Chapter 151: Left Behind (1/2)

Victor awoke with his back against the sand, to the sound of saltwater and crashing waves.

He rose up back to his feet, his wounds closed, his armor fully repaired. From a cursory glance at his surroundings, he had been teleported onto a Prydainian beach, perhaps a few miles away from the site of the final battle. The V&V Army had taken over the heavens, chasing away the last remnants of Odieuse’s armies.

It took a few minutes for Victor to fully regain his composure, and remember what just happened. He remembered fighting Odieuse in Valhalla, being revived by a giant zmey, and—

Dragons triumphantly roared in the skies, as the heavens turned ablaze. Victor raised his head and saw it.

A new, dragon-shaped constellation had appeared in the heavens; fiery stars forming a familiar crowned design, announcing the birth of a new god for all to see.

The reality finally sank in Victor’s heart.

They had won.

The battle was over.

And Vainqueur was gone.

Congratulations! For tricking Mell Odieuse and helping your master defeat her with a fiendish plan, you earned three levels in [Moriarty]! You earned the [True CrimeProfiler] class perk!

+30 HP, +20 SP, +3 STR, +2 VIT, +3 SKI, +3 AGI, +6 INT, +3 CHA, +3 LCK!

[True CrimeProfiler]: On a successful Intelligence check, you can perfectly profile a victim with whom you are even casually acquainted with. You are always aware when they lie to you, even when they use magic to disguise their intent, and you can predict their actions with a high degree of success. Additionally, you immediately learn a damning fact about your target.

You earned the [Claimed by Sablar] personal Perk! For being claimed by the entire pantheon, you also earned the [Pantheist] personal Perk!

[Claimed by Sablar]: When you level up, you have an additional 10 percent chance to gain a Strength or Vitality increase. You are immune to all [Time] and [Earth] effects, except those caused by Sablar himself, and you no longer age.

[Pantheist]: You cannot take damage from [Prayer] spells and divine-powered perks, except those used by [Deities].

As if to underline that he hadn’t dreamed, Victor felt his left palm itch. He removed his gauntlet, to find a dragon-shaped mark on his skin.

You earned the [Claimed by Vainqueur] Perk.

[Claimed by Vainqueur]: When you level up, you have an additional 10 percent chance to gain a Strength, Charisma, or Luck increase. The rate of loot drop and your odds of finding treasure is doubled.

Thanks, buddy.

The sight left a bittersweet taste in Victor’s mouth, reminding him that he would be on his own for the future. Three levels put him at level ninety-one, which was still a long way to go to reach godhood. But the Vizier had made a promise, and he would fulfill it.

A great shadow passed over the [Reaper], bringing him back to reality.

“Vic!” Carried by Gorynych, Kia Bekele landed right in front of him and immediately climbed down on the sand. The [Plot Armor] she wore remained unscathed, her power of friendship having shielded her from any wounds. “Vic, finally!“

“Master!” the Zmey rejoiced to see his rider again. “Gorynych was so scared!”

“Kia?” Victor asked, realizing that Akhenapep’s [Time Push]'s duration must have run out.

“I came as fast as I could!” the [Paladin] said, desperate, her sword raised and itching for battle. “Where is Odieuse? Where is she? Where is she?”

Ah, poor gal. Victor tried to mince his words, but there was no way around it. “She’s dead.”

“She’s dead?” Kia sounded both relieved, and terribly scared. “Dead as in, undead, or…”

“We beat her, sealed her apocalyptic castle, and Vainqueur became a god.” Victor pointed his scythe at the heavens and his friend’s miracle. “It’s over.”

Once, a single sentence had utterly destroyed Kia Bekele, pushing her through an abyss of tears and despair. Having sunk as low as she could, the knight had managed to climb up back to normality through blood and tears.

Victor’s words put her right back at the bottom of the well.

“I missed the final battle,” the [Paladin] said, her gaze hollow. “I missed the final battle.”

“Kia, it’s okay,” Victor tried to reassure her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find another.”

His words fell on deaf ears, the [Paladin] walking on autopilot on the beach, and muttering to herself as emotions built up inside her. Then, they suddenly exploded without warning.

“BLEEP!” Kia cursed loudly, her armor forcing her to mix family-friendly lines with insults. “Ohana means family! BLEEP this armor! BLEEP IT!”

Before Victor could even do so much as protest, Kia started removing the [Plot Armor] and throwing it on the sand, her fury overtaking her modesty. “Screw that armor!” she shouted, “Screw these lines! BLEEP them!”

“Gorynych can sing a song to cheer her up,” the Zmey suggested. “Can Gorynych sing a song?”

“It is kind, but I don’t think it will help,” Victor stated, as Kia kicked the cursed armor into the sea. As it turned out, she wore black underwear below her magical protections, but the Vizier had a nice view of pretty much everything.

Maybe that was the adrenaline, the exhaustion from all these trials, or just the sight of this perfect amazonian body but… well, his mind wandered off.

Kia and he remained silent a moment until an idea seemed to make its way into the [Paladin]’s mind. “Victor,” she looked at him dead in the eyes, her gaze filled with one last hope at personal fulfillment.

“Kia,” he looked at her, knowing this was now or never.

They said it at the same time.

“Do you want to fight/breed?”

The next day, at a camp built amidst the remains of Odieuse’s lands, a great summit was organized between the winners of the Prydain War. Grandrake was chosen as the dragon race’s main representative and arbitrated the debates in the same style as the Dragon Conclave. From Jajambe to the Averagist’s Supreme Leader, every participant earned a voice.

Victor informed Jolie of her new promotion to Empress of Murmurin, and Vainqueur’s niece accepted the charge with grace, and quite a lot of tears; however, having clearly no experience with ‘dragon imperialism,’ she more or less left Victor to do all the work. For hours, the Dragon Empress and the Grand Vizier sat next to heads of states around a stone table, Vainqueur’s constellation shining in the open skies above them.

Well, truth to be told, Victor had already done most of the work while Vainqueur was in power. Now, with his niece being too young to rule, it had become official. The fact their former dragon emperor had become a god and given him a mandate had only enhanced Victor’s aura in the eyes of outsiders.

In the end, Jolie officially promoted Victor from Grand Vizier to Grand Regent. Akhenapep would have been proud.

Vainqueur had made his new divinity apparent by Claiming quite a few of his elite minions, although he didn’t show up personally. The dragon was probably occupied getting used to his new divinity and System management, leaving Victor to handle things in the mortal world.

Overall, the summit went better than what Victor expected. While Gardemagne’s King Roland, his allies, and some violent dragons had hoped to end the fomor threat permanently, Victor, Jolie, and Grandrake managed to talk them out of outright genocide by agreeing to ensure a peaceful societal transition. And if necessary, back it up with force.

Prydain would keep its independence, with power granted to the fomors who helped the allies during the war; although the victorious nations would build fortresses and send ambassadors, to make sure there would be no foul play involved. The country would be demilitarized, its arsenal destroyed, and Odieuse’s major supporters would be tried on the mainland.

The V&V Empire would provide the surviving fairies with ethical Soulcrests, allowing them to develop souls and compassion. In exchange, the fomors swore a binding oath not to attack their neighbors and pay war indemnities, so long as they were left alone in return.

And so, for the first time since the beginning of civilization, Fomors made peace with everyone else. It may take decades for their culture to change, but like Murmurin, Victor hoped that they would become trading, peaceful neighbors one day.

Cait Sith didn’t manage to outlaw cat eating on the whole continent though, although Jolie honored her uncle’s promise to ban it in the Empire. You couldn’t win every time.

“We should do it more often, Breeder Victor,” Grandrake declared, while Jolie ratified the treaty. Kia, having traded the [Plot Armor] for her normal one, stood guard next to the empress, but as far away from Victor as humanly possible; she looked away in embarrassment whenever their eyes met.

“A conclave to settle our issues?” Victor asked Grandrake, still reeling from the [Paladin]’s slap.

“Perhaps one day, the international minion conclave will gain half as much prestige as our own,” the old dragon mused. “Under a dragon moderator’s rightful direction.”

“It is my dream to one day see minions take control of their own destiny,” Jolie declared proudly, before handing the document to Jajambe. The sharkman signed with his own blood for dramatic effect. “I swear that one day, dragons and minions will stand as equals!”

“You spoke about soul magic, Lord Grandrake,” Victor spoke, the older wyrm more amused by Jolie’s revolutionary ideas than anything. “I received confirmation from a higher authority that it once existed.”

“If it truly existed, then it can be relearned,” the Princess Hunter said. “I understand your trail of thoughts, minion of Vainqueur. You believe this could serve as a foundation towards long-term peace with the fairies.”

“Peace through trade.” Victor nodded.

Genialissime, who had watched the discussions without truly participating, remained doubtful. “These are truly strange times we live in,” he said. “We want to make friends with fairies, and dragons can die like minions.”