Mad God

Zelig was flying leisurely, high above the ground, watching the scenery go by below him. Surveying how the forests gave way to farms, hills and small towns, little rivers, and other wonders of nature, calculating the untapped resources beneath them.

"I should've done this as soon as Aerthus went missing! These kingdoms only festered while I was sealing myself away to cultivate! Now, look how they think this land belongs to them! They already forgot who made sure that this part of the continent stands strong! Who was the one letting them live somewhere and harvest its resources!"

"You are the complete opposite of Aerthus…" traveled the words to him in a charming, lovely voice, gently caressing his ears yet also sounding disappointed. They were making him lost to lust the moment he heard it. Zelig quickly stopped in his tracks, looking around alerted, noticing a pinkish fog closing in from a distance.

"Who are you?" He asked, his skin quickly turning silver in color, looking like a shining statue instead of a man.

"My name is Rumira." The same bell-like, chiming giggle came as the fog dispersed, revealing Rumira's beautiful and well-adorned body. She wore a soft, white silk dress that flowed around her curvy body like water.

"Demon…!" Zelig exclaimed, sucking in air through gritted teeth, watching the swaying white fox tails behind her. "You came far away from your home, beast!"

"I really did." She nodded, smiling, standing in his way towards Rozex. "Let's just say I am here to tour the human world~." every word she spoke was filled with her natural energy and affinity, constantly assaulting Zelig's mind. He was fighting with all his might to keep his thoughts focused and not wander around how he should ravage the body, surrounded by the air of motherhood before.

"You mentioned a name… is he the one who put you up to this?"

"Aerthus? No, he did not. I am not here because he said so." Rumira shook her head with a chuckle. "I am here because my God has been placed in a bit of a predicament."

"Your… God?" Zelig furrowed his brows, completely confused by her words.

"You don't need to know~ You wouldn't be able to hurt her anyway! I came to lend a hand because if something happens to her people while she is preoccupied, I would not be able to look her in the eyes!"

"You talk nonsense, demon! But what I can understand is that; you are blocking my path! Are you sure it is a wise choice?" he flexed his metallic muscles, sending out a strong shockwave with just that move alone, swaying Rumira's hair behind her like a cape.

"You are strong. Stronger than me. Physically speaking."

"Then you should-"

"But!" She raised her finger, gently swaying it left and right. "That does not mean you are stronger than me as a whole!" She flashed her canine teeth while her finger lit up in pink-colored flames.

"Should I cower in fear now?" Zelig asked as he crossed his arms before his chest. "You admitted it yourself! I just need to get close to you, and you are finished, demon! I do not take lightly to such threats, so it would be better to leave while you can!"

"It was not a threat." she shook her head, swinging her hand horizontally, as pinkish flames burst out, engulfing the air before Zelig completely. He could only raise his hand in defense as the firestorm descended down on him, swallowing him up entirely within seconds.

"Hm?" Zelig flinched as the expected heat did not come. At least he could not feel it scorching his silvery skin. What was burning was not his body but his soul and mind, swallowed up by lust and completely unnecessary, distracting thoughts that would leave one vulnerable in a fight. "You whore!" He roared, already backing up after the first moment he came in contact with the pink flames, but what awaited him was a colossal, transformed Rumira. Her almost 40 meters tall fox form was towering above him, with its nine enormous white tails spreading out behind her like a peacock's feathers.

What came next from her open mouth was a massive fireball, the size of a house, blasting forward, burning up the oxygen in the air wherever it traveled. Zelig was distracted enough, so he could not evade it in time, resulting in him raising his fist and punching against the incoming attack as an instinctive move.

"Do not underestimate me, demon!" He roared once again, and his silver fist was instantly heated up as it made contact with it. It was turning bright red, like metal in a blacksmith's fire pit.

The fireball was pushed in like a water balloon before it finally popped, spewing orange and pink flames mixed together in every direction. The incoming explosion blinded Zelig, and he could not see that Rumira's tails formed nine brightly burning embers at their ends, focusing them into one sharp, thin ray. Rumira, after sensing where her pink flames burned the brightest and where they were attracted toward, fired her spell, focusing on it with all of her senses. When the ray of almost white light flashed, it immediately reached its target, resulting in a loud, metallic, ringing sound, as if someone hit a gong with a metal hammer. The tumbling figure of Zelig was quickly revealed, skidding downwards from the sky but stopping before he crashed into the ground below him.

"Hard…" Rumira murmured, changing back into her human form. She watched the smoking body of Zelig, who was looking back at her. "Not as hard as Harimau… but… hard."

Zelig's body changed right before Rumira's attack met its target. Before it could land, sensing the quickly approaching energy, he just let out a long breath mixed with pink smoke, taking the energy blast head-on without a change in his expression. Not that he could change his expression right now. His body, revealing itself, was sparkling in a completely golden color, just like the armor Malevick and his soldiers wore in the past. His whole being was encased in pure gold, like a perfectly sculpted statue.

"You can't hurt me," Zelig answered, and even his voice carried a tinge of metallic luster behind it, feeling like grinding swords against each other.

"Same goes for you." Rumira answered, "I already measured your reaction speed. I am faster than you. You won't hit me if I start dodging."

"And?" He rose back up to the sky. "I just need to pursue you until you are exhausted so I can finish you off. I am in great need of a new pelt for my winter clothes anyway."

"I wouldn't waste time with that." she shook her head calmly.

"Your bluffs are already too late to have any effect!"

"We can play cat and mouse, and I can make you chase me all around the human-ruled parts of this continent, but by the time you return, the rest of my kind has eliminated all of your allies."

"..."

"Face it, you are all alone. You never made friends, not to mention allies. Your only concern was always one thing. Yourself and your own strength and power! You are still lost in the past, fighting against Aerthus, yet he all but forgot about you throughout the years."

"Who are you to speak to me like that? What do you even know?" Zelig snorted with a cold, irritated voice. "You are nothing but a demon, an outsider to the human world! You should have stayed in your own forest!" He attacked her, but as Rumira said, she was faster than him. She quickly distanced herself from Zelig's golden body.

"I am an outsider, yes. That is why I can see it more clearly." Rumira chuckled as she flew tens of meters backward, standing calmly, facing the clearly riled-up Zelig. "You fail to face the facts; you are not just left alone, you are being left behind! You really assumed your old rival came back to pick up the fight against you once again? You were not even in his footnotes!"

"Your tricks of disturbing my mind are falling on deaf ears, demon!" He launched attack after attack, yet Rumira kept dodging, not even counterattacking as she continued speaking.

"Your pawns are turning against you one by one. First, your own bloodline, aiming to replace you. Then the rest of your family was turned against you by your own hands… not to mention sacrificing the only remaining loyal forces you had! You are already in a hole, yet you keep digging deeper and deeper!" By now, Zelig did not even answer, only concentrating on landing a hit, but it was impossible as he sacrificed speed for strength in his golden form. "You stayed in the past while the world moved on without you. Soon the remaining allies… or should I say, pawns you have, will be gone too!" She spewed out another fireball, using its explosion to distance herself once again while Zelig was left unscathed, smoke rising from his shining body.

"..." he was silently looking at his opponent, thinking about multiple courses of action, which would result in him trapping this slippery fox before him when his body visibly trembled.

"Sect Master… we have a problem! A great problem!" arrived a voice transmission from Frode, echoing from a crystal in his pockets, drawing a smile onto Rumira's face. "A huge demonic horde came down from the north!"

"What?" Zelig asked back, watching the smiling Rumira. Even as he guessed this was what the fox demon meant before him, it was still surprising. They had multiple sentry stations in the north. Fortresses that were used to alert them if a horde was coming and gave them time to prepare. They shouldn't be overrun this quickly by a bunch of beasts!

"Some survivors said… they were… were… not just beasts! But demons! Led by a giant, white gorilla who just rushed through the walls as if they were made out of paper! More and more demons are rushing down from the north as we speak! Our armies are engaged in the south; we won't make it back in time! If they target Heaven's Gate… It was left unguarded! We can't afford to open a third front this quickly!"

"..." in the end, Zelig only hesitated for a few seconds before turning back to silver, and with a flash, he was gone, flying away, right towards Heaven's Gate, leaving Rumira at the spot. She did not give chase, only picked out a communication crystal herself.

"Fall back." She transmitted her voice towards Kang and the rest, who formed the quickly put-together vanguard forces, pushing into human territory with the exact reason; to glue Zelig into one spot and not give him a chance to move freely. Not just they, but the Immortal Wonders Sec could keep track of Zelig's presence this way, all the time, thanks to this quick move on their part. "He is heading your way. Don't get caught by him!"

"Yes. We move, quick. Human not see us, he won't!" Kang's fired-up voice came back as Rumira also flew away, heading straight toward Rozex. "How Savior is?"

"Don't know yet. I am still on my way toward the city. But relax, as I said, she is 100% fine. You just need to make sure the humans are kept at bay!"

"Yes. Savior's enemy, our enemy!"

…
….
…..

In the city of Rozex, the giant golden ball that was now Ren's hardened cocoon was still at the same point where it landed. It was impossible to move it, and no matter what they tried, it remained in the same spot. In the end, Ariana cordoned it off to prevent the ever-curious from triggering something that may kill them. It was late in the afternoon when she was floating with crossed legs above it. Suddenly her eyes snapped open, looking towards the north. She quickly rose to the sky, heading towards the source of power she felt and the serious expression on her face turned into a relaxed one, second by second, as she recognized who was approaching the city.

"Lady Rumira!" She cupped her hands as they met, not far away from the Plateau of Harmony.

"Oh? You became stronger!" Rumira chuckled, scanning her from top to bottom.

"It was thanks to my Master!" Ariana bowed with a smile. "It is good to see you, Lady Rumira… I was…"

"Expecting someone else?" She giggled, flying next to her, gently patting her shoulders. "Don't worry; he has other things to deal with! I came as quickly as possible, so I would ward him off until things were resolved!"

"Thank you!"

"Don't thank me so quickly!" she shook her head. "We have work to do! We need to act while we have the advantage!"

"But Master-" Ariana tried to tell her what happened, but Rumira just placed her finger on her lips.

"Why do you have so little confidence in her?"

"..."

"Ahaha~" She hugged her suddenly, filling Ariana with warmth that quickly turned into weird feelings, making her blush and press her thighs together. "Sorry~ I am still not there; controlling my powers when we touch skin to skin is hard~" Rumira laughed, letting her go in the end. "I understand you are worried about her, but you shouldn't! Not after what she did in the past~."

"In the past…?" Ariana looked up at her, trying to see her thoughts in her eyes, getting a feeling of hers. Reading them, they suddenly confirmed her own wild ideas. "So she was him!" Ariana exclaimed as her eyes grew large.

"Hm? Oh!" Rumira blinked her eyes rapidly, forming a sly smile. "So you had a hunch?"

"A little… since long ago… yes." Ariana nodded, trying to find the words. "I was almost sure that Master was a reincarnation of the Mad God!" She sighed, breathing more quickly than before, trying to calm down.

"Did you ever tell this to anybody?"

"No!" she shook her head vehemently.

"Good! Don't! I spoke with her, and she said that was the past; this is the present. She is Ren now. Your Master." she placed her hands on her shoulders. "So have faith in your Master and stop worrying!"

"Um!" Ariana nodded, finally revealing a small smile, genuinely letting go of her worries.

"Let's go back, I never visited a human city before, so I am curious about it!"

"I am more than happy to give you a tour, Lady Rumira!" Ariana laughed, showing the way for her, suddenly feeling much more relaxed and happy, and her anxious wait for the emergence of Ren turned into an exciting expectation instead.