As was usual with divine beings, Ymir's speech contained unfamiliar words that presumably came from the heavens. By now accustomed to this, Turan set them aside and focused on what he could establish for certain: the questions about how Otas had survived, and where he had been hiding for thousands of years.

The conclusion was clear. Otas, the Night Hunter, was not the god currently ruling Zahar. In fact, Ymir, a god who had survived into the present, had believed him long dead since ancient times.

'This is awkward...'

Turan felt a renewed gratitude for his mask. Without it, his opponent would have seen his face freeze in dismay.

His original plan of posing as a servant of the god ruling Zahar had been completely derailed. Most people would have been too flustered to know what to do, but even now, Turan racked his brains for a way to use this new information. With the aid of thought acceleration, he devised a fairly plausible approach in barely a second.

"He has always been here. You simply never knew. The Night Hunter shows himself to no one."

Turan's new strategy was to claim the nonexistent Night Hunter as his patron. As expected, Ymir looked somewhat bewildered but did not directly dispute the claim.

"That sounds exactly like something he'd say... So, what's this message from Otas? Actually, I'm the one with something to say! We never used to be on such bad terms, so why the hell would he—"

"He spent many years in hiding to achieve his resurrection, and wishes to learn how the world now stands."

Ymir narrowed his eyes, apparently offended by the interruption. His next words were unmistakably sarcastic.

"I take it he doesn't want a history book?"

"Tell me which gods survived, and which houses each of them rules."

"Oh, that? Easy enough to answer. It's hardly a great secret among us. But..."

Ymir spat and continued in a contemptuous tone.

"If you want to hear it, untie me first, you stupid fucking NPC! How dare you order a god around?"

Anyone watching might have thought Turan was the one in chains. It was probably the arrogance of a divine being who had spent countless years moving between human bodies like toys, coupled with the assurance that his soul would remain intact even if Renod's body died.

Turan watched him silently for a few seconds before speaking slowly.

"You seem to trust that your soul will return unharmed when that body dies. But the Night Hunter taught me how to harvest souls. He also gave me permission to bring back only your soul if you refuse to cooperate."

Rather than cowering, Ymir scowled in anger.

"Bullshit. If you could really do that, why bother talking instead of doing it already? None of Otas's classes even has an ability like that!"

Despite his outward bluster, however, a faint scent of fear rose from him. He was not convinced, but he was at least entertaining the possibility.

Perhaps his ability to maintain even a semblance of composure came from the worldly experience of his long life. Turan lowered his voice, making it threatening.

"It is not for the likes of you or me to presume what new powers he gained while passing between life and death. But I will tell you his warning: if this goes wrong, it may destroy the soul. We would regret losing an informant after going to such trouble to obtain one. That is why I am trying words first."

"Well..."

"But if you provide enough of the information we need, we are willing not only to release you with that body intact, but to offer additional payment. Something you will find more than satisfactory."

"What goddamned payment?"

"The secret of true immortality."

Of course, he possessed no such method, but Turan handed out empty promises without restraint. Offered a carrot after the stick, Ymir fell silent for a moment before asking suspiciously,

"Explain."

"You could regain your full authority as a god instead of clinging pathetically to life as a parasite in mortal bodies. Just as my master has."

A faint longing appeared in Ymir's eyes. These beings could hardly relish having to live by inhabiting one person after another. All the more so when confined to the body of a mere upper-tier noble, as he was now.

"... If he's really managed that, why bother with any of this? If Otas came back with his full power, even that Nazi bastard ruling the desert would piss himself and drop to his knees. He could conquer the world without breaking a sweat."

That meant even the power they had accumulated over all these years fell far short of the Freyans at their prime. So far short that even Zahar's House Head, who had fought the mighty Head of Arabion, and the god called the Nazi behind him would not dare resist.

Inwardly shuddering at the revelation, Turan brushed aside Ymir's question by once again forcing a choice on him.

"You will learn all of that when you receive your payment. Now choose. Will you make a deal, or remain loyal at the risk of your soul being annihilated?"

Quite unlike his earlier arrogance, Ymir's eyes darted about as he pondered. No doubt the faint fear of having his soul seized, and the temptation of regaining a divine body, were weighing on him.

And the information he had to pay for it was hardly anything extraordinary, was it? To those already privy to the secret, the whereabouts of the surviving gods were not something that absolutely had to be concealed.

After a while, Ymir spoke in a somewhat subdued voice.

"I can't talk about my own faction. Our boss can tell when someone outside talks about anything connected to him."

The moment he mentioned his 'boss,' Ymir showed greater fear than he had at the prospect of his soul's destruction. Hearing that this being could detect even a mention of his existence, Turan guessed why the librarian had been abducted—and which god ruled Arabion and Nagin.

'The Biologist...'

The Freyan who had denounced Otas the Night Hunter and built the underground labyrinth. Their discussion of him in the library was probably what had caused the problem.

What puzzled Turan was that discussing the matter with Maysa, Solif, Asiz, and the others did not seem to have caused any major trouble. He did not think he had been any more careful on those occasions.

"But I'll tell you everything about the other factions. How's that? Otas is interested in the Enril Desert anyway, isn't he? He never liked leaving it before."

"Fine. But tell me about all the factions outside the Enril Desert as well."

Sensing that this was the furthest compromise he could secure, Turan accepted at once. Ymir fell silent briefly, as though arranging his thoughts, then began to explain.

"First, the leader of the faction currently controlling Zahar is the Nazi. He's inhabited successive House Heads for generations."

"Which god do you mean by 'the Nazi'? Is that a name?"

"Just pass it on as it is. Otas will know exactly what it means."

Turan considered demanding a fuller explanation, but stopped himself. It would be hard to argue with that while maintaining his role as the Night Hunter's emissary. Making excuses about an imperfect memory would cast doubt on the 'true immortality' he had offered as payment.

Above all, Ymir's deliberate choice to mention Zahar's faction first made it clear that he still suspected Turan might belong to that group. Either that, or he thought they would be Otas the Night Hunter's first concern.

"There are probably three or four more under the Nazi. Usually they're either possessing some important Zahar figure or a member of a vassal house, or lying dormant. Finding the perfect vessel isn't easy, and making one yourself takes a lot of work."

"By making a vessel, do you mean manipulating someone's personality from childhood?"

"You know about that already?"

"Broadly. Explain in detail. Do you use Living Spirit Sorcery?"

Perhaps because this information was more important than what he had divulged earlier, Ymir worked his lips for a moment before resuming his explanation. Turan's indication that he already had some idea of the process must also have played a part.

"That's right. We transfer bodies with a Living Spirit Sorcerer's help. The closer the match in personality, habits, and so on, the higher the synchronization rate. Usually we just find someone reasonably similar and possess them, like this body. But if someone has great potential or a particular talent, we sometimes train them from childhood to develop certain personality traits or interests."

Turan saw Maysa and Solif tremble faintly where they stood around Ymir. What they had only suspected was now being confirmed from his own mouth.

"Does all soul possession work the way yours does?"

"What?"

"The body's original owner's consciousness seems to still be there. Is that sort of coexistence normal?"

Honestly, on the surface, it seemed far gentler than he had imagined. This was closer to coexistence than soul theft. It almost made keeping a god in one's body seem like a decent means of self-defense.

Ymir's next explanation shattered that notion.

"I don't know exactly how it works myself... Something about replacing the spirit that constitutes the personality, and leaving only the soul that powers it? Anyway, apparently the original owner's personality is just a reflex produced by information left in the brain. If I leave, he becomes a vegetable on the spot."

Oblivious to the slight shudders of the two people who had nearly become victims, Ymir abruptly stopped his rambling explanation. He probably thought Turan's questions would lead toward how to return a soul. He could hardly afford to say anything that might jeopardize his survival.

Recognizing this, Turan immediately changed the subject.

"So, which gods are in House Zahar? Whose bodies do they currently occupy?"

"The only two I know are the Darkie and the Gunslinger, and I don't know who they're in right now. We cooperate a little with that lot, but we're not close enough to share that sort of thing."

Arabion–Nagin and Zahar were separate factions with little contact. This, too, was extremely useful information. It meant driving a wedge between them when necessary could accomplish far more than he had expected.

Turan nodded, gesturing for him to continue.

"Karmine is ruled by the Lawyer, and they're outright enemies of ours. They're in league with the merfolk."

"In league with the merfolk?"

"Yes. Even in his original life, he kept spouting shit about marrying a mermaid princess. I suppose he got his wish, the crazy fish-fucking bastard..."

Turan suddenly remembered Armani, the merfolk prince he had met. How was that boy doing now, after saying he would ask his family why they ate humans?

In any case, if even the gods could only remain wary of the merfolk rather than attack them recklessly, their strength clearly could not be dismissed. Could their king perhaps transform into a great sea serpent?

"Go on."

"Ruban's leader is the Junkie. He's been an isolationist for ages, so I haven't seen him in almost a thousand years. I don't even know if he's still alive."

Ruban was a great house north of Baraha, in the continent's northeast. If he remembered correctly, it was the only great house specializing in close combat, combining the Strongman and Guardian bloodlines, both suited to physical fighting. The arena Solif had mentioned was also said to lie in its territory.

"What about Baraha?"

"That was... the Mechanic, I think? It might have changed. I'm not sure. They're not quite isolationists, but they tend to keep to themselves. They're fairly friendly with the Nazi's faction, though, so he might know."

So the apparently close connection between Baraha and Zahar had not been his imagination. Distance evidently imposed significant restrictions even on the Freyans; when it came to houses in the east, Ymir's answers were invariably that he knew little about them.

But as Turan went through them one by one, he found one great house still unaccounted for.

"Ravista?"

"I don't think there's anyone there."

"Why?"

"Well... Taking over a house isn't as easy as it sounds. We've agreed not to reveal ourselves, so we have to swallow them up in secret, and that gets complicated. In fact, when we tried taking over the great houses that used to be in the wilderness and the forest, they found us out, so we wiped them out. Besides, getting a body doesn't cost nothing."

Ymir did not mention the exact requirements, so Turan could not be sure, but it seemed that maintaining control of a great house and a system of successive possessions required an organization of a certain size. After all, they would need at least one or two people to help during the transfer between bodies.

In any case, if that was true, Ravista's boyish House Head really was a pure human with no god inside him. He could not be certain on Ymir's word alone, of course, but he felt he could put the odds at about ninety-nine percent.

"Then are there any Living Spirit Sorcerers outside your control?"

"No. They weren't common in the first place, and we hunted down every last one and dealt with them... I can't tell you where we've hidden them."

"Never mind that."

He was curious, but asking clearly would not produce a useful answer. After several more exchanges, Ymir finally ran out of patience and interrupted him.

"Look, I think I've told you enough. Isn't it about time you told me? This secret of immortality."

When Turan did not immediately answer, Ymir hastily added, apparently growing nervous,

"If you stiff me, I'll tell our boss everything. That per—god never got along with Otas to begin with, you know. If he finds out Otas knows a secret like that, things won't end well."

In other words, he was threatening Turan to divulge the secret if he did not want Otas's return exposed. Turan gave a quiet laugh before replying.

"And would he leave you alone? If it were me, I wouldn't be too pleased with a subordinate who blabbed secrets to someone I disliked. Besides, my master never intended to keep it a secret in the first place."

Ymir's expression stiffened as the threat turned back on him. Before he could reply, Turan drew the dagger at his side.

"What..."

"I will convey all the information you provided to Lord Otas. He will come in person to give you your payment later, so wait for him. Whether you tell your boss about this is up to you."

"Wait! You said you'd leave this body—"

Without another word, Turan swung his dagger and cut off Ymir's—or rather, Renod's—head. From what he had said, suitable vessels were not easy to come by, so this would probably restrict Ymir's activities to some extent. Perhaps he would even be unable to report what he had learned to his 'boss' until he revived.

The head rolled across the ground, its expression a mixture of desolation and betrayal. Moments later, a mass of mana shot out of the remaining body.

'Is that a god's soul?'

Turan wondered whether he could see bloodline symbols inside it, but before he had the chance, the mass of mana began speeding northwest. He immediately pulled the jewelry box from his coat and poured mana into it.

The box, empty since he had already released the librarian and left him beside Vije, activated. But what must have been Ymir's soul flew away entirely unhindered. Turan made a final attempt to control it with telekinesis and magic for controlling living beings, then clicked his tongue and put the box away.

Watching beside him, Maysa spoke.

"Didn't work?"

"No. I suppose it can only catch spirits. It would have been nice if it worked."

He had wanted to learn not only about the Biologist, who was probably the leader of the Arabion–Nagin faction, but also about Ymir's mysterious abilities. It was a shame he had been unable to ask what sort of power the gods wielded for fear of casting doubt on his role as Otas's emissary.

* * *

After properly disposing of Renod's corpse and clearing away their traces, Turan's party headed to Vije's hiding place. As they walked, Solif broke his silence with a somewhat hollow mutter.

"I never imagined there were so many gods left in this world... And some are even in bed with the other races? Damn it. I never thought I'd feel so small."

"Well, just learning they're not all on the same side is a gain. We might even be able to borrow one god's strength to fight another."

Of course, they had to account for the loose bonds between the gods. But if Turan's party gained enough strength to rival one of those factions, they would be able to take a direct hand in this vast contest. For that, their most pressing need was to build their power.

Vije called out in apparent delight as the three arrived, and Turan stroked her head.

"Then it's time we got serious about growing stronger."

"Where are we going?"

"How about the North Sea first? There's something I promised to show Solif... And there are more powerful monsters at sea than on land."

Generally, the larger and stronger a creature was, the more likely it was to become a powerful monster. By that principle, it was only natural that sea creatures, larger than their land-dwelling counterparts, should be born with far greater power.

Indeed, Turan had sensed powerful monsters several times while sailing the North Sea and traveling around the South Sea. He had merely kept his distance because abandoning his ship to dive in and find them would be difficult, or because he doubted he could defeat them.

But with three top-ranking nobles joining forces, capable of overwhelming even a mythical-class monster, it would be a different story.