Published at 16th of February 2024 2:22 pm

Chapter 73. Cult Of The All Father

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The aftermath was anything but swift. All captured cultists begged for forgiveness, mercy, and leniency. Sobs and panic followed once the paralytic’s effects faded. Only the sleeping cultists gave them any peace.

“Please, let me go,” Sara begged. “My mother will kill me!”

“Do you have any idea who I am?” Edward growled.

“My father will hear about this!”

“They didn’t give me a choice! I either helped them or ended up a sacrifice. Please, professor. Let me go!”

“You don’t know what you’re doing, Kris! You and your damn students will pay for this!” The captured quartermaster said, head sticking out of the Trap Foam. “Forget about your careers. Your lives are over. The All-Father will have your heads.”

“Shut up, girl,” Father Smythe said. “Don’t incriminate yourself further.”

All but the leading pair’s tone changed when the guards arrived. They offered bribes, made ridiculous threats, or tried to flee. They didn’t get far, thanks to the mana restraints. Nox had to encase a couple of legs in mana foam and even ply them with more sleeping draught. Ultimately, the guard carried most of the cultists out of the mansion.

Kris identified the building as the Smythe household's home. She couldn’t help but feel ashamed of the revelation since the noble house was a trusted friend of the university. Kaitlyn Smythe, its founder, was a planeswalker. She started from humble roots as a blacksmith’s daughter before establishing herself as a golemancer. She played a role in the current mana system's creation before disappearing through a portal with a couple of apprentices. Many visitors from other worlds and dimensions appeared over the decades, claiming Kaitlyn Smythe had sent them to fight the good fight against the gods and Void Lords. Kris struggled to believe her descendants had fallen to such depths after winning the city and Imperian's favor.

The guards and Imperian Inquisition interrogated Kris and her students before freeing the captors. Several were in miserable conditions because of untreated injuries, malnutrition, and sores from the handcuffs. Nox assisted in their initial care.

The creation and study of healing potions involved the study of human anatomy and disease. Nox didn’t know enough to treat complex injuries or conditions. However, Nox’s alchemical training involved first aid and triage. He got ointments and medicine from Lillin’s storage and provided enough treatment to alleviate immediate discomforts. Healing and stamina pills helped many of them, too.

An Imperian Inquisitor appeared surprised by Nox’s skills and attempted to recruit him until Kris revealed herself as his mentor. The man apologized and backed down. As night turned morning, Nox couldn’t help but feel proud of his teacher and companions.

There were many mages more potent than Kris. However, only a few had her mind and expertise. The woman had turned a complex and mostly unknown part of the cosmos into a weapon. He hadn’t seen the full extent of her damaging spells yet, but her ability of stealth, detection, and disabling opponents was unparalleled. She didn’t just have her infrared spells—as she called them—but excellent martial abilities, too. The initial impression she made against the Cloud Hunter had initially filled him with doubts. Then his time at Woodson University taught him better. Raw arcane prowess wasn’t everything. Scholarly pursuits, research, and study were just as valuable.

It was probable Kris would never face an archon Dungeon Lord head-on or strike them with the finishing blow. However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t dismantle cults, find and guide future god killers, and act as a commander in the war against the gods. Not everyone needed to be a powerhouse. Annabelle was a prime example of that. Delving parties needed support mages to survive. Most would probably never make it to the Rift or Dungeon Lord without someone fulfilling the valuable role.

Annabelle appeared shaken but stayed strong. The woman didn’t waver when her father appeared and fussed over her. She remained stoic and helped monitor the prisoners while ensuring no cultists snuck in to free them. Lord Oakheart wanted names and heads to roll. The Imperian Inquisition and guards refused the latter demand. The man had a strong dislike for House Smythe. It wasn’t that they were newly ascended to the aristocracy but used underhanded business tactics and were rumored to engage in Pink Sellis trade. The addictive drug had turned many a city into hives of scum and villainy.

It was late in the morning before Kris, Lillin, and Annabelle were released. Kris stayed back to talk to the guards and inquisitors. Lord Oakheart insisted they take his carriage and refused to take no for an answer. Lillin didn’t have the mental capacity to return to the apartment alone. Her pride hadn’t recovered, and she missed out on the opportunity to inflict pain on the cultists. Nox had instructed her not to hurt or maim anyone, especially Vys. He wanted to see the young alchemist brought to justice. Lillin accompanied him to Annabelle’s apartment and slept on the couch in the living room.

Annabelle passed out as soon as her head touched the pillow while sleep eluded Nox. He struggled to stomach Vys’s betrayal and all the familiar faces in the cult. What concerned him the most was the dozen or so people that escaped. They were still at large, and perhaps more cells filled the city. Six people had died. Five of which fell to the escaping cultist leader’s sword. He had cut through obstacles in his way like they were butter. The sixth death was a result of trampling. Someone had fallen to a paralytic while attempting to flee the room, and his companions had crushed him underfoot.

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Even though the dead were criminals, preparing to sacrifice innocents to their god, Nox couldn’t help but feel bad about them. Many were his age or younger. Nox wondered how many of them were victims of circumstance. The people claiming unwilling participation and fear of death and persecution were possibly lying. However, there was a tiny chance some of them were telling the truth. It was also likely there were such people amongst the dead.

Nox had blood on his hands. He couldn’t deny it. Somewhere between thirty-six and forty souls had fallen to Lillin. Nox had picked the target and arranged their death and consumption circumstances. However, the majority of the targets were violent criminals. The authorities lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute them. He knew it was poor, self-placating justification, but Nox liked to believe he and Annabelle made the Golden Isles and passing settlements safer with their actions. That didn’t mean he didn’t question his decisions. It was tough when Nox was a preteen, and his judgment wasn’t always correct. Now, he wondered the same.

The deaths weren’t Nox’s fault. However, he couldn’t stop himself from feeling bad about them. Eventually, Annabelle threw an arm and leg over Nox and pressed her naked body against his back. The warmth, weight, and smoothness of her skin comforted him. The rays of light seeping through the gaps in the curtain were bright by the time he fell asleep.

Despite the help of alchemical brews and a day dedicated to rest, Nox felt miserable when the day of the final exam arrived. His sleeping schedule was thrown off kilter, and Nox spent the night before awake. So when he sat down for the four-hour paper, his temples throbbed eyelids threatened to slam shut.

The definitions and short-form answers came quickly to Nox. He finished the section within an hour. However, his brain refused to cooperate during the second half. Unlike the Beginner Dungeon Theory exam, Nox needed to choose and answer three essay questions from a pool of five.

Nox picked the Evolution And Mutation of Stars And Their Foci as the subject of his first essay. Fortunately, the exam only demanded a single side of a sheet of parchment and not both. Nox used his research related to turning Slow into Freeze and his journey to Crystallize Essence as examples for his answer. It helped fill the empty space and come up with a solution good enough to satisfy the professor.

The second question he picked involved alternative magic systems. Since Nox had a fascination with binary star systems and had taken an interest in warlocks, he had an easy time with the essay. He ended up dedicating half the page to his thoughts on beneficial warlock pacts. Not all primordial and cosmic entities had nefarious purposes. Some sought the procurement and safekeeping of rare or lost texts. Others wanted a city or forest preserved. Some required the yearly destruction of rifts or routing of Dungeon Lord Cults. He didn’t know whether the essay would win him full marks. Nox just wanted enough to pass.

Finally, he opted for a question related to essences, their presence in the natural world, and how mages created them from raw mana. Nox’s brain had done enough and threatened to shut off. So, instead of presenting structured insight on the matter, he dumped everything he knew on the paper with opinions and examples mixed in.

Nox had to pinch himself several times to focus and stay awake, but he got through the exam without giving in to the temptation of resting his head on the desk. Then he quickly submitted his paper, returned to the apartment, and slept the deepest sleep he had in a long time.

The semester was officially over. He had completed it as a journeyman delver. If he completed the Intermediate Dungeon Theory course, no university requirements would keep him from further growing his license. Advanced Dungeon Combat would make getting an expert license easier, but for that, Nox would need to increase his star’s maximum mana level to two-hundred-and-fifty six. The goal felt too far away to be an immediate concern.

For the time being, he let the hammock rock him and slept. Despite the recent exciting events, Nox dreamt of Mou and Pallav. He watched the pair brewing in perfect harmony, brewing complicated brews together with minimal communication and predicting each other's wants and needs. It was a pleasant memory. Unlike real-world events, Nox worked with them. He was an adult, using Mage Hand and an Artisan’s Arm to handle volatile essences, assisting his expert and adept rank senior alchemists.

When Lillin woke Nox and dragged him to dinner, he spent the meal wondering what his life would be like if his father was still alive. He didn’t doubt that the Ratra’s would take over as the leading alchemist house in the Trade Empire. Queen Mercer wouldn’t despise him and probably treat him better. Nox would enjoy a comfortable education at Woodson University, dedicating his time to the production and research departments. The Trade Empire would cover his tuition and expenses.

When Nox graduated, the queen would offer him a position commanding her army, as was his right, but Nox believed he would reject the offer. Instead, he would petition to take over as the leader of all of the kingdom’s production houses.

It was a pleasant dream. Where all lived in harmony, and his mother treated him well. The Mercer family wouldn’t treat him like he didn’t exist, and the Gedges hopefully wouldn’t be in their lives.

Life would be pleasant, but Nox would lack several freedoms. He would need to spend his life in service to the Trade Empire and live forever in the Golden Isles. Lydia Mercer and Pallav Ratra would probably produce more children until they had a daughter. She would train to become the next queen. None of that sounded too bad as long as he had his family. However, Nox would have little freedom in choosing his romantic partner.

According to Mou, Queen Mercer had faced incredible resistance from her mother and the rest of the family over her relationship with Pallav Ratra. The Ratras were an influential family of artisans from across the Sapphire Straits. However, they weren’t of the continent and, more importantly, only minor nobility. Apparently, Lydia Mercer had fought extensively, and her mother, the previous queen, only acquiesced when Lydia threatened to give up her position as the heir.

Perhaps Queen Mercer would’ve been more lenient after all the resistance she faced in relation to her love life. However, Nox doubted that would be the case, given the mother he’d come to know.

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