The Nagas just needed some time. Now that the skies had been largely cleared out with a few swings of the baseball bat, they could see the night sky clearly.
It helped them think once more that god was still around.
The rest of the expedition team now joined by me waited behind while the Nagas built a giant pyre as part of their rituals. They were going to offer blood around the pyre and set it ablaze.
It was supposed to be done with the blood of the one being cremated, but they decided to use their own.
A sendoff to their kind. A wish for god to keep not only the ones with him in his graces but the ones still here in them too.
It was grim as it was poetic, liberating as it was conclusive. I did think I should be offering them some blood and a corpse too, but refrained for the time being.
Whose, you ask?
His name was Kevin, and he was going to die.
"Look at this little bastard, look at him stare at my sister."
"Eugene, you can't really see that can you?"
"You know where I am coming from, don't you Noa?"
"I think that was too when you're stared at by the others. That maid of yours for one, the other too."
Okay, maybe Kevin was not going to die. Not before me at least.
The spirit of using campfires was gone, while the Nagas continued their ritual, Emily had pulled out a camping light, an LED at that.
We had gathered around said light and were heating food on a battery-powered induction stove.
I never thought I would become this averse to modern conveniences, I guess it was my age talking but these things lacked soul. They lacked soul.
"You'll have to make do with this much," said my sister. "That dragon bastard ate most of it."
Rubbing his head, the dragon guy was looking at me with widened eyes. For anyone wondering why, he called me a ghost the moment he woke up, went to his final form or something, and was smacked far far away.
He had become rather subservient since then.
"It was just the natural amount, I was even rationing. I thought one bag was for a single meal."
"It's ok," I said. "Don't mind. I've only been starving for like a millennium, nothing I can't handle."
Han Na-Ri clicked her tongue and brought out some more food from her spatial storage. The others were shocked, but I knew she was hiding it.
"Here, but there's no more. This is emergency stuff."
"Thank you!"
I wasn't going to let kids cook my food now so I took the ladle myself and got to finishing it. A thousand years wasn't enough to make me lose my culinary skills that belonged to the strongest. Whether it was Sichuan or Hainan, all the cuisines were under my thumb.
Throughout Heaven and Earth, I alone am the culinary one.
Noa watched me while the kids talked about who else could fight as many golems as I did. The meat was readied and so were the other dishes.
Noa dived in to help. I also told her that I had left all her BL books behind.
ραΠdαsΝοvel.cοm She said it was fine and that whatever I had was outdated anyway. It hurt.
After serving it to everyone, the group sat back again.
The pyre in the distance was lit ablaze and I spoke.
"Let's talk business a little. How are things out there?"
From what I had gathered, all the worlds had formed an alliance. They had found a way to go to ruined worlds as well.
The people were now constantly trying to kill as many Outer Gods and learn as much about them as possible while also preparing for an invasion in the world of the elves.
"Out there?" The dragonewt asked.
I liked the muscle head so I was going to entertain him.
"I mean with the World's Alliance. You are obviously not going to be all united, how many scums and how much influence do they have so far?"
"Not united? Why would that be?" The dragonewt asked. "We are all facing the same threat, why would we be against each other?"
"That's the world for you, Kalanaar brother," said Kevin and the dryad nodded. "Take that bastard Gareid for example. The one who teaches new trainees. He's corrupt and selfish as hell. He's even tried to touch a bunch of his juniors."
I reeled back.
That didn't seem like something Albert or Charlotte would let flow over.
"Things are messy," said Noa. "It seems like we are divided in a couple of factions."
Na-Ri took over now.
"One that believes that we should do everything we can to save as many as we can, a morally correct faction to be precise. You can say Charlotte is the head of this group."
Na-Ri lowered her gaze for a second and then spoke again.
"And another that's more elitist. People that think this is perfect chance to exert perfect control and counter. These are guys ready to push hordes and hordes of civilians just to get a chance at fighting back instead of retreating…"
"And?"
"And its… headed by Albert."
Hah.
Again?
"No chance that is how it is happening."
"I know the Albert part is tough to believe, Han Yu-Jin, but—"
"No that is the part I believe the most. What I am saying is that there is no way its these two simple groups. And there is no way Charlotte is not taking the more realist approach either. Who did you hear all this from?"
My sister tilted her head.
"Someone who has more influence than both of them, Lady Lethe."
I crossed my arms.
"Lethe is lying then."
"What does that mean?" Asked Noa.
It was simple really.
I was going to ask her a question back, before I shifted my target and pointed at Kevin.
"You've played the game with Outer Gods, have you not? What does the final boss do?"
Kevin looked around before hardening his gaze.
"Are you talking about Love at the Edge of a Blade?"
I nodded.
"You are asking me a high-culture question right now?"
I nodded again.
"The final boss, Eugene Hall strikes a deal with the Outer Gods—Eugene… Hall?"
"Exactly," he seemed to have reached a different conclusion, but the point here was something else. "You can collaborate with the Outer Gods."
The others all around me gasped.
"Yet there is no group like that. There's obviously something else going on here."
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