Chapter 12 – Aftermath

Aylia had been annihilated.

Most of the Outer Gods who had sided with Aylia were also annihilated, and the survivors had all fled Pleiades.

“Haaah…”

The young god Athalia collapsed where she stood, her shoulders slumping. Whether from the release of tension, not just her legs, but her entire body felt drained of strength.

“We won…”

Aylia’s invasion had lasted only a few hours. Even in the places where the situation dragged on the longest, the crisis had unfolded over an extremely short period—less than ten hours. But the severity of the crisis was no less than when Auriel had descended upon the imperial capital in the past.

Had Yuder and Cordelia’s return been even slightly delayed, the entirety of Pleiades might have collapsed.

‘I never imagined the World Stone would be threatened.’

The World Stone was something that would never have been exposed in the first place, were it not for a world like Pleiades, which had been repeatedly patched together. Moreover, unless it was a case like Aylia’s, no one would have coveted another world’s World Stone to begin with. The fact that the beings of the Heavenly Realm and Hell had never once desired the World Stone was proof of that.

‘I need to… strengthen its defenses.’

What happened once could happen again. It would take a significant amount of time for the World Stone, exposed by all the patching, to meld back into the world. Until then, she would have to devise a way to protect it more securely.

“Haaah…”

Letting out another sigh, Athalia simply lay down on the spot. She wanted to leave the main god’s space entirely, but that was impossible. There were still things left to do.

‘Just a little more strength.’

Yuder and Cordelia had returned and defeated Aylia, but that wasn’t the end of it. There were those who had taken advantage of the Outer Gods’ descent to make their move.

‘First… is the eastern army holding its position?’

The Azure Dragon was gone, but the empire he had built was still intact. Furthermore, the Azure Dragon’s conquests had been accomplished in little more than a year. Many kings and generals had surrendered to him but still harbored ambitions, so there was a chance they would try to continue the war of conquest he had started.

‘And… that’s not something I should interfere with.’

Unless an Outer God was involved, it was absurd for her, the main god, to intervene in a war among the humans of Pleiades. Of course, since the Outer Gods themselves were the cause of this war, it might be right to stop the fighting for now.

But Athalia quickly dismissed the thought. Not only was she mentally and physically exhausted from expending so much divine power to counter Aylia, but she also realized that this war couldn’t possibly continue properly anyway.

‘They’ll probably fight fiercely amongst themselves.’

While some factions might try to continue the war of conquest as she’d first thought, it was more likely that a greater number would vie for hegemony over the East now that the Azure Dragon was gone. The Azure Dragon had been able to unify the East in just one year not just because he was a human god with the power of an Outer God, but because he was a hero born into the mortal world. The empire had been held together by his charisma; it was as clear as day that it would fracture in less than a month.

Moreover, not only were many powerful figures from the empire and the kingdom on the battlefield, but Fran and Belkian were there as well. The two of them would surely be able to fend off any sporadic imperial offensives.

‘Looking away from the East… the problem is the Calamities and the Demon Worshippers.’

The Calamities and Demon Worshippers who had fled the Disaster War had resurfaced, taking advantage of the chaos in Pleiades. Since they had no connection to the Outer Gods in the first place, their forces remained intact even now that the Outer Gods were gone. Athalia actually thought this was a good thing.

‘Let’s eradicate them this time.’

These were the ones she couldn’t deal with before because they were in hiding. Some had noticed the Outer Gods’ disappearance and were already fleeing, but others remained, blissfully drunk on destruction and slaughter.

‘I’m counting on you all.’

The Holy Cross Guardians, now reborn as Cordelia’s Order of Knights, marched toward the locations Athalia designated. Powerful figures like Scarlett and Kaisa were also on the move, so it seemed they could significantly reduce the threats to Pleiades this time.

‘It’s almost over.’

Placing a cool palm on her forehead as if to soothe a fever, Athalia took one last look at the imperial capital, the royal capital, and the Holy Nation, where the fighting had ended.

The loss of life in the imperial capital was greater than expected. This was because a significant number of troops had been deployed to stop the First Sword. Fortunately, however, there had been almost no new casualties after Lucas was sent in, so the situation was being brought under control quite quickly.

‘Thank you, Lucas.’

Though it was only at the very end, the First Sword had clearly reached the Sword Principle. Excluding Yuder, he was undoubtedly the greatest swordsman Pleiades had ever produced.

‘Only Lucas could have stopped him.’

Lucas, too, had gained an epiphany from his fight with the First Sword. Athalia watched Lucas for a moment as he meditated with his eyes closed, as if internalizing his realization, before turning her gaze toward the Holy Nation.

Yuder and Cordelia’s home.

The land where their families lived.

A deep worry clouded Athalia’s face as she observed the Holy Nation.

Valencia narrowed her eyes. She had been watching Yuder and Cordelia with a warm gaze as they began sharing a sweet kiss to celebrate their victory over Aylia, but that was about five minutes ago.

[Just how long do they plan to keep that up?]

[Well… isn’t this a common occurrence?]

Valencia found herself nodding at Melissa’s words, but only for a moment. She quickly shook her head, her expression turning stern, and began to clear her throat pointedly.

[Ahem! Ahem! Ahem!]

[Wouldn’t it be better to just say something?]

[…I suppose so. Successor! Have you truly become a beast?!]

As Valencia shouted, Yuder and Cordelia, who had been lost in their own world, flinched and stopped. Seizing the momentum, Valencia continued to shout.

[Let’s deal with the aftermath first.]

[Landius is waiting over there, too.]

[See him? Standing there with that slightly awkward expression.]

Valencia was right. In the center of the royal capital, which had been flattened by the successive battles, Landius stood laughing heartily, with Lena nestled snugly in his arms.

“Landi, why don’t we do that too?”

It was almost a whisper, but Yuder and Cordelia, their senses heightened, could hear it as if she were right next to them. Of course, they also heard Kamael’s voice as he stood up alone, admonishing, “Know the time and place.”

‘He was talking to Lena and Landius, not us, but still.’

It was embarrassing all the same, so Cordelia pursed her lips and took a step back. Yuder held her firmly by the waist and looked around the royal capital.

“Cordelia, I need to ask you one more time.”

“Huh? O-oh. Okay.”

For a moment, Cordelia’s eyes widened, thinking he was talking about another kiss, but it was only for a second. Understanding what Yuder was asking, she spread her Wings of Light wide and soared into the sky above the royal capital.

The light of the sun that heals life.

She had already unleashed the light once before the final battle with Aylia to heal the wounded in the capital, but it hadn’t been a complete healing. Moreover, the effect had been small.

[Small effect? Are you talking about the healing effect?]

“The advertising effect.”

[What?]

In response to Valencia’s question, Yuder explained with his usual calculating smile.

“When the first light descended, many people were unconscious or in hiding, so not many saw Cordelia bestowing the sun’s grace, right? But the second time will be different.”

Many had regained consciousness, and many more were peeking outside, knowing the fight was over.

“The more people who witness the miracle of Saintess Cordelia, the better.”

That way, the number of believers will increase, offerings will increase, and her divinity will grow stronger.

Faced with Yuder’s refreshing smile, Valencia gave an awkward laugh, while Melissa wore a look of weary resignation, as if this were nothing new.

“Anyway, let’s get moving.”

Activating his semi-automatic artifacts to start filming Cordelia from multiple angles as she bestowed the sun’s grace, Yuder started walking toward Landius and Lena.

“Master.”

“You’ve come, my student.”

Landius’s appearance was as robust as ever, but it was truly just an appearance. Yuder could immediately tell that the current Landius had not a shred of energy left.

“Wait, don’t tell me you opened the Ninth Gate?!”

It wasn’t just because of the fierce battle with the Azure Dragon. As someone who had already opened the Ninth Gate, Yuder knew. He could feel the lingering traces of divinity from Landius. Landius, too, had clearly opened the Ninth Gate and entered the realm of transcendents.

“Hahat. You noticed, my student.”

As Landius spoke with a pleased expression, both Lena, nestled in his arms, and Kamael, standing beside him, wore proud looks.

Our sun can now open the Ninth Gate.

Landius has also reached the Ninth Gate.

For a moment, Yuder found the smug Heroes of Paragon ‘cute’ and covered his mouth with his hand to hide a smile.

“Congratulations, Master.”

“Yes, my student. I’ve finally reached the same height as you.”

Landius was only human. He had been subtly bothered by the fact that his student, Yuder, had surpassed him and reached the Ninth Gate. It wasn’t petty jealousy, but rather a feeling closer to the responsibility and dignity of a master needing to guide his student, and the competitive spirit of a warrior.

Now, we’re both at the Ninth Gate.

We stand on the same level.

Yuder gave an awkward smile at Landius’s words, which were filled with pride, and Landius soon understood why.

“There was a level above that?”

“Um… yes.”

The realm of divinity that lies beyond the Ninth Gate.

“And you’ve already reached it?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck.”

A curse escaped Landius’s lips, but his face was smiling. The fact that there was still higher to climb stimulated his fighting spirit.

“No wonder. Your divinity felt different than before. Congratulations, my student.”

“Thank you, Master.”

[What a heartwarming sight, a master and student exchanging pleasantries.]

Just as Valencia said this with an elegant smile.

“She’s coming down.”

It was just as Kamael, who had recovered much of his energy thanks to the sun’s grace, had said. Cordelia, who had been emitting the sun’s divinity high in the capital’s sky, slowly descended, showering light, and the people of the capital began to pray with their hands clasped as they watched her.

“That’s my wife.”

“…I know.”

Kamael wanted to retort, “Who doesn’t know that?” to Yuder’s unnecessary boast, but he managed to give a polite answer.

“Will you meet with the king and the crown princess?”

“That would be fine, but… I plan to go to the Holy Nation first.”

Kamael nodded at Yuder’s answer. The crown princess was safe, and the king, who had been hiding in the palace basement, was also safe, so there was no need to rush a meeting. It wasn’t as if Yuder and Cordelia were nobles of the Sailun royal family anymore, either.

“Understood. We’ll handle the situation in the capital.”

“Thank you.”

Just after Yuder replied. Cordelia landed on the ground, bowed deeply to Landius, Lena, and Kamael, then approached Yuder and said.

“Yuder, let’s go to the Holy Nation first.”

She was suddenly worried about Dahlia and Maia. If the royal capital had suffered this much damage, the Holy Nation must have suffered considerably as well.

“Alright, let’s hurry.”

Yuder nodded, exchanged a look with Landius’s group, with whom he had already finished speaking, and then swept Cordelia up into his arms.

He transformed into the Black Beast and shot across the sky.

And some thirty minutes later.

Standing before Dahlia and Maia, Cordelia burst into tears.

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Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

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