Chương 36: Coexistence

[Divine Blessing] [Changes the reality of that which it is bestowed upon]"The explanation is so ambiguous it tells me nothing..." Nerez could not help letting out a sigh. He had chosen this skill because he still had no need for something like 'Soul Ledger', nor the slightest idea what he could do with a skill called 'Epitaph'. But this explanation of 'Divine Blessing' did not give him much to work with either.

"What I know for sure is that this was the skill the Goddess of Fate used on me..." Nerez murmured to himself. He had checked after ascending, but the 'Blessing of the Goddess of Fate' had disappeared from the 'Modifiers' tab of his Godscript. That blessing was what had forced him to reincarnate a thousand times over an immeasurable span of time. Or at least, that was what he believed. But it probably had no effect on other gods, which was why it had disappeared. There are two things I can take away from this.

First, "Divine Blessing" is a skill any god can learn. Unlike the other options that have appeared for me so far, which clearly shared a theme. And second, it can be used in many ways. The question is which ones, how, and whether the effects it provides depend on the god...

"Nerez." It was Cerys who pulled him out of his thoughts.

"What are you thinking so hard about?"

"It's nothing..." he replied.

"Unfortunately, the skill that would give us a Ferryman didn't show up. We'll have to wait a while longer."

"I see... But with your 'Veiled Trail', we can manage for now," Cerys replied.

"More importantly, what are we going to do with these... sniffling messes?"

"Sniffling messes..." Avelle tried to wipe the tears from her face with part of her dress. The rest of the dryads tried to imitate her, but since they were dressed in vines, they had to use their arms instead.

"You're right... but it isn't that complicated. I already have an idea." Nerez crossed his arms and stood in front of Avelle and her dryads, who would start trembling whenever they looked at him for too long. However, he had to step back when Avelle, unable to endure the fear any longer, tried to kiss his feet.

"The visiare wanted a protector god, didn't they? Who better than the goddess of the valley where they're going to live?" Nerez finally remarked while straightening his clothes, which had been left in disarray by the flinch he gave when he saw Avelle throw herself toward his feet.

"Oh... that isn't a bad idea." Cerys seemed pleased with the idea of making Avelle humiliate herself by playing caretaker to mere mortals. Avelle, for her part, was more than pleased.

"I do not know what a visiare is, but please do not worry, nothing will happen to them!"...

"The girl you kidnapped is a visiare..."...

"Nothing will happen to them from now on, I guarantee it, my lord!" Is this really a good idea...? Nerez let out another tired sigh. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"By the way..." Avelle hesitated under Cerys's harsh glare, but still managed to get a question out.

"Might I ask your name, my lord? If I am to swear eternal loyalty to you, I need to know who you are..."

"Ah, you're right... I haven't introduced myself."

"You stand in the presence of Nereziel! The god of death! And one of the three absolute gods of Eryndea!" Once again, Cerys was the one who stepped forward.

"Ah, I see! No wonder he is so powerful! The god... of... death... Hu..." Avelle and her dryads turned completely white before fainting.

[Servants] > [Cerys] > [Visiare of the Last Valley] >> [Ilyra] >>> [Location] > [Spirits of the Last Valley] >> [Avelle] >>> [Fauns] >>> [Dryads] >> [Elderbark]"Avelle is the local goddess, but she's listed under a broader category... I see. So that's how the Godscript organizes it. Mm? I don't remember those monstrous trees swearing an oath to me... Ah, now that I think about it, Cerys did say something... Does surrendering to her count as them becoming my servants?"

I don't even want to imagine how many problems that's going to cause me in the future... Nerez felt a chill just thinking about it.

"I'd better focus on the problems in front of me... Like the fact that this is only part of the 'Spirits of the Last Valley', and it's already getting a little messy." [Servants] > [Cerys] > [Spirits of the Last Valley] > [Visiare of the Last Valley] >> [Ilyra] >>> [Location]"Better. No matter how many lives go by, my OCD is never going to improve..."

While Cerys had reluctantly stayed behind to explain to Avelle and her dryads what Empyrean Peaks was and the current state of the world, Nerez was making his way toward the place where the kidnapped girl was being held. In fact, it did not take long before he spotted a girl with magenta eyes and sky-blue hair tied into a side ponytail, swinging her feet out of boredom while she hung from a tree, trapped by vines.

"Oh, if it isn't the Lord of Darkness! Death Personified! Long live Lord Nereziel!" The girl's face lit up when she saw him approach. He had never spoken to her before, but he did not mind that she apparently lacked even a trace of the reverence the other visiare showed him. It was a refreshing change. At the same time, however, he could not overlook the fact that someone was using those titles to refer to him.

"Cerys was the one who taught you all that, wasn't she?"

"Exactly! It was Lady Reaper!"

"Looks like she needs another punishment..."

"Uhm... I don't think it was Lady Reaper... or at least I had nothing to do with any punishment... okay?"

"And you... were you trying to make me angry? Do you want me to leave you hanging?"

"Not at all, I promise! I meant it! They were such cool titles that I wanted to use them! Please get me down..." All Nerez had to do was touch the vines binding Ily. Death's Touch They withered instantly, snapping apart and letting her fall into his arms.

"That was amazing, Lord Nereziel! Terrifying... but amazing!" With one gentle motion, Nerez set Ily down on the ground, though she seemed less than pleased to be out of his arms.

"The damsel-in-distress experience was too short... I demand an extension!"...

"Are you really the same age as Sae?"

"I'll always be young at heart! Besides, everyone sees me as a tomboy. It wasn't bad to experience something a little more 'maidenly' for a change..."... Nerez let out a sigh, but crouched down and offered her his back.

"You must be a little tired after that experience. Just this once, I'll be your carriage, Princess."

"Haha, the real princess is Sae... But I accept!" Ily hopped onto Nerez's back, and the two of them made their way back. They picked up Cerys along the way, and Avelle took the opportunity to apologize by burying her head in the ground. For Nerez and Ily, watching it felt more like a punishment for them than an apology. Back at the fork in the river, after hugs and tears, a celebration awaited them that night, complete with a feast.

Most of the provisions had been tributes brought by Avelle as a peace offering: meat from the giant black elk that had fallen in battle, nuts, fruits, and even a good amount of alcoholic drinks made from fermenting those same fruits. The night was filled with anecdotes, among them Avelle and Ily drunkenly inventing their own song beneath the embarrassed gazes of dryads, fauns, and visiare alike. But those are stories for another time.

"Drazel... what is the meaning of this?" The demon Drazira stared at her brother, who stood amid hundreds of corpses. They belonged to a humanoid race, though one with strong beastlike features.

"It is merely an offering to the Titan, Drazira."

"An... offering?" Drazel turned toward her with a broad smile, one that contrasted with the blood dripping from his sharp sword.

"The Titan controls the river of death; this offering will make him more powerful." Drazel raised his hand, signaling for the demon soldiers to begin burning the bodies.

"At the same time, it will show him how useful we can be... I don't want us exterminated the moment we request an audience."

"Can we not simply coexist?" Drazira's voice sounded choked. Not even her father, the demon king, had ever gone to such extremes of cruelty with his enemies, much less with neutral races.

"Why do we have to do this?" Her brother wiped the blood from his sword and sheathed it before addressing her again.

"We were not born to coexist, sister. We were born to dominate."