Chapter 182 182 – Start of Negotiation

I snorted in frustration at not being able to reach Levi. “Shit, that damn supreme god!”

“I will help you.” Frei chimed in. “You can’t go to another god’s place yet, do you? Let me go to him directly and ask him to come here.”

Those words left me dumbfounded for a moment. “But, I didn’t do anything to help you…”

“Yeah, you really don’t play a role at all. However, the woman named Renee provided a great service. One titan mandrake is indeed dead, but she saved many human lives and closed a giant portal that could disturb the balance of nature.” Frei started walking away from me. “It would be a shame if someone as great as her died just like that.”

I didn’t have time to answer, and the goddess was already rushing through the mist. In just a second, Yua came out of there and came over to me.

“What’s the matter, sir?” The kunoichi asked quickly. “Why only call me?”

“Listen…” I sighed. “I’m going to bring Renee back to life, but I’m not sure it will work.”

The kunoichi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“I will persuade the goddess of death to bring Renee’s soul to be my servant.” I continued. “And you will help you with this negotiation.”

“Why didn’t you tell Elise and the others?”

I turned around and walked over to Anja, who was kneeling and crying on the pond’s edge. “That’s because I don’t want to disappoint them if I fail.”

Anja then looked at me. “You should succeed in doing that, sir. I’ve never actually met Renee, but it’s a shame that such a great woman like her is in the afterlife.”

“Well, we’ll give it a try. I also feel what you feel.”

***

Elise walked limply with the others on the city streets. The atmosphere is gradually returning to normal, people have ventured out, and the barrier surrounding the city has been lowered.

Hugo and the rest of Renee’s friends came over to the group.

“Did you guys destroy that crack?” The restaurant owner asked.

No one answered. They looked the other way.

Standing next to him, Pierre raised an eyebrow, looking at the faces of the people. “Why do you guys look like you just cried? What…. Wait, where’s Renee?”

Never get an answer, Renee’s friends widened their eyes.

“Renee sacrificed herself to ward off the danger.” Alain finally answered, albeit with quivering lips. “She is the hero who saved this city and its inhabitants.”

Renee’s friends gasped and froze, starting to shed tears. Hugo grabbed Alain’s collar, accusing the archer of lying. The restaurant owner had to be pulled by his friends.

“Hey….” Elise looked up, staring at the cloudy sky with a blank stare. “If the magic barrier is not installed, then the soldiers and government magicians come to fight the titan mandrake. Will they be able to win?”

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment.

“Listen to me, Elise,” Raymund said cautiously. “Now your mind is not clear…”

“You said that maybe I should accept this power, sir.” Elise interrupted her master’s words, with her eyes turning yellow.

“No…”

“Yes, they will be able to win if the government takes care of this properly,” Lauren spoke in a fast and rather loud tone, beating Raymund’s words. “They must cooperate with the Scarlet Wizard, or they’re scared of being threatened by her. They allow people to become sacrifices to increase the power of the scarlet wizard….”

Lauren’s words were cut off because Alain covered her mouth.

“The one in charge of all this is the supreme general and the king,” Hugo replied angrily, then pointed in a direction. “They were there….”

Now it was Pierre and company’s turn to stop Hugo from speaking.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to show me the place.” Elise hissed. Her appearance began to return to dark mode. “I’ll find out myself. And don’t stop me, or I will kill you.”

Elise’s last words left everyone frozen and speechless. The aura that Elise’s body gave off was genuinely terrifying and felt like it could kill you.

Mona approached her master with an enlarged body, dark fur color, and eyes that began to emit a fiery red light.

“Hey, if you kill the king and the country’s higher-ups, great chaos might occur!” Raymund grew frustrated with Elise’s condition. “There will probably be many parties who want to fight for power! It will shed more blood!”

“I don’t care about that. The higher-ups of this country have let its citizens die.” Elise got on her dog. “They must be punished. And if many die because of fighting for power, so be it. They deserve to die for being too greedy.”

A wisp of mist appeared above Elise’s head, but strangely it had no effect on the female warrior. She didn’t float up and could still ride her horse smoothly without a hitch. Raymund’s persuasion didn’t affect her at all.

***

I knelt down because I couldn’t persuade or take Elise. I’ve already asked Kimi and the others to follow, but I’m not sure they’ll be able to do much.

“What’s the matter, sir?” Anja asked in a worried tone.

“What do you mean?” I raised my head.

Yua sighed. “You look more restless than usual. Yes, sometimes the lord Raymund I know, is agitated, but it won’t go this way.”

“Even if I tell you, you won’t understand.” I got up with a shaking body. More precisely, I don’t want them to know I’m not a god. I don’t know what their response was.

Seeing some of the mist moving forward, I hastily approached my guest, Levi.

“The answer is no, Raymund.” The supreme God said sternly before I opened my mouth. “I cannot carelessly grant your request to retrieve the soul of a mortal.”

“I’m just asking you to take me to the goddess of death.” I grew more frustrated. “I know I’m banned by her, but I’m sure you can take me there.”

“She doesn’t want to give souls of mortal in her place to serve as your servant.” The veins on Levi’s face tightened even more. “She doesn’t want an incident like the scarlet wizard to happen again. Your servant turns against the gods. Isn’t all that clear enough to you?”

“But….”

“And I already had a bad relationship with Helia, the goddess of death. She was an important goddess in the realm of God. The woman who gave the servant to us. With the increasing number of mortals and new things that give rise to new gods and goddesses, the need for souls for servants is increasing. I don’t want her to be so reluctant to send those souls to us again.”

I just froze. This is terrible. I’m at a loss for words, and my brain is stuck.

The supreme God took a deep breath. His tone softened. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll say goodbye. I still have a lot of work to do. If you need a new servant, then just wait for Osiris.”

“Haven’t you seen what that woman named Renee did, my lord?” Yua lined me up. “Her ability is extraordinary. She can destroy the famous titan mandrake alone, even at the cost of her life.”

“I already knew that from Frei.” Levi shook his head. “But….”

“Perhaps, that ability can grow bigger and more effective against the scarlet wizard. And don’t you think Renee could be the key to discovering the God of energy? Remember, my lord. She did such a great feat without resorting to rituals or anything like the scarlet wizard.” Yua explained in a tone that was slow but full of emphasis. “That is, she has a large source of energy. Where else would that energy source come from if not from a god?”

Levi was stunned to hear Yua’s explanation. My choice was right to ask Yua to come here. She is indeed a very reliable negotiator.

The supreme God massaged his forehead. “Damn, I can’t refute your words, lady. It seems you do have to meet Helia, Raymund.”

“So, take me there.” I stepped forward to get closer to the supreme God. “We don’t have much time left.”

Levi looked at the pond showing Elise still riding her dog. “Why such a hurry? The titan mandrake was destroyed, right?”

I want to punch the supreme God in the face for making all of this even more delayed. “I’ll explain as I go, sir. We have to leave now, or many people’s lives will be in danger.”

Levi’s face still showed reluctance. “But, I’m still not sure Helia will accept and listen to you.”

“I have Yua.” I speed up my intonation. “I’m sure she can persuade the goddess of death.”

“Ah, I have to admit that she is great.”

“She managed to persuade a supreme god.” I let out the final words.

Levi looked up and took a deep breath. “I really can’t argue with you guys. All right, follow me.”

The supreme God turned around and started walking away. I looked at Anja and said. “Keep an eye on Elise. Report to me if something happened to her.”

Wiping away her tears, my personal assistant nodded. “Yes, sir.”