Chương 33: The Lady of the Blooming Throne

"She was kidnapped?!" Sae ran to Osvel and grabbed his arm, distraught.

"What happened?! Who could have kidnapped her?!"

"The forest..."

"The forest?!" Osvel's gaze darkened.

"We were leading the fruit-gathering expedition when gigantic trees with legs and arms rushed at us... We barely escaped with our lives. But when I realized what was happening, I saw a group of forest spirits carrying her away."

"Forest spirits?" Thaelor asked, freeing himself from the iluk.

"That's what they looked like... They were young women dressed in leaves and vines. The trees themselves moved aside for them as they escaped, and I don't mean the trees with legs, but the normal ones. Their trunks bent to let them pass."

"What kind of creature is that...?"

"If we're talking about beautiful female creatures closely tied to nature, I'd say they were dryads. I could be wrong, though."

"Oh! As expected of a god! You possess all the knowledge of the universe!"

"Thaelor, you don't have to flatter me every chance you get," Nerez sighed.

"Could you please tone that down a little?"

"My apologies..."

"Dryads? Why would weaklings who go up in flames from a couple of embers want to mess with the servants of the god of death?" Cerys asked in turn.

"This is a declaration of war from the god of earth!"

"The god of earth?!" Sae exclaimed, covering her mouth.

"Why would the god of earth kidnap Ily?!"

"The god of earth serves the goddess of life," Cerys explained, summoning her Eidolon and preparing for battle.

"And she has a vendetta against Nerez after he humiliated her during the Ceremony of Beginnings."

"Goddess of life, god of earth, Ceremony of Beginnings... That is quite a lot of new concepts for us," Thaelor observed thoughtfully.

"But seeing how magnanimous the god of death is, it would not surprise me if the goddess of life were evil..."

"Let's not rush to conclusions." Nerez let out a heavy sigh, thinking that not even in the depths of the earth could he escape trouble.

"First of all, the underworld is supposed to be my domain (as far as I understand). Even I only just got here, and I barely know where anything is. I seriously doubt the god of earth, who should still be in Empyrean Peaks, laid an ambush for us." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Aaaaw, really? Are you sure?" Cerys asked, disappointed.

"But that would've made things so much more exciting..."

"Lord Nereziel! Archon!" Osvel stepped forward again.

"Please, I ask for your permission to organize a rescue party. It was my responsibility that this happened, and above all... I want to rescue Ily!" A sad expression crossed Sae's face when she saw Osvel's passion. But it lasted only an instant. Soon, she too clenched her fists with resolve.

"Grandfather, I'm asking you too! We have to rescue Ily! Osvel, I'll go with you."

"Absolutely not, Sae! It's too dangerous..."

"It's true that in a serious fight, where you could use your sword at full strength, I might lose. But could you remind me who always ended up teleported into the river during our training sessions?"

"This isn't the same, Sae..."

"Ahem!" Thaelor let out a fake cough to draw the attention of the two young people.

"Osvel, Sae... I understand how worried you both are. But we do not know what we are facing. I cannot put the safety of all the visiare at risk just to rescue young Ilyra. I am sorry."

"Grandfather!"

"Archon!" The two young people almost rushed toward the old man, but Nerez stepped into their path.

"Thaelor is right. It's the correct decision, and the one any leader should make."

"Lord Nereziel..."

"But...! I...!" Osvel clenched his fists so hard he nearly drew blood.

"Forgive me, Lord Nereziel... I spoke out of turn."

"That said, I already told you that if you stayed in the underworld, you would be under my protection. I don't like trouble, but I like being called a liar even less."

"Lord Nereziel?" Sae's eyes began to moisten. Thaelor's did as well, though in his case, the tears had started when Nerez backed his decision.

"Besides, I don't think you noticed, but Cerys left a while ago to search for our enemies... I need to find her before she sets something on fire and give her a proper scolding."

"Lord Nereziel, please allow me to accompany you!!"

"Lord Nereziel, please allow me to go with you!!" Sae and Osvel shouted at the same time.

"I know you're worried about your friend. But this time, leave it to me. One day, your job will be to keep problems away from me, not add more to the pile... But you aren't ready for that yet."

"Lord Nereziel..." Sae wiped away her tears, and a small smile appeared on her face. Beside her, Osvel nodded, aware that he would only get in the way of a god's battle.

"But I mean it..." Nerez insisted, crossing his arms.

"In the future, you'll be part of the barrier between me and my problems."

"Not even a fly will bother you!" Thaelor exclaimed, wiping away his tears as well.... Sae definitely got her personality from her grandfather... Nerez let out a sigh, regretting more and more what he had gotten himself into, and set off in search of his impulsive servant. Come to think of it, they didn't know about dryads, but apparently flies really are everywhere...

Seated on a throne that looked as though it had been shaped from the trunk of a tree and adorned with red and white flowers was a beautiful woman with hair the color of spring leaves and lime-green eyes to match.

"Lady Avelle..." From the shadows of the gardens surrounding the throne, three young women emerged and knelt before it.

"Ah, my little ones, were you able to drive the invaders out of my lands? How many prisoners did you bring to fertilize the soil of my gardens?" The three dryads looked at one another nervously.

"Only one, Lady Avelle..."

"I see, so one. Very wel... What?! Only one?!"

"We couldn't take any more... We don't know what kind of race they are, but they are incredibly agile and strong. If one of them stumbled, another would pick them up with one hand and hoist them onto their shoulder. Not even the Elderbark could bring down a single one of them."

"What kind of joke is that?! They're the Elderbark! I had to kneel to ask them to help us!"

"They... they said... they couldn't keep chasing the invaders because death itself was there..."

"Death?! What is that supposed to mean?!" The three dryads began to tremble where they knelt.

"And that... that death itself is coming for us!"