It was too much. She was too much. Bubastis was a Divine Beast; the highest evolution a beast could achieve. Leapmouth and Vipermouth stood no chance.
With Leapmouth barely conscious, he stuck his sword in the ground, keeping him upright as he glared weakly up at Bubastis.
"Still holding back..." He coughed weakly, leaning over his blade. "Even now, you spare us..."
Bubastis lowered her weapon before finally, her hood fell back to reveal her feline features fully; with golden eyes, black cat ears, and a scar across her eye, she stared him down.
"You were never my enemies, Leapmouth. We've been friends since childhood, and I'm the one who taught you the Way of the Blade." Said Bubastis, lowering her head. "But I can't let anyone hurt my children."
Leapmouth froze, gazing at me who stood in the background, watching everything in disbelief. This was freaking insane.
"So... be it." Before she could respond, Vipermouth, who was buried in the mud, weakly lifted his hand. He was holding a stone.
"A teleportation stone?" Muttered Bubastis.
"D-Damn you, Blessed of Bastet... Lord Sasobek... will know of this..." He hissed before vanishing in the blink of an eye, taking Leapmouth with him.
Now all that was left was a ruined battlefield, and me staring at everything in shock. Eventually, my mom glanced at me with a smirk.
"You did well, little one."
"M-Mom!" I called her name as I ran up to her, shaken up by everything I witnessed. "You scared me half to death!"
She chuckled before crouching down to place her hand on my head.
"I'm sorry about that, sweetheart. But now, things are going to get much harder. Sasobek knows where we are."
I widened my eyes, gulping at her words.
"Who even is this Sasobek guy anyway?!"
Bubastis's expression darkened as she stood up, shifting her gaze toward the sky where the clouds were still split from the earlier attack.
"He is known as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Ruler of Beasts. All Beastkin, across the entire Axis Mundi, is under his title." She turned to face me again. "He possesses the title, King of Beasts; a title so rare that only three beasts throughout history have obtained it."
Holy cow. If what my mom is saying is true, then this Sasobek guy must be a serious problem. I'm glad I didn't run into him any time soon. But there's still one thing on my mind that I'm curious about.
"W-What is a Heavenly King, exactly?"
All of the swamp creatures gazed at me as if I had gone mad. It must've been shocking to see their Ruler not know of something so prominent.
But my mom merely closed her eyes, as if hesitating to answer.
"It is a title given to someone who slayed a god."
The moment she said that, my heart just about stopped.
"...Wait, WHAT?!"
Slayed a god? That wasn't just some fancy title or rank—that was an entirely different level of nightmare fuel!
[I'm officially out of my depth! Forget levels, forget EXP, I'm dead if I run into him.]
Her expression turned calm again, but her eyes remained fierce.
"There are four of them." She said, facing me. "Each one rules a specific continent of the Axis Mundi, and as you're well aware, each continent possesses its own cosmology."
Ah yeah, she was right. During our talk, she told me that each continent has its own laws and mythology. Humans, beasts, monsters, and demons (you name it), shape the world unconsciously with their wills in each continent.
Reality is merely what the majority of races believe it to be. That's actually how all universes worked—so she says. Back in my home world, the reason why dragons, demons, and all sorts of crazy monsters never existed was because science and reason were founded. For example; people back in medieval times believed tornadoes to be the wrath of a god in my universe. And during those times, that was true; it was the wrath of a god. But when science was discovered, they soon realized that it was just a part of nature and wasn't related to any supernatural phenomena, so eventually, a lot of gods died out from the majority disbelieving in them, except for a few.
It really all depended on the billions, to trillions of minds and their beliefs.
"Sasobek is the Heavenly King of the Khetmenet. While the other three rule over Yggdrasil, Gaia, and Di."
Yggdrasil belonged to Norse Mythology, Gaia belonged to Greek Mythology, and Di belonged to Chinese Mythology. Khetmenet obviously refers to the Egyptian Mythology. Man, this is a lot to take in all at once.
"H-How do you beat something like that?" I asked my mom, visibly anxious.
"That is a conversation for another time, dear."
"T-Then what are we gonna do?" I asked, hoping for a reasonable answer.
"You and your army will leave the swamp."
Wait, what did she just say? Leave the swamp? Was my mom going nuts or what?
"No way I'm leaving you by yourself, mom!"
While I didn't know my mother for very long, she was the one who just saved me and drove those bad guys away. For all I know, I owed her my life!
"Do not worry." She said with a stern look. "You're my daughter, we'll always be in touch. My Special Skill, Emergency Teleportation, will always teleport me to your location whenever I'm in danger, or if you're in dire need of help."
Huh. That actually explains a lot; like how she rescued me from Croak'mar and those frog and snake beastlords. But now I had to know the limitations of this skill—just in case something absurd happened.
"You mean... you can just teleport to me whenever something goes wrong? Like, anywhere?"
Bubastis smiled, nodding her head.
"Anywhere." She confirmed. "Across dimensions, across realms, as long as the bond between us as Mother and daughter remains unbroken."
Okay, that was both comforting and terrifying. The thought of my mom materializing out of thin air the next time I stub my toe or get into trouble with a goblin wasn't exactly subtle.
"But..." I frowned. "If you can do that, why are you sending me away? Why not just... stick together?"
She huffed a sigh and softened her gaze before changing her tone. Her tone was the kind that moms used when the argument was already over before it began.
"Because if you stay here, he'll find you faster. Sasobek's reach is vast, and his eyes are everywhere. You're still unmarked by him, and I intend to keep it that way. Leapmouth and Vipermouth will likely not even bring you up from being so low-leveled."
"B-But what about you?" I protested. "You just fought those guys, and now you want to take on him next?!"
Her tail swayed lazily behind her and I could see tension in her shoulders.
"I'll manage. I've fought him before."
Her words stopped me cold.
"...You what?"
"A long time ago. Before you were born. I fought beside him once... and against him soon after."
My mind was short-circuiting at this point.
[Excuse me, what do you mean you fought beside a god-killer?!]
"He was a good beast during those times. He offered all beastkin freedom from mankind and their wicked rules, eventually earning the title 'King of Beasts'. It indeed sounded noble back then, and it sounded right. But that freedom only lasted for so long as he sought domination."
Oh, this story is starting to sound pretty deep.
"Power corrupted him, and he changed. After earning his title, he no longer cared about freedom and only wanted to claim all worlds in his name. And the beasts followed him against their will."
"Wait, why did they follow him? Couldn't they just rebel?" I asked.
"Mm." Mom shook her head in denial. "It's not that easy. Once you obtain a title, you harbor a specific Principle. The King of Beasts title carries the Principle of 'Beastly Domination', making all beasts subservient."
"R-Really?" I asked, baffled by all of this.
"Yes." She nodded her head. "He had me shackled by his title, and I was his loyal sister in arms, until one day, Lady Bastet freed me from his subjugation. She claimed that I was the only one who could put an end to Sasobek and his wicked ways, so she blessed me." Mom stared me deep into the eyes. "And that's how I became the Divine Beast that I am now." She chuckled at my baffled expression. "There is more to the story, but that's for another time."
"Lady Bastet was the one who freed you? You must be really special, Mom."
"I suppose." She responded with a bit of pride. "When I was released from his title, I freed as many beasts as I could, and together, we rebelled against Sasobek which started a historical event known as the Primeval War." She closed her eyes in memory. "We were known as the Outer Beasts; creatures who defied their Ruler, while his loyal servants were known as the Inner Beasts. Creatures who would give everything for their King."
"Darn... it doesn't matter where you go, power always corrupts!"
Bubastis widened her eyes, as if I said something absurd.
"No matter where you go? You speak as if you've come from another world, my beloved daughter." She sharpened her eyes with a mischievous smile.
Yikes, I should really learn when to shut up!
"W-Well, you learn a lot in a few days, especially in a world like this... ahahaha!"