“Gaius?”

Isabelle’s hand closed around his trembling arm, but he didn’t seem to notice. His attention was solely focused on the group that had appeared under the Sentinel of Space’s summoning. For a moment, Gaius found it hard to breath as the small force was encircled and annihilated by the demon armies, and his arm reached out for his Moonshot.

Two hands held his face, turning his eyes away from the Display forcibly. Whatever spell that had held him transfixed broke at that moment, and the Abyss Sovereign took deep, heaving breaths.

“What happened?” Isabelle’s gentle voice asked.

“I—” Gaius took another deep breath. Some part of his mind, one that was still calm and collected, told him that the feelings he was holding just moments ago was wholly unnatural. There was no reason for him to feel anger and rage at how the people of Cybral had been involved in the battle, and yet…

“The reinforcements summoned by the Sentinel of Space in the opening battle of the Great War are said to be people from the term that has been making rounds around the Five Lands — the true Orb,” said a voice from the Display. “It seems that a contract between them and the Stabiliser has been made; in exchange for their help, the Five Lands will assign a suitable territory for these people and their kind.”

“Gaius,” said Isabelle, “are these people like La-Ti?”

He nodded. “They are. I believe this anger I feel is partly from my status, my role, as the Abyss Sovereign. They are my subjects, in a sense.”

“I…see.”

The two of them turned back to the Display, which was now narrating the closing bits of the battle. Indeed, as Nexus said, the destruction of Orb’s false sky and sun was indeed a result of the battle between the Sentinel of Space and the Demon Sovereign, and the small restaurant fell silent as the scene of night falling played on the screen.

“Is anyone going to call this a hoax too?” Gaius muttered, clenching his fist. The two gods had displayed power beyond the likes of anything he’d seen before; the Human God had gone insane at the sight of Gaius to use anything substantial.

However, something like that wasn’t probably going to happen anymore.

“What’s that about a hoax?” Isabelle asked.

“Back on Earth, when a nation landed some people on the Moon, a small group of people were being very vocal in saying that the Moon-landing was faked,” Gaius replied. “Despite the fact that there was a video of it taken.”

“Maybe they were being contrary for the sake of it,” said Isabelle.

“Who knows? I mean, it’s possible that someone on Orb might just claim that this battle and its results was faked too,” said Gaius. “I mean, there’s even a law prohibiting the denial of the Oblivion Portal in the Western Holdings, and you know they say about laws.”

“That they’re created in response to something?” Isabelle asked.

“Around there, I guess.” Gaius took a deep breath. The light-hearted banter between him and Isabelle had done wonders in restoring his mental state to a pristine condition, but that didn’t mean that his anger had dissipated.

The two continued to watch the program on the Display, which was now interviewing various people regarding their opinions on the war between the Five Lands and the Wildlands. There was a focus on the destruction of the sky and the sun, but to Gaius’ amusement, most of their worries were focused on more inane details like the lunchtime period or being late for work.

It was a stark reminder to Gaius that there were people who thought of the war as a distant fire, one that was unlikely to scorch them. In a sense, such a line of thought was ideal — it showed that the people had confidence in the War Council, a mandate unlike anything in history.

Isabelle, however, had a differing opinion. Lowering her spoon, she said, “Isn’t it a problem if people aren’t worried about the war?”

Gaius rubbed his nose. “It’s because they trust their governments that they aren’t worried, but I do see where you’re coming from. But what would you suggest that they do?”

“Hmm...” Isabelle rubbed her chin. “Donate to the war effort? But that’s not what I meant. I do agree that they’re displaying lots of trust to their governments, which is great for creating reforms and launching policies that are normally unacceptable, but if things take a turn for the worse, these people are likely to hamper the government instead.”

“Like a betrayal of trust, eh?” Gaius tapped his foot lightly. “That would indeed be a problem. I don’t think we’re in a position to do anything about this, though. If you can think of such an issue, there’s probably someone sitting on the War Council with that exact thought in mind too.”

He glanced at the Display, who was currently interviewing a hysterical man. Apparently, the man had been screaming and raving at the corner of a street, which was probably a reason why it was so deserted.

“Sir, on your thoughts of the war—”

“WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!”

“Sir?”

The man, who was armoured and armed to the teeth, yelled something that Gaius, and presumably everyone else, couldn’t make out, before pulling out a sword. Brandishing it wildly, he charged at the reporter, and the Display turned black.

Isabelle’s lips twitched at that sight.

“That’s also a problem too, I guess.” Gaius shook his head.

“Mm.” Isabelle turned back to him. “Feeling better?”

“Yes. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.” He took a deep breath, before gulping down his mushroom soup.

The Display returned to life shortly afterwards, but to his amusement, the man who had charged at the reporter earlier was now bound up in strands of qi. His mouth was also stuffed with some cloth, preventing him from yelling or screaming.

“Is that legal?” Gaius asked.

“Probably not, but who’s going to complain?”

The two exchanged glances, and then returned to their soup.