Chương 50: At Death's Door (IV)

"Agh... Gah..." Drazel tried to force out another word, but this time, only a mouthful of blood came out. A few seconds passed before he could continue.

"The invaders... the invaders ambushed me... guh... Lord Erebion, you have to help me... I can't close my wounds... I can't... ugh!... I can't heal myself either." The mass of dark shadows forming a human figure vanished for an instant, only to reappear the next moment before the demon lying on the ground. Erebion extended a hand toward Drazel, but stopped before touching him, and his luminous eyes flared brighter.

"This is..." The dying demon vomited blood again.

"Lord Erebion... I will be your most faithful servant... You have to save me!" The titan stared at him, his expression, if he even had one, impossible to make out within the dark shadows.

Without Drazel, the cornered demons did not take long to surrender en masse. No, in truth, they had already started doing so even while Drazel was still on the battlefield. It had been a massacre for them. Almost a third of their soldiers had either perished or been gravely wounded. Their situation was so disastrous that even the forest spirits were trying to heal the wounds of those in the most critical condition. A rather unusual thing to do for an enemy they had only just defeated.

One reason they could afford to do so was that Nerez's army had suffered minimal casualties, leaving enough healers to spare. But there was another, more important reason as well.

"Are you sure you'll be able to control them?" Nerez was addressing Drazira, who was now kneeling before him. Behind her, a group of generals was doing the same.

"Of course, Lord Nereziel," the demoness replied confidently.

"The troops most loyal to Drazel, the ones in the vanguard and thirsting for blood, were the first to fall. And besides, every survivor was able to witness your power."

"It's not like I did all that much..."

"They are all aware of how your servant, Lady Cerys, crushed Drazel in a matter of seconds. And because she is your servant, they understand that you are far more powerful."

"I see you're on team Lady Cerys instead of team Lady Reaper."

"I am not sure I understand..." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

"It's nothing... I'm sure Cerys will be happy to hear the praise once she's done sulking behind that rock. But does that have anything to do with why they're going to listen to you now?"

"In our culture, power is valued above all else," Drazira continued, while the generals nodded behind her.

"So I dare say that, rather than simply obeying me, there will not be a single one among them who does not wish to serve you after witnessing that."

"..."

"Lord Nereziel?"

"Serve me? Don't they have anything better to do? Like finding a home or something?"

"Of course! We have decided that, after all, we will make the underworld our home," Drazira said with a broad smile.

"We wish to form an alliance with the visiare, become part of this nation, and serve you as our lord. I have already discussed everything with Sae."

"A nation...? Why can't you people talk about food or hobbies instead..." Nerez let out a resigned sigh.

"First of all, there is still the threat of the titan. From what you told me, he isn't happy about our arrival."

"Drazel has likely already told him he was defeated," Drazira replied, her expression turning serious.

"But where I come from, the titans, primordial beings created alongside the world, or the first gods, as they were known, were defeated in the age of myth by the gods who came after them." Drazira lifted her resolute gaze to Nerez.

"I have no doubt the same will happen here. After all, you already show an unmistakable connection to the domain of death, one of the fundamental pillars of any world, my lord." My lord... Nerez covered his face with one hand, exasperated. Not only was that confidence completely unfounded, but that demoness was also leaving all the heavy lifting to him.

"Titan...?" A downcast Cerys approached the group after hearing the conversation, like someone lost in the desert who had just spotted the mirage of an oasis and could not tell whether it was real.

"Yes, Lady Cerys. From what I witnessed firsthand, the titan Erebion can feel Lord Nereziel's presence and regards it as something that will change the natural order of this world," Drazira explained.

"And he is only half right, since Lord Nereziel already holds authority over death. The natural order of things has already changed, and by Eryndea's own will." I feel like there was some kind of competition in between, but I'd rather not complicate the story any further... Besides, I have no idea what the difference is between the Divine Order and the will of the world (whatever that even means).

"Titan...?" Cerys repeated, now looking at Nerez with tearful eyes.

"..." Nerez let out another resigned sigh.

"Yes, you can fight him. In any case, it doesn't look like we have a choice."

"Let's go find him right away!" the redhead exclaimed, brimming with excitement.

"It looks like that won't be necessary..."

"What?! Nerez, you promised!"

"I didn't promise anything. I only said you could fight him... in any case, what I mean is that there won't be any need to look for him." Cerys and Drazira stared at him, intrigued as they waited for an explanation.

"Drazira, it seems your brother has died..." Drazira lowered her head for a few seconds. Behind her, the generals looked at one another, but said nothing.

"My brother..." she began, raising her head with a steady gaze.

"He was already dead to me."

"It's a shame when families don't get along. As someone who was an orphan in his first life, I think it's a waste," Nerez said, crossing his arms.

"But if the relative in question stabbed you through the abdomen with the intention of killing you, I suppose that's understandable..."

"First life?" Drazira murmured to herself, but she did not want to ruin her lord's speech with insignificant questions. Surely there was much about the existence of gods that she had no way of understanding.

"But how do you know that he is dead?" Cerys asked. Unlike Drazira, she had no problem interrupting if something interested her.

"More importantly, why do you say we don't need to find the titan anymore?" Nerez snapped his fingers, and a portal opened before them, leading to a dark tunnel shrouded in mist.

"A new 'trail' just opened, and on the other side I can feel a rather considerable presence... to put it one way." Cerys brought out her Eidolon again.

"I'm going in first!"