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Side Story 2: Of Gods and Demonkins. [Released Version]
🕑 Added 2020-02-03 05:50:54 +0000 UTCAt the same moment the newly born dragon whelp finally received her name, two gods churned from above the mortal realm.
The gods of Peolynca usually wouldn’t worry this much for a single mortal, as their duty — to keep the world stable — would preoccupy most of their time. In Peolynca there existed six elemental pantheons, each representing the foundational elements of the world. The leaders of this divine hierarchy were the Origin Gods, the six supremes overwatching from on top their divine realms.
Still, gods were gods because they had followers — their mortal supporters. As mighty as they were, a steady stream of faith was needed to replenish the energy they used to fulfill their duties. As such, it was paramount for each god to manage their religions well, fostering and promoting their followers.
Aside from prayer and other religious activities performed in their name, the simple usage of the element the god controlled was enough to be a source of power for them. While a single use was as inconsequential as dropping a drop of water into the sea, the combined arcane usage of a whole world was nothing to scoff about.
At this very moment the Goddess of Light, Aurena, and the God of Dragons, Kargryxmor, were discussing the newest events concerning this little dragon.
“I have received the missive from the System. The child has evolved but it would seem she has once again taken a different evolution,” said the God of Dragons while he was inspecting his Divine Window. The blue screen projection before him was a construct designed to aid the gods with their administrative duties.
“Oh my, this doesn’t seem very promising, Kargryxmor. As the God of Dragons, I would have thought your power would have been sufficient to control a single mortal. The girl was just born, after all.” This graceful voice belonged to the Goddess of Light herself, one of the six Origin Gods of Peolynca.
“I apologize for my lackluster ability, Goddess Aurena. However, you of all people know my power has dwindled over the years. I wouldn’t purposely ruin something I have planned.”
Unlike Aurena, Kargryxmor was not an Origin God. He was once a simple dragon who wandered the surface of this world. An emperor among dragons who commanded both respect and fear from his brethren and the other races of Peolynca.
There was none during his mortal life who could have contended against his rule, so instead of antagonizing him, some of the other races started to worship him, in hopes to appease and find solace under his shadow. These worshippers were the ancestors of the current age dragonewts and dragonkins.
Eventually, Kargryxmor experienced apotheosis and ascended the steps towards divinity due to the acceptance of the Origin Gods. His duty as a newly appointed god was to turn the dragons into the protectors of this world. Peacekeepers and defenders, if you will.
“My descendants have become pitiful! Sitting on the laurels and riches their elders have acquired, denying their duty and isolating themselves from the world…”
Alas, this was the current situation for the God of Dragon. Unfaithful draconic children who have forgotten their original duty, turning them into history and simple myths for the dragon whelps to enjoy.
“Aren’t you being too harsh? The dragonewts still revere you more than they speak my name, my dear Black Tyrant. I will say nothing about the true dragonkins, but you have enough followers. Your excuses bore me.” Aurena put a hand on her cheek, clearly not understanding the God of Dragon’s frustration about the fall of dragon pride.
“… I wish I could stop. All this complaining ill befits somebody who once ruled the skies as the Emperor of Dragons.” Kargryxmor sighed in melancholy, reminiscing his past glory before his thoughts returned to Hestia. “With your approval, I have created this child to be the catalyst to bring back the glory of my Dragon Empire. She has received my blessing, but my vision and my ability to talk to her has been severed! Without these System messages, I wouldn’t even have the ability to learn which evolutions she took!”
Kargryxmor pointed at his Divine Window, showing Hestia’s current status board.
“That does seem quite problematic for you. Have you learned how she severed the connection with you?” Curiosity begged Aurena to ask.
“No, I have not. How a mortal can do such a thing is beyond my comprehension.”
“Hiehie, I would have thought a former mortal would be able to understand.”
With a laugh that mocked the God of Dragons for a statement he personally knew made no sense, Kargryxmor could only be silent. It has been quite some time since his ascension but even he knew he had no way to argue back.
“Anyways, you must do your best to hurry up. Recently, I have heard the God of Fire and Goddess of Earth have noticed that a certain little girl has been fueling them with a massive source of power in a very short time.”
Due to Hestia’s growth in power, her usage of magical spells had grown to the point it attracted the attention of two othe Origin Gods. Such an impressive rate of improvement, resulting in Hestia awakening both the advanced forms of these elements and also their hybrid version.
“It has even piqued the interest of the Goddess of Wind. A potential candidate to become a spearhead to lead their faith into a new golden age. My Elders cannot steal her away and turn her into their blessed, but this is still unacceptable with how she wasn’t born inside the Dragon Empire!”
Under the constant ridicule from the Goddess, even the usually patient Kargryxmor was not able to keep silent any longer. Whether he has become a god or not, his instinct and mindset shall always be that of a dragon. A capricious and hot-blooded dragon.
“I understand your worry, but if you would hear my counsel, it doesn’t matter if she becomes acquainted with the other Origin Gods. All I care is that she does her part in our agreement — to motivate the imbeciles I call my kin to finally act their station! If you truly wish to complain to somebody, speak with our third collaborator! Call it instinct, but I have a feeling he is at fault for this.
Despite being glared at, Aurena sighed and took a sip from her tea. Once she was done, she returned the stare to the colossal dragon. “… Do your duty, Kargryxmor. Get her out of that forest and reestablish the connection between her and the both of us. The demonkins will continue plotting while you daddle around.”
With those cold words, the goddess turned into a stream of light and vanished. Her presence was nowhere to be felt anymore. Kargryxmor let out a laugh, as his words must have wounded the pride of a goddess, whose existence was so ancient, even his own could not compare.
“… Still, what good is a small crackle when the issue at hand is still there? My descendant’s egg bearer died and none of her parents know where she is, and neither can listen to my voice right now. What a predicament. Honestly, if her connection with us hadn’t been severed even during her birth, I could probably advise her. The whole reincarnation process should have been perfect.”
Kargryxmor continued contemplating on this matter, entirely unsure how Hestia could rebel against their divine connection.
“Could it have been due to the divine blessings of two gods? … No, foolish question. There have been cases where mortals have been blessed by multiple gods. This sort of situation would have happened already to another Champion or Saint. Under no circumstance could this be a coincidence.”
No matter how much Kargryxmor pondered this question, the answer he seeked was nowhere to be found.
“Haaaa, let us put this aside. I should first address the problem of having no insight on her travels. Although trials are good to mold the character into a righteous one, I cannot feel at ease leaving her in that accursed forest alone. She might only be a pawn in all of this… but she is still my granddaughter. A Kargryxmor does not abandon their kin… no matter how incapable or detestable that very kin is!”
In his rage, the divine realm he lived in shook due to the soul-shattering roar he gave off. The various aids and angels cowered at this show of emotions.
“… Considering she survived that near-death encounter and has progressed this far, she shows great potential. There is still one more chance before she reaches rank B. I must have her right her path and evolve into one of my spawns until then. The faith among the dragons is lacking, so communicating with any of them would be impossible. Hmm. To the south of the forest… was the Avitor Peaks, right? An escort of wyverns should be enough. With that, I can at least supervise her through the eyes of those wyverns.”
With his plan settled, the God of Dragon made himself active.
*******************
Meanwhile, as the gods continued their duties in the realms above humanity, in the darkness of the world, the scheming of destruction could be heard.
Demonkins. Not demons. Demonkins, a species created through the racial intertwinement between a demon and the races of this world. Aside from the gods, nobody truly knew where demons originated, but everybody knew what they were from legends and stories. Warmongers, lecherous, conniving, sinful. In history, there existed only seven demons, each representing a certain sin.
Sloth. Greed. Gluttony. Lust. Wrath. Envy. Pride.
The demons procreated during their existence and spreaded their bloodline before they perished. A demonkin’s personality was determined by the ancestor of that demonkin, a personality that they cannot rid themselves of easily.
A demonkin of greed will think only of fulfilling an urge of theirs at the cost of others. A demonkin of wrath would relish the moment he could strike down an opponent who has insulted him. While demonkins weren’t necessarily evil, the personality of a demonkin was heavily influenced by the highest purity of blood that demonkin had of a certain demononic ancestor.
At a location southwest of the Belzac Forest, a demonkin was conspiring with an ogre. Called grimgarians by the more astute, these hunkering humanoid monsters were one of the most feared monsters to face for man. A hulk of a beast, they were a combination between brain and brawn, and these creatures were now pursuing the destruction of the human race for the glory of the grimgarians.
Ogres, usually, weren’t very cooperative with other races, especially, not with the races who shared blood with humans. However, this cooperation was done through a mutual enemy. Both the demonkin and ogre desired the defeat of humankind and beastmen of all sorts, and to do that, the king of ogres accepted this demonkin’s aid.
“The time is soon, ogre. I hope you have assembled a strong enough army for our plan.” This arrogant and pompous voice was restrained, only reaching the ears close to the demonkin.
“I am king, demon! You shall address me as the ogre king while you are here in my home.” The voice of the powerful king of ogres, on the other hand, could be heard throughout the cave. None who lived inside it could possibly forget it.
“As you wish… ‘King.’ Now, tell me. Have your army assembled or not?” Despite his acceptance to address the ogre king properly, his dismissive tone did not waver.
“Hmph! My ogres, orcs, goblins, and kobolds have come. We still need armor and weapons. The trolls and their shaman have not shown themselves yet.”
“… Haaa, so you are not ready. It matters not, the deadline for the start of my plan hasn’t been reached yet, so you still have time. However, I would like to remind you that despite the support we have given you, you are just here to aid in my plans, so don’t ruin it with your incompetence.”
“Hmm?!” Raising his hammer, the ogre struck at the demonkin with all his rage. A booming echo resounded throughout the cave, created by the might of this A rank monster.
“… Do I need to warn you, again, demonspawn? Provoke me again, and I will personally see to your death,” the king growled deeply, glaring at the silhouette of the demonkin with unbridled fury.
“… Tch, no wonder you are considered a monster by the civilized races. Getting dirt on my poor suit, what brutish behavior, but nothing surprising for Edna’s children.” Despite casually brushing off the dust from his suit, the demonkin’s mood was in a dire state.
“The Night Mother is not yours to name so casually!” The ogre king stepped forward, roaring in front of the demonkin, spitting on him in the process.
While wiping what he could away, the demonkin crackled. “Hoho, sometimes I wonder how monsters even gain a race title like ‘king.’ Does it appear due to all the flesh around the head that grows into horns and adornments, needed to mimic a real king’s crown?”
The surrounding ogres were lucky that none of them were present in the throne room at this moment. No foot soldier would be able to stay sane at the combined aura output between these two individuals. The clash between the regal aura of the [Ogre King] and the demonic aura of the demonkin caused even the ground to shake and crack at the intensity of it. The sheer bloodthirst would be able to incapacitate most B rank monsters.
“… Enough. You tire me, ogre. The operation will start at the beginning of AutumnSun… Pardon, I meant in three months, when the leaves have grown golden brown and the chill of the cold demands the humans to prepare for winter. Do make sure to follow the plan. Now, I must bid you farewell.”
With that said, the demonkin disappeared, leaving only a black haze behind. The ogre king was still enraged from the confrontation of his “ally” but even he knew that releasing this pent-up anger on somebody that wasn’t here anymore was a futile endeavor.
“Grarrrrgh!”
… So, his throne suffered.
“Bring me a new throne!”
A group of ogres entered the throne room with a giant stone chair chiseled in the form of a throne. They replaced the smashed throne with the new one and promptly left their king to his thoughts.
“That demonkin angers me every time he comes. Acting all high and mighty, when I can just crush his bones in my hand. I would feed his prideful ego to my wolves and kobolds if we wouldn’t need his aid.”
Finally calmed, the ogre retreated back into his mind and pondered.
Three months until we can finally launch an attack against the humans. It will only be a settlement, instead of the capital, but we will need the armor and food before we can launch a larger attack. I must admit, if that demonkin can lead us to the kingdom without actually going through the Belzac forest, then I will tolerate his further impudence. That fenrir was finally slain but I will lose too many soldiers in that accursed place if I were foolish enough to wander into it.
Humans and others of their ilk have hunted down monsters since time memorial. Whether due to fear or for pure greed, this had never changed. Although this could be purely called “the law of nature,” some more intelligent species of monsters couldn’t simply accept this unfair treatment. If humans steal and murder what was theirs, then it should be natural for ogres to prey on these, supposedly, “civlized” species.
“By my race name [Ogre King], I shall fulfill my duty to lead my army towards and slaughter every single hated human and beastmen for the glory of all of Edna’s children. I pray that you watch over me, my venerable mother and father…”
The ogre king kneeled and struck a praying pose. For he must pray now.
“…Edna, Goddess of Monsters and Fertility, and Marsven, God of Darkness.”
