Athelei used Shop to transport his huge haul of Emerald Essence Peaches a few kilometres with every usage. He used his fog like this as he flew and inched his way forward until he caught up with the marching High Orc army.
At the rate they were now going, the next kingdom-city would appear before them in two days.
Athelei decided to use this time to enjoy the fruit that crafted myths.
Crunch!
Juice flowed into Athelei's small mouth as he bit into the peach that was bigger than his head. An indescribably wondrous feeling gripped at his mind, as he longed to consume more of the fruit.
With every bite he took, the sweet fragrance assaulted his nostrils, and a spark of mania grew within his mind. Athelei indulged himself in the growing, ravenous insanity as he relished in the wonderful flavour of the Emerald-Essence Peach in his hands.
'...I can see why those beasts went crazy after one fruit.' Athelei licked his lips as he thought.
Energy flowed into him, allowing his eyes to see clearly in the darkness. It was an ability rather similar to his grey-scaled vision, but with Dark Vision, splotches of colour still existed here and there wherever a small orb of light shone.
Bioluminescent beasts had also become very easy to observe now. He could see their bodies, and not just have to watch their glowing body parts.
A subtle green light loomed in the depths of his eyes. A rather special Mystic Pattern was engraved inside that light, only visible to those with microscopic sight.
'What should I do with the rest?' As per the routine, Athelei transported his remaining eighteen Emerald-Essence Fruits to the wisps of fog he had sent ahead of him.
He recalled Hilvar, and how the monster was at the peak of Rank 3—one of the strongest existences he had ever seen. The former Orc had the skill and strength to heavily damage the main government of a weaker human country singlehandedly.
Now, Hilvar was a High Orc. Just how much did he grow?
'...Should I give some away to the Ogres to even the playing field?' A playful chuckle left the angel's lips. 'After all, if the Orcs are invaded as well, then I get more snacks...'
Athelei weighed such an idea in his mind as he watched the High Orc army from afar. Things might just get spicy if he did something like that.
'I could research the way the Ogres turn into Magi too...'
.
.
.
It has now been a few days since the events at the Emerald Tree.
Cricket was a Greater Goblin assigned to watching Arabi's walls. He was a guard who only had three tamed beasts, namely, a Coldstone Bull, a Heavy Spider, and a Sandscale Wolf. They were his long time companions in this dreary kingdom-city.
Not much happened in his parts, and his time consisted of training his beasts, guarding the walls, eating, and sleeping. He did nothing else as he kept repeating this cycle.
Over and over and over again.
"An enemy...?"
Cricket saw an Orc emerge from the Baneful Shroud. For a second, the thought of an enemy failed to fully register in his head.
But then that one Orc was followed by hundreds more. The sound of their marching shook the earth, as immense auras exuded from their powerful bodies.
"Invaders!"
Cricket managed to pull himself together from the shock. He roared with all his desperate might.
"ORCS!"
What happened next became a blur to the Greater Goblin. The Orc at the very front of the army yelled, shaking dust off of those who heard his voice. Cricket heard something about a duel, but he knew that no goblin would dare do battle with an Orc one on one.
Thus, silence descended after the Orc's words. Then, the Orc laughed, as his eyes seemed to gleam with ridicule.
Before Cricket knew what was happening, arrows longer than he was tall were raining from the sky. The beasts at his side found themselves skewered into the stones all around them. He heard the sad cries of his long-time companions.
He saw the pain in their eyes and heard their tormented moans. Every time they struggled, their wounds got worse. Cricket wanted them to stop moving, but he knew that such words were futile.
Another volley was on its way.
Cricket suddenly found an arrow pierced through his chest.
"Ugh..." Blood bubbled up his throat as he attempted to breathe in gulps of air. He was choking on his own blood as his body gave up on him.
The iron arrow was too much for his goblin stature.
Cricket collapsed.
An Orc had already climbed its way up to his part of the wall. The light in its eyes gleamed of a warrior's conviction as it swung its sword.
Shiiiing!
Cricket suddenly saw a different world. He was in the sky, flying above the sudden arrival of chaos. Orcs were swarming up Arabi's walls.
He saw their physique, and he noticed their auras.
'No... way...' He sluggishly thought, 'High... Orcs..?'
And then there was darkness.
Cricket heard the laughter of a human child of the legends. It was cheerful and void of any suffering.
He found himself in yet another world. This one was endlessly vast, with no visible borders in sight. A thick, devouring fog surrounded him.
He felt the fog suddenly bite at his being. Panic surged through his thoughts, as he felt the threat of death.
Cricket fought with everything he could. He kicked, punched, and flailed about despite realising his body had somehow disappeared.
But all that his thoughts were screaming was that he had to fight. It was in his instincts to survive.
The fog, however, seemed unaffected despite all he did. It crawled around him as an immense weight descended up his figurative shoulders.
"Urgh..." Cricket groaned in rage.
He did not want to die like this.
His soul was screaming at him.
"Hm?"
Cricket suddenly heard a high-pitched voice.
"You have detailed emotions..."
He felt a gaze pass through him, giving him chills.
"This should be the 2,149th unique event... The principle behind this is still so vague..."
Words were being spoken. It wasn't the Acivis that he knew, but he could somehow understand the thoughts behind such words.
Cricket wanted to speak up, but there was still an unimaginable pressure bearing down upon him. Although his anger had waned due to the shock he experienced from the voice that had spoken, the pressure did not.
It continued to squeeze him, and Cricket felt his thoughts fading away.
And then,
And then...
Cricket was no longer able to think.
His consciousness had been snuffed out.
.
.
.
In the physical world, Athelei watched as the High Orcs annihilated every beast and every goblin in a kingdom-city. One High Orc squad was enough for a number of Greater Goblins and dozens of beasts.
They were like butchers as they slew their livestock to prepare for a grand feast.
Clearly, with their newfound powers, the time it took for them to occupy a kingdom-city had dropped drastically.
And Athelei found a Stain of Existence at the top of a unique tower that lay right beside the kingdom-city's castle. He took the stain into himself and he felt his wings grow as images flashed into his mind.
His grey fog was further stained with black.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
=} Endbringer's Wings {=
Governance over History (First Pair): Fully Grown (5.7m Wingspan)
Governance over ??? (Second Pair): Infancy (0.6m Wingspan) -> (1.0m Wingspan)
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Athelei eyed that specific portion of his Status screen and smacked his lips in satisfaction,
"War really seems to be the most wonderful place for an Endbringer to grow—"
BOOOM!
A massive blast shook the entire kingdom-city, cutting off Athelei's next words.
An explosion had occurred in the central castle, and the angel watched as a large portion of the construct collapsed. Dust clouds burst out in a wave as High Orcs rushed towards the castle.
Athelei tilted his head as he took one look around the tower he was in, grabbed a beautiful opal-fitted ring from Libra only knows where, and dispersed into a grey fog with all his belongings.
That included the new item in his collection.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Mystical Ring
[ "Overseer's Opal Ring" ]
Durability: 6/10
Mana: 8/8
- [Active Effect: Clairvoyance] Allows the wearer to see far into the distance. Expends 2 [Mana] with each cast.
- [Passive Effect: Heightened Intuition] If the value of the wearer's [Psychic] attribute is under 100, +3 bonus attribute points. +1 to the [Psychic] attribute if otherwise.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
When he arrived at the castle, he watched a bruised Hilvar digging his way out of the rubble.
The High Orc was grumbling as other High Orcs climbed out after him. The others were bleeding in a few places, and even had broken bones.
Such injuries told of the strength of the mysterious explosion, making Athelei wonder what was beneath the castle. He seeped into the wreckage and searched.
It didn't take long for him to find a dark, spacious corridor.
"Another dungeon..." Athelei reassumed his physical body to save [Mana] and glanced around.
"But this one... this place... makes me feel sick..."
The angel's obsidian eyes flashed.
"I wonder why?"