I carried an injured guardsmen with me as I trudged back towards the city. The mood was tense, but was overall positive as the losses were very small compared to what was expected. The guardsmen where not happy though, as the ones lost were some of the best of them. Their comrades and friends had been taken from them suddenly and for a reason they didnt understand or know at all. The motives of the mad guild are still mostly unknown, as far as they can tell they just want to cause havok and spread chaos as much as possible. I dont really understand them much either, they just seem to crave destruction.

The guardsmen and I reached the forest dragging our feet from exhaustion. I could see people waiting for us at the tree line with stretchers and what looked like large flat tablets that had wheels and one of those metal boxes with the pipes in front. To me it just looked like a stone slab that can be driven around. When we reached them I saw the wounded being loaded onto them and treated there before being sent off back to the city, I assume to get better medical treatment than they could administer here. The medical slabs roared to life, shooting back to the city with the heavily wounded. As I watched them leave I noticed that these drivers are alot better and safer than the drivers of the big carriages. I placed down the injured man I was carrying which earned me a pained groan from him and a nod from the nearby medic. I saw a bunch of the uninjured guards gathered around one area and walked over to see what was going on.

The medics had not only come with those slab things, they had also brought a couple barrels of water of the back of a wagon. The Guardsmen were all gathered up waiting for their turn to receive some water, there was also some food set out.

These guys really take care of their own dont they? I thought to myself.

I was exhausted but also pretty hungry and my throat was dry, so I joined them in line. When I reached the front I grabbed one of the filled waterskins that were set out and a pouch of what I assumed was some kind of jerky and sat down on a tree not far away to enjoy. Before I could take a single bite or enjoy a sip of cool water one of the people that had came with the medic team approached me.

"Are you Finch?" He asked me while holding a large wad of paper stuck to a slab of bark.

"Yeah, why?" I made sure to take a deep swig of water before he could continue. He probably is going to ask me all sorts of questions. He looks like he is here to write a report on how everything went.

"Are you affiliated with the guardsmen or hired as a freelancer?"

"No, I just happened to be nearby and had experience with these guys so I decided to help out." Ripping chunks of jerky apart and shoving them in my mouth. The salty meat was delicious after using so much mana and energy fighting things that I ended up not hearing his next question as I was so focused on the food.

"Sir?" He waved his hand in front of me to get my attention again.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He stood straight with his hand on his hip, his expression made it obvious he wasnt used to being ignored.

"I asked you what your kill count was, the guardsmen appreciate your help and we normally pay mercenaries by the kill so in order to decide your pay I need to know how many enemies you have slain. Please be aware that I will be checking the numbers with the guardsmen you fought with today."

That last statement sounded like an insult but im too tired to be offended by that right now.

"I dont know, counting the things that are trying to kill me isnt something I considered when I was trying not to die."

I said while making a show of ripping meat apart with my teeth. He scribbled something down and walked away to question everyone else. Now that it was quiet again I went back to enjoying my snack and watching everyone else around me. Some of the others had already started heading back towards the city and some were just resting like me. At one point a large group had come through, from what I could tell they were assessing the damage to the forest and the surrounding area. After about an hour everyone left and I was still sitting on the tree, looking around the edge of the forest and enjoying the breeze. My ass was getting sore so I got up and headed back inside the city as well.

**************************************************************************************************

Kevin had a problem. The flow of divinity has almost tripled now that Rala's invention is complete and Kevin felt like soon he wont be needed anymore. He even started having nightmares about Rala coming into his office and erasing him from existence without a sound. He did his best to try and manage the place but Rala was the one that did most of his work without him even realizing. If there was a problem she would already be there and fixing it before he was even alerted. Plus, once Finch started getting divine powers Kevin would be clueless how to help from that point on. He knew his time was short but nothing he thought of would help him be useful. He had to do something, this was the first time he was allowed this much freedom. He had to keep himself useful at all costs.

**************************************************************************************************

Rala was in the hidden chamber monitoring Finch's power. She had noticed a spike in divinity generation and was a little worried. But she calmed down when she saw that it was just Finch experimenting with his powers. She was looking at a screen that showed the amount of divinity that currently filled him. In normal circumstances once it reached a certain threshold the first power would start developing. He was just about to hit that threshold and Rala couldnt be feeling more proud of her son. She was almost bursting with happiness that her son was about to start his journey to becoming a god. It had made her nervous at first and she was afraid for him, but she understands that he needs this in order to survive.

A couple feet behind Rala a small black circle appeared, the only thing visible in this hole were a pair of pearly white teeth surrounded by dark purple lips that were curved in a smile.

"You must be proud" The lips spoke with a voice like smooth honey.

Rala didnt even turn away from the screen and replied, still smiling.

"Of course I am. My son is about to take the next step into godhood."

The purple lips flipped into a frown.

"I thought you were trying to hide him? If he evolves they will be able to find him you know."

"They will find him eventually no matter what I do. He has worshippers deifying his name, there may not be many and they may not be that smart but they breed fast. His religeon is growing, its only a matter of time before they notice and come for him. So im going to help him get strong."

"Even if he doesnt want to?"

Rala tensed up and turned slowly towards the voice. The lips couldnt see her expression because of their lack of eyes but the mood in the room definitely changed.

"He will become what he is meant to be, stay out of it!" Rala swiped at the floating lips in a rage, yet only managing it to disperse it like a cloud of smoke.

Rala turned back towards the screen, no longer smiling. Her face was now twisted into a deranged scowl as she muttered under her breath.

"Damn bitch! she better not interfere with my sons growth......She was already lucky I spared her daughter...

Fuck her....That bitch Malady."