[Note from author: This chapter, especially when Perkele is on the scene, is likely to make readers feel uncomfortable or disgusted. If you are easily triggered, please refrain from reading further.]
Sahra goes and sees Perkele eating at food with his butt naked. He storms in, grabs his shoulder and says "What do you think you are doing?!"
Perkele, holding a piece of meat with his crude knife, says "Eating."
Sahra says "I know that, but why is your lower half visible?!"
Perkele, taking a bite from the meat he is holding, says while munching "Because I don't care."
Sahra lets go of Perkele's shoulder and thinks for a moment. Then he asks "Do you have any idea how this will affect the image people have for gods?"
Perkele, taking another bite from the meat, says "Who knows. It won't be my problem."
Sahra mutters to himself "Why did they even let you into this party?"
Perkele heard what Sahra said and commented "Because I have booze that is effective on gods as well."
Sahra asks "Is that it?"
Perkele says, after gulping the piece of meat in his mouth "Pretty much."
Sahra takes a deep breath and then asks "Would you KINDLY put pants on?"
Perkele smiles sweetly, stays silent for a moment and then says "No."
Sahra then says quite loudly "But there are children at this event."
Perkele takes another bite of meat and says "Like seeing my junk is the worst thing I've done to kids."Then he realizes and says "Rarely personally though."
Sahra is losing his patience and says "That doesn't make the situation any better."
Perkele, gulping the piece of meat in his mouth, says "Then find a better argument."
Sahra is at his wits end for a while and then asks Lovana "Are you seriously fine with this?"
Lovana says "Who am I to deny people showing off their own beauty."
Then Sahra looks at Fein and asks "Fein please. Help me out here."
Fein says "I'll erase that part of everyone's memory if it'll make you feel better."
Sahra mutters in defeat "That just enables Perkele even more."
Sahra then turns around for a moment, breathes and mumbles to himself "How does one bargain with someone who holds nothing sacred."
Perkele gulps another piece of meat in his mouth and says "You could lend me your authority over time for a day and I'd put some on."
Sahra doesn't even bother to turn to face Perkele as he says "You know that I can't do that."
Perkele grabs Sahra's shoulder, smiles and says all cheery like "Sure you can. Transferring authority is something that gods do all the time when they have other things to do."
Sahra shoves Perkele's hand from his shoulder and says "You are doing all this on purpose, aren't you. Knowing full well how you'd use that authority and that it is simply unacceptable."
Perkele sounds offended as he says "Now I'd never. You know perfectly well that I'm not into that world ending stuff. Sure, I'd twist a thing or two, but I'd make sure that I'd still keep my little playground intact."
Sahra sighs, turns to face Perkele once again and says "What exactly do you plan on using it for. Tell me and I'd consider it."
Perkele slaps the knife on his hand to his own face multiple times in contemplation. "Hmm… What would I do? What would I do?"
Perkele even closes his eyes and crosses his arms for a moment as he contemplates "I'd probably look into the future and see if there is anything fun I could do."
Sahra says "That's it?"
Perkele shrugs and says "Of course, depending on what I'd find, it may become a pain in the ass for someone else. Lives could be ruined, but for us gods, that isn't much, now is it."
Sahra sighs again "And that is why I'm reluctant to hand it to you."
Perkele smirks and says "A, a, aa. The word you are looking for is lend. LEND. Get that right. Don't make a guy like me look completely heartless. OH WAIT. We don't have hearts like mortals do."
Sahra says "I… can lend it to you for an hour."
Perkele slaps his hands together in excitement and says "Then it is a deal." Then extends his hand to finish the transaction.
Sahra, takes a moment to think about all the possibilities that could go wrong. Even looking into the future to see what will happen.
Seeing Sahra thinking, Perkele asks "Second thought? Or are you checking what I'd do?"
Sahra, seeing nothing too bad happening in that future, shakes Perkele's hand and says "For what I can see, you won't cause too big of a headache."
Perkele smiles devilishly and says "Excellent." And with that, Perkele snaps his fingers and makes some torn black trousers appear on his lower half.
Then Perkele taps Sahra's shoulder and says "I knew you'd come around." And walks off to somewhere, probably to use the authority over time.
Harlotte comes in time to see Perkele leave somewhere and she says "Drats! I'm sure I just missed something interesting! Better follow him."
Sahra asks Fein and Lovana "You aren't going to follow him?"
To which Lovana answers "It is not like we are his lackeys or anything."
Sahra says in a bit of a sad tone "Is… that so."
Now that Perkele was somewhere else, people gathered to eat from the table that Perkele hogged previously.
Perkele is now leaning on a balcony as he watches happenings in the future. He mutters "I see. I see. No wonder Maumar picked Sahra to inherit authority over time. This stuff gets harder and harder to manage the further on it goes."
Then after scrying more, he mumbles "Well the fact that Mercy exists in this timeline tells me that it would be a lot harder to manage in other timelines, so let's be happy for what we got."
After scrying and scrying some more, Perkele had an evil smirk on his face as he said out loud "Yes. This should hold some entertainment value. No promises broken. Just have to make things roll when she shows up."
After he is done, Perkele says in a loud voice "I know you have been watching me Harlotte."
This makes Harlotte fall from her hiding spot and she mutters "Owowow. I was sure I was well hidden. How did you know I was here?"
Perkele turns around to face Harlotte, smiles gently and says "From your smell. I know it from anywhere."
Harlotte feels grossed out by this and makes a motion to cover her chest. Then she says "Fucking freak."
This hits a bit on Perkele's ego, but says without missing a beat "I know every gods' smell from heart."
Harlotte makes a disgusted face at Perkele and says "Creep."
Then Perkele starts walking towards Harlotte, leans lower to put his hand on her right shoulder and says "I bet you would taste good, too." And finishes with licking his own lips for added effect.
This makes Harlotte scrawl back to the party to nope out of that situation. Thinking "This was WAY more than I bargained for!"
Perkele watches Harlotte go back in. Then he raises back to his feet and proceeds to sniff his hand that held Harlotte's shoulder a moment ago. This makes him make a creepy smile and an unnerving chuckle.
After the moment had passed, Perkele put his hands on his pockets and put a more acceptable smile on his face. Then he mumbled "Oh what would I pay to see all you in the graveyards of gods. The amalgamated gods in pain. Oh that sight, sound, smell and taste would be palpitating."
He starts to walk back to the party, until he stops for a moment and makes a connection "Oh right! Gods don't have a heart that beats! Hahahahaa!"
Harlotte quickwalks to where she saw Sahra previously. And when she sees him, she goes behind him to make sure Sahra is between her and Perkele.
Sahra was confused by this and asked Harlotte "What's wrong Harlotte? Did something happen?"
Harlotte cling to Sahra and said "Perkele is being creepy again, Sa-sa."
Sahra sighs and says "That troublemaker never ceases to amaze me."
Soon after Perkele went back into the party, he saw Li by himself as Sarah went straight to a table with food.
Perkele went to talk to Li like he was his bestest friend. "Hello there, god killer. How are you doing?"
Li responded "I'll assume that you are some sort of god, Mr…"
Perkele bows like a nobleman and says "Dear me, where are my manners. My name is Perkele. The savage god. Pleased to make your acquaintance, god of the mythril tower."
Li instantly got even more irritated than he already was and asked in an angry tone "What… Did you just call me?"
Perkele feigns surprise as he says "Dear me. Where is this hostile air coming from? I merely referred to you like I see you. A master of the mythril tower. Or in other words, you can basically call yourself god of the thing that grants me this opportunity."
Li says with a death stare "Don't. Call. Me. A. God. Ever."
The rest of the guests also feel the killing intent, and Perkele just laughs it off, "Hahaha! You really have no respect for your so-called lord! Making the party hall feel like a warzone. You really are a man after my own heart. Despicable savage who would cause a massacre, no?"
Li realized that he was emitting hostile aura, so he calmed himself a bit, but then Perkele said "Here. Use this."
Perkele holds his crude knife by the blade and handle towards Li. He says "This knife is something that can kill even gods with a single stab. The Bloodstained One would likely love to see such a killing happen in a grand party such as this. Don't you agree?"
The look on Perkele's face is that of a serious happy man who doesn't care what happens one way or another.
Li is astounded by what Perkele is doing. Handing a go ahead to a god killer to kill a god, himself.
Li's instincts are telling him to grab the knife and stab Perkele, but he knows that doing so will cause a lot of trouble. Sure, Perkele is the savage god, killing him would be most beneficial to the world. But at this kind of event?
With great force of will, Li refuses Perkele's offer by saying "No. Now is not a good time."
Perkele makes a confused face, tilts his head a little and says "Oh? You won't? The god killer not killing god when the opportunity arises? What has the world turned itself into?!"
Then Perkele grabs Li's hand by force, places the knife on Li's hand and guides the very tip to hit Perkele's left chest.
Li gets worried and asks frantically "What are you doing?!"
Perkele has a devilish smile on his face "Come on. Wouldn't you love to do it? Just a little push forward and I'd be dead like a mouse on a mousetrap. Come on. Come on. Come, the fuck, on."
Li is hesitant to make any sudden moves, as it might actually kill Perkele. But then the music changes to an upbeat one by the work of Copelius, and that makes Perkele tap Li's hand gently, walk off while waving at Li with the back of his hand.
While he is walking away and waving, Perkele says quite loudly at Li "Too bad you didn't take on my offer. You'd be known as a hero. But feel free to use it on me at any time during the banquet week. But after the banquet is over, then the knife will disappear."
Li is left stunned, but then Maumar appears from out of nowhere "You got your hand on something that can quite literally kill anything. Even me, if you really put your mind to it."
Li responds "Why would he give me this? Isn't he afraid that I'd actually go through with it?"
Maumar says "While he did look into some parts of the future, he didn't look that close into this interaction and the cause and effect."
Li says "But… Why wouldn't he when his life is at risk? Doesn't he value his life?"
Maumar says "He does. But what makes every iteration of Perkele so frightening is that while he might seem impulsive, almost every action he takes is carefully calculated. And with complete understanding of his surroundings, he can push people as close to the edge as he wants."
Li stares at the crude knife on his hand for a moment and says "So… He thinks that I won't use this on him."
Maumar corrects Li by saying "He doesn't think, he knows."
Li asks "Is that something that you saw as well?"
Maumar answers "It is easy to watch this timeline, which is kind of weird at times for me."
Li says "So even the mighty Maumar can feel awkward."
Maumar "Not per say, but something like it."
And with that, Maumar disappears as fast as he appeared. Li also puts the crude knife in a pocket dimension.
Then Li asks the question "But why didn't Ill ever fall victim to that knife?"
Meanwhile Arthur sees Marques and goes to say hello "Hi Marques. It has been a while."
Marques sees Arthur and smiles from ear to ear "Arthur! You old snow pick! It has indeed been a while! I heard you got married! Is this man your…"
Ernest bows frantically and says "Greetings! I am Ernest Qilpos. Arthur's husband. Nice to finally meet you Mr. Lodgrod."
Marques laughs heartily and says "You got yourself a good one! He even knows about me!"
Arthur says "He is very attentive and he is likely the one that has been talking to you with those messages."
Marques touches his beard and says "Is that so? No wonder you sounded so different. Hey Ernest! He isn't lazing off, is he?!"
Ernest bows and says "No no no! He is not! He is just so busy with other stuff so the task to message you was relayed to me! I apologize if I offended you in any way!"
Marques laughs once more and says "You sure are an attentive one! Glad the old ice pick has opened his heart to someone."
Arthur comments "Mercy also said something similar."
Marques slams Arthurs back and says "Of course she would! You used to not show any affection to anyone for the longest time! All logic and no heart was something often said about you."
Ernest says "I've also heard it and he was like that with me at first. But one day he saw how well I knew his habits so he started to talk about minor stuff as well. Those were the days."
Arthur comments "Of course I would notice something like that. Most of my assistants just do things once I ask them to. Never thinking ahead. Working like ants."
Ernest says "And that mindset is exactly why so many of them quit to the point they outsourced it to a complete newbie."
Arthur says "But they were incompetent in the first place. I would have fired them myself if their reputation wouldn't have been shattered."
Ernest says "And you made yourself look like a horrible person to be around by not doing that even though you were thinking of them first."
Arthur says "But I wasn't thinking about them at all. I was thinking that the productivity would fall if I caused my assistant a bad reputation."
Ernest looks sharply at Arthur and says "Arthur!"
Arthur says like it is a reflex "Sorry dear. You are right dear. I'll correct my behaviour dear."
This makes Marques laugh hysterically for a brief moment. Arthur says to him "What is so funny? I fail to see the funny bit."
Marques laughed so hard that he had to wipe a tear from his eye as he calmed a bit "You… hehe… You are so hilarious when you are put under your husband's thumb. Hehe, just thinking that you were once his boss and now… hehe, you respond like a good husband."
Marques continues to chuckle and Arthur says "I still don't see what is funny about it. Explain to me in great detail for future reference."
Marques says "Your old self wouldn't respond to anyone like you did, and… hehe, now you try to fit in like a normal person would, but you still act like a machine."
Ernest giggles a little as he says "Machine that is trying to figure out how love works."
Marques gives a hearty chuckle and says "You're right lad! You're absolutely right!"
Arthur tries to defend his "honor" by saying "I know how love works. It is a chemical reaction in the brain that stimulates the soul and… What is with those smiles?"
Marques says "Never would I ever thought I'd see a day where Arthur gets embarrassed."
Meanwhile Perkele spots Ren, the heavy armor guy, and starts to stare at him intently. Ren notices this after a while, until he writes letters that say "Can I help you?" to Perkele.
Perkele takes this as an opportunity to get closer to Ren, and once he is close enough, he sniffs a bit. Then he gets closer to Ren and sniffs once more, to which Ren tries to back down, but Perkele has taken a hold of Ren's arm by this point.
Then Perkele says "You… Smell nice." As he says that, Perkele gets a grin on his face that brings alarm bells ringing to Ren, but do as he might, he can't break free from Perkele's grip.
Perkele pulls Ren closer and says close to his ear "I bet you'd taste good too. My knight in shining armour."
This brings the creeps to Ren's whole body and he pushes Perkele away with enough force that you could topple an elephant with it.
But for Perkele, this only pushed him back a little and didn't cause a scene. Perkele's grip was broken, and once he saw that Ren had taken a defensive stance, Perkele just smiled and waved as he found another target.
Soon Perkele approached Marques, Arthur and Ernest and said cheerily "Why hello there you three! You three seem well acquainted! Let me join in!"
Marques says "Sure, but who might you be."
Perkele makes a noble bow and says "My name is Perkele, the patron god of savages. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Ernest has a reaction to this, which Perkele notices. Arthur asks Perkele "Why would an evil god come to a party like this?"
Perkele says after a few glances at Ernest "I was invited because the first demigod wished to have a little fun with the drinks I can offer. But enough about that, you…"
Perkele looks at Ernest, gets closer, sniffs and says "I know you from somewhere. What is your name, glasses guy?"
Ernest mumbles in a weak tone "My name is Ernest Qilpos. Husband of Arthur Qilpos, the snow elf beside me."
Marques and Arthur notice Ernest's tone shifts and the latter asks him "Are you alright dear? Do you know him personally?"
Ernest says in a weak tone "No. I'm sure there has been a mistake of some… sort." The last few words were hard to hear, as Ernest was speaking so quietly.
Perkele shifts the attention to the painting besides them "Do you know what this painting is called?"
Marques says "I believe it is called The Presepis of Chaos by Logan Eshmerdemon."
Perkele and the others look at the painting for a moment. There are abstract shapes and colours all around the painting. Yet there are some clear images of people of all kinds. It is a massive painting that must have taken years into making it. The details in the painting.
Perkele comments "I've heard of that man before. Wasn't he an Elationalist? Follower of Harlotte?"
Perkele looks where Harlotte is, and Harlotte notices that Perkele is looking at her, so she hides behind the person closest to her.
Arthur says "I also have heard about him and I can confirm that he was indeed an Elationalist. Most of his works centered around the path of elation and madness. There were few pieces that I can recall that were more grounded and depicted horizons of some kind. Wasn't there a piece about the Northolth, Marques?"
Marques answers "I believe there was, though I never saw it personally. I thought it was in your possession."
Arthur says "I don't recall it being in Northolth. Do you remember dear? Dear?"
Ernest hadn't paid attention to the conversation and was even surprised hearing his name being called. He says in a hurry "I-I-I don't know. W-w-what were we talking about a-a-again?"
Arthur is about to ask about Ernest's well being, but Perkele talks as a realization hits him. "Oh now I remember! Ernest Suogai! That was your original name, wasn't it?!"
Ernest shouts "I-I-I'm not a Suogai!"
Perkele smiles devilishly and says "Oh yes you are. I know it. There was a fellow in the Suogai clan who needed glasses and was pretty meek compared to his brothers and sisters. His name was Ernest Suogai. It has to be you."
Arthur asks "Isn't the Suogai clan known as one of the infamous bandit clans that live in marshes? Is this true dear."
Ernest looks with genuine fear "I-I-I-I-I'm n-n-n-not a-a-a Su-Su-Su-Suogai!" You ha-ha-have to be-be-be-believe me!"
Perkele laughs and claps his hands in genuine joy as he says "HAHAHAA! Look at the little guy. He is breaking. He is absolutely breaking."
Ernest is shaking and fearful as he tries to say "I-I-I-I-I-I'm n-n-n-n-n-not…"
Perkele stops clapping and laughing for a moment, grabs Ernest by the left shoulder and says "You don't have to worry. I won't tell your family about any of this. As they didn't even react to you being gone in the first place. Not. Even. Your. Actual. Sisters."
Arthur pushes Perkele away from Ernest and says in a threatening tone "Get away from my husband. I don't care who he was before he came to Northolth. All that matters is that I love him. And that is that."
This seems to calm Ernest a bit, to which Perkele starts to laugh and clap again in satisfaction "Yes. YES! This is the kind of drama I came here for! Many connections are happening between different kinds of people…" Perkele opens his arms, breathes deeply and says "How entertaining."
Arthur says sternly "Leave."
Perkele raises his arms in surrender and says "Fine. Fine. I won't get close to either of you two during this banquet."
And as Perkele was leaving, he said quite loudly "But come to think of it, it would be fun to see what the Suogai clan would do when they heard that one of their own had made it big. Now what to do. Now I'm not sure if I'll change my mind. I didn't make any promises about telling them after all. What to do? What to do?"
Ernest gets worried and starts to beg "Please don't tell my family. I-I-I beg of you."
Perkele just waves the back of his hand as he leaves without saying a word of reassurance.
Arthur hugs Ernest and says "I'm not asking you to explain everything right now, but I hope that you will one day be able to tell me about your past so that I can further support you."
Ernest hugs back and says "Okay. I'll tell you everything after this day's party. I love you Arthur dear."
Arthur responds in kind "I love you too Ernest dear."
They give each other a quick smooch and Marquis comments "Well I bet that Perkele's plans won't work on you two, eh? You two seem stronger than ever."
Arthur says with a straight face "Of course. That is what you do when you love someone."
Marques and Ernest laugh lightly and this confuses Arthur a bit, but then a small smile forms in his face, and it was okay not to know now.
Earlier in the party, the Yuinli family was separated as Etiri saw Lovana and separated from her family briefly. Meanwhile Takeru sees Hui and goes to have a nice chat with her with Yukimi.
Takeru greets Hui and says "Nice to meet you again, Ms. Loutros. It has been a while, hasn't it."
Hui responds by saying "Indeed it has. Has my gift to Yukimi been useful?"
Yukimi responds in a warm manner "Yes, Ms. Loutros. It has indeed been of great use. My arts have been getting better and better each passing day thanks to your guidance materials."
Hui smiles and says "Is that so? Well, I hope to one day own one of your works, not as an item for sale, but as an item that I can look proudly upon whenever I go to work."
Yukimi is about to agree to start working on it right away, but Takeru knows better and says "Oi oi oi. You aren't going to ask for free labour from a child, are you?"
Yukimi says to her dad "But father, I'd love to give a personalized work to Ms. Loutros. Without the materials she gave me, I wouldn't be even close to what I am now."
Hui says "Don't worry young child. He is just being courtual with me. You should learn from him and not agree without thinking how it will affect your image later in life."
Yukimi says "But… wouldn't it be obvious to give something in return for a great gift as yours?"
Takeru explains "While that can help to sow the trust you have with the other person, Golden Ocean is a long time partner to Yuinli family, so there is no need to do such a thing. Maybe if you give something to Ms. Loutros' 30th birthday, then that would be acceptable."
Hui says "Oi oi, Mr. Yuinli. Don't you think it is too early to think about something that comes four years later?"
Takeru smirks and says "Whatever do you mean, Ms. Loutros? Such time is a thing that should be given to show off the gratitude you have for the other party. Don't you agree?"
Hui sighs and says "You win this round. If I prepare the materials, would that suffice to be used in the making of my… 30th… birthday gift?"
Takeru says "Finally you catch on. You aren't getting enough sleep as of late?"
Hui says "I have had some trouble lately, but that is none of your concern."
Takeru says "It is. Golden Ocean is an important partner for the Yuinli family, so your health is something that I should be worried about."
Yukimi says "Please take some time to rest during this week, Ms. Loutros. I'm sure that Ms. Absolution won't mind your absence for a day or two during this week-long event."
Hui pats Yukimi's head gently so as to not ruin her hair and says "Don't worry child. I know what I'm doing. I was going to take one day off anyways during this week so that I can rest. Thank you for your concern, young one."
Takeru says "Speaking of the last part, isn't it a bit too early to call Yukimi a young one as you are in your mid 20s?"
Hui says "You people in the east often live longer lives, so I'm not surprised to hear you say that. My father died at the age of 34 and his father before him died at the age of 28, so my life expectancy isn't much to look forward to."
Yukimi says innocently "But isn't it because you all overwork yourself so much?"
Takeru burst out laughing at this for a moment. He collects himself soon after and regains his composure and says "True. If even a 10 year old child can tell Ms. Loutros, then maybe you should take some steps to make sure you won't end up like your predecessors?"
Hui sighs and says "Fine. I'll take two days off then."
Yukimi says as innocent as ever "And after the week, you should make two days of the week that you don't need to work."
Takeru chuckles a little and says "Sure sure. You should do that, Ms. Loutros. I don't even work as much as that."
Hui looks away and mutters "Shows how much more effort I put out though."
Takeru asks "What was that?"
To which Hui says "Nothing of importance. But I'll keep what Yukimi said in mind."
And earlier on Etiri's side. She sees Lovana and asks her "Excuse me. Are you Lady Lovana?"
To which Lovana smirks and says proudly "That I am. And who might you be?" Fully aware who Etiri was.
Etiri bows down as low as she can go and says "This loyal servant greets the lady of Beauty. My humble name is Etiri Yuinli."
Lovana pretends to think as she says "Hmmm… I think I heard that name before, but where was it again?"
Etiri says readily "Yes! I was the Maiden of Jyqbolos who learned of your ways in beauty during the battles of successions in Rutemoryu on the side of my now husband!"
Lovana pretends to think again "Hmm… That does ring a bell. Brother Ava was pretty proud of your accomplishments back then. Then again, many legends were born during those days, you being on one of the top crops. So tell me, what brings you to my presence?"
Etiri says "Yes! Your loyal servant simply wished to witness the beauty of you, my mistress of red."
Lovana replies "I see. I see. Though I appreciate the attention, do remember that, as beautiful as I might be, I am not the star of this event. Do you understand what I am saying, my servant?"
Etiri says "Yes! My dear mistress in red wishes to honor the hosts of this party, no?"
Lovana says "Yes. You are on the right track, but…"
Lovana places her hand on Etiri's head and squeezes it a bit "You better not forget how my beauty is truly appreciated. Especially in my presence."
Etiri's face gets red from receiving pain in that kind of manner from her mistress. She says proudly "Yes! When me and my husband have some alone time, I'll perform the most painful ritual I can think of while being mindful of my need to honor the hosts of this event and not disgrace the Yuinli name."
Lovana replies "Good." And loosens her grib a bit and pats Etiri's head a bit. This action brings Etiri great joy and she is beside themselves.
Then Lovana stops patting Etiri's head and says "Now, if you see Perkele, be sure to…"
And as Lovana was saying that, Harlotte comes and hides behind Sahra.
Lovana continues after hearing Harlotte's encounter with Perkele "Be sure to be mindful of Perkele. I have a feeling that he isn't in the best of moods."
Etiri responds with "Yes! I'll be mindful if I come into contact with the savage god."
Lovana says "Good. You may leave." Which came across to Etiri as "Passable. Leave."
With such, Etiri says "As you wish, my lady. May your beauty shine as always."
And with that, Etiri leaves.
Fein asks Lovana "Do you like being worshiped like that?"
Lovana asks "Don't you? Oh wait! You don't really remember your followers that well."
Fein responds with a passive "I simply keep an eye on the most talented of Erasionists. Still…"
Fein looks at Perkele while he is having a chat with Li "I think father is just being himself while suppressing his urge to mutilate people."
Lovana says "You are calling him father again. You know very well that he doesn't like to be called that."
Fein says "While true, I can't help but call him that when he is not present. Me and Avarumedel came to be thanks to his actions with the Bloodstained One."
Lovana says "I heard this story. Sure. But what really happened that day? Have you also erased your memories of that time?"
Fein responds "It is not as much as erasing them more than it is simply being a concept of loss of a memory being manifested."
Lovana says "Now even Maumar doesn't remember God of Peace's name."
Fein responds with calm "And that is what makes it so wonderful."
Sahra asks after listening to Fein and Lovana talk "Come to think of it, do you know if Perkele remembers God of Peace's name himself anymore? Or the Bloodstained One?"
Fein says "I can't say."
Sahra asks "Because you are restricted to?"
And Fein answers "No. Because I just don't know if I ever had that kind of memory."
Sahra thinks for a moment and Harlotte notices this and asks "What are you thinking about Sa-sa?"
Sahra says "I just… Do any of you remember ever seeing what the Bloodstained One looked like?"
Lovana responds "No I haven't met it."
Fein says "Me neither."
Harlotte stays silent and Sahra asks "What's wrong?"
Harlotte says "What if the Bloodstained One is…"
But something prevents her from saying anything and the gods present start having a headache.
Lovana asks "What were we talking about again?"
Fein says "We… Something about… Perkele's temper."
Lovana says "Oh right. He is in a bad mood, isn't he."
Harlotte says "I think he is just being himself."
Sahra says "A knave."
Harlotte replies "Exactly."
Some time passes on and Perkele locks in at the Highgreen pair. He grabs both of their shoulders as if they all are friends and says "Why hello there friends! How are you doing?!"
Both Highgreens slap Perkele's arms away from them and Mori says "Get off of me. Who do you even think you are?"
Perkele says "Oh, you haven't heard?" He bows and says "My name is Perkele. The god of debauchery, depravity and defilement. At your service."
All says to Perkele "Why would we be close to you of all people, you evil god. Please leave this place of… mostly decent people."
Perkele rises up and says "Ah, but you are mistaken. I've been watching over you for centuries now and the way you cause harm to humans… Umph… that hits hard."
Mori says in an angry tone "We do that with no respect for you, you devil. Humans are just lower creatures. Even ants have more value."
Perkele reaffirms "And that is EXACTLY why the races in the middle realm are my favorite ones. The way you treat humans is superb. Torture might not be one of my authorities, but I can't deny depravity and defilement when I see it."
Mori shouts in anger "Don't you even THINK of us being deplorable people! We have the honor of the elves in our very blood and your words are NOTHING but insults to our royal names!"
Perkele says "Ah. Right. You think of yourself as that. Then please. DO continue being yourselves. It brings me pleasure all the same."
And after saying that, Perkele sniffs both of his hands individually and says "You two sure smell good. Might drop the dose of perfumes a bit if I were you. See you around. Can't wait to see what things you and your race come up with next."
Then Perkele spots Soramaja and goes to grab his shoulder "Hey buddy. Glad to see you are still around. That civil war business. Umph. Bad for business, am I right?"
Sora asks "And who the hell you are?" as he brushes Perkele's arm from his shoulder.
Perkele sniffs his hand, bows and says "My name is Perkele. The god of debauchery, depravity and defilement. At your service."
Soramaja says in annoyance "You… You think you can speak to me so casually as the evil god you are? Leave my presence immediately."
Perkele says "Now don't be like that, pal. The massacres you and your race committed is something that the Bloodstained One and I are proud of. It brings us great joy to drown yourselves into that kind of thing. Erasing species and whatnot, while at the same time, being disgusted to go to their home realm."
Sora says angrily "What we do is just. You and your evil gods should just cease to be."
Perkele says in a happy tone "Is that so? Then how fortunate, you see. I have just the right thing."
Perkele hands the same kind of knife he handed to Li earlier that day and offers it to Soramaja.
Then Perkele says "Grab this. Stab me. And become the hero king of this world that rid it from the clutches of the ~evil god Perkele. Pleace. I insist."
Soramaja looks confused and Perkele says "Oh? You don't have the guts to do it? Not to be the hero king? Well that is too bad for a guy who brought a woman who isn't in a marriage contract with you."
Soramaja shouts "How dare you say that! I'll let you know that I'll gladly take that dagger and kill you if you are so much after death!"
Soramaja grabs the knife but starts to hesitate at that moment. Perkele taunts him by saying "Oh? You don't have the guts to spill blood in this fine event? Are you that gutless, son of the king of failures?"
Soramaja says angrily "He was not a failure!" But still, he hesitates.
Perkele snaps his fingers and says "Time's up. You weren't fast enough. Too bad. This kind of offer doesn't come often. Killing an evil god and that sort of thing. Well, good luck on avenging your failure of a father. I'll look forward to it."
Perkele starts to leave and Soramaja shouts "You better remember this! I'll make sure that NONE of your worshipers leave alive after setting foot to Rucksta!"
Perkele doesn't pay that any mind and starts to go look for his next talking companion.
Perkele sees that people are avoiding him and says out loud "Aww. People don't want to approach me. How cute."
Eventually Perkele spots Lotus with his eyes and grows happy. He approaches her and grabs her shoulder as usual. Then he says "Hey, my little opportunist. Got time to chat with one of your patrons?"
Lotus says as she brushes Perkele off her shoulder "I don't recall ever seeing you. You are?"
Perkele says in a dramatic way "Oh! How cruel! And here I thought that the bandits you hunt bring you great revenue. Guess I should change them to only hunt the poor so that rich people don't become your cash cows. Oh what a shame."
Lotus gets annoyed by the attention she is getting "WHO… Who are you?"
Perkele stops acting dramatically and says "Oh, my name is Perkele, the god of savages. Nice to finally meet you."
Lotus says in apprehension "Perkele eh? Please stop what you are doing with the bandits and let them become less of a nuisance."
Perkele says "Ah, but my dear Lotus. We have much to talk about."
Perkele snaps his fingers and soon they find themselves on the balcony he was on previously.
Lotus asks while keeping her cool "What do you think you are doing?"
Perkele grabs Lotus' shoulder with his left hand and offers the same kind of knife he offered to Li and Soramaja on his right hand. Then he says "Why. I want to give you this opportunity for revenge."
Lotus catches on, brushes Perkele's hand from her shoulder, starts to walk away and says "You won't be able to convince me to become a simple murderer. Leave me alone."
Then Perkele explains further "I can give you the opportunity to kill your great grandfather who is still kicking in the higher realm."
This stops Lotus for a moment, though she doesn't turn around to face Perkele, she says to him "And why would that interest me?"
Perkele says like a salesman "Well you see. He is your only remaining blood relative in the higher realm that lived in the time when fallen angels were cast out to the middle realm. He was the one who abandoned your family and didn't join them in the fall and has lived his days in peace, thinking you all got what you deserved. Don't you want to… show him the pain that the rest of his family felt?"
Lotus doesn't turn around but still says as she grows interested "And how would I achieve that? The mark on my hand prevents me from going further than Cruxbel and once the week is over, I'm teleported back to the middle realm."
Perkele goes and grabs Lotus's right shoulder with his right hand and says "I can give you my and the Bloodstained One's guidance to show you the path where you have the opportunity to find him, recognise him and kill him. The mark is no issue for a god like me to resolve. The only thing you need to do is shake my hand and I'll grant you the opportunity to avenge your family and kill that traitor. What do you say?"
Lotus turns around and says "If you can grant me that, I'm more than happy to go and murder that traitorous bastard."
Then the two shake hands and Perkele responds "Excellent."
Perkele offers one of his knives, brushes his hand over the mark on Lotus' hand and then says "This should grant you the opportunity to leave Cruxbel and find your great grandfather. But one thing that you have to remember is that once that knife even scratches a mortal body, it will kill it's target and vanish without a trace. So be sure not to accidentally scratch yourself with it."
Lotus says "Okay." And her head is being flushed with information about where she needs to go. And so, Lotus jumps off the balcony and leaves in a hurry.
Perkele just smiles as he sees Lotus silhouette and says "This will be fun in about a week or so."
Perkele starts to sing.
Fly. Fly. Fly my little angel.
For the time has come
To grab the knife and…
Soon you'll find that…
Pain will come.
For that is the way for…
Liars that come…
And go.
Then Perkele starts to laugh hysterically for a moment and then says "For crying out loud. Doing these kinds of pieces is Copelius' forte, not mine. Harlotte is a hard maybe, but her work is always out of touch."
Perkele sniffs his right palm and says "Not bad. The Bloodstained One will be pleased, I'm sure. But soon… I'll harbour your soul… Oh little liar."
And with that, Perkele went back to the party to find another victim.
And low and behold, it is Ult. Perkele knows who she is instantly and goes to say hi while she is still conversing with other quests.
"Hello fluffy tail! Glad to see you are fine!"
Cardinal stops Perkele and says "Please, refrain from touching her holiness."
Perkele just taps Cardinals sharp looking hair and says "Don't you worry about it. I'm well acquainted with this little lass here.
Ult stops what she is doing and asks Perkele "How so, the shackled one?"
Perkele says "Harsh description of me. It is merely an aesthetic choice. But to get to the point, I know you very much as the god of debauchery, depravity and defilement."
Cardinal gets angry, shoves Perkele away and says "How dare you imply that her holiness is any of those things?! She is pure as they go!"
Perkele says "Ah. I get your reaction. You people really don't worship us regular gods. It is completely understandable. Valth'zar is an impressive creature, I'll give her that much."
Ult says "She is not just a creature. She is a being that we of Valth call home."
Perkele bows and says "My apologies, your holiness." Then rises up and says "But while you can SAY that your people don't worship gods the same way you do Valth'zar, there IS worship in some sense."
Ult says "Yes. There is worship for the Worldbearer Valth'zar, the Lightbearer Elis'mar and Darkbearer Unum'ter. But rest assured, there is no worship of what I see in you."
Perkele says in a surprised tone "Oh? You sure about that?" Then says a little more devilish way "But here I thought that there are crimes that happen in the other worlds as well. Such as molestation for example."
Ult says "Yes, there are crimes like that, but that doesn't mean that we, the people of Valth'zar worship these things."
Perkele starts laughing hysterically at this and Cardinal grabs the remaining chains on his collar and says angrily "What is so funny, you trash?"
Perkele says after wiping his tears "You… you really don't think that your people don't worship any of the outer gods? You are so funny. Of course there are people who would worship the concept of debauchery. Of course there are people who worship depravity. Of course there are…"
Cardinal shakes Perkele's collar for a second and shouts "Of course there are those who worship evil things, but there is no way that anyone would worship those minor concepts!"
Perkele laughs and says "You honestly don't know? This is priceless."
Cardinal is about to shout something at Perkele again, but Ult says "So you claim that there are people who worship your concepts in Valth'zar. Does that hold fruit?"
Perkele says "Of course it does. More worshipers grants us gods the ability to generate more aether. With that I can confirm that there are people who worship me in some capacity, albeit not necessarily in the name that I prefer."
Cardinal asks "And what name, if I may ask, DO they use?"
Perkele chuckles and says "Oh wouldn't you like to know."
Cardinal gets angry at Perkele and says "You…" But Perkele says "Oh, your anger reminds me. How does it feel to get rejected by the one you love? Your Holiness."
Ult says in a calm tone "I wasn't rejected." Though what Perkele said hit Ult a bit.
Perkele says "My my? Do I sense a little hint of jealousy? Oh don't worry, your holiness. You might find that one of that person's likenesses will stay by you until you leave that certain timeline. As he is… well, let's just say, destined to never be with you."
Cardinal shouts "Don't you dare discourage her holiness!"
Perkele chuckles and says with a fake concern in his voice "Aww… How unfortunate, isn't it. To be shackled by your circumstances to never be able to reach him. Oh woe to Ulthara. Oh woe indeed."
Ult begins to emanate a killing aura targeted at Perkele, and Perkele just chuckles and says "Oh my little Ulthara. Do I sense that you want to hurt poor little old me? I'm taken aback by this in some sense. You'll have to trust my word. Because, what is the fate that the truth teller always faces when telling a grievance to a tyrant. Oh woes. May you strike me down with your unrelenting power. Come now. Come. Let's taint the floor with the golden blood of god."
Ult realizes that Perkele is taunting her, and in some sense, it is working. But Ult calms down as she remembers where she is at the moment and the purpose of her visit.
Perkele senses that Ult calmed down and says "Oh? Where has the great spirit gone? Oh I get it! You don't want to cause trouble to your dear old loved one. Oh what a waste."
Ult says "You better go find someone else to entertain yourself with before I really lose my cool."
Perkele laughs and says "So you DO know of my nature. How interesting. Very interesting indeed. Alas, harassing just some nobody won't cut it for me sometimes. You know you have to do it with the big shots to make the stakes more… let's just say… perverted."
Ult says "I don't follow, but leave."
Cardinal starts to push Perkele away and Perkele says before he lets Ult be "Our chat shall end now. But rest assured. We are just getting started. The Bloodstained One will have a time of its life when Valth'zar meets its blade."
Cardinal tries to punch Perkele while shouting "You dare…", but Perkele disappears to somewhere else, not afraid to give a mocking laughter in the ambience.
Cardinal goes to Ult, gets on one knee, lowers her head and says "I have committed great sin, your holiness. I have failed to protect you from such scum. My deepest apologies."
Ult places her hand on Cardinal's head and says "You are forgiven. The opponent this time was far too great for you to face. Especially since we aren't in our homeland. Please raise your head and continue to be on guard in case he decides to come close to me again."
Cardinal says a firm "Yes, your holiness." and raises up to keep an eye out for Perkele.
Little earlier, Ao and Altair go and see Sahra conversing with a few mortals, so Ao goes and greets her colleague.
Ao says "Nice to meet you Sahra. It has been a moment."
Sahra says to the mortals "If you'll excuse me. I have someone I'd like to talk to."
The mortals respond in an understanding tone as they see Ao and Altair and leave.
Sahra says "It has indeed been a few weeks since we last met. Never expected this kind of development to bring us under the same roof. This star elf besides you… She is…"
Altair introduces herself with a respectful "My name is Altair and I am the elder of the star elves as well as nine pointer. It is a pleasure to meet you, god of sand and time Sahra."
Sahra says "I see. I can see great wisdom in those eyes. Something that Ao sometimes lacks, I must say."
Ao says "Hoho? You think that I'm not smart?"
Sahra explains "No. I just mean that you sometimes make rash decisions when the topic of the abyss comes up."
Ao says "What are you talking about? Making sure that the abyss doesn't expand before it's time is part of my responsibilities. And while Altair seems like a respectful mortal now, she is nothing but disrespectful."
Sahra says "I have indeed seen her do few rather… uncouth things not fitting for an elder to do. But still, she has this… aura that even you lack in some sense."
Altair says in a respectful tone "You honor me, lord of sand. But may I stop this act now?"
Sahra laughs a little and says "You may, elder of the star elves. You may."
Altair sighs in relief and says "Welp… time to go dig into this lovely feast."
And with that, Altair goes to grab something to eat, and by chance, she tries to grab the same piece of meat that Kuukun was trying to take.
Altair doesn't recognise Kuukun and says "This one's mine." And Kuukun just stares in disbelief that a good piece of meat was snatched away from him.
Still, he just nods and goes to find something else to eat.
As Kuukun tries to find something else he might like to eat, Perkele surprises him as he leans on Kuukun's shoulder like an old friend.
Perkele says "Heya, Kuukun! How have you been?!" But before he could finish, Kuukun accidentally made things float as if they were in space.
After realizing what he had done, he carefully places all the things and people back on where they were. Then Kuukun started bowing at the people affected and said in a weak tone "Sorry. Sorry."
Then Ao came to look who was the source of the disturbance, and saw Kuukun bowing and apologizing while Perkele was laughing hysterically.
Ao rubbed her forehead in frustration and shouted "You two! Stop causing trouble to other guests!"
Kuukun apologized to Ao and teleported away and Perkele just couldn't stop laughing.
Ao grabbed Perkele by the ear and said "You listen here! You have caused a lot of trouble to other people in the past and you STILL keep doing it?! How childish. Absolutely, childish."
Perkele isn't bothered by the ear pulling and says "Sis. Sis. Don't you get it? It is a fun pastime. You should try it sometime."
Ao says sternly "Listen. We are here to celebrate. Not to cause problems for other people. You get that?"
Perkele says "But sis. I'm not the one shouting."
Ao pulls Perkele's ear even tighter and this makes him make fake pain sounds.
Ao says "You… How many times have I told you to not call me your sis."
Perkele teleports to get away from Ao's grip, hangs on her shoulder like a pal and says "Oh? You wish that I call you something else? Like… niece."
That last part makes Ao lose all sense of dignity and starts to radiate a menacing aura. She says "The FUCK did you call me?"
Perkele walks a few steps back and starts to sniff his arm that was on Ao's shoulder. Then he says "Oh? You are using perfume today I see. Trying to impress someone. Someone you might as well call ~daddy." With the daddy part being moaned.
Ao proceeds to make an attempt to punch Perkele on the face, but Sahra stops her just in time before the fist lands.
Sahra says sternly "Ao. Perkele. You stop this at once."
Perkele backs down a bit and raises his hand up a little "Fine. Fine. I'll let your sister be. What a wonderful niece and nephew pair I have. So keen on keeping up appearances. Fully know that…"
Then Perkele chuckles a little before saying with a devilish smile "You are but second hand items to the man you admire most." The red parts of his eyes shine as he says this.
Sahra has to greatly concentrate on keeping Ao in check as well as to not go smack Perkele himself. He takes a deep breath before saying "I think you and Ao should keep distance for a while."
Perkele closes his eyes, chuckles again in satisfaction and then says "Very well. I wouldn't want to cause problems in an important event that my brother in arms is part of."
With that, Perkele walks away.
Ao asks Sahra "Why did you let him just go like that?"
Sahra lets go of Ao's fist and says "Perkele is an important guest unfortunately and the stakes of this event are far too high for us to give him a deserved lesson. I hope that you won't get tempted by his words again, no matter how infuriating they might be."
Ao takes a deep breath and says "Thank you Sahra. Thanks to you, my image isn't completely tarnished in the eyes of mortals."
Sahra nods and says "Come. Let us feast as we wait for the rest of the guests."
Perkele is spinning his crude knife with his right hand somewhere at the party and mutters, "Well that food table is off limits for an hour or two. But what to do while I wait for the rest of the guests to arrive? Mmm… might as well go harass some arrogant nobles."