The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 351 – Lord of the Flies

Our age and their age are completely different. Our views are not their views. Our ambitions are not their ambitions. Our ideals are not their ideals. When I write it like this, it seems so deceptively simple, does it not? Yet it simply is true. There was a time when I thought myself a great moderator amongst Divinity. That I could bring the debate to the greats of Allasaria and Fortia. I was never invited to the White Pantheon, there was a part in me that bathed in the thought because I was a great Divine that was special.

Yet now I realise that I am the radical. And it is not in any grand sense either. I understand why the White Pantheon never wanted to bring me into their fold. I radically talked about the issues of the world: I studied economics and taxes. I learned civil engineering and urban planning. I organised grants and charities. I facilitated meetings and debates between world leaders. I served as an impartial judge that everyone could trust. I am truly a Divine of this era: A pacifist and an idealist.

Once can be a freak mistake, I suppose that is the hopeful denialism within me speaking that I can even call the cracking of a continent and the half-a-billion deaths that arose from it a mistake. Yet it has happened again, an ocean is being irradiated and I, the radical, am powerless.

I talked of grand issues as they forced solutions to questions no one asked. I studied economics as they demanded tithes. I learned civil engineering, they built whatever their whims demanded, from fucking donut cities to temple-complexes. I organised grants, they gave gifts. I help charity, they wield Holy Orders. I facilitate meetings, they enforce rules. I entrust mortals with debates, they set guidelines to act within. I am an impartial judge ruling for their favoured justice. I am a Divine of this era and they are Divines of an era long gone.

There is nothing to ponder. I understand why humans smile at me, nod their heads and then turn around to ring Arascus or Allasaria, Kassandora or Fortia, Elassa or Anassa, Fer or Maisara for permission. What can a charity do when Fortia points and an army appears? What does knowing where to place amenities in a town when Kassandora is shelling them do? What do tax rates matter when continents are cracked? What can we debate about when they have come to their own rational conclusions that death is the better alternative to compromise?

I am a radical in the same way a sheep in the fox’s den is a radical.

- Excerpt from Goddess Ciria’s, of Civilization, Diary.

Kavaa wished she had donned her plate-armour pre-emptively. There was no time now. She wished she had gone to the rear with Iniri. There was no time for that either. She wished she had given Kassandora that dreaded scarf. There was no time for that, most of all. Immediately, Kavaa saw War’s Orchestra activate again and heard it start playing in her own mind too.

A set of banging drums, all maintaining a frantic tune that barked orders immediately got the men moving. And once again, Kavaa was stunned. She knew that if it was Fortia or Maisara down here, they would start panicking or issuing a general retreat. She herself would have done the same. Every man would be tasked to drop what he was carrying and run back to save their own life in nothing else. They had no magician support. They had no sorcerer support. They had Iniri at the very rear and whilst Iniri could cover ground quickly, Iniri was no Be’elzebub.

Demonic Prince of Tartarus, although how Tartarus organized their own Legions, Kavaa had no clue. During the Great War, it was Allasaria who did most of the inter-world communication. Fortia simply knew that she would mark areas, request armies, and Tartarus was more than happy to provide no matter how many losses they took or how suicidal the mission was. They cared more for the lost materials than for the lost troops. Kavaa herself had tried to keep the reliance on their forces to a minimum, but then that simply made her part of the majority. No one wanted to fight alongside demons. The Princes were to be avoided, all of them.

Some called Be’elzebub similar to Neneria, although Kavaa always disagreed with the idea. Neneria commanded ghosts and left cities dead yet stainless. Be’elzebub was more apt to be likened to Fer and her warherds. Both left broken doors and smashed windows and overturned furniture, both left buildings collapsed and walls ruined. The only real difference was in the remains. Fer’s herds either left bloody carcasses ripped about by claw and jaw or torched communities to attempt something akin to clean-up. Be’elzebub left nothing but bones picked cleaned of flesh and then cracked so that the marrow could be harvested. There would not even be drops of blood left to stain wooden floors, the demon’s swarm would steal every last drop. Internal debates between the White Pantheon had never concluded as to whether the demon was one conscious split across the millions of flies in the swarm or whether they clustered around one intelligent entity.

“Are you scared?” Kassandora asked out loud. Kavaa finally peeled her eyes away from the huge swarm. Its buzzing a high-pitched jet-engine as Be’elzebub closed the distance like a snake that filled the tunnel from side to side and almost from its floor to the ceiling. The Goddess of Health saw the Goddess of War stand there, hands behind her back, legs spread wide, as if she was watching her army from a cliff.

“Are you not?!” Kavaa shouted in shock and in disbelief and in surprise. Behind the Goddess of War, lit up by the massive whining Torchbearer tanks, Kavaa saw Kassandora’s army. With neither mage nor sorcerer, no Divine capable of massive area denial, Kassandora did not issue a retreat. Kassandora stood and her army, dancing to the tune of the Orchestra, prepared for impact.

“I’m terrified.” Kassandora admitted with a smile so wide that Kavaa struggled to believe it. The woman’s eyes were glowing red, Kavaa had seen that expression before. Back then, it had made her uncomfortable and terrified her. But now? Not at all. With the music playing, it made Kassandora look… alive.

The lines of men who had taken position as a vanguard before the tanks threw their grenades forwards without pulling the pins out. A violin carefully directed their strength and angle, so that the explosives spread themselves out in a carpet. Gas cans and fuel canisters were thrown out of turret tops. A series of piano notes told the men where to hold their arms so that they caught the red containers. Men raced back into the safety of their APCs as the gas cans were thrown once again to a gong sounding. A trumpet signalled for the vehicles to be doused in fuel.

That toxic smell filled Kavaa’s nose as Kassandora’s tune got even her moving back. Kassandora herself started to calmly retreat too. It was a simple backwards walk, so that her eyes could remain fixed on that swarm. Half the distance crossed now. Kavaa could make out the giant glinting flies. They were nothing like the pests on Arda, but most like tiny locusts with sharp mandibles and black bodies so shiny that could have been submerged in oil. Kavaa heard a single drum beat, she instinctively knew it was directed to her, and she knew it told her to raise her right hand straight open, palm ready to grip something in three… two… one.

Kavaa’s fingers began to close just as a lighter entered her grip. Kassandora caught her own. “Do you smoke?” Kassandora suddenly asked. Kavaa blinked, was this really the time?

“Do you know a single Divine that actually smokes?” Kavaa replied and Kassandora chuckled.

“Irinika likes to smoke.” Kassandora answered. “I thought you were fifty-fifty on it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Maisara obviously is not a smoker and Iniri obviously is.” Kassandora explained, her tone joyous and relieved. “Fer obviously no whereas Anassa quit a long time ago.” Kavaa felt her own eyes widen in surprise at this needless information.

“She had to quit!?” Kavaa asked as the swarm closed half the distance. The tops of turrets began to clasped. Vision visors slid shut. The doors of APCs swung shut. Tanks raised their barrels, the music said they had loaded time-high explosive shells. “Since when do Divines get addicted?”

“It was long ago.” Kassandora said. “I only found out recently. I just wanted to know if you do Kavaa.” It was sweet that she did, but couldn't she have picked a time when they weren't getting attacked?

“Why?”

“Because I was curious and if I didn’t ask you now, I’m not sure if I’ll ever get a chance to ask.” Kassandora said with a smile. The Orchestra reached a crescendo as Kassandora took another calm step back. For a moment, there was silence in the cold dwarven highway. For a moment, the only sounds were the whirring of engines, the low whirring of lighthouse beams from the back being cooled by their internal fans, the bubbling of fuel canisters that had been knocked to the side and were still emptying themselves, and the screaming, frenzied buzzing of Be’elzebub coming down upon them. “I love Neneria.” Kassandora suddenly said out of the blue. “Do you know that? She’s honestly someone I’m happy to call a big sister.”

“That’s how she describes herself too.” Kavaa said and Kassandora’s smile grew wider. The Goddess of War’s tone was lighter too.

“Say thank you to her, for me. Because she was smart enough to give me a push I needed.”

“Oh?” Kavaa asked, her grey eyes focused on those approaching flies. Man-eaters, given enough time, they would even tear through stone and steel. Although tank plate would probably last a while. She felt something touch her feet, smelled gasoline and saw the liquid finally reach her.

Kavaa heard the cymbals, she knew the tanks were about to fire. Barrels that had been raised into the air released another volley. A half-second later, their shells exploded into a thousand fragments as the swarm submerged them. Flies fell to the ground by the thousands. And thousands more came to replace them. A swarm of reflective, shiny, black carapaces that were silhouetted by the flames of those burning metal wreckages. They screamed as they arced upwards. “Kavaa, open your mouth and close your eyes.”

War’s Orchestra came to a stop as a panicked piano sang the final orders to the men. The music cut out. Kavaa’s ears had a moment of silence as her mind caught up to her senses. A brief instant of nothing. A brief instant of everything. Two lips met hers. They tasted of dust and earth. Kavaa would have lost control if Kassandora wasn’t holding her up. For a single instant. Be’elzebub’s swarm didn’t matter, the fact Kavaa had not seen the sun in however long didn’t matter, the fact she had lost track of time didn’t matter, the darkness of these tunnels didn’t matter, the fact they were confined to this small island of light did not matter and the fact they were pushing against Tartarian forces did not matter.

Nothing mattered because for a moment, Kavaa had everything she needed.

And just like that, the sound returned and Kavaa felt movement. A tongue entered her mouth, it pushed something down her throat. Kassandora pulled Kavaa away, crimson eyes met grey ones. The Goddess of Health would have never imagined that Kassandora could smile so brightly, especially not after the talk with Kassandora on the cliffside after continent cracking, and even more so after the things that Neneria had said. “I want to apologize.” Kassandora said. “For being so difficult and for taking so long.”

“Oh no.” Kavaa said as she coughed again. Something was stuck in her throat, the cough dislodged it and she felt it slide the entire way down to her stomach. “What was that?”

“An acorn.” Kassandora replied as she turned, Kavaa began to circle around her.

“What?!”

“I bring blood for Fer. I bring hallucinogens for Anassa. Why wouldn’t I bring acorns for Iniri?” Kassandora said, her tone light. “Kavaa.”

“What?”

“We stood against a star, we stood against the Jungle, you brought my sister back and I brought you back in that desert.” Kavaa felt Kassandora’s fingers wrap around her wrist, the world around them became a blur, fire in the distance, then the blinding light of the Torchbearers, both separated by the most terrible darkness and grey stone Kavaa had even seen. “Tell Iniri to search for the acorns. I’ve swallowed a dozen of them. The lighter is for her if she needs it too. Give her a push, she’ll need it. Tell her I said she can do it.”

“Okay.” Kavaa felt her feet lift off the ground as she realised that Kassandora was going to throw her backwards across the army. Kassandora’s black armour started to materialize around her body. Her black coat and cap ripped to shreds as armour replaced them.

“I’d say don’t come back for me, but I know you will. Be fast.” Kassandora didn’t let Kavaa get her let words out. She let go and the Goddess of Health flew across the army. To think that the lesson in skydiving with Iliyal kicked in now. Kavaa straightened her arms, felt the wind catch, and positioned herself so that she could see Kassandora.

The Goddess of War’s black armour finished materializing. Her hair a cape of blood red first made the woman into a silhouette, then covered her as she turned around. Joyeuse appeared in one hand, in the other Kassandora pulled out a lighter. She leaned down and set the fuel alight.

Wind screamed and darkness retreated. A cloak of fire came to submerge the front of the Underground Expeditionary Legion’s vehicles like a duvet hiding a child from the night-time monsters. The grenades in the front set off and threw that cloak upwards. Be’elzebub dived downwards. The blanket of fire was submerged by countless flies. The tiny little insects screamed as their wings gave out and their bodies exploded from the heat. And where one was defeated by the flames, another came forwards. Its body burst from the heat. It spewed a drop of vile green-brown blood.

The first armoured vehicle, a troop carrier with its outer shell set alight by fuel, was submerged. A Lynx tank was swallowed. Another APC. A light tank. One by one, as if a great giant was swiping its huge hand and crushing the vehicles, the insect plunged onto them. Kavaa hoped that their armour was thick enough and that they had plugged the window slits and barrels. She saw Kassandora wave her sword. Tanks started to move in unison again, no doubt War’s Orchestra had begun to play. Its conductor jumped backwards, away from the swarm as explosive shells impacted into the swarm. They passed through harmlessly. Turrets turned, they aimed at walls and ceilings. Explosions rung out. Like a tidal wave, flies swallowed fire and tank and canister.

Kassandora jumped away to retreat, she threw her sword into the swarm and curled into a ball to cover all the gaps in her armour, or as many as she could manage to obscure.

In that deep, dark, dwarven highway, flies swallowed the Goddess of War.