NOVPUB
Chapter 750: Chapter 680 Help Me a Favor
"You misunderstand, great King of the Dead," Lancelot shook his head, "I come from a... different world where the deeds of gods exist only within religious stories, and though people do pray, they have never received a reply. To close a portal leading to the Abyssal Plane, I had no choice but to leave my homeland and embark on a journey with no return, which is why you have never heard of my past."
"I see," the silver mask nodded, "Miss Elizabeth has informed me of your purpose in the Domain of the Vague. You are looking for Barrend Frostbeard, a dwarf who believes in Moradin. He was killed on the first layer of the Abyssal Plane, Pazunia, yesterday, wasn’t he?"
"Yes!" Bruto immediately answered, "But just now, Kalalin cast a Prophecy Magic, saying that my old man’s soul has never reached this plane... What could have gone wrong?"
"Let me see." The glowing eyes on the silver mask dimmed temporarily, "Huh..."
Lancelot’s heart sank, knowing that if something surprised this being, the situation was far more complex than he had anticipated.
What is it, my lord? What did you find?
"The souls of Barrend and several other dwarves have indeed not reached the Domain of the Vague. They... disappeared while passing through the Fallen Shadow Netherworld."
"Where?" The dwarf’s eyes widened, his voice full of disappointment and disbelief.
The Fallen Shadow Netherworld, once known as the Shadow Plane, is where souls are immediately transferred after leaving the body, before arriving in the Domain of the Vague. According to Miss Elizabeth’s memory, you have already encountered inhabitants from that plane.
The Grim Reaper butler’s voice rose directly in everyone’s minds. Lancelot immediately understood what was being referred to—Valasti, the master of Androlina’s Miasma Swamp, the dark weaver that resembled a giant spider. After killing it, the Eye of Sarezdon on Lancelot’s wrist absorbed its essence, granting him many useful abilities such as Shadow Jump and Shadow Cloak.
"If I’m not mistaken, your next step is to go to that plane to continue your search for Barrend, is that right?"
"Of course." Lancelot answered before Bruto could speak, his expression solemn as he bowed in earnest to the being on the throne, "Thank you for the information you have provided, great King of the Dead, it is very useful to us."
"No, this is no longer a matter for you alone," the deity in the silver mask shook his head, "Ensuring that every dead soul is subject to a fair trial is the pledge that made me the King of the Dead. The key words of that pledge are not only ’fair’ but also ’every’. If people cannot anticipate what awaits them after death, they will go to great lengths to avoid it, and countless disasters in the mortal world arise because of this. Therefore, this is no longer your affair alone. As a god who oversees the dead and death, it is my duty to find out what caused Barrend’s soul to disappear and to ensure that nothing similar will happen again."
The companions fell into a brief silence, taking a moment to digest what they had just heard; it was Lancelot who finally spoke carefully:
"Then, great King of the Dead, is there anything you need us to do?"
"Find out the reason behind Barrend’s soul’s disappearance and ensure something similar does not happen again."
"...What?"
"Of course, I will help you," the King of the Dead added a nearly imperceptible note of amusement to his otherwise indifferent tone, though Lancelot was not deceived, "The secret adversary who caused all of this does not know that I am aware of the situation, which is a great advantage. However, if I were to directly dispatch an envoy, it would easily alert the adversary, possibly leading to unpredictable outcomes, such as the destruction of evidence or the forcible eradication of the very soul you seek..."
"No!" The dwarf roared in agony, "We can’t let that happen!"
"I agree." The King of the Dead nodded, "So, you are the best candidates for completing this task."
Lancelot’s intuition told him that the face hidden under the silver mask must be smirking, there was no doubt about it.
"I understand." Lancelot curled his lips, "So, the help you were referring to is..."
"Before that, I’d like to have a word with you alone."
The King of the Dead stood up from the throne, and Lancelot suddenly realized that everyone around him had disappeared, leaving only the King of the Dead approaching him. The deity stood before him, the emotionless silver mask staring at the Human Knight, and then lifted a hand, peeling the mask from his own face.
In Lancelot’s astonished gaze, a man with green pupils, gray-black hair, and a square jaw was revealed—his features were very firm, but Lancelot had seen many similar faces before because it was a face belonging to a warrior.
"Great King of the Dead..."
"Just call me Cranvo," the green-eyed man shook his head, "We both know you will never appear before my judgment seat."
"..."
"Don’t mind that. The reason I wanted to speak to you alone was to ask a favor of you..."
"Please, go ahead."
"In Miss Elizabeth’s memories, I saw some scenes that made me...nostalgic," Cranvo turned and walked to the side, his cloak silently falling from his shoulders revealing the Chainmail Shirt underneath, "Just as the Lord of the Gods once told Shrek, becoming a deity is not a reward but makes you miss the times when you were still mortal all the more. And I need to hold onto something so I don’t forget who I really am..."
The King of the Dead took down a five foot long greatsword from the wall, held the hilt with both hands, and swung out a flurry of sword moves, the tip of the sword stopping in the direction of the Human Knight.
"Let’s have a proper fight," the green-eyed man showed Lancelot a sincere smile, "It’s been a long...time since I’ve danced."
"With great pleasure." Frostslash instantly appeared in the Human Knight’s hand, dancing out the exact same flurry of sword moves, "Perhaps...you’d like to strike first?"
"Heh." The King of the Dead’s mouth twitched slightly, "I’ll warn you in advance, though you won’t die from it, the pain will not be lessened one bit."
"And what about you?" Lancelot tilted his head mischievously, "Will you feel the same?"
"Of course." Stopping seven feet away, the deity ceased his approach and began to circle Lancelot in a counter-clockwise direction, "And that is the very reason I asked for your help."
"Is that so? Then I can assure you...your request will be fully satisfied..."
