He had seen this report several times before — the death of a god was not something that could simply be overlooked. But this was the first time he had truly noticed the names attached to it: Ethen Algar, Meng, Ni’an, the Martel family, the White Tower.
Barthalemew’s fingers tightened around the stone tablet as he stared at the information. The boy had already appeared in one god incident. Now there was another, and this time the god was dead.
"In more important news..." Swallowing his pride, Barthalemew looked back into the crowd with gritted teeth. "I would like to commend the people of the Dawn faction. Without them, we wouldn’t have achieved any of this." His voice carried throughout the hall.
"A grand thanks to the Martel family, White Tower, Ethen Algar, Meng, and Ni’an on slaying the Blood Serpent God."
This time, the crowd didn’t fall into silence. Instead, the entire hall erupted.
"The Blood Serpent God is dead?"
"Wait, that rumor is true?"
"It’s that kid again!"
"This has to be fake! It needs to be investigated!"
The crowd immediately went wild with speculation and accusations. The death of a god was no laughing matter — if one died, they would know. It was impossible for something of this magnitude to happen without the Bastion knowing about it. Yet here they were, being told that one of the gods of the Demi human territories had already been killed, and the name of one of their newest members was attached to it. Ethen simply sat there. He had expected this reaction.
"I can confirm that this piece of news is, in fact, true." Barthalemew raised his voice, silencing some of the commotion. "If you’d turn your attention to the screen."
The massive screen above the grand hall changed.
[Blood Serpent God Extermination Plan]
[Two primary operatives were sent for reconnaissance of the enemy, then a third was sent in as a decoy using the age-old blood debt with the Nezha family.]
[A group of angels were able to infiltrate the Demi human/beast territory.]
[There, they laid siege to the wounded Blood Serpent God and, with the help of the Tier 1 god Bark, were able to overcome it.]
The screen changed once again. Above them appeared the image of a colossal serpent, its enormous body lying motionless across the basin, surrounded by land dyed completely red by its own blood. The serpent was so massive that several structures could be seen resting beside its body like tiny pieces of debris. There was no denying it anymore. It really was the body of a god.
"They killed a god..." one person muttered. That was all. No one said another word.
The atmosphere within the grand hall became heavy. Even those who had been questioning the report moments ago were now staring at the screen with widened eyes. The Blood Serpent God had existed for an age, ruled over an entire clan, possessed enough power to make entire kingdoms wary of its existence. And now it was dead. Killed. The consequences of something like this would spread far beyond a single territory.
"Because of this, the Dawn faction is to be rewarded." Barthalemew finally spoke again, looking toward the representatives of the Dawn faction. "Thousand Beast Citadel will now be ceded to the Dawn faction for exploration."
A murmur immediately spread through the hall. Even Ethen had heard the name before — it wasn’t an ordinary location. For something like that to be handed over as a reward for killing a god, its value was obvious. After saying those words, Barthalemew returned to his seat. There was nothing more to say about the natter on locking
"Other business." This time, the person who walked toward the center of the hall was a young man with straight blonde hair and a scar over his left eye. The council continued, but Ethen’s attention had already shifted elsewhere.
He was sitting toward the side of the hall, quietly discussing something with Meng. They had just received a transmission from their handler, Ulric.
[Take the Thousand Beast Citadel]
Both of them stared at the message for several seconds. Neither knew exactly what the place was, but it was most definitely important for it to be considered a reward for killing a god.
Ethen leaned slightly toward Meng. "What do you think?"
Meng shrugged. "No idea."
That was probably the best answer. Neither of them had enough information yet.
A few hours later, the council finally ended. The hundreds of Bastion members began leaving the grand hall one after another, some discussing the reports, others speaking about the Blood Serpent God, several already talking about the Thousand Beast Citadel. But eventually, the hall emptied. Only Ethen, his friends and Ulric remained. The angel waited until the last of the members had left before turning toward them.
"The citadel is in a dungeon..." Ulric spoke as the group of five walked slowly behind him. Ethen’s brows rose slightly. A dungeon? That immediately made things more interesting.
Ulric continued walking. "Actually, you’re full members now, so I can tell you the whole truth." He glanced backward, giving the group a quick look. "Have you ever wondered why all the dungeons in the kingdom have similar skies?"
Ethen’s expression changed. Yes — most of the dungeons he had gone to typically had the same sky, different from the skies of the outside world. And although each dungeon could look completely different inside, that strange similarity had always been there. He had simply never thought too deeply about it. Now, however, Ulric was bringing it up.
"Yes." Ethen nodded.
"The reason is because all the dungeons are interconnected." Ulric paused. "In essence, they are the same place." The group slowed down. "Separated by miles."
Ethen’s eyes narrowed. The dungeons, the skies, the strange environments — all of them had always seemed like separate worlds. Yet according to Ulric, they weren’t. They were connected.
"We call it..." Ulric turned his head slightly. "The Nether Realm."
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