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"This is stupid," Kensei exclaimed while looking at the creature in her lap in disgust. That same creature was waving a fuzzy paw at her, clearly asking for scratches.

"You have to learn to live a little. Relaxing and having a bit of fun isn't forbidden, even for someone as dedicated as you." Valor advised while scratching the ears of another kitten-like creature in his lap.

“You’re just jealous you can’t turn into a fuzzy little creature.” Envy argued while curled into a fuzzy ball with Karna on a humongous pillow that had appeared from nowhere. While Karna was in a miniaturized version of the being she’d turned into during her rank-up, Envy had assumed a fuzzy form that was rather similar, even if not the same.

“Why would I want to turn into something so weak and fragile?” Kensei asked, looking disgustedly at Wisdom, who was still pawing at her.

“Because it’s fun, and because we’re not in battle currently.” Hope retorted before releasing a cute little yawn from Valor’s lap.

“We could be any moment.” Kensei pointed out.

“And we’d sense their approach, giving us plenty of time to change back. Face it. There’s no reason to resist, except for the fact that you can’t shapeshift.” Envy pointed out brutally.

Once Karna had taken her new form, the three other mages of their group had quickly also assumed fuzzy forms to garner some petting and scratches. “Still, we should probably get something useful done. Mind finally telling us what that form is, Wrath? I mean, the bigger version at least.”

“Yeah, do tell you tease!” Envy lifted her head from the soft and fluffy pillow, and tried to look at Karna angrily, though the impression was rather ruined by her current form.

"You people have no patience…" Karna replied with a soft smile and went for an even more comfortable position on the large pillow. Incidentally, the pillow was the one she'd gotten as a reward during the tests of the Expansion.

Her slow response didn’t go well with the others though. “Spit it out!” Envy shouted and smacked her with a soft paw.

“Fine. You’d think someone like you would’ve learned the value of patience. Well, you already know I have a couple of forms that are termed as Beasts of the Apocalypse. This one is pretty much the opposite of that. It’s a Sacred Beast. Calling them one-of-a-kind is a little misleading as they’re related to each other, but their forms differ vastly. I was reborn as one of them during one of my later lives. Filthy powerful. Require either the presence of divine power or worshippers though.”

“So, they excel at handling divine power then?” Valor asked.

"You'd think so, but no. It's a bit of a cheat form though. It's basically perfectly attuned to all elements and can utilize all of them equally. I didn't actually think I could've pulled this bloodline off without…well, let's just say I had a bit of a breakthrough. As befitting a Sacred Beast though, its real strength is in protecting. Both protecting itself and others. And no, I will not reveal the details. Everything has a weakness, and it's much harder to figure that weakness out if you don't know how the abilities of the form work.” Karna explained.

“Can you at least give a demonstration of some kind?” Hope asked while rolling over to look at Karna.

“Sure. Someone throw a spell at someone else.” Not even a second passed after Karna’s words, before Envy sent a beam of destructive magic at Valor. The beam simply disappeared before reaching the target though.

"And there you go," Karna stated a little smugly.

“That’s…huh.” Envy muttered. She hadn’t used full power of course, but the problem was that she had no idea what had happened to her attack. “Not a spatial or temporal disturbance.”

“A Conceptual defense?” Kensei suggested, suddenly more interested. Her own Domain relied on the Conceptual, making sure her attacks could land anywhere within her Domain and cut anything.

"As I said, I'm not going to explain further. Suffice to say though, that the form is quite powerful when utilized correctly. And besides, now I don't have to use my remaining forms to aid in attuning to other elements." Karna refused to elaborate further. She still wasn’t sure of all the implications that came from her new combined Totem either.

Their musings and playing lasted for a few minutes longer before one of the members of the Iron Fists approached them. “We have a courier boat approaching. It’s going to arrive in less than an hour. It will most likely have our next orders, so I suggest you prepare.” There was no judgement in his words, but he was clearly not impressed by their current lazing about.

All three squads gathered in full armor to meet the courier, though their stiff postures didn’t prevent them from speculating. “Wonder why they sent a ship? They could’ve just sent a message if it was just another deployment. It’s not very likely that even long-range communiques would be intercepted with the Netherworld on the run.” The team leader of Team Valor threw out the question many of them were thinking.

“Must be something really important then.” Valor speculated. “Maybe they’re less worried about an enemy overhearing, and more worried about the message not reaching us.”

Courier boats were not uncommon but usually reserved for important military use. Most of the time a communication talisman or a paired array was enough in the Divine Planes. "Maybe they're bringing us medals?" One of the members of Team Valor suggested.

“They’d summon us back for that. They do love their pomp and ceremony.” The leader of Iron Fists grunted. “Now shut up. They’re landing.”

The sleek and roughly arrow-shaped silver vessel, clearly designed for speed, landed right next to the three groups. Without wasting any time, a golden-armored immortal stepped out and placed a crystalline orb on the ground, and a hologram was projected above it, showing a recorded message. The one giving the message was Marius. "My congratulations to all three teams. You performed magnificent work. You completed your assigned task of protecting your post, while also striking a blow against the Netherworld, granting us an important advantage in the area. With the Netherworld pushed back, there’s no longer any need for three teams to be positioned there anymore. Squad Iron Fists will secure and fortify the world against further attacks, though we don’t expect any. You will be relieved in a couple of weeks, and you’re looking at several weeks of R&R as a reward. As for Teams Omega and Valor, we have a new assignment for you. It’s a reward for your deed, but it’s also more complicated than that. A Grand Assembly has been called, and you’re going to be part of the guard in charge of protection and keeping order. The messenger that brought these orders will grant you entry. I will meet you there and give more detailed instructions.” The message ended.

“Grand Assembly?” Arjuna asked, being one of the few to not recognize the term.

“A name for both a place and the meeting between all the gods and other influential people of the Divine Plane," Karna replied curtly, and the newly arrived messenger nodded at the explanation while gesturing for the two named teams to step closer. Without a word, a mental message was sent to all of them, and they all stepped forward as one while thinking about a password they had been given. A password that would only work once.

As they stepped forward, they were no longer at the same place they had been only moments before. “What the…what?” Even Valor was shocked.

Karna wasn’t sure what he was seeing as the Grand Assembly was that kind of place. It was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was a place where the gods and Great Houses gathered to play the game of politics even while the assembly wasn’t called into session, so there would always be a constant presence of at least some gods at all times. You could enter the place from anywhere in the Divine Planes, but only if you were granted entry. All gods had constant access of course.

It was also one of her favorite places in the entire universe. It was a marvel of magic and divine power that appeared different to everyone present. One person might see a grand palace, while another a temple, a city, a forest, an active volcano, or even a simple hovel. Realities overlapped here, and none of them were wrong. That’s why she couldn’t tell what Valor was seeing, but to her it was a giant hoard of pillows piled into a fortress made of pillows and blankets, and all of it rested on a giant bed. It was both marvelous and ridiculous at the same time. Too bad none of the pillows could be taken away from this place, as they were both real and not at the same time. It was a pleasant dream, but pillows that she couldn’t add to her hoard inherently had less value.

"There you are," Marius called out and rushed to meet them. "You got the message in time. Good. The Assembly will be starting in less than three hours, and you need to be ready. Better get your armor cleaned and shining, as you'll be representing the Host in front of everyone who's anyone."

“So, this will be a large assembly then?” Akasha, the leader of Team Valor asked. Their team was familiar with such assemblies and had attended several as guests before.

“The largest kind. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, important has been invited. A quick explanation. If you heard my message that this assignment is something of a reward, but it’s also not. The reason you, among a dozen other teams, were given this assignment is because you showed the capability to handle it once you killed a rank 13 being.” Marius revealed.

"I'm not sure I follow," Hope admitted. She could see that gatherings like this should have good protection, but with the most important and powerful people present, that hardly seemed necessary.

“We’re not really here to protect those at the Assembly from outside threats. We’re here to keep the peace. The most likely danger here is internal struggle, and we need to possess enough power to deal with anyone getting rowdy.” Karna explained in place of Marius, who in turn nodded towards her.

"Exactly. These meetings can turn a bit contentious and we're here to keep the peace." He summarized. “There’s also the fact that this Grand Assembly was unscheduled, and I’m not even sure who arranged for it. Few have the authority or power though.”

As they entered the main building, or in Karna's case the pillow fort, they could see there were already gods and other influential beings present. They had retreated into their own little nooks to plot and exchange information. Political games often were all about controlling information, and subtly distributing information disadvantageous to your enemies was one of the main ways to gain an advantage. Of course, getting caught lying would taint all your future attempts, so you had to be careful to couch your words with uncertainty and caveats if you weren't certain. And those that wanted to be certain were also the ones too late to react to important news.

The two squads joined the other Host members spread around the venue, spread at strategic intervals to keep their presence subtle enough, while still reminding everyone they were there. Even a simple thing as the placement of guards was a game of politics in this place. Envy and Karna stuck together and placed themselves more discreetly than most. Part of that was because they could already sense other reincarnators rather carelessly looking at the Names of those present. That only became more obvious as more influential people trickled in.

"Let's hope your gambit with your Names worked." Envy whispered.

“With this many reincarnators present, I seriously doubt none of them will get that Name if they all target me.” Karna wasn’t going to rely on luck. Fortunately, she didn’t have to anymore. She now had enough power to deal with the aftermath if her less desirable Names came out.

It took hours for the place to start filling up, mostly because it kept expanding as more people entered. Some of the beings were also so large that they couldn’t have entered the original structure. The spatial trickery of the Great Assembly made everyone take the same amount of space though. Even enormous magical beasts were shrunk down by the place, and Karna knew it was so that they couldn’t use their size to intimidate others.

Many of the gods, especially the True Gods, were very unique in their appearance. They ranged from bizarre to monstrous, though many of them decided to just assume a relatively generic human form as well. Still, it wasn't hard to identify someone like the God of Thunder for example, as they were made of pure lightning in a vaguely humanoid form. The gods were not the only ones with striking appearances though, as the different races all had representation in the Grand Assembly. Quite literally every race found in this universe had at least one member present, and that meant thousands of species even without counting the magical beasts. The number of people was truly staggering, and the Great Houses had also arrived in force. House Asuryan had gathered in a single place at the center of the entire Assembly, with fifty people with the blood of the phoenix running through their veins.

Still, the one power with the most representation was the most surprising, and the last to arrive. Hundreds of angels, all immortals of high rank, spread around the venue in a fashion similar to the Host. Mount Celestis had not taken an active part in politics for eons, and now they were here in force. It also became quickly obvious that they had been the ones to call for this Grand Assembly, as one of their members walked straight to the podium where the proceedings were directed from.

The female angel was extremely striking in appearance. The flaming red hair combined with a face that could only be described as ‘angelic’ combined with a form that couldn’t even be hidden by the heavy golden armor she wore. She radiated power, confidence, and charisma, as she took the stage, and her mere presence quieted everyone. ‘Aww shit. Should’ve known she would be here.’ Envy sent Karna a mental message.

They had both immediately recognized the female angel, and they didn’t even need to check the being’s Name to make sure. It was almost blatantly obvious anyway, as there were very few beings in existence that could rival Karna’s current vessel, and this angel was perhaps the only being present that could boast of being more attractive than Karna. ‘You really should’ve, though I must admit I didn’t expect her to be born as an angel either.’

“Gods and immortals, brothers and sisters, magical beings and the races of the universe. I welcome you all to the Grand Assembly called by Mount Celestis. We are here to address something important. Enemies are at our gates, and strange Outsiders roam our lands, without any real opposition from this august body. instead of beating back the Scourges, and proving our might to the Outsiders, we’ve retreated, ceded ground, made deals, and even lost entire planes. Why? Surely this august body isn’t lacking in power. No. The reason we can’t stand up and show our might is simple. Political bickering and petty games for power and influence.” The angel castigated the gathered powers.

She went on to elegantly call out the faults of political games, while not personally attacking any party, and even making almost everyone feel they were only victims of other people playing games. Surely they would want to stand for what was right and just, but the others. The others stood in their way and chained them down with petty self-interest. She never truly defined others, but she didn’t have to. The people gathered were not newcomers to politics and speeches and knew what she was doing. That didn’t mean it wasn’t effective though.

“She still has it. This is what she does best.” Karna had to shake her head in admiration, and Envy simply grunted.

There was just something about the angel's words. She had just the right amount of pathos and reason, combined with a seemingly innocent desire to change things, combined with her personal charisma of course, which somehow captured everyone's attention. Even knowing she was playing them, the people were getting caught up. Envy and Karna of course easily shook off the influence, because they knew her. Influencing others in such ways was what this reincarnator excelled at. She was someone that could sell snow to ice demons and bullshit to bullshitters.

Her inspiring and captivating speech finally came to the real point. “Mount Celestis will no longer stand by and allow politics to ruin this place. The games end now. Anyone caught playing such games will immediately be challenged and killed, and even if entire Great Houses get involved, Mount Celestis will not be afraid to crush you.”

"You dare threaten us?" One of the members of the House of Dragons asked incredulously.

“Yes. Mount Celestis has gathered power all these years, while the rest of you threw yours away in political intrigue. We are more than capable of taking out any other Great House. And I seriously doubt any Houses will dare to form a coalition around the concept of keeping the Divine Planes weak with intrigue.” The angel retorted.

“She’s not entirely wrong.” Envy whispered reluctantly.

"She's not right either. She might have managed to charm everyone for a short time, but once they get enough time to think, they'll realize all the holes in her arguments. Such as, submitting to the tyrannical authority of Mount Celestis. You don’t need to defend intrigue to oppose the angels.” Karna pointed out. “But it’s a decent first move for the time being.”

Apparently, someone else thought so as well, as one of the people at the gathering of the Royal Family stood up in opposition. “I do not care what these curs use to justify themselves, but we will not be dictated to or pushed around by a faction that has been in self-imposed exile for as long as anyone can remember. If this is all you’ve come up with, then you should’ve stayed in your hidey-hole. And if you don’t like it, you can try and come at the Royal Family.”

Things were about to get rowdy.