Chapter 64: The Ferryman

The current of the river of death, which had been named the Lustral River, was rather curious. Near the bank, it seemed to flow in a single direction, but the farther one went into its waters, the clearer it became that nothing could be further from the truth.

Not only were there different currents flowing in completely opposite directions from one another, but some seemed to change course constantly. On top of that, there were areas of the river where the current formed circles, places where it vanished completely, and even points where it emerged from nowhere.

Not to mention spots where there seemed to be no current at all.

The curious thing was that all these zones of the river, so to speak, contained souls of different densities. Perhaps each zone served a different function.

“We definitely couldn’t have swum through here…” Cerys said, leaning against the rail of the large vessel. “No, actually, forget swimming. You can’t even navigate these waters. A regular ship would be torn apart in no time.”

“Not bad at all as the fortress’s first line of defense,” Nerez said with a satisfied nod beside her.

“Palace-fortress. Remember, we already talked about this,” Cerys complained at his side. “It also has to have the city of the dead around it and an outer wall.”

“The more walls, the better, that much is true… Edrick, are you having any trouble? This thing isn’t at all what I expected.”

Instead of the small, gloomy black boat covered in skulls he had imagined, the vessel that had appeared after using the skill ‘Ferryman’s Due’ could rival the largest Viking longships in size.

On top of that, contrary to expectations, it was completely white. Not even the seams between the planks were visible (if it was even made of planks in the first place), and it was decorated with golden railings and reliefs.

It certainly still looked like something from the afterlife, though, just like the Inner Underworld, its image was more pure than sinister.

“No problem at all, my god!” Edrick replied. “It feels like an extra limb!”

“Look, you’re my servant, not just one of my believers, so at least call me Nereziel…”

“Of course, Lord Nereziel, as you command!”

“Well, that’s a little better…”

After being named Ferryman, Edrick had become a lesser god, the same as Cerys, and his Eidolon had manifested as a long white spear whose end opposite the tip was set with a radiant blue jewel.

When he dipped the jeweled end of the spear into the river, the ship moved on its own, without any need for oars or sails.

“Just because you’re a god now doesn’t mean you don’t still smell like a mortal,” Cerys muttered, glancing sideways at Edrick.

“Is that a kind of smell? Don’t worry, Cerys, I’ll bathe as many times as necessary…”

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It’s Lady Reaper to you!”

“Lady Reaper?”

“Don’t pay her any mind, Edrick. And you behave yourself too, Cerys. Edrick is going to be a good training partner. Believe it or not, he has experience defeating beings more powerful than himself.”

“Hmph! We’ll see how long he lasts!”

“I hope I can be of use…” the last hero of humanity replied with an awkward laugh.

It was true that he had defeated a local deity while he was still only human.

Now that both combatants were lesser gods, it might seem like a fairer contest. But Edrick could tell the difference. The Lord of the Mountain had been far from his full strength as a local deity, while Cerys stood at the very peak of lesser gods.

He had yet to see what this world’s gods proper were like, but he would not have found it hard to believe Cerys could defeat one.