496. Final Preparations

Clayton Skyshredder didn’t quite understand it.

The Headmaster of Mavos Academy had lived a long life. By Human standards, at least. He was aware that Elves could live nearly twice as long as Humans, while some Cyclopes could live up to five times as long as Humans. Not many— it was odd, but only some did live to such a wizened age.

Meanwhile, Dwarves actually had a shorter lifespan than Humans. In the time of Clayton’s tenure as Mavos Academy’s headmaster, he had visited the Dwarf Kingdom of Vonus three times. Each time he was there, he had met a different Elder Forgemasters of Vagrath— a role that was supposed to be held for a lifetime.

Still, Clayton himself knew he was old. He was closing in to a hundred years, and he might have lived fifty more before he passed on. But in his lifetime, he had never quite seen such a phenomena like this.

He eyed the silver-haired girl as she shifted in her seat, under the watchful eye of a dozen high-leveled [Mages]. Everyone in this room was at least Level 130. There were even a few other Elite [Mages] here like Helena Warshade or Thaddeus Reimar who teleported over as soon as he heard about this news.

And they all saw the same thing.

[Lesser God - Lvl. 150]

“How…?”

A [Mage] asked in utter disbelief. Another shook her head adamantly.

“This is an illusion— a trick.”

“But why would she trick us?”

“I don’t know. But it just doesn’t make any sense! It’s just not possible!”

“And why isn’t it possible?”

Thaddeus Reimar eyed them with his arms crossed. He wore a messy robe— like dirty rags except with streaks of paint haphazardly splashed over his clothing— and smirked.

“You all told me it was not possible. I said it was— I dedicated my life pursuing this, and I was right.”

He was a Level 158 [Archmagus of the Arcane]. They called him the Mystic Theorist. A researcher above all else, just like Clayton Skyshredder. Although… he often had far wilder theories, and placed even less credence on actually training for battle than the Headmaster of Mavos Academy.

“To become a Lesser God at Level 150… this is a feat that is entirely unheard of in the history of the Human lands.”

Clayton Skyshredder spoke as he started forward, coming to a halt right before the silver-haired girl. She cocked her head at him as he continued.

“Even the Immortal King Alexander rose to Godhood at Level 195. And Melissa the Oracle of Light only underwent apotheosis at Level 203 before she vanished into the Spirit Plane.”

He came to a halt right before Salvos. He towered over her as she scratched her cheek uneasily. He had been impressed by her in the past. Her rapid rise amongst the ranks of adventurers had been quite noteworthy. He had been paying attention to her since she slayed that Greater Demon in Silvergrove, and he knew she was going to accomplish great things.

Even when she returned from the Bloodied Gulf with a Divine Essence, he was surprised, but otherwise accepted it as an achievable feat. After all, Mori Gladius himself had attained his own [Partial Divinity] at Level 145 when he advanced his Class into a [Divine Spearmster]— achieving a Divine Essence faster than even the Watcher. Still, despite the fact that Salvos had attained it before the greatest of modern Humankind, the Headmaster of Mavos Academy did not react in shock or awe, but accepted it as fact.

Clayton even took the liberty to study her Divine Essence in the brief time he had known her. He had stolen some of her Divine Essence, even replicating an inferior form of it with [Copy Magic]. It wasn’t his magic— even if he tried, he couldn’t produce Divine Essence just yet. But he could draw from a source of inferior Divine Essence that was not his own, just as if he were to wield an artifact enchanted with divinity such as the Treasures of Alexander.

And paired with repairing the Breastplate of Alexander, he had finally reached Level 170 in his Class. After a decade trapped at Level 169, he was now officially the second highest-leveled Human in the world.

So he was not unused to the anomaly that was Salvos. But this? This wasn’t a mere anomaly. It was pure insanity.

“I want you to give an explanation, Salvos. Now.”

Clayton Skyshredder spoke as he glared at the silver-haired girl. She gave him an innocent smile.

“Um, I’m not sure what you mean, Mr Skyshredder. I mean— Headmaster Skyshredder.”

She fluttered her eyes at him. He clenched his jaw.

“Salvos, Savior of Silvergrove, Death of the Destroyer, Liberator of the Plaguelands, and Secely’s Sentinel, I want you to understand that this is not a joking matter anymore. I want you to take this topic seriously. A Lesser God hasn’t been seen in the Mortal Realm in over a thousand years.”

“Huh. I didn’t know it was that big of a deal.”

Salvos spoke casually, and Thaddeus Reimar guffawed in the background. Clayton glared back at his fellow researcher. But the Mystic Theorist continued chuckling as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Sorry, sorry. I just find it funny that the Lesser God herself doesn’t even know the gravity of the situation. She doesn’t even realize that she can probably defeat you in a fight now, Clay.”

“And that is my fear.”

Clayton crossed his arms as he spoke in a dour voice. The [Mages] in the room exchanged worried glances. Helena Warshade, above all of them, wore the most concerned expression on her face. An unusual look for the normally stoic Great Tempest Archmage.

But Salvos just raised her hands placatingly.

“C’mon, Clayton! You can still beat me in a fight— probably! Most likely, actually! Remember how our duel went when I had two pieces of the Treasures of Alexander? And I haven’t seen your Grand Skill yet, but I remember when you almost killed me with it! Good times, right?”

The Headmaster of Mavos Academy just narrowed his eyes. He leant closer, until his face was just an inch away from hers. She backed up as far as she could against her chair, still smiling innocuously.

“What are you, Salvos?”

“What do you mean by that? I am Salvos!”

She replied cheerfully as ever. But Clayton Skyshredder had his hunches. Especially with everything he knew— and the wings she bore— he only had one conclusion.

“Are you a Spirit?”

He asked, gaze bearing down on her. Salvos blinked, the facade she wore on her face vanished for a single moment, before she scratched her cheek.

“Um, no comment.”

He frowned, and she gave him an uneasy smile. After a moment, she finally pushed the chair back and got to her feet. Clayton drew away from her as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Look— do any of these questions really matter? How did I become a Lesser God? Am I a Spirit? Who knows! But there is one thing I can tell you, and you can test me with your [Zone of Truth] or whatever if you want.”

Salvos scanned the room, meeting the gaze of all the [Mages] gathered. She paused for a moment on Helena Warshade. In response the Archmage just gritted her teeth. Then the moment passed, and Salvos’s gaze landed on Clayton himself.

And she finished.

“I am on your side. That’s all that matters, right?”

Her words sent a susurration sweeping over the room. The gathered [Mages] whispered at each other— some of them still suspicious, while others like Thaddeus were more accepting. Helena Warshade simply looked unsure of herself, much to Clayton’s surprise.

He knew he would have to speak with her at another time. But for now, he also knew he couldn't argue with Salvos here. After all, the Headmaster of Mavos Academy knew she was telling the truth— he could see it in her eyes. He had seen so many lies told so plainly in his life that he could tell a lie from a truth with a single look.

And Salvos saw that he believed her. So she continued, clapping her hands together.

“Now, let’s not waste any more time on this. Let’s just go to the Capital of Inoria already and put an end to this war!”

He deliberated on whether it was the right choice to drop this topic for now. Perhaps he could’ve used a truth spell on her, but he decided against it. He already knew what the results were. And even more than that, he understood she was right. There was no point in wasting time on this when there were more pressing matters on hand.

At last, the Headmaster of Mavos Academy acquiesced.

“Very well. I shall take your word on this, Salvos. But—”

He raised his head, and she blinked.

“We’re not going to Inor just yet. We shall begin the siege of the city next week.”

And Salvos just stared at him blankly.

“Huh. That’s dumb.”

I thought it was stupid. But Clayton Skyshredder explained to me that the coalition armies needed to prepare and rest before they could finally besiege Inor and put an end to the grand ritual.

They were going to scout the area, of course. And according to that messy [Mage]’s estimations— Thaddeus or whatever— the merger was going to take at least another month before it could fully bring over whatever section of the Netherworld the Demon King was trying to permanently force into the Mortal Realm.

So there was plenty of time. I was a bit surprised it would take so long for the merger to be completed. But according to Clayton, grand rituals often took months— if not years— to complete.

He said that he wouldn’t have been surprised if the Elutra Kingdom’s grand ritual to summon Daniel took them a full year to complete.

A year to bring over Daniel.

That… seemed totally worth it! Daniel was my companion, and I would spend as much time as needed if I had to carry out some ritual to see him.

Anyway, the first thing was for all the coalition armies to gather and organize their troops and make all their final preparations. Right now, they were all acting pretty independently from each other. And not all of them could gather here.

Many of the armies were exhausted— having spent weeks fighting battles that normally lasted months. Only the ones that could still keep fighting, like Kaitlin Darkhlem’s Swordsguard Forces, or the Forsaken Company, or that retinue of Cyclopes that came from Ajih.

It wasn’t like we needed a super large army of millions to take Inor, anyway. While approximately two million soldiers and adventurers had taken the battlefield all across the Inoria Empire, there certainly weren’t going to be a million Demons waiting for us there. So we were going to be sieging the city with an army of half a million.

All our forces had agreed to gather just far enough away from the Capital City of the Inoria Empire where Netherfication hadn’t taken place yet. Ours were the first to arrive, but the rest would soon be arriving.

And we set up an encampment while waiting. Nothing too complex— something that could be dismantled in a day. But the mood now compared to what it was at the start of the war was vastly different. At the start of the war, everyone was tense. No one made casual conversation because of the gravity of the situation.

But now— now that it seemed like the war was all but won, there was an ambience of… both joviality and melancholy. It was both somber and cheerful at the same time. It was evening now, and I stood outside a tent right by a large fire at the center of the encampment.

Willy and the baby Wyverns were resting in that tent. I had bid them goodnight, but I wasn’t going to be sleeping with them. After all, I didn’t enjoy sleeping. Also, Daniel and Edithe asked me to relax and chat with them at the bonfire tonight.

So I waited for them to arrive. They weren’t here just yet, but the sun was only starting to set. They were probably busy doing their own things, like I had been doing my own. I continued waiting, snacking on a few insects that buzzed by me. And as the sun itself fell across the horizon, someone finally arrived.

But that someone wasn’t who I expected. I glanced up to see Amanda the Silent Serpent standing before me.