Chương 53: The Mercy of Death

Nerez knelt beside what remained of the figure formed from black mist, which was slowly fading away.

"I imagine I won't have to redirect a veiled trail toward the gemstone if even the demons were able to capture souls..." Without thinking too much about it, he brought the netherite close to the titan, and both the gemstone and a point deep within the dark mist began to glow.

"This is..." The light that had appeared inside Erebion rose above the mist and entered the netherite just as the last of him disappeared. That was when the gemstone's light shifted to the same gloomy purple hue he had seen in the stones the demons carried. But unlike theirs, the netherite in Nerez's hands began to shake uncontrollably.

"Don't tell me these things have a maximum capacity!" He tried to hold it with both hands, but that did not stop it in the slightest. If anything, the intensity only increased with every passing second.!! Cracks had also begun spreading all across it, each one accompanied by a brittle creak.

"This isn't going to last much longer... Wait! That's right!" Nerez focused on the netherite between his hands, and another light appeared around it, or rather, a darkness illuminated by blue and purple flashes. Divine Blessing The points of light in the tiny galaxy that had enveloped the netherite shone with such intensity that Nerez had to close his eyes. By the time he opened them again, the netherite had stopped shaking and was whole again. [Blessed Netherite] That was its new description in the Godscript.

"It's a much more useful skill than I imagined... I wonder if I can bless myself?" Nerez focused for a few moments, but nothing changed.

"It was worth a try..." Getting to his feet, Nerez slipped the still-glowing netherite into his pocket and headed toward Cerys.

"Nerez... the ground is cold..."

"Do you want me to help you up?"

"Carry me."

"..."

"..."

"Ily, Sae, and now even you... I think I'm the real pack mule here." Nerez let out a resigned sigh, but just as he was about to crouch down to pick up his battered servant, he stopped short.

"Wait, I have a better idea."...

"Nerez... the bones hurt..." Cerys complained not long afterward, as a skeleton carried her in its arms. As they left that natural throne room of sorts, Nerez cast one last glance at the fissure, or rather, the small luminous cavern through which the souls had appeared. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. Only the threshold seemed small. If it collapsed, it would create a hole of considerable size in the wall.

"If that cavern leads where I think it does, I'll have to create a proper entrance here. Not that I want many visitors. Quite the opposite, I'm going to make gates as large as the ones in the Hall of Dawns to keep people out... Besides, according to the Godscript, that sort of grand treatment increases the faith generated by places like this."

"Nerez... these bones are digging into my ribs and it hurts... and I'm hungry too..."...

"In any case, I'll come back another day to explore."

It would not have been difficult to get lost in the network of caverns between the titan's chamber and the Last Valley. In fact, now that Nerez was more familiar with the skill and the underworld, it would have been better and faster to open a veiled trail tied to some creature from the valley. But fortunately, it did not take long for his suspicion to prove correct. They were found by Drazira and her retinue of demons, who knew where the titan was located.

Judging from the look on Drazira's face when they had left, it had been clear she was not going to simply wait around for them. And it may be obvious, but if you have the ability to fly, you can definitely cover great distances in very little time. Especially if you also have the powers of a demon. Drazira offered to carry Nerez back to camp, but the thought alone was enough for him to refuse outright.

Cerys refused as well, since being carried by Nerez (or indirectly through his Eidolon) was very different from being carried by mortals. However, because of the severity of her wounds, her opinion was overruled, and Nerez ordered them to take her to Avelle as quickly as possible.

"Are you sure you don't want to go too?" Nerez asked, standing beside Drazira as they watched two demons head off in search of Drazel's body.

"I have no reason to. He stopped being my brother while he was still alive," she replied, turning around to return to the valley.

"If we're going to bury him despite all the mistakes he made, it's only because he is still my father's son." Nerez watched her leave for a few moments before he began walking after her.

Not long after stopping by to see Cerys, who was under Avelle's care (not without complaints on her part), Nerez had opened a veiled trail and was now making his way through it. When he crossed the threshold, he had to cover his face, since the change from the darkness of the tunnel to the bright day on the surface was always rather harsh. This time, however, the treetops gave him some shade, so it was not quite so bad.

"Ugh... this is pretty depressing..." Looking around, he found his target, the body left behind by the soul that had passed through that veiled trail. Unfortunately, it belonged to a small boy who had died of starvation while leaning against the trunk of a tree.

"He doesn't look much older than Miri... His parents were probably killed by monsters." Nerez clasped his hands in prayer. Of course, he had no one to pray to, but having someone to pray for seemed like reason enough to do so.

"There's no helping it. I doubt I'll find another one in such good condition... I'm sorry, little one. I'm going to borrow this body. I promise I'll make sure your death wasn't in vain." Nerez took the netherite from his pocket and brought it close to the child's body. For a moment, he almost stopped, worried that what had nearly happened to the netherite when the titan's soul entered it might also happen to the corpse. Fortunately, his concerns proved unfounded.

Perhaps due to some property it had acquired after becoming 'Blessed Netherite', the gemstone was completely absorbed into the body.!! Then the boy began to glow with the netherite's light, which almost made Nerez fall backward in surprise. However, the light soon receded toward his chest, right where the gemstone had entered, until it disappeared completely.

"... How long will this take?" While he waited, leaning against the tree and trying to forget the reality that there were children dying of hunger, Nerez turned his gaze to the holographic screen of his Godscript. [Death's Touch] [Proficiency B -> A] [Nothing is eternal. All things must come to an end, gods no less than mortals]"Something tells me instant death would only work against lesser gods. In any case, I've already confirmed it's a skill I can use in different ways...

though I'd rather stop getting myself into that sort of situation." Nerez switched screens with a gesture of his hand, more out of habit than anything else, since he could do it with his mind.

"Still, the most important gain from the battle was this." [Soul Ledger] [Every soul leaves a trace, and every death a line]"I figured I might be able to choose another skill after raising the proficiency of 'Soul Rend' so many times, but getting exactly the one I was waiting for was a stroke of luck. All the more so because it actually does what I expected." Nerez opened the Book of Death. Its pages showed illustrations of the skills he had obtained recently.

However, in the case of 'Soul Ledger', rather than an illustration, it seemed as though the book's pages themselves became the ledger, taking shape according to his will. It was then that Nerez heard a faint sound beside him. The boy, or rather, Erebion, had opened his eyes.