CHAPTER 5: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HERO, CASSANDRA DAVID

***The Cauldron***

After receiving Konka’s message, Telis had her tribesmen prepare the island’s defenses against Kuro’s armies. As far as she was concerned, what happened in the Fall of Malvette was firmly-engraved in her mind; for it was a famous—if not legendary—event of how the king of the Beastmen captured a supposedly ‘impregnable’ fortress defended by a well-equipped force, in one short battle.

As the elder of the Fox tribe, Telis would not allow a repeat of such feat. It’s utterly embarrassing!

“…”

She knew—based on the stories of the Beastmen who witnessed that event—that the human king used the Avinus tribes to ‘drop warriors from the sky’, surprising the defenders of the Black Tower. So, for her defensive strategy, she ordered the construction of several ballistae and catapults, as well as trained her archers to shoot arrow volleys upwards, in order to deny Kuro’s Avinus forces any landing spots.

“…”

The fox-elder also didn’t forget to place watchtowers in strategic places around the island, so that they could detect any flights above their lands, and act accordingly.

Then, for the feared ‘demon weapons’, Telis was well-aware of its flaws, drawing from her experiences in fighting side-by-side with humans before. Despite of its enormous ‘stopping power’, the ‘demon weapons’ were hopelessly outranged by longbows—used by her armies. And compared to the latter, its reload time was complicated and slower.

Because of that, she knew her kin’s speed and agility in close-quarters could make up for the range of those arms. She instructed them to bring the fight up close and personal as soon as possible.

However, those were just the ‘second-part’ of her plans. Primary to her defense strategy was to delay Kuro’s attack on her lands for as long as possible, and inflict casualties before his ships could disembark warriors on her shores. But, the ‘steamships’ of the human king’s navy presented a formidable threat; not only those were fast-moving, its relatively large size meant that it was harder to take down than the usual oar-powered galleys of the old human fleets.

And so with that threat in mind, she summoned an old acquaintance…

“Captain, the elder of the Isidus tribe is here,” one of her men informed her.

“Let her in.”

The fox-man bowed and took his leave. Moments later, a blue-haired woman with fins on the sides of her face and both arms, and a fish-tail on her back, appeared at the entrance of Telis’ hut.

“Goodness! What the hell happened to you Telis?” the new arrival exclaimed the moment she saw the fox-captain on her litter.

“My legs lost its use,” the fox-woman was curt. “Isn’t it obvious to you, Sekhte?”

The Isidus woman, Sekhte, chuckled, “Heh, that’s why being an Isidus is much better than being a landlubber like you. If I lost my legs, I can just swim with my tail as if nothing happened.” Then, her head went around, as if searching for something.

“If you’re looking for Her Holiness, she’s not here anymore.”

“Anymore? You got into a fight with her?”

Telis’ lips drew a poignant smile, “Her Holiness…she has been blinded by her devotion to that human king on the mainland. She’s willing to sacrifice herself and everyone else just for that bastard. So we parted ways.”

“A human king? In the Enclave?” Sekhte didn’t hide her surprise, “That’s the first time I heard of it. For all I remember, the paramount human leader on the mainland is the Duke/Duchess of Malvette!”

“How would you know? You’ve stayed underwater for too long!” the fox-captain replied, “The city of Malvette now has a new ruler, and it is a human king.”

“A king? Ooh…that’s interesting.”

“That’s why I asked for you, Sekhte.”

“Hm?”

“Listen, I need your help. No, let me be honest, I need your army.”

Sekhte’s eyebrows furrowed at the mention of her army. She stared at Telis for a few moments, as if trying to determine whether or not she’s serious with her request. When the Isidus woman realized that her friend was serious, she gave a sigh and asked, “This is connected to that king you’re talking about, eh?”

“Yes, you got to help me repel his ships trying to invade my tribe’s lands.”

“Whoa! Wait a moment, this is too sudden!” Sekhte cried out, “You didn’t talk to me in a while, and when you did, you’re at war?”

Telis nodded and bowed, “Please Sekhte; I know you’re surprised, but the future of my people…no, our people—and of the entire Cherwind—is at stake here. Please muster your armies and fight with us once again.”

“Hmm…I don’t know,” the Isidus woman was scratching her head. “It’s been a while since the Isidus men marched into battle. I’m afraid our abilities are not up to make war.”

“I plead to you, help me! If that human king invades my lands, it is possible that he will turn his forces against you. You know the humans! They will grab everything they set their eyes on, leaving none for your own tribe.”

Sekhte closed her eyes and pondered about her options.

“Sekhte, the only reason your people have been able to live in quiet for so long is because the Beastman Saint is holding back the humans from encroaching into your territories. Now that she is gone, the human king has this land at the palm of his hand. Only Lady Konka and I stand in his way to conquer Cherwind!”

The Isidus elder let out another sigh. She tapped on Telis’ shoulder and said, “Well, alright, you convinced me. I’ll issue a call to my tribe. That human king’s ships won’t cross the seas, as long as we’re alive.”

----------

**Kuro**

“Your Majesty, can I have a word with you?”

I stopped checking on the reports I had in my office to greet my visitor, Lady Sebastenerva. “Please,” I took a chair, “have a seat, Your Eminence.”

The Serpentinus lady obliged. After offering her a drink, she told me the purpose of her sudden visit, “Lady Henristone informed me you’re planning to invade the Cauldron?”

“Yes. I’m sure you’re aware of what happened between Lady Telis and Her Holiness the Beastman Saint, right?”

The Grand High Priestess nodded, “What Lady Telis had done is an affront to our ancestors. Her Holiness may have committed mistakes, but her betrayal makes her no better than humans!”

“Ahem.”

“Traitorous humans, I mean,” she added.

“Heh, I’m just joking,” I chuckled.

“And in connection to that,” Lady Sebastenerva continued, “I brought to you this map from our archives.” The Grand High Priestess pulled out a scroll from her sling bag and placed it on my table.

As I examined it, I realized it was an image of a city plan. “What’s this? Some sort of a city?”

“I thought it’d be of use to you, Your Majesty,” the Serpentinus lady explained. “That is the plan of the Isidus city under the waters between the Cauldron and south Cherwind.”

“The Isidus? They are the tribes living under the sea, right?”

“Yes, and they are a peaceful people. However, their current chief, Sekhte, entered into an oath with the Fox tribe’s previous elder that in case of war, her kin would give them aid.”

“Oh…so it’s like a ‘Mutual Defense Treaty’.”

“Hm? What’s that, Your Majesty?”

“Nothing. Just some human stuff.”

“Anyway, the reason I’m giving that to you is, because you’ll be invading the Fox tribe’s lands, your ships will inevitably cross into the Isidus territory. Though it’s been a while since the Isidus men marched into war, the fleet might get into trouble with them.”

“I see…”

“The Isidus, like the Serpentinus, would normally keep to themselves. But it doesn’t mean to say they cannot muster a formidable army to defend the sea lanes,” Lady Sebastenerva winked at me, “I’m sure the king would make proper countermeasures.”

“Yes,” I bowed to show my gratitude to her, “This valuable information won’t be wasted, Your Eminence.”

----------

Acting on the information of the Grand High Priestess, we ordered the installation of steel plates on our ships’ hulls to function as makeshift armor. Because of the time-constraints, we had to make adjustments on how we did it. Instead of putting the steel plates outside, we laid it on the inside just to reinforce the wood, in case the enemy bored through it.

We can’t delay the invasion, or we’ll be the ones who’s going to be invaded.

“…”

A week after the war council, we had already ‘redeployed’ our forces bound for the Cauldron. The Eagle wings—serving as airlift and bomber units—were now embarking on our ships. Along with them was the No. 8 Falcon wing as ‘fighter escorts’. See, though we don’t expect any aerial resistance, it’d be best to prepare for it, in any case.

For the land component of our invasion force, we mustered three regiments of combined human-beastmen soldiers. They were our army’s fully-trained and fully-equipped units based on our standards. Adding to them was the 1st Black Feather Wing under Rumia’s command, which would serve as our spearhead to the assault. I left Luka’s 2nd Black Feather Wing to defend the northern borders, should Konka made her move.

“…”

Well, Rumia wanted to change places with Luka, as she believed that the northern borders were more ‘dangerous’ than our expedition to the south. However, her brother was fiercely opposed to the idea, claiming that he could defend the Outer Walls as well.

Sir Loin deferred the decision to me. Seeing that Luka won’t accept any changes, I kept my initial arrangement.

The nascent navy of our kingdom was composed of ten ‘steamships’, each with an artillery battery for self-defense, and off-shore bombardment. The vessels also double as ‘troop transports’ and ‘aircraft carriers’ (our ‘aircraft’ was the warriors themselves, thus, they didn’t take up much space upon take off). I also assigned one of the ships as a ‘hospital-ship’, with Rishnu and her entire medical corps in tow.

“You should stay here, you know? I’ll go in your stead,” Ursura offered to me just as I was about to board the boat that would take me to my ship.

“Nah, it’ll be fine,” I replied. “I think your skills in battle would much be appreciated here, in case Konka attacks.”

“Hm…” the bear-woman smirked, “You’re just saying that because you wanted to hog all the action yourself!”

“Hrgk!”

“I’m right, ain’t I?” she teased.

“Haha…well, you got me there,” I admitted, as my cheeks went red in embarrassment. “But well, aside from that, I really think your presence back here would increase the morale of our army. After all, if the worst happened, they’d be the ones fighting against the East Ursus.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot about them…”

“A West Ursus leading them in battle would be beneficial.”

“Well, a former West Ursus, that is,” the bear-woman laughed. “I can’t see what a lone West Ursus can do against an army of East Ursus.”

“As long as the soldiers know that someone from a tribe of Cherwind’s finest warriors is leading them, I think they can square it off when fighting Konka’s army.”

“Alright,” Ursura took a step back and waved her hand. “See you again soon, Kuro!”

“Yep!” then, I activated my god-power to control the weather, and caused a bunch of clouds to appear in the sky.

“Hoh, so you’re also flashing your powers to everyone now, huh?”

“Nah, I just wanted our journey to be cool and relaxing, under the shades of those clouds. Once we reached the Cauldron, it’ll be all stress and fighting once again, so a few things to loosen up the guys on the way would be good.”

“I see…” Ursura smiled. “Well then, I wish you luck. And don’t let yourself get killed!”

“Heh, of course! And take care of that Beastman Saint for me, will you?”

The bear-woman answered back by flashing her middle finger. “I’m not her babysitter!” she called out to me as my boat drifted far from the shore.

Since I’m last to board the final ship, the fleet set sail once I stepped into its deck. The sun—or light—of Cherwind remained in its prominent position in the azure sky, yet we could feel its rays smile upon us.

“…”

The gentle breeze slowly grew stronger as our ships increased its speed. The invasion of the Cauldron had begun. I noted the time: it was almost an hour after lunch. The peak of the Cauldron would show itself in three hours.

For the meantime, I’ll hit the sack.

----------

“Welcome back, Your Majesty.”

“Err…” Once again, I found myself standing amid the garden scenery of the former god, Gaius—now going by the name Jules. While my previous the atmosphere of my previous visits were ‘light-hearted’ and ‘amiable’, this time, there’s a sense of dread and heaviness all around me.

“What, you don’t like to be addressed like a royalty?” a smiling Jules stood up and offered a chair to me, though I could feel that something was off in his expression. His laptop was at his table as usual, though it was turned off.

I shook my head, “It’s awkward. You’re a god—even if it’s in the past; I’m just a king.”

“Heh, your humility would please a lot of my former colleagues in heaven. After all, it’s rare for a ruler to humble himself while in the peak of his power.”

“Alright…?”

“Anyway, you might be wondering again why you appeared at my garden, Your Majesty,” Jules smirked. “I’ll cut to the chase; why did you allow that Beastman Saint into your side?”

“What, I shouldn’t? Will she bring another set of problems to me?”

“I told you before I can’t see the future, now that I’m mortal. But, haven’t you learned from your experiences? Ruro forced you to come with her to her lands.”

“She did those things to protect me; after all, a good number of humans wanted me dead,” I defended her actions. “Though… well, her ways might not be the best course of action, I admit that.”

“You’re really naïve, Kuro,” the former god chuckled. “Having that wolf by your side would end up with you opening a Pandora’s box.”

“What do you mean?”

“Pandora’s box. You don’t know about it?”

“I’m aware of what it is,” I reiterated. “But my concern is, what is my Pandora’s box?”

Jules threw me a long stare. It took so long that it eventually became awkward to maintain eye contact with him. And then, he let out a sigh, “Okay, here’s the thing, Kuro. You do know that Ruro is an old companion of the Beastman hero, Terebia of the Bow?”

“Yes…?”

“And Terebia’s master is Cassandra David.”

I nodded.

“Now then, how about I tell you that Cassandra David is the one who caused all the troubles of this world, and of the others, too?”

“Honestly, I’m vaguely aware of that. Though the Cassandra David I knew—based on my friends’ words—was a powerful and just hero of the humans.”

“Well, she is powerful and just…before her ‘transformation’, that is,” Jules looked somewhere far away, “Do you remember that time when I told you Cassandra David caused me to retire as a god?”

“Yes.”

“And Ruro’s forcing you to become god in my place.”

“Aren’t you the same?”

“Yeah, that’s true. But if I may dare say, we got different objectives why we’re doing it.”

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

“Listen, what do you think?” the former god never paid attention to my interjections. “Is Cassandra David still alive or not?”

“Considering the time that passed and her being a human, I’d be shocked if she’s still alive.”

“Correct, she dead. Now let’s go back a bit, why do you think she forced me to retire?”

“Because you’re sort of an asshole?”

“Oi, I didn’t know you think of me that way.”

“I’m just joking!” I countered, though I could still remember the time when I first met him. I’m still annoyed at what he showed me back then.

“Yeah, joking, sure. But with meaning.”

“Urk.”

“Heh, got ’ya!” the former god, however, did not dwell on it. “Anyway, here’s the thing, Kuro. A mortal’s body like yours can be compared to a robot…let’s say a g*ndam, perhaps.”

I tried to ignore the pop culture reference in our ‘serious’ talk. He’s switching on his weaboo mode again.

Jules continued, “You know how it works. A pilot makes the g*ndam move. Without the former, the latter is just a heap of over-hyped painted metal.”

You’re using too much anime references…

“Now, imagine, your soul is the ‘pilot’, while your physical body is the ‘g*ndam’. Remove the pilot, and another can come in to make it move, as well as to control its abilities in full.”

“So, you’re saying…”

“Think about it. The current ‘you’ possesses the god-powers of the Human and the Beastman Saints. If you got the other god-powers, then you’ll be like a god!”

“Wait, are you implying that Ruro wants me to be a god so that Cassandra David’s soul can take over my body, and become god herself?”

Jules clapped his hands. “Exactly! That’s why I think I’m not mistaken to choose you as my successor. Please consider becoming a god.”

“Is Ruro betraying me once again?”

“No, I don’t think so, my friend. Your Beastman girlfriend number 1 may try to act sly and scheming, but in reality, she’s just an ordinary Beastman girl who’s prone to falling in love, and was given power by that human hero. That’s why Cassandra David—long after she has died, is still manipulating her to do her bidding. That’s why I’m asking you why you let her join you again, Kuro. This is because, with Ruro around, you’re not safe from Cassandra David’s schemes.”

“But Cassandra is dead!”

“And yet, the soul never perishes, Your Majesty. You know it yourself; you died once, but the High King of the Gods brought you back to life at the Human Saint’s request.”

“…”

“Cassandra’s soul…she’s forever watching, and plotting. All that’s left is to have one of her eyes perched atop an evil-looking tower, surrounded by orcs and other monsters…”

You’re making pop-culture reference again, Jules. What’s next? Some ugly creature running after a ring while hissing ‘my precious’?

“It’s up to you whether or not to believe me, Kuro, but I’m telling you…that hero isn’t what she seems to appear in the books. Like you, I trusted her…and paid the heavy price for that…” There was sadness on Jules’ face as he narrated—it was the first time I saw him like that.

However, with all the things he said, there’s one thing that I want to ask him since earlier…

“Jules.”

“Yes?”

“I think now is the right time to tell me,” I stared back at him. “You’ve been talking about Cassandra David the whole time. Enough of dead people, what I wanted to know is your real goal in persuading me to become a god like you.”

“Why, didn’t I tell you that before? Just like what your Beastman girlfriend number 1 said, this world had gone long without a proper deity to guide it.”

“Yes, that’s your ‘official’ reason. However…” my eyes never wavered; I wanted him to realize I’m serious, “I’ve been betrayed enough to know that everyone has their own motives of why they’re doing things.”

“…”

“If we’re going to be friends, you might as well get honest with me. What’s your true motive for pushing this ‘divinity’ to me?”

The former deity was startled by what I just said, as if he was caught off-guard by it. Nevertheless, he paused for a moment, took a deep breath, and revealed his thoughts, “Because I wanted you to take revenge for me, Kuro.”

----------

I don’t know when exactly the dream ended. Everything was murky, after Jules admitted his true intentions. All I could remember was his voice, telling me I should return as soon as possible, and then darkness. The next thing I knew, I was already half-awake, lying on a cot inside the ship’s cabin.

“…”

My gaze instinctively went to the nearby hourglass, which I put beside a small table so I could check on the time the moment I woke up. The device had completed two cycles, meaning, two hours had passed since we left mainland Cherwind.

Wait…are we not moving?

I paused for a bit to feel whether or not the ship was still sailing. However, aside from the hum of the steam engine below the deck, it was completely silent. And for a wooden steamship with around 100-120 people aboard, such stillness was unnatural.

“!!!”

I almost fell from the cot when someone knocked on my cabin’s door. When I opened it, Sir Loin stood outside, and his face had an awful, dejected look on it.

“Kuro mah boy, good thing you’re not affected by what happened,” he told me. “We got a huge problem.”

“What is it?”

“Come with me,” he replied. “And don’t forget to arm yourself.”

So I grabbed my sword, and followed Sir Loin to the upper deck. As we went up, clues as to was transpired while I slept slowly revealed itself. Soldiers and sailor snoozing soundly in the ship’s hallways and stairs. The entire fleet was in chaotic formation, with some of the ships collided with each other. Fortunately, the damage on the hulls was negligible, thus none had sunk just yet.

However, what caught my attention was the blue-haired woman with a fish-tail that stood on a pillar of water, in front of our ship.

“Ah! You must be the human king!” she greeted; her amiable attitude caused the tension I’ve been feeling before to dissipate. “I can clearly tell by your missing right hand, and straight, black hair.”

“She is?” I turned to Sir Loin for answers, but he just shrugged.

“My name is Sekhte, elder of the Isidus tribe,” the blue-haired woman introduced herself by doing a curtsy, “My warriors have caused everyone—save for you two—to fall asleep with our songs!”

Sekhte, huh? So she’s the one Lady Sebastenerva warned me about. Although, if I may say, our precautions against her army didn’t work…

“Strange humans,” the Isidus woman quipped. “Our song should’ve affected everyone inside your ships, yet you’re both awake!”

“Those noises are songs? Man, I thought a dolphin was getting strangled, or something,” Sir Loin commented.

Not wishing to create a ruckus from the parka guy’s words, I stepped forward, “Chief Sekhte of the Isidus, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Kuro, king of the Beastmen.”

“Oh! What a polite human king!” she happily chirped, “Color me impressed!”

“Thank you, Chief!” I bowed to express my respects. “However, as much as I wanted to have more time to chat with you, my army and my fleet are in a hurry. Can we humbly ask for your permission to let us pass through your waters?”

“Hmm…that’s impossible, human king!” the Isidus elder shook her head. “I know your people have no quarrels with my kin; but please understand that we’re under oath to defend our allies, who are your enemies. This promise we cannot break, as we are honorable Beastfolk, not men.”

“I fully understand, Isidus elder!” I smiled at her and nodded. “Nevertheless, we have no intention of turning back the way we came.”

“So, you’re saying…”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to let us pass, whether or not you like it.”

The amicable atmosphere between us immediately turned for the worse. The friendly smile vanished from her face, and she pulled out her weapons—a pair of kukris—as she took a battle stance.

“One last warning, human king,” the Isidus elder threatened. “If we wanted to kill you, we’ve done so earlier. But we never intend to take life more than what is necessary, so I’ll say it again: turn your ships away from the Cauldron.”

After she said that, the waters beside her pillar suddenly exploded. Then, much to our surprise, two huge, squid-like creatures emerged from it.

“Holy moly macaroni!” Sir Loin blurted out.

“Hah! Looks like this is the first time you saw a kraken, wavy-haired human!” Sekhte’s confidence was oozing from her, “Cower in fear beneath the almighty kraken’s gaze!”

“Ha? Cower in fear? Are you an idiot, fish?” the parka guy smirked. Then he brought out Buttfriar, and a bottle of oil, “Who’s running away from those huge, delicious calamari?”

“What?” now it was the Isidus elder’s turn to be surprised.

“Loin, your saliva is leaking out, it’s scaring our guests,” I told him, “Have some shame.”

“Sorry Kuro mah boy. Looking at those calamari made me hungry,” he winked at me. “I call dibs on the tentacles.”

“Spoken like a true hentai protagonist,” I chuckled. “Of course. Let’s have some fried squid later!” I raised my sword towards the sky, and…

“…”

…there was nothing but silence.

“…what?” the Isidus elder threw us a confused look, “Is there something that’s supposed to happen?”

“I dunno,” Sir Loin answered and turned to me. “Hey, you prepared something against her, right?”

“W-Well…haha…” cold sweat was forming on my forehead. “I-I wonder…I wonder…”

“Ugh, destroy their ships,” was Sekhte’s bored order to her monsters. The creatures obliged, raising their tentacles to grab our vessel. But then…

“Holy shit—”,

Sir Loin’s cusses were drowned by the sudden and simultaneous explosions that engulfed the krakens, much to the Isidus’ shock. From the deck of our ship, we watched in awe as the monsters gradually turned into minced meat.

“Fuck yeah!” I cried out in triumph, “Those guys sure took their damn time!”

“What?”

I pointed towards the sky, where several members of the Red Feathers from the Falcon tribe were positioning themselves to do their dive-bombing attacks. They would swoop in and drop grenades on their targets, which latched on its body and exploded in contact. In that way, the ‘aces’ of the Isidus tribe against us were shredded in a matter of minutes.

“…” Chief Sekhte’s jaw dropped as I picked up a piece of her monsters’ flesh and showed it to her.

“Well then,” I approached the Isidus elder, while wearing a smile on my face. “I believe I should ask for your permission again: please let us cross into your territory.”