Chapter 248

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[Judith Marcina, Level 180 Divine Human, Apex Rank, Angelic Fallcaller, Light’s Beacon]

The white dress clung to her skin like smooth porcelain, and the cold air filled each breath she took - her lungs expanding ever so slowly.

She twirled a finger around her long blonde hair, glaring white-hot daggers at her Apex rank 3 position on the ladder with growing fury at having lost her position. Wings of golden light lifted up off her back while sitting in a cross-legged position amidst the rays of dawn - scattering brilliant orange-yellow lights across the tufts of white puffs she sat amongst.

Far below her from her position in the sky, the bells for worship began to ring - echoing across the landscape. Thriving communities of those she’d saved began to wake up, heading to the cathedrals all across the medieval streets - where the pantheon of light she’d devoted herself to would receive their prayers.

Fuel for growth.

The gods were originally a strange concept to her after being faithless for so long, and it’d taken a lot to wrap her head around them actually being real. Back on Zazir before the merger, she’d only been a peasant girl working on her father’s farm who’d always blown off clergy from various sects as money-grubbers that sputtered nonsense in an attempt to deceive people via imaginary benefits. Now though… things were more complicated. And she would use these newly born ‘gods’ as tools to her own end. They were in many ways both weaker and stronger than mortals. Weaker, because they depended upon prayer to survive - especially at this stage in their cultivation. At least that’s how most of them survived, through prayer, but that also wasn’t always the case.

Already there’d been countless new gods born on Panu, only for them to be snuffed out within weeks due to a lack of faith or worship. They were no more than spirits that couldn’t survive without their followers fueling them. But those that did find worship, that were cultivated and grown, they were the ones that could change worlds. There were even stories of gods that gained bodies, or mortals ascending into godhood while maintaining bodies that did not need worship - but she didn’t necessarily know all of the details between these different types of gods; and the newborn deities didn’t know either. They had their own leveling and cultivation system to progress through before those kinds of secrets were revealed.

Regardless she’d collected three of them, three of these gods, all of them subservient to her. They blessed her land with bountiful crops, staved off the spread of the blight into the southlands, and had given boons to her warriors to speed up their growth.

What a strange thought that was, being served by lesser spirit deities. But realistically it made sense, because she was the one with all the power - and with a mere flick of her wrist she could annihilate their cathedrals and banish their worship from her empire. It made them a far more convenient tool to use than the already established deities across the multiverse that had, in some places, seen fit to try and contact her. But even the gods of old were held back by Elysium’s might, and had little to no real effect here on Panu just yet. Even if that weren’t the case, gods had less power in places they did not have worshipers - and she was confident that she’d come out as a dominant player in this world to force others into worship of her chosen three.

Or at least she had been confident. Now though…

Now she had to find some other way to regain the top. The new addition of the world quest painting Allie as a target was certainly tempting too… but the number 5 Apex ranker on the power ladder - Retesh Vorath, the Lich King - had been waging a war upon Judith’s forces in the north for quite some time now. She’d been expanding south and west, but had met solid resistance to her progression at Claw’s Canyons on the northern borderlands where undead legions were controlled by that old undead bag of bones.

Past that canyon lay a cold, desolate wasteland of snow, barrens, and tundra changed by the curse of undead where even she had a hard time surviving due to the building amounts of blight Retesh had created there. Even the animal and plant life had begun to change, morpho, and warp into grotesque versions of what they’d once been. She knew full well too that he planned to unleash the plague onto the lands of the living through some unknown means, and she was already prepared to deal with it in kind with methods of her own make. However, trying to push further into already desecrated lands where the undead spawned like rats was a fool’s errand… at least for now at her current stage of power. She had tried to kill that damnable lich a few times over already, all of which had ended in a stalemate with the lich on the back foot - but each time he’d survived long enough to cause her to retreat when the blight became too much or when the numbers of his minions simply stacked against her.

This in part was why news of Retesh claiming lands on the peninsula of Nune was concerning. It was south of most of the lich king’s kingdom, and an odd place to attack considering the vast swath of land both east and west of the territory grab he’d made. In the past he’d always took the slow and steady route to ensure his blight further infected the land and made it all the harder for the living to stay there. He’d also gone out of his way to massacre populations to create new undead with, such as one of her cities two months ago that’d been absolutely sacked and burned to the ground, but usually he left and brought the spoils of bodies back to the northlands with him. At least that’d been the trend since his initial appearance. Here though, on the Nune Peninsula, he’d conquered and stayed. He’d also been putting massive amounts of resources into securing the land strip between mortal empires on either side ever since.

Given the geography, there was only one real reason for that - and it made her insides roil with fury. The peninsula was pointed right at the continent of Umbra after all… where the only other major undead players in the world currently resided; and they happened to be #1 and #2 on the power ladder list.

It was where the Thane Necropolis was located, if one didn’t count the extension into the place called Chicago she’d learned about. But she was nowhere near Chicago if her spymasters and scholars were correct, thank the gods, she didn’t want to have to deal with another massive undead state on her doorstep just yet.

She pondered this, putting a finger to her slim lips with a frown - still staring at the city waking up underneath her thousands of feet below. One of her angelic summons, a large brilliant eyeball crafted from gold and silver metal, flew towards her on shimmering white wings resembling her own golden ones.

She gave it a smile and patted its head, shooing it away while contemplating just what to do with the current change of the political stage. Allie Thane reaching #1 first after becoming an Angel of Death and converting an entire continent into the undead was, frankly, horrifying to Judith. Not because she was afraid, but because she found it repulsive and disgusting to warp people and the planet like that. And to think that Allie could terraform even more of the planet… the bitch had to be eliminated.

Meanwhile Riven hadn’t had any video feed of how or why he’d become the Incarnation of Gluttony, but the multiverse-wide statement did not bode well for her or her people when he’d hit spot #1 - replacing his sister and shoving Allie down to the #2 spot while putting Judith at #3. She didn’t really know what Gluttony was but the reaction of her angelic summons had undergone at the announcement had been extremely violent - and thinking about it like that was an understatement. All four of them had gone mad with fear, rage, or hate upon realizing that Gluttony had come back - and it’d only gotten worse after they realized it was here on their very own planet.

One of her summons, an angelic paladin of hers in particular, was still having a very hard time processing it at all. The large angel had secluded himself in a cathedral tower to consult his family elders in the Heavens, and he’d been by far the most upset out of all of them - which was saying something considering her other summons had reacted so poorly. From brief conversations with them, she’d determined that it had to do with the renewed frenzy of what they called ‘the eternal war’, which in turn would lead to a new age of carnage throughout existence as the hells and heavens clashed like in the times of old.

Judith had originally hoped to maintain decent relations with the vampires as well, or at least until the end of integration when she’d be able to slaughter them after other more important world quests were dealt with, but it appeared the Thane siblings were too much of a risk to leave alone. Especially with the lich Retash attempting to contact them, based on his recent military movements. She wouldn’t make a direct move against them yet, but perhaps she could disrupt their activities enough to slow them down… or, if possible, she would attempt to intercept any messages sent from the Lich King’s faction.

Clicking her tongue and cracking her knuckles she spread her wings - stretched her legs - and launched herself further up into the sky before diving into the southwest. She had a particular person to visit today, a potential ally, before she decided to make any more major plays on the world stage.

***

Chandeliers sparkled overhead, servants in sleek black and white outfits passed out refreshments on tiny silver plates or glass wine cups, and a musician’s group was playing live on stage in a corner while people in elegant ballroom attire mingled with one another. It was as if they were all trying to catch a glimpse of what was still normal, like they were trying to convince themselves that they hadn’t all been turned into ‘Deathtouched’ versions of themselves - that they weren’t all undead.

Dawn’s Royal Ball had begun, and Lahn found himself sitting alone at a table.

Without Allie.

All around him he saw familiar faces, now shades of very pale or gray skin with white or silver hair. All of them had black or neon teal eyes, colors of the Death Subpillar’s manifested mana, but otherwise most people looked very similar to how they’d been prior to the change.

Dr. Brass was there, the vampire with steel-rimmed glasses, an advisor to the Chancellor Mara Tovane who was also missing on Allie’s expedition. King Arthur Brix of Dawn was in deep and merry conversation with him, obviously trying to put on a show of not being concerned given the new changes that’d so quickly happened to their country - now a vassal state of the Thane Necropolis. The family of Gleetus Nefrand was there as well, though Gleetus himself had been killed by Allie for bullying Lahn a while ago and they’d never found out the true cause of his death. Lahn’s mother, Lady Shovi Lucio, sat next to his father Lord Nikola Lucio - though the rift between his parents had widened significantly ever since his father had shown little regard for the actions of Lahn’s siblings.

Speaking of his siblings, his sister Lineal and his brother Parius were mixing in the crowd - avoiding both Lahn and their mother, while trying to act as if everything was absolutely normal. As if Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Necropolis, didn’t have a personal death wish for the both of them that was only being held at bay by Lahn himself.

Stolen story; please report.

Lahn took a sip of his own wine, downing it in a single go while sitting at a round table by himself in the corner of the ballroom. Waving down a server he took three more slender glasses and thanked the man, downing two more before holding on the third while closing his eyes in worry.

He hoped Allie was ok.

But she had to be ok. She was still on the leaderboard, still in 2nd place, so there was no reason to worry. She’d be back… even if she had missed the Royal Ball. This ball was a three-day event anyways, maybe she’d be back by tomorrow or the next day… He’d really wanted to-

-His thoughts were interrupted and he blinked as the chair beside him was pulled to the side by a manservant, letting Marsia Bortrost of all people sit next to him.

This irritating woman had been following him around all night trying to get his attention, even despite obvious signs that he wasn’t interested in her anymore like he’d once been. She’d blown her chance, and the irritation inside him was growing.

She wasn’t an incredibly attractive person - but she was somewhat pretty. She’d been what he’d set his sights on when he’d been crippled at the prodding of his mother. Marsia had shot him down though, hard, and in a very mean way back before he’d even enrolled in the academy. Back when his mother Shovi Lucio and the Bortrost family had attempted to pair them together, only for Lahn to hear Marsia state the following:

“I will now allow myself to marry a cripple. Maybe your family status will be enough to land you a peasant girl. Maybe one of your maids. But you need to leave me alone - and that is the end of it. Good day, sir.”

He still remembered those words vividly, and even now felt ashamed at the look of disgust she’d given him before walking away. Lahn’s neon teal eyes glanced up to the pale woman with a passive nod, then turned his gaze to the ground between his well-made boots to stare at the floor.

“I was wondering where you’d run off to! And I must say, you’re looking rather good, Lahn!” Marsia stated with a chipper tone, pulling down her cleavage just slightly to emphasize her figure and smoothing out the blue ball gown with a large smile. “The way your body repaired itself looks very good, and your musculature fills in your clothes is easy to look upon. I must say you’ve filled in quite nicely - that purple vest suits you well.”

He didn’t even bother looking up. Her flirting had lost all attempts at hiding her intentions, and she was growing ever more aggressive in her attempts to woo him the more she drank. “Thank you, Marsia. It is appreciated.”

Laughter echoed from where King Arthur Brix, his spymaster Kassius, and Dr. Brass all laughed with nobles of the courts jostling for position with fake smiles and fake laughs. Marsia frowned slightly at Lahn’s lack of reciprocation, but cleared her throat and tried again for the seventh time that night.

“Will you be participate in the dances this evening?” She asked curiously, clasping her hands in front of her and retaining another smile. “Or do you intend to stay back here? I do think it’d be rather fun to witness your first real ballroom dance, now that you’re no longer in a wheelchair.”

Lahn finally smiled and lifted his eyes. His mind went back to just a few nights before Allie’s trek into the underdark, where they’d talked so excitedly about this exact topic. Before he’d even gained the use of his left side entirely, before he’d become undead, and before the restructuring of his pillars and soul. It was then, in Allie’s room, that she’d promised to help keep him standing as they were to go dancing together - and she’d only kissed him and patted him on the head when he had asked her if holding up someone like him on the dance floor would be embarrassing for her.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass today.” Lahn replied, laying one of his hands on the round table and crossing his legs. “I do not feel like it suits me much. I’m sure not many would want to be my partner anyways.”

“Does not suit you?” Marsia laughed playfully. “Oh come now! Your display at the Blood Moon Requiem’s compound show that not only are you hiding some kind of position in the empire, but that you also have true power. That angelic possession you had was rather fearsome! And I would personally be delighted if you were to be my own dance partner when the first tunes begin!”

Another winning smile flashed his way.

Thankfully Lahn was saved a moment later by King Arthur Brix, his father Lord Nikola Luicio who was a personal friend of the king, and Dr. Brass - some of the only other people in the room who knew exactly what or who Lahn was concerning social standing. Trailing behind them was a small crowd of other well dressed nobles, who all stopped a short distance away given the cramped corner Lahn had placed himself in.

“My boy!” The good natured king laughed, slapping Lahn on the shoulder while Lahn got an uncomfortable half smile from his father. “How are you doing this evening!? Aside from the change across the continent and the war on the other side of Riven’s Eye Wormhole against the Romanovs, you’re the talk of the kingdom so to speak! Lots of rumors going on about who you are, boy!”

The king was half drunk, and winked Lahn’s way - getting a laugh from Dr. Brass and a nervous chuckle from Lahn’s father.

“You forget the coming war in the hells and guild restructuring here. People are talking quite a lot about that too.” Lahn replied with a grin, not bothering to stand up when Marsia Bortrost hastily stood and curtsied with a look of horror directed Lahn’s way.

“Lahn! You should stand!” She hissed, getting nods of agreement or frowns of disapproval from others nearby.

Lahn blinked, only now realizing the social mistake he was making after having for years been refined to a chair. Hastily he got up and made a slight bow of respect. “I apologize, I am so used to sitting in my wheelchair that I’d completely forgotten. No disrespect was intended.”

King Arthur Brix raised one eyebrow, shared a look with Dr. Brass the vampire, and they both burst out laughing.

“My boy!” The king stated with another hardy laugh, slapping Lahn on the back again and downing another drink from a passing servant while grabbing others for his friends. He finished handing out the drinks, then leaned over so that only the people immediately nearby could hear. “If anything, it should be me paying respects to you!”

He winked at Lahn again good naturedly, implying that Lahn’s position as lover to Allie was significant enough to bear weight even over his own influence. That got a flat look from Lahn’s father, and a stare of confusion from Marsia.

Lahn internally sighed at the comment but took it in stride and shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but I appreciate the sentiment. I’m nothing special.”

“Nothing special he says!” King Arthur Brix guffawed.

Dr. Brass also shook his head, wiping his glasses and placing them back on his face. Even now he still wore a white coat around, it’d become his signature that most people identified him by in public, and the deathtouched elf woman clinging to his left arm whispered something in his ear. “We all know that isn’t true Lahn, not many could tame the fires of that inferno you’ve got on your hands. It’s quite the feat.”

Dr. Brass said this good naturedly with both Lahn and the king laughing loudly at the comparison to Allie, though nobody else knew what he was talking about.

“Inferno?” Marsia asked, using the opportunity of proximity to attempt her hand at joining the conversation. “What is it you speak of?

Dr. Brass hesitated at this, the empire advisor not wanting to give off too much or any information, but then turned with a rare expression of anticipation when an announcement from the main double doors leading outside was announced.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!” The announcer, a young man using magic to emphasize his voice over the classical music playing in the background and the soft rumblings of talk and laughter. “IT IS MY PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE TO YOU NEW ALLIES OF THE EMPIRE! FIRST, WE HAVE THE GOLDEN BULL SECT FROM FAR TO THE NORTH OF BRIGHTSVILLE ON OUR SHARED CONTINENT OF UMBRA! I PRESENT TO HEAD MONK, FATHER PEN! YOU PLEASE WELCOME THEM WITH A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!”

The crowds immediately began clapping politely as three monks in golden robes, all bald deathtouched enlightened who’d once been humans, came to stand at the front with low bows of respect. They immediately caught sight of Dr. Brass and the king, making a b-line for the small group and throwing wary glances back over their shoulders as the announcer cleared his throat for a second time.

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THAT IS NOT ALL!” The young announcer called out - raising a hand to gain their attention once more. “I AM SURE YOU ARE ALL VERY AWARE BY NOW THAT OUR ESTEEMED HIGH KING AND EMPEROR, RIVEN THANE, HAS BEEN UNMASKED AS THE NEW REINCARNATION OF GLUTTONY! I AM ALSO SURE THAT MANY OF YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE DEMONS THAT WERE UNLEASHED ONTO OUR PLANET TO SERVE HIM! I DO NOT THINK I NEED TO EMPHASIZE ON JUST HOW UNBELIEVABLY SPECIAL THAT IS, OR WHAT IT MEANS FOR OUR PEOPLE NOW THAT WE ARE UNDER HIS PROTECTION!”

Uncertainty rippled across the crowds of onlookers with hushed, nervous whispers in abundance. Despite their undead transition and the unholy affiliation they all now possessed, Gluttony and the other original sins were still something of a taboo amongst many in the vassalized Kingdom of Dawn. There were certainly mixed feelings on the matter, but at the end of the day Riven, Allie, and the forces of the necropolis had been what saved their lives and city - so most had set aside the inherent fear of the great maw and had put their trust in the two siblings.

The announcer waited for the whispers to die down, giving the three monks in golden robes to reach Dr. Brass and the king with low bows, whispers of greeting, and handshakes before turning back to the man at the double doors leading out.

“IT IS THEREFORE MY GREATEST PLEASURE, TO INTRODUCE TO YOU ONE OF GLUTTONY’S OFFICERS AND A MOUTHPIECE FOR THEIR GRAND GENERAL LILLITH! I GIVE TO YOU THE ARCHDEMON TRE’ZIX - WARRIOR OF THE PURPLE CLAW!”

Immediately the room hushed when the form of a hulking creature akin to that of a mutated deep-red and purple praying mantis lacking antennae silently stalked into the room. It was over ten feet tall, with a pincer-like mouth and a set of long, retracted blade arms against its insectoid chest. The face was similar to that of a praying mantis but thinner, with narrow, yellow, catlike eyes and three horns sticking out of its head. It turned, casually observing, until those yellow eyes stopped on Lahn’s position. The four thick, armored insectoid legs of the creature retracted into its body and it shifted - becoming more humanoid in form and rearranging its body. Within a second, a purple and dark red man covered in chitin was staring in Lahn’s direction, smiling wickedly with a thin mouth of razor sharp teeth, three horns protruding from his head, and pincers coming out of either cheek. Wings along his back were also present and long purple blades jutted out of the extensor side of his arms, but the demon slowly headed in Lahn’s direction with its intent pinpointed like a palpable will.

The music started playing up again after a short stop, and people either tried to get out of the way of the demon entirely - or pretended to ignore the strange creature entirely if they were far enough away. The question marks and red flames outlining its identification box indicated that it was of legendary status, but didn’t give any information to anyone present as it came to a slow halt in front of Lahn’s figure.

Ignoring everyone else present, the demon raised its wings up into the air behind it - each wing starting to flash with beautiful multi-colored light, and got on one knee - bowing to Lahn with one clawed hand down against the ground.

“Lahn Lucio… My name is Tre’Zix of the Purple Claw, archdemon of the Klinac’Tal Clan, an officer in Gluttony’s Legions, and Slayer of Archangel Sinpha of the High Celestial Magistrates.” The insectoid demon’s voice was very sharp, cut, and dry. It turned its face upwards, mashing its mandibles together and spreading an unnatural smile wide across its face. Clicking sound emanated from deep inside its throat, and its head turned sideways unnaturally to get another view of the young undead man. “It is my pleasure and pride to meet you. Lillith has told me that you are in… a unique situation. I am here to personally oversee your safety, regarding the angelic creature residing within you.”

Safety?

It was odd enough for many of the onlookers to see that the demon had directly addressed him, rather than Dr. Brass of the king. It was even weirder that the demon was speaking about things they simply didn’t understand.

Looks were shared and whispers began, but Lahn’s creased brows and growing frown indicated that he didn’t know what the demon was talking about either.

“Are you indicating that I am in danger?” Lahn asked, gesturing for the demon to stand.

The insectoid demon did so, withdrawing its large wings and folding them behind his back, coming to a modified height of seven feet tall with purple blades along the extensor side of his arms flashing with energy. “Not a certainty, but possible. I wish to converse with you and the angelic entity dwelling within your body in private about such matters, before discussing other matters such as plans for world domination with your subordinates. There is much to do.”

The demon gestured to Dr. Brass and King Arthur Brix, getting more furrowed brows and confused gawking from the nobles and servants around them.

Lahn didn’t really know how to respond to that. He’d guessed the angel hadn’t left entirely, perhaps forming some kind of karmic link, but he had an angel dwelling inside him?

He opened, closed, and reopened his mouth to reply. “That angel saved Allie’s life, as it did mine. If there is an angel of the heavens dwelling inside me somehow, I don’t wish it harm.”

The demon’s grin only widened, a sharp cackle erupting from its throat while its yellow eyes narrowed. “I would not dare if that is what you wish, but I will still need to speak to it - and I will discuss with you the details on why when we retain some privacy. Please, show me to a more secluded area so that we may speak more on this subject.”