Chương 59: B1 | Chapter 53

A Cliff Nearby the War Before the battle with the former emperor's subordinates ended Mori Ryo watches without showing a hint of emotion on his face as the one assumed to be Death is captured and held in place by the denizens of this world. Meanwhile the armies outside of the spatial barrier continue going at each other until the Albarian Republic comes out on top. Then they rush over to figure out how to break past the spatial barrier. Ryo doesn't pay them any mind though.

He just focuses on the one presumed to be Death. He hasn't been able to identify her from this far out, so the Five Star Merchant is merely left waiting. Waiting to see what happens next. But when she summons Lesser Minor Death Spirits directly out of the Plane of Death, and even some of the Grand Death Spirits show up right at the rifts' closing just to see her, he knows right away who she is. A grin finally stretches across the man's face.

"The birthplace of a new Horseman of the Apocalypse," he mutters while looking around the world near him. At the war. At the other continents he knows have all been wiped out. And at the death brought about by none other than Death herself.

"A fitting place for one with such a name." Ryo has always respected the emperor of the Dynasty and his assistant, the only Ten Star Merchant in the Eternal Dynasty. But to believe that the great Right Hand of the White Emperor managed to find Death with no more than a few details from a no-name planet like Roan. His respect only grows for the man's talent to find new and extraordinary trading partners for the Dynasty. And who better to develop a partnership with than Death herself?

If they play their cards right, the Dynasty may even develop a relationship with the untouchable and terrifying Death Spirits through her.

"Ren," Ryo states, making the Four Star Merchant appear right next to him.

"Tell the authorities with control of this 'Albaria' nation to notify Lady Death of our arrival and desire to speak with her as soon as possible. But do not let on that she is in any way important to us." Ryo's eyes narrow slightly as he uses a magical item to enhance his vision all the way to the battlefield where he watches Death and the other officers and some Generals of the Albarian Republic discuss amongst each other.

"There appears to be some tension between her and their leadership. We can't let it be known that we are interested in her in particular." He pauses for a second.

"And notify the Two Star Merchant… Yoshida, was it?" Ren nods his head without a word.

"Notify the Two Star Merchant known as Yoshida that we have confirmed his theory and he will be rewarded for his service."

"Yes, sir," Ren says before teleporting away with his spatial magic. Ryo stops using the magical coin in the palm of his hand to enhance his sight before he puts the coin in his storage ring. Then he simply crosses his arms and looks at the army as a whole. If it was found that the Two Star Merchant was wrong or lying, then severe punishment would've followed. But the Eternal Dynasty prides itself on trusting its Star Merchants.

And the bare minimum merchant with the authority to conduct trade with a partner as beneficial as Death is a Five Star Merchant. Even a Five Star is normally considered too low to conduct trade with her. Generally it would only be the Emperor himself or a Ten Star Merchant who would do business with her. But they couldn't come personally due to the System restrictions on the planet.

Of course, the best possible outcome would be to bring Death off of the world and to the Eternal Dynasty's capital, but he isn't sure how he'll pull that off. Ryo eventually sighs before snapping his fingers, activating another coin, and sending him back to the Void Temple, where his people are staying. Aria I let out a sigh as I slump in the jeep, feeling more than a little exhausted despite that not being physically possible.

Because over the last three hours I had to spend time convincing people that I wasn't a fucking necromancer. Which was a massive pain. Even if it succeeded in the end. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Although part of that was likely because of the First General pushing for my story to be believed regardless. A story that, I'll admit, is full of holes.

Because I don't exactly want to admit that I'm Death, and that those were Death Spirits I summoned. That would probably have me captured faster than me being a necromancer would. Which, in all honesty, is another reason I have to leave the planet. Because when I'm found out – and I know I won't be able to hide it forever – I won't be in a good spot here. Might as well go out with a bang though. A slight grin stretches across my face at what will be coming soon enough.

But, before that, there are some discussions I need to go through. Both with these newly arrived merchants from the Eternal Dynasty who apparently wish to speak with our team, and with the Void Temple Priest. Because apparently Hannah's favor from the First General involves the Republic paying to have her sister brought back to life. A sister who died right after the initialization of the System. An opportunity that gives me the perfect chance to continue my discussion with the Void Priest.

Then after I do both of those discussions, I'll need to say my goodbyes to the team without making them realize I'm saying goodbye. Or at least make them not realize right away what I'm saying. I can leave a letter for the full explanation. And after that? It'll be time for me to go out with a bang. Until we arrive at the fortress though, I'm just gonna take a nap. Because not only do I want to, but right now I'm the only one awake in this jeep. Since everyone else on the team already fell asleep.

So I close my eyes and drift off to sleep. I'm woken up again when the jeep comes to a halt. And after quickly looking out the window, I spot the First General standing before us, with our vehicle having parked near the Void Temple. That was a nice long nap. I look around the vehicle to find the others already exiting. So I swiftly join them, and we all head inside of the Void Temple with the First General.

And just like with the last time we entered, we walk straight through the door, following which I find myself on the second floor of the prayer room standing next to a copy of the priest with a copy of myself down in the prayer room with the others.

"Would you like the intel you asked for last time first, or would you like to continue our question and answer session from where we left off?" the Void Priest asks, making my eyes widen. I quickly ask, "You got word about the jewel?!" He nods his head and says, "That is correct, Lady Death. From our sources, we have learned that the red jewel has some affiliation with the Crimson Empire. However, we could not uncover what exact affiliation it has." My eyes widen at the mention of the Crimson Empire.

One of the most powerful of the Nine Grands, and the most secretive as well. No one knows a thing about where they are stationed, where any sort of capital is for the nation. No one even knows who leads it. What their name is. Although people assume that the leaders of the other Nine Grands know the name of their leader, but even that is just an assumption.

"Thank you for the information," I tell the Void Priest with a nod of my head. The priest nods back and says, "We will continue looking for information on them if you would like." And after I give a brief nod, he continues, "Now, I will continue the line of questions from the last time you were here." That means the questions about the other three Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Or other two, since he already explained what he could about Famine. The Black Horseman.

"As we have already discussed the Black Horseman, we shall move on to the Red Horseman," the Void Priest declares, pausing for a second until I nod as the discussion down below seems to draw closer to a close, the revival coming closer and closer, "The Red Horseman, known as War, is known largely for his Endless War skill. A skill that grants him an infinite amount of energy and stamina so long as he is always on the battlefield, at war with one nation or power or another.

He is also known to grow stronger with each and every nation he goes to war with, regardless of if he wins or loses. However, if he wins, he gets a larger boost than if he loses." Most of that is stuff I already knew about War from what Vargas got from the invaders.

"Lastly, the Red Horseman cannot deny any duel that is thrown his way, regardless of how powerful the challenger is," the Void Priest continues, finally getting to the good bits.

"The winner of the duel will take a single skill from the loser. However, the Red Horseman himself cannot challenge anyone. Other people must challenge him, and they cannot be coerced into doing it." My mouth parts open for a second at that only to close again. Huh. Unexpected. That's a double-edged sword type of skill.

"The final horseman, the White Horseman," the Void Priest states, pausing for a second as a black light shines from below, making me glance down to see the Greater Void Spirit appearing through a rift and speaking with the copy of the Void Priest for a second. Then it goes back through the rift, leaving it open as it no doubt searches for Hannah's sister's soul.

The Void Priest continues again after the spirit leaves, "Otherwise known as Pestilence, he is immune to all types of poisons, diseases, and curses in existence, and instead is able to grow stronger through ingesting poisons. He is also known to spread newly created viruses and plagues throughout entire worlds, killing off everyone within those worlds while growing stronger with each planet he infects.

But nothing else is known about him due to his decision to live in solitude on his planet beyond his testing phases." So they're all worthy of their names. Brutal. I hope I don't end up like them.