Chapter 188: Aftermath

To start off, a lot happened since that day.

The vast majority of the military in Elysium was obliterated in what had been named: 'The Battle of Ripper Isle'.

It was one of the many battles fought in 'The Corruption War'.

It was marked as yet another global war for Delvandal.

For us, however, The Corruption War had only just begun.

Nevertheless, all but one airship and a few fighter planes survived.

The brave men and women who fought in the battle were either infected or killed instantly by the Corruption. Their names were all engraved in a large monument to commemorate the battle on the ruins of Ripper Isle.

Luckily, the Astrum survived due to being ordered to cloak and retreat as soon as Cain transformed.

Meaning Rune, Rastair, Nasuria, and all twenty of my personal soldiers survived the battle as well.

Which was quite good...

We were also awarded for our strength and bravery in the battle.

Isabella and I had our names carved into history as the saviors of Delvandal.

Alwen personally congratulated us and Vakra promised to continue working on the request that we had of him in earnest.

It was simple.

Build us an airship capable of travelling to other worlds.

Meanwhile, the military did its best to rebuild and so did the rest of the world.

During the battle of Ripper Isle, hundreds of contamination zones appeared all over the world and many cities were razed to the ground as a result.

Elysium offered aid, of course.

However, one small country tried to take advantage of Elysium's weakened military and blamed them for the appearance of the contamination zones.

I personally wiped it off of the map.

After checking multiple times, I confirmed it.

The Corruption no longer existed on Delvandal. Later, Isabella and I used the heart stones to check the integrity of Delvandal's Animus Barrier.

It had been severely damaged, but it held firmly.

It seemed as if in the end, Cain's plan had some measure of success after all. Funnelling that much Corruption into the world did, in fact, speed up the process.

We used our power to repair it, regardless.

That way, if the Corruption ever returned, they would at least have a fighting chance...and plenty of time.

By now, Vakra had also finished the plans to build the ship.

Leiso was in charge of making parts, and the rest of us helped as much as we could with general construction.

The ship would be larger than the Astrum.

It would have a core made from condensed heart stones, with weapon systems powered by magic.

Additionally, one could connect their heart stone device on their chest to any of the weapons to control the power output.

The ship would be built on what Vakra called: An Anchor Platform.

He made sure I understood the design.

It didn't matter what kind of metal it was made from, just that the design was remembered by everyone.

Blueprints were given to everyone as a precaution.

As an emergency feature, a special key device could be plugged into a constructed platform to send a signal to the ship.

However, the platform itself would allow the signal to reach across worlds. Meaning it had to be fully built.

Although, the key devices were capable of sending out small beacons as well... They weren't nearly as strong as the beacon of a constructed platform, but it would still be enough for a rescue if the signal was received.

Vakra led the project and hired the best builders he could find. With materials supplied by Leiso and the Elysium government, construction progressed quickly and smoothly.

All of us were familiarizing yourselves with the layout of the ship as well as the onboard systems. Everything was carefully catalogued so that we could return to it at any time for a refresh on how the ship functioned.

I still had yet to think of a proper name for the ship...but I wanted it to be something significant. Something with real meaning...

I racked my brain but found no answer.

Since I had two years before it would be done, I put it off.

Currently, it had been a year since we saved Delvandal.

Iris appeared as I was taking a break from the construction work.

"Mizik, I have something for you. You won't like it," she said.

"Go ahead."

"The Oracle has personally requested to meet with you face-to-face...on Excelsis..." She said.

"Tell her to burn in hell," I said casually.

"This is serious, Mizik..."

"And so am I. She's done nothing but cause problems for me. If she thinks I'll come scampering in like a loyal dog as soon as I'm called, she's dead wrong," I said.

"She wants to discuss your role as Chosen Hero. She said it was important... Could you please do this for me, Mizik?"

I hate that stupid title...

"Why should I?"

"Because she offered her assistance in fighting the Corruption. She said that this is the first time you've ever managed to slay a False Source. She has high hopes for you," Iris said.

"I'll think about it. But if I decide to go, it'll be on my own terms. I'll be arriving on my own ship," I said.

"How long will that take?"

"Probably a little less than two more years. She's not going anywhere, so she can wait patiently," I said.

"Okay then... I'll tell her that. But...maybe it isn't a good idea to ignore her... She is really powerful, you know..." Iris said.

"I understand. She can think of it as payback for trying to kill Isabella," I said.

After that, Iris simply nodded and left.

I didn't mean to take out my anger on Iris, but the mere mention of the Oracle was enough to piss me off.

It didn't help that I was still seething over the fact that the shadow dragon once again managed to escape.

I had lot of questions for the Oracle, anyway.

Regardless, it was time to get back to work.

* * *

As the Oracle sat on her throne in the pinnacle of her temple, a familiar presence appeared.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?" She said dismissively.

"I come bearing a message. No...a dire warning," the man said.

"Concerning what?"

"You already know, don't you?"

"You were the one who used to usurp me. The one who staged that coup. Isn't that right?"

"Guilty. But I had my reasons. Your safety was one of them," the man said.

"Tell me why, right this instant! Otherwise, I'll have you removed. Infringing upon a Divine Guardian and their realm is a crime in the eyes of the Creator. Even for another Guardian!"

"Actually...it concerns your unfinished job. Let's discuss that, shall we?"

The Oracle sighed.

"What is there to talk about? Are you angry? Upset? I was right and you were wrong. The Chosen Hero has managed to slay a False Source. It proves that I am closing in on his true victory. What more could you ask for?" The Oracle said.

"..."

"I will continue. Mizik has defied what I thought possible. These...legendary heart stones...may be the missing piece of the puzzle. If I could somehow cause him to use all three of them..."

"You are a fool, Oracle."

"I'm a fool? You failed your pathetic attempt to oust me. You made the reset magic and even the weapon he wields. Yet he still cannot unlock its true power! He never has! That sword may as well be useless!" She said angrily.

The man gritted his teeth in rage.

"You think just by closing him off to everyone that he can somehow win against the Source? An ABYSSAL GOD!? He cannot fight such an enemy alone! He needs support!"

"And he has me. Excelsis stands ready to assist him when he stops being so rebellious. That foolish girl is a liability! The only thing she's good for is turning him into a coward with her shield and warming his bed!"

"IDIOT!!! VENGEANCE FIGHTS WITH ITS SUBORDINATES! IF THAT GIRL WIELDS BRAVERY-"

"YOU WILL NOT YELL AT ME IN MY TEMPLE!!!" The Oracle roared.

"The Creator was right...you've gone completely insane. He knows what you plan to do, Oracle. He sent me to warn you."

"And I suppose he also sent you to organize a rebellion in my own realm!? Don't make me laugh! I will not concede! I am Mizik's caretaker and I will grow him as I see fit. He has no need of allies when his power is sufficient enough."

"I see. You will not be swayed then. I feel sorry for you..."

"Don't. I have no use for your pity. I will solve this problem of Corruption with my Chosen Hero. Then, I will wash my hands of the entire ordeal. Lastly, the Creator will speak to me again once it is finished and I have been proven correct in my methods...and you will be punished for interfering with my realm."

The man turned around and slowly began to walk away.

"Since you have completely lost your mind, let me say one last thing at least."

"Go ahead. I make no promises that I will listen, however," the Oracle said.

"You are not aware of this...but the Chosen Hero represents a danger much greater than even the Source. Although, only because of you. The girl, Isabella, is not holding him back. No...she keeps the monster you've created subdued. These events were already set in motion at the final moments of the previous rendition...the end of his life. But as soon as Isabella was saved, it sealed your fate. A great disaster...unlike anything ever seen before, is upon us. And within the eye of the storm...the Destroyer awakens. Cease this at once...or Excelsis will burn with you along with it."

"Get out."

The man nodded.

"The die is cast."

Then he simply disappeared.

"Honestly...what sort of fool does he take me for? I can handle anything that idiotic hero can do. He will not bite the hand of his Master. Ah...I'm so close I can almost feel it... This cursed loop will finally end..."

*   *   *

The remaining two years went very well.

The Corruption had yet to return and the Oracle constantly harassed me to just come with Iris.

She even contacted me directly.

I simply told her that if it was so important, she could just say what she needed to say right there.

But she insisted on coming to meet her in person on Excelsis.

Although...something about her speech felt a bit odd... It felt hostile.

I paid it no mind.

Instead, I boarded our new ship and had a look around.

There were many separate rooms for not only the troops, but everyone else as well.

There were also several extra vacant rooms.

I told Vakra that I intended to recruit as many allies as I could to help fight against the Corruption.

On top of the weapon systems, this ship could survive in almost any environment.

I asked about the Void, and Vakra laughed at me.

"Are you stupid? NOTHING CAN SURVIVE IN THE VOID! DON'T EVEN TRY IT!!!" He yelled at the time.

The ship also had an onboard kitchen and a spacial storage system like our inventories.

Speaking of which, all of our soldiers had status magic cast on them. I cast it on Vakra at his request.

On top of helping build the ship itself, they trained until each of them was at least level 150. With the implementation of heart stones and my own magic to modify their status menus, they would be able to level indefinitely as I did.

Along with the storage system, an area for growing food was also present.

I couldn't use creation magic, but I could use nature magic.

With it, I was able to grow an unlimited amount of plant-based foods that contained all of the necessary nutrients to keep us healthy. An added bonus was that they tasted pretty good. I could modify the flavor, consistency, and anything else that might be needed to keep people eating it.

And if needed, we could always stop in another world to get meat if we wanted it.

There was an onboard laboratory for Carlos to use with most of the equipment Vakra had in his own lab.

Many of the things on our ship could be modified and upgraded if the technology was made by Carlos.

And since we had an unlimited supply of every kind of metal we could ever need via Leiso, it would be simple.

Lastly, the ship had an onboard artificial intelligence integrated into its systems named Virtus.

She took the appearance of a young dark elven woman with white hair and red eyes... Her purpose was to operate the ship's basic functions and perform complex activities for us. She was really shy and had trouble talking to people. She followed orders, well enough, though...

I was kind of pissed at Vakra for giving her such a strange personality...

But we would only rarely see and speak to her through the ship's monitors, anyway.

At the moment, I was feeling somewhat sentimental about leaving Delvandal...

This world was actually pretty awful.

We had a terrible time here, for the most part, but...it wasn't all bad.

We had obtained the power necessary to fight against the Corruption. We also made valuable friends and allies to help us along the way.

And now we had a ship to move us where we needed to go.

Currently, I stood on the bridge of the ship.

We were planning to depart in a few days and everyone was getting acquainted with their surroundings.

Among them was Rastair, who now sat in the pilot's seat.

She had requested a specific system to operate the ship's flight controls. Similarly to her old ship, the Leviathan.

Rastair requested multiple times that this ship be referred to as the Leviathan, the Leviathan II, etcetera...

I refused, of course.

This was my ship. I wanted to be the one to name it.

Isabella and Cassandra made a few suggestions as well. Like The Purifier and...The Mizik... Guess who suggested what. But ultimately, I decided on a name that would define the purpose of the ship.

It wasn't just for fighting the Corruption or transporting troops. This ship existed for the purpose of helping me get rid of this curse.

For that reason, I named it...The Cursebreaker.