The goddess and the king were on the verge of sealing a vow, but Kai could think of nothing beyond returning to his old world.
"Come closer, and touch my flawless fingertip," the goddess commanded, raising a finger for Kai to connect with his own.
But Kai didn't move closer, he even let out a sigh. "Why was I chosen? How did I even come to be here…" The goddess's expression darkened, clearly displeased by his questions.
For the time being, she lowered her fingertip and addressed his concerns.
"You don't remember?" the goddess said, leaving Kai in great confusion.
"Remember what?"
The goddess let out a small giggle.
"What's so funny?" Kai asked.
"Nothing in particular. It's just… you're the one who wished for this." Upon hearing her words, Kai was left with more and more confusion.
"I wished for this?!"
"Indeed. However, there is no need to concern yourself. You are better off not knowing." She spoke sincerely, but Kai's suspicion only grew.
"Why the hell would I wish for any of this? Can't you just tell me?" he said, Kai felt a growing sense of apprehension as the goddess fell silent.
The goddess crossed her arms and gazed at Kai with a smirk. "Then let's add that to your reward, on top of returning to the real world."
Kai was irritated, "What?!"
The goddess clicked her tongue sharply, her patience was thinning. "My time is running short. I cannot remain here any longer. And do not forget, you are only alive because I froze time and halted your infection."
Kai ran a hand across his face, trying to control his dissatisfaction with the situation.
"Fine," he murmured in frustration.
The goddess regarded him in silence, with an expression unreadable.
"If I disappear before we finalize this vow, you will perish. There will be no second chance. We must proceed at once." She spoke with evident urgency.
Kai walked up the elevated throne steps, and he raised his fingertip.
The goddess mirrored his action, but their fingertips at the moment were merely raised and not closing in.
Their eyes were bound to each other
The human iris met the crimson eyes of a goddess.
"What do I do next?" Kai inquired.
The goddess cleared her throat, and she was preparing a measured explanation:
"I vow to return you to your world and give you the truths you seek, but only if you manage to conquer the Ten Legions of Divinity."
What the hell is she even talking about? Do I even trust this woman I just met?
The goddess tilted her head, "What are you waiting for?"
.... F**k it.
"…Yes. I'll do it."
"Very good…" the goddess responded.
Then, as if drawn to each other, they moved their fingertips until the gap between their flesh finally met.
Kai felt a tingle on his fingertip, linked to the soft, perfect skin of the goddess. A faint golden light emanated from each of their fingers.
"What are you doing?" Kai asked.
The goddess ignored his words, closing her eyes and beginning to solidify the vow.
"An armory of infinity, a cohort of gold, with a false king imposing murderers whose loyalty will not fall, even when every ingot is spent to the last bone."
"With this vow, I bestow upon you the power to crush all that mankind has built, including its petty kingdoms."
"The Ten Legions…"
She let off her fingertip, and Kai could feel his migraine intensifying with some kind of new power.
"What did you do to me?" he asked, clutching his head in great pain, unable to process the full extent of this exchange.
"I pla— ahem awakened your miracle. My summons, my children, now reside within you. However, they can be quite stubborn; each of them won't obey you until you bend them to your will."
Kai found the notion absurd and repulsive.
"Wait… you're leaving me with your children? You're seriously making me a single father?!"
The goddess wasn't sure whether to chuckle or to be offended by what she saw in his thoughts, yet, she remained in a hurry.
"Kai, listen carefully: the number of legions you can summon from the divine army depends entirely on your people's faith in you as their king."
"The strength of a person's fate varies from individual to individual."
This goddess is just piling responsibilities on me without my consent!
"And it seems like you don't have many believers at the moment. As most have lost faith, and some are already dead." then the goddess started smiling wide, a happy, joyous smile.
"However, it seems there's one female knight who still believes in you, and with that single seed, it is enough for you to perform one summon… Fascinating…"
Kai's ears perked up at the revelation.
For the first time, he finally found some interest in the conversation at hand.
No one in the kingdom believed in their king… except for one.
Who could it be?
"Did the king do anything to make the people hate him?" Kai asked seriously.
The goddess's expression softened.
"Who can say? But if you hope to survive and grow stronger, your foremost priority must be to regain your people's trust," she advised.
Kai shook his head; even now, the thought of being a king didn't feel pleasant.
"I can't even trust myself… how am I supposed to make an entire kingdom follow me?!" he murmured.
"In that case, the outcome depends upon your approach." The goddess paused, and slowly the world around them regained its color.
"I'll see what I can do then—" Suddenly, to Kai's surprise, the infected wounds he had sustained in battle began to heal.
Everything about this is ridiculous.
"My time is running out, and it seems your comrades are on the way. Lean closer, Kai."
My comrades?
Kai leaned in closer, and the goddess spoke gently to his ear.
"You have proven yourself to the First Divine Legion with your… little performance in the Throne Room." Kai could feel her breath, but what she was about to say carried importance.
"Remember this name, and your first legion will come to your aid." She leaned closer and whispered it to him, a single name that would awaken the call of his newfound summon.
Kai's eyes widened. What a weird name to call a Legion… As he nodded in understanding, the light between their fingers slowly dimmed, and with it, the goddess began to fade from existence.
"Will I ever meet you again?" Kai asked.
The goddess smiled as she faded, her crimson-red eyes piercing through him:
"We will meet again, when you're dying and suffering, with your face firmly planted on the ground…"
…"Huh?"
The goddess giggled again. "I find you handsome when you're in such a pitiful state."
…"Dear fuck almighty. Save me."
As Kai uttered those words, the goddess maintained an amused look, while his attention was drawn to the sound of multiple people moving through the corridors.
Calming the swirling storm within his head, he needed to know one crucial thing.
"Your name, you haven't told it to me…" Kai asked one last time, and the goddess simply answered: "Elcarim."
What an odd name.
Kai watched as the goddess faded away in dimming and scattering lights.
He waited for her to say her final words, while she seemed to wait for his.
"..."
"..."
They ended up just awkwardly staring at each other as the other faded away.
Why are beautiful women such a pain in the ass?
Kai stepped down from the elevated throne floor and prepared to meet the people who were meant to be his comrades.
Yet, as he glanced back at the throne where the goddess had sat, he noticed that her scent still lingered there.
If I wasn't so overwhelmed I would've been flirting with the goddess…
"Over here!" Kai heard a shout.
He didn't bother checking because it clearly came from a human soldier.
Then, multiple people came to the throne room urgently, and again, Kai didn't bother to look at them, his back still facing them.
Kai could tell that some of them were already kneeling.
"My… my lord… forgive me for not coming here sooner." Then Kai's attention was caught by a female's voice.
So sincere, so caring and warm…
So much so that his heart… was stirring?
He finally looked back over his shoulder.
Kai's gaze landed on the female knight before him, kneeling in reverence.
She had short brown hair and an athletic build, wearing light knight armor with blue naval accents and carrying her sword at her waist.
Beside her stood the other soldiers in black military uniforms who had come to the king's aid.
I see. Her name is Astrid, and this body is fond of her.
But his attention soon shifted to the people who had come for him.
Some of them are holding firearms, with swords as sidearms. It's hard to tell what era their technology belongs to, but right now, I'm getting mixed signals.
It helps that they speak the same language as I do: Ingles.
Still, I expect there are more forms of writing and speech; this can't be the only kingdom in the world.
Then he shook his head. He found it… irritating, or perhaps slightly intriguing, that his thoughts about his men were far too formal.
That's not me…
Though Astrid was confused as to why the king ignored her, she remained considerate of his actions.
All the men who entered the throne room froze and were horror-struck, as they beheld their king, bloodied and solitary, while surrounded by the lifeless corpses of countless undead.
Some of them felt utter despair as they recognized a few of the fallen castle servants, they couldn't help but begin to wail and grief.
"My lord, are you… unharmed?" asked carefully by the Commander of the Imperial Guard, Sir Leonard, a man with long, impeccable black hair and finely crafted dark-robbed armor.
I know his name…
"I am, Leonard…" Kai replied… yet some of the soldiers were cautious in approaching their own king.
They lowered their weapons; for some reason, they felt something in the air.
It wasn't exactly fear they felt, but an unknown presence of power emanating from their ruler.
"My Lord, did you truly vanquish all the undead here?" cautiously asked Leonard.
He couldn't believe that their own king was capable of such a feat, it was borderline impossible to face that many undead alone, even for trained human combatant.
Kai then regarded his own Captain.
"Every corpse at my feet… is my doing."
All of his men were baffled:
"By the gods…" Astrid murmured under her breath.
Chapter End.