Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 693: To tame a deity

Chapter 693: To tame a deity

Old King Khabrias of Iolcia led his army of a hundred thousand back towards Iolcia, ignoring the battle taking place within the Valley of the Dead.

He was a man who had lived for eighty years, ruling for forty of those years.

Age had long since caught up to him with wrinkles appearing on his face, though he tried to look younger than he was, to no avail.

Donning a purple tunic with a similarly colored cloak placed over the tunic and a kansiva which served as a headgear, he was currently seated in his study aboard his personal warship which bore his insignia, indulging in some grapefruit while pondering the circumstances surrounding the civil war.

Having lived for many years and experienced many things, he had come to an unfortunate conclusion which was that Atiphates was bound to lose.

There were no two ways around that.

The only reason he had supported the defenders at the beginning was because he was scared that they would attack him considering he was in the same region as them.

It was all in a bid to preserve his nation and himself so the other defenders wouldn’t use Iolcia as an example.

In any case, now that Lyssandros had arrived and the final battle had begun, there was no longer a reason for him to continue with his act.

Now, he only wished to return, avoiding any casualty to his troops.

Of course, he had half the mind to attack one of the other city-states belonging to the defenders in the meantime.

This way, he would be able to convince Lyssandros that he was never an enemy.

However, he wasn’t completely certain that he would be able to conquer a city-state quickly enough before the battle at the Valley of the Dead would end, leaving him undecided on his next course of action.

As he sat in silence, pondering what next to do, the doors to his throne room swung open as the commander of his armies arrived with grave news.

King Ull had arrived.

***

The mobile cities under Ull’s command were all gathered close to a valley’s edge and ahead, the armies of Iolcia were making their way through the valley, their current destination still undecided.

"Six battleships, fifteen mobile barracks, and hundreds of military vehicles." Ull’s subordinate reported.

"Sound the gong," Ull remarked as he donned his armor, which consisted of a shoulder guard, breastplate, and nothing more. "It is time to fight."

Hesitant as he was, Ull’s subordinate did as commanded and soon, the gong of battle was played, echoing across the valley and drawing the attention of the Iolcian troops.

The next instant, cannons were revealed and a moment later, the sky was covered with fireballs.

The battle has begun.

***

Ulysses didn’t even get a chance to step out of the submarine completely when the whispers struck him like a ruthless hammer.

He stumbled to the ground, and his body spasmed like someone who had been hit by thousands of volts of electricity.

His irises disappeared, leaving behind his whites as the whispers bombarded his psyche, leaving him very little in terms of sanity.

Perhaps, if not for the helmet forged by the Fixer, he would have already lost his mind to the burgeoning madness.

Lucky as he was, Ulysses managed to regain himself long enough to get back on his feet even though the whispers continued to bombard his mind.

He bit down on his lower lip, causing himself some pain just to get through the madness, after which he took his first step toward the Lord of Flesh and Blood.

Under the influence of this First Class Otherworldly, Ulysses’ cells began to proliferate at an alarming rate, causing his skin to bulge and his shirt to rip apart.

If not for the divine essence within him, Ulysses would have already turned into a mass of flesh, but that didn’t mean he was completely out of danger as nausea-inducing wrinkles began to appear on his body.

His hair swiftly cleared away and Ulysses could feel his voice box going through a variety of changes.

At that moment, Ulysses understood one thing.

Even if he managed to survive this meeting with the Lord of Flesh and Blood, he would never return to Eventide the same, either physically... or mentally.

***

Within the many valleys within Henos, of which quite a few served as the location for varying degrees of conflict, one in particular was about to witness the rise of an Evil God with four individuals bearing witness as well.

"You wish to tame a deity?" The Fixer asked, his expression complicated as he regarded Alex.

Alex nodded. "More or less. Why?... Has it never been done before?"

"... It is possible to become the deity’s Apostle, but taming it..."

"Impossible?"

"No, not exactly." The Fixer admitted. "There is a family in Emet well versed in taming newborn deities."

"There is?"

"The Ghannam family." The Fixer replied. "But then again, their ways are considered esoteric and particular. I am not sure if you’d be able to replicate it."

"As long as it’s possible, there shouldn’t be only one way to do something. So it’s fine." Alex said.

In truth, before now, he was well aware that he was taking a risk with something that might as well be impossible.

Now, though, he at least could take the risk, knowing that there was a good chance of success.

Soon enough, the dust cloud cleared and what they had been waiting for revealed itself, though its form was... unexpected.

The first stage of a deity was known as Phantom and the reason for this was because the deity would possess a spiritual form while lacking a physical form.

This was the reason they needed an Apostle to latch on to, as without a vessel, they would quickly be eroded by the Will of the World or, worse, be corrupted by the elements, leaving them no chance of ever growing further.

In any case, the entity before them, the Broken Saintess, appeared to have already manifested a physical form, though it was incomplete.

Only the upper half persisted, which, though humanoid with a chest, stomach, and a pair of arms, resembled glass due to its colorless texture, and there were cracks on the torso, causing it to appear fractured, like a piece of glass that was dropped and then haphazardly pieced back together.

It had no neck, merely a cleanly cut space where the neck was supposed to be above which its head floated.

Its face, which had a more flesh-like appearance compared to its glassy torso, seemed like three faces joined in one with two pairs of eyes, on the left, right, and the lower bottom, each one inverted in a way to not touch with the other.

At the center of its face was its mouth, which was split into four, causing it to resemble a four-petal flower in bloom.