Astrum Irae

Just as Rigel was completing the ritual, in Fort Crusade a shocking development occurred. A squad that was lead by Gilgamesh with Elric in it arrived at the riverbed.

"Hurry! This is where the commander said he'd be if he wasn't back in 12 hours!" Gilgamesh was frantically commanding the troops to pick up the pace.

"Where, where is he?"

"Lord commander!"

"Commander!"

The group closed in on a tree with a figure slumped over himself sat up against the base.

Many were horrified to discover the grievous wounds plaguing his legs- wounds so bad that even some experienced soldiers felt a bit nauseous. Flies had long since indulged themselves on the rotten flesh, the reeking stench reaching out to all in the area. Only the shallow, light burns had dried up and scabbed over, whereas the 3rd-degree burns were encompassed by nothing but rotting flesh, host to a myriad of flies and some freshly hatched, wriggling maggots eating their fill.

"Oh, NO! God, why?!" Gilgamesh collapsed next to the pale figure, unable to contain his emotions at all. His relationship with the commander wasn't comparable to that of Syfeid's, but he still was mentally unprepared by the seemingly sudden loss of their leader, their idol.

Suddenly, the commander started hacking and coughing.

"I'm not dead yet, just taking a little nap. Damn that bastard Rigel - he's insane. As far as I know, he's killed Syfeid and escaped down the river." At this, many muffled sobs could be heard. Syfeid wasn't the most charismatic or familiar face in the camp, but he was still kind and influential. Many of the men in the fort looked up to him.

Elric, in particular, was someone who looked up to the commander as an idol, and knew of the commander and Syfeid's close relationship.

"Rigel… No… How could you?" Elric continued to try to muffle his sobs in his hands, but couldn't. He was one who hadn't experienced much death in his life, after all.

"So, are you ready? I'm going to perform an amputation." Gilgamesh readied himself and calmly analyzed the only possible path that let the commander have a future.

"Here, give me a rag." The commander received a rag from a random soldier and stuffed it in his mouth. "Ughugh," he growled with a nod. His eyes held a trace of self-pity, overshadowed by raw determination.

The strongest member of the party used an axe to amputate the legs just above the kneecaps. The wounds were wrapped and the commander was carried back to the fort. Every member of the squad now held Rigel in the bottom of their hearts; prepared to kill him on sight. Elric was no exception to this.

Despite talking to Rigel for a bit, Elric idolized the commander and Syfeid far more than the random vagabond who walked into the fort and killed them, abusing their trust to have them let their guard down to do so. If not, even if he was really physically tough, how could he compare to the martial prowess and legend that was the commander and Syfeid?

"Rigel, you despicable bastard. How could you commit such treacherous acts against the Crown and Faith? Mark my words, you heretic, wherever you are, for if I ever encounter you in my life… that will be the day you die."

…

I stare directly in front of me, once again seeing the purple apparition- the 'God' that had dragged all 72 of us here. I smile smugly and await its speech.

"What are you smiling about?" it asks.

"I'd imagine that I'm the first to use the ritual. Do I get a reward of sorts?"

"No," it responds simply. "So, what're you here about?"

"A shame. I figured that I might as well ask my questions sooner than later. So, I have questions about the fourth power. Complete control over any school I can think of. What defines a school, in your mind? Because I want to make an immortal slaying school of magic."

"Interesting pick. The way that power works specifically is it allows you complete comprehension of whatever you want, granting you the ability to carry out tasks relating to the chosen school. So, if you want to say 'Devouring', then taking the word devouring to its limits, you would understand exactly how to use mana the most efficient way to devour whatever you please. In your case, 'Immortal Slaying', you would be granted full comprehension of how to slay immortals. I look forward to seeing if you can get that spot, as it is rather high up."

"Wonderful. Since I'm here, would you mind telling me the exact distance of this journey I'm about to partake in?"

"Normally I wouldn't, but I like you. You were the first one to 'lose it', per se. That's always a plus in my books. The total mileage of your trek should be about 15 thousand miles depending on your route.

"On another note, I've decided to warn you about something. No matter how hard you try, you will always be at a disadvantage when it come to comprehending the world and magic/mana. You weren't born here and the will of the world sees you as an outsider, forever hindering your path. That is the true value of these 'powers'."

That's quite a distance to get to Imvros. Well, I suppose I'm done here for now, and to no cost to me. If anything I gained a sword. Its words are disheartening, but they have only further encouraged me to seriously try to get a magic-related power. I won't see myself failing in this world. I will be the sole victor, no matter who I have to crush to obtain that position.

"Since you seem content at that for now, I'll send you on your way. See ya around."

I hear a menacing laughter roar throughout my skull, I blink, and I'm back to where I was. The surroundings are the same; nothing happened while I was 'gone'.

I get up, grab my sword off the ground, and walk down the path the men came from.

"Haha, I wonder if any of those women ran back to the village to warn them of their impending doom. No matter, even if they all left I'll plunder their clothes and money. Speaking of money, I have no clue what kinda currency we got going on here. Gold, copper, silver? Or paper? Perhaps it's wooden tokens for all I know."

Exiting the forest, I see a small village a few tens of meters away from the forest edge.

"Ah, here we are."

I walk up to the village to find it deserted, as I expected. I take no mind and follow my original plan, plundering whatever I find may be valuable.

I encounter no difficulties, and leave the village with a casual set of clothes alongside a few silver pieces. The silver is branded with a mark I don't recognize. Alongside a few pieces of the same size, there is one that is bigger than the others in all senses, is made of bronze, and has a different branding, too.

I still have nowhere to put my sword, so I'm forced to walk with it in my hand. I leave on a dirt path that leads away from the forest, passing through a field filled with a single variety of corn. I take note of the corn because I recall that corn was originally located in the Americas, yet this world I've found myself in seems to be more European in nature.

It appears the geography of this world is a bit different than I expected. Curious. I wonder if I should burn down the entire field. That'd be fun, but I've already killed the village 'guards' and plundered all the money. Well, it doesn't give me any gains to burn it down, so I'll leave it be. They can be thankful for my mercy.

I walk up the dirt path until the field ends, then walk through an open plain for a half an hour- until I arrive at a major road. The road is still dirt, but is much more compact and is a few meters in width, far wider than the path I previously walked on.

I wait for a while, unsure of which direction the city, Hammerwood, is in. I don't have to wait long; a man and his son are walking a few hundred meters away pulling a small cart loaded with various carpentry goods. I wait until they are near, then approach.

"Hello, fine day today," I prompt.

"Yes, fine weather ain't it?" the man replies, unconsciously eyeing the sword in my hand.

"May I ask if you plan on bringing those to the big city to sell them?" I ask while nodding towards his cart.

"Yes, I'm taking my boy to Hammerwood with me to give our family some pocket money. I've been working on these various projects for the past few months."

Yes, a fine pillar of support for me. He'll do well.

"That's good. I was planning to head towards the city myself," I say. "Would you mind if I join you two? I have experience in the military and could at the least serve as a method of intimidation for any uncanny thieves."

The man is taken aback for a moment, then responds, "Well, 3's a company. We'd gladly let you tag along."

"Great! I apologize, for I've never actually gone before. How long should it take us to arrive?"

"I'm unsure exactly where we are right now, but from how long we've been on the road I'd say about 3 days." He starts to pull the cart along, child in tow. "What are you heading to the city for?"

I follow along and reply, "I need some money and a world map; I figured I'd be able to find those things in the city, one way or another."

"You should try to enlist in the military. There was a call to action a few weeks ago, did you hear about it? Apparently, war with Empyrea looms overhead, and is to start any day now. It is risky, but the pay is fine."

Empyrea? I really made it all the way to Dreida in one go then? Curious. Then, in that case, this city is the nearest major city to the border, a prime location to enlist at. I'll be able to finish off the job- kill everyone in that stupid fucking fort. I'll gut them and feed them their own guts. I'll rip their fucking eyes out and then waterboard them all. I'll make every single one of them pay for fucking me over. If I don't, there's no way I'll escape the bonds of Karma and down the road, someone will make me pay for killing Syfeid, as people are painfully self-serving. I guarantee not a single person is questioning if it was Syfeid or the commander who were at fault. I'll kill them all- I'll make sure the commander is properly dead and buried, too. If his legs get amputated fast enough then he has a small chance of survival, and that's the worst case scenario.

"Ahaha…" I chuckle to myself.

"What's so funny?" the man asks quizzically.

"It's nothing," I respond with a smile stretched across my face. "I'm just looking forward to seeing some old friends whom I didn't get the chance to say goodbye to."

The man shrugs his shoulders and doesn't inquire further.