Sealed in Steel [ Tank Litrpg ]

"Wha-what?" Maveron stammered at the unexpected answer. "Vanquish the Lost Souls?"

"Can you not understand Angloise, human?" said the boy twin, emerald eyes staring blankly into space. They were likely not working. "I learned it to easier communicate with your kind."

"We'd prefer not to speak in your language, but we are considerate," added the girl. "That is why we've answered your question in the simplest way possible. Vanquish the Lost Souls, and your concern is solved." Her mouth moved to form words, but they were delayed.

They must also be faking the way they talk to look humanoid. Did they even have vocal cords?

Are they really twins, or were these bodies just for show? The boy refers to himself as 'I', but the girl used collective pronouns. Were they one being or separate? Maybe they were just messing with people. Elian wasn't sure about their response. This was effectively a denial of help, telling Maveron and the Grovenians that they were on their own. Elian didn't expect much from the Sabyn Twins; he even thought something bad would happen, like they'd get attacked.

In all, it wasn't so bad an outcome. Though they were back to square one.

But Maveron wouldn't simply accept that answer. "Oh, Divine Twins, we cannot vanquish the Lost Souls because they come to your mountain to recuperate."

Because there's no more Dark Forest to go to, Elian thought.

"I do not control the Lost Souls," said the boy, echoing the Guardian Herbalist from earlier.

As expected, the girl also chimed in, "They come and go as they please. We will not restrict them, if that is your plea. In the same way, we will not restrict you."

That sounded like a threat, so Elian decided to join the conversation. "Divine Twins, I hope it's not too presumptuous of me to speak. I am a—"

"A Penitent of that unnatural hand, I sense," the boy twin interjected. For a moment, his eyes focused on Elian before pointing in no particular direction again.

"We welcome you to our mountain," said the girl.

"Erm, yes," Elian said, bowing. "Thank you." The Sabyn Twins seemed to have some history with the Magistrate. Using the term 'unnatural', they probably knew that the Magistrate was the essence of one deity trapped in the body of another. They didn't appear to be antagonistic, though they probably disapproved of the Magistrate's existence. "Can I ask about the solution to their plight that you gave us?"

"Speak, Penitent," said the twins.

"If we, let us say, succeed in, uh, permanently defeating the Lost Souls, will there be any repercussions from your Divinity or any of your esteemed Herbalists?" 'Esteemed' truly had a nice ring to it. Elian could see why that was Maveron's favorite word.

"You fear retribution?" The boy shook his head. "None whatsoever; you have my word. As these men are the reason these Lost Souls came to be, so shall they lay them to rest."

"Though we find the act of felling the magnificent trees of magic deplorable," said the girl, "we keep to the Covenant and not meddle directly with the affairs of mortals."

"Is it possible for meddle indirectly with this affair?" Elian asked. "We respectfully plead for your help. These men, the Grovenians, are hard pressed in stopping the Lost Souls from destroying their towns. Many of them have died. Many more will die when they clash with the Lost Souls of the Forest again."

"And that is justice," replied the Sabyn Twins.

"I think that's enough, Penitent," Maveron whispered to Elian. To the Sabyn Twins, Maveron bowed low as he loudly said, "We thank your Divinity for this audience. We take our leave." He and his men trooped out of the garden. Elian noted Maveron had clenched fists.

Please don't do anything stupid out there," Elian fervently prayed in his head. They should be content with this outcome. This may not be the positive result they have been looking for, but they get to walk out of here alive after the crap they pulled earlier.

Elian couldn't accompany them because he had another business with the Sabyn Twins. He stayed with Gideon.

"Penitent of the unnatural hand," said the boy twin. "Abbomyr tells me that you have news to share."

"We are eager to hear about it," the girl said. "Plants speak of a great danger coming. From whence, we do not know. Of what, we are unaware. But there is a great movement of power afar that might spell destruction for our home."

"This is my sanctuary," the boy said. "I have lived here since time immemorial."

"We do not wish for its destruction," said the girl. "Our home and everything in it are precious to us."

The Sabyn Twins were here before the War of the Gods? This must be their home even before the Covenant was forged. When deities walked on the mortal plane, before any recorded history that survived to the present, the Twins were here. Elian might be able to use the Twins' love for this mountain.

"I bring the news of…" Elian paused for a dramatic effect, "…a Giant Invasion."

"Giants…" Both Twins walked out of their bed of flowers and circled Elian. The Guardian Herbalists took a few steps closer as well. Gideon was gone, probably hiding to see if the Twins would react badly or not. Their plant faces yielded no expression. "Giants that have long been gone from this continent will return?"

Elian nodded. "That is so, your Divinity. And I know of this because of the Timekeeper's Gift." Using the fake seer backstory wouldn't work here. Much better to stick close to the truth. "I hope you can feel the power of the Timekeeper around me. I had seen the Giant Invasion and all that followed play out before. Now, I'm given the opportunity to change it."

"The Timekeeper? I sense his marks about you," said the boy. "Faint. Fading. Disturbing. I reserve judgment on the truthfulness of your words."

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"First, we must hear of this Giant Invasion," said the girl. "Before we decide on our course of action. More. Tell us more, Penitent."

"An island-sized boat filled with Giants is going to attack Sarnival Port in six and a half months," Elian said. He went on with the story that he had also told the Magistrate and its priests. He narrated the Giants wiping out everything before them, leaving out the part that the Giants were specifically targeting humans because they weren't of Fellenyr, having been transported from Earth centuries ago.

Elian highlighted the destruction the Giants would cause, implying that the Sabyn Mountain would be harmed as well. Omission wasn't exactly lying. If the Twins didn't ask, he wouldn't volunteer the information. He continued about the Giants building Gates that connected them to their homeland, and the thousands of Giants marching forth.

"Have you told the unnatural hand that was once the pet of the catfolk of this?" both Sabyn Twins asked. This must mean they believed Elian. Otherwise, they wouldn't bother asking more. "What was the reaction of the unnatural hand?"

"I did tell the Hundred-Armed Magistrate and its priests. And the Temples of Tribulations would discreetly prepare for battle. They are doing so now. If they showed too much movement, the scrying eyes of the Giants might notice that we knew they were coming. We plan to meet the first wave of the invasion and prevent the Giants from landing at Sarnival Port."

"We plan, you say?" The Twins pointed at Elian's bracelet with the symbol of the Magistrate. "You have allied with the unnatural hand?"

"We should all work together," Elian replied. "Everyone should be allies. As for this." He presented the bracelet. "It was given to me to make it easier to find more allies and lend credibility to my words. Will you work with us, oh Divine Twins?" Their reply made Elian's heart sink.

"Work together with that atrocious existence of a deity? Perish the thought," the boy scoffed as he walked back to the flowers.

The girl remained by Elian's side and looked up to him. "Did the unnatural hand send you to ask this of us?"

"My goal is to find allies," Elian said. "I was supposed to go to Ohmenstrat, where there are many Penitents like me. But I passed by Sabyn Mountain to ask for help healing Viney, my plant symbiote." He showed the girl deity his bandaged hand. "I met Abbomyr, and he mentioned that your Divinity hears whispers of danger from the plants. I thought this referred to the Giants."

The female twin touched Elian's bandages. Viney feebly wriggled underneath. "Abbomyr?" It was the first time she spoke first instead of her brother.

"We are gathering the ingredients for the cure as we speak, Your Divinity," Abbomyr replied.

"We will heal your plant symbiote, Penitent," said the girl. "We heal all who come to our mountain, no matter who they may be. If we do not do so, we will be no better than those who do harm. Inaction is an active choice."

"I pray that you choose to act against the incoming invasion," Elian said. "I've lived through the future that was destroyed. Your mountain—"

"Why are the Giants attacking, Penitent?" asked the boy as he turned to face Elian. "Did the unnatural hand give any clue? I wager that it knows."

"Uh…" Elian decided to stick with telling the truth when asked. Since the Sabyn Twins knew about the true nature of the Magistrate, they might also know some tidbits about the Elder Giant. "The Giants want to reform the Elder Giant," he said. It was Thalman, not the Magistrate, who told him that. He didn't add that the Giants hated humans. Hopefully, they wouldn't ask him.

"Is that so?" The boy smirked as he sat on the flowers. "Oh, what trouble is that, indeed. Trouble, however, that doesn't concern us."

The girl nodded as she walked toward her brother. "Our mountain has survived the War of the Gods. It will weather the war the Giants will bring."

"But the surroundings will be destroyed," Elian said, "even if the Giants don't touch your mountain. Plants and animals, many will die."

"Life will continue, Penitent," the Twins replied. "Calamities have wiped the lands clean of life, only for it to start anew. The invasion of the Giants, the revival of the Elder Giant, should they succeed, will bring great turmoil. But life will persevere."

"Great turmoil? Why not stop it? Yes, life, in some form, will continue. It'll probably be all a blur to you who had lives for thousands of years. But those that will die…. those that will suffer… Don't they count? If we work together, we can stop it from happening."

"Human," said the boy, no longer calling him 'Penitent'. "Do you care about the tens of thousands of ants in an anthill trampled by groffs tilling a field?"

"Do you care about the millions of plants that burn to ashes in an uncontrolled wildfire?" asked the girl twin. "The rains come and green sprouts again."

"Are we really doing this?" Elian threw up his arms in frustration. He should get used to trying to convince people, or deities, to join him. "I'm not going to pretend that I care about those. But I'm just a human. In contrast, you are deities that care for them. At the least, you care for this mountain, don't you?"

"There is nothing the Giants want from this mountain," replied the twins. "None of the parts of the Elder Giant are here. They will leave us alone, and we will persist in our existence until another force overtakes the Giants. And so, it has been, for time immemorial."

"What if they do attack you?"

"Will they attack us? Can you say that with certainty?"

"Uh, it's impossible to say for sure what will happen in the war. There will probably be some—"

"Human," said the twins. "If the Giants choose to assail the defenses of our mountain someday, then… our Guardian Herbalists will act. Not us. We follow the Covenant, its intent, and not merely its rules. The unnatural hand you serve skirts the Covenant."

"I don't serve—"

"We cannot aid you, human," said the twins. "Leave our mountain in peace."

Well… I expected this. Elian was about to leave when he raised his finger. "There's something you can help me with. The Grovenians—they're affected by the negative energies of the Lost Souls. Can they be healed? People are healed on this mountain, right?"

The twins smiled. "The mountain air will cleanse their bodies. They are thinking much clearer, haven't you noticed?"

"Ah, thanks for that. Um, if you ever change your mind, we'll be grateful for your help."

The twins sank into the bed of flowers and disappeared.

Elian left the garden and found Gideon, who half-expected him to be dead. Elian chuckled. "You were the one picking a fight with Abbomyr. I was very respectful to the Sabyn Twins. I didn't force them to do anything, not that they would listen to me."

"Well, good," said Gideon. "And I mean that. Good that you are alive. Good that we have a cure for your plant symbiote. All good. Except…" He turned to look at the Grovenians huddling in a circle, likely discussing their next steps.

"Let's go talk to them," said Elian.

"I am sensing that this will not be good."

"Esteemed Penitent!" Maveron had a big smile on his face. "Consider your duty to us fulfilled. We have met the Sabyn Twins and have come out unscathed, thanks to you. We will pay you as agreed upon. However, can you assist us in another matter? No, we're not going to Golden Grove. We plan to catch the shadow beasts as they leave Sabyn Mountain and kill them. We will double your—"

Elian held up his hand. "Can you defeat the shadow beasts with the number of men you have here?" Maveron was about to respond, but Elian continued talking. "Even if you can, how can you make sure that you have stopped every one of them? You can't. It's impossible. Many of them will leave unnoticed and go to Golden Grove. Instead of patrolling the borders of the mountain in hopes that we run into shadow beasts, we should wait at the place where they'll all go."

"Are you saying that…?"

"Let's go to Golden Grove and defend it."