*
"Arin... You really can't tell me anymore?" (Sariel)
"How many times...?! I've already said. It won't be useful!" (Arin)
Her voice grows louder in a growl, her patience had hit a limit. There must be some limit to shame that a person can have, trying to pry into the secrets of others was disrespectful, everyone had secrets that they wanted to keep. It wasn't any world altering ancient secret that drastically affected people's lives, but one that wouldn't harm as long as it was kept under wraps. As long as they valued their daily lives, their ordinary bonds with each other, they would prioritise it over something as trivial as secrets. Arin felt indignation.
"So what!? Who cares if it's useless, it's not about that!!" (Sariel)
She was tired of all the evading, merely restraining herself in the presence of Lastia. Arin was clearly acquainted with the current heavenly king. Her own explanations suggested as such. This was no longer something that was a 'harmless' secret, the apocalypse ravaging humanity, the fate of humanity was on the line. Even more so, much more important than all of that... It was a burden that Arin didn't want to share with Lastia and Sariel, because she didn't think the other two were strong enough.
Who cares if it was information that helped to fell the heavenly king? It involved a more fundamental issue, Arin didn't truly trust them to handle the secret well. She was afraid that they would be hurt. Staring back, Arin was speechless. If it didn't matter, if the heavenly king didn't matter, then why try to dig into her? Why go through all of that? She had gotten heated earlier, but she just remembered she was in someone else's house.
She was surprised at first, after teaching Faramicia how to undo the transformation, but they've been hiding out here for a bit until this happened.
"Then... Then why did you want to know?" (Arin)
Sariel gazed at Arin, slightly flustered. Her cheeks grew warm, but her stare was unwavering. She took a deep breath before resolving herself to reply.
"... Because I wanted to get closer to you. " (Sariel)
"... Ah, umm... Mhmm. " (Arin)
Her ability to converse took a hit as she slowly processed her words. Her hands fidget as she tilted her face down, avoiding Sariel's gaze.
" Oi! You're still ignoring the question!" (Sariel)
The mood got oddly pink, at least there was no longer any tension, as if a fight would break out at any time.
"It's... I'll tell you when Tia comes back. Please don't ask anymore... " (Arin)
"... Alright." (Sariel)
In some ways Sariel felt disappointed, but also relieved. She was trapped in an argument of her own making, unwilling to back down from the pride and embarrassment that pushed herself this far. Arin gave her an out by postponing it, making it look like Sariel compromised... When she just wanted to disappear from the embarrassment.
When it's time to do it... It's time. Some things shouldn't be rushed, no matter how painful it is to postpone.
"If... If Faramicia could kill the heavenly king once or twice, I think we'd be settled to look for him right now. As it stood, we don't have enough strength.
Believing this is his last army... It's too convenient. He must still have more forces. " (Arin)
" If Lastia came back... So there's a chance she's still alive. " (Sariel)
Arin kept mum for a moment. Lastia died a while ago, leaving behind Yggdrasil. However even now, the back up to revive the original Lastia, Yggdrasil was also gone. Are there anymore backups? Only Arin knew... She had to wait for Lastia to reincarnate into the next body. 'I'll tell you when Tia returns' was a trick. It could take anywhere from decades to thousands of years for Lastia to reincarnate, and since she died a while ago who knows where in the reincarnation cycle her soul had been lost to.
"Then let's get down to business. I can kill him perhaps one time. But if my attack missed, that's it. I need more guarantees than that.
He's bound to have magic that helps him evade something as cumbersome as a last ditch charged up special attack. " (Arin)
"... How about like with the calamity... We enlist the help of some sentinels? There's around 20 of them right? " (Sariel)
"... It's quiet outside now. I think they've each cleared around 200 wyverns. They won't be able to rest easy and join an attack party like us.
We're more likely to find weaker allies like Faramicia, locals who don't put up much of a fight. No offence, Micia. " (Arin)
" None taken... " (Faramicia)
"... I don't think we'll be able to find anymore firepower. The tree at the centre of the zone was a massive mass of energy far surpassing A grade, but even that is gone. " (Sariel)
"... Yeah, Tia bought us time with it. I'm at a loss too." (Arin)
They both unanimously looked towards Faramicia for ideas, so synchronised that it almost seemed rehearsed.
" Just to get up to speed, the apocalypse is not a natural phenomena but a situation caused by a certain individual. Someone called a Heavenly king?
Does this follow a 4 heavenly kings and 1 demon lord format?" (Faramicia)
Sariel wordlessly turns to Arin. Was this some sort of new game?
Staying silent for a moment, she seemed to hesitate, before giving a meek nod. Confirmation, there was a limit to the number of enemies, or at least enemies that were powerful.
"... 2 heavenly kings are dead, the demon lord and the last heavenly king is gone. Rest assured, there's only one commander behind this incident, one final boss. Though this one might have a lot of A grade subordinates.
That's what I was afraid of, if we pit all the sentinels against the A grade subordinates there won't be any left to help us fight the heavenly king. " (Arin)
" Dead end after dead end, our forces are constrained by many while they are abundant. There might just be a way, however it might be near impossible to pull off from what I've seen. " (Faramicia)
" Hmm? Spill it! "(Sariel)
Faramicia had transformed back into a magical girl right before joining the conversation, he felt left out otherwise, and it would have been difficult to join the other two at the couch. The others, namely his parents and friends were relaxing in the bedrooms, kitchen, and dining room. It sounded like whatever they discussed was too important, not knowing is also a way to protect oneself. His long golden hair drapes like a shimmering flawless curtain, his emerald green eyes sparkle brilliantly as he spoke with a resolute expression.
"The hero cannot fell the demon lord in his own castle, since we cannot enter it. The only way left is to lure it out." (Faramicia)
She pointed up, and the pose oddly fit her.