Chapter 2 - A Sense of Foreboding

Eryx continued to explore his surroundings in hope to locate where he was. He returned to the town.

Immediately, he looked around at the public signs and all the letters around him. They do not look like English, which is the language he is most familiar with. But he could understand them instinctively. Without a doubt, it's the doing of his new passive skill, [Campione Physique]. A rather convenient ability to have.

"German? Huh. So, I ended up in Germany?" He commented after identifying the language which he knew even prior to receiving the [Campione Physique] because he initially Transmigrated into an Echt Quincy clan originated from Germany.

Now that he learned where he currently is, Eryx thought about what his immediate goal was.

At first, he wished to settle down and live a simple and peaceful life because his previous one was hectic and tiring. Especially the Thousand Years Blood War he participated in.

But somehow, he didn't think it's possible. The feeling of premonition tells that he will have anything but a peaceful life laid out ahead for him. After all, power attracts power. No matter how he tried to hide it, problems always had its way to find him.

So, with no directions or goal in mind. He let his heart take the steering wheel of his legs.

While he stroll around the town, taking in the scenery of a peaceful modern world. He once again felt a feeling of premonition tugging at his mind.

"Hey, do you know what weird feeling keeps affecting me?" Eryx paused before a small cafe that happened to have a TV, playing a news channel.

[That is the effect of The Almighty's passive abilities, [Future Sight] and [Divine Foresight]]

Hearing the voice's explanation, Eryx nodded and approached the cafe as the locals inside were staring at him mainly due to his odd choice of outfits, the Sternritter uniform which made him look like a military officer of sorts.

"So, it isn't just my mind playing tricks on me. Huh?" He mutter while watching the news anchor reporting about natural disasters wrecking Germany and affecting the entire Europe.

"...unprecedented series of natural disasters has struck central Europe, with Germany being the hardest hit. A series of seismic events, including powerful earthquakes and volcanic activity, have caused widespread destruction throughout the region. Emergency services and governments are scrambling to respond, but the scale of this catastrophe is overwhelming.

Our top story begins in southern Germany, where reports indicate massive cracks in the earth's surface have appeared seemingly overnight. Volcanic eruptions have been confirmed, with lava flows engulfing rural towns and reaching the outskirts of major cities. The air is thick with ash, turning the skies a dark, foreboding red. Experts are warning of a potential 'volcanic winter,' where ash clouds could block sunlight, causing a sharp drop in temperatures.*

*Fires are raging uncontrollably, with some officials suspecting these wildfires were ignited by the intense heat radiating from the volcanic activity. Entire regions are under evacuation orders as authorities try to contain the situation, though the unpredictable nature of the disasters is making it nearly impossible to establish safe zones. Citizens are urged to remain calm and follow evacuation protocols…"

Eryx didn't watch till the end and immediately left the cafe. His newfound Campione instinct tells that those natural disasters are anything but natural and something greater is at play and the one that caused it was coming for him.

This wild instinct inside him is like an eager predator that saw its prey, urging him to find and kill the one behind the natural disasters. Eryx felt conflicted because he could feel his instinct is trying to dictate his actions and thoughts, controlling him to fight which made him frown. However, he had a feeling that running away wouldn't help either because the one behind this is coming for him whether he wants it or not.

A sudden heat wave washed over him as he stared towards the horizon where the heat wave spread from. There he saw a hint of blood red sky caused by volcanic ash filling the atmosphere. Even the ground shook subtly, unaware by the humans around him due to how tiny the scale was but his sharp perception could feel the tremor spreading very rapidly toward him.

"There goes my peaceful retirement on my fourth life." Eryx sighed exasperatedly before his eyes sharpened at the direction of his incoming foe.

———

Somewhere in the depth of Siberia.

"Lord Marquis, we had received the latest intel about the Ashen Flame Cabal. Their ritual to summon their patron deity had succeeded."

A man in a suit, despite the harsh cold of Siberia, kneels down and reports to an aged man in a grey business suit with a white shirt and black tie under, and high-collared grey long coat. His hair is silver and bearing an ethereal emerald-colored eyes that glows slightly as he hears the news.

"Hmn, they finally made the move. But of all time, they had to do it when I was away." The Marquis spoke with a slightly displeased and irritated tone which made the man in suit tremble uncontrollably, not because of the freezing weather.

"No, it didn't matter." The Marquis turned to the side and activated an authority which manifested as a little girl in a deep purple dress and witch hat hugging a thick ancient tome.

"Bring me to the Heretic God immediately." He ordered the girl.

The girl lifted her head up to look at him for a moment before she nodded and opened the thick tome which unfurled with magical displays as magical energy radiated from each page of the tome as it flips and finally stopped on a particular page.

"Sorcery, instant teleportation, chanting in progress. Your excellency, please accept the magic's working." The girl mutters in a robotic speech, lacking emotions as if she is merely a doll.

"Hmn." The Marquis nods with a pleased smile before looking back briefly at the man in suit kneeling on the thick snow. "Continue the search. I will be back swiftly." He said before immediately turning to the girl and said. "Activate, instant teleportation." Eager to hunt his prey that finally appeared.

Immediately after that, the Marquis and the girl vanished in a flash of magical light. Leaving the man alone in the freezing tundra. But he didn't complain and immediately returned to work. After all, which mortals dares to defy the strongest Campione in the world? None, he is a god slayer that can evaporate a city at whim after all. None is idiotic enough to invite his ire.

———

"Is it too late for me to back out from this shit?" Eryx started with a twitching eyes at the scene before him.

[I believe so, Host. Your opponent had locked on to you.]

"Fuck…" He cursed while staring at the towering giant of a raging inferno incarnate.

The ground shook and cracked as molten lava spilled out from the earth underneath with each step. The surrounding turned dry like a severe drought had wrecked the place and immediately caught on fire, fueling the already raging wildlife and the heat. The heat is simply unbearably hot. Scorching, even.

Surtr, the Fire Giant and Heretic God stood tall surrounded by roaring flames and molten magma while Eryx stood a distance away and calmly observed the flame giant with a mix of annoyance and unwillingness.

"You there, mortal... No, I can sense it. You are no ordinary mortal. You carry the blood of gods on your hands. A Godslayer." Surtr spoked with a bellowing voice, loud enough to be heard from miles away.

"Look. I don't care who you are or what you are. I didn't come here to fight. I've fought enough battles to wish for none. So, go find someone else that wishes to actually fight you or whatever." Eryx replied with clear disinterest and hoping it would end just like that. This isn't his problem and surely someone will appear sooner or later to deal with it.

Immediately, the fiery giant laughed loud enough that the ground vibrated along.

"You, a God Slayer, would rather turn your back on a Heretic God?" The giant asked as if amused by the answer. "Your words fool none, God Slayer. You may deny it. But I can feel it, your predatory instinct and faint bloodlust directed at me. I am the end of all things, the fire that will consume the world. There is no retreat, Campione. You cannot leave without crossing swords with me and neither will you leave without fulfilling your destiny."

The words struck Eryx like an arrow to his heart. He could feel it, the predatory instinct inside him as if he met a Hollow, the natural enemy of Quincy and Heretic God, the natural enemy of him, a Campione.

Eryx despises the feeling of being controlled. That was the main reason why he even rebelled and sought to kill Yhwach. The tyrant that regarded the Quincy race as nothing but tools of his ambition which he gladly sacrificed at any moment.

Now, he felt like he was forced into the servitude of an unknown player to kill Heretic God. No matter how he denied it, his instinct reeling towards killing the Heretic God despite not wishing to. He felt like he was being controlled and used again just like what Yhwach once did.

As such, Eryx wants to be defiant to whomever that messes him up and tries to control him.

*"I have no interest in Ragnarok or your 'end of all things.' There's always another world-ending prophecy, another being declaring they'll destroy everything. If you want to burn this place down, fine. I'm not stopping because I had no reason to." Eryx declared before turning around to leave.

Surtr immediately Growls, his flames surging angrily and causing the ground beneath him to crack and sizzle. "You dare dismiss me so easily? You think to walk away from Surtr? You who had the blood of gods on your hands, yet you would flee from your destiny like a coward?"

Eryx paused his steps and turned around to glare at Surtr while staying composed although barely.

"I'm not fleeing. I'm just trying not to waste my ti–"

Surtr raises his massive burning sword and slamming it into the earth, causing a wave of molten rock to surge toward Eryx.

"You do not leave. None will escape the Ragnarok. You will fight me, or you will be annihilated. There is no other option, Campione! Let's fight to our hearts content!" Surtr roared his war cry.

After narrowly dodging the molten wave, Eryx sharpens his eyes as the heat scorches the ground around him.

"Since you wouldn't let me leave in peace. You gave me no other choice." Eryx clenched his fist tightly before relentlessly letting it loose as he entered his battle stance similar to an archery stance.

"There is no peace in the presence of Surtr! Only fire, only destruction! Draw your weapon and face your fate!" Surtr smirks victoriously and charges at Eryx with surprising agility for its size. "Show me the power of the Godslayer! Let us see if your strength can withstand the flame of Ragnarok itself!" Surtr roared gleefully.

Gripping his fist tightly, his voice low but resolute. "You're going to regret forcing my hand." Eryx growled before a blue energy sprung out from his clenched fist into the shape of a bow.

The tension breaks, and the battlefield erupts in flames as the two clash, fire meeting Reishi arrows, as the world around them trembles under the aftermath of their clash.

———

In the distance, the Marquis appeared alone as he stared at the battle raging between his prey and a thief that stole his prey.

Normally, he would be angry that another of his kin stole his prey. But, he did not recognise the man in all white and neither did he recognise the weapon and ability he displayed. He also hadn't sensed the birth of another one of his kin. Which means, this thief couldn't be one of his kin. Instead, a mortal trying to ascend to the rank of Campione. However, he finds his ability to be suspiciously strong for a mortal.

Not lacking in authority and driven by curiosity, The Marquis decided to observe from a distance and sought to learn more about this mysterious man and his power that defies logic.

———

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