-Callen-

  Yana collapsed to her knees at the sight of the head. Silent tears poured down her face while the rest of us backed off to give her time. Looking up, the sky was still bright, but it was starting to get later in the day. Ideally, we would’ve pushed a bit further, but taking advantage of the standing walls for a more secure rest wouldn’t be a waste. Reaching into my space, I pulled out a shovel and moved up behind Yana.

  “We’ll stay here tonight; give him what you can of a proper burial.” As she took the shovel, I moved back to the others.

  “Bellam, you keep an eye on Yana.” I shifted my gaze back over to the lumberjack. “Wellman and Polo, I want you to look through the ruins, dig up anything of interest, or let me know if you figure anything about the elves' purposes.” They saluted and darted back into the city ruins. I didn’t personally expect any useful information regarding what the elves were searching for. In my gut, I already had a strong feeling that they were after Freema’s ring. I looked at the three men remaining. Uther piped up before I could start giving orders.

  “Since we got ourselves a bit of time with the others handling all that.” He vaguely gestured at the beginnings of a grave Yana had started. “Should I get creative in our accommodations tonight? Something a bit nicer than a hollowed-out tree?” I shook my head, letting a bit of a smile touch my face.

  “Since we have enough open space here, I think we’ll just use my mobile accommodations. Instead I have a request for you.” I summon a small bundle of the larger wither tree fragments. Since combining the fragments into a full spear wasn’t an option, I figured Callia might appreciate something more in her vein. “Help me shape these fragments into arrows. The material is frustratingly tough.” The lumberjack eagerly moved up to investigate, so I leaned around him to face the last two.

  “Luther, keep an eye on the groups, and Jolen, send back a report of our progress.” With that done, I carefully positioned the first fragment.

  “You seem to be taking this wood pretty seriously; should I be worried?” I gave a brief nod while backing my artificial hand away from the chip. It would be easier for me to reattach an intact arm than to repair my prosthetic.

  “The Wither tree. It’s both dangerous and durable. My father earned his knighthood by retrieving a branch. Under unspecified circumstances, it seems to bond with people, letting them cut it, but I don’t have that bond, which means I’ll have to work it the hard way.” I pause a bit and confirm he’s in position. “Ok, cut it when you are ready.” The air whooshes by my face, but I don’t get even the slightest spark of danger as the axe strikes perfectly in the mark. As he pulls the axe back up, I notice a clear chip in the blade matching the fragment. With the axe right in my face, I also get a better look at the weapon. I can’t help but blink in disbelief; this man was nearly the level of a knight, and his most important tool was a cheap iron axe. I looked back at the chip, and only a faint scar was left behind after it nearly ruined the axe. I reach over and grab the axe before he could lift it back up.

  “Seems like that didn’t work; let me fix the chip before we try plan B.” I activated Mana Boost and Shape Metal to smooth out and resharpen the axe. Since brute strength wasn’t working, it seemed like time to try something a bit different. Since the material could let Callia alter it, I just need the same access. I suspect the key to getting access lies with having an affinity like life or, in Dad’s case, a wood affinity. Since it wouldn’t accept me, I just happened to have another skill that might be perfectly suited for the task, Dominate Mana. At the very least, it was a good expansion on my earlier explorations of the skill. I bring my hand just above the wood and envelope it in my Mana Zone as a precaution. I sharpen my focus, and immediately I feel my skill clashing with the wood. Interestingly, I find that it is still somehow alive; it was the same kind of circumstances that would match someone who's been severely injured but was persisting despite the injuries due to excessive vitality.

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  Still, the fragment was alone and isolated, and I felt the energy in the wood collapse as I dominated it. I could feel sweat rolling down my face as change swept through the wood on a fundamental level. The decay that it inflicted on everything it touched vanished, but while others might not be able to feel it, I could feel void energy bleeding off of the fragment. I gave up my domination, but I could still feel the connection. It was just like how Callia described her bond with the spear. Whatever I had done was something I would need to study but for now I just sent it back to the void and retrieved another piece. I had an expert lumberjack here, so I wasn’t going to waste my chance to get some interesting arrows made.

  Since plan B failed to produce the desired result, it was now time for plan C. Still, I needed to figure out what plan C even was. I had a bit too much confidence in plan B, so I hadn’t put it together quite yet. I prepped the piece for cutting again as a new idea finally came. I pushed my mana into the fragment, which rapidly started withering under the local influence, but I had more than enough to forcefully shape my mana in the chip into a rune.

  “Now!” My command rang out as I bit my lip in intense concentration. The axe thunked loudly as it cut along the line I had forcefully separated with my magic.

  “Hey! It actually cut it this time!” Uther voiced his surprise at the success. “What did you do to make it cut so much easier?” I adjusted the piece for the next cut while taking a breath. “It was some high-tier Mana Skills at work.” Before I could even launch into my explanation Uther is waving me off, clearly not as interested in discussing the fundamentals of mana manipulation. Instead our focus shifts back to the wood chips that would soon become arrowheads.

  Ares Marches

  Ares gave a bloodthirsty grin as he stepped out onto the platform above his commoners. Below, countless people cheered in terror and glee. The spirit of Harlanou manifested in the body as he stepped up to give his big speech.

  “I am now a god. My might has surpassed all. Worship me as I bid! Coat your blades in the blood of the disbelievers, fight with the divine protection of the god of war, and slaughter! Kill everyone between here and the citadel!” The crowd roared not because it was a great and rousing speech but because vast numbers had fallen under Ares' influence. Those who have abandoned decency were the easiest for demons to manipulate, and being the regional dictator and an unkillable monster made opportunity seekers spring up from all over. His officers were taken from the bloodthirsty and given power through corruption. The sudden rise in strength was more than enough to begin building fanaticism and worship.

  He and the spirit of the duke had agreed that the citadel was without a doubt his greatest threat. The king was long under the influence of top-class foreign drugs imported from druids on the neighboring continent. Should the king be a functional being instead of a deterrent, then maybe they would have destroyed him first, but the holy order was clearly still active. Once they had fallen, Ares would have free rein to rip apart the kingdom. He still found it greatly amusing that the human duke was so excited at the prospect of destroying his own civilization. He had heard the duke's foolish spiel about primitive humans being superior in every way to modern humans, but the man was deluded. Not that Ares was inclined to correct the man. Ares regretted that he hadn’t been able to participate in the creation of the system, which is what actually destroyed humanity, but he did admire the work of the prideful one. Once a thriving world was now reduced to a handful of kingdoms scattered by wilderness and monsters.

  Ares looked again at the horde he had assembled below. The bloodshot eyes, restrained madness, and, in some cases, swelling muscle showed just how quickly these humans had fallen. He almost couldn’t believe it when the duke explained how the holy order bottled itself up in the southernmost tip of the kingdom. A cruel grin settled on their face; Ares suspected that Lilith wasn’t the only ally in wait. Nearly the entire population of the city had been afflicted with his madness, and now they all marched out the gates and to the south. The elves may have started before him, but Ares refused to let the elves earn a high body count. He paused before admitting to himself that he actually didn’t care about getting more kills than some living corpses. What he really cared about was leaving another bloody swath through humanity, taking them yet another step toward extinction.

  proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night,