Gaius clicked his teeth as the incredible presence drifted over to him. Normally, encountering anyone with such condensed might was something so rare that a celebration or funeral should follow in short order, but in the wake of the great battle above the ruined Great Divide, the Abyss Sovereign really couldn’t be bothered to feel shocked anymore.

More importantly, it was within his expectations that someone would intercept him, but Gaius did not expect the Demon Sovereign to be the one doing it. He didn’t expect Demon Sovereign Asteria to come out of his battle with Hereward alive, to begin with.

For a moment, Gaius wondered if he should just redirect his attack at the Demon Sovereign, but that would bring the war to an end immediately. He couldn’t have that.

Gaius had been maintaining a delicate balance the whole time. On one hand, he wanted the Five Lands to bond over the threat of a shared opponent, but on the other, he didn't want them to kill each other due to wartime related issues. After some examination, he’d realised that whatever the Republic’s Minister of State had said made sense; the only way for them to smooth over past conflicts and grievances was a platform formed and tempered over long periods of cooperation.

To that end, the Wildlands must be the target of the Five Lands, from the War Council to the foot soldiers at the very bottom. The difficulties that this black dome had created, however, had forced all kinds of atrocities to occur, and for the past few days, Gaius had run himself ragged.

Putting out diplomatic fires with sheer force was incredibly tiring. Furthermore, he had to stop the Knights and Squires from executing anyone who wanted to desert, since that would definitely collapse morale. To make matters worse, Isabelle had spotted a village where deserted troops and demons lived together in harmony, but Gaius could not bring himself to cross a certain line.

Taking a deep breath, Gaius turned to face the Demon Sovereign and his assembled Demigods. There were tens of them, while the grounded Paragons — or Exemplars, as the demons called them — numbered in the hundreds. It was a force that could sweep any nation, save for perhaps the North. Fortunately, Isabelle, for today’s operation, had been assigned to watch over the kids…and to protect her from overwhelming enemies.

Where did all these numbers come from?

Gaius, however, wasn’t feeling any pressure. If they showed the same performance as the jokers who had tried to intercept him, it wouldn’t be much of a battle. He couldn’t be restrained by the enemies’ divinity, and with the Terminus, no one could put up a proper defence against him, not as he was right now.

That said, he had no intention of killing. Not yet. He had been attacked by Demigods when he first started his two-man logistic delivery service, but it wasn’t much of a battle. He’d let them off after putting them out of commission; Gaius didn’t want to risk the possibility of a wide-scale massacre and retaliation.

It was one thing for the Five Lands’ troops to be annihilated in battle, but for them to be killed off due to his actions was an entirely different story. It was a pathetic, pointless distinction, but Gaius wasn’t quite at the point where he would willingly shoulder the sin of killing innocents, directly or otherwise.

Furthermore, weakening the Wildlands too much would promote infighting within the Five Lands once more…it was a complicated balance.

“Can we talk?”

Gaius raised his Terminus immediately, prompting the Demon Sovereign to take a combat stance, before he realised that the person before him had said some odd words.

He blinked twice. “Sorry?”

“Can we talk?” Demon Sovereign Asteria asked. “You know, you and me…engaging in a dialogue.”

Gaius narrowed his eyes at those surprising words. He had expected a massive response, perhaps even for the commander of the Wildlands’ defence to show up. The fact that the Demon Sovereign was alive, kicking and here in person was indeed a shock, but the surprise generated from these facts couldn’t even hold a candle to the Demon Sovereign’s request.

To talk.

“You want to talk to me.” Gaius folded his arms. “You, the Demon Sovereign—”

His voice faltered. Gaius’ senses were telling him that the Demon Sovereign was actually…sane. Free from the Crying Abyss’ influence or an attendant madness. Gaius didn’t know how or why this was possible, considering that Asteria’s progenitor, the Demon God, had been tainted by the touch of the Crying Abyss. It wasn’t to the Preserver’s insane degree, but no matter what, Asteria should have been affected.

Dispelling his energy vision, Gemin examined the Demon Sovereign up close. As expected, the Demon Sovereign looked like someone in his late twenties…the average age of a Constellation. The Demon God had created an unexpected vessel of power, by infusing his own divinity into a Constellation. Therefore, it was natural that he looked very much like a Constellation.

“Something wrong?” Asteria asked.

“Demon Sovereign Asteria…” Gaius narrowed his eyes. “This might be a bit off-topic, considering what everyone came here to do, but are you not affected by bouts of madness? Like your progenitor?”

Asteria froze at those words. “You—who are you? This S-sovereign will not take kindly to insults like yours!”

For some reason, Gaius had a feeling that the Demon Sovereign had stumbled on a word or something, but he had no time for the specifics. If the Demon Sovereign had somehow freed himself from the Abyss’ influence, Gaius would have no choice but to talk for a moment.”

“Tell me,” Gaius urged. “It’s important.”

“Hmph. Just so you know, I am not afflicted by any madness or other psychological traumas you might speak of.” The Demon Sovereign folded his arms. “I am a perfect being. How can dust stain a mirror?”

“A perfect being…” Gaius narrowed his eyes. A small sprout of understanding was beginning to bloom in his mind, and he reached for Oculus mentally, who was sleeping in his pocket.

Oculus. This Demon Sovereign…is he a Boundless One?