Chapter 21: 【Death’s Dirge】!
Time quietly passed like this.
Modo City was constantly changing, and not good news continued to come back from the continent.
Soren was preparing to make a trip to the Eastern Kingdom to find the girl who accidentally summoned his Demon Avatar to the Material Plane during the recent incident, specifically the temple that was discovered by the Demon Avatar in the desert region. Soren sensed the aura of death within this temple; if it truly was a relic left behind by a fallen God of Death, he might discover secrets related to the domain of 【Death】. Even if he couldn’t achieve that, anything associated with 【Death】 held incredible value!
Killing and death.
In ancient times, these two were originally connected, with one of the Three Death Deities being the God of Slaughter.
However.
Before leaving, Soren had a small matter that needed to be addressed.
………………
Southern Coast, Spearwind Hills.
This land originally belonged to the descendants of the Isabella family, but recently there was a slight incident where the main members of the family were killed in an attack by evil serpent people. This led to the near extinction of the direct bloodline, and eventually, due to various reasons, particularly some external interference, the heir to the territory became a woman.
Adele Isabella.
Some forces in the shadows were already aware of who stood behind this woman, yet not many dared to declare it openly, for that noble was veiled in the shadows of the Southern Coast, and no one dared to provoke him lightly.
For he was Soren.
Modo City needed a tentacle extending into the interior of the continent; establishing a base on the Overseas Islands did not mean completely abandoning the continent, as many resources Soren required had to be obtained from within the continent.
Taro Port could not accomplish this.
Since the rise of Modo City, the Ocean Temple’s influence on Modo City had diminished. Soren also could not directly compete with the Ocean Goddess for territory.
The City of Wealth was that lady’s enclave. Modo City’s reach could not extend too far, as it would easily provoke her displeasure.
Aside from these two places, the remaining options were limited to Snake Island, Fury Sand Island, and Shipwreck Bay.
Snake Island, being near the coast, was merely a transit point and could essentially be dismissed. Fury Sand Island controlled the eastern trade route and was far from the interior of the continent. Shipwreck Bay was a choice, but with its mixed population and the intertwining of various powers, along with many deities’ churches involved, Soren did not want to arouse too much hostility and thus could only abandon it.
Eliminating these places left few choices.
Spearwind Hills had always been within Soren’s plans; he had even begun arranging plans for this area long ago.
Adele Isabella’s control over everything here stemmed from Soren’s reach.
Spearwind Hills was not a large expanse of land.
However, it had a convenient aspect. It provided direct access to the Northern Region, and Modo City’s intelligence network had already spread throughout. One-third of the Half-Elf Church’s wanderers had been dispatched here.
The 【Wanderer】 profession was a boon.
Aside from training priests, Soren’s church continued to cultivate more wanderers.
The Saint’s Cataclysm erupted.
Spearwind Hills was also within the affected range, yet due to Modo City’s intervention, it did not experience significant impact from the abyssal demons. At least the population loss and towns were minimal, with only a few villages being destroyed.
But!
The greatest issue with the Saint’s Cataclysm was not just this.
The weakening of the planar barrier allowed not only the Bottomless Abyss’s demons to enter but also creatures from other lower planes could likewise enter the Material Plane.
Ordinary matters, naturally, would be handled by others.
Even a minor matter that caught Soren’s attention was no ordinary occurrence. As a deity, only legendary-level events would be reported directly to Soren.
This incident occurred about three days ago!
………………
On the edge of Spearwind Hills, there was a village with a population of about eight hundred. Being located in a remote area, the villagers were fierce, comprising retired adventurers and their militia guards.
Such a village could typically withstand minor attacks from small groups of demons relying on their own capabilities.
However!
Just three days ago, someone suddenly discovered that no living person remained in the village. The entire village was filled with corpses, and the most eerie detail was that the vast majority of these people had committed suicide!
Suicide.
That’s right!
This was the crux of the issue and the reason it was reported to Soren immediately.
Here, it might be necessary to mention something else.
Due to the uniqueness of souls and the rules of the multiverse, suicide was prohibited in any deity’s church. Many good-aligned deities even considered suicide a grave sin. This relates to the divine kingdom, and there’s no way to explain it simply, but in summary, the souls of those who commit suicide are affected, and such souls are not deemed worthy, or insufficient to enter the divine realm. Many deities refuse to accept the souls of suicides.
In simple terms, that’s how it is.
There are specific matters regarding ‘redemption’ that do not need further elaboration here.
——”The souls of the suicides will fall into hell!”
This is certainly not a joke.
In fact!
According to the rules of the multiverse, more than ninety percent of those who end their lives through suicide will fall into the Hell of Bartok.
This is why many evil rituals manipulated by devils involve individuals committing suicide to end their lives. It’s a mysterious domain related to souls, and Soren may only understand it after entering the divine kingdom, for mortal speculations suggest that the souls of suicides fail to meet certain criteria required to enter the divine realm.
Of course.
A group of people committing suicide is not the most bizarre occurrence since some powerful demons can accomplish this as well.
Often, these demons would return to the Hell of Bartok after harvesting souls, and many churches of various deities in the Material Plane are keenly observing these fellows because widespread beliefs are common, and the souls harvested by demons belong to the believers of numerous churches. The real reason this incident was reported to Soren immediately was that all these suicides ended their lives with smiles, wearing twisted and chilling expressions of happiness.
Suicide with a serene face!
When Soren received this news, it immediately drew his attention, because in his memory, very few could achieve this.
One of them was called—【Hell Poet】!
………………
Spearwind Hills, withered leaf village.
Soren’s figure appeared near this village enveloped in the aura of death and a stench of decay. Even before receiving the news, Modo City’s scouts had already begun monitoring the area. The civilians in the village had been dead for some time, with the stench of corpses hanging heavily in the air. Yet strangely, there seemed to be no crows or scavengers present.
Very odd, isn’t it?
Crows, vultures, hyenas, and other scavengers prefer to feed on corpses. There were hundreds of corpses here, but still, no scavengers appeared, allowing them to rot over time.
“Devil’s handiwork!”
Soren opened his eyes, and a divine light flickered within, flooding over the village, enveloped in a blood-red spiritual glow—a force of incomprehensible evil.
Belonging to the power of demons!
No souls remained; even when the godly sight pierced the barrier to view the spirit realm and the Shadow Plane, Soren discerned no souls.
Only the decaying corpses remained.
Not even a shadow of a vengeful spirit could be found; the demons had harvested all the souls.
“Is it 【Death’s Dirge】?”
Soren gazed down at the corpses beneath his feet, where the bodies bore eerie smiles. In the heart of the village stood a destroyed altar, surrounded by many naked corpses. They had performed a ritual before death.
A ceremony that appeared joyous but was in reality heinously evil!
“What is this?……An instrument!…”
Soren’s figure descended from the air, where he found a flute on the ground, beside a young man who must have been playing it before committing suicide.
Nearby lay other instruments. Perhaps they were holding some type of celebration before all this occurred.
“It seems to be the work of the Hell Poet!”
As the most powerful bard in the Material Plane, the Hell Poet possessed certain special and terrifying chanting spells. Before his fall, he was a formidable Holy Bard, gaining fame during a celebration where a large number of devotees committed suicide.
《Apocalypse》- Prologue of Hell.
《Dusk Dirge》.
《Death’s Dirge》.
Among the terrifying abilities mastered by the Hell Poet, there were numerous spells capable of achieving such feats.
“Has he returned?”
Soren stood silently at the spot, his expression gradually growing serious.
Since Soren slayed the Vampire Son, the Hell Poet’s whereabouts had become unknown; his presence had not been seen in the Material Plane again, and the church of the Vampire Son held no news related to him. Soren was unsure if he was hiding somewhere within the Material Plane or had returned to the Hell of Bartok.
This dangerous character had been operating in the Hell of Bartok for quite a long time.
“It seems he has returned.”
A glimmer of murderous intent emerged in Soren’s eyes, for the Hell Poet’s recent actions had been executed flawlessly, leaving not a trace behind. Even as a True God, Soren couldn’t find him through other means; the harvesting of souls here had been too clean. If even a single soul had been left, Soren could have traced the individual.
The Hell Poet was very cautious!
He seemed to know that Soren mastered the 【Tracking】 profession, and after finishing everything, he erased any signs related to himself.
The Bard profession is merely a versatile one.
But if they grew powerful to the level of the Hell Poet, they could rival the legendary Ranger and Legendary Wanderer with many of their fundamental abilities.
“Eh?”
Soren suddenly frowned; he raised a hand to summon something floating from the ash of the campfire ahead. It was a black feather, buried within the fire, seemingly untouched by the flames.
“Fallen Angel?!”
Soren picked up the black feather and looked at it, his expression turning playful as he murmured, “Was it left intentionally? Or was it forgotten accidentally?”
………………(To be continued ~^~)
