On the way home I stopped by the blue pharmacy and grabbed the only elixir Miach had in stock. I didn't expect that I'd need it but if I did I'd rather have it than not. After that I went straight home to get to work using my technique to transform the produce I grabbed into stable road rations. In any other case I might be able to hunt and forage for my food on the trail but the Knuckelavee had this nasty habit of leaving everything dead and rotten as it passed. -
I wouldn't even be able to use a horse for travel as there would be no grass for it to graze on as we went and any water source we passed would likely be toxic. The second of those I could fix thanks to my water rings but the first I was helpless about. Not that I'd use a horse to begin with when I could both fly and jog MUCH faster. So long as I kept pace to not exhaust myself jogging for entire days on end was something I could easily handle. -
Turning the fruit into fruit leather took a wave of my hand and so did taking the moisture out of the vegetables and turning them into powder. Once these were packed away I ate dinner before going to bed since I'd be leaving tomorrow. I woke up the next morning and peeled Hestia off my chest to get dressed. I ate a quick breakfast before gearing up with my armor and supplies.-
"Make sure you come back you hear me?" Hestia said with a firm tone even as her eyes misted up. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel-fire.net
"Who am I? This'll be a cinch, be back before you even realize I'm gone." I said giving her a thumbs up since she couldn't see my grin under my helm/mask.
I left after that headed for the adventurers guild to get the intel from Hermes about where I need to go. Honestly you'd think finding something like that would be easy with the destruction left in it's wake but the world was large and I didn't have the time to try. The longer I took finding and beating this thing to death the more people it will kill. I was received immediately upon entering the adventurers guild and brought to Mardeel's office and then Ouranos's chamber.-
"I am pleased to see that you are giving this matter it's due diligence. Hermes is not quite yet here however so we will have to wait until he arrives." the god said as I arrived.
"Color me surprised. I might not like the guy but even I will admit he's usually punctual if nothing else." I said genuinely surprised by this.
"As is his nature as a messenger god. We did not set a defined time for this however so he can not be considered late." Ouranos said simply.
"I suppose that's true. Still I fully expected him to be here already so I could set off as fast as possible." I said with a sigh.
"I was delayed by a returning scout from my familia." a familiar male voice said from the stairs.
"Speak of the devil and he will appear. Where am I going?" I asked Hermes seriously.
"Here." he said pulling out a map of the globe and point at a spot on it.
"Telskyura? The amazoness kingdom? Did the Kali familia ask for help or have I misunderstood their stance towards Orario's interference on their land?" I asked seriously.
Telskyura was a notorious kingdom for their dominating stance towards ruling. Which made sense given the goddess at the helm was Kali herself, a goddess of destruction. Men in that kingdom had no rights and were relegated to sperm banks to keep the amazoness race going. Even worse the kingdom tended to get hostile when outside forces moved within it's borders, ESPECIALLY Orario. Kali was not happy with her kingdom being weaker than a single city state and it showed in her politics. There was a standing order in the kingdom that if any decently powerful adventurer set foot in the kingdom and were discovered they were to be captured or killed depending on their gender.-
"As it happens my child who had delayed me brought word on precisely this matter. The Kali familia tried to kill the beast themselves two days ago and the entire attack party was wiped out to the last. My child was discovered and allowed to return in order to deliver a message from Kali herself. For as long as the beast still lives the Kali familia will turn a blind eye to any actions taken on Telskyuran soil by Orario." Hermes said seriously.
"What an insidious goddess." I said with a complaining tone.
Ouranos frowned "Explain." he commanded.
"It's the wording used here. "For as long as the beast lives" Meaning the moment it's dead she no longer has to care about snatching up whoever killed the thing breaking the deal. I'll have to kill any scouts she has watching the thing before I take it out or have to deal with that afterwards." I said frankly.
Ouranos frown deepened at this "There is no choice. Do what you deem necessary to kill the beast and return. If you must be openly hostile with Kali's forces do so with my blessing." he said seriously.
"Alrighty then. Guess I'm off to the east then." I said with a nod before leaving the chamber.
Leaving the adventurers guild I reached into my supply sack and took out a mana potion that I popped the cork on and downed before putting away the vial as my cursed energy began to roil within me and overflow. Flames sprung to life around my body and with a loud "BOOM!" that shook the surroundings I shot into the sky. It wouldn't surprise me if most of Orario noticed my black flaming figure rising up before a massive burst of speed shot me at breakneck speeds east over the city and the fields outside the wall.