While speaking with Vakra about what I would be doing in Lokan, I mentioned the situation at port Sagral.
He just laughed and said it would take a lot more than a false claim to start a war with Elysium.
Because even if another country attacked, Elysium wouldn't go to war unless they wanted to. They would just destroy the attacking force and be done with it.
I even learned from him that Elysium wasn't interested in using the legendary heart stones to power their machines and technology.
They had incredible power, but were highly unstable. He planned to give the Heart of the Deep back to us once he had finished running tests on it.
Vakra also told me something about their plans.
Elysium wouldn't actually do Lokan the favor of declaring war on them to let them know of a coming attack.
They planned to just show up with a few ships and start attacking.
Lokan was a country infested with criminals and degenerates. Slavery, prostitution, sex trafficking, violence, and the like. They were very common.
Elysium didn't have a lot to say in terms of good nature, but still didn't like their attitude towards Vakra's naval movements and activities. It was more of a personal grudge because of the country's conduct as well as an assertion of absolute dominance. In short, Elysium wanted freedom to act in any way they pleased while fighting the Corruption. For this, they would get rid of the biggest thorn in their side.
Lastly, Vakra mentioned that Rastair had obtained Elysium citizenship and had apparently planned on joining the fight with The Leviathan as an Elysium warship.
It was faster than any of the advanced warships made by Elysium and could hit extremely hard.
Vakra told me that I wouldn't be on that ship, but that I might be working with Rastair at some point.
She was made aware of our current strength. She was both terrified and happy as a result.
A few days later, I was placed on a ship with Vakra.
* * *
Adoring resonance began to fade even more as I left Elysium... My heart sank... Or...it felt like it, as I got further away from Isabella.
Soon we would start fighting...and that meant lots of death.
I was about to kill a lot more people.
The particular coast of Elysium that we departed from was fairly close to Lokan. Our point of attack would be another port.
Leiso, Jallah, and Rune were here as well.
I began spending a lot more time around the three of them because I didn't know the soldiers and I didn't care to.
Besides, they were afraid of me.
They heard the stories of Vakra's experiments with Isabella and me...and they saw footage of what I was capable of.
Troop morale was through the roof because of my presence. If anything, they were only here to offer slight support and to deal with civilians. I would personally be handling the combat-related things.
My three companions approached me with nervous smiles on their faces.
"Mizik...you're really crazy, you know?" Jallah said.
"I agree. Such power is unheard of. You might even rival Iris, herself," Leiso said.
"I'm sure you've heard it plenty of times by now, but im glad you're on our side..." Rune said.
"Can you all still feel the magic surrounding me?" I asked.
"We can. Vakra managed to cure our magic sickness," Leiso said.
"Magic sickness...?" I asked.
"It's what causes people who aren't compatible with magic to get sick from it. We still can't use it, but we won't be affected by it anymore," Jallah said.
"Good. Because you'll be seeing a lot of it soon," I said.
"Mizik, are you bothered by having to kill so many people?" Leiso asked.
"I stopped letting such things bother me. Besides, if I'm going to kill Difar, I have to be ready to take any lives that stand in my way. Currently, the entirety of Lokan is in my way."
"Just don't let your revenge quest consume you...okay, man?" Jallah said as he put his hand on my shoulder.
"Jallah...you, Leiso, Rune, and Carlos are some of the only friends we have left. Promise me that you'll stand by until the end. And if I lose myself...set me straight," I said.
"You won't lose yourself. You have too many good people supporting you. And don't worry, we'll always be here for you," Rune said with a smile.
"Thank you all. I promise we'll avenge Ignitus," I said.
"Of course we will. We've got the best damn Enforcers that ever lived!" Jallah said with a smile.
"Right. We have you two and Carlos. As well as the most powerful Attendant," I said.
"I meant you and Isabella! And she's...kind of the only Attendant at this point, right? I don't think she wants a default victory... Right, Rune?"
"Of course not! But...I'll still take it..." She said with a solemn look.
"Let's just focus on the mission ahead of us, alright?" Leiso said.
"Yeah. We have a war to fight..." I said.
* * *
A week later, I saw the port that we would be attacking.
"Kick some ass, Warmage. Don't worry about Isabella, either. Carlos promised to look after her, okay?" Jallah said.
Truthfully I wasn't worried about her at all.
Jarbold couldn't control her because of Cassandra and her presence meant he had to be careful...
I was just pissed about not having her here.
Still...it was a nice gesture.
"Mizik, burn that city to the ground and secure a landing zone," Vakra said.
I looked at him.
"Can I just obliterate it?" I asked.
"You may not! That blast would destroy our ships and decimate our forces!" Vakra said angrily.
I could see both Jallah and Leiso trying to keep themselves from laughing.
The 'Battle' of Port Davis began with the complete ahnihilation of an entire port city. The shockwave alone would have sank half of the fleet and Isabella prevented it from doing so.
If she were here, this wouldn't be a problem at all.
"I'll get a small craft ready for you to land. Hold on a moment for-"
"No need. I'll just fly," I said.
"F...fly!?" Vakra said.
I pulled out Vengeance and activated dual wield, then approached the edge of the ship.
"Flames of rage," I said.
I was engulfed in emerald flames and made them to form demonic wings on my back.
The crew members all gasped in shock as I flapped my wings and flew up into the air.
The wings were just cosmetic, mind you. I was using magic to fly.
Flying felt good...but I probably wouldn't do it unless I was fighting or scouting. I still preferred walking.
Regardless, I flew across the sky until I found myself above the port.
So many people... They're looking at me and pointing. I'll kill them all. I'll burn everything to the ground so that I can kill Difar...
I raised my sword and fired a beam of magic into the air. The sky changed and rain began to pour down. Eventually, lightning began striking rapidly. Arcane lightning that caused explosions wherever it landed.
Then...I swung my flaming swords down and engulfed half of the city in emerald flames.
The people were screaming and running away as I purposely crashed into the ground.
All around me people were running in terror as I set the area ablaze with my flames.
My status menu glitched red again...
{Kill them all.}
Burn it down.}
Yes...they will die. Everything will burn.
I silently wondered why I had never bothered to tell Isabella about my seemingly-broken status menu. But then remembered that it would only cause her to worry. On top of the potential for other people to not believe me and assume I was either crazy or making it up.
Still, it didn't matter. Maybe I was the crazy one? Maybe it was a figment of my imagination... But then again, why did it make me feel so angry when I saw those words? And why was it that I couldn't seem to remember the reason I was so angry about seeing those exact words?
Regardless, now was not the time for me to be so casually lost in thought.
I walked calmly through the streets and was eventually faced with a group of guards. They were terrified, yet they still tried to stand up to me.
"Wh-wh-what are you!?!? STATE YOUR IDENTITY!!!" One of the men shouted.
"Does it matter? Do you think you'll live long enough to tell anyone about me?" I asked.
They looked fearfully at one another and stood strong.
"Fine...I am Mizik Iratus, The Emerald Demon of Elysium. We are declaring war on Lokan," I said.
At that moment, one of the men threw down his weapon ran away at full speed.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU DAMN COWARD!!!" One of the men, appearing to be a captain, shouted.
"Oh well. Goodbye," I said.
I swung my swords down and destroyed everything in front of me.
Then I began exterminating all of the guards and military soldiers I could find.
One of the guilds was located in this town and sent its adventurers after me. They might have had a small chance if I were still normal, but now...
I may as well have been a god to them.
Each of my sword strikes sent out a shockwave so powerful that it obliterated huge numbers of their forces instantly.
I was curious about something...
I activated Lethal Strikes and swung my sword again...
To my surprise, I could no longer feel the drain from using it. At the same time...
I destroyed several buildings in the process... Nevermind the people I was aiming at.
Is this what Difar feels like?
Once the guild and its people had been utterly annihilated, I continued on and raised my sword to the sky.
I fired a beam of magic into the air and rained down thousands of explosive flaming spears in the lands outside of the city.
I made them emerald green, too. If I was going to be some kind of Emerald Demon, I might as well go all the way with it.
Even if my favorite color was blue, anyway...
I continued my leisurely rampage until Vakra came over to me.
"THAT'S TOO MUCH!!! STOP BURNING EVERYTHING, DAMMIT!!!" He shouted angrily.
I waved my sword and dispersed all of my spells. Including the flames.
"You told me to burn it down, so I did. Is there a problem?" I asked.
"I...hoped that you would hold back a little more..." Vakra said.
What is this guy talking about? I WAS holding back. I can't help it at this point.
"Point me where you want me to go next and I'll take care of it," I said.
"If you keep up this pace, we wont be able to follow. Are you expecting to take over the entire country in a couple of days? Do you know how big Lokan is!?" Vakra said.
"I don't care, Vakra. I just want to get back to Isabella. If you need me to destroy all of the military and government bases, I will. Actually...I think I'll do just that..." I said.
"Ugh...you're unbelievable... What have I done...? I've made a damn monster..." Vakra said.
It was ironic for him to say that. Currently he was speaking to me as a skeleton and not wearing his mask.
"Right...I'll just take care of the rest. No need to worry yourself over me," I said.
I had no intention of prolonging this stupid campaign.
Although I knew the Corruption would likely use this opportunity to collect bodies to make soldiers. There were already so many of them...
I wanted to go back to Elysium as quickly as possible. And at that moment, I saw The Leviathan pull into port.
Rastair was standing up and looking over at the destruction over the city.
After that, Iris appeared next to me.
"There you go destroying everything, again! You keep making trouble for me, Mizik!" Iris said angrily.
"I'm just following orders, Iris. Tell the gods to get off of my case," I said.
"Who's orders!? Who ordered you to destroy an entire port!?" Iris asked.
I pointed at Vakra.
She rolled ger eyes.
"Ugh...really!? Why!?" Iris asked.
"Because he owes me for saving his life. The Emperor wants to end conflict with these people so that we have freedom to fight the Corruption. Because of that...he started a war on the Advisor's words," Vakra said.
"I'll tell the gods that, then... Hopefully, they'll stop bothering me now..." Iris said.
Before she disappeared, I tapped her shoulder.
"Hm? Need something, Mizik?" She asked.
Then I used psychokinesis to grab Rastair from the ship and pulled her...while she flailed and shouted... Over here.
"AHHHH!! WHAT'S GOING ON!?!?" Rastair shouted.
I set her down and she looked at me.
Then her expression changed.
"Oh...finally taking me up on my offer since Isabella isn't here...?" She said.
"No, you giant pervert! This is Iris, the goddess of balance. Iris, can you make her an attendant?" I asked.
"Eh...? A...real goddess...?" Rastair said.
Iris looked at Rastair and then back at me.
"Umm...why?" Iris asked.
"We promised her immortality for helping us. We owe her our lives," I said.
"Oh...okay. I'll see what I can do..." Iris said.
"OH MY GODS, A REAL GODDESS!!! Hello! I'm Rastair! I'm a Pirate Queen!" She said.
Iris just looked up at her and glared at Rastair's equally large chest.
Iris was not only flat as a wall, but also fairly short...at around 5'2...
"Good for you...?" Iris said.
"Eh...? Are you okay?" Rastair asked.
"JUST BEND DOWN SO I CAN TAP YOUR HEART!" Iris shouted angrily.
"Y-yes ma'am!" Rastair said.
She bent down and Iris tapped Rastair's heart.
Then she frowned.
"Umm...you have no compatibility. Like none at all... Actually, it's more like you have negative compatibility," Iris said.
"Compatibility...?"
"It means if I tried to make you an Attendant, you could die. No...you would definitely die. Sorry, but I can't help you. Mizik will have to find another way. Until then, I have work to do. Bye, " Iris said.
Then she just...left...
"NOOOOO! I DON'T WANT TO GROW OLD AND GROSS!!!!" Rastair shouted.
"Hmm...perhaps I could help?" Vakra said.
Rastair looked hopefully at Vakra.
"If I implanted a normal heart stone in your chest with the containment unit, Mizik could transfer your soul to it. Then you would likely cease to age. Only if you want, however. And you'll have to wait until we get back to Elysi-"
"YES!!! PLEASE!!!" Rastair shouted.
"I may also...demand a payment..." Vakra said with a chuckle.
"Ooooh...anything for you, bony man~!" Rastair said with a wink.
"Yeah... I'm going to go kill some people. If you need me, come find me, Vakra," I said.
As I walked away, I heard Vakra shout at me.
"WAIT!!! Don't just go off on your own!!" Vakra shouted.
I waved back at him and flew into the air.
Flight magic was complicated. I didn't like using it.
A combination of gravity and wind magic combined with psychokinesis allowed me to have full control over my body in the air. It didn't feel as sharp as my movements on the ground, however. I would need to practice.
In the future, I probably wouldn't use it to fight unless it was absolutely necessary.
The Archmage had the quirk of breaking down magic into its basic forms. This was its greatest strength and its greatest weakness.
In short, it was complexity. I could build more powerful spells from the ground up, but even simple spells became complicated.
As I positioned myself in the air, I couldn't help but wonder if Vengeance would end a world if he somehow got control over my body, again.
From what Isabella told me about the way I fought, it was like watching a Demon Lord in the midst of battle.
As I remained in the air, I looked down and saw many of the soldiers looking fearfully up at me.
You have nothing to fear unless you cross me.