178 An Agent Of God... He Was No

For most, the sudden incident in Itroch had driven them into a state of complete pandemonium. People across the continent fled toward the nearest place of shelter they could find as the rode out what seemed to a sign of the end times.

In Itroch however, the situation had already run its course, much to the relief of everyone in the Spirit of Bountiful Charity. It'd been a hectic couple of minutes for the flagship and her crew as they scrambled around repairing what Reed had unintentionally broken in the process of pushing out his titanic haul of a fortune. 

What seemed like an ice shelf of biblical proportions now hovered above the ancient city of Itroch. Needless to say, no one in the command deck knew what to say about it. 

"...What do you reckon that might be, Lord Velvund?" said Prince Haydn, curiously as he eyed the floating slab of ice and quartz.

"In all likelihood, Prince Haydn, that is trouble. Far be it for us to know what sort of creations the Ancient Mulians have buried in our soil. Nevertheless, we won't know for certain what it is until we get an answer from my grandchildren," said Velvund.

That was a damned lie. 

The old Alf had already begun to brainstorm the moment it appeared, scheming on how he'd be able to take it away from the North. He knew better than to doubt his own grandchildren, or more specifically — his granddaughter-in-law — who was uncannily knowledgeable when it came to the Ancient Mulians and their oh-so-valuable relics.

If those two had pulled out that massive chunk of frozen quartz, it was likely because it had some value to it. Hopefully enough to justify the ridiculous length they had gone to pull the damn thing out of the fissure, thought Velvund.

He had definitely not treated his own grandchildren like glorified treasure detectors. Of course he hadn't done that. He'd never do that.

Perhaps another scummy, opportunistic man might've done that but not—

"If it comes down it, I'll make sure to have this... bizarre thing moved somewhere safe in the East and have it sealed away. It's the least I could do for the North, on behalf of my foolish grandchildren," said Velvund as he subtly licked his lips in anticipation.

All things considered, it had been an earnest attempt, but Haydn had already caught on to his adversary's slimy proposal. 

"Oh, that won't be necessary, Lord Velvund. We would not want to impose on the East with an unknown relic such as this. I cannot even begin to imagine what sort of danger might be slumbering in a relic from this city in particular. Therefore, I suggest that you let us shoulder the burden this time, as it was something buried in the North. Inconveniencing the East with our troubles any more than this would be a subject of national shame to us, I fear," said Haydn, not permitting so much as an iota of desire escape his lips.

The two slimeballs smiled at each other and continued their cat and mouse game as they shamelessly tried to get their other to concede, to the dismay of the bridge crew around them.

They had been dealing with an endless torrent of communications requests from powers all across the continent. A wide variety of colorful messages continued to fill their comms channels as they fruitlessly attempted to get a hold of the two commanding authorities responsible for the operation in Itroch. 

Unfortunately, they would never get a response back, at least not any time soon... for obvious reasons.

On the other hand, it was getting troublesome for the person in question who had created the mess in the first place. Reed found himself in a unique situation where there was no clear course to take. 

In truth though, he had no clue how to proceed from this point forward. Such was the consequence of him relying on his natural intuition rather than on a carefully planned strategy. 

A lonesome figure sat on the edge of the immense ice shelf in reflection as he stared down at the newly-ruined city beneath him. From his vantage point, it seemed as if someone had given the city another black eye, so to speak.

The poor, decrepit city looked even more miserable than when they had first entered it. His actions had not only affected Itroch but also the entire continent as well, even if only in a minor fashion. Some people might've even labeled what Reed had achieved a remarkable feat of destruction.

Prince Haydn himself was one such proponent.

He had already internalized Reed's capacity for destruction as something intrinsic to the young man. Rather than attributing it to mere coincidence, he was thoroughly convinced that Reed was in some form affected or possessed by a higher authority beyond mortal ken. 

Not that it was a malicious classification out of spite, envy, or fear. No, if anything, he had been somewhat correct in his judgment of Reed. 

He had relegated Reed to the level of... nature itself. Where people saw a hurricane, earthquake, or tsunami as a destructive force antagonistic to human civilization, Haydn saw them as the handiwork of God itself. 

They were without hostility or bias and simply acted as agents of the laws that governed the world. 

So, too, did he consider Reed in the same capacity as them. To him, Reed was just... a hurricane-shaped human. There was no point in trying to understand his actions, as it was impossible to understand the personal motivations of natural disasters from a mortal perspective.

But that belief was not shared by everyone who knew Reed, especially not from the one who was closest to him. And her feelings on the matter couldn't have been any more different if she tried.

Truth be told, the tension was so thick up above on the ice shelf that anyone could've cut in two with a butter knife. Not that anyone would've dared to do it, had they been given an opportunity to have done so...

When Reed felt her silent gaze burning through the back of his head he turned around and said, "...Can you not? Just give me a second. I'll figure out a way to get this out of the way, so stop it with the glare, alright?"

Lu'um wondered where she'd gone wrong. To some extent, the blame also fell on her since she had let him do as he pleased, but even so... there was only so much she could tolerate. Her thoughts continuously looped in a perfect circuit of shame and regret as she internally reflected on her mistake. 

The blunder in question being her tendency to get swept up in Reed's irrational tempo whenever his confidence improved. Even though Lu'um knew that it was likely nothing more than a rising tide of momentary resolve in the face of adversity, she couldn't help herself.

It was such a novel and exciting development to her that more than often, the act usually robbed Lu'um of her higher reasoning. 

And as a result, they now stood atop one of Reed's newest achievements thus far. 

An unintentional sigh escaped out her mouth, despite her lukewarm feelings about the matter. As a co-conspirator, she had no right to complain about how the situation had developed into, but this was something that not even she had an immediate solution for.

Reed chuckled when he heard Lu'um's sigh and said, "Ooh? How unusual. To think I'd hear a sigh come out of you, my indomitable princess. Are you really that concerned about this little mess?"

"How can you not be concerned? How do you plan on taking this back home?" said Lu'um, tapping her feet on the forty-nine-kilometer geode of sealed souls. "Pray tell, O beloved genius of mine, what is the next part of your master plan?"

Reed gazed off into the distance where the Spirit of Bountiful Charity uneasily hovered and said, "I have the semblance of an idea but I have no idea if it'll work the way I want it to. Wanna hear it?"

Lu'um felt a chill run down her spine. His playful tone did not match the expression he had plastered on his face, to put it politely. 

It was as if the Devil himself had offered her a front seat to something truly outrageous. A special concerto of apocalyptic proportions. The allure of the unknown was a powerful thing, indeed. And for someone like Lu'um, who knew and seen too much, novelties were her greatest weakness.

Every fiber of her being screamed at her to reject whatever he had planned before she lost control of the situation again, but it was already too late. Her curiosity had won over her reasoning the moment Reed uttered the words, "Wanna hear it?" 

Once more, she foolishly stood there in silence and... fell to the temptations of the Devil. 

There would be no reasoning that night, only heightened chaos and madness in the city of Itroch. 

Only the dead would be free of the horror that would come about in the coming hours. The living, on the other hand, would soon find themselves in the midst of a homecoming never before seen in history...