Crusade – Chapter 62: Unhinged

Caethya took a step back as her Goddess emerged from the portal she had created to Vigil's Dominion. The reflected anger she felt was no longer a tiny buzzing at the back of her mind but a palpable aura that seemed to emanate from Aperio. That her Goddess had executed two of what Caethya would have called major deities was already not a good sign, but feeling the seething anger was another thing entirely.

"We are leaving," Aperio declared, a wave of mana following her words. "And so is everyone else."

Her Goddess' words caused Caethya to turn around, and only now did she notice the people that had entered the central hall. All of them looked confused, some as if they had woken up from some weird dream while others shifted their eyes from Aperio's bloodied weapon to something only they could see.

Caethya knew what they were looking at. The System notifications still lingered in her own vision, waiting to be read.

Vigil, God of Justice and Light, has fallen from grace.

All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.

Inanis, Goddess of Freedom and Darkness, has fallen from grace.

All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.

Neither of the notifications came as a surprise to the young Elf. She had watched her Goddess execute the two other deities, after all. From a safe distance. She wanted to know what, after what was likely millennia of peaceful relations, had resulted in them deserving death, but this was nowhere near the right place to do so. Even if it was, she didn't currently have the courage to ask Aperio in the first place. Will she send me away if I ask?

She did not want to be forced to leave. There was so much she could still learn; about magic, about the nature of life, and even about herself. Caethya had started to have an inkling as to why she felt what she did in the presence of her Goddess, and if it was correct then revealing it would probably get her sent away rather quickly. If not executed.

It was out of the question to talk to Aperio now about any of the things on Caethya's mind as she had little doubt that, in her current state, the winged Goddess would not refrain from the use of excessive force. What made her this angry?

Before any more questions could form in her mind, another wave of mana emanated from her Goddess. A moment later she saw the mass of people disappear, replaced by a faint blue mist that intermittently sparkled with a faint silver sheen that Caethya could not quite identify.

What she had no trouble figuring out, however, was that her Goddess had just displaced over a hundred people in the blink of an eye. I should probably expect things like this, shouldn't I? Aperio was the All-Mother after all; something like teleporting people was probably trivial for her. ...Or did she kill them? Caethya hoped Aperio wouldn't do that, but she had just killed two Gods and was still radiating anger from the experience.

A gentle nudge from Ferio ripped Caethya from her thoughts. The Goddess had offered her hand and, after a moment's hesitation, the young Elf took it. A moment later Caethya found herself above the moon, floating in the black abyss of space next to Ferio. Much like Aperio had done before, her daughter had created a small bubble of air around them, something the Elf was infinitely thankful for. While she might be able to survive without air for a long time, she did not necessarily like it.

"What is Aperio going to do?" Caethya asked quietly.

Ferio sighed in response, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I honestly don't know. I have not seen her this angry in a long time. She just told me to leave the moon, and to take you with me."

Before Caethya could ask another question a wave of mana rolled over them, sending a shudder down Caethya's spine. A moment later, she briefly saw a twinkle of blue on the moon's surface before a blinding flash of silver caused her to avert her gaze.

The luminous assault only lasted a moment, and once it was gone the Elf blinked to clear her eyes. Then she blinked a few more times, trying to understand what had just happened. A part of the moon had simply ceased to exist, a giant new crater taking its place. As if someone took a bite of it. Of course, she knew Aperio was responsible for it; why else would she send her daughter and disciple away?

"Oh, mother," Ferio muttered. "Despite all the change, you still don't do things quietly, do you?"

"She has done something like this before?" Caethya asked, not quite believing the notion. So far, her Goddess had only gotten angry at things that the Elf would argue had been justified. A dungeon made from her mana that was taken against her will would make her angry as well, after all. Did Vigil and Inanis make the dungeons?

She wasn't sure about that. There was a bit of her mind that was certain she had heard the claim that the ex-deities had created them, but she was also quite sure that they had also explicitly said that they had not made them. I'll have to ask her, won't I?

"Yes, she has done things like this before. Though last time someone made her this angry, she simply removed the entire world they called home." Before Caethya could properly react, Ferio smiled in a comforting manner. "You don't have to worry, they lived alone on a moon. Despite what it might appear like at the moment, she does care about most people."

Caethya wasn't questioning that point; if her Goddess had no regard for the mortals that lived in her world, she would have probably killed a lot more people for not showing her the respect she deserves. Though, how people would even fail to pay their respects was not something she understood. Just being in her presence was a joy that few other things could match.

"You should have really picked someone else to crush on, Caethya. Mother doesn't really care for such things. At least, she never used to."

The words of the Goddess of Life and Light caused Caethya to turn her head and stare at her. She had not really known what was the cause of her tumultuous emotions, but having it spelled out by Ferio caused the gears in the Elf's head to slowly start turning.

As realisation set in, Caethya felt her cheeks and ear-tips flush red in embarrassment. Why her? She had held no real interest in such things for the longest time. Anything more than a night of fun was just a hindrance to her, most people vying for her affection too weak to be a suitable partner. Is that it?

She returned her attention to the newest crater on the moon, trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts that had surfaced in her mind. Whether or not she should pursue her feelings was a decision she would not make lightly.

Aperio let out a breath, a faint bit of smoke flowing from her lips. Removing what Vigil had built had calmed her down, but it also raised a question. Did I overdo it? She had just removed a part of a moon. A feat that had been shockingly easy, all things considered.

All she had done was focus on her aura and then, with a tiny nudge of her mind, commanded her mana to remove what had offended her. That was almost too easy. The absence of sound was perhaps a blessing, as something in the back of Aperio's mind told her that what she had done would have been quite loud as well as blinding.

A brief check through her aura confirmed that both Ferio and Caethya were fine, though the latter looked a bit red in the face. Did I hurt her? A thought was all Aperio needed to appear behind her disciple, gently laying her hand on her shoulder and letting some of her mana flow through her.

Caethya stiffened at the touch but relaxed as soon as she noticed who it was that had appeared behind her. Teleporting without her Void as an intermediary was an oddly satisfying feeling, something she had also not expected. Testing her theory on unsuspecting followers of Vigil might not have been the best choice, but at the time she had not cared.

She had informed Laelia that she would dump a few hundred people on her lap before immediately doing so. Aperio had little doubt that her paladin could deal with the group of confused followers of a dead God. Not that she will be alone with them for long.

As she could find nothing wrong with Caethya, the winged Goddess removed her hand from her disciple's shoulder. While she still felt there was something off, Aperio chose to not dig deeper. Already upset the lives of enough people today.

"Feeling better?" Ferio asked. "Taking out a bit of moon has to lift your spirits, no?"

While her daughter's tone was not exactly to Aperio's liking, she was correct. Letting loose a little had helped with her anger. That blowing up part of a celestial body only constituted 'a little' did show, however, that she would have to find something else to actually help with relaxation. Perhaps making something?

"Yes, it did," Aperio replied eventually. "What they did was unacceptable, however. Death might have been too lenient." The knowledge that their souls would eventually live a new life did not sit well with her, their crime feeling too big to be punished in only one lifetime. The only thing staying her hand from removing their souls completely was that they were, like every other soul, doomed to forget. They would not remember anything.

"What could be worse than death?" Caethya mumbled quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Killing them just sent their souls back to her Dominion," Ferio replied. "She could have annihilated their very soul, removing any trace of their existence. Or she could have tortured them for all eternity."

Aperio face twisted into a grimace at the mention of torture: she did not the like that idea one bit. Neither did the complete annihilation of a soul sit right with her, the very idea upsetting something deep within her. Such measures are not to be taken lightly. The only thing that had managed to incite a bigger reaction from her was the discovery that both Vigil and Inanis had taken a part of her memory.

For what purpose they had done so, Aperio had yet to find out, but she doubted it would be anything good. Perhaps it gave them more strength? She shook her head at the thought. Much like herself, the deities should be able to grow stronger by simply existing, or at least through proper training. There was no reason why they could not. Perhaps they got lazy?

It was something she would have to investigate, now that the two biggest nuisances were removed. The others — the ones that had appeared on the System restoration notification — were still alive, of course, but none of them were deities she knew or particularly cared about at the moment.

"I did what I thought adequate at the time," Aperio finally said. "What I think of that decision now matters little. Our stay here has also come to an end, as I would hate for the ex-followers of Vigil to be left alone much longer." Who knows what Laelia might do with them.

Of course, Aperio knew full well, as she had been keeping a proverbial eye on her paladin through her aura. A feat that should, perhaps, garner more of a reaction from her than it did. But this is normal for me, isn't it? Magic had become second nature to her. In some respects it had become even easier than remembering to breathe. Ridiculous.

"Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, turning around to face her Goddess. "What will happen to the people that lived here?"

The winged Goddess shrugged in response, her wings mirroring the motion. "I have nothing planned for them. They are free to live their life how they see fit."

"Don't you fear that they will turn against you?"

"Turn?" Aperio asked, tiling her head slightly to the side. "They served a God that wanted to kill me; I would say that they have always been against me. Even if they attempt to do something; what exactly are they supposed to achieve if their God has already failed?"

Caethya did not reply, instead averting her gaze to look at her feet. Perhaps she thought that her question was a stupid one yet again. The embarrassment was, at least to Aperio, clear in her behavior.

"I think it is time we find out," Aperio said, offering a hand each to Caethya and Ferio. She might not need to physically touch someone to teleport them, but it felt like the proper thing to do. Once her disciple and daughter had taken the offered hands, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought them to the house of healing where they had left Laelia.

GamingWolf

Blowing up a bit of moon is sure to calm one down, no?

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