Chapter 19: Moonlight salute

Somewhere on the Endless Sea

The sea level had been calm, and only the occasional fish jumping up had disturbed it. A shining full moon had caressed everything with its calm glow.

Then suddenly, the wind died down, and the sound of the waves seemed to dim. In the distance, a thick fog rolled across the surface of the sea. The Border Fog had reappeared out of nowhere and had begun to cover everything with its milky blanket.

The clouds of fog had stopped in mid-motion, as if they had hit an invisible wall, twisting wildly for a moment before the fog's movements had subsided.

The intensity of the moonlight had suddenly intensified, and a figure in a black suit and white mask had emerged from its glow in the air. He had looked down at the sea and had watched the Border Fog for a moment without raising his hands, which he had joined in front of him to make his fingers form a triangle.

"Ashshta cha pochi anashtitala..." Baa had begun to recite, the words sounding as if they were spoken by a snake, making quick signs with his hands before he had finally raised two fingers and had touched the five points in the air before him, which had begun to weld with a white light.

Baa had moved a little away from them before reaching out both hands toward them, fingers spread wide. Binders had begun to form between the white dots, and the middle had seemed to freeze in the broken surface of the crystal. At that moment, Baa had moved his hands violently, and the resulting circle that had resembled cracked periscope glass had flown out toward the moon.

At that moment, Baa had clenched both outstretched palms, and the object had disappeared. A slight illusion had appeared around the moon, and the moonlight had begun to concentrate into moonbeams. When it had been complete, Baa had lowered his hands and had watched the moon from which several rays had come out and moved and fallen on everything around.

The moonbeams of light had touched the sea, the clouds, the cities, and even the mist. The inhabitants who had seen this had been amazed, and the believers in the God of the Moon and the Night had fallen to their knees in prayer. Hellcage had appeared on the roof of their house in Peril Harbor, staring toward the moon, his hand clasped tightly around his walking cane.

The lights had dwindled until finally, there had been only one left, hitting the surface of the Border Fog but not passing through. Baa had looked at the fog again. "So you're really hiding in there. It's just a minor problem," he had spoken, and the illusion around the moon had disappeared.

He had moved his hands again, but this time the movements had been different and more complex, while he had softly spoken the words. The moon behind his back had become brighter, and a shadow had appeared on its surface.

Suddenly, a black ship with taut sails had emerged from the moonlight, sailing across the light as if on water, heading swiftly down to the sea surface. It had hit the surface with a thud, and the water had splashed high into the air and foamed. The ship hadn't slowed down much on impact and had headed straight for the Boundary Fog.

By then, Baa had stopped moving his arms and had been looking at the scene of the ship hitting the sea. "Hear my orders. Find the Evil God and destroy him. There is no other alternative. The Evil God must die," he had given the orders.

Everyone on the ship had heard him and had looked to the moon. The crew of the ship had all been dressed in black gowns with masks covering their entire faces. "Yes, our God," they had said in unison before they and their ship had entered the fog.

Baa had stayed in place for a moment longer before disappearing into his domain again.

***** 

Peril Harbor

A few days passed, and everyone worked on their tasks. Wendigo tried to find the track of the Mystery Trader, Ellar started selling his paintings, and the children often accompanied him. Marik made the rounds with the other Monster Hunters to learn how to work in the field, and Hellcage continued to make plans.

Hellcage was not only interested in Peril Harbor, but his fingers were already touching the Capital in the Sea State of Cabrien.

However, when he witnessed the nightly phenomenon, all of his attention was pulled back to him, and he watched the headlights formed from the moon's rays with a hostile feeling. Hellcage watched the whole display and wondered what was going on. This was definitely the work of the god of Moon and Night, and he only suspected what Baa was trying to do. It made him feel uncomfortable.

Once the moon had faded and looked as it should, Hellcage jumped off the roof and quickly entered the house, immediately heading to the altar in front of which he knelt and began to pray to his Liege.

"My Liege, the God of Baa is making moves," he announced in his mind as soon as he sensed that his prayer had been answered.

Liege was silent for a moment before answering. "What did he do?" She asked.

"I'm not sure. Baa is a new god, and his abilities are still unknown to me. But he was sending beams through the moon and seemed to be searching for something. My assumption is that he has joined forces with Arzen and is searching for you," he said, worried. His Liege was still weakened and not mobile. If they found the End of the World, it could be a problem. Hellcage would like to go back and keep an eye on his Liege, but his mission was also important. He felt torn between his desire and his duty.

Hellcage naturally knew about what had happened between Arzen and Caila. Hellcage was a true worshipper and often prayed to his god and reported progress. Caila, in turn, told him the news from home. Hellcage didn't consider Arzen as a problem; according to his research, he wasn't a very active god and personally considered him one of the weakest. Even the youngest Sun God was stronger.

"So he's looking for me. I'll probably have to make some preparations," Liege spoke calmly.

Hellcage didn't hide his anxiety. "Do you think you can handle him in your condition?" He asked.

"There's no choice. Don't worry," Liege replied, lightly comforting him. Hellcage sighed inwardly. "I'll redouble our efforts to get you free as soon as possible," he promised.

"Don't overdo it. Follow the same course of action. We've attracted little attention so far. If the other gods focus on us, then only then would I begin to worry. Two is still acceptable," Liege reassured him.

Hellcage bowed his head slightly and nodded. "As you command, my Liege." With that, he said his goodbyes and ended the prayer. He stared at the altar and then stood. He walked to the hall where he looked upstairs. The children, Ellar, and Marik were already asleep. Hellcage hadn't planned to rush things, but he'd probably have to become rougher.

***** 

End of the World

Caila opened her eyes and held back a curse. Her first instinct was to swear softly from the plyc, but she had to restrain herself because there was a child with her. The butterfly boy had stayed in the throne room with her the whole time while Caila was teaching him to talk.

The boy had been gagged since he could remember, so he had never said a word in his life, and even though he understood words, he couldn't use his mouth to make the sounds needed to speak. Caila, who didn't have much to do, decided to teach him.

It should be noted that Zenobe wanted to take charge, and when Caila said she would, Zenobe, for some reason, chewed the edge of her dress in displeasure. Caila felt a little bad because she thought Zenobe wanted to do it, not knowing that Zenobe was actually jealous of the little boy right now.

The first thing Caila did was to name the boy. It was shameful that he had never even been given a name. She really didn't understand how miserably Arzen could lead his people like this. After several attempts, the boy liked the name "Monte." Caila explained to him who Monte Christo was, and naturally, he liked the name. In the end, the boy's fate was somewhat similar to the story; he too was unjustly imprisoned, he too escaped, and in the end, he too fell into the sea. Now all he had to do was get revenge.

A moment ago, she was trying to teach Monte to pronounce the single letters when she heard a prayer. Hellcage had told her of his suspicion that another god was searching for her. By force of will, she kept herself from showing her fears and treated Hellcage with confidence, but now she felt really in trouble.

What should she do?

Caila began to rub her chin, thinking about it. She definitely didn't want to reveal herself to the world before she was completely out of stone. But it seemed that even though she was stuck in stone here, things would just find her on their own. And problems too. She had some pretty powerful worshippers, but it was hard to say how they would fare against a god. Even Caila didn't know how to kill such a god. Is there something special about it? Or could they just be beaten to death like everyone else, only more difficult?

In the end, all she could do was mobilize all the awakened ones and have them fight guerrilla-style, hit and run. Caila also assumed she had some advantages because she was in her own territory. She sighed. She wished another memory would come now to find out more about Supernova and her abilities. Caila glanced down at her hand, which she held up and let the blue flames dance on her fingers. Maybe she should start experimenting on her own with what she could do.

She was snapped out of her reverie by a tug on her other hand. She looked at Monte, who had been tugging at the sleeve of her robe with two fingers. She extinguished the flames and turned her attention to him. "What's wrong?" She asked him.

Monte pointed to his mouth, then stroked his stomach. It was a pretty simple indication of what had been going on. The boy was hungry. Caila realized that Monte hadn't eaten anything the whole time he'd been there. She had completely forgotten that need. She hadn't actually eaten anything and hadn't felt any hunger yet, so it hadn't occurred to her that the others needed something like this.

But... what did Butterfly People eat?

"Ah... I see." She paused and considered for a moment what to do. She didn't have any food.

"One moment." She patted Monte on the head before calling out to Lambert in her Divine Space.

He emerged from the floor a few seconds later and knelt in front of Caila. "What were your orders, my Liege?" He asked. Caila noticed him glancing subtly towards the exit. Was he still worried about the Golden Piggy coming to bother him?

"Monte is hungry. Can you take care of that?" She asked, still patting the boy on the head. Monte wasn't afraid of her anymore after those few days, but he still refused to talk to her about the details of his people. Caila was patient with that.

Lambert looked at Monte and then nodded. "Yes. I'll take him to Hell." He straightened up and walked over to the boy, who bulged his eyes upon hearing this. He knew the meaning of the word Hell.

Caila also bulged her eyes at him from the shadows of her robes, then turned her head toward the open door through which Hellcage had once walked out. It took her by surprise. Hell was the dining hall after all? Why had someone named it that? Was the cook hellcrazy good? She gave no sign of doubt or confusion and beckoned them with her hand. "There you go. Take good care of our guest."

Lambert nodded and offered his hand to Monte. After a moment's hesitation, the boy placed his hand in his palm, and Lambert squeezed his hand lightly before leading him to Hell.

Caila watched after them, thinking she could follow them through the link to Lambert. She was curious about what was there, but she couldn't openly ask.

***** 

Lambert led Monte through the heavy curtains, and they found themselves in a small empty room at the end of which was a staircase to the underground. Monte looked around the empty room, which was lit only by lamps on the walls that glowed faintly with a blue flame. He shivered a little, feeling that something was moving in the shadows. Lambert paid no attention to it and led them straight to a staircase that spiraled down into the ground.

They walked downward for about two minutes before standing in another room. This one was longer, and the end was lost in darkness. What caught Monte's attention and disturbed him were the rectangular stone cells with bars. It was impossible to see past the iron bars because the inside was covered by a gray surface that resembled smoke.

Lambert led him down the alley between the cells, and Monte tugged lightly on Lambert's sleeve before pointing to the cells. "Those are cells for prisoners with light sentences. There's only one occupied at the moment, but he's also a statue, so there's nothing to see. We're going deeper," Lambert explained, and then they walked again in silence.

As they neared the end of the room, there was another arched portal whose edges glowed slightly with blue fire. Something was sitting on the ground next to the portal, and as they got closer, Monte recognized it as a dog.

The dog, completely white with wavy fur that sometimes looked matted, both ears pointed upwards, had a pair of soft brown eyes, an ornate collar peeking out from under the thick fur, and a blue scarf tied around its neck. The dog noticed them but didn't move from its spot, and its curled tail began to sweep the floor behind it.

Lambert stopped, reached out, and patted the dog on the head. "Misha. So you're awake, too. And you're still keeping watch on how responsible you are," he praised her.

"Huff." Misha barked and looked at Monte.

"That's a guest. You should go say hello to our Liege, too. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," Lambert replied.

"Huff!" Misha barked again and then turned her head towards the portal, "Huff. Huff!"

"Ah. Thank you. It seems that even Hell was not spared from petrification. It's a good thing some are already awake as well," Lambert nodded and made his way to the portal with Monte. Monte then glanced back at Misha, who was watching behind them. Monte looked a little startled. The dog had a strange furry thing on her back with several small paws and ears sticking out of it and blood dripping from it.

Monte flinched and stared ahead of him. They were going down again, but not for long. Soon they emerged into a huge open space. The staircase continued, twisting and turning, heading deeper and deeper. All around were blue fires that lined the staircase, floating through the air. In some places, smaller or larger plumes of blue fire formed, and the movement of the fire resembled a flowing river.

Monte opened his mouth in surprise, for more than frightening, it was beautiful.

Staircases went in all directions, leading to many cells carved into the rock. Monte couldn't see into the space of the cells from where they were, but there were so many of them, and they went deeper and deeper. He leaned in front of the railing and looked down but couldn't see the bottom; eventually, everything was obscured by a river of blue fire.

"Stick with me and don't run away," Lambert instructed him before stepping out again, looking around for the right cell.

"Lambert! Lambert!"

Lambert stopped when he heard the distant call of his name and turned his head in that direction. He frowned and slowly made his way in that direction. Monte obediently followed his guide, but as they approached the cell from which the call had come, he began to feel strange, his body sending signals of refusal to move on. Probably if Lambert hadn't been holding him, he wouldn't have come any closer.

The cell they were approaching was lonely, and a faint reddish light was coming from inside. Occasionally, a little dark liquid leaked through the bars, but the blue flames pounced on it immediately and consumed everything. Lambert walked over to the bars without fear, so Monte could finally see what was inside and was frightened.

The cell was full of bloody hair that moved like snakes. The skulls, human or otherwise, were plastered in the hair, and they were flapping their jaws as if they were alive. What occasionally oozed out was actually blood with clumps of hair, and Monte was careful not to let it touch him in any way.

"Why are you calling me?" Lambert asked in a cold voice. "Winow."

As Lambert spoke the name, a white face emerged from the hair with blood stains and large bloodshot eyes that clearly showed the creature's madness. "Huhu." Winow laughed, but her eyes didn't focus on the two of them, still staring at something only she could see. "It's been a long time, Lambert," she said.

"Not long enough. You could have stayed petrified for another century, and no one would have minded. Unfortunately, you seem to be close to the heart of our Liege despite everything." Lambert snorted in disgust, and Monte looked from one to the other in confusion.

Winow paused. "How is she?" She asked.

Lambert frowned, and for a moment, he seemed not to answer. "She's fine."

Winow moved her eyes, but only to stare at a different spot in the air than before. "Something's changed. The air is different. I'm curious."

Lambert sighed. "Then stay curious. It's nothing that concerns you." As he said this, several skulls lurched forward and slammed into the bars of the cell. Despite the fact that some were small enough to squeeze through the bars, they didn't make it in.

"Tell me!" Winow shouted, her face contorting in indignation.

"No. What's going on outside doesn't concern you anymore." Lambert replied, turning his back on her. "The moment you betrayed our Liege, you doomed yourself to this fate." He led Monte away.

"I did not betray. You know that, Lambert. You know that. Everything I did was for her sake and ours. I'm judged for my love being too great." Winow called after them.

"You can keep your poisonous love," Lambert replied.

Lambert returned to the stairwell and then rubbed his forehead, noticing Monte looking at him questioningly. "We have a few rules in the End of the World that are taboo for anyone to break. The first is not to question Liege's orders. The second is that the citizens of the End of the World do not kill each other. The third is to destroy anything and everything that threatens Liege territory or its citizens. Winow was once one of the main characters of the End of the World. Winow, Hellcage, and four others are the closest to our Liege. As you can see, Winow is no longer in the six faithful and is trapped here." Lambert sighed and looked back.

"Winow has suddenly become very paranoid. She was secretly killing the residents of the End of the World, believing it was for the good of all. Eventually, she even tried to kill our Liege. The fight was hard. Winow is very strong, and it took the rest of the Faithful to join the fight to stop her. Winow was completely insane by then and couldn't rationally explain why she did it. All she said was that our Liege needed to die again." Lambert finished explaining. Monte was confused, but he had no way to ask.

Lambert said no more and led Monte on. Monte was still a little upset, but he was open to talking. His eyes fell on the next cell they passed and found it completely filled with water. There was a coral reef in the water, and lots of small fish were swimming around. It looked strangely pretty and peaceful.

But what caught his eye the most was a slightly strange-looking seahorse that was about the size of an eight-year-old child. It was all orange with a blue stripe on its fearfully bulging belly, and its eyes were a dark green color.

Lambert paused for a moment to look at it before stepping forward. "That's the Dragon Sea Horse. The last of its kind. Or at least it used to be. We don't just hold criminals here, but those who need protection and peace of mind. This Dragon Sea Horse is pregnant right now and has taken asylum with us so that he can safely care for the young. It seems the time has not yet come."

Monte was surprised. After all, someone seemed to have a reason to be locked up.

Lambert finally stopped at one of the cells he had peered into. The cell held four prisoners in all, each on one side and chained to the wall. Three of them were still petrified, but only one was alive anymore. He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man in plain clothes. He crouched when he heard movement from outside, yet he did not escape Lambert's attention.

"Here. This one will serve well," he said, then waved his hand in front of the iron bars, and they became transparent. They both went inside, and Lambert pulled Monte to the man, who was trembling in fright.

"This place is Hell for most of the ones being held here. But for the residents of the End of the World, it's like a large food supply. A good portion of the residents are carnivores. Ordinary animals are often enough, but there are those who require a different kind of food. In which case, they request access to Hell to find suitable food. You don't have to hold back. These prisoners cannot truly die. Though that doesn't mean they can't feel the whole process." Lambert revealed a slight smile.

Monte looked at the man and walked over to him. His rainbow wings began flapping, and he rose into the air, grabbing onto the man's torso before opening his mouth and sticking out his tongue, which was a hollow insect socket from which a sharp spike extended. The captive didn't fight back even though he kept trembling.

Monte stabbed his tongue down the captive's throat and began to suck.

***** 

Caila stopped watching the feeding process and thought. She understood what Hell was like, thanks to Lambert. From the name, she suspected it was some sort of prison facility, but in the end, it was quite logical that it was used in other ways. After all, the locals weren't exactly normal people. Caila wondered why some needed such sacrifices. All in all, meat is meat, even if some of it tastes different. Maybe it's a psychological thing?

As Caila considered that, she had to throw her thoughts away. It's not the same. It's likely that each being has a different kind of energy. It's not entirely a meat thing. If it were, the other gods wouldn't reject certain races as their worshippers. It must have had something to do with it.

The other thing Caila wondered was how come the prisoners in Hell couldn't die? Caila guessed that somehow the blue fire was behind it.

All-consuming flames.

When she recalled the memories from Zenobe and Lambert before they became her followers, they looked very different. Even Hellcage looked different from how she saw him in the depths of the Abyss.

Through her memories, she understood that her flames not only consumed but also transformed and created. Caila was beginning to get an idea of how it worked. The blue flame certainly couldn't create from nothing. So was it possible that it would consume something first before creating something? If her guess was correct, she had consumed Zenobe and Lambert first with her flames and then reformed them, which would explain their appearance being restored and enhanced.

"Hm. Interesting. Interesting!" Caila felt excited that she might have come up with something new again. "But how to verify it?" She mused.

Her eyes glowed more intensely with blue light as she got an idea and went to connect with Lambert again. "Lambert. Bring me a prisoner. Someone expendable." She gave him the order before withdrawing from Divine Space again, smiling in the darkness of the hood.

"I'm going to experiment a little." She was quite looking forward to it. She didn't have much thought for the prisoners; they were in Hell for a reason. And if it was someone who had somehow harmed her worshippers or the End of the World, she had no regrets about using him.

Somehow, she needed to study her power and capabilities more. The enemy was approaching, and she needed to be ready. Caila would also need to warn her people to be prepared for the possibility of enemy forces coming.

Moreover, she wanted to slaughter any enemy that dared to harm them.