It had been almost a day since the battle; thanks to having a death council, dead soldiers were still soldiers, and we could now use their own dragons against them.
I can see why a lot of Chinese and Korean novels loved the necromancer.
Man, it's just op at high sequence
Sitting there, I had hoped that Alzuhud would have actually attacked directly, but instead "He" let his soldiers fight, and I am sure that 'He' is well aware that they would lose.
This made the entire battle more appalling.
At first I thought that maybe this dragon has no intelligence due to corruption, but it's been happening for a day, and I think it's best to assume it's Alzuhud's work.
I quickly entered Sefirah Castle to confirm my hypothesis.
The parchment appeared with a hint of the grey fog.
I wrote, "Am I under an author's control?" and closed my eyes.
Normally this would alert Alzuhud, but since I used it on me rather than our soldiers, it wouldn't be a dud, nor would it alert Alzuhud.
The letter that formed a 'Yes' appeared on the parchment.
"Shit," I instinctively cursed. Well aware that such an event was inevitable.
"Be wary of a spectator," I said unconsciously.
I was almost about to help the wolves, but I suddenly stopped.
This seems like a very good opportunity to run away.
"I am not here to help Flegrea in achieving his goal, so why am I even fighting?"
Quickly leaving this place is the best course of action.
I left Sefirah Castle.
As I stood in my tent, I raised my hand, triggering the worms.
And within moments my surroundings began to dissolve like a watercolor painting made by a novice painter.
As the surroundings turned surreal and illusionary, it was obvious where I was. This was the sprite world.
I floated in this realm for a minute or two before the surroundings began to harden like dry paint and the gradient had taken a more solid shape.
The color of silver white was the most prominent, which too began to solidify into a giant cluster within the periphery of my vision.
I was inside the barracks, where countless dragons had been resting while their forces were being 'annihilated.'
Since I had entered here from the spirit world, the destination was right in front of me.
The barrack of Alzuhod.
Without further ado, I entered the tent with a stride that belonged to an angel.
The dragon was in his human form in his tent.
It seems that even Ankwelt had some ideas as to how humans and demi-species were related.
This time it was different; 'He' was most definitely surprised, but for a moment only.
"What brings you here", He spoke, hiding his surprise very clearly.
I countered him, making him aware that I was aware; it was all part of the plan.
"That's quite a play you have written." Snapping my fingers, I made a wish
The entire place had been separated from the real world; this effect would last exactly for 10 minutes.
Ideally, using Realm of Mysteries would have been better, but since Flegrea would become aware of Fool's divine kingdom, it would be quite risky and detrimental to my future plans.
I now had the upper hand for the next 5 to 6 seconds; as long as I dont fuck it up, it's going to be just fine
Alzuhud was silent for a second, figuring out how I figured it out, or so it seemed.
I am not a mind reader. So I cant be for sure what this author was thinking
Since the concealment won't last much longer, it's best I get some information out of this angel before we engage in combat and I escape, leaving behind a dead body.
Antigenous had already used all of his resurrection and did not possess a second miracle invoker; this was also the reason I stayed away from Flegrea; after all, "he" had lost all his previous lives due to Flegrea.
So me leaving behind a dead body would be perfect for them to think I am dead.
I continued, "Truth be told, I care little of what becomes of Flegrea or the Demonic Wolves, and so I propose a bargain."
In this, Alzuhud saw an opportunity for control and asked, "What kind of bargain?"
I continued, "I demand two things. The first is a request, and the other is information."
Alzuhud nodded, and I continued, "For information, tell me, have you seen a human with radiance as bright as the sun? If yes, share all the information you have about him. If not, then I have two requests for you."
The expression of Alzuhud had changed very much; a sense of control that he had hoped for was gone.
He was more serious now.
"Yes, we are. I am surprised the Wolves are also aware of it."
He looked at me, trying to gauge my reaction, but there was no movement of my face.
He continued, "That sounds like rather a good bargain for me. What's in it for you?"
It seems that he agreed to the bargain.
"That's where the request comes in: make a display for both of our factions.
You and I are fighting, and in the end I die, or so it may look; neither you nor I will fight truly."
Alzuhud nodded. "That can be done. All I just have to do is make it look like you died, right?"
I nodded.
Alzuhud further continued, "Listen then. The man that you speak of was spotted around the Desolate Region.
According to Herabergen, his action seems to bear resentment towards all creatures.
What reason? I have no clue. The last time He was seen was around the human settlement that is in the neutral territory.
He also seems to be able to use Decay and Purification abilities , which I am surprised by, since most beings aim to find a common ability. But then again, he is a foolish human."
I listened intently, not sure if "He" was hiding it or just not aware yet; either way it does not concern me.
Once Alzuhud was finished, only then did I speak. "So then let's begin with the request."
Alzuhud nodded.
************************************
Just before the final blow, Alzuhud had created a virtual persona of mine and had lay there with my own illusion and marionette, adding some worms of spirit to make it look a little bit realistic.
By the time anybody had entered, I had already grafted myself near the human settlement of Flegrea's domain.
Since this was very much outside of Flegrea's divine kingdom, just like the battlefield, it was fine for me to stay here.
Looking around I moved with the help of my spiritual intuition, so as to find
Evernight, if she existed, that is.
I let my spiritual intuition guide me towards human settlement.
After traveling for what was about a day I stumbled near the settlement, the place that appeared in the dream divination.
Looking around for another hour in this place, I found her!!!!!!
A giant wolf with six arms and fur as black as darkness.
Amanises. It seems that she had a little hard time adjusting to this mess.
She seemed to be in a semi-concealed state with a sense of flickering darkness.
But luckily not on the brink of losing control
I went near her and spoke in a gentle voice in Jotun. "What are you doing there, miss?"
Amanises, who seemed to have lost most of her humanity after the beginner period vanished, must be feeling the burden of it now.
The wolf merely looked at me with distant eyes, trying to understand what was happening; suddenly, they dilated. The body had recognized me; furthermore, this burst of memories that must have flooded Amanises's mind prevented her from losing the essence of her remaining humanity.
I merely smiled. "To think this is the place where I find you, Amanises."
Suddenly the space around me began to emit a silence that would deafen one's ear, too quiet and too tranquil that it was disturbing.
In this place I was once again inside the mansion that Antigonus lived in.
In this bizarre place, my memories were being distorted and mixing with Antigonus in a heterogeneous way. Such a process would most certainly cause me to lose control.
Once again I raised my hand in this bizarre palace, and the grey fog began to emerge from my body.
The fog began to swell and expand rapidly.
Within moments the place was covered in the fog, similar to Flegeria's own castle.
And then it happened: the fog boiled, and it boiled the space, and the effects of this space boiled away as well.
Cracking the concealment and pushing me out of this dream.
Amanises hadn't moved an inch from her place, still staring into my soul.
She spoke, "Antigonus, how do you know that name?"
It seemed that the fog had done more than just help me; it had restored Amanises's humanity to some extent. Or suppressed her angelic status.
Know this was a long conversation going; I spoke, ignoring the question at hand
"Why don't we go inside? Do you have anything that can be used as a form of money?"
Since she was still in her wolf form, I used some illusion boosted with the sefirah castle to make her look like a human
Declining my question, Amanises, now more normal than before, had some more control.
"Sigh, Follow me", I covered the extra four hands of Amanises with an illusion to make her look like a human.
***********
After finding a shabby tavern, I ordered some stewed meat; that would be a good start to restore some form of humanity in her.
Looking around, it seemed like this place had been recently attacked by one of the Demonic Wolves.
After Amanises ate her stewed meat, humanity had been restored enough that she was the human that had taken the body of Amanises.
It seemed that Sefirah Castle had some images or memories of Amanises with humanity restored.
The boost had made the illusion look like Amanises rather than the Goddess of Misfortune
Knowing this, I spoke in English. "I take it that this is much better."
Amanises unknowingly nodded before she froze.
"What are you? Did you transmigrate too?" She asked, skipping a beat.
The way I answer these questions would dictate the fate of how this world would progress.
I decided to do what Klein did but with more information than before.
"Before we began, I must welcome you to this place. Having successfully accommodated this body is indeed very strong of you."
I took a breath; Amanises waiting for me to continue
"As for who I am, let's see, I am the successor of the being who transmigrated you. Originally this was going to be a power struggle, but I pulled a few strings; thus, rather than us turning into Him, you just remained you."
I took a pause.
"I expect a little Thank you for that, And Thus I have been looking for you for a while
While just as you aren't the Goddess of Misfortune, neither am I Antigonus, but you are the Goddess of Misfortune, and I am Antigonus
There is more good news for you and, technically, me; another person in a similar position to you should also be here.
If you are interested, why don't we give him a visit, and while we are at it, I will teach you little bit about what you are now and how make sure what happened before doesn't again"
It was all a lie; there was never a power struggle, but alas, it had to be done this way.
Amanises was very wary of me; even a human could tell that much.
She then asked, "Why are you helping me? What do you gain?"
There it was, the question that would dictate the power balance of this entire journey.
"Sigh. Well, since there's no point in hiding, I need to hunt Flegrea for a certain item. My divination showed that the best outcome would come with both your and His help. Of course, I am willing to give you things in return, but that can only be decided by how you cooperate."
Amanises paused for a moment. 'She' knew this was an illusion of choice with the way I had approached it.
But 'She' was still a she, at least in her heart, and humans do weird things.
They put their hopes on meaningless things and wait for a miracle to happen.
"I am, but only if you keep your end of the bargain; the moment you don't, I will hunt you down, even if it means joining the Demonic Wolves."
I nodded. Rest assured, Miss Evernight, nobody here has the balls to betray you, literally and figuratively.
Of course my face had a nonchalance that came with being a charlatan, a con artist, or a fool.