[Neptune (Adam)'s POV]
.
"…"
"…"
Both Iris and Harik observed me with a shocked expression as they consumed what I just told them.
A silence ensued, as they just kept gawking at me while I stood there nonchalantly.
I didn't tell him everything. But enough to get a basic grasp of everything that is going on. Especially why his wife was now such an impactful centerpiece in all this.
"So… it was… no wait!… Are you telling me a monster that can kill many gods at once, wiping 90% of the demons is going to appear in this town?" Iris was the one to break the silence as she carried that stupefied expression that had fear slowly seeping in.
"That and possibly a guy who is even more powerful than her," I reminded her, in case she forgot about it.
"But…" Harik wanted to speak but words failed to come out of his mouth. He just stared at me blankly, trying to understand the situation. Perhaps he was trying to figure out a way to save his wife despite knowing what was to come, but after what I just told him, I doubt a rational thinking would get him to any better conclusion.
"Why? All we wanted was to live peacefully and quietly. Just what did we ever do wrong for something like this to happen?" And as his mind sorted a little, he began questioning things. Things that led him here… and what was the purpose of it?
Iris then began doing some magic as traces of water formed around her.
"Not the first time, something like that happened to someone. Won't be the last time, either. Gods, angels and all those bullcrap…" She spoke with pure hatred as she then created a screen of water showing various cities and towns. Though rather than a lively city, most of the video showed ruins and broken wastelands.
Based on her last words, she was probably showing all the places where the gods and angels attacked, wiping them completely from the face of the planet.
"Nobody on this planet is right. People just have their own twisted justice and beliefs. That includes the so-called angels and gods. Sometimes, some of the gods are even more cruel than the demons in hell," she added as she showed a video of gods massacring an entire civilisation and laughing before vanishing from there.
I nodded, as it was totally correct. After all, in the War of the Gods, the truth came in rather at the beginning of the war, making more than half of the [Players] choose Ancient Gods' side.
My eyes then looked at Harik, who was more normal than before. His eyes were still figuring out things that he was hearing.
"On that note. What happened in that city? While I have my own sources, I wanna hear it from the native themselves," I changed the topic as I realized that I still don't know the complete picture of why Raphi's town was marked.
His eyes shook before he looked at me. His eyes seemed to be lost for a brief moment before he answered," I don't know. I mean, I heard that there was some demonic influence where an angel was making a deal with the demons, but… that's what the authorities told us. I never witnessed anything like that with my own two eyes."
Iris observed Harik for a moment before chiming in," from what I have collected, it was something about the illegal transfer of demonic cores. Though nobody found anything."
Hearing her words, I turned to her as she shrugged," don't look at me. I got my own network."
Demonic Cores were just masses of death energy that allowed the demons to fight even in the areas where there is scarce demonic energy. Someplace like lower heaven or the mortal realm.
"But why would anyone do that?!" Harik questioned before I and Iris came to the same conclusion,
"For war?"
"A war, perhaps?"
"Huh? What?" Harik looked at both of us before I sighed.
"Seems like the demons are making their move as well. Though it would be odd if they didn't."
The first cataclysm involved the descent of the angels and lesser demons to the mortal world. The second one was where even gods started showing their faces at times. While the third one was in the heaven realm and demonic realms, where the war was all over the place with gods Vs demons.
'Seems like the preparations of the three cataclysms have started brewing even in heaven, huh?' I thought as I expected, it would take at least a few years before that happens. Reality can be surprising at times, I guess?
"Hey! Wait! What are you both talking about?!! What war?!" He shouted as he looked at me and Iris. I pondered for a few minutes before speaking.
"That is something you should be worried about only after you save your wife. For now, focus on what you need to do."
He wanted to ask, but he paused as he realized that what I was saying was correct. Though that brought him back to square one. How was he going to save his wife?
"Well. To save your wife, we need to find her first. Do you have any leads to where she might be? Or perhaps a way to reach her?" I asked, hoping to find out something, and he did not betray my expectations.
"From what I have collected, she is with the Mermaid Queen. The current Mermaid Queen has captured her and is keeping her as a captive in her chamber," he spoke as fury started erupting in his eyes before he glared at Iris.
"No need to be so antsy. If you attacked Meria right now, she would have just captured you as well. Can't let that happen now, can we?" Iris spoke as she rolled her eyes away from him.
Meria was the current Queen of the Mermaids. One of the strongest beings of the sea in Zarraf, right now. Rumors say that she is an Avatar of the Goddess of Water who descended on the mortal plane to bless her people.
"Queen Meria, huh? Things just keep getting crazier and crazier."