Ascension of the Nephilim

Drake Vesititude followed Mezal, as did Ordeus. The screaming viscount was also arrested and was treated as a criminal. He was being dragged by the soldiers who followed Drake and Mezal.

Ordeus wanted to speak and stop Mezal to offer more benefits to Mezal, but he couldn't find the words.

As a Champion of the same kingdom where Mezal served, he had already heard of the story of Mezal and was stunned at the reports.

Mezal Steele and his Steele family had served under the service of several human kingdoms. And just as he had explained, there were countless rumors, conspiracies, and bad reports concerning this family. Yet the intel that Ordeus had supported Mezal's claims. And even the Katarax Kingdom had not given Mezal any justice for the many complaints he had.

Ordeus used powerful message talismans to confirm the truth about Mezal. He wanted to see if the claims Mezal made regarding Aron Steele's friendship with one of the Earl's sons were real. Ordeus had known of the trouble that was following the Steele family. Because of the accusation of murder, their reputation was tarnished. And although they were never really convicted of murder, the Earl and many of those who hated the Steele family were using various means to attack them. This is what made the Steele's family standing within the Katarax Kingdom plummet as the family faced more and more oppression. So Ordeus sent word to investigate the accusation and ask if that Earl family had dealings with a noble family in the Jericho Kingdom.

Ordeus had to act fast. Mezal now has revealed his true power! And while allying with this family would bring so much trouble, their knowledge of a plague made them very important! The Steele family now outweighed the importance of other Earl families in the Kattarax kingdom.

And by the looks of it, Mezal is trying to return to Vaux Imperial! Of course, as a Force Paladin, the most obvious thing to do is serve the Vaux Imperial Kingdom as it was the most prominent kingdom that had the path of the Paladin. And since Mezal's son is even married to one of the Baron families in Vaux Imperial, the transition wouldn't be so hard.

Seeing the two move and discuss to find a more private location to discuss their plans only pained Ordeus.

"Champion Mezal!" He finally called out.

"Lord Ordeus. I have another transaction with you. Rest assured, I will not betray our kingdom despite its maltreatment towards me. As you probably know, many Barons and Viscounts want my sons and my head. They should be rejoicing at my demise. No matter. I won't sell them the cure for the plague." Mezal shook his head and walked with Drake Vestitude into the large hall, which was the Vaux Imperial Kingdom's main hall in the fortress.

Drake ordered the doors to be shut, and Ordeus could only watch from the outside.

Ordeus sighed and sent another message. As it stands, Mezal and the Steele family's worth exceeded even some of the weaker Earl factions. Especially those Earl groups that only reached that level through completing the number of Viscount level warriors in their family and could not produce a warrior of level forty might.

"I have to act decisively." Ordeus decided.

Mezal was now a powerful and feared name in Kattarax and Vaux Imperial kingdom. The other human kingdoms would also put Mezal in a prominent position if they had the chance to do so.

But the truth was, there was no plague. It wasn't even among the things Kyros told Mezal.

Mezal decided to invent such a cataclysmic event when he saw how everyone believed his claims about orc wars. Not to mention how Mezal revealed that the enigmatic and long-forgotten race of the Eldrich were involved. As such, a dark plague was a nice addition he created and used to gather resources. Kyros only told him what resource to gather and left it up to him to think it true.

When Mezal felt the call of Fate, his experience as a Fate Challenger and the inspiration he got from the stories of how Kyros defeated Fate twice allowed him to understand more of Fate's limitations. He took inspiration from what Kyros did. He kept listening to the reports that Branze and Aron were sending through another message, talisman. The original one had Branze's message, while the other kept receiving all the updates from their party.

Branze and Aron sent lengthy messages detailing everything they achieved and what Kyros has told them in his adventures. Aside from the reports of how Branze and Diana's love story could be foundational to their family's strength, Mezal was well informed of everything else.

With this knowledge, Mezal decided to act and try to fight Fate by attacking the possible enemies before Fate could call them. He believed that Fate went dormant and had now started to work all around the Lowlands to prepare a snare for him.

And so, Mezal manipulated the kingdoms and went ahead to reveal the many accusations his family encountered all their life. He knew that Fate would somehow use all those past records and make it look like Mezal's family was quite corrupt, causing trouble everywhere. So Mezal went ahead and revealed many of those. Most of his claims could not be confirmed, and in fact, many of those had an extremely low chance of proving the truth since those in power were in opposition to the truth and would hide it.

But Mezal didn't care. The revelations he made would become his shield. Some of the kingdoms could confirm the truth of his claims, and the Vaux Imperial kingdom was one of them. And right now, Mezal decided to add more levels of protection for his family and decided to use Drake Vestitude. He had received Branze's report as to the theories of Kyros of why a Paladin like Drake would choose to serve him.

"So tell me the plans." Drake finally asked as he brought Mezal into the room where negotiations and trades would be made. The room was secured and was made with special materials that limited Force and Magic from spying on that room.

"My family plans to bring back the Underhill kingdom of the orcs. One of the servants that loyally follow us is Grugnyr. This orc is a former noble and knight of that kingdom. He hates the Foreshire Kingdom but is serving in Airom Logat under my orders. He is our spy to that place and even helps us acquire ores through a secret passage in that region." Mezal explained.

"That... is quite interesting. A secret path?"

"It's a long story. But his loyalty lies in our promise. And I like that orc. He cooks us good bacon."

"He... knows the recipe of Airom Bacon?" Drake was amazed.

"Of course! He is an orc, after all. Other than that, he also has their own Underhill version, which is juicier than Airom Bacon." Mezal recalled how he made Grugnyr cook a bit before leaving.

"Where is this orc?"

"He was captured. My subordinate said he should have escaped. He's strong and is an orc. It might have been through him that Diana was able to escape. I trust that Diana's return would be met with a warm welcome?" Mezal asked.

"Of course. Although they are just at Baron level, she is still a talented knight born in our kingdom."

"The plan will involve those two. You can capture the Erebus family and torture them to make them give false information for certain caravans. You can have your men transport fake or useless materials in the caravan and when the ambush begins, have your men retreat. My orcs can then attack the Foreshire caravan attackers and kill them. That way, if any survivors can flee, the report will not involve your kingdom or make the orcs think that the Erebus family has betrayed them."

"You will make your orcs attack them?"

"Yes. Under the guise of reconstructing the Underhill kingdom. I don't know how you see orcs, but we have a rather friendly connection with them. If an Eldrich appears, we need all the help we can get. Many orcs have sided with them, but I doubt everyone knows who they are serving. I will be honest in telling you this. The Eldrich has powers that can tempt all races to bend at their will. One of their spies has long known of my power from one of the battles I unknowingly fought with them. They offered me a lie. A very tempting lie, I might add."

"They offered you a lie?"

"They claimed to have the power to resurrect my wife. I have seen their powers that transcend necromancy... But if it were not for my meeting with the shamans who helped me achieve my current power, I would have agreed."

"They... offered to resurrect your wife?!" Drake shouted in shock.

"Yes. But they lie. It's not possible."

"What? How can you say that?" Drake reacted.

Mezal acted as if he was taken aback by Drake's reaction.

"I mean... It's your wife. How could you quickly confirm that it's not possible? Wouldn't you hope for it to be true?" Drake added immediately.

"What are Eldrich? What powers do they hold? The power of life, death, and that involving our soul are complex. I know this because my wife was a shaman. She was the priestess of her tribe. They followed an ancient religion and served a forgotten god that seemed to be more powerful than the gods that rule today. They told me life is not easily brought back. Even with the purest of light, true resurrection is very hard to attain. But this is even more so for the Eldrich."

"Why do you believe that?" Drake asked.

"Simple. My wife's soul is not in the dark. She ascended to the light above. Why should the Eldrich have the power to bring her back when they serve the dark? Maybe if my wife was wicked and her soul went to the Nether Regions, it's possible. But my wife is pure. They wanted me to betray humanity for my wife. What nonsense! What are Eldrich but dark dependent beings! To claim that they can resurrect a soul adored by the light is insulting my intelligence!" Mezal laughed.

Drake Vestitude unknowingly clenched his fist.

Mezal noticed the subtle movements and smiled.

"This is what it means to be a Fate Challenger!" Mezal thought to himself.

Back in Airom Logat...

Kyros finally reached the exit of the tunnel after taking the Salanite Stones that his Coven found. Martha greeted him as he and Diana exited the cave.

"Alright, everyone. Take a breather from your sprints. I will now explain to you the next set of plans. Remember, We might soon face a Life Purging Trial! We have to be careful!" Kyros instructed.

But then...

---

Life Purging Trial Passed!

Mezal Steele has successfully subverted Fate!

---

A notification appeared.

"..." Kyros read it with a stupefied expression.

"Lord Kyros! Fate is changing again!" Scarlet reacted as well.

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