Rather than undead, they were simply dead. Unlike the zombies and skeletons I instantly annihilated in the mausoleum in Hovsgaerden, these were corpse puppets on invisible magic strings that were unaffected by the light magic that instantly liberates the souls from the undead bodies. And unlike zombies, these seem to have been embalmed using chemicals, so as to preserve their freshness.

In either case, they taste pretty bad.

After eating the first one, I opted to just tear them apart limb from limb so that they couldn't move anymore. Standing among heaps of dismembered human bodies, I look down at my work and nod in approval when I find that the last twitch has stopped. Turning to Awhina, she seems to be taking the situation harder than I thought.

"[The dead are walking...]" As far as I remember, the traditions of Aoranam have it that the dead are cremated, with their ashes scattered over the sea. Normally, you wouldn't see dead bodies for long, let alone moving like this. The citizens of the Kingdom of Lares are quite used to them, even though they're perceived as dangerous. But for the people here, it must be quite a shock. "[What unholy magic is this sea witch performing...]"

"[Let's go back. I'm worried about the others.]" Not really, since I know they can handle themselves. The only one I'd have to worry about is Mereana, who's a normal human.

When we return to the inn, Tahiri is lying on her bed and relaxing. The others agreed on staying within the inn, so due to their absence it's safe to assume that they've been taken away.

"[I didn't mean for you to be so laid back, you know?]" I walk over to the God of Storm and speak in a reprimanding tone. She could at least try to look distressed over their kidnapping or something.

"[Where are the others?]" Awhina asks Tahiri for the obvious and opens the closet. "[Huh?]"

I peek over her shoulder and find Tokomaha, bound and gagged by something I could only call bands of clouds. She's struggling against her restraints, but much like when I had her in my grip, she's too weak to break them. I turn around to Tahiri with an eyebrow raised, but she sits up and shrugs in response.

"[I knew that she wouldn't play along, so I made sure she couldn't interfere.]" Answering in a matter of fact tone, she explains the situation. Nice thinking, I completely forgot about the fact that this little goddess isn't the brightest lamp in the closet.

"[What's going on?]" Awhina looks at the two of us with a less than amused expression. After all, she was the only one - aside from Mereana, who's no longer here - who had been left out of this little charade.

"[Everything's alright.]" Speaking these calming words, I signal for Tahiri to release Tokomaha.

The second the little goddess is free, she immediately jumps up and begins to rant about her treatment. But since she knows she can't beat Tahiri, she aims it at me. She should know better, though; last time she badmouthed me, I made her turn into a complete mess. Reminding her of that fact, I turn my hand into a collection of tentacles and wiggle them suggestively, upon which her eyes widen, her cheeks flush red and she shuts up immediately.

"[What do you mean, alright? Tama, Tane and Mereana were taken away by the dead!]" Of course, Awhina wouldn't just let it slide and points at me, before turning to Tahiri. "[And you were here, why didn't you stop them? I'm sure you could do it easily!]"

"[Because Chaos told me not to.]" Um, can you please not put the blame on me under these circumstances, even if it's the truth? Awhina turns to glare at me. See what I mean?!

"[Do you really think my two children would lose to those people?]" I put my hands on her shoulders and calm her down. "[I told them to let themselves get taken away. I know where they are this way and we're going to free them now.]"

It saves us time trying to find where the sea witch Rapania keeps her prisoners, since I can locate my two children much better than other life forms. Of course, it's quite obvious that it's in the castle overlooking the city, but this way I can pinpoint the dungeons and find any other people who could still be alive.

Not like that was my real aim; I only wanted an excuse to raid the castle.

"[Hm... alright then.]" Lifting one of her thick eyebrows, Awhina doesn't look really convinced. She's quite protective of Uten and Saten for some reason - and still calls them Tama and Tane - so seeing me use them as bait doesn't sit too well with her. I'm only doing this because I know that it's not very likely that something could happen to them.

And they're my children, as if I'd let them face real danger!

So here we are, in front of the looming castle. The sky has already turned completely dark, and since last night was a new moon, tonight it's not much brighter outside. I don't really need any light, but Awhina doesn't have night vision, so I'm using Circumluceo to create a light. But just like any light, it makes everything outside of its field of effect seem even darker.

And the castle isn't illuminated at all. There are four guards standing outside the gate, but they look to be the same as those corpse puppets. Of course, I make short work of them when they try to get in our way.

"[These guys are creepy...]" Tokomaha comments and looks down at the dismembered bodies with a disapproving look. "[Rapania creates those?]"

"[It's safe to assume that she's the one making and controlling them.]" Shrugging, I push open the gate.

Or at least I try to.

But it won't budge. Apparently it's not as easy as I thought it'd be. Really, what's the point in people standing guard outside, when the gate is locked anyway? If we were an army attacking, those four would have been... umm... yeah, not like Rapania cares about those corpse puppets, so having some stand around outside doesn't hurt. They're already dead anyways, and against humans, they might be quite useful as a scary deterrent.

No two ways around this then. I'll have to unlock the gate in my own way.

"[Step back a little, this could get dangerous.]" I've used this attack on Tahiri with no effect, but against something physical and solid, which can't dodge, it's certainly very useful. I mean, I was able to break through Zenlith's air barrier this way, so a wooden one shouldn't pose any problem. Overkill you say? Necessary, I answer!

With this, I transform my right hand into a dragon's head and shoot a concentrated plasma beam at the gate. Rather than burn, it melts away under the heat and a large smoldering hole appears in it. Dripping with caramelized wood, it doesn't look like someone could just walk through that, but luckily it cools down pretty quickly. Taking the lead, I step through it while undoing the transformation on my hand.

The courtyard behind the gate is filled with guards, and they all move like puppets. I turn to the others and exchange glances with them; it feels like this is going to be annoying. Not only do I not want to expand my body to its fullest to put them inside my body because they taste bad, but I also don't want to show Awhina my real appearance just yet. So I'll have to deal with them in another way.

"[Tokomaha-chan, how about you take care of them?]" Pointing at the swarm of guards moving towards us, I speak to the God of Growth. She can create clones of herself, so I'm sure she could deal with them somehow. Not like I couldn't just sweep through them quickly myself, but it feels like a bother. There's no fun in that, when they don't feel any fear and I can't eat them.

"[Leave it to me!]" She actually looks excited at being able to show off in front of me. Your tsundere front is slipping, you know?

I expected her to go through some hand signs or chant something, but instead, from the dirt around us, countless naked and unarmed clones of hers rise up. Then, they all extend a hand in unison, and copies of her bone spear rise up into their grasps. Why didn't the ones she created in the forest when I was having my way with her have those?

"[Attack!]" With this simple command, the Tokomaha-army charges, meeting the corpse puppets in battle.

Rather than a battle, it's really just a one-sided massacre. So she's not called a goddess for nothing, huh? Her physical capabilities are still way above a normal human's, it seems. The only reason she couldn't fight against my restraints is because physically I'm on a whole different level from anything I've seen in this world so far.

Stabbing and cutting their way through the ranks of the guards, the clones create a path for us, which we take swiftly. On the other side of the courtyard is a large single-winged door, which leads deeper into the castle. Instead of melting a hole into it, I just kick it down, since it looks much weaker than the big one. And since I made myself extremely dense and heavy, the entire door is broken out of its hinges.

Awhina, Tahiri and the original Tokomaha follow me inside while her clones begin to sweep across the castle grounds like a raging storm.

The illumination inside the castle is provided by torches, which cast flickering shadows across the walls and makes this seem more like what you'd find in a horror story. But there's no reason for any of us to be scared; if anything, whatever might come out here should be afraid of me. After all, I'm the one that bumps those things that go bump in the night.

"[Where are they being held?]" Awhina looks at me with an expectant gaze. I can't really spot out Mereana by herself, since I can feel many life forms in the castle, but assuming my children followed the order to protect her, they should be together. And rather than underground, they're upstairs. Maybe they're about to be experimented on.

"[Follow me.]" With this, I begin to sprint through the dark corridor, cutting apart a bunch of corpse puppets effortlessly along the way.

We quickly move through the castle, running up spiraling stairs and through narrow corridors. This place is much smaller than the demon castle and it doesn't take us long to reach the heavy wooden door behind which I can feel Uten and Saten. No sounds emerge from the inside, but I assume this is either a lab or a preliminary holding cell for subjects to be experimented on soon.

Since this door opens towards the outside, I turn my hand into a giant multi-pronged spear and ram it into the wood, before bending the tips and pulling hard. The door is broken out of its hinges and I throw it aside like a piece of plywood. Inside is a room filled with metal and glass tools, and the unbearable smell of death wafting out in a heavy cloud. If it was the me from my previous life, my stomach would have turned.

But now I just walk in casually and look around. I spot my children, hands and feet bolted to a wooden rack, staring at me in surprise. If they were humans, they would be bleeding and most definitely in pain, but they're actually smiling at me, like children in the middle of playing a game would at their parents coming into the room. Standing in front of them and staring at us is a rotund man wearing a leather mask with glass lenses, dressed in a bloody and dirty beige coat, holding gruesome metal tools.

"[Wh-wh-who a-a-are you?]" His voice is pretty high-pitched, but it's most definitely a man's. The stutter doesn't seem to come from fear - since he sounds indignant at being interrupted - but is just a speech impediment, I guess. A typical mad scientist kind of person, huh?

"[There you are, mama!]" Taking it as their cue to stop pretending, they pull themselves off the rack and regenerate the holes that had been driven into their palms and soles. Noticing that his subjects just freed themselves effortlessly, the man turns around in confusion.

"[W-what? H-h-how?]"

"[Where's Mereana?]" I look around but can't seem to find a place where she could be hidden.

"[We don't know, she was separated from us.]" Their answer rings a lot of alarm bells in my head. Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I look at them in annoyance and they flinch under my gaze.

"[I told you that you should protect her, which requires you to be by her side.]" It's not like Mereana is especially important to us now, since we've made it to a city where they can doubtlessly point us towards the capital. But it'd still leave a bad aftertaste if she were to die here even though she didn't need to. "[You! Where did you take her?]" I turn my attention to the man, who has been looking between me and my children, at a complete loss for what to do.

"[H-huh?]" It seems he was unable to follow the conversation and makes this dumb noise. Whipping around my arm and prolonging it in the process, I wrap it around him and pull him towards me. With my other hand I pull off the leather mask, revealing a round face with pasty and unhealthy skin. Wow he's ugly.

"[Where is the other one that came with those two?]" Staring into his brown eyes with my own, I turn them completely black for a moment, to enhance the pressure I exert on him - not like being able to transform my arm and having him in my grasp is enough. I can see the fear in his eyes as he begins to shake all over.

"[L-l-lady Rapania to-to-took her f-for experime-me-menting.]" This is the worst case scenario.

"[Where?]" Tightening my grip, I growl.

"[I-in the e-e-east tower!]" He responds quickly and his teeth clatter. I immediately turn to Uten and Saten.

"Prepare to be punished if something should have happened to her." I glare at the two and announce firmly. For a moment a hopeful glint appears in their eyes as they look at Tokomaha. "No, not that kind of punishment." I have no idea how to punish a Crawling Chaos physically or mentally, since we don't really feel pain and our minds are able to go on without problems even after seeing ourselves in the mirror. Maybe the easiest would be to put them inside my body and not giving them food for a while, until they reflect on things... but I'll think about it later.

Uten and Saten look genuinely scared at the prospect and their smiles have disappeared completely. I think they're taking things seriously now.

"[Now, show us the way.]" Lifting the mad scientist off his feet, I carry him along, and we leave the lab-slash-torture-chamber.

It doesn't take us too long to reach the east tower, and we quickly climb up the stairs. The mad scientist screamed and shouted at the corpse puppets to make way for us, fearing that he would die if they tried to stand in our way. He didn't consider that we only needed him to find the tower, and that his life would become worthless afterwards, it seems.

I use a plasma breath to melt my way through the only steel door in the castle so far, and step through the still dripping hot slag fearlessly. On the other side is a laboratory, not unlike the one we found my children in. In the middle of the room stands a beautiful purple-haired woman wearing the medieval equivalent of a lab coat. Sitting on a chair in front of her is Mereana, restrained by various leather straps and metal shackles. Her eyes are lifeless, but with my Chaos senses I can feel that she is still alive.

Behind me the mad scientist begins to scream and wiggle in my grasp. It seems a drop of hot metal fell on him or something. Bringing him to the front, I find that a drop indeed has burned a hole into his coat and set it on fire. Not like I care.

Squeezing and twisting the life out of him quickly, I throw his carcass aside carelessly, letting the fire spread to all of his clothes and consume his deformed body.

"[Rapania... how many lives did you take to look like that?]" Tahiri follows me into the room, sees the purple-haired woman who possesses an inarguable dark beauty, and asks with a sad expression.

"[Tahiri, is that you?]" Surprised, Rapania blinks her dark blue eyes and fully turns to us. Yep, these two clearly have some history.

"[Answer me...]" And the God of Storm seems to be deeply affected by what this sea witch has become. It would appear that Rapania has been killing people to achieve this beautiful appearance. Considering all the guards are soulless corpse puppets, it's safe to assume that her magic consumes their souls to prolong her youthfulness or something along those lines.

"[Why now? You did not care about me before, did you?]" Responding with a question of her own, the purple-haired woman's tone leaves no doubt to the fact that in the past, Tahiri stood by and did nothing when something happened to her. Clearly, she's blaming the God of Storm for her inaction, and the fact that the latter is unable to respond shows that she feels guilt over it.

"[I have no idea what happened between the two of you and I don't really care. But that woman is our companion.]" I step forward and ignore the heavy atmosphere. I have no idea what her powers are, but I doubt it's something that could be dangerous for me. After all, she's only something called a sea witch, not a god - and even some gods can be incredibly weak compared to me.

"[Be careful, Chaos.]" Awhina warns me, her expression one of anxiety. "[Sea witches are powerful magic wielders.]"

Ahhh, magic. My nemesis every single time I've fought so far.

I point at Rapania and my finger shoots out in a spike, aiming to impale her throat in order to stop her from being able to chant - or in order to just kill her. I won't waste time on talking like I did before and give the opponent time to do something.

But my spike bends in midair and misses its target. Huh?

"[You would save me?]" A cynical smile on her blue lips, Rapania looks past me. I turn my head and find that Tahiri is looking straight at the sea witch. So my attack was deflected by the God of Storm?

"[It was my mistake that drove you to this, Rapania. I have to atone for my sins.]" Walking past me, she approaches her opposite. "[And you have to atone for yours.]"