed it, and revealed a collection of small crystal-like pills—luminescent and neatly arranged in rows.

  “If any of you still have the ones I gave you back at the lobby, take them now. If not, speak up. I’ve got more.”

  The blond said, holding the pouch aloft. Most of them had already used theirs during the initial siege, but several raised hands or gave brief nods, and Drake didn’t hesitate; with swift precision, he passed them out. When he reached Kazue, he paused. Her right arm hung uselessly by her side, wrapped hastily in stained cloth, and her golden-glowing veins pulsed slowly, casting light onto her cheeks. Drake met her eyes, then pulled out a different pill—larger than the rest and with a more vivid inner shimmer.

  “Take this one, it’s stronger. You need it more than the rest of us.”

  He said firmly. Kazue blinked, then took it with her left hand, trying to smile.

  “Thanks, doctor, guess it’s not just for colds and headaches, huh?”

  She said weakly, then added with a small laugh. Drake rolled his eyes but said nothing. Chloe, nearby, adjusted the needle she had lodged carefully into the side of Kazue’s temple, her gloved fingers precise.

  “That should keep the nerve pain from flaring; just don’t try to use the arm, even by accident. It’ll only make it worse.”

  Murmured the pink-haired gal. Angela, meanwhile, handed out a few of the pills to her own teammates, nodding in thanks to Drake. Dayana, one of the most level-headed members of WNATN, gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

  “We’re okay, really… Bruised and sore, but nothing that won’t heal. You did good, leader.”

  Angela gave a grateful nod, though her gaze lingered on Kazue with a flicker of worry. Once the pills had been distributed, Adam stepped forward.

  “Alright. Now I’ll fill you all in.”

  He said, addressing both groups. He launched into a quick but detailed explanation of what had happened at Uldroth—the discovery of the imprisoned giants, Mughal’s story, and especially the sudden outbreak of divine possession that had overtaken the paladins in the underground.

  “Drake was infected with a skill called ‘Arianka’s Infection’,”

  Adam said, his tone measured.

  “It’s parasitic. I don’t have the full picture, but the system confirmed it. It was powerful enough to nearly consume him, but we managed to purge it with a combined effort.”

  Kazue, even with the pain suppressed, let out a soft giggle.

  “So that’s why he has golden wings now. I thought he just ascended while we weren’t looking.”

  Chloe chuckled, but Katya didn’t laugh. She remained silent, eyes fixed on Kazue with barely concealed tension. Adam continued.

  “That wasn’t all. I was able to reverse the process on the transformed paladins, but after dealing with them, the goddess herself retaliated. She used some sort of global ability. We didn’t know what it was at the time, but now I think we understand. That was the scream you all heard here, wasn’t it?”

  Li nodded, folding his arms. His face was drawn, bruised along one cheekbone.

  “Yeah. That scream hit hard, but not in the way we expected. None of us were affected, only the vampires. They dropped like flies. Every single one. Just collapsed like puppets with cut strings. But how the hell did it happen? It was that infection’s doing?”

  Drake stepped in, rubbing his jaw.

  “I can fill in more of that picture. When I went with Eldric during the gathering of the paladins at Uldroth upon the call of a newly arrived Paladin Champion, we were all supposed to head back to Celestia Sanctum. The order came straight from the high priest. Apparently, the eastern temple was under attack, and the goddess issued an oracle calling everyone back.”

  He took a breath, gaze hardening.

  “But before anyone could move, something hit us. Every paladin in that place started convulsing. One by one. And then they… changed. No warning. No build-up. Just—”

  He snapped his fingers.

  “Like that. Their bodies were torn open and reshaped, filled with divine energy until they became those monsters. They became beasts, they even attacked the other human soldiers that were nearby.”

  There was silence after that, save for the crackling of distant fires. The ruined city around them remained eerily still, as if holding its breath. Adam’s mind raced through the implications—paladins transforming uncontrollably, Emir being avoided, the goddess herself unleashing an unprovoked global skill… None of it made sense. Or rather, it made too much sense. Finally, the boy spoke again, his voice low.

  “Then it’s exactly like I feared. Something’s wrong with the divinity in this world. The goddess… isn’t sane. Or at least, not anymore.”

  No one argued. No one had the strength to deny it.

  Adam stood in silence, his arms crossed and his gaze fixed on the burnt horizon. Everything they had just heard, everything they had just survived, was spinning too fast. Yet, against all logic, his mind was crystal clear. The thought struck him so suddenly, so sharply, that even he had to blink and take a breath to confirm it hadn’t just been a reflex of panic. There was something they could do, and strangely enough, he was sure of it.

  “We’ve been reacting to this chaos for too long.”

  Adam said, turning back to the group with measured steps. His voice was steady, but beneath it was a newfound resolve.

  “But things are slipping further out of control with every passing minute. Arianka, the goddess of this world, is acting while infested by corruption.”

  Angela narrowed her eyes.

  “Corruption caused by what, exactly?”

  Adam met her gaze without flinching.

  “A skill. Or, more precisely, the same skill I recently got after freeing Drake from it.”

  He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

  “[God’s Plague]. It enhances parasitic and mental control-type abilities when targeting divine entities. [Arianka’s Infection] description explicitly says it was under this skill's influence. There is something that can help us deal with it.”

  Angela stepped forward.

  “Then how do we find that something?”

  Adam’s eyes shifted to her, then slowly over to Li.

  “We don’t need to find it. Not yet. First, we need to confirm the goddess’s vulnerability. Li…”

  Li’s expression tightened before Adam even finished.

  “…I need you to use your Plot Device. The ‘Morality Pet’ one, use it and target Arianka.”

  Li’s reaction was immediate. He laughed once—dry, incredulous.

  “Are you insane? Do you want me to use a Plot Device on a goddess? Someone above the system itself?”

  Adam lifted one finger and held it up, stopping him cold.

  “She’s not above the system; none of them are. Just like my contract with Malzaphir. Yes, these entities are on a different tier, capable of enforcing their will across the scenario, but they still have rules they have to follow. They still have restrictions. What happened in Uldroth proved it. Arianka had to go through the system interface to unleash her global skill. She had to request it. That was her mistake. She revealed that she’s bound to the same mechanics as us.”

  Li looked unconvinced, arms folded across his chest, eyes narrowed.

  “I’m telling you, she’s not untouchable. She’s dangerous, yes. Possibly beyond anything we’ve seen. But when she acts through the system, she plays by its rules.”

  There was a beat of silence. Then, for once, Li didn’t argue. With a muttered curse under his breath, he reached into his coat and extended one gloved hand. A deep chime echoed from nowhere, and a translucent interface blinked into existence.

  The moment the message registered, a pulse of energy surged through every user present. Their eyes widened—not with shock, but with involuntary recognition—as a sudden, vivid vision filled their minds. It felt injected straight into their minds by the system itself.

  They stood in a vast white expanse. There was no sound, no wind, no time. In front of them, three figures glowed like beacons in the dark: Vaelric, Mughal, and a woman no one recognized. She wore the attire of royalty, her pale hands folded before her chest, and had a solemn expression. Each figure radiated something powerful, intimate, and entirely incomprehensible.

  Then the message burned into their thoughts like a brand: These are the three most precious to Arianka… And then the vision vanished.

  The group returned to themselves one by one, breaths ragged, eyes blinking.

  “What the hell was that?”

  Muttered Gregor, rubbing his temples. Angela took a half-step forward, her voice uncertain.

  “That… that made no sense. Vaelric? Mughal? And that girl—who even was she?”

  Chloe shook her head.

  “She looked like nobility. A human, clearly.”

  Adam didn’t speak right away. He was thinking. Processing. Connecting dots.

  “It’s the bloodline…”

  He muttered at last.

  “Vaelric and Mughal… they’re descendants of the leaders of their own races. And that girl, judging by her dress, must be the same for the humans. That’s the link to Arianka’s attachment, it’s legacies.”

  Kazue frowned.

  “So… what? She adopted them?”

  “No, she’s tied to them. Or maybe she needs them for something. Look—Groz’mar, Mughal’s father, was turned into a Paladin Paragon, and that’s not a coincidence. And we know there’s at least one Paragon using blood powers. Vaelric reacted when he heard about it. That could mean…”

  The boy remained thoughtful for a moment longer, but the course of action to follow was already quite obvious.

  “We regroup with them, they’re the key.”

  Adam confirmed. Li arched an eyebrow.

  “And after that?”

  The boy’s mouth curved into a faint smile.

  “I’ll think of something.”

  Angela had remained silent for a while. But then she stepped forward, arms folded tight.

  “Actually… there might be a way.”

  Adam turned to her to ask what she meant by that.

  “I have a Plot Device, one I’ve never used. It’s rare. Very rare, actually. I’ve been saving it for something truly desperate. I’ll only use it if you’re sure. Absolutely sure. If this is where we commit, we do it with everything. There’s no taking it back.”

  The words echoed in his head. Malzaphir’s laughter swirled in the back of his mind, playful, amused. Adam nodded once.

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay then.”

  The instant Angela’s voice faded, the air around them changed. A soft chime echoed across the ruined plaza, and a glowing system window opened in front of her:

  Her fingers hovered for a moment. Her eyes flicked to Adam, then to the rest of the group, and finally back to the floating text. Her lips pressed together in uncertainty, but after a tense breath, she tapped the glowing words: “What you need.”

  The moment her selection was made, everything around Adam shattered.

  He didn’t feel pain, or vertigo, or even motion. There was no sense of being transported or moved. One blink—just one—and the war-torn ruins of Velmoria were gone, replaced entirely by a vision so overwhelming it took his breath away.

  He stood now in the middle of a garden that seemed untouched by time. An expanse of otherworldly beauty unfolded before him, stretching endlessly in every direction. Towering trees with shimmering blue-green leaves swayed in a breeze he couldn’t feel. Crystalline flowers bloomed in spirals of impossible colors across meadows of silver-touched grass.

  A soft light, not quite sunlight, radiated from the air itself, casting a constant warm glow across everything. Streams of water so pure they gleamed like mirrors cut through the terrain in slow, winding paths. In the distance, stone walkways arched like bridges into the sky, leading to floating sanctuaries of marble and gold that hovered in silence.

  There was no sound but the gentle whisper of wind through leaves. Adam staggered once, his boots pressing into the velvet-soft earth beneath him.

  “What the hell...?”

  He muttered under his breath, spinning around, eyes searching the horizon for any trace of his companions.

  “Angela? Drake? Guys? Anyone—?”

  Nothing. Then came the laugh.

  A deep, lazy, amused chuckle echoed in the back of his mind—smooth, familiar, and irritatingly delighted.

  “Oh my.”

  Came the voice of Malzaphir, purring in satisfaction.

  “You really are full of surprises, vile human. I didn’t think you had it in you to find your way to a stage like this.”

  Adam narrowed his eyes.

  “Malzaphir. Where am I?”

  The ArchDevil cooed, sounding almost disappointed.

  “You don’t recognize it? This, vile human, is Pantheon Eternal. Or at least, one of its outer sanctums. A rare little corner of heaven. Quite the upgrade from the flaming pits of mortals choking on divine energy, don’t you think?”

  Adam’s jaw tensed. Pantheon Eternal? That was the realm of the gods, right? The origin point of divine will.

  “I’m not supposed to be here.”

  He muttered.

  “No, you most certainly are not.”

  Malzaphir agreed, now laughing freely.

  “Mortals don’t come here, not unless invited. Or, well… unless they are dragged here by something powerful enough to bypass the rules. Your lovely little system helper, perhaps? How curious.”

  Adam clenched a fist.

  “It was Angela. She used a Plot Device—”

  Malzaphir interrupted eagerly.

  “Which one? … No, wait—don’t tell me. Yeah, I remember. Something disgustingly poetic. Something stupidly vague. Hah! Yes, it said something like ‘What you want versus what you need,’ didn’t it?”

  Adam froze. Malzaphir howled with laughter.

  “Oh that’s rich. That’s divine irony at its finest. No pun intended.”

  Adam took a breath and looked around again. The garden was still peaceful. Still radiant. But now it felt different. Like a veil had been pulled back, and beneath the beauty, something much older—something far more dangerous—waited.

  “Why bring me here? What’s the point?”

  Adam asked, clearly still in shock.

  “That is entirely up to you. But I will say this, since I’m enjoying myself so much... You’ve got company.”

  Malzaphir said, with mock seriousness. The boy’s eyes widened. He spun around.

  There… Just a few steps behind him, sitting quietly on the ground with her legs folded under her, was Kazue. She wasn’t panicked—just stunned. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes wide as she stared at the sky above. The soft light played off her brown hair, and a faint shimmer of gold still pulsed through the veins of her injured arm.

  She blinked up at Adam, equally confused.

  “Uh… Adam? Where… where are we?”

  He stared at her in disbelief, completely thrown.

  “Kazue?”

  She nodded, then looked around again.

  “Did you… Do something weird again? This doesn’t look like Velmoria. And… I’m not dreaming, right?”

  Adam opened his mouth, then closed it again… What the hell was going on?