Destroying My Own Novel

“That’s Yakal Lake,” Manna pointed down at the lake surrounded by hills.

Everyone stared at it and could see the shadows floating above the water in the middle of the lake. They were protecting the totem and it made things easier for them because they didn’t have to find out where the totem was buried.

“I’ll take care of the lake, you take care of those things, Jeanne,” Rozan said as he grabbed his staff from his back.

“Alright, let’s go,” Jeanne replied, and then she walked down the hill with Rozan.

Mykel and the others just stayed on top of the hills and enjoyed the scenery while watching those two approaching the lake.

“So, where are we exactly right now if we are inside the tower’s floor? Seventeen for eighteenth?” Agnez asked Manna.

“We are in the area on the eighteenth floor. So there’s still one place that we need to go through,” Manna answered as she stared blankly at the lake.

“Where and what?” Agnez asked.

“The oldest tribe of the Eagers World, Tlact Tribe. It’s on the other side of this Ahucte’s village, further than this. It will take three to four days at least, based on what Taya and Citall said,” Manna answered with her eyebrows raised.

“That’s the last tribe? Then that means the shamans are from the Tlact tribe,” Agnez asked as she casually laid down on the grass and stared at the sky.

“That’s what Rami and I thought, but we will find out soon enough after we take care of the final totem,” Manna nodded her head in agreement.

Rozan walked toward the lake and froze the whole lake with a single touch of his hands. He looked so proud while Jeanne walked on top of the ice that he just made it without hesitation since she believed in his skill.

“Be careful and don’t slip,” Rozan said as he walked right behind Jeanne so slowly and carefully.

Jeanne unsheathed the Soul Catcher sword and then dragged the tip of the blade across the ice. It cut the ice like a knife through butter, and then she swung upward diagonally. The ice was cut deep and all the way to the other side of the lake.

The shadows, who have always been protectors of the totem, noticed their presence, but they didn’t move and kept flying in circles above the ice. They were protecting the totem, which was under the ice and making sure nobody disturbed it.

Jeanne thought it would be different this time, but it turned out the shadows were the same, weak and easy to kill. She stood right on top of the ice where the shadows were circling around, but she couldn’t see the totem because the lake was quite deep.

“You froze the whole lake, right?” Jeanne asked Rozan as she pointed at the ice with her sword.

“Yeah, no water, just ice,” Rozan nodded his head.

“Alright, I’m going to cut the ice open and hope that we can see where the totem is,” Jeanne said as she lifted her sword.

Jeanne made a total of four cuts around her, leaving a small square right under her feet. She walked away from the square and told Rozan to lift that block of ice. When he did, they saw the totem right at the bottom of the block of ice.

“Nice cut,” Rozan said as he threw the block of ice upside down.

Rozan saw the totem on top of the ice block and immediately struck it with a thick and massive lightning bolt. The block of ice scattered into tiny pieces, and so did the totem. Jeanne was ready in position and immediately took care of the evil spirits that surrounded them, vanquishing the threat and saving the day once again.

“Looks like they’re done,” Manna said as she stared at Jeanne and Rozan walking off the icy lake after they heard the loud screaming in the air that was almost similar to the sound of a death whistle.

“Let’s go back,” Mykel said as he stood up.

They all walked back to Ahucte’s village after Manna managed to get herself a few games on her. She got two big boars and one young deer. She couldn’t wait to eat them all because she said the meat in Eagers World was the best.

The moment they got back, they realized the village was in quite a mess, but everyone seemed to be fine.

“What happened?” Manna asked Rami who was helping the villagers carry the dead bodies.

“We are not sure, but I think the moment you guys destroyed the totem, these people came to the village out of nowhere and started attacking us. They appeared to be one of them,” Rami answered.

“How? Aren’t they supposed to be freed from possession after we destroy the last totem?” Manna asked Mykel and looked at him with a puzzled look.

“They’re not from any other tribes, Manna. They’re from the Tlact tribe,” Rami answered before Mykel could respond to her question. “Luckily, these people stayed behind and didn’t follow you to the lake. They protected all the villagers or they might be dead by now because I can’t hold them all by myself,” Rami continued as he pointed at Asmond and his team.

The villagers were using the death whistle as they walked around the village. It wasn’t for repelling evil spirits, but to celebrate Ohnen’s death the moment the totem was destroyed. As Taya said, the evil spirits brought him with them and there was nothing they could do about it.

Since it was a celebration, they used all of Manna’s games for the occasion. They were respecting Ohnen’s death while enjoying the feast. Death wasn’t a grieving moment for those tribal people, death was something they wanted to embrace. Manna was affected by the way of their thinking and that was why she and her teams were like that back then.

“Let’s rest here for tonight, and we will be going to Tlact tribe tomorrow early in the morning,” Mykel said as he stared at the notification in front of him.

[More than half of the Major Arcana have requested the system and decided to bring all the Constellations to discuss and choose the next Death Arcana’s leader]

[You will be teleported to Hall of Arcana, Temple of Triumph in 2 Days, 14 Hours, 43 Minutes, and 12 Seconds]

“Is there a reason why we are in a hurry?” Manna asked.

“I have to go somewhere, three days from now. So, we are rushing all the way to the twentieth floor and killing Golgos before that,” Mykel answered as he closed the notification.

“Well then, let’s go to sleep. We are going to run all the way to Tlact tribe village, right?” Jeanne asked as she looked at Manna.

“There’s no helping it and do that, yeah,” Manna nodded her head in agreement.

All of them went to bed after they enjoyed the feast.

The morning came and the sun wasn’t even up yet, but everyone was prepared to leave with Citall and Taya. They couldn’t even get the chance to see who would be the new Ahucte’s new chieftain.

It only took them a day and a half to reach their destination even though Manna said it would take them three to four days to reach Tlact’s village. They carefully and silently entered the village, but it was oddly quiet until they saw what was the reason behind the silence.

“It seems like someone or something slaughtered the whole village not long ago,” Manna said as she stared at dozens of bodies that were slaughtered and scattered on the ground. Their guts were out and scattered around their bodies, their eyes and mouths were wide open.

“Golgos doesn’t need them anymore. He knows what’s coming to them, and he’s right about it,” Agnez responded as she looked at the flies flying around. “Well, since he’s waiting for us, let’s go and greet him. Where’s the tower at?” Agnez asked as she looked at Manna.

“The tower is near the Mictlan. The pit of death is where they throw dead bodies as sacrifices to God. It’s only a few hours from here and that’s where hundreds of my people died during our battle with Golgos,” Manna answered as she looked to the left. “Since we both had fought him before, this should be an easy job with all of you here,”

“Of course, we always keep things done,” Agnez answered proudly with a smirk.