CHAPTER 12: FINAL CONFRONTATION

**Kuro**

Our general advance bogged down as the undead resistance became fiercer each time we took territory. So, we stopped the march to regroup, and held on, forming three lines of ‘defense’ made of elvish soldiers.

“…”

The Black God landed somewhere in the tree palace complex, where he got obscured from our views by the rushing undead towards our positions. I wanted to check on him, but I had to command the defense of our footholds, as the wights—though our soldiers resisted them—was in danger of overwhelming us. Not to mention, I couldn’t just cut through the undead. The fight earlier exhausted our regiments, and we hadn’t taken our rests before they went on the offensive.

Nevertheless, I hoped that the airborne regiments, as well as the army of Berondin attacking from the flanks would reach him in time. Besides, he’s a god and a warrior, too; he should hold on his own…

Meanwhile, the artillery shells and bullet stocks we had at the beaches were slowly dwindling, with the reserves still being unloaded at the port village. Some couriers fell when the wights, jumping from the tree palace canopy, ambushed them, leading to delays in our supplies reaching the frontlines.

For this, the tanks began to shine. Taking on the responsibility for the supply runs, the armored behemoths were impervious to arrows, and ambushes from the wights. Even better was the possibility of crushing those walking corpses, should it place itself on the routes of these vehicles, eliminating the threat it posed. Fortunately, as the magicians put up their barriers, the tanks were unaffected by yesterday’s problem regarding the Seductress’ ‘influence’ on the engines.

As for the performance of the soldiers of the expeditionary army, I’d say they were crack-shots, just like their ‘cousins’ in Cherwoods. If they wanted to hit the head of their enemies, they would hit it with ease. That’s why, even from afar, our elves could shred a wight to pieces in a matter of seconds.

However, we’re still in danger of getting overwhelmed.

Well, our forces possessed no machine guns; its rapid rate of fire could’ve helped us stave off the mindless assault of the undead. The bolt-heaters’ limitations—like cocking the firing mechanism each time it was fired, or the fouling caused the soldiers to change barrels every certain number of bullets fired—made the ground between our soldiers and them smaller as minutes passed. While this was not Isandlwana, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel to ours and that old battle from my world’s history.

The wights’ lack of sense of preservation made them the perfect cannon fodder for our forces.

As the undead reached the first line of defense, the elves holding the front switched to their melee weapons and hacked the corpses with impunity. Rifle butts, fists and stones flew, along with bayonets, daggers, bullets…and limbs. When arrows also rained from above, we took in lots of casualties. Seeing the first line faltering, I took a rifle from a fallen elf, put on the bayonet, and rushed to the frontlines to lead the fight from there.

“Sir!” I heard my senior commanders call out to me. However, this was not the time to think of my safety; our morale was in danger, and the soldiers needed someone to carry the battle for them.

“!!!” I struck the nearest wight on its chest, pushing it down the ground. Then, once the undead fell, I crushed its head with the rifle butt, before swinging it to my next target, whose head flew the moment it was hit by my makeshift club. When in melee combat with the undead, it’s always recommended to crush the teeth of the creatures you’re fighting when the opportunity came, so they wouldn’t bite through the flesh and transfer the magic, or virus, unto its victim. After all, the more elves we could keep from turning undead, the more favorable for our forces.

Nevertheless, they kept on coming in waves, and I felt some hands grabbing my leg. For those, I sliced the limbs off with the bayonet. The difference of the zombies from the wights was that, the wights moved slower and clumsier, while the zombie would turn rabid once they took hold of its victim. By then, my aides had come to my side, trying to clear a path for them to secure me.

“!!!”

The sight of their commander fighting on the frontlines, however, buoyed the sagging morale of the soldiers, and they surged forward, breaking formation. The ranged fight devolved into a free-for-all melee, with neither side gaining strategic nor tactical advantage.

“Where do these undead coming from?” I heard someone ask in the middle of the battle. Well, it’s not like I couldn’t get where he’s coming from. We’ve been fighting for quite a while now, and was assisted by another elvish army, yet, these wights didn’t seem to get any fewer.

I guess it’s time for me to use it…the god-power of the Beastman Saint!

‘Kuro, wait!’ Gaius called me out, as my hands started to glow in golden-yellow. ‘Don’t do it—’

What?

However, his warning came in too late. Only a few seconds after I activated it, a black smoke suddenly shot towards me and grabbed me by the neck. The force sent me crashing on some elves and wights, before eventually ending up on the ground. The smoke then transformed into a familiar evil I’ve fought before, in Cherflammen…

----------

“So, the hero of Cherflammen returns,” was the Seductress’ greeting for me. “I know you would come; I’ve always longed for a prey like you…who possess the power and the body of the gods!”

As an answer to her, I took hold of her hand on my neck, and activated the god-power of healing. That burned her, and she retreated away from me. “You’re not the only one gathering strength,” I replied with a smile. “And I’m hoping that this would be the last time I’ll see you.”

The Seductress then released her miasma, which engulfed the nearby areas, much to the shock and terror of our soldiers. Gaius shouted from my mind…

‘Kuro! Cast the god-power of healing on the ground, quick!’

At once, I did what I was told, and the miasma vanished as we’re wrapped with an intense white light, similar to Maddie’s ‘area healing’ spell. Also, with that, the wights suddenly caught fire, and were turned to ashes within minutes.

What happened?

‘That’s the full potential of the god-powers when the ‘right’ body is using it,’ the Roman explained.

Whoa…

‘Haven’t you noticed it before?’ he asked. ‘When you’re fighting the elves at Tenedrim Lagoon, you used the god-powers of the Beastman Saint. Isn’t the intensity more powerful than before?’

Haven’t noticed, sorry.

‘Well, focus on what’s before you! We’ll talk later,’ he told me. ‘Look alive! Here comes the monster!’

A blast of dark miasma shot out from the Seductress’ hands, pointed towards me. I jumped to the side to evade her attack; however, she quickly followed up by getting close. Though I retreated, it was too late for me to do any precautions. I could only watch helplessly as her hand was about to land another grip on me, this time, aimed at my head. But then…

“!!!”

A huge water golem crashed its fists on the monster’s face, sending her flying away from me. Much to my surprise, it was Her Holiness, the Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir, having activated her god-powers. Meanor was beside her, protecting her liege.

“If you think you can easily send us away while you solo the boss, then you’re mistaken!” the Elf Saint told me with an amused smile. “Better share some XP for us!”

“I don’t get what Her Holiness is saying, but we know you’d do all the ‘heroic stuff’, so we came back,” the elf maid elaborated. “Or the other saints will butcher my mistress.”

I could only shake my head and laugh at my situation.

----------

Of course, the Seductress won’t simply give up with a fist on the face just like that. And we all expected it, as she picked herself up and her miasma shot out again in every direction, trying to suck whatever life force she could get her tentacles on. However, as I possessed the god-power of healing, Gaius told me to create a barrier that would stop her from reaching us and our armies.

Though, she can go the other way—towards the interior of Cherwoods—where my ‘healing barrier’ has no coverage.

“!!!”

But at that point, someone stood between the monster from the Void and the rest of the elvish realms. Though his black clothes were tattered, and his sword broken, the Black God finally rose to the occasion and cast his own ‘healing barrier’. After we contained the Seductress’ influence, he immediately went to attack her, grabbing a nearby rifle with a bayonet as his weapon, and shooting her at the head.

“Your Holiness!” I called out to the Lady Hinwe. “Can you direct the water golem to back me up?”

“What do you intend to do?” she asked, her eyes staring at the warrior deity.

“He’s an ally,” I reassured her and Meanor. “And as his friend, I’ll join the fight! Tell the soldiers to back off for now!”

“Milord!” the elf maid took hold of my arm, “please…the Lord Gerard. Save him!”

“I’ll try my best…” was the only answer I could give her. Honestly, I don’t know if I can even pull it off, as Gaius already told me it’s impossible.

Her Holiness and Meanor gave me their blessings, and off I went with the Black God.

----------

“You sure took long before coming,” the Black God quipped when he saw me coming to his aid.

“My apologies, Your Holiness,” I loaded bullets and attached the bayonet on a bolt-heater rifle I picked up. “I need to train our elves to be as disciplined as possible, and we also added that thing called ‘tank’ in our—”

“I was not referring to that.”

“Huh?”

“Protect your waifus, Kuro. It’s not easy to lose people who love and support you, and even so, in the most horrifying way…”

I could imagine the Black God winking at me behind that dark mask he was wearing, before he resumed his attacks. Well, I was surprised by his words. I mean, he did give off the ‘serious’ vibe, after all. Nevertheless, I had to focus on the fight; this was our chance to bring Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe back to her rightful throne, as well as defeat the Seductress once and for all.

‘Kuro, work around on her tentacles before attacking her body,’ Gaius advised. ‘As long as she can replenish her strength by grabbing whatever ‘life essence’ she can reach, we’ll just go around in circles. You know the drill; cast the healing god-power each time you cut off her tentacles.’

Got it!

“I’ll take the left,” the Black God called out to me. “You destroy the right!”

I raised a thumbs-up to tell the warrior deity that I understood his instructions.

“Oho!” the Seductress exclaimed. “So, a god, a former god and a human with god-power joined forces just to defeat me? I can feel the despair from every single one of you! And with every wavering heart, my power grows—”

However, the Black God never let her finish; he immediately began the work destroying her tentacles to the left side. The Seductress fought back, growing more limbs from her miasma, trying to smash him with it. Meanwhile, I also did my part, wreaking havoc on her right side, along with the water golem the Lady Hinwe created to protect me. With the bayonet in my hand, we separated several of her tentacles from her body, and I cast the god-power of healing to prevent those from growing again.

It’s like killing the hydra by cauterizing its wounds with a burning torch…

Still, the Seductress kept on her struggle, even as we both worked on defeating her. Dealing with two enemies fighting in different directions was confusing, as it was difficult, so she just thrashed around, maybe hoping that she’d hit us with her attacks. As a warrior himself, the Black God had it easy evading the pillars and streams of her miasma shot towards him. For me, the water golem of the Lady Hinwe was the one protecting me from the hits that should’ve already landed.

The attacks on the golem, however, put a severe strain on the Lady Hinwe, as she fed mana to keep the water creature ‘alive’ and in shape. Realizing that my protection was not unlimited, the Black God grabbed the Seductress’ body once he was done destroying the last limbs on his side, and shouted to me,

“Kuro! I got her now! Cut-off her neck, and cast your god-power of healing on the head!”

I was surprised at what the warrior deity did, for in doing so, he placed himself on the Seductress’ range of attacks. As he held her down, she directed her miasma tentacles I hadn’t destroyed yet to attack him. At this rate, the Black God will die!

But, his voice cut through my mind, “Kuro! Don’t hesitate! Kill her! I’ll take her with me!”

At that point, I realized, this was our chance to defeat her. The Black God was willing to sacrifice his life to avenge his loved ones, and die trying.

It’s now or never!

“!!!”

However, Meanor’s words crossed through my thoughts. If I slice at the Seductress’ neck, won’t that also kill the Lord Gerard?

“Kuro!” the Black God screamed my name as the miasma tentacles was about to skewer him.

Fuck this, I’ll try saving them both!

“!!!”

With my time to react limited, I threw myself towards the Seductress, directly on the path of her tentacles intended for the Black God. My plan was to use its force to propel me to her, though in the process I got stabbed on the shoulder. Nevertheless, I flew straight to her, and grabbed her head…

Just like what I planned.

“Damn you!” I cried out as the pain from her tentacles shot throughout my body. Desperate to win, I uttered a prayer to the heavens, “Please work for me!” Then, I activated the god-power of healing.

“Kyaaaaaaaa!!!” the monster from the Void struggled to free herself from my grasp, flailing violently in an effort to send us flying. Still, we both hanged on, though her violent movement caused us severe pain. And, I was getting annoyed, too. So, in return for the Seductress’ torture, I increased the intensity of the god-power that its reaction to her miasma started to burn my hand.

“Kuro!” the Black God said to me. “You must not die here! Behead her now!”

“I can’t do it, Your Holiness,” I replied, with a forced smile (the pain on my shoulder was killing me). “The Lord Gerard will die if I do it! But I’m not planning to die, anyway; I’ll save you both if I have to!”

“Ah, it’s all good…” he muttered, as his mask slowly started to break into pieces. “Listen, I’ll open the portal to Cherflammen, and once it’s done, send us both in there!”

“What are you—”

“You have to trust me, Kuro!” the Black God stopped me, as the mask completely fell from his face, revealing a familiar—yet older—person. “I was right to place my trust on you, younger me. Stay on your path, and don’t let your bitterness swallow you. Now, with your other hand, cast the god-power of healing through me!”

I could only stare at the Black God—my older self—as he opened Cherflammen’s portal while I pour mana on my free hand. Then, with all my might, I punched through his body, sending the god and his prey back into the dead desert world…

----------

The next thing I knew, I was back in the confines of my mind, where Gaius stood in front of me.

“That’s you, yes,” he said, confirming the question I had been thinking for the moment. “A dashing fellow, no? Nevertheless, his choice of clothes is too edgy for my taste.”

However, I ignored the Roman’s joke; I still couldn’t believe at what just happened. “I…I know…”

“Hmm…you’ll get used to it,” he quipped. “After all, when you returned to this world after six years, you and everyone’s future changed. That will be you, sometime later, should you choose the ‘bitter’ part.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know that theory they call ‘eternalism’?”

“The one that says universes where different versions of us exist at the same time?”

Gaius nodded, before explaining, “The Black God is the ‘you’—the Greg Santos—that became god, though his bitterness about the fate of his students who killed themselves remained. That guy, he knows he has to die, and give way to you, the ‘Kuro’ that has come to terms with his bitterness, and instead, decided to love.”

“But…why?”

“Well, we all know that the Seductress thrives on anything negative. The bitterness of Greg Santos is what hinders him from delivering the killing blow to that monster. While you—the other ‘him’—your heart is free from darkness, that’s why of all his ‘versions’, you’re the only one he’s willing to take a chance.”

“You mean…he tried with the other ‘Kuros’?”

The Roman nodded once again. “All of them failed him. And then, there’s you. You’re his hope to defeat the Seductress and avenge his world.”

“His ‘world’? Isn’t that Chersea and the Other Realms?”

“Yep.”

“And it was destroyed. Maddie, Lily, Eris and the others…they all were…” I couldn’t say the word, for I was too scared for it to happen. The memories of those wights, those elves whose ‘life’ was sucked out of them, flashed in my mind. What made him think that I—by becoming a god—can make a difference to our fates?

“The answer is in yourself, Kuro. The Vigil of the Black God has finally ended; all that’s left is for his successor—you—to finish the work he started. However, you keep on running from your holy destiny. Look, I’m no god anymore, but I can tell that if you’re still reluctant to take on the mantle of responsibility, you and Greg Santos’ efforts will end in the same result.”

“So…I have to be a god, then?”

“Unless you got any other way to destroy that monster, you have no other option,” Gaius pointed out. “If you didn’t return from Cherflammen, maybe you could’ve avoided it. But then again, would you like that?”

I shook my head. Deep inside, while I was intimidated by the responsibilities of being a god, I would still prefer for my loved ones to live…and die peacefully, even if I had to carry a heavy burden.

“I see you’ve finally decided on your answer…”

“Yes…” I faced the Roman with unwavering eyes and determination. “Teach me to become a god, Gaius!”

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In the aftermath of the conflict with the Seductress, the elvish population native to Cherwoods was decimated. The Seductress’ unlimited hunger for ‘life essences’ destroyed many of the elvish settlements, thus affecting the completion of the ‘Grand Canal’ and forcing the Elf Saint to put it on hold. To replenish the demographics, campaigns were later launched in Chersea and Cherwind to encourage the immigration of Cherwind and Chersean elves back to their original home. Because of the relative ‘higher-standard’ of living in the human and beastman realms, those programs convinced only a few families to seek their fortune in their ancestors’ land.

Still, I guess it’s preferable than no one’s going back at all; with the knowledge these elves had, they could help the ‘obsolete’ elvish society in Cherwoods leave its past, and progress to new heights.

Any case, as for the people who had been a part of my struggle for the Lady Hinwe’s throne…

Let’s start with the two elves from New Elebor, Behrien and Glamden. After the defeat of the Seductress, the resistance against the Elf Saint’s rule immediately collapsed, making the Elvish Expeditionary Force moot. The remnants of the elves of Cherwoods would prefer a lazy saint like her rule over them than a monster treating them like livestock, and so the transition of power was quick and easy. Behrien and Glamden’s regiment—like the others—were disbanded, and sent home.

I heard later on that Glamden became a writer, detailing the events of the ‘War of Restoration’, while Behrien was one of those who chose to settle in Cherwoods and form a new family.

For the Lady Hinwe, her return to the throne ushered in a new ‘age’ in her long reign as the Elf Saint. Although she was back in her duties as the ‘Custodian of Cherwoods’ Waters’, privately, she pursued her dream of being a mangaka…publishing stories under her name. Her works became well-known throughout Chersea, Cherwind, the Demon Republic and also, in Cherwoods. The populace, especially the younger generations, aspired to be like her, and thousands of graphic novel-inspired literatures came out since then, with some becoming ‘classics’ for the later generations to read.

Meanwhile, her other…uh, ‘non-vanilla’ works were also popular, though because of the relative conservatism brought about by the holiness of her office, it was quite hard to find a copy of those. Even more so, the copies that belonged to the ‘first batch’ fetched a high price, and only the nobility who bought it before had those books. Also, as the Lady Hinwe couldn’t publish such ‘erotic’ stories under her name, she used a pen alias: ‘Metamorphosis’.

Meanor remained a devoted servant to Her Lazy Holiness, and after we recovered the tree palace, she became Lady Hinwe’s head maid, as well as the new commander of the reconstituted Elvish Life Guards.

She’s also the contact person of publishers whenever the Elf Saint brings out a new hent*i book.

Cerdan, for his dangerous role in the espionage, as well as saving the lives of several elves during their captivity and eventual breakout from the tree palace dungeons, he was awarded a position in the Life Guards. Well, he was originally slated to become an elf lord in one of the destroyed elvish cities, but the former pickpocket found the responsibility too hard for him, so he settled for the guard job. He was now in-charge of spy missions for Her Lazy Holiness.

Meanwhile, Sir Eldarv resigned from his commission in the Life Guards as its captain, for his complicity that led to the Lord Gerard’s ‘coup-de-etat’. Ashamed at his actions, he went to exile in Chersea, where he joined one of the mercenary companies of the Braunhauer family. Later on, his descendants would become well-known explorers, but that was for another story.

The elves of Berondin, though they remained ‘independent’ from the religious leadership of the office of the Elf Saint, had the Lady Hinwe’s favor for as long as she lived. The mud and forest elves never reconciled their differences, though they lived in harmony for many ages, along with their Chersean cousins and neighbors.

And finally, the Lord Gerard of Yusave. Well, while I did save him, the injuries his body suffered while the Seductress possessed it came back the moment I cast out that monster back to Cherflammen. I tried to treat him with the god-powers, but his injuries—affected by the magic of that creature—wouldn’t heal. Gaius told me before he was far beyond saving anyway; nevertheless, he lived long enough to learn that he was finally free from the clutches of the Seductress, and his beloved Cherwoods was safe. Having asked for the Lady Hinwe’s forgiveness, his final words were for me…

“Milord, are…you there?”

“Yes, I am here with you,” I took hold of his hand, as his labored breaths became frequent. Though the guy thoroughly discredited my name before, I was not angry at him. If anything, all I could feel for the Lord Gerard was pity for what happened.

“Thank…you…” the elf guard, though he never looked at me, tried to smile. Perhaps he could tell that I already forgave him even before he asked for it. But, the Lord Gerard continued, “Please…can I…trust…Meanor…”

“You have my word for it, sir,” I gave him a pat on his shoulder.

Meanor, who was already in tears, held him. Though they’d been involved in many ‘lovers’ quarrels’, the elf lady still loved the Lord Gerard…enough to give her courage to ask something difficult from me. Still, the Lord Gerard needed not to worry; the Lady Meanor was a friend, and I’d care for her…along with her liege. As long as I’m alive, that is. Elves live longer than humans, after all.

And with that, the elf guard from Yusave gave up his spirit and rested forever.