Chapter 1290 (1/2)

Thea Glasshammer crossed her arms. It had been such a hectic week that there was still blood under her nails and rips in her leather armor. Yet when the Nemesai had returned to their base, another surprise had been waiting for them. Torchlight flickered against the damp stones traced with lines of the Winged Serpent’s formations and left them all feeling profoundly unsafe.

Eventually, Thea couldn’t stand the tension any longer and flexed her fingers. The other Nemesai slowly shifted to lean against the walls of the cavern and waited for Thea to speak her opinion. Because all of the Zones were actively working together to hunt them in a way that severely curtailed their activities, their existence had been exceptionally miserable since the incident at the stadium.

Of course, the Nemesai had the edge in any straight fight with the normal forces of Earth. Even the likes of Alana Donal and Hank Howard could be handled. But the stadium revealed a devastating truth to the Nemesai.

Even with their images, Randidly Ghosthound could kill them.

The fact that we were forced base ourselves here, on a small island hidden in the Great Sea should be enough. But also…

Thea’s gaze grew heavy as she looked toward the center of the room. Chrysanthemum was sniffing the metal card that had been stuck into the flat stone the Nemesai had taken to using as a table for the duration of their stay. The placement showed both the ability to infiltrate and also an understanding of how the space was used.

Unless Randidly Ghosthound can read even our habits with images, Thea gritted her teeth.

“From what I can tell, a plant grew up through the stone ground, placed the invitation, then immediately withered away. The invitation must have been pulled through the ground.” The Winged Serpent’s tongue flicked out as it examined the space beneath the stone table. The other Nemesai were similarly uneasy. Obsidian Duke, who had only recently recovered from the injuries he suffered while holding back the Jade Prince at the stadium, rubbed his chin and refused to look at the card.

An Invitation to the birthday of Randidly Ghosthound… The Nemesai had obviously heard when Randidly started sending out invitations to the people of Earth. They had even been making some tentative plans around the event, although with the action at other locations; no one felt confident facing Randidly directly after watching Straud be squished like an annoying fly.

But now that he had gone so far to invite them personally…

“Your formations can’t stop him?” Thea asked and regretted it immediately. She shouldn’t cast doubt on the Winged Serpent now.

The Winged Serpent’s tongue flicked again. “It is possible for me to adjust the defensive formations so this specific act cannot happen again… but I suspect he would still be able to find other ways to accomplish his goals. The only fix for that would be… I could stay here and constantly be using the full might of my image to defend the place… but I’m unsure how long I could hold out if he assaults my defenses with his own image. This Randidly Ghosthound…”

“He’s breaking the rules,” The Bandit King whispered. In the flickering light from the torches, the Nemesis looked gaunt and exhausted. His flashy clothes were ripped and bloody, just like everyone else's’. “How are we supposed to win? Not everyone is like the Obsidian Duke, whose world managed to get an individual on both sides on a single world. If I fail, my world-”

“His people and mine are eternally at odds,” The Obsidian Duke snarled. “If he grasps victory, my clan will be slaughtered like dogs. And vice versa. So If you think-”

“Yet what I really want to know is how can you even think to continue struggling like a slug when you were easily overpowered by him?” The Bandit King said with a sneer. He took two steps toward the Obsidian Duke.

The Obsidian Duke took two steps toward the Bandit King. “While I have been forced to suppress my image, that child has been able to utilize his image much more freely in that same period of time. Of course, he has improved over the past two years! But soon I will-”

“Enough,” Thea said quietly. And along with her voice the air around her pulsed with her image growing image of bleak destruction. Her knowledge of Earth had earned her the respect to be among the Nemesai, but it was her growing image that made even the new arrivals willing to follow her.

Fire to scrape the flesh away from the dead. The stale sweat of sacrifice and bleak toil. A monolith of bones built femur by femur so that she could draw nearer to the moon.

For a second, that terrible image pressed against them and they didn’t relent. But quickly, the drawn-out exhaustion of the week saw them fold. Both of the formerly aggressive Nemesai unwilling took steps back while glaring at each other.

Yet what drove an icicle through her heart was completely unrelated to the duo. Across the room, Thea didn’t miss the way that Chrysanthemum stilled as Thea’s image filled the surrounding air.

Do you hate me? Is any remnant of you even present in that husk…?

At this point, Thea Glasshammer was seriously beginning to doubt the words that the Creature had said to her all those years ago when she had been convinced to seize the mantle of the Nemesis. But at this point… she had already chosen this Path. Everything would be for nothing if she lost her nerve now.

She had to keep walking forward and hope. And when her hope died, she was at least stubborn enough to keep walking anyway.

Thea released a breath through her nose. “I think it’s clear that this is a threat, but also just an implied one. Randidly Ghosthound... “

Thea remembered the man’s quiet determination and kindness while he was traveling under a false name with Simon. She remembered the dramatic conclusion of the search for his Soulbound companion. She remembered his clear emerald eyes while he had considered her. She remembered his firm conviction as the group pushed through the Raid Dungeon.

“...Randidly Ghosthound doesn’t need to toy with us. Since he sent the invitation, he genuinely wants us to come to his birthday party.” Thea continued in a quieter voice. “And although he definitely is one who subverts the way that the System should work… there are advantages to that for us as well. We simply have to be ready to seize the opportunity.”

“It is suicide to go to that party,” The Grey Lich spoke in its haunting voice.

Thea’s mouth twisted. “If Randidly Ghosthound wanted us dead… would he really need to invite us to a birthday party?”

And to that, the other Nemesai couldn’t find a satisfactory answer.