The Guardian

Chapter 259: Will Allow It

Aurora looked into the distance as darkness that kept her hidden surrounded her.

The plain stretched out in front of her and in that place was infested with several monsters.

They were not too many and not too few either. It was a few dozen that could be taken down from quickly without being surrounded, even if the monsters went into a frenzy.

When one directed one’s gaze further ahead, on the top of a cliff, one could see a portal that trembled subtly, making it obvious that it was corrupted, but one could also tell that it was larger.

The only thing Aurora could say about that portal was....

—It seems more stable than before.

Stability.

The portal was larger than the abysmal portal she had seen on the other side, but there was also a certain stability that gave a sense of self-protection.

What was clear was that it was active and there was some stability.

If they left a few weeks, it was likely that the abyssal portal would recover on its own and it would be possible to leave without using the statue of the old goblin, Zorkas.

It was likely to be something caused from the other side, but unfortunately, they could no longer wait.

“...”

The earth shook and several groups of monsters were devoured as worms came out from under the ground to feed on the monsters.

Eating a monster was the same as being corrupted and the worms mutated changing forms.

Their brown and gray skins turned black and others had grotesque protuberances protruding from their bodies, while some grew mouths, leaves and external organs that were disgusting to look at.

It was impossible to decipher how Chaos could affect them and to what extent, that was because such ‘energy’ was something ‘divine’... Something related to the gods.

It was impossible to study that energy by scientific means and probably a few magical scholars could understand or grasp it and it would only be superficial.

Still, at this moment, Chaos was indirectly her enemy.

“Gga...”

The worms returned underground as a powerful presence emerged from deep within the ground and the next moment it was hidden again.

The Great Worm was present, waiting.

There was no need to wonder the reason why the Great Worm was waiting here.

The mental corruption of Chaos was powerful, but the rationality and instincts of a high ranking magical beast were not low and sometimes corrupted monsters used those instincts.

Now the worm probably understood what the way out of this world was and was waiting for its prey to escape.

It was even likely to desire revenge for those worms that were killed by it... The truth was that it was complex to understand to what extent the Great Worm was corrupted and how much rationality there was compared to corruption.

What was clear was that it was impossible to dialogue with a magical beast corrupted by Chaos, even if that beast was of SS rank and had a certain level of intelligence.

Chaos not only corrupted the body but also the mind, and in case that beast had intelligence, then the thoughts it might have would certainly not allow it to communicate.

—Thirst for revenge and death. All its thoughts of hatred are empowered to the extreme where thinking rationally is impossible.

Her system pointed out what was possibly going on in the worm’s mind.

If it had intelligence, that was the result and as for if it had no intelligence, then it was the same... Its most instinctive and savage nature would come out without being stopped.

Besides, it was impossible to verify at what level the worm was affected and they could not stabilize the worm’s mind or at least try to reduce the corruption.

Even though they had a psionic in the group, Theodore was not focused on mental attacks and would not affect an SS rank.

The good thing was that Theodore was a paladin of the Church of Order and could pray to the Goddess to receive some response capable of dealing with Chaos.

“Let’s go,” Aurora commanded, signaling to Alice, who was at her back.

Alice made her shadow go around her and then they both entered the inner space of the shadow.

This place was dark and normal. The darkness that seemed to move would frighten people, though it was different when one could see in the dark.

And Aurora saw her sister in this space opening a bag of chips with admirable calm.

“You needn’t worry. We’ll get out of here,” Alice said as she saw her and, as if noticing her emotions, she added. “It’s just an SS rank creature... It’s not the first of such a level we’ve faced.”

Aurora agreed with her.

This wasn’t the first SS rank creature they faced.

While she had never won against someone of that rank, she had faced an SS rank before and now having to face the Great Worm had no fear.

Putting aside the training she had with her parents, her masters had a strength that at full strength she could not face and lastly, in Africa, they encountered Great Warlords.

“That’s right. Together, we can do it,” Aurora replied with a greater seriousness than she should have.

Alice, hearing her, stopped eating and then, watching her, sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Alice said suddenly and, looking at her with a certain guilt, she muttered. “If I were stronger, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Aurora was stunned by her sister’s murmur, that hinted at a certain regret.

Alice’s innate ability was powerful, and she had enormous potential for growth, but like most such abilities, they caused a change.

That change was sometimes mental or physical and while among the lower ranks that change was not visible, it was different for those who rose to SS rank or above.

Her parents were clear examples of the changes in the human body and while Aurora did not know Archangel Michael, it was likely that such an individual having an innate ability related to the lineage of an Archangel would also change.

Change was not always bad. Sometimes it just depended on perspective, but everyone found resistance to change.

However, Alice’s words made Aurora laugh.

She could feel how outside the warrior form that was basically a puppet without an owner, moved following Alice’s orders and she on the inside could see her sister, who gave a strange expression as she saw her laugh.

“That’s the same thing I can say,” Aurora replied and, giving a sigh, she declared. “I’m talented, but I’m still weak.”

It wasn’t arrogance; it was a criticism of herself.

Aurora was talented with the sword to the point that her master, who was very powerful, praised her for her skills, but she didn’t develop them as she should have.

She had risen through the ranks at an age at which many would find it impossible to do so and had many advantages.

She had a master who was an expert and by the way, there was that unlimited white place where time passed differently, allowing her to spend an hour of her life that would turn into dozens of hours inside that white space.

She also had as parents two skilled skill users who could answer any questions she had about the promotion and provide her with all the tools she needed.

Her advantages were many and despite so many advantages and the time that had passed, she was still an S rank.

Aurora did a lot of things right and some things very wrong, but in the end she had been stuck at this rank for years.

Even as a fighter, after stabilizing her own mind and ideas, she had managed to climb to almost become an S rank in just one year.

“That’s why I don’t need you to worry or do things you don’t want to. It’s because I didn’t,” Aurora said and looking at her sister, she announced. “I want to become stronger and if you want to do that, it has to be by your own choice, not out of obligation.”

Alice’s expression turned serious as she listened to her.

“Promise me that will be your motivation and not me or circumstances.” Aurora asked with a look full of seriousness.

Aurora wasn’t going to tell her to stop, because she knew her sister might ignore her... She wanted Alice to understand that whatever her reason for becoming strong was, it was her own decision guided by her own goals and not because she ‘should’ do it.

The situation they were in right now was complex. However, they still had options that didn’t require them to do something they didn’t want to do.

They were also not alone and Urfin, with his team and two paladins of two primordial gods, was in the same situation.

“I understand,” Alice replied, nodding with a dutiful expression.

Aurora let out a laugh and patted her sister as she approached, and she didn’t hold back the smile she was giving.

She would accept Alice’s help, but she didn’t want her sister to feel obligated and do things she didn’t want to.

They both waited in a comfortable silence and, after a few minutes, Alice gave her a signal that they had arrived.

Aurora, for her part, didn’t have to do anything when she was expelled from the stomach of the creature they knew as the ‘warrior form’.

And then Alice came out, only for the dark mass that formed that creature to transform into liquid and then into a shadow that dissolved underfoot.

Both had already reached the base that was covered by several concealment spells and both entered the cave and seeing that they were the first to arrive, they waited.

All the groups went to explore different areas of the portal and, after a few minutes, Urfin and all the others arrived.

They exchanged information and then, after several minutes, they all reached the same conclusion.

The room fell silent, and in their midst it was the goblin Zorkas who interrupted the silence.

“The Great Worm is waiting for us with all its young,” Zorkas said in a serious and worried tone.

Adala’s expression turned slightly pale, and the others frowned.

Meden, Siba and Alros looked serious, but not terrified like Adala and for their part, Theodore and Amanda were slightly worried.

“As for the goblins, Alice can take them to the abyssal portal. In her shadow, all goblins can enter. However, once we try to stabilize the portal completely, the Great Worm will come out,” Aurora said, starting the conversation.

Her words dismissed the waiting that was impossible.

Now there were not only them, but there were close to a hundred goblins to feed and while the statue might help to speed up nature, it was not enough.

If Cedric were alive, he could change the situation, but now that Marius killed him, only old Zorkas was left who could use nature magic.

However, Zorkas couldn’t keep people fed for too long and neither could the statue be used if they didn’t want it to break before stabilizing the abyssal portal.

So the only way left was to leave as soon as possible and for that, they needed to fight or distract the creature.

“I...”

“As I said before, we have a way to take care of the creature,” Urfin interrupted, giving Aurora a look to back off.

She had been about to say that she could take care of the distraction if necessary, and that was because she was the one who wished to save those goblins.

To her way of thinking, if she wished to save the goblins, she had to take greater responsibility for her actions and that was why, while her sister was leading the goblins to the portal in her shadow, she could risk stopping the Great Worm.

She wasn’t going to ask others to risk themselves for something she started, and more so when they might not think alike.

One example was Theodore, who didn’t seem to like such creatures, and other examples was Adala, who seemed nervous enough about the situation that at this point she could only protect herself.

“We have a method to allow a member of our group to fight such a creature on equal terms. However, there is a problem,” Urfin said, and gave Siba a look.

Siba stroked his small horns on his head and then, looking at the goblins in the distance, nodded in approval.

“We must pray to a Demon God,” Urfin revealed, getting the group’s expressions to change.

Theodore and Amanda gave solemn expressions, leaving Adala with a slightly fearful expression.

Meanwhile, in the distance, Marius gave a smile as if he found the idea amusing and would also tease them.

Only Meden and Alros were quietly unsurprised.

“Who is that deity?” Alice asked, getting everyone to look at Urfin.

“It is the Demon God of Terra nova... Aldaor the God of the Fallen, God of Temptation and Corruption.,” Siba answered and, stroking his horns, replied. “He is the god in whom I believe.”

Those words succeeded in making looks strange, as in Alice’s case, but serious as in Theodore’s and Amanda’s.

He had openly declared his faith in the name of a Demon God... Something that would lead anyone to be looked at oddly.

Aurora remembered those titles and that name, but while she did not recall such a deity having any involvement on Earth, she had learned about that God.

It was a God that after the fall of the previous Demon God during the time of Terra nova took his place, becoming the new Demon God of Terra nova.

However, that was the only thing Aurora knew, and that was why she looked at her sister, who was very knowledgeable about such matters.

“Does your influence reach this place?” Theodore asked with a slightly dismissive tone and giving Urfin a glance, he stated. “There is no need to trust such deities. The Goddess of Order will answer prayers.”

His more extremist side had come out from deep within him without him being able to help it.

The Church of Order had a great conflict with ‘demons’ and even though Aurora had not heard issues related to that deity in her world, that god was marked as an ‘enemy’ by that church.

In this situation Aurora was silent without understanding too much about that deity, and the only thing they could understand was that Urfin, Meden and Alros trusted Siba and his worship did not change their friendship.

“Will the Goddess of Order allow you to have the power to kill the Great Worm?” Siba asked and with a smile, stated. “My God will allow it.”

That answer, with great confidence, caused Theodore to fall silent.

“My God occupied the position of ‘Demon God’, but that God began by supporting and ‘raising’ the ‘humans of the land of fire’ allowing them to have the strength to defeat the demons that dominated them,” narrated Alice earnestly, and giving Siba a look, she added. “He is now worshipped in their lands.”

Aurora nodded slightly in understanding.

Maybe she wasn’t as knowledgeable, but she understood that a world like Terra Nova where levels gained from slaying other creatures determined strength, the people who were weaker and had no ability to improve were always the oppressed.

It was possible that in that situation, the ‘humans of the land of fire’ found themselves and that was why they worshipped that deity who gave them a helping hand.

“It’s not entirely good, but it’s not bad either. At least we worship one facet of him and our god answers our prayers. We worship him just as we worship fire in its purest and most primordial essence,” Siba replied and giving the group a look, he announced. “Even if there are consequences, you will not be the ones to suffer them.”

The God he was referring to was a complex deity whose actions could be ambiguous, and that was why it was impossible to call him ‘good’ or ‘evil’. That was what Aurora could understand, but she was curious about the way they worshipped fire.

That they worshipped fire in its most ‘primordial’ essence pointed to the fact that in a way they worshipped the Primordial Goddess of Destruction, mostly known as the Empress of Hell, the Immortal Devil.

That Primordial was ‘Fire’ in the same way that the Primordial Goddess of Order was called in all things related to ‘Order’.

Even so, his last words were correct.

Regardless of who he prayed to, they were not the ones who would bear the consequences.

The chances of it all ending badly by praying to unknown deities existed, but who Siba was referring to was a god worshipped by an entire civilization and a god with an extensive history and could get a favorable response.

Aurora was silent on that subject, but....

“I will trust you,” she said earnestly.

She didn’t know about the gods and what their histories were or if they were completely trustworthy, and it was impossible to know everyone when Terra nova had numerous gods.

However, Siba was taking all the risk in praying and the only way she could respond was with confidence.

After all, Siba was not only about to pray to a Demon God, but he was going to risk his life by facing the Great Worm.

She didn’t know the method or the way, but he was willing to risk it and that wasn’t something that was normally done.

Right now was the worst was for disuniting over a religious issue, so it was necessary to stick together, at least until all the dangers were gone.

Alice also nodded in support and then Amanda followed and finally Theodore sighed and nodded, as did Adala.

Zorkas could not complain as he did not fully understand what they were talking about and as for Marius, he had no vote.

In the end, after everything was accepted, the only thing left to do was to prepare for the final battle.