The Greatest Sin [Progression Fantasy][Kingdom Building]
Chapter 408 – Behind Schedule

The White Pantheon as a whole pushes for the Hunts, Maisara most of all. To some degree, I understand. The monstrosities that came out of Baalka’s and Anassa’s laboratories were never supposed to be alive. They are not even animals, much less people. I assume that these creations, whatever they are, spend every waking moment in utter agony. A certain part of me wants that to be true for there is no nobility in hunting a race to extinction.

They are degenerated monsters. Unlike beastmen, which is animal spliced onto man, these are cancerous fusions of creatures that were never meant to share a body. Whether they have souls is up for debate but surely they cannot possess minds. Noble Fer can speak to every creature on Arda save for disease yet they do not listen even to her. We saw how Arascus’ Legions would drag their cages to the battlefield and then cut them loose.

Maybe a certain part of me is generalising. Each of the monstrosities is unique. Maybe there is one out there that is sane. I highly doubt it. They only stay alive due to their own overwhelming regeneration. I do not see how a creature that is constantly tearing itself apart can remain sane. I am certain no one else will mention it, so I will write it here. The single thing to respect about the monstrosities is the sheer scientific achievement they represent. Anassa and Baalka managed to create an entirely new species of creature that constantly struggled towards death even though it could not escape from its own life. It is not a question that if they are allowed to continue living, they will cause endless terror and suffering. For the good of mankind, they have to be wiped from Arda.

Still though, just because it has to be done does not mean I have to be happy about it.

- Excerpt from “A Treatise on the Epan Hunts”, written by God Atis, of the Hunt.

Helenna knew she shouldn’t be happy every time Arascus came in. She knew the situation was getting out of control. There were plenty of love stories out there, Helenna had always assumed them fantasies. Or maybe they were merely creations by mortals for mortals, in the same fashion that Divines have never created their own Divine. Helenna’s favourite kind of story were the kinds that weren’t warnings against obsession but rather fantasies of what obsession could be idealised as.

Malam was a good friend. There was a sisterhood there. The Goddess of Hatred was lovely, the annoyances Malam brought with her Helenna only appreciated. Helenna could understand why after all, they were both Goddesses of passion. The emotions may be opposite, but they were branches which sprouted from the same tree. It was not like trying to deal with Maisara or Allasaria who did not even pretend to care about the things Helenna cared about.

Yet Arascus was not Malam. Malam may be a friend, but the God she called Father had effortlessly smeared Helenna with an obsession the Goddess of Love thought she was immune to. She smiled and poured wine for the man and then another for herself. It wasn’t his strength or his looks, although the eyes that managed to make her feel like an inept child certainly did help. Nor was it his ambition or drive, there were plenty of Divines out there that had dreams. Even the man’s character was not terribly unique. Certainly it was extreme, but the inability to slow down? The fact he had power? Something as shallow as him being terribly tall?

Helenna could not quite point to a single part of Arascus that she particularly enjoyed over the others. She enjoyed the whole portrait of the man and the whole portrait was made grander thanks to the fact that there wasn’t a single part of him that cast shadow over the rest. In the stories Helenna red, each part of him was a red flag yet how could a person be composed entirely of red flags? That simply did not happen.

“I poured you one.” Helenna set a glass of wine over on the table as Arascus sighed. He stared off into the mountains in the distance and idly took the glass as Helenna sat down on the other side of the table. They were in one of the many estates Olonia had declared as residencies for Divines in the mountains. The Goddess of Lubska presented herself as some idiot who could not scheme, but whether accidently or purposefully, she had actually managed to ingratiate herself into the inner politics of the Empire even if Lubska lacked economic or military cohesion at large. At this point, when Gods needed a break or a secret meeting, they would head off to southern Lubska and nowhere else.

Arascus took the glass and drank a quarter of it on the first swing. Helenna pulled her eyes away from the God as to not seem too desperate. That was never attractive. And Arascus began. “The situation right now is that Anarchia has managed to steal sorcery and is handing it out. During the battle with Fer, Anarchia apparently dropped she steals humanity. We’re looking for monsters.”

Helenna stared into her red glass of wine and smiled to herself. Was it paranoia or was the man leaving something out? Or was it just her own distrustfulness after a millennium with the White Pantheon? Allasaria never explained full mission details and Helenna had always needed to pester the Goddess of Light to get the information she actually needed to proceed. “Do I look like I know monsters?” Helenna asked, she was partly being difficult and partly what was she supposed to do? Pull a basilisk out from between her legs?

Arascus smiled and glanced at Helenna. The Goddess of Love felt her hair flash red for a moment and then it managed to regain its pleasant homekeeper’s brown. “I’m not asking for you to ring one.” Arascus joked. “But if you know then it would be appreciated.”

“What about the beasts of Arika?” Helenna asked.

“We’ve tested it out with the vulture already.” Arascus said. “They lose power rapidly when taken away from Arika.”

“Like fortress-deities.”

“Like fortress-deities.” Arascus confirmed and Helenna smiled to herself that she got it correct. Her hair flashed a victorious red for a moment and she got it back to the brown. She always enjoyed how her hair made her the centre of attention yet Arascus somehow managed to make her hate it. “If worst comes to worst, we can use one of them but the timing will be tight. I’m honestly not sure that Anarchia won’t defeat them with sorcery, and she can just run away.”

“And it will be bad for Arika at large if they see their great beasts be taken down by Anarchia of all people.” Helenna added. The population falling into a spiritual malaise could breed resentment. That didn’t bode well for mass consciousness and especially for Divines borne out of such thoughts.

“It will also give Anarchia credence if the whole might of a continent has to be brought down upon her.” Arascus added. “I want to wipe her out permanently. It can’t be a battle, it needs to be a humiliation. A definite end to where only the insane or the deluded will believe in her.” Helenna leaned back and stared at the mountains as she sipped her wine. A pair of helicopters were flying east, along with a transport plane high above them. Construction had started too, it was difficult to see but a railway bridge was being built to cross a river. “Their heading to the UEL.” Arascus said as he pointed to the helicopters.

“Did they make it out alright?” Helenna asked. “Iniri messaged me but…” But she would rather hear it from this man than from her best friend.

“They made it out. Kavaa was exhausted but they’re all alive. Do you know what happened?”

“Kavaa made men immortal.” Helenna said. “And there was a confrontation with Be’elzebub.”

Arascus finished his wine and sighed heavily. “That’s true. Tartarus is now going to join the war. I’m going to start fortifying the major cities in Epa and Arika. That document is going to land on your desk soon but we need to prepare traditional defences.”

“Traditional defences?” Helenna asked.

“City walls and shields. Elassa will be over here too. She’ll sanctify the Imperial Colleges of Magic in Epa. You’re job will be to rally volunteers to aid in the constructions. It needs to be urgent but we’re not here to cause a panic.”

“Optimistic is the word you’re looking for.” Helenna said and Arascus chuckled.

“That’s why you’re getting the job instead of Malam.” He said and Helenna felt a blush. When she had been working with Malam on securing the old regimes into the Empire, the Goddess of Hatred had basically done all of the work. It was refreshing to know that she hadn’t just been made into a permanent auxiliary for Malam. “You’ll get details later, I’ve not written them up yet.” And Helenna smiled again. She didn’t bother containing her hair colour this time. It was a breath of fresh air whenever a Divine admitted that something had simply not happened rather than trying to find a reason. Most of the time, the reasons were meaningless anyway and they didn’t change the fact that the work was not done.

“What about the men Kavaa made immortal? Iniri said they’re giving up and…” Helenna trailed off. She mimed pointing a gun to her hand and pulling the trigger.

“They’re being sent off to the Ashlands.” Arascus replied.

“You’re not taking care of them?” Helenna asked.

“Giving them something to do is taking care of them.” Arascus replied so gently that Helenna could honestly believe it. “Kavaa broke their minds. If we send them back to their families, we’re handing a live grenade to the wife or mother or father or whoever will be their guardian. How many will just snap?” Helenna sighed. It wasn’t a good answer but she doubted there would be a good one in this situation. The solution was better than anything the White Pantheon would think up of already: Allasaria would just leave them to their devices, Fortia would send them to asylums, Maisara would put them on police watch and expect them to behave.

“Mmh.”

“I can’t fix them at this point.” Arascus explained himself further. “They didn’t sign up for this true so they can’t be blamed, but you can’t enter a man’s mind and slay their demons for them.”

“I’m not blaming you.” Helenna said gently.

“I am.” Arascus admitted as he looked out onto the mountains. He spoke coldly. “But what happened has happened, the past can’t be changed but it can be worked with.” Helenna didn’t know if the man knew she was staring at his face, but she didn’t care. The God of Pride continued. “Men can try to fight their demons or they can run. You contain them, you strengthen yourself, you come back to battle them when you’re strong enough. You don’t fight others demons and you don’t share your own. Kavaa shared her own. She doesn’t know how strong she actually is. The monsters in her mind would drive Divines mad, if she can’t kill her demons, then how can we expect humans to do it?”

Helenna smiled gently and put her hand over Arascus’. Was it presumptuous? Definitely. But she wanted to. The God gave no reaction. He didn’t flinch and he didn’t smile. He simply kept on staring at those helicopters flying by above those snow-capped mountains. The disappointment was bitter cocoa too dark for Helenna’s palate. “I never realised you care so much.” She had to say something about it.

“I wouldn’t be in this position if I didn’t care.” Arascus said then relaxed. He turned his hand and intertwined his fingers through Helenna’s. “We’re behind schedule and we’re getting off track. We need monsters Helenna.”

“And what am I supposed to do about that?”

“You were the Pantheon’s spymaster.” Arascus declared and Helenna smiled smugly. Of course she was. If something happened in the Pantheon, then she knew about it. “Did you find all the labs? I know of the Epan Hunts but did you destroy the mother-beasts?”

“Mother-beasts?” Helenna asked quizzically.

“The initial specimens.” Arascus said dryly. “They couldn’t survive by themselves but they birthed Baalka’s beasts.”

“I…” Helenna honestly did not know. The Epan Hunts had just been distasteful. She had not tried to pain attention to it. Atis and Maisara had largely exterminated those creations themselves. Helenna only had facilitated finding the general locations that they had ran off to.

“Alright, let me phrase it like this. Did you hit the Yekatinrenburg Laboratory?” Arascus asked and Helenna immediately smiled. That she knew!

“Six miles south of the city, in a ravine, in Yek woods.” Helenna declared it proudly. The little bit of caution inside was thrown away to try and show off.

“If you found then it was cleared out. There were no serious defences put up for Baalka’s laboratories.”

“We scoured the entire area.” Helenna said and Arascus chuckled.

“I’ll take that as a compliment. What about the Rhomaion Lab?”

“Rhomaion was wiped off the map.”

“It was in the ocean.”

“That too, four miles off the coast and in a large cave.” Helenna answered. Once again, she found herself scanning Arascus’ face for reaction. Was he actually smiling?

“Well it’s good to see you were thorough.” Arascus said. They went through a dozen more locations. Some were dungeons, some were laboratories, in cities and in the wild. Hidden away from civilization or hidden in plain sight. The White Pantheon had managed to find and destroy all of them. They hadn’t even been particularly difficult to spot. The general locations from which Baalka’s beasts appeared were already known and then it had just been a matter of time before someone found them. Yet it was Arascus’ reaction that shocked Helenna most of all. He didn’t get angry. He didn’t even seem disappointed. Frankly, he looked pleased. “Well done.”

“What?”

“You got all of them.”

And finally Helenna got annoyed. Her hair turned bright red and she started to speak quickly, although she didn’t pull away. “Well we’re not fucking incompetent are we? There was a job to do, we did it! We beat you at the end of the day!”

“I meant it. Well done Helenna. I would be disappointed in you and in myself if the people who beat me made such mistakes.” Helenna had no reply. The two Divines finished their glasses of wine and sat there in silence. Helenna knew she had to say something, but she had nothing to say. The situation simply did not call for it. Things were moving too fast and there was too much at stake right now to try and have heartful moment. And, honestly, Helenna didn’t know how to start it. She remembered her talk with Neneria, back then it had been the Goddess of Death that had brought Helenna’s tears out.

Arascus eventually sighed as if he himself was giving up on the moment. He pulled his hand away and stood up. Every single damn time, Helenna felt in awe at how huge he actually was. “Well that’s everything. If you can think of an inhuman monster, then message me. We’re behind schedule, so I have things to attend to.”