442 The Other Side: Part II
"That should be the last one," a handsome looking young man of about 1.7 meters in height stated as he tossed a large red leopard onto a small pile of dead creatures. The young man had shaggy brown hair and beautiful brown eyes. This young man was none other than Abelard. It had only been six months, yet the fat on his face had disappeared, and his height was anything but the height of an eleven year old. His broad shoulders and powerful arms was the envy of any other man, much less a boy. He held a large sword over his shoulder. The sword was a claymore, and it was several kilograms heavier than any regular heavy sword. His physique was worthy of one who belonged to the Clan of Wyverns. As for the recipient of Abe's message, she was a beautiful battle maiden.
"I think we should go back," the beautiful woman in battle armor stated.
She was an eye catching beauty, her facial features enough to earn her a place in the Heavenly Courts of any Heaven Realm. Her long hair was like an intricately woven net that could draw in the gazes of any man or woman alike. She had a long spear strapped to her back. The spear was stained with blood of different colors, and though it soiled her hair and dirtied her armor, she didn't seem to mind it. This valiant warrior goddess was Selina.
"Yeah. We have been away for a few days now," Abe agreed quickly. Their lives on Systema were all war and carnage. Only Frederick was not embroiled in such a world. For he was a weapon smith. That wasn't to say that Frederick didn't have his own agenda, or his own goals. Each of them had tasks to complete; tasks given by the Will of Systema.
*Ding*
*Mission: "Hunt Down 20 Noble Beasts" Completed*
*Reward: Increase In Level of Energy By a Small Stage*
Along with the mechanic sound of a bell, a small interface appeared before Selina and Abelard. Once the window appeared, a bright light descended from the closed heavens of Systema and engulfed both of them. Selina and Abelard were unfazed by the bright light. They looked calm and composed, and it was because they had been through this a lot of times in the past half a year. It was the reason for their rapid improvement after all.
*Boom*
Once the lights fully engulfed the duo, their auras were fully expressed. Abe's aura was that of a Noble – a 3rd Stage Noble! His aura steadily climbed upwards, only stagnating when it reached the peak of the 3rd stage. Selina's aura was slightly weaker, but it was also that of a Noble. Her strength grew from the low stage of the 1st Level of the Nobility Realm to the mid stage of the 1st Level. When the light faded, both of them exhaled in pleasure upon feeling the increase in their abilities. Then they turned to each other and smiled.
"We should take those with us," Selina pointed at the mountain of corpses before them and said.
"Yeah. Frederick might these to complete his task," Abe nodded his head in agreement. He waved his hands towards the corpses before him, and a green glow engulfed them. The glow came from a strange looking bracelet on his wrist. This was a gift from Alexis – his master. And as you may have guessed, it was a storage artefact. It started out as a Mid-Grade Storage Artefact with very limited space, but after Frederick's alterations, it was capable of storing so much more. The large corpses didn't even occupy half of its storage space.
"Let's go," Abe stated and Selina nodded her head. Both walked shoulder to shoulder as they moved towards the north. 6 months had caused Abe to even grow taller than Selina, and as both moved, their figures marked by the sun in the sky, Systema's Will blessed their achievements and secretly recorded their names in its annals of legends.
Back in the Western Empire, in the Kingdom of Neces to be exact, in a large mansion that reeked of gold and silver, of riches and honour, a handsome gentleman was gazing lovingly upon the figure lying quietly on the king sized bed before him. The man was young, with wavy brown hair and beautiful eyes that flashed from brown to green and green to brown every few seconds. He wore a lose gown that exposed his muscular chest and broad shoulders. His posture was that of an Olympian, and that was because he was an Olympian! This person was Ray – Mane's father.
"You are still here?" a voice traveled to Ray's ears as a middle aged man appeared right next to him. The door was still closed, making one wonder how this man came here in the first place without alerting Ray; or how he even got in so fast. But Ray wasn't wondering about that. He didn't care about such trivial issues – mainly because he had the answers to them. Without taking his eyes of Mane's figure, which lay so serenely on the bed, Ray addressed the man who was his guardian and mentor.
"Mentor, where else would I be?"
"What do you mean 'where else would you be'? You know there is a war ongoing, and you are needed, right?" Butler Fin had his arms behind his back in a classic gentleman's pose. His eyes squinted slightly when he thought of the war and how it was going.
"I cannot leave," Ray shook his head with a small frown on his face. "My son needs me to protect him. Alexis has already left, and I promised her that I wouldn't leave Mane's side." Ray explained.
"But that was before the recent development. You wouldn't allow your brother to have his way now, would you?" Butler Fin frowned and said. As the two spoke, it became increasingly clearer that the war they spoke of may be different from the one Mane had fought in a few months ago.
"Half-brother," Ray corrected with an ever deeper frown. Whatever it was, it was clear that he didn't have a favorable opinion of his half-brother. Then again, he didn't have any good impressions of his father's family.
"Alright. Half-brother. Do you want that pompous warmonger to take your father's place as King? With someone like that as the Olympian God King, there is no way there would be peace. What do you think is the first thing that fool would do? Are you really okay with all this?" Butler Fin didn't mince his words at all. He clearly expressed that he didn't like this half-brother of Ray.
Ray of course knew the answer to that question. His brother would wage war first chance he got. And possibly come looking for them.
"I am not," Ray admitted honestly.
"Then you must do something about it. I can protect Mane from any threats on Zandor." Butler Fin persuaded.
"I can't do that Mentor," Ray smiled bitterly and said.
"I understand your worry. But aren't you also worried about Athena?" Butler Fin stated. His words caused a change in Ray, as the handsome father wrinkled his brows in worry.
"I am. She is the only one I consider family." Ray sighed.
Athena had been doing all she could to reverse his son's dark fate. She was cooped up in the Olympian Library, and only she could open the library. This meant that she was temporarily safe. But it also meant that she was cut off from the world with no idea of what was happening on the outside.
If that half-brother of his wanted to stabilize his position on the throne, he would have to ensure that all heirs were no more. Hades was not available to contest his rule, and news of Poseidon had been lost for many years. Ray and Athena were the only threats to his rule. Ray was a Battle God, and even his half-brother would have to think twice before engaging him in battle. After all, few people were on the level of Thor Odinson. And Ray was one of those few. Athena was a Goddess of War, but she was a loving sister as well. That man may be Ray's half-brother, but he was Athena's blood brother. They shared the same mother and father. There was no way she would strike a killing blow at him, and he knew that. That foul man had no such reservations however. His hatred for his father had corrupted him, and he knew not the emotions of any but himself.
"Then you must be there to protect her. If you appear, the courts would be divided. That would be enough protection for her." Butler Fin continued to try to persuade Ray.
"Do you want to let her down when she never has?" Butler Fin added.
"Mentor, you are asking me to protect either my son or my sister," Ray stated with a wry expression on his face.
"I'm not asking you to do that. I'm here, am I not?" Butler Fin quickly stated.
"You are, but it doesn't change the fact that you are asking me to make a choice. And there is no way I would abandon my son." Ray clenched his teeth and said.
"You're not abandoning him. You are leaving him in my hands. Do you not have any faith in me? Have I not proven myself a more than worthy guardian over the years? Was he not under my care all this while?" Butler Fin frowned and threw a barrage of questions at his ward.
"You have been a faithful guardian mentor. And I don't just have faith in you mentor. You know that I will willingly put my life in your hands." Ray stated.
"But not my son's life. I cannot go to Olympus." Ray shook his head.
"Why not? You are clearly torn by this matter," Butler Fin stated as he pointed at Ray's balled up fists.
"Because the Dark Lord has been quiet for too long. I feel that he may be planning something that even you cannot handle alone," Ray confessed.
"Mmm," Butler Fin frowned and rubbed his smooth chin in thought. Ray had a point. Someone like the Dark God didn't remain quiet for this long for no reason.
"Alright. I hope you don't regret your decision." Butler Fin stated. "I hope you don't hate yourself for allowing Aries such easy passage to kingship."
"You are one to talk,' Ray finally turned to face Butler Fin and said.
"What do you mean?" Butler Fin asked.
"It isn't only Olympus that is in turmoil," Ray said.
"True," Butler Fin nodded his head. "But Asgard would be restored to normalcy once Lord Odin returns. Right now, Thor is enough to keep things in order." Butler Fin argued.
"Don't you think the two are connected?" Ray suddenly presented a theory he hadn't before this minute.
"What do you mean?" Butler Fin feigned ignorance. Unfortunately for him, Ray found him out.
"All the years I've known you, you have had but one fatal flaw," Ray smiled and said
"Which is?" Butler Fin seemed interested in this flaw.
"You are a horrible liar," Ray smiled and said. And Butler Fin couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"You are an intelligent man, Mentor. No Spirit Emperor is dumb, much less one who has also evolved into a Sensor God. If I could consider this, surely you already have." Ray stated.
"You've grown," Butler Fin admitted that he had indeed considered this. After all, the timing of the two events was too close to be considered mere coincidences. Besides, the instigators of both events were suspected to be in cahoots long before any of these things happened. So it wasn't a stretch to consider this a conspiracy.
"What I don't understand is this: Loki is vastly intelligent. His wisdom is in no way inferior to Lord Odin's, and his scheming is right up there as well. Why would he pick such a route?" Ray furrowed his brows and said.
"It's almost as if all this is a distraction, and there is something else he wants," Ray put forward his thoughts.
"I feel the same," Butler Fin sighed and said.
"What about you? Don't you worry about Zeus? He is still missing. And his injuries were pretty heavy. Without access to his Godhead it will be difficult for him to recover." Butler Fin swiftly changed the subject, causing Ray to frown as he felt that there was something Butler Fin wasn't telling him. But he decided to let it go.
"I am not," Ray shook his head and said. Unlike with Athena, he didn't feel anything for that man.
"He is your father you know," Butler Fin smiled wryly and said.
"I know. And that is why I am confident in his abilities. If that lightning bearded womanizer could be so easily killed, I would have done so myself." Ray stated emotionlessly and Butler Fin revealed a helpless look.
"But that's not why you came here now, was it?" Ray turned to his mentor and said.
"It's not," Butler Fin confessed. Butler Fin's aura suddenly became a bit chaotic.
"What is wrong?" Ray noticed the change in Butler Fin's demeanor. And he had an inkling of what his mentor was going to say.
"Indra has sent us a message," Butler Fin started. Indra had taken up Alexis's post in the North when she left. And they hadn't heard from him in two months. For him to suddenly send a message could only mean…
"He has found traces of the Dark God."
