The Primal Hunter

Jake wasn’t sure if he should have said or done anything before Ell’Hakan left. It felt as if he had given the other Chosen the floor and allowed him to say and do whatever he wanted… but that didn’t necessarily mean what Ell’Hakan had done was in his best interest.

As the saying goes, never interrupt an enemy when he is making a mistake.

Ell’Hakan was clearly under the impression the relationship between Jake and Villy was on thin ice. That Jake was not satisfied with him as a Patron. That, or at least he believed Jake didn’t hold any loyalty toward Villy… which he was kind of right about.

Jake didn’t hold the kind of loyalty one would expect of a Chosen toward a Patron. He held no faith, and he wouldn’t just do whatever the Viper told him to do. Ell’Hakan and Yip of Yore had already figured this out from the looks of it, making their current strategy make a lot more sense.

Eversmile is likely involved in some way, too, Jake also mentally noted, as he considered the situation more deeply.

From this entire thing, coupled with what Carmen said, Jake reached a conclusion… they had officially adopted a narrative that did not require them to kill Jake. This was likely a direction they had moved toward for a while, but only now did they state it outwardly and speak it into reality. The fact this had been done in front of a crowd that would quickly spread it to every major faction in the multiverse also wasn’t a coincidence.

They wanted to show that they held no animosity toward Jake, just the Malefic Viper. The way they framed it also wasn’t entirely idiotic. Jake doubted it would be long before it was also common knowledge that Valhal was interested in recruiting Jake, potentially even offering him a similar position. All of this was to give Jake an escape.

Ultimately, this meant Jake staying with the Malefic Viper was framed as a choice. That Jake chose to stand on the side of an evil tyrant, despite having been given ample opportunity not to, giving them an excuse if they did somehow kill him. Perhaps they also bet on Jake’s sense of self-preservation and wanted to clarify that should he choose to bail the proverbial sinking ship, there would always be a lifeboat waiting.

Jake would guess the two spin doctors didn’t really want to do this but felt forced into it. There was definitely pressure from many factions who would oppose Jake’s death before they could make use of him. With his new achievement as the top performer of the All-Time Leaderboards, he had only grown further in fame and gained the interest of even more major factions.

This entire situation is messy… but not really that complicated, Jake thought. And it truly wasn’t.

Yip of Yore wanted to kill the Malefic Viper to become a Primordial Slayer. This was the crux of it.

Ell’Hakan was helping Yip of Yore to do this, initially by trying to kill Jake.

Even if that had now changed, the core of what Ell’Hakan wanted to accomplish remained: to have the Malefic Viper lose his Chosen. Just rather than losing his Chosen by Jake dying, he would lose him by Jake choosing to jump ship, which would definitely also negatively affect the Viper… because if not even his Chosen believed he could win and stood behind him, did he really stand a chance?

Of course, Ell’Hakan and Yip had made one major mistake. Ell’Hakan had been right about one thing, though: one can truly only do their best, but the best one could do was limited by knowledge… and those two clearly had no idea Jake was a Heretic-Chosen, nor could they comprehend the concept behind a god and a mortal genuinely just being friends.

The large hall had become silent with Ell’Hakan’s speech, and it took quite a few seconds before anyone made a sound after the Chosen left. All the focus was on Jake, and from the looks he got, many of them seemed to believe something positive had just happened to Jake. Which, in some ways, it had. Ell’Hakan had admitted to what he had done, and even if he had apologized… well, Jake wasn’t obligated to forgive.

Not that he was going to say anything to anyone. The less he gave away, the better.

As Jake stood there, the Fallen King sent over a telepathic message.

”An apt strategy adopted by the Chosen of Yip. He has created a situation where he is no longer the aggressor, and many believe it would only make sense for you to forget and forgive whatever he, in their minds, minor mistakes he’s made. Everything ended up nicely being blamed on the Malefic Viper, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the next time you have a public meeting, he will offer you some kind of compensation to make his actions also match his words.”

”Honest, he can do whatever the fuck he wants. He killed Chris, that’s unforgivable,” Jake shot back.

”Yes… but in the eyes of others, he just killed a fanatic serving the Malefic One. An insignificant D-grade. Lives are not equal, and someone like you or Ell’Hakan could kill millions without anyone truly caring. In their eyes, your value exceeds countless weaklings,” the Unique Lifeform continued.

Shit, some would maybe even argue Jake had done more to Ell’Hakan than Ell’Hakan had ever done to Jake, simply by beating him on the Leaderboards

leave, only throwing a single glance toward Sylphie while departing, with Jake throwing one in return, making the ice elemental hurry out. The Holy Church didn’t stick around much longer either, and Jake saw Carmen leave with a group from Valhal soon after. The same was true for

even arriving at this meeting, Jake had already been informed that they would be offered passage back to their home planets or wherever else they wanted to go. All was facilitated by the Wyrmgod. In retrospect, this was probably a necessary service to not leave a

to their group, bringing along a certain dryad. Dina looked like she had some mixed emotions, and Jake understood why. Everyone but Sylphie and the Fallen King from Earth also tactfully left, leaving their Nevermore party as

all back together,” Jake smiled as Dina

even if she couldn’t quite hide

fifty years together, a huge part of their lives. When it came to pure life experience, likely the majority for all but the Sword Saint and maybe the Fallen King. In the beginning, Dina had been reserved and barely spoke to anyone but the old man. However, with time, she opened up a lot, happily discussed things, and shared her vast knowledge of the multiverse imparted to her

to go their separate ways. Even if it wasn’t a goodbye, no one knew when they would meet

that it's taken without permission from

only risen further. Making friends while in a position like hers surely wasn’t easy; Jake knew that pretty damn well, being the Chosen of the Malefic Viper.

Jake. ”Congratulations on the All-Time Leaderboards… and thank

record,” Jake waved her off with a smile as he joked: ”Then again, we did all carry our own weight, so maybe we should all thank each other in

gratitude between equal partners, it’s simply an implicit understanding,” the Fallen King added, both ruining Jake’s joke and being pretty on-point. There truly was no need for anyone to

smiled a bit. ”Still…

had plenty of dumb arguments over the last half a century, and there was no reason to add another one

are you headed from here?” the Sword

told there was a celebration back there for all those from the Pantheon who took part in Nevermore,” she answered before turning to Jake. ”Grandpa also said you

considering,” the Sword

before we have handled this Prima first,” the Fallen

that I’ll come by at some point after the Prima Guardian is dealt with and things calm down a bit. I doubt any visit I make

”Ree!” even Sylphie agreed.

smiled, happy they all seemed

was quiet for a while before the Sword Saint spoke once more. ”I believe it’s time

her smile rapidly

head as he reached over and put a hand on her head, rubbing her hair-like plants. ”This is not a goodbye but a temporary farewell. It’s been a pleasure spending the

as he saw Dina hesitate before seemingly thinking: ”screw it,” as she went forward and gave the old man a hug. He returned it as he kept rubbing her hair. He already knew that of everyone in their group, she had definitely become the closest with the Sword

to the others. Sylphie got a few

dryad,” the Fallen King said, getting about as

you around,” Jake

alright?” the Sword Saint said as he gave her

screeched, waving with one of her

nodded resolutely.

back half a dozen times as the four from Earth remained behind in the

back to Earth now,” the Sword Saint said after

follow. Too many of the World Council have been gone for too long,” the

of them. ”I’m gonna go visit that Demon Prince first and