Chapter 109 – Space Travel The Godkiller Way
Chapter 109 - Space Travel The Godkiller Way
”There are a lot of ways, that’s for sure…” ~Orulixshen Umbrafen Shoruwitchsel Karuphra, God of Horrors”You can do that?”
Shallies smiled as Laika, almost choking on her food, stood up in surprise as she asked the question. The dog-ferim immediately regretted her action, but the Chef was kind enough to pass some cold tea.
“Of course, I can,” Shallies said rather proudly. “But there are a few conditions we must meet before I can bring you back to Ysvil.”
Laika spent a few moments glugging the tea, thumping her chest while washing down her food to clear her throat out. With a deep sigh, she finally calmed down enough to listen. She kept eating, though.
“First of all, we have two different ways to get back,” Shallies started. “We can either wait a while for the rift to open, or we can travel back to Ysvil ourselves. I recommend we do the latter.”
“Travel?” Laika asked, tilting her head. “You mean travel through space, back to our planet?”
“Yep.”
“We have a spaceship!?” the dog-ferim assumed, almost choking on her food again. Her eyes twinkled like a kid in a candy shop, her lips curving up in an innocent smile. “That’s a thing we only read about in books and see in plays! Does Godkiller Bernadette actually have a spaceship!?”
The wonder in Laika’s eyes made Shallies’ heart skip a beat. Not out of love, but out of pure admiration for the cute innocence of the adventurer before her. Not to mention, those fluffy ears were way too endearing for the Godkiller to ignore.
“I can’t say,” Shallies said finally, clearing her throat as she pried away her thoughts. “That’s why I said there are conditions to this thing.
“If we’re going to travel, I’ll have to put you into a magic-induced sleep. It’s for your own safety. Just like what Stachie said, the things you might see in space can be bad for your sanity. If you’re magically asleep, there’s no risk of that happening.”
“But if we choose to wait for the rift, who knows when that’s going to happen? I assume that is our problem?” Laika ventured a guess, now properly pondering the conundrum at hand. “I see. How long would it take for us to travel?”
“About a day,” Shallies said, lying without a hint of hesitation. It would be technically faster than that, since she would be directly involved with how they would travel. But it was best not to mention anything absurd. The dog-ferim wouldn’t notice the difference anyways.
“I was here for a few days without any rifts opening, if we assume that every rift would take a person with them.” Laika nodded to herself. “Alright. I’ll trust you with it, Shallies, as long as there’s no funny business involved.”
“Like what?” the Godkiller asked. It was her turn to tilt her head in confusion.
“No recording while I sleep, no perverted stuff, and no telling others about it.”
Shallies couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “Alright…? Is your guild treating you in a weird way?”
“No, no, no.” The dog-ferim insistently shook her head. “I’ve just never been in a magic-induced sleep before. So my thoughts are a little out there.”
“Ah…” Shallies smiled and gave a firm nod. “Don’t worry, Laika. You’re safe with me. I promise to get you back to Ysvil without anything weird or bad happening to you while you sleep.”
“Great! Now let me just finish this food.”
The dog-ferim returned to her feast, now more determined to finish it quickly, so that they could travel as soon as possible.
It didn’t take long for the news to spread throughout the entire guild. But rather than be disheartened that someone else had been taken away by the seemingly random rifts, the Gaiamaxims Guild instead redoubled their efforts to conquer the raid.
The Storm Dragon Horror Raid Boss, however, wasn’t one to dabble at the idea of mercy. With a single, mana-enhanced roar, the crackling energy surrounding its scales erupted to envelop the surrounding arena. The clouds turned dark, static rippled in the air, and the temperature shot upwards.
From within the cloudy walls of the Raid Boss’s Lair came about lightning elementals. They numbered close to a hundred, gathering to aid their master.
Yoshelle moved about, utilizing her Chronoadept skills and increasing the speed of her time by threefold. It caused her buffs to run out faster, but it also allowed her to fight in two battlefields at once. Two teams had quickly broken out of the main raid to deal with the additional monsters.
The groups made calm and calculated work, almost as if the sudden appearance of the elementals had been expected. Despite the enemy’s numbers, with Yoshelle’s support, both teams of Hero class adventurers successfully fended off the wave of elementals without suffering any major losses.
It had been an almost automated response by the guild. With the additional monsters suddenly appearing, there had been no time to discuss tactics. Fortunately, it was part of their strategy to form teams of Hero class adventurers to deal with such situations, while the Favored class holders continued to fight the main enemy. The only problem was that they lacked a vanguard, on account of Laika missing in the group, which had forced Yoshelle to play her hand and accelerate her time.
As long as it doesn’t happen too often, we should be fine…
The guild’s formation reformed once more as soon as the smaller monsters were taken care of, resuming their assault on the Storm Dragon Horror. At the same time, Yoshelle returned her flow of time to normal.
Dealing with the Raid Boss had been, surprisingly, within expectations, despite their decision to leave a Raid Pillar standing. Not easy, but within expectations. About an hour had already passed since engaging the monster, and so far, they had suffered no major casualties.
“Breath attacks!” Maxims exclaimed. There was no panic in his voice, only an expectation that the guild would adapt quickly to the situation. He didn’t even bother looking back as he flew straight up to attack one of the dragon’s many wings.
Attacks?
Yoshelle frowned. Her father wouldn’t so casually make a mistake with words, especially in strict situations like an ongoing raid. There was only one dragon capable of doing a breath attack.
But as she looked at the monster, her eyes widened as she understood what her father meant.
The Storm Dragon Horror’s shoulders had bulged, its scales breaking apart as a pair of massive heads emerged, sputtering blood everywhere. Mana coalesced from the heads, including the main one. And in response, the guild quickly fell into their defensive positions.
It was a combination attack far beyond what the Storm Giant had done from the previous floor. The Storm Dragon Horror was an embodiment of its element, enhanced by the nature only a horror could provide.
Valor’el landed in front of the guild, ordering the other vanguards to reinforce the front. Evasion wasn’t an option. The dragon had a way to influence its aim, removing any chance of avoiding its lightning breath attacks. Their only choice was to gather, trusting in their numbers to meet the attacks head-on.
Yoshelle stood her ground, standing along with her guildmates as she used her strongest defensive spell. Everyone else did the same. But with three dragon heads gathering black lightning in each of their maws, the Guild Princess couldn’t help but entertain her doubts. One weak link, and they would all be electrified to death.
Right then, she received a ping. A touch of mana so gentle that she almost didn’t notice it.
Valor’el. He was reaching out to everyone, assuring them of their safety. Ever since the guild had suffered death, the seraph had taken a more engaged role.
“As Acting Deity, I will not let anyone else die in this raid. You all have my word.”
Everyone around Yoshelle gave their all, their heads facing forwards with determination rather than awe, their expressions calm and collected despite the imminent danger. It wasn’t because there was an Acting Deity within their midst, Yoshelle realized. It was because of something he had said.
For the sake of those that had perished, they would all return triumphant from this raid.
“Here’s a Slumbering Potion,” Shallies said, pulling out a small vial from her Class Inventory, keeping the opening the same as it would be for other adventurers. “This potion’s used for medical purposes, mainly. It’ll keep you asleep for an hour at most.”
“I thought we needed to travel for the entire day?” Laika asked, cautiously taking the potion with one hand.
“We do. I’ll use my mana to extend the duration of your sleep instead. This way, if we ever get back ahead of time, I can wake you up easily.”
“Oh. That’s neat.” The dog-ferim looked worried. She was hesitating. Though she had said she would trust Shallies, words and actions were usually a few beats apart. Sometimes more.
The Godkiller gave her time. Just waiting.
“I can really trust you on this, right?” Laika asked.
“If it makes you feel better, I don’t mind swearing an oath,” Shallies said without hesitation.
“No, no. That’s a little extreme.”
Oaths were more than just promises. They were binding. A declaration of purpose and agreement that would fetter the very existences of those involved until the oaths were fulfilled. It would be easy to say that an oath would go beyond the simple level of a marriage, mercenary, business contract, or the like.
“But I’m glad that you’re willing to do that, Shallies,” said the dog-ferim. She smiled, opening the Slumbering Potion, before taking the shot.
The effects were instantaneous. Laika had a second to help prop herself on the table to make sure she fell asleep the right way. Then the next second, she was snoring lightly.
Shallies approached, enveloping the dog-ferim in her mana, making sure the effects of the potion were potent enough. She needed it to bypass any sort of resistance, or there would be problems while they traveled. Now there was no way for her passenger to wake up prematurely.
After confirming Laika’s Sleep condition, Shallies opened her Class Inventory into an isolated room. She went inside, carrying the dog-ferim and placing her on a bed. This way, it would take any of the risk factors from space travel completely out of the equation.
Technically, we can do this while you’re awake, but you’re not privy to my secrets just yet. Shallies smiled as she went out and closed her Class Inventory.
As soon as the Godkiller left the Infinite Gaze, she was greeted by the long and cold darkness that was the cosmic sea. Stars twinkled in the distance, barely poking light through the void. From afar, she could see comets, and other heavenly bodies, those that most people could only dream of. Auroras and nebulas of mana ebbed and flowed, creating a shimmering painting on the blank canvas. And further beyond, gaping maws of devourers stalked from the beyond, while entities above any form of measure created worlds and havens.
Shallies stared at the magnificence of them all, and remembered that they didn’t really matter. Not yet anyway. She turned and saw Ysvil.
The grand planet of blue and green was crowned by an aurora of mana veiling her north pole. A ring of protection, made out of pure mana, shimmered around the planet and her moon, protection that many gods and Shallies herself had created so long, long ago.
A number of space stations, created from various materials harvested from the world, along with the corpses of gods whose existences Shallies had partially severed from reality, orbited Ysvil. They had become bases of some of the currently existing gods.
One of said gods who was looking up at Shallies.
The Godkiller stared at the small doll. It was made of felt, made to look like a boy. Its face was disfigured, as if it had been torn away and repaired in a rush. The smile it had crept up unnervingly above where its ears were supposed to be.
It was just staring. Waiting. Looking at Shallies.
“Karuphra,” the Godkiller finally said.
“Madame Bernadette,” said the doll that was the God of Horrors. “Blessed am I to glimpse upon your form clad in such mundane clothes. The lack of gravity lifts your skirt ever so tastefully.”
Shallies narrowed her eyes. Indeed, she was wearing a simple dress. Her only defensive equipment was her Manaweave Coat, and pretty much everything else was mundane.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, placing both hands on her waist. She subtly used mana-control to prevent her dress from floating too much. “Surely you’re not going around space expecting to peek under someone’s skirt?”
“Nah, those are just some spicy words to break the ice,” answered the doll, its voice different from the previous one. This one was more feminine and mature. “How are you doing, lass?”
“I’m fine, Shoruwitchsel,” Shallies answered, recognizing the new personality from those residing within the doll. “Just had to rescue a poor fellow trapped in my moon base.”
“T-t-t-trapped!?” the doll exclaimed. It was Umbrafen. Another female voice. Smaller, and more high-pitched. A girl’s voice.
“Let’s not keep the Godkiller from her task,” said a fourth voice. Orulixshen. The first personality of the God of Horrors. Shallies remembered him as a towering man, who had survived being stabbed by countless weapons designed to kill Raid Bosses. His tenacity alone would leave anyone horrified.
“Do you have news for me?” Shallies asked the doll.
“We’ve stumbled upon a clue as to why Thrush’ven Alir had been pressing its rather oppressive influence in other realities than its usual haunts,” said Karuphra. “We suspect that Chaos might be involved, given that the Concept was nowhere to be found.”
“W-w-w-we think it m-m-might be inside t-t-the storm…” Umbrafen said.
Shallies rubbed her chin. She had suspected the same, but even if it were true, Chaos had been indebted with a lot of favors. Narrowing down which promise it had to fulfill would be next to impossible, not without interrogating the Concept itself.
“Did you notice any movement from the Gone Old?” she asked.
“The Very Large Lumilettes are keeping the Gone Old at bay, as you may have already noticed,” Shoruwitchsel replied, manipulating the doll to point towards the gaping voids and the immeasurable entities of light beside them.
Those entities, called Very Large Lumilettes, fed the devouring monstrosities the worlds and havens they created. It was the only way to keep the Gone Old from entering the universe.
“Those aren’t the only Gone Old around,” Shallies warned the doll. “Their influences are akin to those of gods. Our only saving grace is the distance between them and Ysvil. If they figure out a way to make contact, it might escalate into something more than just a Divine War.”
The God of Horrors made a bow. It was slow, yet snappy, a creepy gesture coming from the doll.
“We’ll inform the other deities,” said Orulixshen. “If we notice anything, we’ll let Stachie know.”
“Great. Now, if there’s nothing else, I have a raid to finish.”
The doll stepped to the side, lifting one of its hands to its chest.
“Good hunting, Godkiller,” said all the personalities within the doll.
With a nod, Shallies turned back to Ysvil. El’doron Continent was about to reach its evening, which placed the world’s face right in front of the moon. She saw the landmass as she engaged her Focus with an effort only a Godkiller could provide. Her sight extended, zooming in on the world so much that she could see each part of the territories with pristine clarity.
It didn’t take her long to find Cinterbrim Town.
“Well, then. I’ll see you around,” she said to the doll, smiling.
With a flex of her Stellar mana, Shallies used her Sight Step.