Chapter 1243 (2/2)
Then Randidly stepped through the portal and returned to Earth.
*****
Tatiana looked up sharply, immediately tense as her instincts informed her something had abruptly changed. After working with it for some time, Tatiana could sense that something had agitated the spirit of Kharon.
Moving quickly, she vaulted over the desk and arrived at the window of her office to check the surrounding sky. Almost immediately, she relaxed and shook her head. The moss spirits were out in force, filling the sky like a hundred thousand emerald fireflies. They danced and spun, rejoicing. Their joy was infectious and there could only be one reason they would respond so powerfully.
Or rather, only one person who would make them this way.
A second later, the weight of Randidly Ghosthound’s image settled over Kharon like a blanket. His return resonated with the work he had poured into this place previously in a way that Tatiana didn’t truly understand. Or perhaps it was the work of the Eidolon Crucible.
“So you are back,” Tatiana said with a smile. And she was sure that the entirety of Kharon, at least the original population, could feel it.
*****
A towering ten-meter tall figure with three heads leaned against his right arm, cupping the chin of his rightmost head in his hand. Beneath him was a vast throne, and beneath that was a hundred hunched ogres trudging forward with their sweat backs supporting the towering figure’s palanquin. Trailing behind the throne was a large wagon train surrounded by thousands of grim eyed ogres holding huge mauls made of a strange blue iron.
The center head opened its eyes and squinted forward. The other two heads quickly followed.
“Halt.”
The calm word from the towering figure stopped the entire wagon train immediately. It was an order that couldn’t be disobeyed. Everyone froze. The tall figure scratched his chin, peering to the West where the portal to another world sat.
“Make camp here. Something has changed.”
The figure was obeyed immediately. The huge throne was set on the ground and then the surrounding ogres began to scurry and assemble a base around the throne to suit its majesty. The army marched forward and formed up in defensive lines around the base. The entire time, the figure’s six eyes were focused West, measuring the threat that he sensed.
*****
Thea looked up from the still critically wounded Bandit King and the completely exhausted Winged Serpent. It was a bitter truth, but the Nemesai were currently under a lot of pressure. The current Earth was too strong for them to do much. Some of the Nemesai wanted to wait until the limit on their images was released, but Thea-
Thea’s thoughts were interrupted as she caught a small movement out of the corner of her eye.
For the past year, Chrysanthemum had been her usual, ghastly self, without the slightest hint of the life remaining in her bones that had been consumed by spectral fire. She was an empty puppet that only obeyed orders, without any individuality. To the point that Thea was forced to mourn for her former partner every second she had to be near this replacement.
Yet now, without any discernible encouragement, Chrysanthemum raised her vast head and looked to the South.
Thea flinched and clenched her fists.
*****
In the finals of Donnyton’s combat competition, Ptolemy and Isabella Cortez fought for the crown. Due to the absence of Alana, Paolo, Kayle, Dozer, Annie, and Donny from this year’s competition, it had given some of the younger blood of Donnyton a chance to shine. With lessons from Mrs. Hamilton, Isabella had seized the chance provided for her and defeated several more established members of Donnyton’s Squads to make it to the final.
And the foe she found waiting there was a strange one. Ptolemy, a Level 68 Apprentice and one of the original inhabitants of Donnyton, represented the strength that allowed Donnyton to grow into the flourishing city that it was now. He wasn’t a man who often grabbed the spotlight and was even sometimes confused with others.
Yet his presence and power was a strong reminder that Donnyton wasn’t just built by a handful of people.
Mrs. Hamilton sat next to Donny in the place of honor, watching the fight idly. It was surprisingly close. And honestly, she was more surprised by Ptolemy’s performance than Isabella’s. The man had always been low key, but he had been absolutely unstoppable through the bracket to get to the finals. And now his calm and collected palm strikes put the more dependable of the Cortez siblings at a large disadvantage.
There’s always next competition, Mrs. Hamilton thought lightly as she watched Ptolemy seize the initiative.
Yet, right as Ptolemy was about to strike a decisive blow, there was a change in the air that only a few in Donnyton could sense. Mrs. Hamilton and Donny looked sharply up to the West. Ptolemy also froze and hopped backward, creating some space so his gaze could also turn toward the source of the disturbance.
Perhaps it was because of the prior challenge, but a second after the more perceptive people noticed it, everyone in Donnyton looked upward at the sky. The specter of the horrible beast that had defeated them in the challenge against Randidly Ghosthound floated above the sinkhole. It raised its claw and bone spear and howled.
The mark left by Randidly Ghosthound resonated with his powerful image as he returned to Earth.
“The man’s timing was always obnoxiously good,” Donny’s mouth quirked upward. “Only he could completely overshadow the combat finals of Donnyton…”
Mrs. Hamilton said nothing, simply looking up at the hanging figure of the Grim Chimera.
*****
A man in a crimson cloak leapt to his feet. With his face covered in shadow, he stared intently at the reflective surface of the blood pool in front of him. A ripple ran through the pool and his face twisted into a snarl. The bloodbeasts around him stirred restlessly, shifting their hideously deformed bodies.
“You… how can you still be alive…? God said…” The man muttered. Then his eyes narrowed to slits. “It doesn’t matter… soon, I will accomplish the mission God gave to me, and my lovely Ines…”