CHAPTER 8: ILLEGAL

***In some faraway country, in another world…***

The last thing that Louis Fabelle saw before the long darkness was that of a person he considered as a harmless acquaintance…though, the ‘harmless acquaintance’ had his gun barrel pointed at the former.

“Kevin, we can still talk about this. Just give me the gu—”

With one pull of the trigger, several shots pierced through Louis’ body, and he died instantly. So ended his 20 years in the world, with five spent on a state he thought was safe in this kind of incidents. The next thing he saw when his senses returned was the murky whiteness of his surroundings. Surely, he thought, this was heaven…for the religious crazies back when he was alive said that heaven was full of ‘whiteness’…and also, ‘dullness.’

However, there’s something lacking in the scene before him…

“Where are the angels?” he muttered to himself, looking around. “And god?”

Silence. Even the swirling mass of whiteness never made any noise. And since he was already dead, he couldn’t hear any heartbeat from his chest.

“Anyone?” Louis raised his voice. “Is somebody here?”

Still, silence. The dead man started to feel nervous; he kept thinking, if this is heaven, then I don’t want to stay here forever! So, Louis kept shouting, desperate to attract anyone’s attention…be it a god, an angel, or even a devil.

“!!!”

Something began to stir somewhere in that field of white, yet the swirling masses barely changed its movements. Louis ceased his screams, listening, trying to confirm if what he heard was true.

“!!!”

And then a series of footsteps. It was as if someone was walking on a smooth, marble floor. Louis couldn’t see where his feet were, for it was covered in white mist. But whatever it was, the place he was stepping on was surely something durable.

“Who goes there?” he demanded. Yet, Louis immediately realized that he was already dead; what can that someone approaching do to him?

“So, we meet here, Louis Fabelle!” A voice rang from just about anywhere, and he found it difficult to trace where it came. But he could tell that the person speaking to him was a woman.

“Who are you? Why did you know my name?”

“Oh, I know you, indeed!” the speaker chuckled. “After all, you are the hero I selected, even from the time before you were born.”

“Where are you?”

“Look behind!”

“!!!” And true enough, when Louis did as he was told, a beautiful lady appeared from the distance. She wore a white gown, and her long, flowing dark hair contrasted with the white mass that kept on its swirling even as the dead man walked towards her. He was quickly smitten. “A-A goddess!” he exclaimed, letting out the thoughts he had.

“You could say that I am,” the lady smiled. “So, tell me, Louis Fabelle, are you dissatisfied with the way you died?”

“Of course!” Louise replied, with a hint of sarcasm. “If you’re always watching us humans down there, then why did let such terrible thing happen to me? I never wronged anyone since I was born!”

“Hold on, child,” she countered. “While I am divine, there are still limits to what I can do. For one, I can’t control someone’s thoughts, for that’s not what is written in the Book of Laws!”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “As if blaming you will get me back to my life on Earth. That’s not how it works, right? Just like when that rich man in the Christian bible died and asked to return to warn his brothers.”

“Well, it is what it is. But I think you got it slightly wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“You can go back to life,” the woman playfully caressed Louis’ cheeks. “However, you cannot go back to the world you once came.”

“So, you mean…I’ll get to live, but I can’t go back to Earth?”

“Yes, to put it simply. Think about it; don’t you think it’s difficult for everyone—including you—that you will suddenly get up, even when your face was all blown away?”

“Oh…” Louis’ hands inadvertently touched his face; it seemed like it was where he got shot, or near it. Well, it didn’t matter now. Nevertheless, the isekai stories from his high school days suddenly flashed through Louis’ mind. While he never enjoyed reading Japanese light novels and manga, he was familiar with it because Kevin used to read those books. And that guy who killed him was clingy…

Uh, he shouldn’t have befriended that cringe-ass weirdo.

“If you’re thinking that you’re going the same experience as the characters in those isekai stories, then I’d say you’re right again.”

“Whoa! Wait, I’m an isekai character now?” For some reason, there was a feeling of excitement budding within Louis. Well, he did read some parts of those books, and there were excerpts that he became interested, especially the one about how a man of modernity always saves the world through mundane, modern-world technologies.

“Of course not!” the lady blurted out, though she immediately went back to her usual ‘flirty’ self. “But yes, those stories and your new life will be similar.”

“So will I get reborn in another world? Or transmigrated perhaps?”

“You ask too many questions, Louis Fabelle! Silence!”

At once, Louis’ lips sealed themselves shut. The woman then told him, “You’re Louis Fabelle, a 20 year-old American who died in a school shooting incident. In this new world you’ll end up with, you will also be known as Louis…yet, everyone will call you the Golden Hammer!”

“Huh? I’m sorry, a Golden what?”

Even before he could make sense of what the lady was saying, Louis found himself in a tunnel-like place, with everything around him moving fast, and as if he was falling. But amidst all that chaotic environment, he heard her voice once again…

“The Golden Hammer. Harbinger of prosperity. Giver of wisdom. Guardian of heavens. And you…I shall give you my blessing; the people of the land you will save will look up to you as their god!”

Her words remained in Louis’ heart ever since, especially that part where he would be god. It was certainly a weird after-death experience, but it was not that bad. And being a savior of people excited him; at least, he would have something to do with his life even after it was gone. However, he remembered he should’ve asked…

“Miss…or uh, g-goddess! May at least know your name?”

“I am known as Arame, and I shall give you guidance for as long as you follow my words…”

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***The city of Hemelin, present day…***

Watching from one of the observation towers in the former temple compound of the Church of the Golden Hammer was Lady Lagh Ahri. As the commander of the Army of Stone, she took it upon herself to keep that sliver of territory for her liege, the Dwarf Saint, and a place of refuge for the dwarves seeking to escape the violent criminals trying to rule what remained of Hemelin and the eastern region for themselves. While the skills of her warriors would prove to be more than a match to these gangs, their small numbers weren’t an assurance of victory. And add to that, the Lady Helgath forbade them to conduct any bloody fights to avoid ‘strengthening’ a creature known as the ‘Seductress.’

“…”

Of course, she didn’t understand anything about that Seductress. However, as she swore to serve the Dwarf Saint, she had to stop her forces from going to battle…even if they watched the refugees getting ambushed outside their territory.

“Help!” was the scream of a group of dwarves approaching the temple district. These were largely females, with a few young male dwarves—probably their children—among them. The criminals followed and ambushed the group, trying to capture the ladies for ‘entertainment,’ and the children for ‘additional warriors.’ As much as the soldiers of the Army of Stone wanted to cross their lines and help the beleaguered dwarves, they had to hold their ground…lest a bigger conflict erupted between them and the other gangs.

Lady Ahri wished to go inside, as the sight of helpless people triggered her anger. Yet, she had to remain in her position; her warriors felt the same indignation, and they might do something she won’t allow once she left her spot.

“!!!”

Soon, however, another noise came from the other side of the district. Gunshots filled the air, and everyone could hear the sounds of speeding trucks, as well as battle cries from multitudes of men and dwarves charging the ambushing gangsters. Shocked by the sudden appearance of a formidable opposition, the latter had to let go of their captives to escape, as Albrecht and Ashren’s forces pounced on them with clubs and their fists.

A bloody battle flared up at once, as the criminals duke it out against one another, with the side of the humans and dwarves slowly but surely trouncing the other dwarves with their ‘organized’ tactics.

Indeed, it was as if Lady Ahri was watching a rowdy crowd fight an army.

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“Go!” Albrecht screamed at the stunned refugees, waving and pointing towards the territory of the Army of Stone. “You’ll hinder us here, damn it! Go to the other side!”

“Mister, my child!” a dwarf came pleading to him. “He was taken by these criminals!”

“Where?”

She pointed towards the direction where the kidnapper disappeared. Albrecht then ordered her to save herself first, before he took a few of his dwarves in pursuit. Ashren and his men held down the bulk of the criminals in the meantime.

Lady Ahri sighed in relief at the sight of that particular gang of dwarves and humans. These group was—strangely—friendly to them; they never tried to cross their borders, and even helped refugees arrive at the temple district. However, when she sent a delegation to talk to their leaders, they were rebuffed. So, the dwarf commander had to content herself in silently assisting that gang instead.

“Help that dwarf!” she ordered one of her warriors. “Show him where that villain went!”

Buoyed by their captain’s command, the warrior climbed one of the pillars that supported the temple gate, and tried to get Albrecht’s attention. “To the southwest, along the streets where the abandoned restaurants are!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, so the petty criminal heard him. Albrecht acknowledged his efforts by nodding, and directing his dwarves to split up and surround the area.

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Ever since he received the mandate of Kuro, Albrecht and his dwarves had slowly been taking the districts of the dwarf capital city from the various criminal gangs that divided the place into several territories they were fighting to control. The progress was slow and tedious; the petty criminal didn’t want to fight a multiple front if he pissed off everyone with his aggressive expansion. So, he had to play with the politics of the region. One group would be targeted, while he allied with another. Then, he would slowly bring those allied gangs under his firm control, while destroying those who opposed him. As Albrecht was supported by the former human mercenaries led by Ashren, it was of no question who would always prevail in street fights…especially when Ashren and his soldiers were veterans of wars from old Chersea.

And to think they are still limited by Kuro’s request not to take lives if possible…

The chaotic politics of post-tragedy Hemelin was complicated, yet it worked for them. Another gangsters’ friend was the enemy of the other, and their ally today might be their foe the next day. With Albrecht and Ashren’s group gaining prominence, there were gangs wanting to side with them, and there were those who would like to see them go down. Alliances kept shifting, as some leaders proved to be reliable, while there were those that trusted no one but themselves. Territories, too, varied in size day after day…with the only exception in Albrecht’s, which only grew larger every time they defeat, or ‘absorb,’ gangs.

Because of that, in just a short while, the territory they captured in Hemelin expanded greatly. The smaller, weaker gangs were inevitably ‘absorbed’ into their fold, while the others grouped together to form an effective opposition to Albrecht and Ashren. But those were largely confined to the residential districts of the capital city, as the petty criminal sought to control the industrial and commercial districts first, per his plan with Kuro. Albrecht, though he was known to be an ‘easy-going’ dwarf, turned to be a ruthlessly effective leader…

“Block the exit,” he ordered six of his dwarves. “The rest come follow me.”

As they reached the street where the supposed kidnapper escaped with the dwarf child, he had his group split into two. The first one was led by him, and he intended for them to sweep the area. The second group was sent around to block the other side. Armed only with their fists, clubs and other blunt weapons, he gave his dwarves strict orders not to kill anyone. Just knocking their enemies to sleep would be enough.

“Split up and check the abandoned restaurants,” were his next commands. Leading three dwarves himself, Albrecht took the left side of the street, and searched for the criminal and his victim.

“Boss, are you sure they are still here?” one of his underlings asked.

“They are,” he confidently answered. “This street would only loop back to the temple district, so it’s practically a dead-end.”

“What if they just escaped to the underground tunnels?” another put a question.

“I had some of Ashren’s men guard the access there,” Albrecht replied, his attention focused on the rubbles before them. “Any case, keep your eyes peeled. We were fighting against the Blood Axis gang; their leader is a former mercenary in Chersea at the time of the human wars of old. Ashren knew her, and warned me about that girl. So, their members can be tricky to deal with.”

The dwarf said nothing, though following Albrecht’s lead, he slowly searched the ruins of the restaurant. Their other companion was a few feet ahead of them, and as he advanced…

“!!!”

A loud noise in the dark room before their group gave everyone a fright. Albrecht immediately flashed his light to it, and saw the child in question on the floor, unconscious. Delighted that they found the youngster, the leading dwarf rushed to get to him. But the petty criminal called out to his underling, “Hey, stop! Don’t go there!”

The leading dwarf halted in his tracks, and Albrecht slowly moved to his side. And it was a timely call; for he showed them a thin string directly on their path, which the leading dwarf won’t notice had he ran to the unconscious boy’s side.

“I told you we’re dealing with a hardened killer,” the petty criminal took his dagger, pointed to a pair of broken tables nearby. “Get those things here; hold those to our sides. I’ll cut off this trap.”

“What about the child, boss?”

“We can’t do something about him if we all die,” Albrecht reiterated. “Nevertheless, get him boarded up as well, just in case these bastards rigged this building to collapse on us.”

His underlings did as he ordered them, with Albrecht guarding his companions. Then, once they determined they would be safe from any type of explosion and building collapse, the petty criminal cut the string.

Albrecht had no time to rush to their wooden makeshift shields. The explosion was so powerful, it also affected nearly all the buildings in that street and buried a few of his other dwarves searching the area.

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**Kuro**

With the northern and southern lands of Cherhom under our control, it was now time to focus our energies in conquering the ‘lawless’ eastern and central regions, especially Hemelin itself. Using the donations and pledges from the other races, we began a ‘hearts-and-minds’ campaign to convince the dwarves living in those areas that joining our side would be beneficial to them. While initially it was a success, soon, we hit a block…

“The Mouth of the Golden Hammer will punish you, heathens!” the community leader of one of the central mountain cities threw stone and hurled insults at us. Of course, in an effort to protect our people distributing food and other kinds of goods, we quickly withdrew them from the field. We watched from the distance as the people from that place ran after our workers, trying to kick them off their land.

“Mouth of the Golden Hammer?” I asked the Lady Helgath. It was my first time encountering such person. Honestly, that guy reminded me of that character from one of the famous fantasy novels in my world…which ended being cut from my favorite movie in its final cinema version.

“I don’t know such person exists!” the Dwarf Saint defended herself. However, she did peek into the minds of the angry dwarves, and got to realize the identity of the ‘Mouth of the Golden Hammer.’ “Kuro, can I talk to you for a bit?”

“Sure…?” From her expression, I could tell that the Lady Helgath didn’t want to talk on the topic; nevertheless, she felt she was compelled to. So, I took her to a nearby secluded area and asked about it.

“You may not believe this,” were her words to me. “However, that person we know as ‘Farah Koh,’ she isn’t really that girl.”

“Someone else in her body?”

“Why do you talk like you expected this?”

“You know Her Holiness the Lady Natasha’s situation? That she’s not really ‘Natasha Bellingsen?’”

“And that she is the reincarnated ‘Cassandra Alexa David?’”

I nodded. “My old student, yes. In an effort to search for a way to return to our world, or at least, prolong her life through the study of magic, she killed herself. Though, in the end, she reincarnated to another body.”

“Wow…you really know her story!” the Lady Helgath commented. “I mean, she told me about it before, but I’m really impressed you keep tabs on people close to you.”

“It’s one of my good sides,” I chuckled, but returned to the topic. “So, who are we dealing with?”

“Louis.”

I nearly fell from my chair when I heard the name. “Louis? You mean, the Lord Louis? The man you loved? The fellow summoned human from Earth?”

The Dwarf Saint nodded, though there was pain in her eyes. “Yes…Louis Fabelle, the Golden Hammer. He took Farah’s body, and possessed it.”

“Huh?” I found myself unable to fully grasp the circumstances. “W-Wait…isn’t that magic ‘illegal?’ If I remember right, Alexa’s death happened because it was illegal to transfer your consciousness to someone else!”

“It is, indeed, illegal,” she confirmed. “However, Kuro, I think you’re missing out on the fact that ‘Natasha Bellingsen’ is a ‘reincarnated’ Cassandra David. Meaning, she died, was born again, and took up the Sainthood of the Demons. In that case, only her attempts to prolong her life and/or transfer worlds were illegal, not the act of ‘killing’ someone’s consciousness to possess the body.”

I’ve seen a lot of fucked up shit, including ‘body transmigrations,’ but hearing it happen still gives me the creeps. I can’t help but remember that ‘space ninja’ game I played before; the same concept is present in the story, and it is truly dark…as if I’m staring into the void that is the human heart.

“So…you’re saying, the Lord Louis has killed Farah’s consciousness to take over her body and prolong his life? But…isn’t that kind of magic something that Alexa only knew? A spell that she invented?”

“I’m also in the dark, Kuro,” the Dwarf Saint replied, uncomfortable at the points I raised. “I-I mean, can we stop talking about this now? It’s hard for me; Louis is now a completely changed person. It’s as if someone corrupted his mind!”

I said nothing after. I just gave the Lady Helgath a head pat to reassure that it was all good with me. Nevertheless, to ensure the safety of our workers, we had to withdraw them from the field. We would try to convince these people that we mean them no harm for the next day.

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When we returned to Montserrant, we were immediately greeted by the delegates of the Army of Stone, and Queen Paula’s ministers.

“Your Holy Majesty,” the Cole Miners kneeled before us. “We’re so glad you have returned.”

“Thank you! But, is there something going on?” I took note of the presence of the warriors from the Army of Stone.

“Milord,” Lady Ahri finally appeared and greeted us. “I just came from the infirmary. Your servant, Albrecht, is there. He needs your healing, for he has been gravely injured in battle.”

The Lady Helgath and I exchanged stares before I asked, “Albrecht? What happened to him?”

“They were fighting a gang in Hemelin that was trying to force dwarves into slavery. Mister Albrecht pursued a villain who has captured a child refugee, together with some of his dwarves. Sadly, just as they rescued the kid, the criminal triggered the trap that collapsed an entire building block on them.”

“Goodness…” I heard the Lady Helgath gasped; Albrecht was her subordinate, after all.

“There are several dead, including the one who caused that explosion,” a warrior explained further. “Fortunately, Mister Ashren and his mercenaries pulled Mister Albrecht from the ruins just in time. Bad news is, three of his dwarves died after being crushed.”

It was like I was slapped by the news. I was the one who ordered them to go to Hemelin and do some covert stuff designed to destroy the criminal gangs there. “Lead me to Albrecht,” I requested from the Army of Stone’s commander, to which she obliged.

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The Cole Mining Guild’s infirmary was built into the bedrock underneath the mountain. A testament to the conflicts Montserrant was involved during its long history of existence, Queen Paula’s ancestors ensured it would be difficult to destroy by the giants and the invading armies of their ancient past, and the bombing runs that marked Cherhom’s conflicts in the present.

As such, it took us a while to traverse the distance from the surface peak of Montserrant, down to the bedrock. By the time we got out of the elevator, Ashren was already waiting for us at the infirmary doors.

“Milord!” the former mercenary rushed to us; technically, he wasn’t aware that the Lady Helgath was his ‘big sis’ before, so he just bowed for a bit to show his reverence (the Dwarf Saint wore a dress of a noble dwarf lady), and then headed straight to me.

“Yeah, no worries,” I reassured him. “I know what happened; Albrecht will be fine in no time.” Though, honestly, I had no idea if the dwarf’s life was already at its end. The god-power of the Human Saint won’t work if the mortal was meant to die; I still had to learn Seirna’s god-power.

The petty criminal was unconscious on the infirmary bed. His head was wrapped in bandage, though I could tell his wounds hadn’t fully healed…as shown by the big patch of blood seeping through the white fabric. His arms were also twisted in unnatural manner, his left limb was torn off and was missing a hand; proof that he shielded himself from the explosion by it.

In fact, I’m surprised that he survived such injuries that will instantly kill a human. Dwarves are really different from us; mingling with them for too long made me forget our disparate physical bodies.

“…”

My eyes inadvertently fell on the Dwarf Saint, as Albrecht was one of her trusted ‘underlings’ before. And true enough, I saw the horror on the Lady Helgath’s face, though she was careful not to show it. I guess only a few people knew of her ‘criminal’ connections, though I appreciate that beneath her ‘tough act’ she was a ‘loving boss’ to her subordinates.

She’s like a mafia boss who really looks out to her people.

Well, not waiting for anything, I sat beside the injured dwarf and activated the god-power of healing. As the mana I channeled to my hand gathered, a comforting white light shone across the infirmary. Deep inside, I silently prayed. I didn’t want to lose Albrecht; he had been a reliable ally in our adventures in this land, though we had a rough start. Even more so, the Lady Helgath would be sad…and I didn’t like that as well.

“Ah…this is…”

“The god-power of the Human Saint,” Lily answered the dwarves, mesmerized by the comforting aura that wrapped the infirmary.

“The Lord Kuro…he really is a god!” From the corners of my eyes, I saw the dwarves kneeled down, as well as Ashren. While it certainly was a welcome event, I thought to myself…

Guys, you already saw me destroy the equipment of the crusaders, and yet, you only believed now?

“…”

Though, yeah…it was effective because the Dwarf Saint helped me augment its effects.

“Kuro!” I heard the Lady Helgath call out to me, pretensions be damned. Perhaps she was so excited when she saw Albrecht’s injuries slowly disappearing, that she forgot to address me as ‘Your Holy Majesty.’ No matter, I didn’t mind it; what was important was that, we gain back our friend.

When the white light of the Human Saint’s god-power finally disappeared, Albrecht was now a sleeping dwarf. The only trace of his grave injuries was the bloodied bandage on his forehead.