ROTLE- Chapter 193- A Monster To Slay (Patreon)

Tradis ran a hand through his hair like someone who could not believe what was happening. He looked visibly livid but confused. It was as if he was angry while knowing that he did not have the right to be angry.

Elaswit watched patiently from her chair in what turned out to be a very comfortable guest room in Valdan’s manor.

The floor was covered in a wide carpet that reminded her of the color of a particularly old tree; a scattering of grey and brown. It was an odd choice for a carpet if anyone asked her. At least the bed seemed normal enough. It was clearly not a room designed to host dignitaries or the like, perhaps the room of a friend or unimportant guest.

Considering the fact that the maid who had guided them had referred to it as her uncle’s room, it made little in the way of sense.

Tradis sat back on his own chair. A sigh left his lips. He threw his head back and let it hang over the chair’s low backrest.

“This is turning out to be a shitty day,” he groaned. “I swear I’d wring her neck if Valdan didn’t care very much about her.”

“Uncle!” Elaswit chided before she could stop herself.

Her uncle’s eyes moved in their sockets. He looked at her from the corner of his vision. There was something cold and deadly in them, something that bade her to remember her place before he reminded her of it.

Elaswit looked down and away, unable to meet her uncle’s gaze.

It was a stark reminder that he no longer treated her like his beloved niece, but like a child who needed to understand the wicked way of the world and needed to be hard enough to survive it.

How a man could change from so much love to the absence of any love at all was terrifying to think about. It was even more terrifying to witness.

Her uncle looked away from her in her silence and stared up at the ceiling. It was nothing but stone crafting, devoid of design. Grey and blue and black stared back at her uncle.

“This is just insane,” he muttered, talking to himself. “And Bran does not even know if Valdan is alive. Only the gods know what she would do with such a weapon if he no longer lives.”

He frowned, sighed again.

Elaswit could see the gears working in his head. The problem was that she didn’t know if he was looking for a solution that led to the spear, Valdan’s beloved, or Valdan himself.

Taking his hand away from his face, he folded it over his chest.

“Elaswit,” he said in that voice that she had come to see as his teaching voice.

Elaswit straightened on her chair. “Yes, sir.”

“What strategy would you employ if you were currently in my position?” he asked. If he had noticed her straighten and felt bad about her new reaction to him, he did not show it.

Elaswit ignored her constant desire to find a shadow of the uncle she’d once known and put her mind to the task he had set her on.

The question was a tricky one. What exactly was the position her uncle felt that he was currently in? Was he looking for Valdan’s beloved or was he looking for the weapon?

“I will find a scryer,” she answered. It was always the solution to every problem that involved tracking someone when you did not know when to start.

However, her uncle’s response told her how wrong she was.

Snorting in derision, he looked at her. “I swear, why do strong men raise their children the wrong way?”

Elaswit wasn’t sure what he was talking about specifically. Her father had raised her to the best of his abilities.

“He should’ve sent you all to the adventurer’s guild like our father tried to,” Uncle Tradis said with a touch of displeasure. “At least he should’ve sent you all out to see the world.”

None of those options made any sense. To send them off on their own out into the world was not a reasonable decision for a king. Such an act was to risk their lives. And to risk their lives was to risk the throne.

If the king had no heir then the kingdom would fall into chaos.

Despite her dislike for the throne, her lack of control had almost led to the death of her brother, Derenet, which already put her freedom in jeopardy. Elaswit knew that the only reason she could comfortably reject the throne as she always did was because Derenet had complete interest in being king. Vaskot, her youngest brother was still too young, even if her mother was grooming him for the position of leadership.

The thought made her wonder how Derenet was doing. Had the [Healer]s found a way to wake him up; a way to save him?

It was a moment before she realized that her uncle was looking at her.

“Try it,” he said when their eyes met. “Be defiant. I will not punish you for it.”

…

In his past life the [Spear of Valsin] had ended up in the hands of somebody that was not from Bandiv. Or from Nel Quan.

Aiden could still remember how powerful the weapon had been. Some polymaths claimed that part of the reason the war had raged on for so long with so many casualties was because the weapon had eventually fallen into the hands of the demons.

The Order begged to differ. If anything, regardless of what happened, the Order was of the opinion that the entirety of Nastild—both sides combined—were in place to lose the war. The realization had been a shaker to Aiden at the time. Why? Because it implied that single handedly, Ted had raised an army capable of taking over an entire world with nothing but violence.

That was power.

Could he do the same?

Aiden banished the thought very quickly. He was trying to go back home, not rule Nastild. He looked at his arm as he and the rest of the team walked through the forest, making their way back to Nosrath.

The enchantment that Alobam gave him was an illusion enchantment, and a very powerful one. The question was what it was hiding, and if it was hiding it from him, too.

With no answer, Aiden’s mind naturally to the [Spear of Valsin] still strapped to Melvet’s back as she walked beside Valdan like a woman who had not been more than ready to draw blood not too long ago.

The [Spear of Valsin] was one of twelve heroes relic from his past life. Or, to be more precise, twelve known heroes relic of his past life. Here was the interesting, there were more than twelve. If the Order information was to be believed, there were many more.

What most people in this generation did not know was that the hero relics were simply powerful weapons crafted over time since the birth of Nastild, using magic the kinds of which the current era did not know. As for the church, they propagated the belief that they were weapons given to Nastild by the gods to help protect themselves from the rising darkness.

Seeing as they had never been in possession of more than two of these relics at any point in time in their history, they could not claim ownership of all the relics. There was also the fact that they had been foolish enough at one time to claim that there were only two such relics, just for a kingdom somewhere at sometime to discover another relic in some unknown ruin.

The [Spear of Valsin] was the latest known discovery, found some three hundred years ago and rumored to be the strongest of all the known relics. Aiden could say for a fact that his experience from his past life certainly backed those rumors up.

And here it was strapped to the back of Melvet.

It was insane.

“We’re not far now.” Ted said, Elami walking uncomfortably beside him.

He was right, the sounds of fighting and pain and dying was loud enough to agree with him. If Aiden strained his eyes just a little, he could even see Tanor and Telma crouching behind a tree, watching the chaos.

As expected, fighting Nosrath without the proper planning and teammates was an endeavor that would last forever.

“They probably rushed this,” Valdan said, his sword Aiden had given him at his hip. “Fights against Nosrath would usually have auras of different kinds flying around. I don’t even sense one. They are probably as powerful as I am or weaker.”

Aiden nodded, thinking more about why Tradis was going to kill Valdan than the monster they were about to face.

“I still have the Wielder of Nosrath if things go south,” Elami said.

Valdan paused. “What’s that?”

“An item designed to restrain Nosrath for a period of time, numbering in seconds.”

Everybody paused, staring at Melvet in confusion and surprise.

“Most people used it as a last resort,” she continued, seemingly unaware of the attention on. “A final blow. One last barrage of attacks. It’s an old item, lost to time, really. How…”

She paused as her attention fell on the eyes around her.

“What?” she asked.

That was a stupid question. Aiden only knew of the weapon because of the Order, and it was not as if it was a conscious knowledge. It was just one of those things you knew but never really remembered until someone brought it up. It was one of those things he knew because he had stumbled upon it. Even the thought of fighting Nosrath did not bring it to mind.

Elami knowing it had not really sent him on a chaotic thought because Elami had already proven himself to be a mystery and knew that he was a mystery. Melvet, however, was not supposed to be a mystery. She was supposed to be the beautiful woman Valdan loved.

A woman who had a deep affection for the church.

“Babe,” Valdan said carefully. “What just happened?”

“Remember when I said I once knew an [Apostle]?”

Aiden’s jaw dropped. Melvet once knew an [Apostle]? The church kept the knowledge and locations of [Apostle]s more secretly than countries kept the locations of all their nuclear weapons. And Melvet had just stumbled upon an [Apostle]?

Just how deep in the church had she been before meeting Valdan?

“You met an [Apostle],” Elami said, slightly suspicious. “Aren’t they very special resources of the church?”

“Designed to keep the [Saint]s in check,” Melvet said, unfazed. Then she paused very suddenly and looked at Aiden. “You’ll have to be extra careful now, Saint killer. You’ll probably have an [Apostle] coming for you soon.”

Valdan glanced at Aiden. He didn’t seem worried.

As for Ted, he moved over and threw an arm over Aiden’s shoulders. “Let them come.”

“Until then, we have a monster to slay,” Valdan said.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Melvet and Elami’s eyes lingered on each other suspiciously a little too long before they brought their attention back to each other.

“Where’s the crystal?” Valdan asked. They were close enough to the chaos now.

Skills flew about.

Attacks flew about.

People flew about.

Nosrath was slower now, though.

At a different position from Tanor and Estabel and Yerit, they watched the battle. Valdan waited for Aiden’s response.

Aiden looked at Ted.

“Zen’s with it,” Ted answered.

Valdan and Aiden exchanged a look.

“You left Zen and his sister all alone with something everyone wants?” Valdan asked for clarification.

“In my defense,” Ted said, “they are well protected. Elami cast some kind of illusion on them and I have my strongest summon by their side at all times.”

Melvet looked at Elami. “I assumed you were a healer.”

“Yes,” Elami agreed. “I am. But I have dabbled in a lot of things over the years.”

Aiden was not ready to know. This was not the time to investigate Elami. He was on their side for now, and he was good with that until Nosrath was in the ground.

Valdan seemed to be on the same page because he nodded and asked, “And the [Wielder of Nosrath]?”

A lung appeared in Elami’s hand, summoned from his storage space. Melvet frowned at it.

“How exactly did you come to be in possession of this?” she asked.

“The merchant of Nosrath,” Ted answered.

“Nalbath?”

Ted paused, confused. “No, Alobam.”

“Oh.”

“Aiden?” Valdan placed a hand on Aiden’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Aiden was stiff as a board.

How did Melvet know that Alobam the merchant of Nosrath was in fact, Nalbath of the north? There were countless people who did not even know the name Nalbath of the North, people who did not even know that such a creature existed.

What the hell was happening now?

“Aiden?”

The worry in Valdan’s voice was enough to snap Aiden out of his thoughts. He blinked, infusing some level of casualness into his entire body. Melvet would not harm Valdan… right?

He didn’t think she would. He had seen how ready she’d been to draw blood when she thought they were enemies not friends.

“I’m fine,” he said, brain functioning on autopilot. “I just don’t think Melvet should be a part of this fight.”

Valdan held his hand out to Melvet. “She won’t.”

“But,” Melvet started only to stop. She frowned, pouted a little. “This isn’t fair.”

Valdan laughed a little. “I love you, too.” Then he motioned with his hand. “Give it.”

Without arguing, she unstrapped the spear on her back and placed it in Valdan’s open hand. He took the item as if it weighed nothing.

“I’m not a spearman,” Valdan said. “But I believe I can haul this thing with enough force to disrupt the entire battlefield.”

Aiden was already shaking his head. “I have a better idea.”

Valdan smiled. “I’m listening.”

“Haul it at Nosrath,” he said. “Then jump in. You’ll draw everyone else’s attention with your manifesting skill.”

“I don’ think it’s strong enough for that.”

“Don’t worry about that. Ted and Oncot will help.”

“And what happens if we have their attention?” Valdan asked.

“And how sure are we that they will pay attention to them?” Melvet offered.

“Because a lot of people are there for the level up gotten from killing other human beings,” Aiden explained. “If they see three powerful people going after everyone while Nosrath has just been hit with something powerful, they’ll either scatter or go after them. My money is on scattering.”

“Just to clarify,” Ted said quickly. “We are scaring them off or drawing their attention, Oncot. We are not killing them.”

Oncot growled but said nothing.

“If any try to kill you, you’re free to strike them down,” Aiden said. Valdan didn’t even budge at the notion of murder.

Aiden wondered what that was about. The man hated the idea. At some point he hadn’t been able to talk to him because he’d killed Derendoff. Was this a type of change from the injury? Was it good or bad?

Whatever it was, it would be dealt with after this.

“Then what next?” Valdan asked.

“Then Elami and I will move in,” he answered. “Elami will bring Nosrath down with [Wielder of Nosrath], and I’ll deliver as much of a finishing blow as I can handle.”

“You can do that?” Melvet asked, genuinely surprised.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he answered. But he had a few enchantments that he could try now that he was above level one hundred.

Ted looked at the spear in Valdan’s hand. “If that thing is so powerful,” he asked, “then why don’t people just hunt the monster with it?”

“Because coming out with a weapon like this out in the open will lead to kingdoms ignoring Nosrath and going for it. You paint a target on your back in the fight,” Valdan answered.

“Isn’t that what we are doing?”

“Not really. The chaos is too much, and nobody has what it takes to go after it in such a situation.” Valdan rubbed his jaw in thought. “There will be those who try, though. But we’ll be fine. As long as nobody of true strength shows up, we should… what?”

Ted had his face in his hand. “Way to go, big guy.”

Valdan looked from him to Aiden. Aiden also had a frown on his face.

“What?”

“It’s nothing,” Aiden answered, shaking his head. “Let’s just hope you didn’t just jinx it. Alright, then. Throw it.”

Still completely confused, Valdan stood up and hefted the spear with the thing still clothed. He paused, shook his head, aimed again.

He paused again, stopped and looked at Melvet. “Seriously,” he asked her, “what did I do?”

“Try not to think about it, Val,” she said, patting him on the cheek and smiling. “Just focus on trying not to die. I don’t want to have to go to hell and back for you.”

Valdan aimed again. “I come back and this is the shit I have to deal with,” he grumbled under his breath. “I swear I hate those brothers.”

Ted chuckled. Aiden fought to keep a straight face.

Valdan took in a deep breath. Aiden glanced at Ted and Oncot.

Ted was ready.

Oncot was born ready.

Valdan pulled his hand back, then threw.

The spear boom, cutting through the distance in the blink of an eye, breaking the sound barrier. It ruffled the trees around them, shook the air.

Then it struck.

It was another thunderous roar. The force of the impact sent fighters flying, scattering about. Valdan just stood there, frozen, shocked.

Then Nosrath teetered and fell with the spear in its chest.

It hit the ground with enough force to shake Nastild.

Then there was silence, as if what had just happened had stunned Nastild itself.

Nothing moved. Nothing breathed.

The world was still.

Aiden broke the stillness.

“Ted! Oncot! Go! Go! Go!”

Valdan rushed out into the clearing, sword drawn from its sheath at his hip. Ted flashed out of the forest on the back of some massive serpentine creature that Aiden had not seen before, at least not in this timeline.

When had he gotten that?

Oncot, ever the savage, leapt into the air, crossing a massive distance. He roared like a demon on its way to kill god with nothing but his bare hands and a will to be a moving calamity.

Aiden looked at Elami. “Ready?” he asked.

The [Healer] nodded, then he held up the [Wielder of Nosrath] and seemed to aim it.

Aiden hoped he wouldn’t miss.

Then he ran out into the clearing, leaving Fjord behind with Elami and Melvet.

It was time to get that heart.