“Behold,” said Hereward, “the most united force to ever exist in the history of Orb. Surpassing that of the Heaven-cleaving Fortress, this alliance created by the advent of an unexpected enemy. This expedition, were we to count the ships coming in from the north, would be the only one in which the infantry of every single nation of Orb took part in.”

“And they’re all suffering together to boot,” Gemini observed wryly. “Nice bonding experience, if nothing else.”

Distant thunderclaps echoed through the crimson sky, over and over, producing a relentless hail of fire that fell upon the enormous fleet that was crawling its way over to the Central Circle. Screens of light rippled and broke apart every so often, while hordes of spectres launched themselves at these barriers.

From what he could tell, these spectres were incredibly potent against the defences of the Five Lands. For the low cost of a couple of Knight-rank spectres, an entire swath of barriers could be done away with. If nothing was done to protect the vulnerable ships, the incoming fire would tear apart both wooden and metal hulks alike, killing all onboard.

“You aren’t going to help?”

“I only have so much divinity,” Hereward replied. “And…well, call me callous, but taking losses within the acceptable range will only serve to inflame the expedition’s anger and determination. Shared experiences will go a long way in ensuring the unity of Orb, creating an unparalleled foundation for a new world order in the decades to follow.”

Gemini glanced at Hereward. He could understand why the great god saw things differently from him — the Sentinel of Space was an immortal being. The deaths that occurred here would be seen in terms of the greater good; they would all serve a larger purpose. Feelings of loss were transient, and since the bearers of these feelings were also transient…

The Demon Sovereign knew he meant no harm, but he couldn’t bring himself to truly comprehend this logic. In the centuries that followed, would he eventually be like them? After all, the road to ascend in the hierarchy of life had been, from all the evidence gathered, severed permanently. There would come a time when Lila and Aria passed away, and Gemini wasn’t prepared for that.

No one could ever be truly prepared for the departure of their loved ones.

If he, of all people, could not be prepared for the passing of the family, what about the families of the soldiers here? No matter what, the him right now could not and would not agree with what Hereward was doing.

“They have family,” Gemini replied. “World order or not…”

His Divine Will swept out, engulfing the spectres in his vision. They blurred out of existence for a moment, and then returned into focus before blowing apart.

A cold chill assailed his mind a second later, magnified infinitely by the fact that he had engaged so many spectres in a single second. Letting out a small groan, Gemini exhaled heavily and glared at the never-ending stream of enemies.

“What’s with those guys?” Gemini asked.

“They’re spectres. Severed wills given form,” Hereward replied placidly. “Queen Hyperion cautioned against the use of Fiefs and Dominions precisely because there’s a chance of going mad. Six thousand years ago, when the Oblivion Portal first opened, the spectres weren’t the only threat. There were also others who had turned mad.”

“Mad, huh.”

“Yes. In the same style of the Cardinal Champions, who relied on hissatsu to permanently kill the demons they battled, as well as the primal demons that had troubled the Wildlands years ago,” Hereward replied.

“And presumably bloodsoaked soldiers of the Five Lands, the soldiers that had spent years killing and killing,” Gemini added. “Am I right?”

“Yes.”

Gemini closed his eyes for a moment. Since it was unfeasible to deal with the spectres with his Divine Will, he could either make use of regular old divinity to crush them. Furthermore…

“Hmm?” Gemini narrowed his eyes. “That enemy we faced earlier…why did I not suffer from any mental damage when I pulled it into a battle of Divine Will?”

“It’s probably because that enemy was a familiar spirit, instead of a spectre forcibly elevated. The Abyss Sovereign was probably too lazy to think about some suitable aesthetics, and having such an ominous form would only increase its combat capability,” Hereward replied.

Another horde of spectres appeared from beyond the horizon as the Sentinel of Space spoke, and Gemini stared at the numbers with some fatigue in his heart. The enemies were never-ending, and they didn’t fear death either. Now that he was on the receiving end, Gemini was beginning to understand how the Five Lands felt when the demons poured out ceaselessly from the Wildlands.

With a stir of his will, Gemini generated small little blips of divinity, firing them out with pinpoint accuracy. His target, however, weren’t the spectres — his targets were the incoming barrage of shots coming from the Central Circle. Although Gemini wasn’t sure how the Abyss Sovereign had replicated those huge Shot artefacts on such a massive scale, the incoming projectiles couldn’t be too sturdy.

Flowers of fire bloomed beneath the crimson sky, high above the ocean.

“That’s your plan, eh?”

“Let the Knights and Lords deal with the spectres themselves,” said Gemini. “I have to balance my desire to help with my expenditure of divinity, and this is probably the most efficient method open to me.”

“It is the most efficient method, now that I think about it.” Hereward murmured. “But there are other ways to go about doing this.”

“Other ways?”

“It’ll be a bit troublesome, but since aerial support hasn’t arrived yet…” The Sentinel of Space raised his right hand and held it up in the direction of the Central Circle.

The sound of shattering glass followed, and cracks appeared all around the horizon. The mass of black that had been there a moment ago vanished, along with the incoming fire that had troubled the approaching ships for some time.

“Regretfully,” said Hereward, “I cannot do this again. What I just did damaged Orb’s spatial fabric on a fundamental level. Another attempt will definitely increase the chance of catastrophe if this festival of creation concludes successfully. I must account for the possibility of defeat.”

Gemini glanced at the great god, and then at the stymied enemies. “How long will it last?”

“Three days.”