“Odd,” said Hereward, as Gemini joined him in floating dramatically above the waters that surrounded the Central Circle. “I had assumed that you would either be sporting lots of lip marks, bites and maybe a sore ear or two.”

Liamar roared once, and Gemini found himself blushing. The Worldshaper had assumed that they would need to wait for another hour or so while Gemini did something to Lila, which was why there was a tea set laid out in front of the great god. The exact language used was not something he had expected from Liamar, however — since when were great gods this crass in their speech?

“Tut tut,” said Thasvia. “I had even halted the automated surveillance of my Divine Kingdom to help facilitate your lovey-dovey acts when we left, but to think that you did not take advantage of it. Disappointing.”

With a warm face, Gemini glared at the three gods, who seemed particularly interested in his married life. “If you’re that interested, just find a significant other and be done with it. What’s the point in prying into my marital life? Is it really that entertaining?”

“We’ll think about it,” said Hereward.

Liamar roared, expressing his doubt about his own eligibility as a partner.

Thasvia simply rolled her eyes and gave off a ‘Not for me’ vibe.

Gemini levelled a critical glance at the three gods, before shaking his head. This little skit, like so many others in the past three months, was simply their way of letting out their pent-up nervousness and fear.

“Funny, really,” said Gemini. “We spent the last three months waiting for the Five Lands to support our attack, but we find ourselves forced into an attack without their support today.”

“Let’s not talk about that, and we’ll still be brothers,” said Hereward, before turning to the spatial cracks that surrounded the middle and upper airzones of the Central Circle. They were already closing up and everything, but before they were fully closed, those things were still very dangerous to ninety-nine percent of the known population of Orb.

Anyone stepping into that would have a one-way trip into the great beyond. Only Demigods and above could potentially make it back into the point of origin, and Gemini found himself wondering if they could somehow drag the Abyss Sovereign into these cracks.

It would save them a great deal of trouble if he was lost for the next few hours.

“Dragging him inside would be a very efficient method,” Thasvia mused.

“Only a fool would be dragged inside, though,” Hereward replied. “And I’ve noted multiple instances of him teleporting immense distances. Even if we drag him inside with a sacrifice, he can easily make his way out. Not to mention that we’ll be stuck in a battle of Divine Will.”

Power surged outwards, and the cracks around the Central Circle vanished with a shimmer.

“It was good that they were closing, eh?” Gemini clicked his teeth.

“Yes, and—” Hereward’s voice faltered as thousands of small red dots bloomed from the complex, impossibly-layered defences erected on the Central Circle. Thunderclaps resonated as one as a wall of fire headed their way, and the Demon Sovereign was abruptly aware of the three gods’ gazes, which had fallen on him.

He took a step forward, and little blips of black-gold light gathered behind his back. With another step, these blips darted outwards, intercepting the incoming shots, detonating them wherever those blips went.

“Best to break this down first,” said Thasvia. An elaborate, emerald-green staff full of moving parts appeared in her hands, with an ominous red orb at the very tip. “Load source.”

“Source loaded,” replied a mechanical source. “Unable to find firing patterns.”

Ignoring everyone’s dumbfounded gaze, the Breath-maker pressed another button. “Prepare sigil — Area Bombardment. Prepare sigil — Explosion. Prepare sigil — Homing. Prepare sigil — scattering. Save prepared sigils as Firing pattern — Area Bombardment.”

“Prepared sigils saved as Area Bombardment.”

Swinging the staff all around her, Thasvia said, “Area Bombardment, release.”

“Releasing.”

Sigils appeared wherever the red orb passed through, but unlike the sigils Gemini knew, which generally trailed their user like little puppies, these sigils were floating autonomously, with a small globe of light in their middle.

“What’s with that, sister?” Hereward asked.

“Can’t use my divinity all day, right? Lesser forms of energy turned out to be rather useful.” Thasvia brushed back her emerald hair with a smile. “The Abyss Sovereign followed the same philosophy, after all.”

“…Well, maybe I should do something like this too.”

“I’ve patented it, and—”

“Excuse me,” said Gemini, “but can you hurry up and fire that thing off? I’ve been blocking attacks for the past thirty seconds, and you guys are more interested in talking about things like motivations?”

“Right.” Thasvia turned back to the Central Circle. “Fire.”

“Firing.”

The sigils behind Thasvia flared with light, releasing thirty-eight beams per sigil that arced and moved on its own to evenly space the distribution of shots apart.

The world shook as an imposing globe of translucent tessellated hexagons flared into life around the continent. The sounds of thunderclaps overlapped with each other over and over again, creating a sound that rivalled the opening salvo of the Central Circle’s defence. Blinding supernovas of white light dotted its surface, the force behind their birth whipping up enormous waves that surged outwards to the rest of the Five Lands.

Hereward snapped his fingers, and the raging waves stilled immediately. “Continue. I’ll make sure nothing happens to the incoming fleet.”

Thasvia chuckled. “I’ll go wild, then. Activate source.”

“Source activate. Firing pattern: Area Bombardment. Load?”

“Load.” She raised the staff again and waved it around like a baton once more. “Area Bombardment, release.”

“Releasing.”

“Fire.”