It had been a half-hour since Marcus got kidnapped by a bear.
It was running through the forest at a record-breaking speed and endurance. Marcus doubted that even the boss can't be able to keep up with this kind of ability.
it had him gripped between its jaws careful not to hurt him.
He tried wriggling out of its jaws but it slammed him into a tree with limited strength he immediately lost his consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time, Marcus felt himself being pulled into the void.
Once the painful journey ended he felt his spiritual body.
Some strange woman was standing in front of him. She was beautiful her hair colour was the white purest form of it. She was covered in some type of energy that covered her body like clothes that resembled the ancient greek style. It gave him a feeling that she was old maybe even ancient yet graceful and she had a motherly aura around her it immediately reminded him of Carla.
He was afraid he would never see her again. Slowly depressing took over his mind reminding him of his current predicament.
The soothing voice of the goddess-like woman rang in his ears like a melody.
"Don't worry my child you will be safe, that bear won't harm you but what comes after that will".
Listening to this Marcus was slightly surprised even Loki can't tell what his experiences or at least he chose not to speak anything about the happenings of his daily life. But, this woman was able to know his current predicament.
She read his emotions and understood what was going in his mind
"I know because I saw it my child. I am Anantra the embodiment of this world and wife of Loki and mother of the three calamities".
Marcus's nonexistent mouth dropped half afoot. He was confused 'Did she just say she is Anantra, wife of Loki and mother of three calamities, not just any calamity but the godly calamities that Loki gave birth to in other words Loki's children.
The woman confirmed, "yes my child I am indeed what you thought but, my husband Loki is an introvert so he might not have gone into deeper details".
He was confused 'Loki never mentioned that Anantra is his wife, he only said she was an ally
A question arose in Marcus 'Usually Loki calls me into void do something to my soul but where is he now?'
"He is busy avoiding suspicion from the Pantheon of Anantra so he entrusted me to a task to give aid to you and your associates in the other parts of this world".
Marcus wanted to feel irritation and agitation for not being able to even think without her knowing but unlike Loki, she had this aura around her that make her probably the most lovable female in the whole Anantra. He suspected if gods are indeed this beautiful then the rumoured goddess of lust should be sexy as hell.
Anantara's face slightly contorted "you humans always think about fleshly desires and you always think with your flesh instead of mind".
Marcus felt bashful due to his mistake.
"Ahem sorry Miss Anantra I was just... Ahem ". he tried to change the subject
" You said Loki wanted me to have something, what is it ?".
Anantra snapped out of her thoughts about humans being lecherous.
"yes, he said that something went wrong with you guys. He thought this was a successful experiment but after the transmigration, he noticed that there was an additional consciousness in you that has not fused completely it was like a blank piece then but if it is left alone it would use the information host feeds it and becomes a separate entity inside the host's body which causes either complete takeover or multipersonality disorder".
"ohh, so what did he do about it?". He asked.
"My husband is quite an intelligent person he thought of an extremely genius way of dealing with that residual intelligence of soul".
He listened patiently "He instead of erasing or dissecting that from you which has potential harm he in his own words programmed it and turned it into an interface. So that you guys can receive guidance from him directly and get strong as soon as possible and help release my children he names it System how capable !!!".
she was gleefully smiling while thinking of her husband who devised a plan that is quite applaudable. But, Marcus was trying to stop himself from cursing Loki who plagiarised many web novels and anime and games theme from the earth.
'that is what I was missing all these days a goddamned system that does not even leave me in my sleep, but it can be quite handy maybe I can find something from it that can help me get by this sudden situation'.
Anantra took a pause and said, "Boy remember I can listen to your thoughts". Marcus went silent immediately he did not dare think anything related to that but the intricacies of the mind are not easy to control.
she noticed his discomfort and continued with a requesting tone her smile ceased to exist. "I require your help but at the same time, I won't be able to help you much as the gods of this world are keeping a close eye on me so mostly we won't see each other for a long time. so be careful I will definitely repay your favour if you release my children with the tears of Anantra". Then she conjured some bright light in her palm and placed it in front of Marcus's forehead.
It slowly went into his head passing through his corporeal body and positioned itself in the centre of his skull. He expected it to bloom like a flower but it exploded like a cracker. The pain it caused was comparable to his journeys to the void. He slowly felt himself leaving the void the last thing he managed to register was Anantra saying "may fate guide you".
***
Meanwhile,
Marco ran through the dark forest while maintaining a constant speed. He knew that if he just ran with all he got only exhaustion awaited him. A half-hour has passed, the clouds still resided above their heads but they did not pour out anymore the rain has stopped which means it was easier to search for tracks on mud now. if not all the tracks would have been erased by the shower. He relayed the message to the castle and reported the current situation.
The other side of the contact was shocked beyond belief. As he was the one who received their intelligence previously but he forgot that the heir and bastard of the family were in that very squad. If something untoward happened to the heir consequences would be dire he cursed himself for not have ordered them to come back, at least send the young lord with an escort. but it was still night so even if he ordered his return they would have only turned back once it was dawn.
He made his way to the captain's cabin with shaky legs he knew that the creature in the forest is stronger than a 3rd stage beast from description and Baron would not leave his only heir in the forest even if it means his eventual death if things go wrong from the confrontation.
His mind was weaving all sorts of potential consequences. he also heard of rumours about some enemy families eying to encroach on the Corinth barony.
Within minutes he stood in front of the baron's office. There was a serious discussion going on between Baron and Knight Derma. But only murmurs were audible due to the thickness of the door. He unwittingly knocked on the door.
The serious voice of Baron answered, "What is it?".
***
one hour later,
The Castle gates have opened, a company of hundred soldiers came out and 10 among them were raiding on horses and even knight Derma and Baron were on the front of the company leading them out.
They all wore chainmail and leather armours made of animal skin and dyed brown.
Only a few who accomplished something were wearing plate armour but they were not knights they were only highly experienced soldiers. Traditions here differed from the earth's medieval knights where only knights and nobility wore armours. Here an experienced soldier can buy metal armour as long as he lives past the initial turmoil life of a rookie soldier and earn credits and exchange them for armour.
The company that took off to the forests is primarily made up of experienced soldiers who have just faced off against half the horrors of the outer forest. Which in other words means they are rookies when pitted against the higher levelled beings. And if they were to fight with that bear then casualties are bound to happen. But this was the best they can muster for now as the cream of their soldiers were annihilated in the previous beast horde. And the forests have been unusually peaceful these past few years. So the crop of soldiers this time is not of the best quality.