“The world.”
It was an absurd statement at its core. After wreaking destruction on such a scale, was that truly all that his motives entailed? Is that all their lives amounted to? A childish fixation on power?
“You’re insane.”
Rowley kneeled on one leg before Derrick before saying, “On the contrary, I’m more than sane. What could be more free than a raging storm or bottomless abyss? How free they are! Why should we not emulate their beauty?”
Derrick scoffed at Rowley’s pseudo-intellectual rant. In the human world, he would be considered just another internet contrarian - someone who wasn’t to be taken seriously. But in a world filled with supernatural powers and God-like entities, such sophistry was far more than mere conjecture. It was a threat that carried all too much sincerity. “Beauty? Is that what you call this? You’re just another cheap derivative, a copy with no identity of its own. All of you Demi-Humans in this city treat life like it’s a game - like it’s something to be thrown away at a moment’s inconvenience. If you believe yourself to be free, then answer me this. Why do you kill? Why do you desire the world?”
“It is because I am alive. We live, and thus we destroy. To spread, proliferate - become predominant, that is what it means to be a Demi-Human.”
If there was one thing Rowley enjoyed more than anything, it was hearing the sound of his own voice. Although he believed himself to be a superior being above the huddled masses, the act of sharing his beliefs gave him great joy. It made him feel far more important, more influential than he actually was.
In a moment of clarity, Rowley’s eyes widened with a familiar realization. “Ah! I almost forgot what I came for.” He plunged his hand deep into the Heart of the Divine Tree and ripped out the source of the frenzied spirituality. Rowley held the Mythical Item in his hand as blood-red liquids covered the gelatinous, yet firm exterior. Past the protective layer of flem was an embryo the size of a large walnut.
Rowley looked at a familiar man from the shady entrance of the Divine Tree. “The Alchemic Order has been up to something quite troublesome. Isn’t that right, Father Hoffman?”
Derrick, Naoto, and McLoren looked behind them in shock.
“No way…”
Father Hoffman limped towards the maniacal invader with a sharp, cutting glare. “I won’t…I won’t let you defile the Goddess!” With each step forward, Hoffman coughed and wheezed in pain. He had not recovered from his previous fight with The Boy, meaning that he could do very little to stop Reed Rowley from obtaining the Heart of the Divine Tree.
However, excuses were beneath him. Even though he knew that he had no chance at victory, he clung to the vague hope that a blessing may appear - a reward for his fervent faith.
With the last of his strength, he summoned a low-ranking Mythic Beast and attacked Rowley. In a pathetic display, Rowley sliced the Mythic Beast in half and mocked the weakened priest.
“Haha! Is that it? Man, I don’t even feel like killing you-”
Suddenly, a loud rumble interrupted Rowley’s pretentious ramblings as damaged vines fell from the ceiling of the Divine Hall and steadily collapsed.
“Too bad, it looks like we’ve run out of time. Cal wouldn’t appreciate my gift if it got a few scratches, so I’m out of here. See ya!”
In a flash of violet flames, Rowley disappeared from the Divine Hal, leaving the weakened investigation team to their demise.
Naoto, in a last-ditch effort, called out to McLoren. “Merchant! How many teleportation talismans do you have?!”
“Only three, but that's enough for each of us!”
Amid the chaotic darkness of the situation, a single strand of hope illuminated Naoto’s way. He rushed towards McLoren and grabbed two teleportation talismans, one for himself and the other for Derrick.
“Desmond! Quickly, take one!”
Derrick, with trembling hands, grabbed one of the teleportation devices. McLoren and Naoto escaped from the ruination of the Divine Tree nigh-instantaneously. However, Derrick looked at the pathetic, sickly Father Hoffman and hesitated.
At the back of his mind, a disturbed voice rang out. It was the voice of a familiar woman, and yet, he could not recall where he had heard it from before.
[You know what must be done, Derrick. Don't let sentiment cloud your judgment.]
He shook his head, trying to push the voice away, but it clung to his thoughts like a persistent shadow.
[Have you forgotten what he has done? All the people he has manipulated, tormented? Last time I remember, you didn’t spare a moment when killing the assassin, did you? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten about your-]
“Stop talking!” Derrick's grip on the teleportation device tightened, his knuckles turning white with the strain of indecision. The weight of responsibility bore down on him, threatening to crush his resolve.
[Oh, but it’s true. They say hell is paved with good intentions after all. You saw it yourself with those mad cultists on the upper floors. You can’t save anyone no matter how much strength you have. People can only save themselves.]
“I know that already. I know that I’m already a murder, and I know that I can’t save anyone, however…that doesn’t mean I’ll give up on him!”
In a last ditch effort, he reached out and grabbed Father Hoffman by the wrist. Just moments before the throne-room’s collapse, Derrick used up the teleportation talisman, narrowly escaping the destruction.
___
Teleportation talismans are a unique type of medium that uses two distinct points of reference to create long-distance travel. It is essentially a “save point” feature. These talismans aren’t available in the public domain, but with McLoren’s connections, they weren’t too hard to obtain.
There were two options one could use when activating a teleportation talisman, the first being fixed-set relocation. Flavio McLoren and Naoto Gan utilized a fixed-set location to teleport to preestablished points of interest. It was a convenient method, but it required a certain degree of precision and concentration.
Derrick, however, took a different approach. Rather than visualizing any particular fixed-set, he expended the talisman with no set location in mind. The only thought left in his mind in such a crisis was escape, survival. He could be teleported to the surface, or he could be teleported to the outskirts of the city. It was all up to chance how well he would fare.
“The world.”
It was an absurd statement at its core. After wreaking destruction on such a scale, was that truly all that his motives entailed? Is that all their lives amounted to? A childish fixation on power?
“You’re insane.”
Rowley kneeled on one leg before Derrick before saying, “On the contrary, I’m more than sane. What could be more free than a raging storm or bottomless abyss? How free they are! Why should we not emulate their beauty?”
Derrick scoffed at Rowley’s pseudo-intellectual rant. In the human world, he would be considered just another internet contrarian - someone who wasn’t to be taken seriously. But in a world filled with supernatural powers and God-like entities, such sophistry was far more than mere conjecture. It was a threat that carried all too much sincerity. “Beauty? Is that what you call this? You’re just another cheap derivative, a copy with no identity of its own. All of you Demi-Humans in this city treat life like it’s a game - like it’s something to be thrown away at a moment’s inconvenience. If you believe yourself to be free, then answer me this. Why do you kill? Why do you desire the world?”
“It is because I am alive. We live, and thus we destroy. To spread, proliferate - become predominant, that is what it means to be a Demi-Human.”
If there was one thing Rowley enjoyed more than anything, it was hearing the sound of his own voice. Although he believed himself to be a superior being above the huddled masses, the act of sharing his beliefs gave him great joy. It made him feel far more important, more influential than he actually was.
In a moment of clarity, Rowley’s eyes widened with a familiar realization. “Ah! I almost forgot what I came for.” He plunged his hand deep into the Heart of the Divine Tree and ripped out the source of the frenzied spirituality. Rowley held the Mythical Item in his hand as blood-red liquids covered the gelatinous, yet firm exterior. Past the protective layer of flem was an embryo the size of a large walnut.
Rowley looked at a familiar man from the shady entrance of the Divine Tree. “The Alchemic Order has been up to something quite troublesome. Isn’t that right, Father Hoffman?”
Derrick, Naoto, and McLoren looked behind them in shock.
“No way…”
Father Hoffman limped towards the maniacal invader with a sharp, cutting glare. “I won’t…I won’t let you defile the Goddess!” With each step forward, Hoffman coughed and wheezed in pain. He had not recovered from his previous fight with The Boy, meaning that he could do very little to stop Reed Rowley from obtaining the Heart of the Divine Tree.
However, excuses were beneath him. Even though he knew that he had no chance at victory, he clung to the vague hope that a blessing may appear - a reward for his fervent faith.
With the last of his strength, he summoned a low-ranking Mythic Beast and attacked Rowley. In a pathetic display, Rowley sliced the Mythic Beast in half and mocked the weakened priest.
“Haha! Is that it? Man, I don’t even feel like killing you-”
Suddenly, a loud rumble interrupted Rowley’s pretentious ramblings as damaged vines fell from the ceiling of the Divine Hall and steadily collapsed.
“Too bad, it looks like we’ve run out of time. Cal wouldn’t appreciate my gift if it got a few scratches, so I’m out of here. See ya!”
In a flash of violet flames, Rowley disappeared from the Divine Hal, leaving the weakened investigation team to their demise.
Naoto, in a last-ditch effort, called out to McLoren. “Merchant! How many teleportation talismans do you have?!”
“Only three, but that's enough for each of us!”
Amid the chaotic darkness of the situation, a single strand of hope illuminated Naoto’s way. He rushed towards McLoren and grabbed two teleportation talismans, one for himself and the other for Derrick.
“Desmond! Quickly, take one!”
Derrick, with trembling hands, grabbed one of the teleportation devices. McLoren and Naoto escaped from the ruination of the Divine Tree nigh-instantaneously. However, Derrick looked at the pathetic, sickly Father Hoffman and hesitated.
At the back of his mind, a disturbed voice rang out. It was the voice of a familiar woman, and yet, he could not recall where he had heard it from before.
[You know what must be done, Derrick. Don't let sentiment cloud your judgment.]
He shook his head, trying to push the voice away, but it clung to his thoughts like a persistent shadow.
[Have you forgotten what he has done? All the people he has manipulated, tormented? Last time I remember, you didn’t spare a moment when killing the assassin, did you? Or perhaps you’ve forgotten about your-]
“Stop talking!” Derrick's grip on the teleportation device tightened, his knuckles turning white with the strain of indecision. The weight of responsibility bore down on him, threatening to crush his resolve.
[Oh, but it’s true. They say hell is paved with good intentions after all. You saw it yourself with those mad cultists on the upper floors. You can’t save anyone no matter how much strength you have. People can only save themselves.]
“I know that already. I know that I’m already a murder, and I know that I can’t save anyone, however…that doesn’t mean I’ll give up on him!”
In a last ditch effort, he reached out and grabbed Father Hoffman by the wrist. Just moments before the throne-room’s collapse, Derrick used up the teleportation talisman, narrowly escaping the destruction.
___
Teleportation talismans are a unique type of medium that uses two distinct points of reference to create long-distance travel. It is essentially a “save point” feature. These talismans aren’t available in the public domain, but with McLoren’s connections, they weren’t too hard to obtain.
There were two options one could use when activating a teleportation talisman, the first being fixed-set relocation. Flavio McLoren and Naoto Gan utilized a fixed-set location to teleport to preestablished points of interest. It was a convenient method, but it required a certain degree of precision and concentration.
Derrick, however, took a different approach. Rather than visualizing any particular fixed-set, he expended the talisman with no set location in mind. The only thought left in his mind in such a crisis was escape, survival. He could be teleported to the surface, or he could be teleported to the outskirts of the city. It was all up to chance how well he would fare.
