In the Name of Throne

<From the looks of it, that guy on the ziggurat might be the heretic god we're looking for, Aleph.>

'Seems like it, Dominion. He doesn't really have that usual divinity vibe about him, but it most definitely looks like he's cut above the rest. Just look at his muscles; my goodness, he could flick his finger at me, and I'd probably be on the verge of death already.'

<And with how actively he's ordering his people around, I'm guessing he might also be functioning as the kapres' warlord.>

'Warlord? I mean, it sounds self-explanatory enough, but what's so special about being a warlord?'

<They're special mainly because they're the ones leading an army at a time of war. I usually work as my people's warlord, but in small skirmishes or when I require to be absent, I would appoint other people as my warlord instead. That doesn't happen much, but as you may have already known, I've left the Keep for a decade and appointed Times as the empire's acting-commander-in-chief. Since I'm not here, Times would obviously be Skystead Keep's warlord.>

'Looks like you made your return at the right time.'

<Wrong. The right time would have been before this war even erupted or before that heretic god's rise to power. I can't say I'm surprised to see this, but the kapres' audacity is still very baffling to me. There's a massive difference in tradition and culture between the kapre and Vyurs. And at times, their beliefs clash, and it turns nasty sometimes. And now here they are being led by a Vyur. Of course, the kapres would revolt and designate their own until my return.>

'Why didn't you just appoint someone else to lead the kapres then?'

<I did. But he's not here, and I haven't noticed him anywhere either, at least not in a conspicuous position. I expected to see him near the heretic god, at least.>

'Do you think they killed him?'

<I can't say, but the possibility definitely exists.>

'Hmm... We should at least do some analysis on this guy while we're here.'

"ANALYZE," I said while pointing my palm on the giant above the ziggurat. Soon enough, a textbox appeared pointed at the kapre's warlord.

|Name: Bismarck

|Classification: (1) Neophyte God, (2) Alive [VS], (3) Meat, (4) ???, (5) Throne

|Status:

|STR: 75

|VIT: 415

|DEX: 55

|INT: 40

|WIS: 70

'Holy shit, this guy has over 400 Vitality stats!'

<That's normal for a god. Once you've officially become my avatar, you would also get a boost on your Charm points, don't worry. But more things are worrying about this analysis.>

'He's working for Throne.'

<Looks like it. That's much, much worrying. A stats can be cultivated, trained, and increased naturally; affiliations with foreign deities need a deep connection.>

'And it even appears like the System is unaware of that warlord's race.'

<That, too, is alarming. This guy is absolutely not a kapre then. There's also a chance that it's just a guy from a race the System already recognized.>

'Then why is it showing three question marks instead?'

<Hmm… My theory is that, through some kind of magic mumbo-jumbo bullshit, a person from a race I already recognized managed to disguise itself as a kapre. That's why my System cannot comprehend its real race because it shows two results: kapre and the unknown REAL race.>

'I think I understand? ...But damn, it's a bit complicated.'

<This is why I hate stupidass magic in a time of war. It complicates things.>

'Anyway, let's talk about your theory first.'

<Sure.>

'What you're saying is that someone or something, probably from Firmament, managed to become the leader of the kapres through a VERY convincing camouflage spell? What category does that even fall into? Control? Recovery? And is there really a spell powerful enough to cause an error on your System?'

<I don't have an answer to most of your questions and believe me, I wish I do. But there's one thing I know for sure. That disguising magic is real; Virtue knows how to use it. Only a god can deceive another god. There's a chance that two gods are working against us. I could have detected their presence when and if they really planted that heretic god amidst our men, but things already happened. There's no use for us to cry about it now; let's just deal with it.>

'I do like your theory, though. Not to mention, this kapre has a Firmamentian-sounding name too. Or at least it's vastly different from the last name we've seen from the kapres. Do you think he's some kind of spy working for Throne?'

<A spy? No, that's not Throne's style. But I see him more as the kind of person who would reveal himself to a man and give him a portion of his divinity to cause havoc during my absence. If that's the case, we already have two problems. Firmament knows I've left my empire wide-open, and Throne managed to waltz in the marsh without alerting any of my appointed leaders. I do agree that the heretic god's name is very foreign-sounding for kapre's standards. Bismarck. Not everyday would you find a kapre with a name as Firmamentian as that. But Vyurs also have Firmamentian-sounding names partially because of my influence; it's not far-fetched for the kapres to integrate Skystedian's naming sense since they're just a few mountains away from each other.>

'All we can do is guess, really. But we have nothing concrete that could prove any of what we would say other than the warlord's affiliation with Throne.'

<That's right. Any of your guesses would be just as valid as mine. Heck, who knows? You're probably right; this guy might be a spy working for Throne, disguised as a kapre. Or worse, he might actually be Throne's avatar. The only thing we know for sure is that Throne has something to do with this mess, and the other gods of Firmament wouldn't pass on this golden opportunity.>

Silence succumbed us for a while; somehow, we would need to go head-to-head against this heretic god. I already have countless ways in my mind to defeat this guy: guerilla warfare, starvation, winning small-scale assaults, hit-and-runs, and long-range combat; that's just a few at the top of my head. These tactics work because it wouldn't need to have an army go head-to-head against the kapre's forces. As long as we keep our distance, weaken their defenses, and destroy them without getting too close, we can win. Luckily, the Vyurbornes are more than capable of doing it.

With my mind deep in thought, I decided to close the ANALYZE textbox. That was when I realized something. There, on the second ZOOM screen, I saw the warlord on the ziggurat looking up directly at me.

The warlord pointed at our balloon with an enraged expression; it looked like he's screaming something, but I couldn't hear it.

"Uhh... Sir..." I said, beckoning Times' attention while looking down below. There's definitely a lot of activity happening there now, with countless kapres around the ziggurats frantically hurrying like ants around their hill.

But Times just ignored me.

"Sir!" I said much louder this time, still looking down below. I was now shaking my head behind me, not wanting to take my eyes off what I was seeing, but I couldn't reach anything. Again, Times just ignored me.

"General Times!" I moved my head back into the Vyurbornean general. "We've been spotted!"

Times finally directed his attention at me as a booming howl resounded from below.

"BALLOON!" A silent scream echoed into the breeze.

Times lunged forward to check what's happening below, and his eyes practically popped out of his eye sockets.

"Get this thing running faster," Times ordered his soldier as he assessed the situation. But the soldier just looked at him, stunned and trembling. "NOW!" Times screamed, making the soldier jump up in a hurry.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked as I looked at what the soldier was doing.

"Turn the knob on that metal thing below the fire. Put it on max!" The soldier said as he did something to a small compartment below the folding bed. Looks like he does know how to communicate, after all.

I did as the soldier had instructed but immediately fell when the basket suddenly shook. Something must have hit our basket hard, and it almost ravaged our aircraft. Luckily, I managed to catch the folding bed in time, preventing the still unconscious Gertrude from falling. Times moved towards me and wordlessly slapped my hands away from his daughter before placing her back to the folding bed until the tremors around our aircraft ceased.

"BALLOON!" I heard that same echoing roar once more.

But this time, countless other roars accompanied it, and boy, am I fucking panicking now.