Chapter 323

My first reaction as I suddenly found myself in a battle, especially when I was supposed to be doing an infiltration mission and nothing else, was to curse.

Only in my mind, of course. Because, as the new recruits, we were supposed to have fallen unconscious. I used the opportunity to observe and decide on an action.

The first thing I realized was that the city was not ready for a battle, their citizens attacking slowly but steadily ... but neither were the elementals. Their numbers looked impressive, but they came across as a disorganized wave.

A surprising battle for both sides.

Admittedly, it was a good opportunity for me to follow the suggestion that came from the voice. As the chaos raged, I could sneak toward the center of the city and do what the voice asked me to. There was only one problem.

I didn’t trust it.

I was reasonably sure that the voice was the thing that was responsible for my unique brand of the System, but I had long concluded that that didn’t mean I would trust them. Triggering a battle without even asking my opinion to force my hand didn’t make things any better.

What really annoyed me was that it didn’t really matter whether I trusted the voice or not. I needed to act.

Even before seeing the city, I was aware that the Eternals were a dangerous enemy, one that could turn my life into hell if they were aware of my existence. Anonymity had been my greatest weapon. That feeling only intensified when I saw the true base of the Eternals. They had been more passive than even I expected, lost in their own world, happy with all the Divine Spark they collected through the System, and by exchanging with the gods.

If they won the battle, it was inevitable that they would turn more active. If they did, it was very likely that they would discover my presence sooner or later, forcing us to retreat and abandon everything, which would likely include the two planes that were under our control.

One way or another, I had to act.

The guards who were responsible for the recruitment effort were distracted by the battle, making it easy for me to slip out and move deeper into the city. I ignored the tall crystal towers and the beautiful gardens while I searched for a place to hide.

And, focused on my connection with Helga. It was an invasive spell, one that inevitably left a mark on the protective barrier, but the Eternals had bigger things to worry about.

“What’s going on?” Helga asked.

“I need you to test whether the System currently having any problems?” I asked. “Any drop in power, or slowing communication,” I asked?

“No, why?” she answered after a moment.

I gave her a quick summary of the battle. “I wanted to validate what the System had been telling me about it being trapped at the Eternal City,” I said. “But, it’s clearly a lie. The planar border of the material plane is strong enough to interfere with the communication.”

“It’s probably what’s shacking them,” Helga guessed. “They will be free if you destroy them.”

“And, there’s a chance they’ll get free even if the battle goes on long enough. With the planar border in between, there had to be some limitations.”

“True,” Helga answered. “I might discover the real location if that’s true. There has to be some signs.”

“Excellent, you focus on that, and alert me if there’s anything wrong,” I said, giving her the task.

A good advantage, one that I could use to my benefit as I slowly moved deeper into the city. With people searching for a rebel angel, I actually had a good chance to escape. A good thing, as, at the edge, I could see several undead avatars appear and attack the elementals. Their presence didn’t surprise me, as, at this point, the alliance between the Eternals and the undead was not a mystery but a fact.

With their presence, I expected the battle to end with the Eternal victory, but there were too many elementals gathering, signaling the battle would still take a while. With the teleportation feature of the city being interfered with the System, I had the ability to walk around without a problem, maybe even raid their Divine Spark warehouses.

Turning the trap into a treasure.

Then, just like that, I had managed to curse myself. Someone appeared in the primordial Aether, attacking the undead from behind.

Someone that I was familiar with. Intensely.

Marianne.

{Strength: 160 Charisma: 160

Precision: 160 Perception: 172

Agility: 160 Manipulation: 170

Speed: 160 Intelligence: 220

Endurance: 231 Wisdom: 192}

{Purified Divine Spark: 725,291}

{Divine Air Spark: 32,193}

{ADDITIONAL SPARKS

Twilight - Chosen 30

Nature - Chosen 10

Knowledge - Chosen 10}

{GODDESSES

Elven Goddess

Goddess of Knowledge

Twilight Archangel

Goddess of the Forge}