FVN Chapter 669: Council of Cremont (Start of Book 13)
Chapter 669: Council of Cremont (Start of Book 13)
Chapter 669: Council of Cremont (Start of Book 13)
669. Council of Cremont
“It is almost time.”
The voice rumbled, shaking the throne room. Every single one of the gathered figures bowed deeply as Regnorex drew back from the ornate balcony. Far behind him, the backdrop of a dark storm played, covering the scarlet dome of the Netherworld.
The Demon King continued as he strode up to his throne.
“Soon, the Cycle of Advent will once again begin. But this time, Genesis will not come.”
He settled into his seat as he turned to his subjects. A pained expression crossed his face. It was the first change in emotion he had shown in many cycles. But not a single one of the Demons kneeling before him dared to raise their heads to meet his gaze and witness his moment of vulnerability.
Regnorex wouldn’t allow them. For a king must show strength when faced with his people.
“There will be no Desolation. There will be no death. There will be no new births— not in the Netherworld, any longer. For they shall be the brickstone which will be laid to pave our path to our eternal salvation.”
He wore a solemn face as he spoke. He did not find joy in killing his own people. They had suffered long enough. An eternity of damnation. An endless cycle of death and rebirth. However, Regnorex found solace in knowing that it was for the greater good.
That Demonkind shall be able to leave this hell once and for all.
“Oracli.”
Regnorex spoke, turning to face the Wisest of the Domain. Oracle raised his head, but didn’t meet the eyes of the Demon King.
“Have you confirmed the status of our future children?”
The Demon King asked the question simply. Oracle nodded and raised an orb, showing a scene from the Mortal Realm. Dark clouds were gathered above the Netherfied Lands— far fewer clouds than in the Netherworld, but they were present nonetheless.
“I have, indeed, my King.”
Oracli replied as he lowered the orb.
“The next generation of our people shall be birthed in our new home, and they shall be unaffected by the sacrificial ritual that is to come.”
“They are few, but they will eventually become many.”
Regnorex shook his head as he turned towards the dark clouds in the distance— in the Netherworld. His heart ached, knowing that those children would never have the chance to truly live. However, knowing what awaited them— both Desolation and the Revelation— only further entrenched the Demon King in his beliefs.
“Soon, Demonkind shall know peace.”
Regnorex’s eyes fluttered shut as he continued in a soft whisper.
“Soon, my dreams shall be achieved.”
It had been a month since the rifts closed up across the skies of the Netherfied Lands.
A whole month had passed with tens of thousands of Demons and thousands of high-leveled Demons converging at the center of the region that had once been the Inoria Empire and the Elutra Kingdom. It was a strange anomaly. Now, Demons no longer poured from the Netherworld to the Mortal Realm at random. Instead, a dark cloud hung overhead.
It cast a shadow over the entirety of the skies around the Netherfied Lands.
When Edithe Dawnrise had first seen this strange sight, she had wondered what it could have been. It didn’t make any sense to her. But what else she saw was obvious to her. That the Demons were acting erratic around that black cloud. That the Primeval Demon that had crossed through to the Mortal Realm had occasionally taken to the skies and circled around the dark cloud.
There was something else to this black cloud. And while Edithe herself didn’t exactly know what it was, she knew that the adventurer companies that were exterminating the Demons there weren’t well-equipped enough to deal with it.
That was why she had sought out the help of others. That was why she had gone to the Council of Cremont to seek out the aid of the temples. The [Priests] who communicated with the Spirit Plane. The [Crusaders] who exterminated Demons.
As a child who grew up under the influence of the Sanctum of Elements— one of the three denominations of temples that were out there— she believed that she’d be able to turn to them for help. But what she was met with was...
“The Council of Cremont refuses to offer aid to the adventurer companies in the Netherfied Lands.”
But Edithe didn’t want to give up just yet.
The United Coalition of the Human Lands was formed for a reason. Because even though there was no Immortal King Alexander to unite them, Humankind still could work together to defeat their enemies.
At the very least, that was what was agreed upon during the formation of the United Coalition of the Human Lands.
But that didn’t seem to be the case any longer.
“I just don’t get it...”
Edithe sighed as the two of them approached a flaming figure waiting for them a mile away from the Council of Cremont.
“They didn’t even give us a reason. Like, I would understand if they at least explained why they refused to help us.”
“Other than the obvious fact that the Netherfied Lands poses no immediate threat to them?”
Faith spoke up, placing her hand on her chin. She regarded the flaming figure waiting for them as she continued.
“I think the fact that you’re friends with her plays a part in their decision too.”
Edithe pursed her lips as she faced the flaming figure that was waiting for them. In response, the figure just tilted her head back at them. What the two women stared at wasn’t... a person, per se. Although, technically, it was a person too?
It was complicated. Because the flaming figure was technically just a copy of a real person. But she behaved like a real person too.
She was the Salvos clone— the very same one that had stayed behind in the Mortal Realm when Salvos left for the Netherworld. And she had been the one to transport both Edithe and Faith from the Netherfied Lands to here in the Council of Cremont.
But the [Crusaders] that guarded the area would have attacked Salvos on sight. Even if she was a clone. So they landed far enough away for her to not be spotted. The Salvos clone waved a hand and smiled as the two women stared at her.
“Yes?”
The Salvos clone asked curiously. Edithe chewed her lower lip, before turning to Faith.
“While that is a possibility, I think it’s even more ridiculous that they’re refusing to offer us aid for such a petty reason.”
Edithe shook her head, and Faith nodded.
“I agree. But such is the way of politics.”
“It’s fucking stupid.”
“It really is.”
The Salvos clone just stared at them quizzically as they both sighed. Edithe raised her head and looked towards the horizon in the distance. She recalled the dark clouds that were gathering in the Netherfied Lands.
“Our only saving grace is the fact that so far nothing else has happened since the rifts have closed.”
She spoke in a whisper. However, she wasn’t sure if that would remain the case forever. That was why she needed to return to Hadrian and the rest of the Valiant Dreamers Company.
But before she could direct the Salvos clone to send them back, her attention was drawn back to the Council of Cremont as she heard a bell tolling. Her brows snapped together as she saw a commotion break out in the front entrance of the building, with a large bell atop the structure repeatedly ringing in alarm.
“What is going on?”
Faith asked with a frown. Edithe narrowed her eyes, before she heard a voice shouting.
“Emergency! Emergency—”
A man ran up the steps of the Council of Cremont as he waved a piece of parchment above his head. And as Edithe processed his words, her eyes grew wide.
“Mavos Academy is under attack by the Matriach Centinel of the Bloodied Gulf! Headmaster Skyshredder calls for aid!”