679: Chapter 43 Forest’s Anomaly_1 679: Chapter 43 Forest’s Anomaly_1 “Slap, slap,” Catherine casually patted Vivian few tis before letting go and letting her escape her clutches.
She turned to Lina and said, “We need to thank Lady Denia for her gifts in advance.
Once we return to the Holy City, we must visit her temple together to express our gratitude.”
In the world of Yarra, most people of the Third and Fourth Epochs have faith in a deity.
For these two epochs, a soul without faith is incomplete, and even after death, such a soul cannot find peace.
Hence, everyone chooses a god to believe in, even if one is rely a pan-believer.
For instance, in Nellie’s adventure team, Catherine believes in the god of justice.
Even though the original god of justice fell at the end of the Third Epoch, it doesn’t deter so from holding steadfast faith in him.
Their belief in a fallen deity is a form of faith as well.
Freya and Vivian believe in the god of wisdom, Weston, and, much like most mages and scholars who tend to be pan-believers, they still aspire to be summoned by the deity into their kingdom after death.
Pannis’s faith is even more unusual, as he directly worships Lord Yarra, the creator-god – a rarity amongst even the most powerful and egotistical professionals.
They believe they will stand at the pinnacle of all living beings, therefore, only bestowing reverence to deities, and offering their faith and worship solely to Lord Yarra.
Regardless, such individuals are considered to have faith and can find peace after death.
Out of everyone, Ava is the most unique case.
She was created directly from Sigein’s blood and theoretically considered Sigein’s child.
As Sigein, prior to his divine duty, was a church’s strongest mber, Ava, by blood, belongs to the lineage of god’s children.
Even without faith, she bears familial imprints.
Being eternally alive and a deity, even if Ava dies, her soul does not sleep but directly returns to the Mother God’s Divine Kingdom.”
However, since everyone has their faith, though there are no definitive rules, most would not visit other deities’ temples.
Even pan-believers who believe in several different deities would not visit temples for deities outside their faith.
Doing so would be disrespectful to both the worshipped and their god.
There’s one exception: when one receives significant gratitude from a deity or their representative on earth, they must prepare a suitable donation and visit the temple formally, expressing gratitude directly to the deity before the statue representing them.
This act won’t be misconstrued as a change in faith or disrespect towards the deities, but this ceremony is usually reserved for genuine endownts.
If no response is received for such worship, it results in an awkward situation.
“Alright, I understand.
After we return, I will ask High Priest Ankava to preside over the ceremony personally,” nodded Lina and continued, “As a mber of the adventure team, I’ll also be present; hence, I can’t lead.
I hope Uncle Ankava’s health holds up.”
“Now that all of you have finished your tasks,” Flare interrupted the two ladies conversation with her gentle voice, “if there’s nothing for , I should get going.
While I did inform the Elder Council when I left the King’s Court, they’ll keep grumbling if I stay away for too long.
It’s better to return sooner.”
“Don’t joke around,” Pannis, who was languidly sitting aside quipped, “The surgery wasn’t prolonged, but the heavy psychological pressure has left him as exhausted as if he had undergone a long and tough battle.
As expected, Ava transferred from Freya to Pannis’s lap silently, stuffing her long hair in Pannis’s hand without uttering a word.
It seed that to her, even if there was no hairbrush, having her hair stroked a few tis was a pleasurable experience.
Pannis’s smile, an amalgamation of helplessness and satisfaction, brushed her hair through his open fingers, and said, “Your Majesty, are you planning on walking nearly a thousand kilotres through the Snowfield in these shoes?”
“You don’t need now, right?” Flare looked at Pannis resentfully, “Even the honorifics have been discarded?”
“Alright, alright, I was wrong, Flare,” Pannis raised his hands in surrender with a wry smile, “It was an old habit I haven’t let go of yet.
I hope you can forgive .
However, I wouldn’t recomnd leaving right now.
Crossing nearly a thousand kilotres of Snowfield is not as easy as it seems.
Have you forgotten how gruelling it was when we ca here together last ti?”
“What should I do then?” Flare furrowed her delicate eyebrows in anxiety, “Should I inconvenience Mina to make another trip to send back?
Her energy expenditure for today’s trip has already been quite significant.
Another trip would be too taxing.”
“I don’t have any issues,” Mina’s opening remark sounded like thunder reverberating in the cave, sending all present into a state of daze.
Mina, however, was used to this volu.
She opened her eyes and continued, “In a few days, I’ll have to take a roundabout route anyways.
Taking you along on the way isn’t a problem.”
“You’re awake?” Flare kneeled in respect, “My thanks to you, gracious Guardian, for bringing here without concern for your own exhaustion.”
“It is my honor, comrade,” replied Mina, a mber of the dragon clan not known for their adherence to formalities, yet she answered Flare earnestly, “We have fought alongside each other, destroying countless undead.
We have developed an unbreakable bond of friendship during these battles.
The small favor I did today hardly necessitates such a grand show of gratitude.
I overheard your concerns earlier.
Don’t worry, I assure you that I’ll take you back.”
“That’s right, we’ve already discussed this with Mina,” Pannis explained.
“We need to find an automatic treatnt device, and she’s provided several possible locations.
The plan is for her to carry us overhead to those approximate locations, and then Ava will sense from her back whether there are remnants of a research center below.
If there are, she’ll assess if it’s the one we’re looking for.
Once everything has been confird, she’ll drop us off near the remnants before returning here.
If you need to head back, you might as well wait a day or two.
Once Mina has rested, she can give you a lift either close to the Elven Forest or in so major city along the way, from where you can quickly get a horse back to the King’s Court.”
“That’s not entirely out of the question,” Flare thought about it, seeming a bit troubled, but eventually nodded in agreent.
“I guess I could stay a few more days.
It’s not like I’m missing any important etings anyway.”
“You don’t have to wait that long.” Mina disagreed, “I know you decided this out of concern that I might be fatigued from the continuous, long-distance flight.
But you underestimate the physical capabilities of the Drakes.
Yes, flying full speed for a full day is tiring, but it’s not so bad that I need to take to bed.
Actually, if I sleep tonight, we can leave tomorrow morning.”
“There’s no need to rush, Mina,” Pannis advised.
“A slight delay wouldn’t be a big issue.
As for Flare, despite her complaints, she’d probably just receive a telling-off from the Elder Council.”
“It’s not just about you guys,” Mina disagreed.
“Don’t forget there’s other business to attend to.
After dropping you off, I have to hurry back, ask Waren to call an Elder Council eting and inform them of everything you told , then get approval to assist you in your investigation.
Of course, I’ll help with the investigation even if we don’t get authorization, but wouldn’t it save a lot of trouble if we did?”
“Investigation?” Flare asked with a puzzled expression.
“How did investigation co into play?
Where are we investigating?”
“The Forest of Death,” replied Pannis.
“It’s a bit tricky to explain, I’ll give you the full story in private later.
In short, sothing might be amiss in the Forest of Death.”
“You also suspect that sothing is wrong in the Forest of Death?” Flare was astonished.
“That’s a coincidence, we thought so too.
The eting I ntioned returning for is actually to discuss this issue.”
“Oh?” Not only Pannis, but several mbers of the adventure team also beca interested.
Pannis asked, “Has anything strange happened in the Forest of Death that would raise your suspicions?”
“Do you rember a couple of months ago, when Maya and Tiya asked everybody to help out in the Winged People Mountain Range?” explained Flare.
“Since that disturbance caused by the Demigod magical beasts, the backlash has not settled down.
Frequently, solitary Demigod magical beasts erge from the depths of the Forest of Death and cause destruction.
These beasts behave as if they’ve gone mad, with no sense of rationality at all.
So, we suspect that there’s a problem deep within the forest causing this abnormal behaviour.”
“Has it been happening often?” The mbers of the adventure team exchanged few glances, and sowhat shocked, Pannis asked, “Up till now, how many instances have occurred?
Other than their lack of rationality, was there anything else unusual about the beasts?”
“Around seven or eight headed towards us, while there were approximately five instances in the Winged People Mountain Range.
To the north is the sea which the beasts can’t cross, to the east is the Perpetual Icefield where the beasts might freeze.
So it’s about twelve or thirteen instances in total,” rembered Flare.
“As for other anomalies, not that we know of.
Or perhaps we failed to notice sothing?
But that’s unlikely; we’ve checked everything very carefully.”
“I understand,” nodded Pannis.
“It seems there are so things I have to share with you in advance regarding our suspicions about the interior of the Forest of Death.
To be continued.
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