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Bheara Image
It didn't take long for the representatives to arrive. Leading the group was a male elf. Trailing behind him were a young maiden with deer antlers, a blind swordsman, and Beltane's patron deity: the Celtic Goddess of Winter, Bheara.
"I am Uskali, Captain of the Beltane Familia," the Elf introduced himself with a polite bow. "As you can clearly see, our country has been reduced to a toxic wasteland. Why would outsiders journey to such a wretched place?"
"We hail from Orario," Lucian replied with a light chuckle. He took a half-step back, gesturing grandly to Alfia. "This is an executive of the Hera Familia, known by the alias 'Silence.' A Level 7 titan."
"L-Level... Level 7!!?" Uskali's voice cracked, trembling in sheer disbelief. He wasn't the only one; every local present stared at Alfia with eyes wide in absolute shock.
"Rumor has it that at her absolute peak, Lady Silence could even triumph over the Level 9 Empress," Lucian added with a mocking bow, his tone dripping with playful sarcasm.
The surrounding crowd was too stunned to pick up on his tone, but Alfia caught it instantly. She leveled an icy glare at Lucian's back. If he weren't holding the cure to their lives, she would have blasted him point-blank with [Gospel] without a second thought. Alfia's [Gospel] was sound-based magic, functioning similarly to Bell's rapid-fire spell. The word 'Gospel' served as both the incantation and the spell na, and a single blast was enough to send a grown man flying. When used with lethal intent, the sonic shockwave ruptured internal organs and pulverized bone. It was infinitely faster and far more devastating than Bell's [Firebolt].
"Silence. Even in a backwater like this, your legend precedes you," Goddess Bheara laughed. "Why would a titan like you bother coming all the way out here? Don't tell you're here for that quest from years ago?"
Bheara's words snapped the villagers out of their stupor, replacing their shock with overwhelming joy. Lucian's eyes drifted to the antlered girl. Based on the tiline, she was likely Talvi's mother—the woman who had willingly sacrificed herself as a living seal.
Talvi would officially debut during the Christmas event, which took place in the latter half of the year. The current tiline was sixteen years before the main story began. Assuming Talvi was around fifteen years old during her debut, that ant her mother would beco pregnant in roughly six months. She would give birth to Talvi and shortly after, forfeit her life to fuel the sacrificial ritual. It was worth noting that she wasn't a normal human. She was an artificial chira engineered with at least thirty different bloodlines, the vast majority of which were animalistic beastman traits.
"Exactly. That is precisely why we're here," Lucian announced. "I am a healer in need of the Spring of Life's waters to concoct a specific dicine. To that end, I have commissioned this lady to exterminate the Lord of the Swamp."
"If she's a Level 7, she can definitely slaughter the Lord of the Swamp!" Uskali cheered, pumping his fist.
"What incredible luck. Looks like you won't have to die after all, Talvi," Bheara said with a breezy smile.
"Yes." A glimr of genuine hope flashed in Talvi's eyes.
Wait... Her na is Talvi, too? Lucian briefly wondered. But it wasn't uncommon in this world for a daughter to inherit her mother's na, so he quickly dismissed the thought.
"Die?" Alfia stopped short, her brow furrowing deeply. "What do you an, die?"
An instant, suffocating silence descended upon the crowd. The cheering vanished, replaced by a thick, palpable aura of guilt.
"It's quite simple. Talvi is an artificial lifeform. The mont she receives Falna, she is guaranteed to awaken a specific type of magic," Bheara explained casually. "A sacrificial spell. By offering her life as a catalyst, she serves as the ultimate seal to suppress the Lord of the Swamp."
"But that seal has a ti limit," Lucian interjected, his voice cutting through the heavy air. "Once this cycle of sacrifice begins, it must be repeated generation after generation. It is a ritual steeped in sin from beginning to end."
"You seem to know quite a bit, kid," Bheara eyed Lucian. "But you've got a rather an streak."
"Not nearly as wicked as your heart," Lucian fired back rcilessly. "Artificially engineering bloodlines to force the awakening of a highly specific magic—I severely doubt a backwater nation like this could invent such a complex ritual on their own. You gave them the blueprints, didn't you?"
"I rely offered them a choice. I never forced them to take it," Bheara shrugged nonchalantly, locking her bright eyes onto Lucian. "What would you have done in their shoes, little brother?"
"I simply wouldn't be that powerless to begin with," Lucian replied coldly. "But if you're forcing to answer from their perspective—then I would fight until my last breath. I'd rather see the entire nation burn to ash than accept such a twisted compromise."
"You sure talk a big ga," Uskali muttered darkly, his face twisting into an ugly scowl.
He knew he shouldn't antagonize the man who brought their salvation, but the insult was too sharp. He clenched his fists tight.
"To be perfectly honest, I can't empathize with you, but I do understand why you made that choice," Lucian said in a flat, uncompromising tone. "I understand it, but I still despise it."
Hearing his damning verdict, the villagers clenched their fists, their eyes blazing with fury. But that rage wasn't directed at Lucian; it was turned completely inward. After countless years of resistance, they had ultimately surrendered to the path of human sacrifice... Deep down, the crushing weight of their own cowardice and guilt was suffocating them.
"I have no interest in continuing this pointless moral debate. Exterminate the Lord of the Swamp, then grant free use of the Spring of Life. Consider this the fulfillnt of your official quest," Lucian declared, turning his gaze to Bheara. "What say you, Bheara?"
"Don't ask . I may be their patron goddess, but I don't call the shots around here," Bheara waved him off dismissively.
While she was technically the presiding deity, the people of Beltane placed their true faith in the Spring of Life. After all, not only was their goddess incredibly eccentric and unlikable, but she was also completely incapable of saving them from their curse.
"No—you are the only one here with the authority to grant that permission," Lucian smiled faintly, his eyes locking onto hers. "What should I call it? Doing good deeds without expecting anything in return... the unique 'rcy' of the gods?"
"I don't know what you're babbling about," Bheara snapped, her tone dripping with sudden irritation.
"Ah, right. I almost forgot to introduce myself," Lucian said mildly. "I am a mber of the Hephaestus Familia. Up in Heaven, Hephaestus is very close friends with Hestia. According to the divine laws agreed upon by the gods, direct intervention in the Lower World is strictly prohibited. But in order to make life a little easier for a certain group of mortals, Bheara stubbornly swung her Staff of Winter, massively upsetting Brigid, the Goddess of Sumr. Furious, Brigid asked her divine friend, Hestia, to steal Bheara's Staff of Winter. That is the gist of it."
"That annoying little cow with the petite body!?" Bheara realized who he was referring to, clicking her tongue in extre displeasure. "Don't tell you know about that incident too?"
That incident? Hearing this exchange, the surrounding villagers couldn't help but look between the two with burning curiosity. Juicy divine gossip!
"Wait... That 'certain group of mortals' you ntioned. Could it be..." Uskali gasped in sudden realization.
Their terminal curse was always suppressed slightly during the winter months.
"What a miraculous coincidence," Lucian mused smoothly. "Right when that exact sa group of mortals was on the brink of total despair, they suddenly 'discovered' a divine artifact like the Spring of Life."
. . .
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