A battalion’s worth of troops flickered through the skies, most of them bogged down by damp uniforms. Exhaustion lined their faces, and for good reason too — the nights spent on the sea’s surface had been rough and uncomfortable when it came to the return trip.

Colonel Aziz restrained his urge to yawn loudly, lest the n-th wave of contagious yawning spread through the battalion again. The seas had become choppier, more violent, with the Lifespring’s passing, and now, smooth seas were an incredibly rare sight. More than once, he’d fallen overboard at night, a common experience shared by virtually everyone sans the marshal.

The only thing that kept them going was the fact that in the middle of the ocean, there was only one way out, and that was forward. And that they were returning home. Aziz’s words that they were but a few hours from the Republic had raised many a cheer, and in stark contrast to the bitter silence that had permeated the battalion a few days ago, men and women alike were yelling and screaming songs as they flew.

Which was a good thing, but it was something that he should have gotten them to do earlier. This was just proof that the long-distance trip, combined with the shock at the near-destruction of the Eastern Territories, had addled everyone’s heads.

Seagulls were circling below their flight path, and the colonel felt his heart lighten. The sight of birds was often accompanied by land, and more importantly, this was the first time in weeks that they had seen something alive that wasn’t part of Thunderbolt.

Whoops rang out, and Aziz felt Thunderbolt’s speed increase slightly.

“Looks like everyone’s motivated and all,” said Marshal Marie, who had slowed down slightly to talk to Aziz. “How many days off should they get after they return?”

“You’re talking in days?” Aziz asked, flabbergasted. “I would go with weeks, at least. One month, even.”

“One month?” The marshal licked her lips. “I do not deny that having one month for us to clear paperwork while the boys and girls have fun sounds great.”

I wasn’t thinking of paperwork, though! And doesn’t that mean I don’t get to take a break? Aziz suddenly felt that his current rank was nothing but a scam designed to rope him into hard work and misery. His mind spun rapidly, and within moments, he had come up with a new way to deflect that veiled offensive.

“Paperwork? We can save that for later. One month to ourselves is best spent on living life the way we want to, rather than some papers,” Aziz gabbled. “Grab a secretary or something, the way the military of Ark City did, and have them sort it out for you the next month.”

“Sort out?”

“Yep. After all, paperwork’s only a pain if it’s disorganised, right? Instead of spending three weeks sorting them out and one week to look through them, why not let someone else do the sorting?” Aziz pressed on. “Think of the books you could read with that much time off!”

“Y-you’re right!” Marie nodded. “Alright, I’ll go get a secretary or something when I get back.”

Aziz made a mental fist pump as the marshal began to ponder over what books she wanted to read. She had shown Aziz a long to-read list before, and the colonel began naming anything that had to do with demons. After all, it would seem that the demons would be their next — and possibly last — opponent, and brushing up on the legends was probably the best course of action they had.

Halfway through the list, blue lights streaked across the skies, closing the gap between them and Thunderbolt Battalion within moments. A tremor ran through Thunderbolt Battalion as the sheer power contained within those lights poured outwards ceaselessly. Even idiots could tell that this was a group not to be trifled with…and people in the know would know the background of this little squadron.

This divine azure could only come from the remnant forces of the Lifespring. Aziz had heard about the fighting that had gone on at Eo-Seu after the Lifespring fell — a massacre conducted by the dead god’s forces, who had been restraining themselves thus far. Crushing the poor fools who had taken an apparent lack of strength for weakness, the remnant forces had staked a solid claim over Eo-Seu.

Whatever happened next was a mystery, as the late Lifespring’s Paragons and Demigods had secluded themselves on Eo-Seu. Word had it, however, from the emissaries sent out once more, that the Demigods were giving it their all to ascend in the hierarchy of life.

A true ascension from Demigod to a great god. There was no cultivation realm for the latter — nothing of that had occurred in living memory. Attempts were made, to be sure, but none had succeeded.

“Looks like the Lifespring’s Paragons, doesn’t it?” Marie asked, snapping Aziz out of his silent contemplation. “They don’t look particularly hostile, though.”

“Orders?”

“Relay my instructions: no one is to show any hostility. They’re probably just passing by.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aziz saluted, and began to relay her orders. The nervousness, however, didn’t abate, especially as the streaks of blue turned towards Thunderbolt Battalion. There were nine such streaks, each of them radiating might that Aziz had only felt from the Paragons of the East, and he knew that any one of them could put an end to Thunderbolt easily.

Within minutes, they had caught up. Marie had slowed down to enable that, but instead of passing by them harmlessly, the Lifespring’s Paragons stopped in mid-air.

One of them, dressed in a blue set of armour, flew forward. “Little mortals, are we close to the—”

Another one stepped in and slapped the first speaker on his head. It was a woman with her blue hair done up in a bun, and after inflicting a few more moments of abuse on the armoured man, she turned and curtsied. “My apologies for this fool. Paragon Abele is a musclehead who can only speak with his fists. Please, forget about this idiot.”

Marie, Aziz, and the rest of Thunderbolt blinked.

“Excellent.” She cleared her throat. “I’m Paragon Maylin. Nice to meet you all.”

Aziz mumbled something in reply as Marie reacted with overwhelming exuberance. After a few moments of talking, the Paragon’s face crumpled.

“What’s going on?” Aziz asked.

“The directions to World’s End are too complicated for them,” Marie replied.

Paragon Abele, the guy who had been beaten up a few times, growled. “You make us sound like idiots. I don’t like—”

Aziz winced as Paragon Maylin unleashed another bout on violence on her companion, smashing him down onto the waters below and sending some fish flying. Taking advantage of Paragon Abele’s momentary incapacitation, Paragon Maylin said, “Could you lead us there? We’ll pay you handsomely.”

“We’re going to the Republic first, though,” said Marie.

“That’s fine.” She looked at the seven people floating behind her. “Right?”

The others agreed awkwardly, and Aziz suddenly had the feeling that this woman in front of him had trained them well with her fists. Stifling the urge to chortle, Aziz watched quietly as the two made a deal.

Moments later, and with a few new additions, they were once again back on track.