Path of the Slayer B3 31. High Gods & Outsiders 

“BALDWIN! Baldwin! Are you listening to me, Baldwin? BALDWIN!!” wailed the Nemesis High Goddess.

High God Baldwin, the master of the Crossroads Citadel Realm, stifled a groan that wanted to come out while sitting in his cozy office. He leaned back in his old and rustic office chair while the voice of the High Goddess on Path of the Nemesis kept wailing and wailing from the transcommunicator on his thick and wooden desk.

More than once did Baldwin think of smashing the pearly orb. More than once he wondered if he should’ve stayed a Demigod, the last Grade where one could have all the status and fun while avoiding a majority of the responsibility Gods and upward had to endure.

But who was he kidding? Path of the Trader needed more vertical power compared to other Paths just so he could spread more of his reach horizontally.

“BALDWIN! BALDWIN! BALDWIN!” the Nemesis High Goddess wailed incessantly.

Maybe if he ignored her, she would end the line. But that could invite further trouble, and that dastardly woman was too much of a loose cannon even among the High Gods and High Goddesses.

If there was someone who needed to be bound by cosmic red tape, it was her, especially when too motivated.

“Yes, Nova, I’m listening,” Baldwin finally said, turning his physical attention to making himself some tea, the pot and tea leaves teleporting to his desk. The godly headache compounding in his skull required it.

“Okay, good, because I need you to be listening, Baldwin. You must listen because I’m doing all I can to be patient. Because it’s really hard for me to be patient when my favorite tool of a bull has been disposed of like a cheap party trick. And I’m really having a hard time not freaking out, Baldwin! It took a decent chunk of my time and attention to raise that one … AND ARDEN THE NOMAD TOOK HIM AWAY FROM ME?!” Nova screamed toward the end.

With a flex of his powers, Baldwin prevented the transcommunicator orb from being destroyed. He contained the vocal power of the High Goddess within his office or she would’ve killed the Young Gods and Goddesses working for him outside of his office.

He could afford to lose some of them, but he definitely couldn’t afford to lose Young Goddess Cassia, his favorite. She was one of those unique and talented juniors who were hard to come across, and the further one climbed, the more important juniors became. To where even Baldwin would stake his life and go to war over his favorite junior.

“Nova, I need you to listen to me,” Baldwin said, avoiding any words that would trigger her forward. There was no point in even attempting to calm her down. “I understand your pain. Such Young Pathwalkers we have put our personal attention toward aren’t easy to find, and to lose one is a tragedy. I’ve suffered such losses before, and I’m telling you, I understand.”

“Then what are we going to do about it, Baldwin? That damn Arden the Nomad can’t get away with this! Are we even sure that the Embassy of Defilement is up to snuff in dealing with him? I’m hearing all sorts of gossip that he’s scaring Veterans when he’s still a Young Pathwalker! Should we get more Assassins? Thousands of Assassins!”

“Why not send another Nemesis?”

“You know Nemeses don’t grow on trees! We’re pretty damn unique among all the Paths, so a loss like my tool of a bull is huge, dammit!”

He did know, but he was just giving himself time to think.

Baldwin grimaced as he finished making tea before taking a calming sip. He didn’t want to admit that he was having some trouble monitoring things himself.

Not only did he have countless things to watch over, there was the trouble of Arden having cursed energy.

Even with all of Baldwin’s power, looking upon Arden was like having his eyes scratched. So that was another issue.

The more Arden the Nomad grew, the more he was forcing High God Baldwin to rely more on indirect means.

The High God on Path of the Trader sighed. “I had a talk with a few of the Assassin High Gods. Assassins-For-You is backing out of all contracts dealing with Arden the Nomad. There are other assassination organizations who are available … but they’ve raised the price exuberantly for any contract connected to that Pathwalker.”

Nova was saying something when Young Goddess Cassia burst into the office with a deep frown. Baldwin waved for her to speak as he reinforced his power around her to keep her protected from the rage of the Nemesis High Goddess.

“The Dragon Princess is on the line,” Cassia blurted.

“OH! Keep me connected! I want to curse that brat out! Who the hell does she think she is? She’s a freaking Veteran acting like she’s a Primordial!” Nova grouched.

Baldwin also had some misgivings about Dragon Princess Melody Eclipse. For one, there were many dragon princesses across the Realm Verse, yet only Melody Eclipse held the title Dragon Princess with the letters ‘D’ and ‘P’ capitalized.

None other had the right.

Second, the High Gods and High Goddesses of the Dragon Princess answer to her like they were her personal minions. Baldwin knew some of these High Gods and High Goddesses personally. They were proud deities.

Yet knew they would kowtow at the feet of Melody Eclipse without question.

And third, Senior Dragon, the Primordial on Path of the Dragon, arguably one of the strongest and oldest Pathwalkers to this day, was mostly absent from his position. He’d left Melody Eclipse in control of the most powerful multiversal empire across the entire Realm Verse.

It was aggravating for any High God or High Goddess on the outside looking in to treat Melody Eclipse as anything but tiny vermin. Yet, Baldwin couldn’t afford to disrespect the Dragon Princess – too many of his businesses were tied up with the Dragon Supremacy.

“Nova,” Baldwin said with some warning in his voice.

“Just go on, Baldwin! Answer her call! I’ll be good!”

Shaking his head, Baldwin answered the call and connected the lines. He imagined the Dragon Princess would have her own special and overly expensive protections against the invasive powers of the High Gods and High Goddesses that could reach through such communications.

When her voice came through, it was silky, smooth, charming, but nothing special.

“Hello, High God Baldwin. It is the Dragon Princess. Are we speaking alone?” she asked.

“He’s not, you brat! Hi! It’s High Goddess Nova, Path of the Nemesis! And I want your little boy toy Arden dead! How much can I pay for you to give him to me?” said the Nemesis High Goddess.

Baldwin held in a sigh. Instead of correcting Nova, he waited patiently to see how the Dragon Princess would react. He’d only had a few interactions with her, and she was still an interesting nut to crack.

“There is no price you can pay when I have the largest hoard of wealth across the entire Realm Verse,” Melody said simply, her voice musical even at its plainest. “It is more interesting for me to have Arden the Nomad pursue the Royal Quest I’ve tasked him with. Since we’re on the subject, I’m curious to know how much you’re enabling others to meddle, High God Baldwin?”

The headache born of frustration grew inside Baldwin’s cranium. Such a thing could destroy a minor world. He had to check himself before he responded to the literal brat with too much power no Veteran should have.

“The Crossroads Citadel World Realm is the pinnacle of neutrality. Whatever goes, especially on the designated challenge floors, is encouraged by the various factions vying for power more so than anything I could enable or provoke. I would dare say that you are the one who is disturbing the long established machinations that have been here before you were born, Dragon Princess.”

“Ha! Nice political response, Baldwin! But let me spit it straight to the brat! You’re some little girl playing a game that’s way larger and older than you. Kudos to you for finding this unique specimen of a nomad among your backwater vassals, but he’s pissing off a lot of powerful peeps who can literally crush you with a thought. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll give me what I want.”

With those responses from Baldwin and Nova, the Trader High God imagined the Dragon Princess would be angered. He imagined she would cry to her High Gods and High Goddesses, which would put Baldwin in an uncomfortable position, but he had means to weather it.

Nobody would make it to High God without amassing enough armaments that could promise equal or overt destruction of one’s likely or well-known rivals.

Yet, Melody Eclipse didn’t cry.

She didn’t huff.

She didn’t demand respect.

She laughed. It was a pleasant chitter that slightly moved Baldwin, before he realized it was a mocking laugh at his and Nova’s expense.

Baldwin’s headache grew fiercer with power that could destroy multiple minor worlds.

Without even saying a word, Nova’s killing desires bled through the pearly orb, forcing Baldwin to secure his office even further with his own power. Thankfully, Cassia had already evacuated and shut the door behind her by then.

Baldwin almost hoped Melody was affected instead.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Princess kept laughing until she found words to speak with.

“I can see why she’s grown bored with her little toys,” the Dragon Princess said cryptically. “I would grow bored as well.”

Baldwin’s controls nearly slipped.

Nova’s end of the line became deathly silent.

The Dragon Princess carried on. “Let me be frank for this moment even though I should maintain a certain role. Regardless of your beliefs, you are just small pieces on the playing floor. You’re not important. You’re disposable, truly. Your existence is to serve as background factors to those who truly interest us. And those who truly interest us are the little Pathwalkers on the rise. The ones of this generation, not yours.”

Nova tried to break in.

“Shut up,” Melody demanded.

And the High Goddess … listened.

Baldwin found himself unable to speak either. Nothing was truly stopping him.

But for some strange reason, he couldn’t conceive an idea of disobeying the Dragon Princess.

That couldn’t be possible. Such power could only belong to the peak of High Gods or a true Primordial.

Yet, Baldwin and Nova waited silently.

The Dragon Princess carried on. “Granted, I’ve been among these notable Young Pathwalkers to see if I’ll finally find one worth examining even closer. The type of hero my parents told me about. And long have I searched until I finally found one in this multiverse of yours. Arden the Nomad is such a hero, and I pray he returns to me so I may test him further, and have my fun.”

Finally, Baldwin felt he could speak.

But he couldn’t.

The implications of what he’d just heard and experienced were too scary to conceive. Even Nova was lost for words, even though she should be able speak just like him.

Seizing the moment at last, Baldwin straightened and focused all of his attention on one of the most important conversations across the entire Realm Verse.

“You’re not a mere Veteran,” he said, matter of fact.

“I am a Veteran, Locked at Level 101,” Melody Eclipse replied. “Unless I have to deal with those who believe themselves too great for the likes of me.”

“That’s impossible,” Nova blurted. “Nobody has such power. You can’t exist.”

Baldwin held back from speaking like a buffoon and spun his mind to something Melody had mentioned earlier. She’d referred to there being more than just her.

She’d used language that the God-Queen would when referring to all Pathwalkers as her toys.

She’d spoken of the Realm Verse as a multiverse that wasn’t originally hers.

“What is your connection to the God-Queen?” Baldwin demanded before licking his lips to say something even more daring. “You’re not her avatar, are you? No, you’re something different. You’re an outsider! Something from beyond the Realm Verse!”

“No, it can’t be,” Nova said in a small voice he’d never heard from her.

“All you need to know, High God Baldwin, is to allow things to play out between Arden’s squad and the Embassy of Defilement. Play your role, just like how I’m playing my role.”

She let out a charming laugh that nearly floored Baldwin before she continued.

“Sometimes, it can be a little demeaning to shrink yourself down and be among the mortals, but it’s so refreshing to see how these little ants overcome their anthills, especially the more daring ones. And if that means I’ll have my ego checked as part of my observations, then you’ll certainly learn to have yours checked as well, little godling. Understood?”

Baldwin couldn’t stop himself from saying, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Fuck you!” Nova cussed. “I don’t give a damn, princess. I’ll literally throw everything away and put a Nemesis Link on you. I’ll let the System wipe me out after taking you and everything else with me!”

“I’ll send you the location. It’ll be a big enough Realm for the both of us. It might be the last time I can stretch myself outside of my role before the Grand Generational Passing. And I’ll even tell the System to give you karmic immunity.”

Nova didn’t respond. She hung up.

“What are you truly?” Baldwin asked.

“Ultra,” Melody said, before hanging up.

For a long time, Baldwin sat in his office, not doing much of anything. His half-drunk tea went cold. There were many things in his Realm that needed his attention.

But he had to settle his mind on a horrible theory he’d once discussed over late night drinks with fellow High Gods. That there were things beyond just the Realm Verse. That there was more outside of this playpen of a multiverse.

Now there was proof. There was an outsider among them, and the System didn’t care that Baldwin knew about it.

Damn the God-Queen and her arrogance.

“That’s not fair,” Baldwin said up toward the ceiling. “You can’t do that. You can’t treat us like this. I’ve worked too hard and too long to gain my power and rise up this far. Why are you doing this?”

The System didn’t respond, but Baldwin imagined she was smiling down at him. And her smile was cruel and terrible. The type of smile that would happily throw him away once he stopped being a useful toy. The type of smile filled with sharpened teeth that would chew through Primordials like little snacks, a far worse fate than being tossed into the trash.

Thus, Baldwin made some calls.

He was the High God of the Crossroads Citadel World Realm. His connections and the breadth of his business network had some of the furthest reach even when compared to a few Primordials.

Knowledge was power, and everyone who would care should know about the threat of the outsider, especially the factions poised against the Dragon Supremacy in the Grand Generational Passing.

The game was rigged.

And Arden the Nomad was heavily implicated.

But as Baldwin made those calls, a random thought struck him. He wondered if the Slayer was involved.

Then he placed that aside. The Defiled Covenant had the Slayer contained. They’d said so when he called them earlier for another confirmation.

The Slayer wasn’t a factor.