”This is complete bullshit,” Carmen said as she stared at the golden projection.
”It wasn’t my call, but it comes all the way from the top,” the projection of Sven said, shaking his head. ”This may sound curt, but it is partly because of you. Your personal relationship with the Malefic’s Chosen is both a merit and a demerit. On the one side, it ensures us a spot in this world, but on the other hand, then if someone else gets in charge, we may be ostracized.”
”Still complete fucking bullshit,” Carmen now raged. ”Do you really think Jake will just be all fine with us supporting this orange Cheeto fuck? Do you think he will just go: ”oh well, what can you do?” and let us go about our day like nothing? Fuck no, there will be hell to pay.”
”You are talking as if his victory is a given,” Sven answered. ”Even if he is stronger than this Ell’Hakan, it does not mean he will beat him in the political arena. Besides, it is not even Ell’hakan we are supporting, but Arthur, another human. We are not betraying anyone, for we were never on the side of Lord Thayne, to begin with. He will get even better terms than Arthur if he comes out on top, and with Miranda likely around, she will be a voice of reason.”
”Funny,” Carmen scoffed. ”You think he gives a shit about some terms or benefits? Jake is an impulsive kind of guy, and if he thinks you slighted him, that is the only thing that matters.”
”Carmen, we are not getting anywhere if we talk in circles,” Sven sighed. ”The decision has already been made, and none of us can do anything about it. All we can do is make the best out of the situation. The top brass thinks this will have the highest overall chance of success, so that is why we are going with it. You can agree or disagree, and it changes nothing. If you want to do anything, it should be to make sure Jake stays positive towards us if he wins.”
Carmen just kept frowning as she abruptly turned off the projector with a huff, still thinking it was fucking bullshit.
”Ree?” Sylphie asked, still sitting beside her, not entirely getting everything that was going on.
Sylphie had chosen to stay with Carmen during the time since Jake left, and the two of them had used Paradise as a home base while exploring. Renato was the kind of two-faced asshole Carmen expected and did not choose any side at all, only fortifying the city itself in case anyone chose to target them. Not that she cared, he let her and Sylphie do as they wanted, and Carmen’s mother was doing way better. She had settled down and now just worked as a tailor. The original plan of bringing her to an area Valhal controlled had been delayed due to the Salvento family having a lot of assets to claim and Renato being very good at convincing them to stay ”just a little longer” all the time.
”I don’t know, Sylphie,” Carmen sighed. ”This entire situation is fucked up, and they just expect me to sit tight and do nothing? You know what, how about we go fuck up some of their cities? Go punch some City Lords to give them a bit of their own medicine.””Ree!” Sylphie screeched excited, probably just wanting to get in a few good fights.
”Let’s do i-”
Carmen’s eyes opened wide as she felt a headache come on. She knew what it was and gritted her teeth as she heard the voice of Gudrun.
”Carmen, I understand your feelings,” she heard the voice of Gudrun say as the god launched into a lengthy explanation. ”You remind me much of my husband, you know? Like Valdemar, you never see the bigger picture because you personally don’t have to. But this entire scenario is quite delicate. Earth is a melting pot right now and in an untenable situation if one has even the slightest foresight. The Holy Church and Risen would never get along, and not even the Viper’s Chosen could create peace among two factions that have warred for trillions of years. In the same way, then some humans will never come to accept the Order of the Malefic Viper either. They will never be able to disconnect the Chosen from the Order, for historically, there has never been any such separation. You know him as a person; they know him as a symbol. Conflict is inevitable and healthy, and this entire conflict will only lead to Earth entering a more stable state. No matter who wins. All we want to make sure of is that no matter who wins, we keep an opening. If the Chosen chooses to close this opening, then so be it. Removing ourselves as an organizational presence from Earth is truly not that big of a loss, and as per the doctrine of Valhal, you would be able to stay if you wanted. Anyone would. And remember, we have not actually chosen a side; we have, in fact, done the opposite and said that we will support either side that wins. If the Malefic’s Chosen is the kind of individual that will make a ”me or them” ultimatum, then I will only feel strengthened in this decision. For that is not the kind of man we would want to work with in the long term. So, Carmen, all I am asking of you is to do nothing. For remember, what you do will be the actions of Valhal. I cannot tell you what you can or can’t do, but I can implore you to think about it. If you are truly confident the Malefic’s Chosen will win, then just sit tight and keep trusting in him to handle it.”
It was a damn long message that came like a huge package. Carmen took a while to process it all and wasn’t sure what to think… Gudrun had been incredibly hands-off for Carmen, and she was surprised any god from Valhal would suddenly contact her, much less the wife and de-facto leader of the day-to-day operations of Valhal.
This is why Carmen found it suspicious, and even if she had a damn headache from receiving a divine message, she still responded.
”You do care about Earth… if not, you wouldn’t go this far as to contact me and try to explain things,” Carmen answered.
Carmen got an amused chuckle in return as Gudrun answered. ”No, we care about the people on it… which is also why I mentioned that you could stay on Earth even if Valhal was made to leave. People like Jake Thayne care about the people they choose to care about. He has chosen you as someone he cares about. So even if Valhal leaves Earth and you stay, we won’t have lost anything worth mentioning. And if the Malefic’s Chosen loses, I think it wise for you to bring your loved ones and leave Earth altogether, even if we do enter a partnership. For the safety of both you and the potential new leader of your planet.”
”The way you talk makes it sound like there is even a chance Jake loses,” Carmen still argued.
”There is. Maybe not this time, but the Chosen of Yip of Yore is not one to be taken lightly. Yip of Yore isn’t either. He is a very unknown character to many, and what many do not know is that he showed up to Valhal and challenged Valdemar to a duel not that long ago. The mere fact that he still lives today should be proof that he is not the jester many believe him to be but can represent a genuine problem even to gods who stand at the pinnacle,” Gudrun explained.
Carmen wanted to argue more, but her head was pounding. Gudrun also knew this and retracted her presence, leaving Carmen alone. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she turned to a worried Sylphie.
”Change of plans. Fuck those cities and let’s just go slaughter something else,” Carmen said with much annoyance. She was pissed off and really felt like getting her frustrations out on some unsuspecting beasts. Besides, she and Sylphie should be able to handle a few weaker C-grades by now.
Someone else was also finally contacting his Patron after quite a while of no talking. After having a lot of long conversations, Jake finally initiated contact with a certain god.
”So, got another vision,” Jake said as he reached out to Villy.
”Related to Wings, I see,” Villy just answered.
”Yep.”
”Are you busy or something?” Jake asked, feeling like Villy was far less talkative than usual. He had not reached out, even after Jake got his Wings upgrade, which he usually did. Nor when Jake had helped ”make” Sandy.
”I am just waiting for you to address… you know,” Villy said.
”Oh. That. Yeah, alright. So, it is quite clear to me that this Ell’Hakan guy had prepared for a long-ass time and clearly did not hold back when it came to divine guidance. I am going to guess that this Yip of Yore had blessed people on Earth that helped to act as mouthpieces and relay messages for a while,” Jake said, sharing his thoughts.
”That is precisely what they did,” Villy answered with relief. ”I will admit, I had expected you to be a bit angrier. You were taken by surprise, and someone died, with Earth being thrown into quite a situation. All something we both know I was aware of and could have warned you about.”
”Well, yeah,” Jake said with a shrug. ”And you kind of did by telling me to stop slacking off, didn’t you? Also, we had this talk before that this falls into mortal affairs. The one thing I am wondering is, why does this Yip not care and help his Chosen so much?”
”His goals for his Chosen are different from mine, and his Path is also very different. I cannot give you the exact reason as I don’t know it, but he is up to something,” Villy shared.
”I see,” Jake answered.
”There is also the fact that you two are not equal. You are the Chosen of a Primordial. My Chosen. This was never a fair fight, to begin with, and he was just trying to even the playing field, expecting me not to do the same out of pride. I also trusted you to handle it yourself. Even if you suffer temporary setbacks, you should be able to overcome them. People may die, but as harsh as it may sound, that is something I am fully willing to see happen as long as you keep moving forward,” Villy explained. ”And about Yip himself, I will have him handled. I can feel he is cooking up something, but he is not the only one skilled in the kitchen.”
Jake considered the Viper’s words for a moment. ”Is that also why no one else was warned? Aeon should have seen it coming. Or Stormild, if that damn elemental was paying attention. Shit, didn’t you say Oras is the master of seeing stuff? Did none of those really warn their own people on Earth?”
”Nope, not a single warning was given to anyone. Mind you, the Witches of the Verdant Lagoon also noticed it would happen but said nothing. And I hadn’t told them not to either. You just must understand that giving warnings like that isn’t really a thing and is even frowned upon by the system. Not even for the Holy Church. It goes against convention, and if a settlement falls and a few billion members of a faction die, so what? It is a minor loss of no consequence, and in the eyes of many, just a healthy culling of the masses,” Villy further added on.
”I get it, jeez,” Jake said with a sigh. ”Let’s move on to a happier topic. Thoughts on my new ride?”
”I will admit, it is not actually a race I am familiar with,” Villy confessed. ”Mind you, Cosmic Worms are nothing new and only semi-rare across the multiverse, but a Cosmic Genesis Worm is a first for me.”
”Any idea how I made it happen?” Jake asked.
”A few, but nothing concrete. Ultimately, we both know it is related to that monstrous Bloodline of yours as well as your arcane affinity. Rather than me trying to come up with theories, I find it better you just figure out the truth and then tell me,” Villy answered.
”That I can do. Oh well, back to killing stuff and flying with my wormy friend until it is time to kick Ell’Hakan’s ass and boot him off the planet,” Jake said with a smile.
”Sounds like a plan. But I will give you one warning, as Yip clearly doesn’t care about conventions. People like Yip and Ell’Hakan are annoying fucks. They are planners, through and through, and a head-on approach tends to never work out well. Their victory conditions also tend to vary widely. If his goal is just to institute a World Leader, then why would he ever fight you? There is no need to. So think about why he does what he does far more. Think about what his plan may be. I am not telling you to try and be a planner yourself, as quite frankly, you would suck at it, but I am telling you to broaden your field of view. You killing Ell’Hakan would be your best victory condition, and he knows that. Thus he will act and plan according to that. Additionally, then this kind of planner tends to have strategies with multiple win conditions, some better than others, but all acceptable, with more fail-safes than you can imagine. Chances are the final confrontation with him will not happen on your terms, and I am not sure you can do much to change that besides making sure that even if it is on his terms, it is also on yours and you are not taken by surprise. Anyway, that is all I am gonna say, and good luck,” Villy said, sharing his final nugget of wisdom.
”Thanks, and good luck to you too,” Jake said in return, having a feeling Villy was also up to something behind the scenes. He did say he would handle Yip of Yore, after all.
Their connection faded, and Jake reflected on how Villy had actually been relieved at Jake not blaming him. Jake did not see why he would. Villy had not been the one who told Ell’Hakan to come to Earth; he had not been the one who made the United Cities Alliance morons, and he had not sent Jake to the other side of the planet. True, Jake was targeted because he was the Viper’s Chosen, but that too was something Jake had picked to be. He could have renounced the Blessing at any time before reaching D-grade, and now as a Heretic-Chosen, he had already embraced the Path and whatever issues it could bring to be a Chosen. Sure, he still wanted to avoid the responsibilities, but that was only to be expected, as who likes responsibilities?
No, the only ones Jake blamed were the United Cities Alliance and Ell’Hakan. They were the ones who had started shit, and Jake would gladly throw that shit right back in their faces. He just had a bit of a distance to go, and some progress to make.
”Hey, Sandy, be a bit less picky for hunting spots,” Jake said.
”Hm? Why?” Sandy asked curiously.
”I need one level for something good,” Jake said with a smile. He had killed one weak C-grade without getting a level and knew the next one would give him that level-up. Which would mean it was finally time to get his last class skill from Avaricious Arcane Hunter.