Chapter 420: The Blessed Problem
Later that night, at the Stark Residence...
About thirty minutes had passed since Miss Bernadette had called to relay the warning she received from Madam Seraph.
The news itself was unsettling, but it didn’t exactly come as a surprise. After all, Ethan had already spoken with the goddess, and so they already knew this was coming.
The only unfortunate part was the identity of the person leading it all; Beatrice.
And for some reason, that brought a different kind of discomfort as Ethan didn’t particularly enjoy the thought of dealing with his vampire again.
Currently, he was standing outside the manor with his father, whom only just arrived as he had been asked to come over that night.
Nathan could sense the emotional distress of everyone within and when he enquired into what was happening, Ethan had gone on to tell him all of it.
"So, let me see if I’ve understood everything correctly." Nathan continued. "your wife is a goddess... who doesn’t currently possess her full power."
"Mhmm" Ethan nodded.
"And she’s currently being hunted by the Blessed of several different deities." Nathan added.
Once more, Ethan affirmed with the same reaction.
Nathan laughed a little. "That sounds strangely familiar."
A smile appeared on Ethan’s face almost immediately as he knew exactly what his father was referring to; which was the fact that his wife as well had been hunted like this.
"Is it just me," Ethan said, "or do the hands we’re dealt as men of this family always seem a little excessive?"
Nathan laughed again adding, "My wife is somewhere in a den full of dragons, and yours is a goddess being hunted by other gods."
Ethan sighed and shook his head.
Nathan then said, "It really does seem like you have a lot on your plate."
The conversation gradually faded into silence, but after a while, Nathan spoke again. "If any of this is even remotely similar to my own experience, then I’m going to tell you something you probably already know."
"The existence of your wife is going to place the people you care about in danger."
Ethan lowered his gaze. "Yeah. I know, and that’s exactly what the worry is... even if we leave house and move to another one, it’s not going to solve anything."
He shook his head. "They already know who she is, so they’ll just keep looking... a cloaking spell also does us no favor here; it’ll take them longer to find us, but they’ll keep searching until they do."
Nathan nodded thoughtfully. "How about you both coming to the Demon Continent with me?"
Ethan immediately turned toward him. "What?"
"Yeah, come to the Demon Continent." Nathan repeated, then added after a brief pause. "there are two reasons for which I suggest that."
"The first reason is admittedly selfish.... Without the distraction from the company, it would make it much easier for you to focus on growing stronger and achieving the right strength to help me fight the dragons."
He gestured casually. "And having your goddess certainly creates a newer advantages for me as well."
Ethan shook his head. "You’re truly shameless, old man."
"Perhaps.." Nathan smiled.
Ethan couldn’t help but laugh.
Then Nathan’s expression gradually became more serious. "But the second reason is the important one."
He turned his attention toward the night sky. "When your mother and I were running from the dragons, we didn’t know where to go at first. It took time before we eventually found out about the druids."
"And frankly, your situation looks a lot worse... you don’t have druids to rely on because the people chasing you aren’t dragons. The dragons respected the druids, and would never have attacked us if we had succeeded in falling under their protection."
"But the people chasing you are humans...and humans are more willing to do whatever is necessary to get what they want."
There was a brief pause before Nathan continued, "The Demon Continent, however, is different."
"It’s twice the distance to get there from this continued, and even if they somehow discovered where you were.. only a few of them would be willing to follow you there."
"Humans aren’t exactly welcomed on the Demon Continent." He smiled slightly. "And that’s putting it politely."
Ethan heaved a tired sigh and then said, "You’re forgetting something, old man...The gods don’t actually need humans."
Nathan suddenly looked curious.
"If they decide humans aren’t getting the job done anymore, they’ll simply raise new Blessed among the demons." Ethan continued, "After all, Beatrice wasn’t one of the Blessed until recently."
"So what’s stopping them from doing it again?"
Nathan lowered his gaze thoughtfully as it made a lot of sense.
Ethan sighed. "That’s why this bothers me so much...this isn’t just about fighting a few new idiots and putting them into the ground."
His voice carried a trace of frustration. "Because killing them doesn’t solve anything, the people truly behind all of this can simply choose new followers and send them after us again."
"And I genuinely don’t want a life that’s nothing more than endless fighting."
After a while of silence passed between them both, Nathan then said,"Well, it’s still an option I’d like you to think about...Because I’ll have to leave soon."
"I sent Jillia back to watch over the province in my place, but demons without their ruler are like rabid dogs on a loose leash...It wouldn’t take much for chaos to consume the place if I stay away for too long."
He exhaled. "And I know the timing isn’t ideal, but I’d also like to return with some sort of plan, or at least something to look forward to regarding your mother."
Ethan nodded absentmindedly as his attention had already drifted elsewhere. Then suddenly, his eyes widened at the thought of an idea, "Wait."
They both turned around to each other at that time.
"I think I know how to deal with this." Ethan said, "and I think I’ll be needing your help dealing with it"
"how so?" Nathan asked, looking puzzled.
"The only way this ever truly ends is if they accomplish what they set out to do." Ethan continued. "They either have to kill my wife.. or believe that they did."
The realization of what Ethan was implying hit Nathan almost immediately. His son’s mind was heading towards; Memory alteration.
"I know what you’re thinking," Nathan said. "But the circumstances aren’t the same."