Chapter 95

Chapter 95

A/N: Surprise! A wild chapter appears.

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Neleh rushed through the Nexus to reach one of the few doorways she had on the beastmen continent. It was hard to tell from such distance, but she didnt think the doorway was that close to what was happening there. She had sent one of her students to monitor things with the fight between the beastmen and naga and their enemy, but she had recalled that person in preparation for the attack against the portal in the faerie continent. She regretted that decision now, though it was questionable if her student wouldve had the presence of mind to make a new doorway close to the action even if he had stayed there.

She could sense Shiori running behind her, but knew Khali was not with them. That might be better. At least she can help defend our troops if Serpentia decides to take advantage of the situation. Though I wonder if Khali has the strength to fight Serpentia on her own. She though with a tinge of worry.

Neleh wouldve asked Elune what was going on, but it was likely that the goddess couldnt answer currently, and even if she did, she probably didnt know much more than Neleh herself. Not that she could do anything before getting there anyway, and shed find out more details at that point anyway. Would the Eternal Empress know? That seemed doubtful, as Neleh had not heard of the Kirin taking part in the battle herself. She most likely relied on reports as well.

As she excited the doorway of her choice, Neleh quickly realized that she was indeed quite a bit of distance away from where the battle was taking place. Despite that, she could already see the bombardment of magic that was happening in the distance. The sky near the horizon was covered in nasty looking black clouds with lighting strikes everywhere and hail of icy lances falling towards the ground. Yet the most striking thing was a continuous bombardment of solar fire all over the horizon. Neleh knew that the mages of this world, even those among the dragons, were not capable of using the power of the sun in such a way. Whoever the lost-deity was, it was putting up one heck of a fight.

Neleh immediately utilized her flame seraph form to try and reach the battleground as fast as possible. She could feel Shiori rapidly moving along the ground, struggling to keep up. Shioris powers had reached a point where she could almost keep up with her full traveling speed, but she could feel her falling behind a bit. She would catch up. They had a pair of magical items that would allow them to find each other over large distances.

After several minutes of flying at full speed, Neleh started seeing the ongoing battle. Not the real battle against the lost-deity but the naga and beastmen fighting against a large army of magical constructs of various kinds. Some were golems and gargoyles covered in intricate magical runes, some were large obsidian sentinels that looked like huge dog headed statues swinging their fists and weapons around. There was also a large number of mages and genies using their magic to assault their enemies. Finally there were magical beings chained to the wills of the mages, ranging from insectoid scorpion-men and scarabs to what looked like rakshasa. All this, and still Neleh knew it was all a distraction. She could sense the death of much more powerful beings ahead. The naga and the beastmen were here to draw the focus of the enemy army away from the real battle, while the enemy was happy to oblige to keep them from interfering in whatever was happening ahead.

Couple of the mages tried to cast some spells at Neleh, but they had no hope of actually hitting from this range, considering the speed at which she moved. Shiori on the other hand might have trouble getting past the armies struggling below. As she moved closer to the maelstrom of magical power, she started seeing the bodies of beings that actually decided the result of this battle. Scattered across the devastated ground were the corpses of enormous colossi as well as the remains of magical birds of prey known as Simurgh. Both the colossi and the Simurgh were embodiments of magic, the colossi were enormous armor held together and moved by magic, while the birds were made of pure mana. They could even be called high level elementals of the arcane.

Yet the two beings were not the only corpses on the ground. For every dozen colossi and Simurgh, there was also a body of a dragon. Some bodies were relatively intact, while others were torn to shreds by various magical energies. The dragons had managed to push through, but they had paid a heavy price for doing so. There must have been at least a hundred dead dragons, the exact number being unclear as the bodies were not all intact. As the number of dragons in this world wasnt enormous in the first place, losses like this would take centuries to recover. And that didnt take into consideration any that had died in the battle raging ahead.

Just as Neleh was thinking about it, the battle ahead stopped, apparently reaching its conclusion. Neleh could feel the death of the lost-deity, so she knew that at the very least the dragons had not lost. She could feel that behind her, the army of magical constructs started losing its life, and the living members of the enemy army were being slain as they had lost most of their support. Especially the beastmen would have no mercy against the enemy, as their lands had been invaded. She could also feel the portal wink out of existence; apparently because the power that was keeping it open had disappeared.

When she finally reached the battleground, Neleh could do nothing but sigh in desperation at the devastation and the numerous corpses of dragons that were strewn across the place. She could see some of them were only wounded, while others moved between them trying to save whoever they could. Suddenly Nelehs eyes were drawn to a form that was different from all the others, the form of a Kirin, or what was left of it anyway. As Neleh landed next to the form that was familiar to her, she could see that almost half of the majestic beast was missing, burnt off by the solar energies. Yet the Kirin was still breathing, if barely.

Neleh. The Kirin said in a relieved tone.

What in the world would bring the Eternal Empress to take part in something like this? Neleh asked a little sadly, using her magic to stem the flow of blood.

The Kirin gave a small mirthless laugh. The desire to fly into battle one last time at the side of our cousins. It has been eons since the Kirin and dragons have joined forces. I thought it was time to do so at least once now that the future generation of my race is secured.

Neleh harrumphed in dissatisfaction. Silly dragons and their useless pride. No matter whether its the normal dragons or you Kirin, you all go stupid just to maintain your pride. I wonder if the dragon race will ever recover fully from this. And for what? We both know its my job to deal with the lost-deities.

Did we at least get her? The Kirin asked with a faint smile.

Yes it seems that you did. Not without throwing away most of your number, but you did. Neleh replied.

Then Im satisfied. It was shameful of us to push everything on your shoulders. And despite what you say, I dont think you could do it alone. There are some among us that know youre not doing as well as youre letting on. Can you do a favor? Could you go help my people win the battle they are waging? Im fairly sure you saw it while coming here. The least I could do for them is to make sure they dont lose too many of their number. The Kirin pleaded. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

The Eternal Empress could not understand Nelehs behavior, and was a little weirded considering Sol was the enemy so many dragons died defeating, and who had almost killed her as well. She assumed it was something like giving respect to a worthy enemy and allowed Neleh her moment, as she had earned it by saving her and many of the dragons. As Neleh showed no sign of moving from the grave, she finally left once Shiori returned to the Nexus with Khali and was shown out.

What is it? Khali finally asked once the naga was gone.

After a moment of silence Neleh finally spoke. Do you remember how I beat the Enemy last time?

Yeah, I heard you went kind of berserk, giving into your powers as a Destroyer. Khali said, a little confused to the change in subject.

And do you remember what the price was for that? Neleh asked again.

Khali frowned finally starting to suspect where this was going. I heard several worlds were destroyed.

Sol was one of the goddesses of the worlds that were destroyed at that time. She was the goddess of sun and by all accounts was one of those deities loved by all. I had visited their world not long before the Enemy came, and the world was gone when I tried to return much later. I can tell the difference between a world lost to the Enemy and a world drained by one like me. It didnt take much to put the two together. Neleh explained.

Oh shit. Khali cursed.

Oh shit indeed. I was the one who turned Sol into a lost-deity. And now the dragons paid the price for that. Neleh said simply.

You cant take the blame for the dragons. Even if it had not been Sol, some other lost-deity wouldve likely taken her place. Besides, it was the dragons stupidity for picking that fight. Besides, its hardly your fault if there are some sacrifices when fighting the Enemy. The damage wouldve been much worse if you had not done it. Khali said a little angry.

Neleh looked at Khali in slight surprise, before she realized something. Ah, you think Im beating myself up because I feel guilty? No, Im not the type to carry false guilt around, thinking that everything is my fault. However, this is my responsibility. Theres a difference between the two. Im simply acknowledging my role in this. Im also thinking about how to avoid something like this in the future.

Khali gave a small sigh of relief. You do realize though that you might not be able to avoid it? Even if Gabriel comes here, you might still have to use your powers again to defeat the Enemy. That might lead to others like Sol.

That is a distinct possibility. Not what I was talking about though. There might be nothing to do this cycle, but Im trying to think of a way to make sure there wont be a next time. Neleh said resolutely.

You think we can do that? The Enemy always comes back. Khali asked.

Ive been trying to figure that out, and I think Ive realized something. If Im right, then there might be a way to stop the cycle, but it will require a bit different approach than has been used so far. Neleh said half lost in thought.

Well dont keep me in suspense. Khali prompted.

No, I need more information before I can give a full explanation. Ive already asked Elune to try and contact Fate. Neleh shook her head in denial.

You think the old bastard will tell you anything? Khali wondered, not really hoping much.

Not as such, but I think he owes me an answer to a straight question. Thatll be enough. Neleh said resolutely.