Chapter 54: If You Tie Them All Together, It’s Just One!
“The Day of Divine Advent?”
Isabelle’s face paled, and she instinctively shrank back.
“I read a book that described the Day of Divine Advent…”
Bai briefly explained about the strange book she had found in Eleanor’s collection, emphasizing the “Abyssal Lord.”
“It… it was her! The day she descended…” Isabelle’s expression twisted, a mixture of fear, confusion, and a strange, desperate longing.
Perhaps because of the reinforced seal, her reaction to the Abyssal Lord was different from before.
Bai frowned, but seeing Isabelle’s distress, she didn’t press the issue, instead turning to her other question. “Then what about the Place of Divine Advent?”
As had been mentioned before, the different versions of Isabelle were only different in personality; their memories were the same.
The adult Isabelle had known about it, so this Isabelle must know too.
Isabelle’s expression softened slightly. “Even in the Abyssal Demon Realm, we don’t know much about it. Only that it’s a place of darkness, and no demon who has ever entered has ever returned.”
“The ‘Day of Divine Advent’ was named because the place where ‘she’ descended had some of the strange characteristics of the ‘Place of Divine Advent.'”
Bai paused. “So, the Place of Divine Advent is where the Abyssal Lord once descended?”
Perhaps due to some kind of Abyssal Lord PTSD, Isabelle trembled at the direct mention of her.
But she still nodded. “Perhaps… but we’re not sure.”
“I see,” Bai said.
Isabelle seemed on the verge of a breakdown, so Bai didn’t ask any more questions.
She used her dream power to put Isabelle to sleep, a peaceful, dreamless sleep.
“The Wild God Altar… isn’t far now.”
Bai looked at the horizon, her lisp now a familiar, almost comforting, part of her.
…
The Wild God Altar.
To the other races of Solor, it was the equivalent of the North Empire’s capital, or the Bewildering Forest’s sacred lands.
But that wasn’t entirely accurate.
The North Empire had numerous city-states besides its capital, some of them just as prosperous.
If not for the legacy of Vikarn, the capital might not have been the most prosperous city in the Empire.
And the sacred lands’ status came from its abundant natural power, and the protection of the High Priestess.
Besides that, it held little advantage over the other regions of the Bewildering Forest. In fact, its military strength was even weaker than that of the border regions, like the Twilight Marsh.
Even so, both the capital and the sacred lands held absolute authority over their respective territories, especially the North Empire, whose high council could directly command the entire nation’s military.
The sacred lands, through the High Priestess’s prestige, also had a firm grip on the elven forces.
…But the Savage Lands, and its capital, the Wild God Altar, were an exception.
The Savage Lands, like the Abyssal Demon Realm, were a loose alliance of tribes.
Each tribe had its own territory, and their armies couldn’t freely pass through the lands of other tribes.
They didn’t trust each other; inter-tribal warfare was common.
So, when they needed a capital, they couldn’t choose a location within any one tribe’s territory.
Instead, they had chosen the Wild God Altar, a once-dangerous, desolate land, and had, with the combined strength of all the tribes, transformed it into their capital.
There were reasons for this choice, but that’s a story for another time.
This unique founding had made the Wild God Altar different. The central government’s control over the various tribes was much weaker than in the North Empire or the sacred lands.
Even military mobilization was more a request than a command, sometimes even requiring payment for their services.
Of course, the founding of the Wild God Altar had also brought some unexpected benefits.
Since it had been built by all the tribes, it theoretically belonged to all beastkin, and was the only place in the Savage Lands where any beastkin could freely enter, with only a simple identity verification.
Other beastkin territories were as heavily guarded as international borders.
The capital’s administration was much more relaxed than the local tribes’… a situation unheard of in the North Empire or the sacred lands.
And that was why Bai had chosen to come here.
—With her fox-kin disguise, she wouldn’t be welcome anywhere else.
Except perhaps the barren northern plains, where the fox-kin might have mistaken her for a long-lost relative.
As the device-car neared the Wild God Altar, Bai parked it and continued on foot, to avoid attracting attention.
Isabelle, now awake, was hidden in Bai’s shadow, her aura masked by Bai’s.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Isabelle asked, worried, looking at Bai’s three tails. “I don’t think fox-kin have three tails…”
“Right,” Bai said, pulling out the ranger’s cloak Norma had given her.
But she hesitated.
It was an elven military uniform. To wear it in the capital of the Savage Lands, the elves’ mortal enemies…
It was an insult, on par with revealing her demonic identity in the sacred lands or the North Empire’s capital… well, she had already done both of those things.
“Maybe I can just… tie them all together? Then it would look like one!”
A brilliant idea popped into her head, but Isabelle quickly shattered her illusion.
“I don’t think the beastkin are all blind…”
“Right…” Bai’s ears drooped. She couldn’t think of a better solution.
Just then, a familiar, gruff voice called out from behind her.
“Hey, you there. If I remember correctly… you’re Miss Bai, right?”
