America Stranded in a Fantasy World

Chapter 26 "When Gods Falter"

CHAPTER 26

"When Gods Falter"

???? ????, ????: The Bloodplains, Somewhere In The Astral Plane

Standing tall, covered in thick purple blood with only a few spots spared from the spray, Bellam's silver armor and shortened ahlspiess glistened in the full moon. Lying at his feet, the pit fiend nearly twice his size lay torn open. It had been a long and grueling battle. He was exhausted but finally, he had defeated it. Another of Kvdur's abominations unto creation undone. Another creation that would not reach the mortal realm.

As he walked away from the fallen demon, a prideful Bellam couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment with this hunt. Seen as a part of the "Young Generation", he faced an uphill battle against those he was forced to call his superiors. He had used all of his strength and intellect to emerge victorious, and it had paid off. Hopefully this time, it would bring some respect to his name. Or at the very least a nice warm bath.

But as he picked up his weapon and motioned with his left hand in a circle Bellam felt his forearm buzz with static. Continuing with the circular motion, sparks began to form with colors ranging across the entire spectrum.

"Huh... that's not right." Raising a curious eyebrow Bellam focused his mind on creating a circular pattern; not long after the sparks complied and began to move, though the weird, fuzzy feeling in his left forearm persisted--and only ended once the circle was complete. Then the center quickly filled with a flat white wall. Looking towards his left hand, Bellan rotated it a few times as the odd sensation slowly left. " Hmm, interesting..."

Stepping through the portal, Bellam found himself inside Aro's botanical garden. With the portal closing behind him, he looked around in bewilderment as this was clearly not the bathhouse; which was still about an hour's walk away.

"So I'm not the only one having issues wielding magic currently." A male voice from inside a nearby chestnut tree chimed. Bellam looked in the direction of the voice, as a golden eagle swooped down and landed in front of him. "Or I would hope so. Ugh, I would like to believe that your intended stop was the bathhouse." Repulsed by the pungent smell of demonic blood, the golden eagle hopped off the path and into the grass.

"Good to see you too Jiom-Ki." Returning a smile to the golden eagle, Bellam noticed that the air was lighter than usual--much lighter in fact. "Why is the air so empty of magic?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. Though I suspect Kvdur is attempting a demon-summoning ritual. You did recently take out half his army." Jiom-Ki flapped his wings in response.

"And one pit fiend just now. The last thing we need is for something like that to run wild in the mortal realm."

"Speaking of. How do the mortals fare on your side of the board?"

"Well Potias, Kriwelf and Aurtas sparked a famine with a severe and long winter and high precipitation during spring, hoping that it will cause their respective empires to start expanding again. Aro also has her hands full with her kingdom as the queen is doing everything in her power to drive it into the ground, yourself?"

"I am, unfortunately, not faring any better. Emperor Rang Dae-Jung recently passed, leaving no heir. As such, the empire has broken into multiple warring factions, with my favor being towards a high-ranking noble, Jang Youngsoo. But at this time, I cannot say for sure who will win. I'm more worried about Seon Dong or Dae Mal-Chin using this to pick apart my border regions."

As the conversation drifted, Bellam and Jiom-Ki started the long walk to the bathhouse. Following the paths, they made it out of the garden and into Luxrum proper. The roads and buildings were made from large stone and marble bricks, some decorated with immaculate carvings and decorations on their respective pillars, the walk made more lively by the children playing stick and hoop (yes that is a real thing).