---o---
The residents of the Holy City of Okhema felt that ever since the banquet for Lord Nameless was held, the city's safety index had been climbing higher and higher.
Although under the new [Laws] and iron-fisted methods enacted by Cerydra, various crimes had already become rare, residents could still occasionally find corpses in dark corners or on deserted streets.
Rumor had it that these bodies were casualties of the ongoing struggle between the Council of Elders and Cerydra.
But since Cerydra held the welcoming banquet for that Lord Nameless, the occasional corpses in the streets and alleys had vanished. In their place, four-to-five-meter-tall Iron Golems could be seen roaming everywhere.
At first, everyone didn't think much of it. Some people even got ideas about the Iron Golems, planning to dismantle them and sell them for scrap.
Until one night, a resident, woken in the middle of the night, witnessed a horrifying scene through his window.
A dozen or so figures in black hoods, holding daggers, were surrounding and attacking two Iron Golems. The result was that they were launched into the air like badminton birdies, rising and falling. The resident, from his third-story window, even briefly made eye contact with a hooded man who was sent flying by an elbow strike.
The next day, this news quickly spread through the streets and alleys of Okhema. Those who had designs on the Iron Golems immediately abandoned the thought. Now, even when they encountered an Iron Golem on the street, they would choose to deliberately give it a wide berth.
---o---
"Cerydra, are a thousand of these Iron Golems enough for now?"
Fu Zhu, looking somewhat weary, plopped down into the empty seat beside Cerydra. For the past few days, he had been manically producing Iron Golems, and he hadn't closed his eyes in several days straight.
He was lucky to have a large stock of materials on hand; otherwise, just gathering the resources needed to make the golems would have taken a very long time.
Cerydra looked at the exhausted Fu Zhu. Although she felt a little sorry for him, she still clicked her tongue with a hint of unfulfilled desire.
"I was originally planning to have you save up ten thousand Iron Golems, Lord Nameless. Then we could divide our forces and sweep across all of Amphoreus in a single day!"
In your dreams!
Fu Zhu rolled his eyes. Even if he made ten thousand Iron Golems, given their speed, it would be impossible to conquer Amphoreus in one day.
"Regardless, Lord Nameless, it is time to test the strength of this grand army."
Cerydra hopped down from her seat, then stepped onto a small wooden stool to spread a map across the table in front of her.
Seeing this, Fu Zhu also stood up. As he walked to the table, he subconsciously glanced at the small wooden stool beneath Cerydra's feet.
That's got to be forty or fifty centimeters tall, right?
"Lord Nameless?"
Cerydra suddenly called out, and Fu Zhu quickly snapped back to attention, looking at her.
"What is it?"
"Why are you spacing out at a time like this?" Cerydra, seeing his expression, helplessly reached out and tapped the map.
Fu Zhu leaned in for a look. For every place Cerydra had circled, the name of a [Coreflame] was noted below. He counted them and found that Cerydra had only marked the locations of eleven [Coreflames], leaving out the [Trickery] Coreflame.
Fu Zhu looked at Cerydra with some surprise. "You don't have the location of the [Trickery] Coreflame?"
Cerydra nodded.
"Zagreus, the Titan of [Trickery], never stays in one place, so we have very few leads on it. Among the eleven known [Coreflames], the most difficult one to obtain is the [Death] Coreflame in Aidonia."
Cerydra pointed her finger at a city-state icon in the far north.
"Although the Titan of [Death] has never appeared in Aidonia, I received word that the priests there found a girl. Any person, animal, or plant that approaches or touches her dies painlessly within moments. I once sent people to investigate, wanting to confirm if the girl was the Titan's incarnation, but without exception, every single one of them died."
Cerydra couldn't help but frown as she recalled the reports that had been sent back.
This ability to cause death on proximity made it difficult not to suspect that she was the Titan of [Death]. Yet, even if they knew, they had no way to deal with her.
For a long time afterward, even as Cerydra planned her first Flame Chase Journey, she was forced to give the [Death] Coreflame the lowest priority.
But now, Fu Zhu's appearance had given her a glimmer of hope.
Fu Zhu's power far surpassed that of a demigod. According to Hysilens, he had even single-handedly suppressed the corrupted Ocean Titan.
If it was him, perhaps he could actually obtain the [Death] Coreflame.
The more Cerydra thought about it, the brighter the light in her eyes became. But when she turned to look at Fu Zhu, she hesitated again. After a moment, she finally spoke. "Lord Nameless, I hope you can go to Aidonia to investigate the situation. As for the other [Coreflames], leave them to me. Since I gave you my word, I will definitely deliver all twelve into your hands."
"However, if you feel it is too risky, you do not have to force yourself to make contact with the girl. I will find another way. Your own safety is the highest priority."
"Sure thing."
Fu Zhu's crisp and ready agreement was somewhat unexpected for Cerydra.
"You're not afraid?"
"What's to be afraid of? The worst that can happen is I die once, then go fight in the resurrection tournament."
And to be honest, after hearing Cerydra's description, he was genuinely curious about this girl.
If she was just a stats-based monster, he wouldn't give it a second thought. But if she was a mechanics-based monster, he had to see what was going on.
Who knows, maybe killing her would drop some rare loot.
The previous few Titans all seemed to be on the side of Lawful Good, so he had been too soft-hearted to act.
But this Titan of [Death] sounded like it was on the side of Chaotic Evil. If he confirmed there was no issue, he could use it to test his blade.
"Since we've agreed, I'll head out now."
Fu Zhu glanced at the coordinates for Aidonia on the map, then, right in front of Cerydra, he drew his Yamato and sliced open a spatial portal, stepping through it.
Cerydra stared, stunned, at the gradually closing portal.
Was he always this proactive…?
---o---
On a steep, sharp peak outside the city of Aidonia, a winding mountain path stretched all the way to a sacrificial altar built of stone bricks at the very summit.
And on this winding path, a purple-haired girl wearing a veil walked upward with vacant eyes. Five steps behind her, a group of old men in white robes followed. On both sides of the road, a crowd of the old and young, men and women, stood in a line, their heads bowed, not daring to meet the purple-haired girl's gaze.
Suddenly, the sound of a heavy object falling at high speed echoed through the air. Everyone instinctively paused and looked up at the sky.
"Dammit, I messed up the altitude again!"
That cry was immediately followed by a thud. A man landed right in front of them. For some unknown reason, a puddle of flowing water appeared beneath his feet, which was strange considering this was the far north, where water rarely stayed unfrozen.
Fu Zhu collected the water on the ground and looked up to see the large crowd before him. He subconsciously opened his minimap to confirm their identities, and then, he saw an interesting name.
[Death Demigod · Castorice]