Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

Cormac Payle was left shivering in a puddle of his own piss. He had a hard time just beginning to understand what exactly just happened. For a moment that felt like an eternity, the world around him had slowed down.

He had sworn to himself to witness all the atrocities of this day, so he could tell others about it. And that, he had.

Everything that happened was burned into his white opened eyes. Golems and people of a strength he could not dare to fathom had suddenly started moving at what felt like an enhanced speed as they rushed through the slowed world.

For some reason, he, similar to them, was not affected by the phenomenon. Although he was not in a quick motion, he could see them completely solving the situation in a matter of... he had no idea how much time actually passed.

What he saw was committed to memory, but the feeling of time made no sense at all. He felt like his own memory was a manipulated video with the wrong time stamps. He wasn't sure why this was, but what the blacksmith did know, was that the sudden change in atmosphere and display of power had made him piss his pants.

"Was it over?" he finally thought. His soaked pants were freezing in the wind, but he didn't dare to move, yet.

…

<Ding! Your skill Channeling (Passive) lv.8 has become Channeling (Passive) lv.9!>

<Ding! Your Skill Voice of Seth lv.7 has become Voice of Seth lv.8!>

Tears of blood were flowing down the bard's cheeks. It was safe to say, Seth was royally pissed when he saw his mining bots getting severely damaged. So much so, he touched a forbidden ballad to end everything in one go. Had he not worn his new armor, he may have suffered a severe backlash. Like this, the superior heal of the Golden Fleece was enough to solve any side effects.

"A-Are you really okay? What just happened?" Mina asked him worried.

Seth needed a moment to collect his own thoughts. The "forbidden" ballad had left him a little confused. It was not actually forbidden, but usually not used because it was only a fragment of the choir of an ancient demonic text. Seth had learned it at the college, but never actually performed it. The full extent of its power was unexpected.

What was special about it, even though it was just a fragment, it had a lot of requirements to be performed and they were not completely related to the user's skills as a bard. As the lord in this scenario, one needed subordinates that fit the roles of the powers that were sent. In that regard, it was a double-edged sword.

People that fit the bill would gain a tremendous strength, but if one didn't have people that could take these roles, the ownerless powers would manifest as something that would harm the bard himself. Since the text was a fragment, a backlash was almost guaranteed since one couldn't know all requirements, to begin with.

Another weird part was that couldn't understand what he had connected to with <Channeling>. The blacksmith was even unsure whether he truly couldn't grasp what it was, or his memory was partially wiped so he couldn't remember or understand... At least two of his skills had leveled up for the first time in a long time.

"I-It's okay. I'm fine," he answered, wiping away the blood.

"Are you sure?" she asked again, Fin and the others also looked at him slightly worried.

"Everything is alright," he reassured them with a warm smile. "We should check the situation."

The ballad had left behind an empty battlefield. It was marred by the lightning of Ceres, the rays of Puffles, and the magic of Tatzel, but otherwise, it was empty. The 300 striker units had snatched enemies and thrown their bodies into the still intact soul-whisking formation, creating mounts of corpses. Python reported that she took care of the Tuatha De, while Wolfram had neutralized their leader.

He had initially not intended to do so, but once again the situation was primarily resolved by Seth and his subordinates. Not even his new Vassals got a chance to show their prowess, not to mention the Lord of Minas mar who went through a lot of trouble to become chosen. He just couldn't hold back, seeing their action.

On one hand was how they treated people, on the other hand, they had severely crippled the basis for his future mining operation. They were complex golems without souls, so their ability to recover was limited. He would have to repair most of them himself. He really was not looking forward to that.

"Seth, we can no longer ignore those bastards."

It was Monique that finally spoke up. Seth had been distracting himself with idle thoughts, but he couldn't evade the situation anymore. Now, that the battle was over, they had a chance to take a good look at the devastation this battle had caused.

The blacksmith had already been angered by the civilian casualties of Agra, but it didn't stop there, no. There were also the victims of the divine strength drug, or rather the berserker pellets. This had made it clear that the Scene were the ones behind the distribution, although the cultivators were acting in person in Delta.

Looking at the hundreds of corpses, that would have been thousands without the explosions... Just how many civilians had they kidnapped, drugged, and turned into machines of war? Seth may have ignored Cromwel's words if all this had not happened, but now they could no longer sit idly by.

"You are right."

Monique was the first to voice her opinion, but everyone agreed with her. Seth, too. But it wasn't that easy. The Scene hid in the shadows and controlled Ypsilon and partially Delta. They couldn't just declare war on the two districts or counter-brainwash all politicians.

Since both districts were mostly in the hands of the Scene, raising this as a diplomatic issue to sway their positions was also unlikely. Things were complicated. Seth sighed, they would need help. But first, they would need to deal with the situation at hand.

" This isn't the time not place. We won't come to a decision now. Let's help Agra first. We will make a decision once we are back home," Seth concluded their short brainstorming session.

Belatedly, everyone looked around. The Oathguard, Chimeras, and Faer had naturally started helping the civilians all around. There were people stuck in debris, wounded people, and others that were still unconscious from Seth's use of <Dragonmight>. Some had also started sorting the corpses.

While the executive members were focused on the enemy, everyone else had started taking care of their allies. Feeling a little ashamed, everyone joined the efforts to deal with the aftermath of the war.

Seth on the other hand decided to go and visit the statue of Nas'Korn. The deity had fallen silent after the initial warning. On his way up the mountain, Wolfram and Python returned to him. The giant snake stay under the earth, but the knight approached him holding a person under his arm.

The man in the golem's under the golem's arm looked like he had a rough few weeks behind him. He was covered in dirt, his armor was worn and badly damaged. Although the man looked like nothing much, Seth gasped when he used <Theia's Discerning Eyes> on him.

"Cormac Payle, the chosen of Hephaestus?" he exclaimed surprised.

"Ah, H-Hello, Sir?" Cormac spoke politely, still being held like a sack of potatoes. He knew better than anyone, that his bull and eagle stood no chance against the gray knight, not to mention the other automatons he had seen. The rude craftsman could only act meekly and politely, standing before the Tower Master of Minas Mar.

Seth didn't quite know how to react. It was a surprise for sure, but he didn't know whether it was a welcome one. At any normal time, he would have tried to recruit him. He could imagine all the possibilities their cooperation would hold, but right now this opportunity seemed ambiguous.

Why did this man suddenly appear right after a great battle with the forces of Y-City? There was a big chance that he could be a spy. On the other hand, would Hephaestus choose someone like that? Maybe, as long as they were a skilled craftsman.

As he was deliberating how to deal with the man that was nervously staring at him, he got help from an unexpected place. A guarantor suddenly spoke to Seth.

~Please bring him along to me, Seth. He is not part of the attacker and should pose to be a great help in the future.~

Nas'Korn took up the word to guarantee for Cormac Payle.

"Wolfram, bring him along."

"Yes, Lord."

Cormac cringed when he realized that he would not get out of the golem's hold any time soon. Seth cringed when he heard that Wolfram had picked up calling him Lord. Like that, both blacksmiths went to meet the local deity.