Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Celebrations And Preparations

Lillim then divulged the full details of everything they knew for fact, hypothesised and the end goal as they saw it.

“So he’s the long-awaited “hero”? Well Carl, I hope you know the task ahead.” Tiamat warned redundantly, a hint too much emphasis on the word “hero” for it not to be taken as sarcasm to Lillim’s ears.

“He does, you saw his system screen, they have survived three encounters. The issue is that the game has now begun in earnest.” Lillim retorted, at the implication that she had not seen fit to offer any insight.

“Sorry? Were the countless years of chaos and incursion gate crossings not earnest?” The indignation in Bahamut’s voice made it grow coarse.

“The likes of your little wyvern wandering off to kill two children is not what I would call a dramatic opening event, at least not by Margo’s standards.”

Lillim went on to give Nergal’s report on the elder god lost to madness, the battle of aggressive delay tactics between Cronus and Pandora and the looming threat of Mobius interfering and giving her room to break free.

“On the note of Mobius, he also helped Margo kill Ishtar, then cast me into a time maelstrom.” Carl added.

“Please speak her name with a little more respect. She was eithe-”

“Sorry, she put the weight of everything on me, a hint that didn’t activate until it was already too late. She made me just to fight an enemy and decided to make it all a guessing game like everything I care about isn’t at stake. I think if anyone has the right to be a little bit disrespectful it’s me. I’ll apologise if I think I was wrong later.”

“It seems the boy has taken an unusual stand on this…” Lillim said with a raised eyebrow, painfully curious as to why.

“Mum Alisha skipped meals to see me fed, risked hunting with an ill-suited system and stats that had been crippled because of a failed Howling. Mum Leanna protected me and put everything on the line whilst being under constant watch of the committee, helping me as much as possible to try and figure out this system that basically sat idle for eight years.”

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : SORRY CARL, PLEASE DO NOT BLAME ISHTAR FOR MY FLAWS ]

“I get it, you don’t want me insulting your creator and I shouldn’t sit here and do so, but I have to make it clear I don’t want people telling me who my mum is… It will always be them, not some woman I never knew…” Carl’s speech had devolved into a rant, one filled with a tide of emotion that had been building since the mention of his origins back in the misty village.

“Carl… Calm down please, before you say something you may regret if you ever feel the need to give that apology.” Alisha said. “Also, Leanna asked me to pass on her wishes… She left when Lillim mentioned a celebration. You should call and let her know you’re better.”

“I will, I just wish there was a way to get her here without picking a fight.” Carl mumbled.

“There may be soon… One good thing about Dracula, he creates the most spectacular distractions.” Lillim said with a hint of both mischief and conspiracy. “He can only feed on pure humans, which means his choices are slim and the most fruitful hunting ground j-”

“I’m not leveraging all my old classmates!” Carl shouted, unable to believe she even suggested it.

“What? No. Listen idiot and pray that enlightenment starts kicking in before my patience evaporates…” Lillim was clearly exasperated, interruptions were an annoyance she was not used to and their increasing frequency was alarming. “… Now sit there and listen until I have finished. I am suggesting you announce your situation, we know Leanna has been reporting back and they are likely to be growing concerned that you haven’t done so. Announce the faction, but to them only, announce your star and request formal alliance, with Leanna as a gesture of goodwill their end and valuable information on enemy movements.”

“You think that will work? The humans are over-zealous and may throw a wall of sacrifices at him to try and slow him down.”

“Not if we tell them we will accept people as refugees in case of an attack leaving their territory and with a unique defence network in place…”

“Shit. I forgot, just need to run and make Haven the safe place real quick.”

“Before you do. Please explain what that is.” Lillim turned suddenly demanding, the free pass he had been unknowingly given evaporating with its mention.

“It was the result of my plan when I went to face Margo. It will designate any single owned space as untouchable by the marked enemy and their allies, in this case… Margo.”

“How the hell did that come to be!?” Lillim roared suddenly, turning heads until Kyubi gestured for them to ignore her.

“I remember something about a spell I apparently made as a single-use…” Carl said, desperately trying not to lie in Bahamut’s presence. “Something about marking Margo with it… Sorry it seemed to all happen excruciatingly slowly and in an instant so some of it is pretty hard to believe myself.”

Lillim narrowed her eyes, which for all he knew were literally piercing his soul. “What did you call this spell?”

“G.. A…” Carl muttered reluctantly.

“Speak up!”

“Go Away…”

“Don’t you dare talk to me like that young man, now answer the question and stop stalling.”

“No, I named the spell “Go Away”, okay?” Everyone burst into laughter.

“Yep, that seems like Carl’s naming sense.” Klaire laughed.

“Indeed… Bahamut, did you sense any lies?” Lillim asked, a bit too sold for Carl’s liking.

“No. Though he himself doesn’t exactly seem to be sure of the truth, so it might be best to confirm its effectiveness with your “Analyse” ability if you haven’t already. Other than that, I do not sense anything out of place given the place involved.”

“Indeed, that realm is madness incarnate, I can’t imagine it changed for the better.”

“It hasn’t, it looked like a video game junkyard that attacked my sanity just seeing it.”

As they all chatted and the party continued, they slowly formed a plan of action over the coming weeks.

“So, before we do too much, we wait to see what rewards Carl gets from his completed missions, Klaire has been pretty adamant on completing her own mission as part of our alliance with the committee and finally we need to get the “Paradox Blackout” operating… Carl I don’t know how you want us to refer to her…”

“Carl, as your wife… It is uncanny how similar your naming conventions are, not trying to be insensitive, but really between “Go Away” and “Blackout Paradox” because it uses a paradox to cause a blackout, honestly it’s easy to see a resemblance.”

“Don’t forget “Tiamat” and “Bahamut”… She got those names fr-” Lillim was fighting to get the words out through laughter but the dragon’s dissatisfaction with the story made her stop out of courtesy.

With the plan rudimentary by design, leaving enough leeway to adapt to unknowns, Lillim suddenly told Carl and Klaire they were free to go.

“I barely said hello to my babies though…”

“Your “babies” will understand that parents need space. Carl, Klaire, I fully accept the situation we have put you in. Please let me give you a night alone as part-payment for all the hardship so far.”

“I already stated the price…” Klaire glared. “…If ten stars is needed to achieve it, that’s what I’ll get now we know we can.”

“Price?” Carl asked, confused by the discussion happening.

“Yes. Carl, when this is done, I want to leave this realm, one of our own with just us and our babies. Obvio-” She started clarify that she wasn’t making decisions for him, but he interrupted.

“Don’t worry Klaire, It sounds like what I had in mind too. I was forced to deal with it and not given so much as pre-warning, as a result I dragged all the people I care about into the thick of it… I’m only even helping because I have no choice. I can always come visit if I want, but honestly it isn’t lost on me that we will live forever whilst…”

Carl didn’t finish the thought, the surrounding grimaces of understanding revealing an all too accurate prediction of what he was going to say.

“Indeed, you will live and everyone who fails to reach that level won’t… That is why many of the immortals form strong opinions of one another, one way or the other. In short, they’re bored, just as I told you about Ishtar and Nergal’s family.”

“Well, if they come to our realm they’ll have a very private family… Anyway, I’m wasting this very precious time, goodnight everyone,” Klaire stood and bowed politely before leaving ahead of Carl.

Carl very quickly signed the document Lillim and Kyubi had been working on as they spoke for the alliance. “Thank you Bahamut, I look forward to working with you for the betterment of, well, everything. You can grant Blanc the locations of all worlds and the census of your dragon-kin as per my agreement with Tiamat, which you said you’d agree to.”

Bahamut’s mouth twitched and everyone burst into a fit of laughter. “Honestly Bahamut, why does this boy work you so easily?”

“It seems I’ve been out maneuvered again…” Bahamut growled.

“Sorry? I was pretty clear wasn’t I and they just summed exactly what I said earlier…”the same terms as Tiamat, specific stipulation to help with Dracula and the skill, that’s all.” Was that not what you meant?”

“Carl, please remember the dragons are proud, you playing him so wonderfully without effort only compounds the defeat. Bahamut, don’t take it to heart, you and I are alike in the sense we overthink things and that makes his tendency towards being vague a nightmare for us.” Lillim laughed.

“What you should be more concerned about is the fact that you took his words about creating more chimera’s to oppose him as a threat to you and not the enemy that was the topic of his conversation.” Tiamat purred.

“Err, not quite sure what I did, to “outmaneuver” you… Sorry, please enjoy your evening.”

As Carl excused himself, the mirth died in his absence. Not out of tragedy or further drama, but the immortal trio of Lillim, Kyubi and Faylorna began making plans for further training. “Sorry Alysse, Blanc and Gillian but your training needs to resume or you will fall behind.”

“Nah, no worries Lillim, I can feel the rust setting in already and I need to make sure my old man knows I’m not slacking… I want to get the progenitor on board to at some point, but I want to figure that out on my own if you don’t mind.”

“A goal? Good, it is a fine one to put your eyes on. If you need anything ask and we will assist. We will also train everyone else, well those members who still have the capacity to grow at least.” Lillim was visibly marking those present in the hall who had untapped potential.

[ FACTION WORLD HAVEN DESIGNATED AS SAFE LOCATION : NEITHER MARGO, NOR ANY SUBORDINATE OR INDIVIDUAL ACTING ON HIS BEHALF DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY MAY SET FOOT ON THE WORLD. CARL MAY ONLY SPEND SEVEN DAYS THERE AT ONE TIME. ]

“Idiot!” Lillim shrieked suddenly. “I knew he wasn’t telling us something.”

Lillim explained to the dragons what had been announced.

“So, he can’t hide himself there indefinitely…. That explains why it was within his powers to make and cast.”

“I swear if he tries to hide everyone there and fight alone I’ll burn the world myself and take the violation penalty. It wouldn’t be pretty, but I have no doubt that a Carl with nothing to lose would win in the end…”

“Lillim, please don’t threaten my kin so casually…” Faylorna warned, carefully but unable to refrain from doing so.

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