Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

Chapter 889: The King Of Rubble...Or Queen? - Part 2

The one thing the spirit and the heroes had in common...betrayal by those who were meant to protect them. And while the spirit was taken advantage of by the king, Raven was antagonized by his own alleged mother, something the spirit shared its ire towards. Though enraged still, it saw some sense for the first time since its death. Nobody had even tried to appease it, and with someone who could stand against him and challenge him, the spirit felt as an equal with no need to prove itself.

As the conversation evolved, however, another topic of interest came up on its own.

"The king’s guard? Those invisible bastards? The weaklings who keep trying to go to some kingdom in the north?"

"You’ve seen them?" Raven asked in response to the spirit’s enquiry.

Slamming its fist on the armrest, the spirit screamed out with a palpable rumbling sent through the sands underneath.

"I do, I’ve killed legions of those cowards! Using strange tricksters to bind me, they have tried to clear some path from here to hell knows where?" Pointing its finger in the direction of Inktaus, it added. "Must be that kingdom in that direction, but I don’t see a thing thanks to those massive walls!"

A moment’s surprise washed over the entire party. The fact that the spirit could not only see the king’s guards, but also through the invisibility barrier walls, came as a surprise that nobody could have expected. After all, none of them could see through the invisibility barrier, and only after getting in contact with it were they made aware of its existence. So either the spirit had noticed something in all its years being imprisoned on this rubble, or it possessed some special sight that allowed it to perceive invisible things, no matter how strong the magic or mechanism behind it may be.

"All this talk..." Before anyone could question the spirit’s powers, it spoke on its own with its head moving around in random jerks. Holding its skull gripped tight between darkened nails, it grunted and groaned before lifting its head and staring at Raven again. "Hero... I remember, I was chosen by some god, a prince... It was someone, I-I–"

A dry choking sound escaped the spirit’s throat, and the word ’Prince’ settled inside everyone’s head in the meantime. They knew who it was referring to, but the prince was a lesser god, much like Lantherem; however, none from the islands were truly chosen, with perhaps the exception of Aranuvia’s kings or queens.

’The infighting between those gods resulted in their fall, but The Prince decided to step back himself after losing influence, didn’t he? Maybe this spirit annihilating a kingdom of his people was part of the lesser god’s fall?’ The hero tried to make sense of it all, but without the Prince of Nile to confirm anything, all that he had was mere speculation. ’I will ask him later. Not that he can do anything to rebuild his influence, but if he is helping and this is his chosen, then maybe we can empower the prince with some faith, and that should extend to his angels raising morale in the iron tridents.’

Like a true general, Raven was trying to thread the needle of opportunity through the many loops of entangled situations. And from the looks of it, the spirit was now intent on cooperation; thus came his turn to make his offer and include another monster in his many lines of defense against the enemies.

"Those walls you were talking about, they’re a kingdom under my protection." Taking a step forward, Raven raised one of his hands towards the spirit. "If you swear to protect it against the King’s guards, to kill them as soon as you notice their presence, I will call to you to quell your rage against my enemies! Perhaps once you’ve spat the poison that reeked through your heart, that flame of vengeance will finally settle. Of course, you can refuse to help, but how long do you wish to sit on a kingdom of ash waiting for those who’ve wronged you even though they’ve already been dealt with by your own two hands?"

The spirit’s eyes narrowed to the proposition. Sure, it had lived through centuries just waiting to quell its rage, but the kingdom had already fallen, and yet not feeling sated by how it exacted its revenge, the spirit was doomed to haunt the ashes for as long as time shall reign.

"So be it, there must be a reason why I linger. And if my rage is no use to me, then let it act as your blade and in my slaughter, perhaps I will finally know peace." Nodding its head, the spirit leaned back into the throne and turned its gaze to the distant walls of the kingdom close by. "Though I have one demand."

Looking down at Raven again, it flashed him the faintest of smiles.

"What is it?" The hero asked, and the spirit answered.

"I will kill the king’s guard and follow you into battle, but I no longer wish to be bound to this pile of ashes. Free me somehow, and I will do as you say and remain here until you need me to be elsewhere."

At once, Raven’s gaze turned to Erika. The priestess clutched the ankh dangling by her chest and lifted it in her hands. A dazzling light emerged from it, and then came the words.

"Very well, I, Erika ’Phordite, will set you free from this ash pile. But your spirit will linger in this place until you’ve fulfilled your promise. I shall call you anywhere in this world through this necklace, and you will answer, you will kill all those who threatened the great divide that is the kingdom of Inktaus, and as long as you swear to fulfill these promises, I will grant you your freedom and your eventual release to join the rest of the souls in the sea of stars."

Looking deep into the spirit’s hollow gaze, Erika asked one final question.

"Do you concur?" And the spirit sealed their fates, both its and that of the party, with a brisk, enthusiastic nod.

Forever in the service of the hero for as long goes the holy war. But at least, this curse of eternity has been broken, and that was far more than anyone has offered the king or the queen of that pile of ash.