Chapter 526: Shepherd

It wasn’t too much trouble to find Anneliese and all with her after taking care of Good King Norman. Despite the barriers in their way, Argrave was again connected to Elenore. That enabled their speedy communication and reunition. They were holed up in a grove far outside of town, likely because it was far away from the army of golems blocking the exit to Sandelabara.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

As Orion and Argrave travelled, a haunting call echoed throughout the city. It was soon followed by the screams of crowds as all hell broke loose. When Argrave looked over, he saw one of the dreaded Shadowlanders emerge from a gaping abyss above the town. It looked like a whale that had been blacked out entirely, yet it had an elongated obese human face lined with rows of teeth where a beard might’ve been. Uncountable mouths hidden in that jungle of teeth created a choir of voices singing joyously as they descended upon the city. It confirmed what Argrave had feared—Traugott’s time had been dedicated on perfecting the trouble that he’d caused on Dirracha. This portal, it seemed, was larger and more stable than the brief foray in Dirracha.

But Argrave and Orion could not waste time focusing on that. They found Anneliese and the rest soon enough in a low-lying grove, precisely as had been conveyed to Elenore.

“Alright. I found them, sis. Thanks,” Argrave communicated back home.

“Be safe. I don’t ever want to feel you go dark like that again,” Elenore told him, moments before their communication ended.

The Alchemist had long ago spotted Argrave’s return, and told the others. They waited on him as they passed into the place.

Anneliese still held Sophia, precisely as Argrave had asked her to do. Anneliese got the young girl’s attention, and when her red eyes fell upon Argrave, they widened in disbelief. “What did I tell you?” Anneliese said to the princess.

The Alchemist held out his hand as Argrave walked up. “My lens.”

Argrave had intended to say something to Sophia, but he begrudgingly pulled it free from beneath his eye and flicked it like a coin. The glass faded into the Alchemist’s flesh, and Argrave’s eyes flickered between him and Sophia. He had hoped the item in Sandelabara related to Gerechtigkeit might be... well, an item, and not a person. Having Sophia here would be a burden, regardless of his feelings on the matter. He put his hand on her head while she stared at him in total shock.

“Told you I’d be back, Sophia. These are the friends I told you about. We’re here to get you to safety—and that means we can’t talk much right now. Is that alright?”

Sophia nodded, and Anneliese gently set her down. The princess walked up to his leg at once, touching him to be sure he was real before standing behind him, sheltered from all the others. It was awkward at first, but Argrave adjusted. She didn’t seem to want to say anything at all.

After a time, Anneliese whispered, “I... don’t think she processes things like a normal girl does. She doesn’t fear for herself. She was more scared for you—and she trusts only you.”

Argrave heard and absorbed her words, but more pressing matters deserved his attention. “I certainly hope we’ve come up with something while I was busy risking my life. Melanie, your portals, maybe?”

The Alchemist answered in all their stead. “The golems Dario—or more accurately, the being working through Dario—sent are capable of neutralizing all supernatural energies, be it magic or divine blessing. I detected the same energy coming from the ones protecting Good King Norman. Did you find a way to bypass their nullification?”

“Time wastes as we—” Castro continued, but Argrave interrupted him again.

“No, you won’t, because I know exactly what you’re thinking. You’ll use your A-rank ascension, and you’ll tear through them all like a knife through butter. But I won’t let you, because I know how that ends. And it ends pretty badly for you.”

“I have a robust succession plan, Argrave,” Castro assured him. “My position in the Order has basically already been delegated to those who will take my place. And I assure you, they are as steadfastly loyal to you as I am.”

“I’ve never had to do what you’re talking about before. I don’t want to start now,” Argrave shook his head.

“Maybe I want it,” Castro mused. “I am many things, but famous? I think not. Over three hundred years of living, and I can still walk through the streets of any city without so much as a widened eye in recognition. Make sure the historians write about me, maybe hire a minstrel or two... and this old man can breathe his last.”

Argrave looked at him with a terrible feeling swirling in his chest. He couldn’t conjure words, and that only made the feeling worse.

“If you want to save all, I could consume this city,” the Alchemist said, looking about. “They are people lost in time, and already being massacred by the Shadowlanders. I could once again call upon potentiation. Those from the Shadowlands will fuel my endless appetite. I will chase them into their own realm. And then, when all our enemies are subsumed into my flesh...” he pointed at the black stone hanging around Argrave’s neck. “You put the Smiling Raven inside there.”

Argrave looked between them. “What is with you two?”

“I dare not test my unevolved might against those golems while the Shadowlanders swarm down without end. Furthermore, I know you dislike the idea of me having some say in Sophia’s fate.” The Alchemist looked at Argrave squarely. “Dario’s words stuck with you. And they stuck with me, too. I am not ignorant I am inhuman. Whatever she represents, perhaps I deserve no say in the fate of the world. Becoming the Smiling Raven would allay your fears more permanently. And you gain a weapon to use however you will.”

Argrave looked around at everyone. He already saw in their faces something of what he felt in his heart—a lack of other choices.

“Whatever plan you decide on, decide upon it quickly,” Onychinusa reminded Argrave. “Elsewise, I’ll just go home without you. More of those disgusting Shadowlanders are coming from their portals. Soon, this whole city will be lost to them.”

“I’m, uhh... of a like mind,” Melanie admitted quietly, though with a degree more empathy than the ancient elf. “So, Argrave?”

Ask an old man to die, or ask an older man to turn into an abomination that destroyed a continent millennia ago. If the Alchemist became the Smiling Raven, they would lose his tremendous capability of research, his vast trove of knowledge, and all things related to the direction of researching Gerechtigkeit. Castro, meanwhile, would undoubtedly pass on if he did as he proposed. His A-rank ascension all but guaranteed such a fate.

Argrave looked down at Sophia—innocent, confused, and hiding behind his leg for protection. Though he knew the answer, he hesitated to speak it. He found his resolve in her trembling figure. Argrave lifted his head up, took a deep breath, and prepared to damn an ally with his next utterance.