Chapter 53
"If even you cannot handle it, then what chance do I stand?"
To my query, Mother Rhoyne responded confidently:
"For it is your destiny... Your destiny to destroy the forces of the Otherworld and restore balance to this world."
RING
Quest Accepted
Kill the Shrouded Lord 0/1
Reward: ???
Deadline: 10 years
"Damn hell..."
Having been forced to accept this quest, I had no choice but to conquer this monster.
"Can you show me everything again?"
"I will need your magic, as my strength is already waning..."
"Take as much as you need."
The divine entity only began to show me what I had already seen, but I did not mind, as this way I learned how to defeat Garin.
"Once more."
After the sequence of images ended, I said:
"Again."
And now I began to lose count of how many times I've watched the scene where Garin became the Shrouded Lord . The initial times were not particularly useful, but they provided the necessary foundation for subsequent observations. It was not soon, but I began to grasp some basics of how the barrier that held Garin was created. Fortunately, I had some knowledge of barrier construction from the Valyrians, or more precisely, the methods used by Aenor, which were similar to those crafted by the harfenians.
However, due to the Valyrian approach, I could not notice similarities to what I saw in the homeland of the harfenians.
"I understand."
My thoughts sounded quite weary, as not only mental strength but also the use of magic was very draining.
"What have you decided to do?"
"I certainly cannot defeat this monster right now. My previous adversaries did not possess such power. Garin now clearly has an incredibly large number of minions, but besides them, there is also the factor that he had an incredible amount of time to enhance his powers."
"You've decided to give up?" asked Rhoyne, clearly expecting the worst.
"Alas, I can no longer continue, so the only option is to improve, or rather strengthen, the barrier. And leave this problem for a future Daeron."
After some time, Rhoyne said:
"Thank you..."
"No need to thank me, it seems this was a task I was destined to complete anyway."
"But still, thank you... Do you need anything else?"
"No, and I don't have much magic left. Can you send me back?"
In that moment, I was returned, and at the end, I heard Rhoyne whisper:
"Thank you again, Child of Destiny..."
I quickly recovered and followed Jon's group. On the way, with the help of Tun, I searched for places where the barrier's anchor points were originally supposed to be.
"Found anything?"
Tun had been searching for a while for the points where, as I assumed, Aenor had placed the energy sources of the formation he created. I think he finally managed to locate these points, as the geography had not changed that much since then.
"Found them, but only three of these seven points are still emitting magic."
"Can you send which ones are still working?"
Right then, I saw a magical map of the terrain, thankfully already accustomed to how Tun sees this world with his magical vision. Indeed, four out of seven points were practically no longer emitting energy, and even the remaining three were slowly but surely weakening. If I'm right, for the barrier to collapse, it would be enough if one of the remaining three were to fall.
"Tun, can you start gathering clouds?"
"With a higher concentration of magic?"
"Exactly."
Through the connection, I felt Tun merely snort as if to say, "What would you do without me?"
And then I already saw how quickly the clouds began to form. Seeing this, Jon just shouted:
"Hurry up! I don't want to stay here in the rain!"
"Maybe we should split up then?" I suggested, seizing the opportunity.
"And how do you imagine that?"
Eigon, along with Jon, looked at me with interest, to which I merely smiled and said:
"At least let me do my own thing? Otherwise, I definitely won't make it in time."
The man from the Stormlands just nodded, which surprised Eigon, who looked at his foster father.
"He's already decided what he wants to do. But Red, remember that we won't be able to help you if anything happens." He finished as he killed another stone man. "Damn it!"
"Alright, don't worry. I certainly won't die here."
An hour later
It has been an hour since I parted with Jon's group and moved toward the nearest point.
"You see that one of those guards is following you?"
"Of course, apparently Eigon or Garin convinced Jon that I need help."
"What will you do?"
"I'll use something more interesting... Just tell me how long it will take to get to the point I showed you earlier?"
After five minutes, Tun abruptly said:
"You're already there."
At that moment, I stopped and decided to use a power I had received from a demon.
"Dark Shroud"
After which I heard a cry from the guard, which was not surprising after all—losing the ability to orient in space...
Under my power, I saw the terrain much more precisely than anyone might assume. Perhaps the reason the demon could so accurately determine the location of its victim lay in the fact that the shroud becomes yet another way of sensing.
And this ability felt very strange... Like echolocation... But at the same time, something else... Stretched skin that still transmits feelings to you? And my eyes also saw under the shroud.
"Tun, are you ready?"
"Yes, where should I hit?"
Then I opened the terrain under the point, removing the shroud from there.
"Wait for my command."
"Alright."
After I revealed the landscape to Tun, I had to start manipulating what Aenor had left behind. For this, I needed to extract the original source of magic, which turned out to be a piece of flesh and a dragon bone inscribed with a strange set of runes emitting a red aura.
"Let me guess, is this human blood?" I asked myself.
Turning on my empathy, I felt faint echoes of emotions from Aenor's tool.
"This bastard... Did he really trap someone's soul in this thing?"
I could find no other explanation for why this artifact was emitting emotions.
"What do you plan to do?" asked Tun, seeing me begin my work.
"I intend to modify the barrier. More precisely, to use the previous barrier, but with some modifications."
After that, I began my creation, and in a relatively short time, I was ready for the final part.
"Tun, strike."
At that moment, the heavens opened up, and I received a vast amount of magic at my disposal. Fortunately, I had already learned how to convert lightning into magic, and recently, I had improved the efficiency of this technique.
Quite soon, the foundation of the old barrier began to operate at its former power, which I could verify with the help of my partner who saw with magical vision. And my instincts also told me that I was near a powerful source of magic.
"I don't see any changes in the barrier."
"To overlay my barrier on top, we need at least three anchor points."
After finishing with the anchor point, I needed to move on, but first, I had to deal with the tail.
"Are you going to kill him?"
"No, I'll just knock him out and place him where he can't be infected by others."
Luckily, dealing with someone who couldn't see me was very easy, and soon I was carrying the guard's body on my shoulder.
"And where should I leave him?" I muttered, moving to the next point. "Ah! Found it."
After leaving the body on a branch of a low but inaccessible tree, I moved on quite peacefully.
Several hours later
"It turned out quite well, didn't it?"
"Aren't you going to praise yourself, who else will?" Tun asked.
"But it's true."
Indeed, I praised myself rightly because the barrier I created was indeed very good. Not only did I manage to restore the functionality of the original barrier, but I also set up my own, which had much more capabilities.
"Is that everything?"
"It seems so."
But it appeared the universe had a different opinion about this as Tun and I felt movement on the other side of the barrier. Turning around, I saw a hooded figure whose face was hidden. This person, touching the air, encountered the barrier. More precisely, he activated all the barriers, not only Aenor's original but also the one I created.
"Ha, a Valyrian?" asked the person in Royne.
And I began to understand who it was on the other side of the barrier. His hands, covered in greyscale, were a giveaway.
"Not exactly... And you, I suppose, are Garin?"
Surprised by my use of Royne, Garin was momentarily taken aback, but then he laughed and said:
"You guess correctly... No point in asking if you did this, right?"
"Exactly."
BAM
Immediately after my response, Garin, as if projecting his magic, directed it at the barrier. Such power made the shields crack... But fortunately, they held.
"You know I will be out soon?"
From his emotions, I could feel that he was confident in his statements. Interestingly, the fact that I could sense his emotions so accurately was quite surprising. But I wasn't against it, as it gave me a chance to learn the reason for Garin's confidence.
"Why would you think that?" I asked, gesturing broadly and continuing with a smirk. "After all, I not only restored the barrier to its previous state but also added my own."
"Hahahahahaha! Simply because the day when the Outer arrives is drawing closer and closer... You of all people should know this, Child of Destiny?"
"What are you talking about?"
At that moment, I felt Garin genuinely surprised, then he burst into laughter and said:
"Hahah, you really don't know?"
After I nodded, he, chuckling, continued:
"Your destiny is to fight the Outer. No matter how hard you try to escape it... Your destiny will follow you."
Thanks to my composed mind, I quickly recovered and continued the dialogue:
"And when will your Outer arrive?"
"Oh, no-no-no... That will be a surprise to you."
"Then there's no point in staying here..."
After which I began to walk away from Garin, who still watched me with anticipation in his soul.
"See you soon... Valyrian." The monster concluded, now with hatred in his heart.
I didn't even look back at the former prince... now another monster.
"Tun, where is Aegon's group?"
Tun didn't say anything, just sent a view from his perspective. It turned out that from my current location, it was quite a distance.
"It would be easier to meet them near the exit from Garin's influence zone."
Indeed, Aegon and his group were apparently finishing their business and headed there, although one guard was missing from their group. Fortunately, it wasn't the one they had sent after me. The one who had been following me was now waiting for Jon at their meeting place, which seemed to be where Aegon's group was headed.
"Heh, should I head to Volantis with them? Or should I keep up the pace..."
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