The Achievement Junkie

"Can you picture it? An army of thousands of lv. 60's and lv. 50's marching onto Gilga, stampeding it to smithereens? What a glorious sight!"

Tralon was unsure what felt worse, the electric shock constantly coursing through his body or his heart tightening uncontrollably. Each was unbearable.

As Thyron continued to laugh and Tralon prepared to teleport away, they both heard the whistle of the wind.

Thyron jumped back and groaned in pain. Lightning Cage was instantly dropped as that arm of Thyron's pressed into his bleeding side. The spokesman took a few deep breaths and spied the latest combatant to join the battle.

"Tralon, are you--"

"I'm fine." Tralon rushed to his feet, coughing up some blood as he did so. "Be careful of his Lightning Cage and his earth type spells."

Without another word, Tralon teleported away in a flash of light.

"Oh? You're not going to tag team me?" Thyron chuckled as he put a potion bottle to his lips. The wound on Thyron's side stopped bleeding and his smile returned. "Without Tralon's support, you'll never manage to defeat me."

"I'll do more than defeat you…" Kims solemnly replied. "I'll kill you."

"What bravado! Where do you get such confidence after losing an arm?" asked Thyron with a mocking smile.

Tightly gripping the hilt of his sword, Kims squinted at Thyron. "You're the reason my mother suffered all her life… now, I'll be returning the favor, Father…"

Going wide-eyed, the reality of Kims's statement dawned on Thyron. "That's why… That's why I've always hated your face! You remind me of that insolent woman!"

"No more talk. All I want to hear is the silence after your heart stops beating."

Dashing into action, Kims lunged forward, unafraid of the sorcerer four levels higher than him.

*****

"What are they thinking…"

"Lyrun, what's your opinion on this?"

Naparn and Lyrun both stood over a mirrored tabletop, only the mirror was currently displaying the battle taking place between Pestro and Eedaj.

"I'm… I'm unsure of what to think," replied Lyrun. "The only logical explanation for such an action would be desperation, but the syndicate has never acted so desperately before. What I'm truly wondering is the cause of that desperation."

"And what about that dragon?!" Naparn shouted, changing the picture displayed to that of the Spectral Dragon laying waste to the last of those lv. 50's from the divided army. "How did he manage to get a summoning scroll for that particular dragon?!"

Lyrun shook his head. "That I'm also not sure of… But, according to our investigations, Jack participated in a few auctions a while back, buying out most of the items like never before, anonymously of course. I'm guessing that summoning scroll must've come from the annual auction."

"But for that dragon, of all beasts?!"

"Calm down, Naparn," added Lyrun. "First off, that dragon is only lv. 54 and proves no danger to you. Second, we have to keep in mind that the auction house owners are the most notorious dungeon robbers and the biggest buyers on the black market outside of the association and the syndicate. And considering that it was a Spectral Dragon sealed within that scroll, I take it that the scroll's writing was entirely foreign to anyone who found it. Of all people in Modern Kartonia, aside from the gods, wouldn't the Legend of Trodar be the most capable person to understand such a scroll?"

Following Lyrun's train of thought, Naparn struggled to find any flaws. But his anger was still unquenchable by such a quick answer.

"But… To get a Spectral Dragon… That's something I might expect from the chaotic gods, not the neutral gods," reasoned Naparn, popping his knuckles from clenching his fists out of reflex.

"It's definitely outside of expectations, but it seemed that even Eedaj was startled to see Jack summon the dragon. I don't think he knew about it, which means Jack's acting on his own without the neutral gods controlling him in any way," deduced Lyrun.

"They let their champion act freely?! Are they so foolish?!"

"Naparn, remember, the neutral gods aren't like us," added Lyrun. "I know for a fact that each of the neutral gods is independent and can act for themselves. With that in mind, I think their gathering is a result of Jack's actions and not their own initiative. I would guess that Jack is the key to all of their plans. Rather than use the champion as fodder or as a delaying tactic like us and the chaotic gods, I want to believe that the neutral gods are attempting to raise their champion above that."

Eyeing Lyrun, Naparn asked, "What do you mean? Are you saying they're trying to make him a god?"

"I don't have any reason to say otherwise," Lyrun stated. "Also, there's something else we need to consider. We can't forget about Hadurt's appearance."

"Right… If Hadurt is so lively so soon, then there's a chance that Lorwynn is alive as well," added Naparn. "To think, our champion of all people was our greatest weakness…"

"Only time will verify that," stated Lyrun. "I'm just saying we should keep that thought as a possibility."

Turning the attention of the viewing mirror back onto the godly duel, Lyrun added, "Aside from all that, I'm curious as to why Pestro refuses to fight with his halberd. Without it, his duel against Eedaj will be far more difficult."

"And didn't he react badly to the Spectral Dragon as well?" asked Naparn.

"Right. It's a strange thing to consider, but Pestro seemed more affected by the dragon's appearance than you were. And though he's on the opposing side of that dragon, his reaction wasn't normal anger. A hint of fear was in his eyes after spotting the Spectral Dragon. But that doesn't make sense as he's Moranti's ally."

Lyrun tapped his fingers against his staff for a few seconds, pondering everything deeply.

Naparn soon sighed and wore a strange expression on his face. He mumbled, "I guess we'll have to inform Halmut of this… Since it involves a Spectral Dragon, he'll want to know about it…"

"Go ahead, I'll be following you in soon…" Lyrun replied, but kept his gaze glued to the frozen image of the Pestro's startled face.

"Alright, but don't take too long…" Naparn sighed again, turning around and leaving through the hallway.

The Molten God walked slowly, not wanting to rush himself or his announcement. He was still tongue-tied as to what he would say and could only imagine how Halmut might react. Caught up in thought, the Molten God slowly sauntered through the hall, reaching Halmut's throne room at a snail's pace.

"Finally…"

That unexpected, uttered word startled Naparn, putting the Molten God on full alert.

"You're too late…"

Only after that second statement did Naparn recognize the feeling of a knife against his neck. Completely baffled and aware of his predicament, Naparn swallowed the saliva clogging up his throat. "Sterfen… How did you get in here?"

"Oh, I've been here for some time now." Releasing his invisibility, Sterfen's body came into view casually standing behind Naparn and holding a blade to the Molten God's throat. "I've been enjoying the show in Trodar, especially when my son summoned a Spectral Dragon. To think he had that up his sleeve… But you didn't expect it either, which finally created an opportunity for me."

"Sterfen… You know that killing me will only result in Halmut hunting you down. You shouldn't--"

"Oh, I shouldn't?"

Sterfen's knife gently broke Naparn's skin as it pressed slightly more into Naparn's throat. The Assassin God revealed his true colors as the casual warmth of his glare abruptly dropped below sub-zero.

Sterfen coldly asked, barely whispering into Naparn's ear, "Tell me, Naparn... Why shouldn't I kill the man responsible for my wife's near-death experience during the war you forced her into? Why shouldn't I kill the man who wanted to ruin my marriage just so he could personally take advantage of my wife's bloodline? Give me one good reason."