"Why are you here?" Aphosis asked with a puzzled expression. As rational as he was, he wasn't omniscient.
"To find him." Sarah answered while scanning the region in the shape of infinity.
"How did you even find this place? It's location is very secretive." Aridam was curious.
Sarah remained silent.
The link through synergy gave them the location. But she didn't want to expose it to these people.
Synergy was...weird, to put it lightly.
While she used to believe it's the creation of Ares tribe, her belief began to shake as she learned more and more about their race.
Ares should not have researched something like Synergy.
Heck, even though the process seemed to be ready-made for divine paths, it seemed much more broad.
Even non-awakeners could use Synergy, however, they would have to pass some harsh qualifications she still couldn't fully know.
Aphosis noticed her reluctance and didn't push. Rather, he said in his characteristic emotionless voice. "Your presence is meaningless here. He has the medallion I gave him. His safety is ensured."
'Then I'm pretty sure that old bastard tampered with the medallion!' Sia held back the words she wanted to yell and clenched Isadora's hand.
Isadora patted her back lightly while she turned to Equilius with a hostile gaze.
The old man pretended like he didn't even see them and gazed into the distance. It wasn't that he was avoiding them. No, he didn't even bother to acknowledge their presence.
It was beyond contempt. It was utter indifference.
'Equilius, your days are numbered. If he doesn't kill you, I will.' Isadora glanced at the powerhouses, wondering if they were really supportive of Varian.
"We just want to check on him. He can get a little…excited in these places." Sarah gave an explanation to the rulers of the alliance and dived down into the region.
Three beams of light followed.
Watching them vanish into the distance, Keman remarked. "The alliance had to gather its best minds and resources to create the perfect hybrid. But Ares created an equivalent…billions of years ago. Have we progressed or regressed?"
An uncomfortable silence filled the space as the rulers contemplated their glorious past and turbulent present.
The women who pushed even the rulers of the alliance into depression were too busy searching for their husband.
They approached the green half of the infinity, Elysium, where Varian was supposed to land.
Even though they didn't pass through the barrier, they still felt refreshed by the breath of life that leaked out.
"Elysium has a lot of great races. If you have the strength, it's paradise. And Var has the strength." Sarah said with a smile that wasn't really a smile.
"If I find him with an elf or fairy or whatever pretty woman this place has to offer after we came running here," Isadora brandished her sword. "He'll be sorry."
"Yeah, yeah, as if he would do that. Let's go." Sia rolled her eyes and jumped in.
Two flashes of lights followed.
But before they touched the barrier, the three of them stopped and turned behind.
"Enigma?"
Enigma remained frozen, her gaze alternating between the red and green regions of the forbidden land.
Elysium was where Varian was supposed to be but…
"I…" Enigma bit her lip and pointed to the red half. "I sense him there."
"Ah?" Sarah tilted her head in doubt.
Synergy's signals ended once they reached the region. And even though they tried to contact him through their link, they were only able to ascertain he's alive and nothing more.
So, it's confusing when Enigma claimed she could sense him when the three of them couldn't.
"What? How? Why?" Sia looked at Enigma in horror as if she was betrayed.
"Wait, I can sense it too…" Isadora closed her eyes and focused.
Sarah followed. Sia could only swallow her complaints and tap into the link.
The link through synergy was lot more than just a communication channel. But it was perhaps the best communical channel of the world.
Not all thoughts and emotions would be conveyed, of course. But whenever Varian thought of them strongly or they thought of him strongly, those emotions and thoughts would be conveyed.
Strictly speaking, since he was in the forbidden region, this signal should've been buried.
But maybe the emotional fluctuations were so high that it ended up leaking out.
And the wives found it what was it that he thought of them for the signal to break even the barriers of the forbidden region.
"S-Sugar mommies?" Sarah was dumbfounded.
"Is he calling us sugar mommies?" Isadora crossed her arms with a smirk.
"…" Enigma coughed down as her head ran wild.
"Varian is in a very strict control of his libido. No way he thinks these things in a place like this." Sia said with certainty.
And her words caused them to stiffen.
"Maybe he's drugged and some vixen is trying to violate his innocent body?" Sia continued.
Isadora rolled her eyes in disgust.
"Hey Hey Hey, what's that look? I'm just worried for him, okay?"
Sarah also gave her a look of contempt.
Unbothered by the three, Enigma spoke through their synergetic link. "If he wanted to kill Varian, he should've reached an agreement with the Parasite Queen inside. Other than the guardian, she's the strongest. Maybe Varian is fighting her."
"…A parasite?"
"A bug!"
"Why did he remember us so strongly when facing that insect?!"
The temperature of the region which was once cold to the point of freezing celestials began to soar to the point of boiling metals.
Without a word, four flashes of light fired toward Purgatory.
In the far distance, Keman tilted his head in confusion. "Why do I feel so much killing intent? Are you sure they won't kill him?"
"…" Aphosis looked at him like he's an imbecile.
'How would I know? I've never been in a relationship. Rationally, women only affect the speed of my thoughts.'
*** *** *** ***
"Klynster's presence is fluctuating."
In a large castle built of giant insect carpaces, the parasite queen noticed the man's absence a bit before he predicted.
"Hiss~"
"Hiss~~"
"Hiss~~~"
The insect-like creatures in the hall, distinct from those resembling octopuses that hunt down Varian, swayed their antennas and issued some noise.
"Ah, my children~"
The parasite queen, a being who Varian imagined to be an insect or octopus, was a pretty humanoid woman in a long red dress.
Placing her hands on her flushed cheeks, she listened to the noises they made with loving eyes.
"Yes, mother is so happy you grew up to be sensible." She said with a bright smile.
"Klynster is the stubborn one! I gave him so much time already! Shouldn't he be an obedient boy and help his mama get out of this place?"
"Hiss~"
"Hiss~~"
"Exactly! I have to become the mother of everyone in the alliance, a little pain for that end can't be helped! Doesn't he want his mama to be happy?"
"Hiss~~~"
"Yes, he's a bad boy!" The woman's nose scrunched and she stood up. "Bad boys will be punished."
A tsunami of red energy burst out of the queen and she vanished.
It's been the third second since Varian and the group appeared just outside the barrier of purgatory.
The flickering silver boundary seemed to come alive as it flared its silver aura against the Undead despite them being in the castle.
"It's less than 10% of the total defense power that stops us from leaving. But even that 10% is not something we can touch." Klynster conveyed to Varian.
Being in a seperate space-time domain surely helped in reducing the difficulty. But it didn't solve the problem.
If he really tried to take them out like this, they would all be repelled back and even he might be implicated.
"Just give me a few seconds, I will get it done."
A lotus of green and red appeared on Varian's palm. The partial slivers bloomed with a magnificient light and at that moment, entire purgatory seemed to dim.
Once Varian took out the partial slivers, the Undead in the castle felt it without even having to use their senses.
The call came from the depth of their being. The partial slivers pulled at the very core of their existence.
The divine Undead next to Klynster were agitated. Their breaths grew heavy and they looked at Varian outside with a look of reverence and longing.
Sweating profusely, Varian enveloped the castle with the sliver power. "Just a bit more and it'll be done."
The plan was simple.
He couldn't overpower Purgatory's rules created by the Primordial God. Not with brute strength.
But if he used the partial slivers, he should be atleast able to manipulate and offset the rules for a brief moment.
In that brief moment, he'd take them out of the barrier and fulfill his promise.
"Three…" Varian began to bleed from the eyes and nose.
"Two…" His body shook violently, the power of slivers pushing him nearly to an explosion.
"Thr—"
"My sweet child!"
A mature voice rang from the sky and Varian coughed up blood due to the aura that suddenly crushed him.
A woman with long red hair, voluptous body clad in a long red dress raised her hands towards him and everyone in the castle.
"My children, join me! Let us be family from today!"
The Parasite Queen said with a brilliant maternal smile.
In response to her words, dozens of large beasts fell from the sky and surrounded them from all directions.
Varian's face paled as he sensed the high rank 1 power from the crazy woman. She's significantly stronger than Klynster.
And with all those octopus parasites joining, there's no way out of this encirclement.
"Varian," Parasite Queen appeared in front of him before he could even react and looked at him with a loving smile. Raising her arms for a hug, she said. "Will you be my loving child?"
Without even waiting for his answer, a red tentacle shot out of her body and drilled into his abdomen, injecting with infesting death energy.
Varian curled over, trying to block the energy but utterly failed to make any meaningful resistance.
Gently ruffling his hair, the Parasite Queen whispered in his ear. "Be my child. Be a good boy. Mother will reward you."
Varian didn't have the time to care for this psychopath. His flesh turned red and then black while tentacles began to sprout of his body.
"Arghhh!"
"Worry not." Parasite Queen said with a smile. "That old bastard asked me to kill you. But how can I kill my own child? Become an Undead, become my child. Purgatory is next and once we go out..."
The woman's breathing ragged and she said with a crazy smile. "Everyone, everyone in the alliance will be my child! That way, no matter how many children die, I will still have children!"
With a snap of her fingers, a red mist drowned the castle. A moment later, the structure exploded and her power enveloped everyone inside.
"Theia, Verina, Olisargh,…., Klynster! Everyone of you will be my children soon. Soon!" The Queen giggled and her bloodshot eyes turned to the sky with vengeance.
"Fate took away all my children, every single time! But what can even fate do when everyone in the alliance is my child? Huh? Answer me! Answer me you coward!" The woman roared with madness.
The sky cracked and a light fell.
The unguarded queen was blasted away and a power grabbed Varian away from the crowd.
A tremendous burst of vitality flooded Varian's body and he instantly opened his eyes, gasping as he did.
"Y-You…why, how and when did you all?" Varian couldn't help but ask.
Without answering his question, Sarah pointed to the mature woman blasted to the ground and asked with a cold expression. "Is she the parasite queen?"
Varian nodded.
The parasite queen stood up and looked at them in surprise. Then, she raised her arms with a loving expression. "Oh you four bunnies, come to mommy! Mommy will love you forever!"
Four pillars of killing intent shot into the sky and the four surrounded the queen with vengeful faces that Varian rarely saw them with.
The four looked at each other and then at the woman.
"Mommy?"
"You're that mommy?"
"Am I famous outside too? Ahahaha, yes, I'm the All Mother! You can always call me Mommy!"
The sky began to shake and the earth trembled.
'W-What happened?' Varian was dumbfounded.
Enjoying his confusion and the 'family meeting' that would soon happen, Logos sighed inwardly.
[Doing good deeds and not taking credit. That's me, Logos! Unlike my shameless master, I'm ahem ahem, a very great being.]
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