479. Netherfication

We arrived in the northwestern region of the Inoria Empire. Far from the territories of the Elutra Kingdom. Here, we were close to bordering Shedos. Where Mavos Academy had been. There was a city here— a place called Wilford. Apparently, it was where another one of the sub-rituals was taking place.

But Laux Lionfist and his army of over a hundred thousand adventurers had arrived before us. Their goal had been to sabotage the eighth sub-ritual location. To slow the Netherfication of the Mortal Realm. However, it was quite clear that he had failed.

I cast my gaze over the landscape. We were still relatively far off from Wildford. The army was being worked by less movement Skills than before, so we were about a day’s travel at the very least from arriving. Yet, this entire area had already been transformed into the familiar white world of the Netherworld.

The sky was stained a blood-red, and the floor was made of a pure white rock. An entire forest of trees had dried up with no soil to draw water from. Their dying leaves fell to the ground as our army marched over the vast white expanse, slowed by the oppressive heat from the crimson glow above.

“This isn’t right…”

Daniel narrowed his eyes. He turned to the trio of [Crusaders] accompanying him. He faced the foremost one.

“Kacey, get Helena Warshade here—”

He started. But a voice interrupted him.

“I am here.”

Helena Warshade descended next to him, standing atop her white nimbus cloud. Behind her, Mori Gladius was also standing on the magical ride. I perked up, and my wings dissipated as I landed.

“This is going to be a big deal, isn’t it?”

“We need to figure out what happened to Laux Lionfist.”

Daniel said as he nodded at me. I sighed, taking a step back.

“That’s cool and all, but I’ve gotta go. I have kids to take care of! Bye!”

He rolled his eyes, watching me run off.

I left the important people to have their discussion. It wasn’t like I would contribute much to it. Daniel, Helena, and Mori were kind enough to let me off, but I received a sidelong glare from Kacey and the other [Crusaders].

Well, it wasn’t like I cared about what they thought about me. They were just random Humans. And it wasn’t like they even knew the true me anyway. So I didn’t care what they thought of the Human Salvos, because I wasn’t a Human at the end of the day.

I searched the army as their marching speed slowed under the conditions of the Netherworld. I was used to it, but it seemed that Humans struggled to traverse through it. I continued until I eventually found Edithe.

The redhead was with Hadrian. They were walking alongside each other as their company of adventurers followed behind them. I bounced up to them.

“Hey Edithe, hey Hadrian!”

“Salvos— do you know what happened?”

Edithe asked as she gestured around us. Hadrian furrowed his brows. The leader of the Valiant Dreamers Company gave me a worried look.

“Did Laux Lionfist fail? Did the adventurer coalition really get destroyed?”

“I dunno. Daniel and the others are trying to figure it out right now. I’m just here to escape any responsibility.”

I beamed at them. Edithe snorted.

“Of course you are.”

“Do you know where Willy and the baby Wyverns are?”

I cocked my head at her. She scratched her cheeks. Hadrian shook his head, gesturing at one of the caravans at the back of the company.

“They’re giving Ismail a hard time.”

“They are?”

I blinked. I narrowed my eyes and watched as the caravan burst open. A pair of baby Wyverns went scampering out as a dark-skinned man chased after them, cursing. His Pegasus whinnied, flying up after him. Another baby Wyvern stepped out, followed by a [Will O’ Wisp]. They watched the chaos ensue together as I approached them from behind.

“What are Novis and Bellum doing?”

I asked, and Willy spun around. Oriur was a moment slower. He gasped and leapt onto my feet, crying.

“Mama!”

“It’s ok, Oriur. I’m here now. What’s going on?”

“What’s going on?”

Willy repeated after me. The [Will O’ Wisp]’s flames burned red as he flitted my way.

“You.”

“I’m going on?”

“Idiot! You leave them!”

He continued as he glanced back to Novis and Bellum. They were running between horses and hiding beneath carts. Ismail and his Pegasus tried to trap them, but they somehow always escaped. I blinked back at Willy.

“What do you mean? I was just, um, talking with Daniel about stuff. Important stuff. Y’know, the kind of stuff that would bore them?”

I gave him an apprehensive shrug. But Willy didn’t buy it. Even though he was a ball of flames, I could tell he was glaring at me.

“Avoiding them.”

He spoke simply. I pursed my lips.

“Who’s avoiding what? I’m avoiding Helena Warshade? Of course I am!”

I exclaimed, giving him a weak smile. He adamantly continued.

“You. Avoiding Novis, Bellum, and Oriur.”

“Whaaaat? I would never—”

I started. Then I felt something at my leg. I looked down to see Oriur tugging my blue jacket. He gave me a pair of round eyes and asked.

“Where been, Mama?”

And I hesitated. I slowly picked him up as he clung onto my arm. Novis and Bellum dashed away from Ismail before pausing. The two of them finally caught sight of me. They stood there, frozen. And Ismail caught them.

“Finally—”

He started. But they squirmed out of his arms. Immediately, the two baby Wyverns started bawling as they sprinted for me. Ismail groaned as he dropped to his knees. I caught Novis and Bellum as they crashed into me.

“Mama!”

The three baby Wyverns cried together. And I bit my lower lip. They hugged me tightly, refusing to let go. It was the same every single time. If I left the three baby Wyverns for just a moment, they would get unbelievably sad.

I looked over at Willy who gave me a judgmental stare. I sighed.

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t have avoided them.”

I patted the baby Wyverns slowly. They were too busy crying to even notice anything I said. I looked up at the [Will O’ Wisp] and shook my head.

“I understand that. But… I can’t look after them all the time, Willy.”

I pouted. Willy buzzed around me, annoyed.

“Must.”

“It’s just not possible. I have things I want to do. I have things I need to do. And I will have to…”

I glanced over at Ismail who was scowling, walking back to his caravan with his Pegasus. I looked back to see the rest of the Valiant Dreamers watching with sidelong glances. Even Edithe looked mildly amused, and her friend, Celine, was laughing about what just happened with Ismail and the baby Wyverns.

They probably could overhear me, so I didn’t say anything too specific. I kept it vague.

“I have to leave, eventually. I need to go home. Find my first companion. I can’t bring Novis, Bellum, or Oriur with me there… it’s too dangerous.”

I gave Willy an apologetic look. But he just sighed.

“That just means you have to take care of them now.”

The [Will O’ Wisp] spoke in a full sentence. I glanced down at the baby Wyverns. They met my gaze, confused. They didn’t know what Willy and I were discussing. They could tell it was something important. They gave me a concerned look, and I shook my head.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

I soothed them before putting them back on the ground. They smiled at each other as I turned back to Willy.

“I want to, Willy. But, like, I need a break sometimes, y’know?”

If Willy had eyes, he’d be rolling them right now. He flew down to the baby Wyverns, flying before them.

“If you didn’t want this responsibility, you shouldn’t have taken them under your wing. You need to understand they are living beings, Salvos. You cannot just give up on a whim.”

“Right…”

I bowed my head low. For a moment, neither of us said anything. Novis, Bellum, and Oriur just stared at us quizzically. I wasn’t sure what else to say, and I knew Willy would reprimand me for any excuse I made. I opened my mouth.

“I’ll try—”

I started, but paused as I heard a shouting. I glanced back as a group of riders ran down the army.

“We’re changing destinations! Everyone, we are not going to Wilford! We’ll be going to Lunaris now!”

I blinked. I looked towards Willy, confused.

“Isn’t that the Inoria Empire’s northernmost city or something?”

“Who knows?”

Willy said in response.

“Why are we changing locations now?”

It would take us longer to get to Lunaris But for whatever reason, we were going there now. I wondered what went wrong. Hopefully nothing too bad, right?

—--

And the army moved. We reoriented our path, circumventing Wilford entirely. We traveled through the very peripheries of the Netherfication. I watched on as the white landscape continued to spread.

Our progress was slowed because of all the wild Demons in the path. I would’ve helped out, but I decided to stay with Willy and the baby Wyverns. Novis, Bellum, and Oriur kept pestering me to play with them, and I did. I didn’t want to make Willy angry. I knew if I left them alone again, the [Will O’ Wisp] would give me an earful.

So we just continued on. Daniel at the front with Mori Gladius and Helena Warshade. They were on guard of something. Edithe and a few other higher-leveled members of the army also joined the head, making it clear that they were worried.

Eventually, after another day and a half, we arrived at Lunaris