When The Cute Godkiller Opens A Tavern [Stubbed]

Chapter 116 - The Long Walk Up

”I would usually wait to entertain questions until after the whole thing is over, but I guess now wouldn’t hurt.” ~Shallies Mythernal, the Godkiller

Shallies instructed Valor’el to stay with Arun’dul while the young seraph acclimated to his new core. It wasn’t exactly a painful process as much as it was a frustrating one. Like looking at one’s own house and finding every piece of furniture had been changed and was out of place. Or remembering a fond childhood memory, only to find it boring after experiencing it again.

“The process would be tedious, but he should be able to find his way and stabilize,” the Godkiller mumbled to herself while she headed to the next floor.

The portal led to a flight of wide stairs. Its walls were filled with blank frames, reminiscent of the Gone Old. Marble and granite had been used to create an intricate pattern, matched with golden edges. It was one of the few structures within the Thrush’ven Alir Raid that wasn’t composed of a cloud. And by its size alone, it was apparently designed to welcome an entire guild, not just a couple of individuals.

Rather than rush through it, however, the Godkiller patiently made her way up, taking a few steps at a time and admiring the scenery. She wanted to take advantage of the long traversal and give her companion the time to speak.

“Umm… Lady Shallies, why did you—”

“I’ll cut you off right there, Yoshelle,” she said, not bothering to look at the young Elemental Archmage behind her. “If you start talking to me like that, I’m going to continue ignoring all of your prayers.”

“Valor’el calls you that,” Yoshelle retorted.

“He’s been doing that from the beginning. Couldn’t force it out of him. Don’t do the reverse.”

“I also didn’t think my prayers had actually reached you.”

“They always do,” Shallies clarified. “For every god or goddess out there, they’ll always receive anyone’s prayers, whether that person is under their domain or not. But unlike popular belief, they can’t always afford the resources to listen to everyone.

“It’s like a business. They respond to the people who have the highest chance of returning a profit. Of course, there’s a lot of nuance and bias behind every decision, but if you put it in black and white, that’s how it usually is.”

“So you didn’t respond to me because I don’t have enough potential?” Yoshelle asked. Her voice had a touch of accusation, which she admirably tried to restrain.

“Don’t take it personally,” Shallies said. “I’m not a goddess, remember? I operate differently from them.”

“Why ignore me then?”

“Same reason why I ignore everyone else.” This time, she turned to look at the Guild Princess. “You weren’t my student.”

At that, Yoshelle sighed. “So I don’t really have a chance to be one of your Favored Ones?”

Shallies replied with a smile, before looking up again. “I’m considering it.”

“Really—?”

“But I think it’s for the best that you carefully think about what you’re getting into first, before I give you a proper answer,” she intervened. “What you saw down there wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg. It’s more like the cowlick of a bird perched on a tall tree at the tip of that iceberg. Maybe even tipper than that.

“What I’m trying to say is that becoming one of my Favored Ones isn’t actually a favor. I don’t force every student I train to ascend under my domain. They get to understand what it really means to become one, and not everyone can manage to cope with that.”

“How many are there now?”

“That’s what you got from that?” Shallies returned the question, tilting her head. “Including Valor’el, there are twelve Favored class users under my domain who are still currently active. There are a few more who are already retired, but still under my call should I deem it necessary. The rest have gone on.”

“Just twelve…?”

“I told you I’m no goddess.”

“I see…”

“Well… If I’m being honest, the two of us have a lot to think about. We can both decide after I’m done explaining to your parents what happened to the raid, and what’s coming after.”

A long silence followed after that. Only the sound of their footsteps accompanied them, until Yoshelle decided to speak again.

“So, what was that you did earlier all about?” she asked.

“The God’s Vanquisher?” Shallies clarified.

“Well, that too, but I’m more interested in what you did to stop Daryl’kan.”

“Ah, that…” The Godkiller tilted her head, trying to consider how best to explain.

“Is that something only gods can do?” Yoshelle probed. “Or something just you can do?”

“It’s something that has existed before the System,” Shallies clarified. “Today, there’s probably only myself and an exclusive few gods who can use that technique. You don’t have to concern yourself with anyone else using it on you, since the other gods who could do it before are no longer around, and the ones that could, can’t affect you anyway.”

“Can’t affect me?”

“The System in place makes it so that any skill or spell, whether it came from a mortal, monster, god, or whatever, will never internally affect you. It’s how any sort of fire spell wouldn’t just combust you from the inside out. Or something like a wind spell taking the air out of your lungs. Though there are skills and spells that circumvent that limitation now, by burning you from the outside in, or blocking all the air around you, it’s impossible to forcefully influence what you have inside. Even conditions like being frightened, or poisoned, or made to sleep, work through external means. It only worked on Daryl, because he wasn’t integrated to the System.”

Shallies motioned for Yoshelle to keep up as she increased her pace. She preferred having a companion walk alongside her rather than behind. The stairs were many and spiraling, giving them a lot of time to talk about things.

“Mmm… Now that you mention it, everything I know affects things from the outside,” said the Guild Princess as she hastened her steps. “Maybe except for myself? Enhancing my strength, or speeding up my time, those sorts of things.”

“Of course, spells and skills that you use on yourself can internally affect you,” Shallies said. “But if you would use those on someone else, you’ll notice that they do have the option to reject them, because you’re affecting them from the outside.”

Yoshelle contemplated that for a while, before ultimately agreeing.

“What about this God’s Vanquisher, then?” she asked, continuing her series of questions. “Daryl’kan mentioned you were using a fake one, but that can’t be true, can it?”

“The ones I used and the ones Daryl described are all true God’s Vanquishers, just for different purposes. Of course, the workings behind them aren’t something I can just share with you, but they are what they sound like they are. They’re meant to vanquish, meant to defeat, to destroy anyone or anything a Divine Entity deems worth their wrath. And just like anything divine, the requirements behind each Vanquisher takes a certain toll. It’s not something we would use without proper consideration.”

“Did those take a lot from you?” Yoshelle asked, tilting her head.

“A bit,” Shallies admitted. “They cost way more than the usual skill or spell, if that’s what you’re wondering about. Especially since I had to circumvent some rules, but that’s for a later time. Maybe.”

As Shallies ended that topic, she appreciated that the Guild Princess caught on and didn’t push it any further. The walk up the stairs became silent once more after that. The Godkiller didn’t mind the small lulls. It would take some time for a mortal to process the revelations.

“I assume your students already know about all this?” Yoshelle asked, finally moving on to the next item in her list of questions.

“About me being the Godkiller?”

“Yes.”

“You’re wondering how they’re able to keep it a secret?”

On this, Yoshelle merely nodded.

“Well, are you going to go around telling people who I really am, after this?”

On this one, the Guild Princess was quick to shake her head. “I wouldn’t do such a thing!”

“The same is true for those three. And they did give me their word. They hide the truth even from their parents. Plus, with my veils, the moment you start telling people about my real identity, the least of your concerns will be me. It will be how to convince them that you haven’t gone screwed up in the head.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a veil like that,” Yoshelle pondered. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve heard of a veil that can only be dispelled by asking a question.”

“The idea is that you either get the courage to ask or not know at all,” Shallies explained. “My actions can influence the rate at which you can gather your courage, so I try to be subtle when I can. You would’ve eventually asked the question, Yoshelle. I assumed it would’ve either been before the end of the raid, or before you leave Cinterbrim Town. It’s just that the situation didn’t allow for that to naturally happen, so I had to break my own veil.”

“So my mind was making excuses because I didn’t ask?” Yoshelle tried to clarify. “And the others wouldn’t believe me because of that same veil?”

“Yep. But the tradeoff is that once you know, the veil will no longer work on you.”

“That’s still a crazy effort to go to for secrecy. I guess that makes sense, since you’re the Godkiller after all.”

“I was also the Goddess of Secrets and Veils. So, I know a thing or two about them. But the thing about keeping secrets, is that they’re best told to the people you know you can trust.” Shallies turned with a knowing smile. “I can trust you, right, Yoshelle?”

The Guild Princess was quick to nod. “Of course!”

“Great. I am going to reveal myself to your parents after this, so you can have somebody to confide yourself with, at least. Just try not to be overzealous about it. Your parents won’t be, that’s for sure.”

This time, Yoshelle frowned. “That means, if you had wanted to, you could’ve asked my father to bring Grace and the others to the main raid.”

Shallies lightly shook her head to reject the idea. “It wouldn’t help them, other than leech off experience to gain levels. The challenges would be far too great for them to have any meaningful contributions. And the gap alone would spell disaster for the raid as a whole. The sub-raid is the perfect place for them to improve, and improve fast.”

“I see. I suppose that’s true.” Yoshelle sighed. “I wouldn’t want to gain levels that way either.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Another silence. Shallies saw the cautiousness in the Guild Princess’s eyes. Yet the curiosity urging behind the hesitation easily won out. She was about to ask the most important question.

“Is it true then?” Yoshelle began.

“Hmm?”

“What Daryl’kan said. Is it true? Are we going to have a Divine War in five years?”

Shallies pointed at the top of the stairs, where the clouds had returned to greet them. The top of the seemingly endless stairs was finally within sight.

“When I decided to take a break, I made sure that there wouldn’t be another Divine War in at least three decades,” Shallies began. “To be precise, I made sure that none of the current gods were at risk of becoming mad. I’ve convinced the ones that were to move on, relinquish their divinity, and have someone else take their place.

“The one Daryl’kan spoke of was a goddess from before I was the Godkiller that I am now. Before I was given the title. Rather than reincarnate, she’s attempting to resurrect. And what Daryl told us was more of an estimate than an accurate guess.”

Shallies pointed towards the top. “That’s why I need to study Fello’resh’s resting place, since he’s the one who has been sending us visions and premonitions about Nefurul and Daryl.”