We began by taking directions from the Artificer.
The first task at hand was to catch up to Difar's reign of terror. So naturally, we started with all of the worlds that were already doomed.
We destroyed a large number of doomed worlds to start with. After that, we made it our goal to ensure that the Corruption couldn't claim any more worlds.
However, since worlds with thin animus barriers were not easy to save, most of the doomed worlds were like that.
And unfortunately, we couldn't be everywhere at once. We still lost several worlds...much to my delight. I even destroyed a few that could have been saved just to prove a point to the intolerant people living there.
Of course, Difar took notice immediately and tried to stop us.
We laughed in his face as I siphoned the world we stood on.
From that moment on, we destroyed every world we found him in.
He became so angry that he had to depart for the Abyss.
After all, he still wanted to make an example out of me and wouldn't fight until I personally challenged him.
I considered it a blessing that he was stupid enough to let his pride get in the way of his conquest.
Regardless, we had done plenty to slow his advance at this point.
On another note, I learned the importance of taking breaks. When we had time for it, we would relax on safe worlds that we had saved already as a means of winding down from battles.
It was important to make the distinction that these worlds were considered safe by us even if the locals didn't really see it that way.
This was because our power was so immense that most of the people in these worlds could never reach our level. After all...even the gods were terrified of me.
But my power still had room to grow. And regarding that, another issue arose almost immediately after we began our journey. The problem of leveling.
We leveled slowly, and eventually ground to a halt.
Even destroying three worlds and saving two from Corruption only yielded about two levels.
The problem was the exp table requiring significantly more power to advance us to the next stage.
I spent about three years attempting to crack the equation to fix this. And it was only possible thanks to Isabella and Carlos.
Seriously, those two were geniuses.
The solution didn't fix the table, since that specific part was unable to change.
Instead, using complicated math as well as the Archmage, I was able to funnel and calculate all gained exp through a specialized magic system that exponentially multiplied the amount of spectral energy derived from killing things and gaining exp.
We now gained exp based on our level. This meant that our levels always increased at the same rate. Now we could advance at a steady enough pace that wouldn't overload us while continuously gaining power over time.
And because we had already spent so much time together, all of us onboard this ship had become close. We were a family unlike any other, giving absolute trust.
Isabella, Cassandra, and I had grown extremely close.
Masina and Stella as well. They were lovely concubines that served me well on the field and in other things.
Masina had been invaluable with her assistance on many worlds. She could enter the divine spaces and speak to the gods residing above those worlds to ensure that our work wouldn't be disturbed.
At times, some of these gods would still try to interfere. After all, word of the Destroyer's conquest had reached many ears.
They were slain without hesitation and their worlds were destroyed. Eventually, they stopped bothering us.
In other worlds, we found horrors that were enough to drive some people mad.
Some people. Not me.
I had already seen far worse.
Many times, we would camp out on the surface of these worlds to get an idea of their current situation. Usually, that team would be me, Isabella, Cassandra, and Masina or Stella. Rarely would anyone else be chosen as an advance force.
Among the chaos and destruction, we could also help people to a degree as well if we saw fit.
I took one opportunity to help a hero that reminded me of myself. I took the time to train him. He was a hero in a world nearly consumed by Corruption. Sadly...we were too late. I had to siphon the world in order to save its people. And the hero decided not to be evacuated.
I killed several Demon Lords as well. Even a few royals. At the same time, I had also killed several gods like Novak who wanted to enslave the people they were supposed to be watching over.
It was nice to do good, sometimes...
And of course, the search for the Deus Arms continued. Unfortunately, we hadn't found a single one. It seemed like Difar was being careful to not lose them after we killed several Generals on Delvandal.
Finding them was one of our top priorities.
Perhaps our greatest failure so far, was the inability to find someone powerful enough to use creation magic against Valtheim.
Stella could use it with Faith and had even unlocked the fourth form of it...but it wouldn't be enough to kill Valtheim. She was too powerful. Instead, Stella had been assigned to repel Valtheim's attacks and keep her away.
Because Stella could still disperse Valtheim's remote form.
Regardless, we would still need someone of even greater power capable of using near-limitless creation magic.
A lot of time had passed, but we hadn't found a true solution to some of these problems. It was maddening, although we had no choice but to continue onward anyway.
Currently, all of us were en route to another destination.
I wasn't entirely sure of what my own age was at this point, but I was likely close to 60 years old.
Still, this would just be a routine check on a random world. The Artificer marked it as a potential problem, but with a very low priority.
We had slowed the progress of the Corruption significantly. Now Difar was wary of just throwing his fragments into other worlds where they could be detected and easily destroyed.
As we moved, I felt the Artificer speaking to me again as he had many times before.
[Destroyer, your presence is requested in Excelsis.]
Why? I'm working, here. What do you need?
[I will say only that you need to speak with the new Oracle. Please come immediately or whenever is most convenient.]
The mention of this meant Johann had returned. I was already very eager to see him again.
"Virtus, connect us to the Excelsis anchor. Transfer the ship immediately." I said.
"Yes sir! I am more than happy to help my friend, the Captain! Who, might I add, is definitely just a good friend and nothing more!" Virtus said.
"WE GET IT! JUST TRANSFER US!"
"YES SIR!!!" Virtus shouted.
Honestly...she's way too pure...
The Cursebreaker shook slightly and we all felt the anchors connect to the underside. Then the ship was pulled through.
* * *
As we were lowered through the portal, the familiar sight of Excelsis came into view.
Over the several years the Artificer had been in power, he managed to turn Excelsis into a hyper-advanced mega-city.
Lately, however, he had been going back-and-forth between here and Dominus. His original realm.
"What's going on, Mizik?" Isabella asked curiously.
"Seems like you-know-who is back. They made him the new Oracle," I said.
I saw Cassandra smile. She seemed quite content to hear this.
"Oh, how wonderful. He will be much more competent as an ally than that Artificer," She said.
"Everyone, I'll be back. I have to go see an old friend. Enforcers, feel free to meet with Iris. If anyone wants to take a day off, we can stay in Excelsis for a short while," I said.
The words coming out of my mouth were something I would never have said twenty years ago. But if I worked everyone to death, they would go crazy and end up hating me.
Not necessarily in that order, either.
Regardless, I grabbed the two girls' arms. Then I teleported us to the secret room within the Artificer's temple.
Immediately, I walked out of the room and Isabella got into position at my front.
Cassandra took her place behind me.
We walked over to the escalator that had been put in place instead of the stairs leading up to the main temple area.
Once we reached the top, I kicked the doors open and walked into the room.
What I saw was an odd sight...
I saw the Artificer conversing with a man wearing a white robe.
It was beautifully decorated with colors of gold and red.
On his back, were wings made of crimson energy.
He had a veil over his face, but I could see that he had white hair adorned with horns of the same type of energy as his wings.
"What's going on here?" I said simply as Isabella once again stepped in front of me.
"Ah. How nice of you to join us, Destroyer. Please get reacquainted. The Oracle would like to speak with you. I will return shortly," the Artificer said.
Then he bowed his head as a machine appeared at his feet and teleported him away.
The white-haired man sat down on the Oracle's throne and seemed to stiffen up.
Johann...?
"Ah...h-hey! Umm..."
I walked straight up to him and tilted me head.
"Where is the new Oracle?" I asked.
"H-he's me...I guess..."
"So it really is you..." I said.
He pulled the veil off of his face and looked at us with his own eyes.
His eyes seemed to almost sparkle like rubies. I could see markings in his eyes like a reptile.
"Greetings, Johann," Cassandra said.
"Hey Cassandra... Ah... Seems like I'm really the Oracle now..."
"Why are your eyes open, then? Aren't you supposed to keep them closed?" I asked.
"When you can see everything regardless of whether or not they're open, it feels wrong. Kind of creepy, actually. I'm worried about looking like an old man if I keep them shut for too long as well... But that's why I wear a veil over my face. It let's me see normally. I've only been awake for a few days and I'm still getting used to this..."
I wasn't exactly sure if that was how the Oracle's eyes worked, but...
Well, that answers that...
"Hey, I'm just glad that I can be of help to you. I only accepted this role because I wanted to help destroy the Corruption. But...I have to ask..."
"Iris doesn't know. We never told her and I feigned ignorance the entire time. Although...she misses you."
He looked down when he heard my words.
"She's been wondering for a long time where you went, Johann."
"I don't want her to know. I'm not Johann anymore, I'm the Oracle."
"Why? Do you have any idea how much she misses you?" I said.
Twenty years had passed in Excelsis since the last time Iris saw Johann.
For us, it had been slightly longer. Travelling across creation had likely caused us to forget how long we were out.
Regardless, the times we saw Iris were depressing...
We were instructed by the Artificer not to tell anyone about the soon-to-be Oracle due to the potential to cause a rebellion in Excelsis. They were still upset about the previous Oracle's crimes. And many had lost worlds in recent years as a result of said crimes.
Because of yours truly, of course.
Regardless, Iris was wracked with grief. She believed Johann to be truly dead.
Her greatest friend in all of creation...now lost to some unknown enemy or world.
Johann sighed.
"I...have a pretty good idea... I don't want to see her suffer... It hurts my heart to see the woman I love go through something like that..." He said.
"Maybe you should let her know that you're alive, Johann," Isabella said.
He shook his head.
"My duty has to come first... Anyway, when did you two..."
"Split? My darling did that for us. Shortly after you left, Mizik made the Oracle pay in front of everyone. Then, using Vakra's power, we managed to find a temporary workaround to Mizik's curse. He split us and made me a new body!" Cassandra said happily.
"That's pretty amazing! Your power really is something, Mizik. And hey...Iris isn't still being bullied, is she?" Johann said.
"Since she's one of my allies, people are more afraid of her than anything else. Also, Masina isn't a problem anymore, if that's what you're asking," I said.
"Please don't tell me you killed her. She was a horrible woman, but she didn't deserve that."
"Relax. I didn't kill her. I dominated her mind and rewrote her memories. She serves me as a concubine under the guise of being the Iratus clan's patron goddess."
Johann froze for a moment, then sighed.
"Somehow, that's probably worse. You're a terrifying enemy, you know that? No wonder they call you the Destroyer. Oh well...my purpose is to watch over Excelsis and serve you the best way I can."
"Can you locate Corruption?"
"The Artificer showed me what to look for. I'll do my best to help out. He gave me a run-down of the situation already, too. You've been working hard at this war," Johann said as he placed the veil back on his face. His wings and horns disappeared as well.
"It's my job. I would be lying if I said I wanted to do this, but I'm the only one with enough power to fight against Difar."
Suddenly, the doors opened to the throne room.
I turned around and saw Iris.
Oh great...