Chương 46: The Underworld Stirs

On the outskirts of the visiare settlement, in a wide, open stretch of land, two figures stood watching each other closely.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Lord Nereziel?" Osvel gripped his sword and took an offensive stance.

"I don't want to do this! But for some reason, trouble keeps chasing me!" Nerez let out a tired sigh.

"Anyway, I have no choice but to see whether my skills haven't rusted as badly as this sword... But don't you dare cut my head off by accident! Remember, this is only sparring!"

"O-Of course! I will be careful, Lord Nereziel!" Nerez let out one last sigh and gripped his own rusty sword as well (not without a bit of disgust, since it was the sword of one of his skeletal warriors). Despite his reluctant attitude, the moment Nerez took his stance, Osvel realized his opponent had not left a single opening for him to exploit. That, along with the imposing aura his shining magenta eyes revealed, sent a cold sweat down the sword prodigy's back.

"No matter how I look at it, I'm the one who needs to be careful not to die..." Osvel muttered to himself. The two watched each other for several seconds without moving a muscle. It was only when an oblivious rabbit hopped between the bushes that Osvel made the first move. With a single leap forward, the visiare warrior crossed several meters, but the moment his feet touched the ground, his figure vanished in a bluish flash.!! In that same instant, he appeared behind Nerez and unleashed a fierce slash at his neck.

Clank! But his blade met Nerez's, and a metallic crash rang out, shaking the air.

"What did I say about not cutting my head off?" Osvel put some distance between them with another leap before adjusting his stance again.

"Of course, Lord Nereziel. At no point did I feel I was anywhere near able to do so..."

"Has no one ever told you it's the thought that counts?" Now it was Nerez who launched himself forward with a powerful leap, closing the distance in an instant, his speed easily rivaling Osvel's spatial magic.

"Wai—!" Osvel could not finish the word. He barely managed to bring his sword up in defense, and only because his mastery of the weapon bordered on inhuman. Clank! But this time, the clash of metal was so brutal that it sent Osvel flying through the air. His body bounced off the ground and rolled several meters before crashing into the trunk of a tree. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"How strange. I could have sworn I held back my strength much more than when I fought Cerys... Sorry, Osvel. Are you alive?"

"I'm fine, Lord Nereziel..." Osvel replied, rising to his feet as best he could.

"It is an honor to cross swords with you. Taking a blow like that is a small price to pay."

"That's not a small price, Osvel. You'd better go see a healer soon... I'll have to adjust my strength again. But this really isn't normal at all."

"Of course it's normal. You have more followers now, and that affects every aspect of a god's existence... But why are you humiliating mortals, Nerez?" Cerys's voice came from behind him at that moment.

"Humiliating? We were just doing a little sparring..." Just what I needed. As if having a ridiculous amount of spiritual energy wasn't enough...

"Sparring with mortals?" Cerys asked, looking at Osvel's battered figure.

"What is that supposed to accomplish besides humiliating them?"

"..."

"You should spar with me instead. I'm available whenever you want!"

"No."

"Why?!"

"Because you take it too seriously. I want sparring, not a duel to the death."

"That's not fair! I want to spar too! I promise I'll control myself this time!"

"In any case, didn't you come here to tell me something?"

"Ah, that's right... I already called that weakling Sae. The coward Avelle should be keeping her company in that pile of trees they're trying to pass off as a palace."

"You don't have any friends, do you, Cerys?"

"Friends don't make you stronger!"

"I think countless children's shows would disagree with you... but as a self-respecting loner, I'm in no position to argue." Right then, Nerez caught Osvel just as the young visiare was about to collapse.

"Now, do me a favor and take this one to a doctor, or a healer, or whatever the visiare have."

"Tch, lately I've been nothing but a pack mule for mortals..."

"Cerys, I'm asking because I trust you."

"... Hmpf! Don't think I'm that easy!" But even with all her complaints, Cerys hoisted Osvel over her shoulder and vanished into the distance with a single leap.

"All right, no time to waste. Since Sae is here, we'd better get this meeting over with as soon as possible."

Only two others were present in the small room, Avelle and Sae. Both bowed when they saw him enter.

"Lord Nereziel... is it true? Is there an army of forty thousand of those so-called demons about to attack us?"

"I see Avelle brought you up to speed. If we trust the information from the demon named Drazira, then yes. I don't know whether they're about to attack us, but if they realize we exist, that would most likely be the outcome."

"But can that person really be trusted?" Sae asked, worried.

"The wound she carried had the same kind of energy as Drazira herself. That means other demons inflicted it," Avelle explained.

"It is a miracle she did not die, so I very much doubt it was a plan to deceive us."

"I've seen plenty of liars in my many... in my life. At this point, telling when someone is lying is almost a talent of mine, even when that someone is a demon," Nerez added.

"And I agree with Avelle. Drazira wasn't lying to us." Sae lowered her head, and for a few seconds, her face disappeared behind the strands of sky-blue hair falling over her forehead. When she raised her face again, her expression was filled with determination.

"Lady Avelle also told me that the attack by those green monsters was the fault of those demons, the monsters that... my grandfather..." Sae drew a breath.

"Lord Nereziel, I will personally lead the visiare troops at your side."

"Naturally, the forest spirits and I are at your command as well," Avelle added in turn.

"To be honest, I had my doubts about how effective my skeletons would be against a demon force four times their number." Nerez looked at both of them and nodded.

"But if the visiare put their six thousand fighters on the field, and the forest spirits add their four thousand, we can at least bring our forces up to half the enemy's. I can work with that."

"So my sister is alive..." Drazel was sitting on a kind of stone throne. In his hands was a netherite stone, glowing with a somber purple light.

"Perfect. I was just thinking that not capturing her soul had been a waste."

"What are your orders, my king?" Before him knelt the generals of the demon army.

"Isn't it obvious? The soldiers and officers who showed the most loyalty to her will stay behind to guard the camp. The rest of us will go explore a certain valley..."