“Breaking news. The Human God, perpetuator of the Second Extermination, was killed in the skies of Upper Elysium earlier this afternoon,” said the news anchor. “Details of the battle so far are sketchy, but the Pinnacle is about to hold a press conference, along with the Breath-Maker, Thasvia.”

The camera turned to show an elevated platform, where an empty podium stood.

“How much do you two know about the fight?” Gaius asked, curious.

“Lots of people saw the fight, but as for what exactly happened,” said Isabelle, “no one really knew. Someone was, uh, streaming it on the Internet.”

Gaius still couldn’t get used to the word ‘Internet’ in this mystical world of Orb, but this wasn’t the first time he felt that way. Tossing aside the mild feelings of incongruity he had, he craned his neck and watched the video Isabelle’s Display was currently showing.

Incidentally, he also took the chance to hold her hand, because that was what couples did at random. Now that they were together, he was going to indulge in a hand-holding buffet for as long as possible, because his peaceful days were going to come to an end. Isabelle twitched lightly as he held her hand, but her return grip conveyed the similar thoughts she had too.

Nakama, on the side, made a little huff, prompting Gaius to rub her head until she ducked away with a smile. La-Ti, her little apprentice, had gone to bed, leaving her bored and bouncing off the walls.

“It’s all lights and flashes, though,” Gaius muttered.

“Right until the last bit,” Isabelle said, adjusting the video. The screen changed to show two radiant figures in close contact. The one in grey had a hand extended through the golden figure’s chest, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out who the golden fellow was.

Gaius, however, had one complaint.

“Why is the Human God clad in gold light? When I was fighting him, he was all fleshy and had eyeballs growing everywhere.”

Nakama’s eyes gleamed. “Eyeballs?”

“Yeah, eyeballs. Lots of them. Big ones! Small ones. But all of them were super squishy. And his chest had an eyeball as big as three Displays!”

“That’s scary,” Isabelle muttered.

“You have no idea.” Gaius shook his head. Guiding Isabelle by the hand, he moved over to the huge pile of cushions and plopped down on it with her. A few cushions flew a moment later, as Nakama plunged into the small mountain and bounced around gleefully.

“Say, say, those eyeballs, how many were there? Were they really that scary?”

“Hmm?” Gaius tilted his head at Nakama’s unexpected question. “You have an interest in randomly growing eyeballs?”

“My class is doing a horror house next month!” Nakama replied proudly. “They wanted something scary. And if something could scare both you and Sis, I think it must be something really scary, right?”

Gaius rubbed his nose. “That’s…”

“Rather than scary,” said Isabelle, “that’s more of…traumatising? Picturing his words makes me really, really creeped out. Like, eyeballs everywhere…”

Nodding vigorously, Gaius drew closer to Isabelle, who promptly gave him a good hug, which he returned. He wasn’t quite sure if she was comforting him or the other way around, but the memory of random growing eyeballs on the now-deceased great god wasn’t doing him any favours.

Fortunately, the Pinnacle took the stage before Nakama could probe further. Heaving a sigh of relief, Gaius leaned his head on Isabelle’s shoulder and focused on the ongoing interview. Engaging in a little bout of thumb-wrestling with Isabelle — a game in which two players gripped hands and tried to press the other’s thumb — Gaius looked at the television-esque artefact and listened to the reports from all over the world.

The Human God’s death had repercussions, but curiously enough, information flowing from all around the world was about an increased viscosity in the qi within their body. As for what that actually entailed, Gaius had no clue whatsoever.

He glanced at Isabelle, who had a rather intriguing expression on her face, and then at Nakama, who was taking up a rather nice pose and making some smooth moves. They were probably driving their own qi, but from the looks on their faces, there were probably issues with doing so.

Hmm, no problems here…

Pinnacle Kolya spoke a few more words, and then yielded the stage to Thasvia. The Goddess of Wind looked around calmly, and then began to take questions.

“Was the death of the Human God really necessary?”

Thasvia smiled, but it was an expression without any humour within. “Yes. My brother had been overcome with a fell madness, an insatiable desire for power. I believe everyone present cannot see it, but…”

She gestured, and the grotesque appearance of the Human God, the one that Gaius had fought against, appeared beside her. To his side, Isabelle immediately quivered — and Gaius couldn’t blame her. Nakama was staring at the screen intently, backing off a few moments later from the artefact.

“This was his form after his will was corrupted,” said Thasvia. “And this was the only reason why we were able to kill him without any casualties today. A battle of Divine Will would have been far more tedious and dangerous. If not for the fact that the Lost Star was present, results of such a magnitude would not be possible.”

A murmur ran through the assembled people, one strong enough that even Gaius could hear them through an artefact.

“The Lost Star was present?” someone asked. “What does this have to do with the Human God?”

“It would seem that the Human God lost control of his emotions entirely when the two met, forcing his corruption to the surface,” Thasvia replied smoothly. “Either way, we had been made aware of his madness some time ago, and were making steps to handle it.”

Gaius could feel Isabelle stare at him, so he responded by squeezing her hand. Her gaze, which was somehow able to transmit the feeling of a long-suffering wife, made him feel a bit bad for making him worried, but there was really nothing he could do about it.

“Regarding the significant loss of battle power…”

The question and answer session continued, most of them related to the impending war between the Five Lands and the Wild Lands. Keeping an ear out for more interesting bits, Gaius was about to resume his thumb-wrestling with Isabelle when news about the Great Divide fluttered into the venue.

“The Human God’s passing has also triggered an unknown phenomenon at the Great Divide,” said the newscaster. “One of our colleagues, who is stationed at the Heaven-cleaving Fortress, will bring us more details. Over to you, Emilia!”