Shadowbane

... So annoying.

I could sense three little souls behind me. They've been hiding for a while now, just watching me. I've been waiting for them to make a move so I could just kill them and be done with it, but they're being cautious apparently. Smart, but annoying. I don't want to deal with anyone else right now damnit...

About five minutes later they finally began to approach me, but it was nowhere near the blitz attack I was waiting for. Instead, they lazily circled around me before stopping five feet in front of me.

All three of the little people with wings pointed behind me.

"This way!"

"This way!"

"This way!" They said in unison.

"... I don't know what game you're playing, but fuck off. I don't want any company right now." I looked at the duck, "Besides this little guy of course..."

From what I can tell, the heated mesh is helping the duck, but it really needs first aid of some kind. The problem is that I don't know how to heal others, especially animals. Normally you infuse your mana into someone else's soul so they can heal themselves, but most animals don't know how to do that...

"Please?"

"Please?"

"Please?"

... I would've been so happy to meet these creatures when I was a little girl. My favorite character in a cartoon I used to watch was a fairy. They're based in Termia, but the God was never shown on TV or in photos, so I don't know what she looks like.

I looked at the Fairies.

Termia... So that means I'm near Aresa and the others. I really want to see her right now... And I need to ask Euphemia about her psychotic little freak of a steward. Did she know that there was a chance he could attack us? She sure as hell didn't warn us about that when we were helping her in Kellog. And because of that, Shan---

I was unable to even finish that thought as an overwhelming urge to cry hit me again. I wanted to close my eyes and let it all out, but I didn't want to lose vision of the fairies. The fairies saw this and looked huddled together in a group. I stared at them and tried to remember everything I remembered of Termia.

Termia was 'The life of Aetheria', or so I saw it said on TV. My family traded with them a lot too. The nation covers a large area but their capital is a coastal city where a massive amount of the trade on Aetheria is facilitated. The Eldritch God of fairies, and... Another Eldritch? I don't remember what it was, but those two look over Termia. The problem is that I haven't heard about Termia since talking to Alicia, and the topic of fairies never even came up, so I don't know if these creatures are still the guardians of this region. And even if they are, it's pretty evident that they're failing miserably at their job...

I looked around at the landscape. The ground was fully corrupted in Xerathian filth. I could see multiple Xerathian creatures growing out of the earth spread out in all directions. A few of the nearby ones were staring at the fairies. Watching and waiting to strike at them in the event they were stupid enough to come close enough to be eaten.

Muzzle flashes from guns are lighting up everywhere in the distance too. Between the Xerathian landscape, fires, explosions, and all this fucking oil, it's not hard to guess what happened here.

The fairies, who had been huddling together and whispering something back and forth, suddenly flew within one foot of the duck and pointed at it.

"We help!" They said in unison.

"............."

I looked at the duck. Ishar and Shana flashed through my mind once again, causing me to wince. I shook my head back and forth before glaring at the fairies.

"... Fine. Lead the way."

They obviously want something from me, and this is a good opportunity for me as well. I need to know where the capital of Termia is. I don't remember the name of the capital, but that shouldn't matter.

The three fairies began to shine brightly as they smiled at one another. They flew over my shoulder while motioning for me to follow them. I stood up and walked behind them while cradling the duck. On the way one of the fairies was almost devoured from a Xerathian plant as it snapped out from inside of a bush. The only thing that saved her was me. I smacked the stupid plant right into the ground before crushing it with my heel.

"So strong!" She said as she landed on my shoulder.

It's just a plant... I thought fairies were supposed to be strong? I swear they had powerful spells at their disposal. Although this does tell me the level of Xerath around here. If they're only at the small plant level, then either the God isn't all that strong yet, or we're near a new hive.

We walked like that for about twenty minutes before reaching a massive mound made out of rock. The fairies didn't stop though, they flew right through it as if the rock didn't exist.

"You too! I'm here, we can go together." The one on my shoulder said.

So I couldn't get in without her? But even if this place is reinforced, once the Xerath locates it, it won't protect them forever. They will get in eventually.

I walked through the wall of rock, finding myself in a rocky tunnel. Surprisingly, the walls were luminous. I could see everything perfectly as I made my way forward. It didn't take long for us to reach our destination, which turned out to be a massive cavern full of different ponds. There were fairies everywhere, including a few human-sized ones. Those are the Lords... I don't know anything about them. They weren't in the cartoons.

"A visitor...?"

"New person!"

"Too white!"

The fairy on my shoulder pointed toward a small pond. "That one! Take duck there. We go tell Mother that we succeeded!" She flew off with the other two toward an area elevated in the distance.

I carried the duck over to the other side of the pond and sat down in the water. Immediately I could feel something covering my veil. Normally this would make me flee, but my veil gave way on its own, allowing the foreign mana to invade my core. I could feel something warm infuse me as my own mana increased by a large amount, far surpassing my max, except it wasn't disappearing like it normally would. Ahh, this place reinforces you and cleanses your soul. I didn't know fairies had something like this, but it's good to know it exists. A place like this will be a massive lifesaver if I have to survive in this hellish landscape.

I lowered the duck into the pristine water. As I was cleaning it off, one of the Lords walked over to me and kneeled down. "Mother will be here shortly. Your arrival was quite the surprise for her! So she's trying to wrap her current business up as fast as she can."

"Do you know what she wants with me?"

The girl's smile widened, "You'll find out shortly! Do not worry. She's very happy to finally meet you."

Finally meet you... Did Aresa or Euphemia tell her about me? I don't even know how long I've been dead though. She might've heard about me ages ago, and who knows if the others are even...

I shook my head again before forcibly emptying my mind. I focused on cleaning the duck, which was going about as well as I had expected, given the nature of this place. The duck had already opened its eyes and was looking around. I could feel it shaking, either from its body just coming back from its near-death state, or from fear. Either way, it was now dipping its mouth in the water and drinking, which put a smile on my face.

"What do these things eat?"

The Fairy Lord chuckled, "Wait a moment, please. I'll go grab something."

As she left, I looked down at the duck, suddenly feeling like I was going to cry again.

... At least I was able to save someone.

I sat there for a few hours, watching the duck swap between playing in the water and eating. The fairies were watching me from the other ponds, discussing something I couldn't hear, until finally someone walked over to me.

"Sorry for the wait~."

A completely nude woman sat to my left and smiled at me. Her beautiful form would have normally taken my full attention, but something else I sensed had left me completely stunned.

The woman quirked an eyebrow and lifted up her breasts, "You like them that much? I thought about wearing something nice, but it looks like my spur-of-the-moment decision to come nude had paid off! After all, you decided to show up in the same amount of clothing."

"... So you're the fairies God. I've never seen a God this Human before. This is an illusion of some sort, right?"

"Pfft..." The woman waved it off and leaned back, "Not entirely, but it'd be a pain to explain. Just know that I'm more like Shiva, Aresa's Mother. We never met, but I've heard all about her, and she was very similar to how I function."

"I only know what Aresa told me, which wasn't much." I continued, "And speaking of Aresa..."

"Yes, yes. I know her. She's a little brat these days, but I can't really blame her... And it's cute, so she's forgiven of course."

So I'm finally here, but...

I went silent while I stared at the duck.

The Fairy God put her face next to mine and squinted at me, "Hmm... I don't know what happened, Rei, but I may have just the solution."

"And let me guess, I help myself by helping you? Also, what is your name?"

She rubbed my hair and smiled widely, "So smart, just like Aresa said you were~! And call me Lunaria."

"The Xerath, right?" And that's fine. Mindlessly killing some Xerath is exactly what I need right now.

"That's one part of it... But uh, you see... We're having trouble finding the God."

"What...? How is that possible? Aresa told you about my past, yes? I've seen dozens of the damn things. They don't hide. If anything, they love it when you come to them."

Lunaria sighed, "But that's what is happening! We've been dealing with this nightmare for years now, and it just keeps getting worse... Oh. And just so you know, it also isn't forcing anyone to worship or follow it."

"I've never heard of that happening before either. And does that mean they can evolve into a God without sustenance? This is all very strange..."

There must be a reason it's hiding itself... But there's no way I'll figure it out just sitting here. I'll have to stealth around their main hive area and see what I can find.

"So where is the hive at? The main one, none of those random ones they place around it."

Lunaria looked away, "... We don't know."

I stared at her agape. She took one look at my face and threw her hands up in the air. "We really don't know! We kill one hive and sometime after that another one pops up somewhere else!"

What in the hell is happening here...?

"Uh, Lunaria, I know Termia needs help and all, but what exactly are you expecting me to do here? With the God and apparently the main fucking hive itself hiding somewhere, all I can do is scout around and pray I find something, but I wouldn't hold out much hope for that plan if I were you."

The only thing that comes to mind right now is looking for Xerath growing out of the ground that are monstrous in size. That would mean a long-standing hive or the God itself is nearby. However, that's an easy solution everyone would know, so there is no way they haven't scoured the lands looking for such a place.

"Several years back I heard my little darling Aresa mumble one time, 'If Reimia were here, she'd know what to do...'. And we both know she's not a liar, right~?" Lunaria said as she smirked at me.

"Bah, I'm not a miracle worker." The image of an orange-haired girl popped into my head. "Actually, hang on... Isn't Alicia with you guys? Surely the Lizardmen have encountered such a situation before."

Lunaria scoffed, "Right... Her. No, she left to assist your 'Lizardmen' on Zhegu. More than half of that planet is overrun by Xerath and Demons, so they've been quite busy trying to exterminate them. The last time she visited us was... Maybe half a year ago? She said that it wasn't going well. By the time they managed to kill two of the Gods, four more broodlings had evolved. And they haven't even been able to attack any of the Demons strongholds yet."

"For the love of... Okay, what can you tell me? For example, why is the area directly outside your little hidey hole here completely corrupted? Surely they aren't overpowering your domain?"

Lunaria laid down, resting her head under her arms. Her rather large chest was above the water, which normally would have made it awkward for me, but the current me was entirely focused on my soon-to-be mission.

"I have to focus my domain on Termia's capital and surrounding cities. If I don't, the whole area will quickly turn into a Xerathian hellscape. So yes, they are overpowering me." Lunaria sighed, "The plan was for Belfos to spread his domain out here to counter the Xerath's corruption, but we haven't been able to do that since we can't find their God or Main Hive."

Belfos, so that's the name of the other Eldritch God in Termia.

"Keep going. What else do I need to know?"

"The Xerath's hives consist of a black goo that spreads out in all directions. The Xerath spawn out of it. So there is no safe approach when it comes to their hives. Every direction is the same. All you can do is go in guns blazing and burn the whole damned thing to the ground. Err, save your guns for the Xerath who form out of the goo. Then use your mana to cast elemental spells to destroy the goo. Any element works, but fire is best, as the goo burns for a little bit before going out, resulting in the hive losing a lot of mana. So burn baby burn!"

I have a fire spell but it's really basic, and it's not very powerful... I'm much better off fighting the Gods, or even the Lords who watch over the extra hives.

"Wait, are there no Lords who govern the extra hives?"

"Nope~!" Lunaria smiled at me. "Aaaand there are some other problematic forces out there you'll need to avoid. There is a legion of Crotia to the southeast who swore to raze Termia to the ground, but they've mostly just been attacking the Xerath. They're going to come for Termia eventually though. They've just been waltzing through Aetheria for years now, burning one city after another to the ground."

I went to say something in response but Lunaria cut me off, "Oh, that's right! You're also from Urza, so you'll know who is leading them. The Nei'lah's god."

"The God who gave them and some of the Crotia those black wings? So is this the group that was exiled from Urza? They were kind of close to Xelba, but we rarely fought with them. We raided the Kitsune while they attacked Kellog. I always assumed Viktor had a treaty of some kind with them. 'Leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone.' Something like that."

Lunaria shrugged, "That's what Aresa and Cera said too. Just know that you need to avoid them. They mostly operate in highly powerful groups of six, and they have a fort about five miles east of here, so you will run into them at some point. Don't expect any backup from Termia. All of our outposts in this region are dead and abandoned."

Crotians with black wings... I really don't want to see any of them right now.

I cut a slit in my shoulder and spent the next hour creating another suit of mesh. Lunaria didn't say anything, she just silently watched me work. After it was fully reinforced I stood up and walked toward the exit.

"You're leaving just like that...? Err, hang on! Take one of my daughters with you. She can guide and support you in combat."

I stopped and looked back at Lunaria. She was already motioning for one of the fairies to come over to her. "Luna, come here."

"... You named her after you? Is she special in some way? It's going to be annoying with you two having the same name."

"Hehe, trust me, she won't disappoint you." Lunaria looked at the little fairy, who from all intents and purposes, looked scared out of her mind. "Now, now. There's no need to be so frightened. This is the perfect chance for you to gain some experience outside. Up until now, you've only trained in our soul area, so you need this. Understand?"

The little fairy known as 'Luna' meekly nodded. Lunaria saw that and immediately threw her at me. I could hear her little screams as she did cartwheels in the air, all the way until I caught her.

"You're originally from Aetheria so you know what to do with her, yes?" Lunaria said.

"I thought that was only in the cartoons... Is she really going to nest inside my soul? I don't like the sound of that, and I doubt my soul will be a pleasant place for her to stay."

"Just do it. You'll be fine miss worrywart, jeez..."

I looked down at the fairy in my hand. She had long white hair like mine, except it was done up in a high ponytail. I could feel her shaking in my palm as tears formed along the sides of her eyes.

"Ugh, she's about to piss herself out of fear. You're making me feel like a villain here little fairy. Just get inside my soul and calm down already..."

I activated the halo, as it was much easier to remove the veil that way. I heard Lunaria say "Oooh, pretty gothic halo!!" as the little fairy disappeared into my soul. Fortunately, it wasn't as unpleasant as I had expected it to be. In fact, it felt exactly like it did when I pulled people into my soul realm. So that's how this works... The fairies stay inside your soul realm and assist you from there. The cartoons made them out to be the number one supports of Aetheria, and if she does even half of what I saw in the cartoons, I'll have a much easier time from here on out.

I deactivated the halo, which led to Lunaria booing me as it dissipated back into my veil.

"Alright, I'll see you... Wait, one last question. How long have I been, uh, gone?"

The smile on Lunaria's face disappeared. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that... It's been twenty-seven years since your battle with the Xel'nethra."

Coupled with my death on Urza, that's thirty-three years...

"And this Xel'nethra, I'm going to assume that's the name of Viktor's faction? All of you already know what happened in that one city? I think it was called Xethra."

"Hard not to when he broadcasted parts of your siege to all of Aetheria while claiming that Termia sent you there to massacre his people. You see, thanks to Aresa's group we knew all about this 'Viktor' of yours way ahead of time. What he did to Urza was not going to be a one-time thing, so we were planning to attack him in full force to drive him off of Aetheria, but convincing our allies was much harder than it should have been. Alicia allowed them into her soul realm so they could see what happened to Urza, but they just kept making one weak excuse after another, and they all led to the same decision. 'Wait-and-see'. And now half of those nations are gone... They've long since been absorbed by Xel'nethra. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news again, but he owns the bottom twenty percent of Aetheria now."

"That's obviously bad news, but I'm not surprised in the least. If anything, I'm glad it's only twenty percent. That means there is still a chance."

Technically there will always be a chance. I just need to kill Viktor, and then all of the Xerath under his control should return to their base instincts, which will be catastrophic for his nation.

I waved at Lunaria and walked into the tunnel behind me. Alright then, little 'Luna', point me in the direction of the nearest hive. I felt one part of my soul tug toward the right while something else appeared in my vision. It was a little white dot far off in the distance that I could make disappear and reappear at will. Wow, you really are going to be useful to have around... I'm looking forward to working with you, little fairy.

~Three hours later~

~Velfor POV~

Velfor pulled his greatsword out of the ground and wiped it off. Tsk, another fucking vegetable with teeth. I want to have a real battle damnit. I'm fed up with these simple-minded monsters...

"IS THERE NO ONE WHO CAN CHALLENGE ME?! FUCK!!!"

Velfor was one of five generals leading the Crotian's crusade into the north. The other four were frankly tired of him. Every time he left for one of his 'Patrols', the four of them prayed he would never return. They were working tirelessly to keep their position in these lands intact. Meanwhile, all Velfor did was wait around until it was time to do battle. Whether defending the outpost or assaulting a nearby horde of Xerath. But even that wasn't enough to abate his need to fight. So he now spends most of his time patrolling around the wastes, killing anything and everything that enters his vision.

Velfor picked up the Xerathian plant and chomped down on it.

"Fucking annoying. I came to these lands to find someone worth fighting. Instead, I'm---"

Something seemed to appear out of nowhere behind Velfor, and the only reason he knew was because of the feeling of sheer terror that accompanied it. He spun around and just barely deflected the attacker's fist before leaping backward.

"HA! NICE TRY, GIRL!"

Despite his bravado, Velfor was greatly disturbed as he stared at the girl. No one had ever snuck up on him before, nor had he ever felt a wave of terror like that. Not from a Human anyway. No, wait... She's an Elf? What is one of those pointy-eared freaks doing down here? And that's not the only thing that's off about her... Are Elves supposed have white hair and red eyes?

Velfor entered a ready stance. "Surely you aren't going to fight me with your fists?! If you've gone mad, it won't save you girl. I'll cut you down all the same."

The girl didn't respond. Instead, a black halo with a red outer rim appeared over her head. While he didn't know what that ability was capable of yet, he did feel the enormous amount of mana radiating from it. A few moments later she dashed at Velfor, moving at speeds that far exceeded his expectations. But too bad for her, that's still not enough to topple me.

Velfor met the girl head-on with a wide horizontal swing from the right. For those skilled in combat they may have wondered why he opened with such a slow attack, but Velfor loved chopping people in half at their mid-section. So when he saw the opportunity and thought he could take it, that's exactly what he did. However, right before the sword connected, the girl hopped into the air and slammed her feet down on top of the blade, driving it straight into the ground. The move had stunned Velfor for a split second, which was more than enough time for the girl to connect an enhanced fist right into his snout.

Velfor was a Vanguard, so his barrier took most of the blow, but the impact still ruptured something inside of his nose, which turned his bemusement at the girl into pure rage. However, despite his newfound anger, he did not lose control of himself, as he could also feel another emotion welling up inside of him, one that could only be described as pure excitement at the prospect of finally having a real battle. A duel to the death.

He looked back at the girl and smirked. She was preparing for another attack but stopped in her tracks when Velfor's tail pointed at her. At first, nothing happened, but the look on her face a few moments later suggested she finally realized what was happening. She moved in for another attack, however, she was much slower this time, as the gravity ability he had channeled on her was heavily weighing her down.

The end of Velfor's greatsword was still on the ground. He swung it up toward her as he made another attempt to cut the girl in two, this time feeling much more confident in the attack. However, despite her handicap, she still managed to duck below the blade and parry it out of the way before attempting to kick Velfor's shins out from underneath him. He lifted his leg and brought it down toward her foot, but yet again at the last second, she pulled her foot to the side and kicked his leg away.

They stood within striking distance exchanging blows like that for what felt like ages. At first, Velfor felt an excitement like he never had before, but that excitement slowly turned into confusion. He had nailed the girl with several more gravity debuffs, but she continued to parry all of his attacks unabated. It wasn't long before that confusion turned to anger, and eventually, it went full circle back to confusion. Except now, she had his full attention. This was no longer a game to him.

He suddenly leaped back and made no further moves. He merely stared at the girl for twenty seconds before finally asking, "What are you?"

He had fought all kinds of people and monsters over the years. There were even a few swordsmen that almost managed to beat him. Their skill was greater than his own, and he accepted that, for he knew he would never be the best in sword skill alone. But this girl, her moves were alien to him. And not only that, but the entire battle had taken place with her only using her fists and feet.

An enhanced fist can be just as powerful as an enhanced sword, but only a fool would use a part of his body that could be lopped off. If your sword is broken, then so be it, just use another one. But your fist? You won't have time to grow another in the middle of a battle, and that's assuming your soul doesn't fracture in some way from the trauma, leaving you with only one hand until the end of your days. And this isn't just a random greatsword. It's an artifact weapon. A high-level one at that, but she's deflecting it as if it's just a toy...

Lastly, and most annoying of all, was that he could feel his gravity debuff on her waning over time. He had to keep reapplying it because she was somehow removing it while in battle. He had never fought anyone who was able to cleanse themselves in the middle of battle before.

The girl suddenly disappeared.

"What?!" Velfor yelled as he entered a ready stance. The girl had vanished in a way that didn't look like any warp he had ever seen before. While he had never met anyone who could turn invisible, his instincts were screaming at him that she was still here, so he watched the ground for footsteps while listening for any little sound he could pick up.

He waited and waited, until eventually, the girl reappeared on an elevated area in the distance. There were stone stairs that led toward an outpost they had destroyed months ago. The problem was the mounted gun she was now aiming at Velfor.

"COWARD!!" Velfor yelled as he ran toward the left side of the outpost. Everything else was barren and open, there was no way to escape the hail of bullets that had begun to rip into his shield the moment he yelled at the girl.

He tore around the corner of the outpost just as his barrier was nearing its breaking point. What he needed now more than anything, was time. He needed a place to hide and meditate so he could repair his barrier, so he ducked into a small cave under the outpost. The tunnel was barely big enough for him to walk through, and it was well hidden behind a veil of vegetation that grew over the entrance. The only reason he found it was because he accidentally stumbled into the entrance as he pushed himself up against the rocks below the outpost.

There was a small room at the end of the cave full of supplies, a few bunks, and some radio equipment. This must have been a safehouse that Termia's men weren't able to make it to when we assaulted this place.

He sat down at the tunnel entrance and began to repair his barrier, but Velfor wasn't just sitting there. He was also slashing at the tunnel with his greatsword, checking to make sure nothing invisible was able to slip inside. About ten minutes later he had half-repaired his barrier when something flew toward him through the tunnel. He cut it down and his barrier was immediately covered in something black. Before he could even figure out what it was, he heard glass shattering at different points of the tunnel. Velfor didn't need to wait long to find out what the girl had planned, as a large fire spread through the tunnel at an alarming rate. Oil?! We left crude oil in the outpost?!

Velfor had two options.

One; Wait out the fire and do his best to counter it with an ice spell, but it's an element he is not very well versed in, and he doesn't know how much oil the girl has at her disposal. In the worst-case scenario, he could tap out on mana fighting off the fires before she ran out of oil.

Two; Charge out of the tunnel and attack the girl head-on. It wouldn't leave him time to freeze the fire, but it would mean he could stop the fires at their source.

He chose number two. Velfor blazed through the tunnel, listening to his recently repaired barrier crack all around him as the super-heated fire ripped through it.

Velfor burst through the tunnel exit and looked all around for the girl, but she was nowhere in sight. He was about to scream in rage when a large boulder dropped down onto him from above. Velfor barely dodged out of the way as it landed outside of the tunnel, sealing it up completely.

As he stood up a hail of bullets ripped into his barrier again. This time, they were of a much smaller caliber, but it was still doing enough damage to finish off his barrier. He needed to move and now. He ran toward the front of the outpost and up the stairs, stopping at the mounted gun the girl was using earlier.

The last set of stairs leading up to the outpost were much smaller, but he still needed at least another five feet in height to see inside of it. However, it wasn't necessary. He knew where the girl was anyway, as she began firing on him again from the top of a large stone monument shaped like a nude man inside the outpost. Velfor ran up the remaining steps and into the outpost, and what he saw in there enraged him even more. Supplies, ammo, and even a few guns were strewn throughout the outpost. His people had clearly scavenged the place, but they did a horrible job of it. Mother fuckers!! They had obviously just picked up whatever they could carry and then left the rest. Fucking bums, I'm going to have them all strung up and quartered when I get back!

Velfor ran toward the monument, but he barely made it ten feet when he heard an ominous clicking noise under his right foot. Less than a second later an explosion launched him into the air, destroying the rest of his barrier and shattering his right foot. Before he had even reached the apex of his skyward ascent, the girl appeared above him with her right leg raised high into the air. She brought her heel down hard onto his stomach, launching him straight into the ground. He wasn't sure of how many bones he had broken, but Velfor knew at that moment that he was done for. Fucking bums... Left active claymores behind... Bums... All of them...

The girl stared down at Velfor, unmoving. A brief flash of sadness appeared on her face as she glanced at his wings sprawled out sideways.

"You win... Girl... Well done..."

The girl's face returned to an emotionless state as she knelt next to Velfor with her right fist pulled back.

"Well fought... Crotian."

The girl brought her fist down, crushing Velfor's sternum and heart in one last blow.