At first, they received it with disbelief. The plan sounded anything but sensible: face a Behemoth and simply hope Thaloren would change the previous outcome. Still, Seraphine seemed to trust Daion's words —or at least play along— which, in its own way, was reassuring.
They spent several hours in the war room while the soldiers tried to clear the generals' bodies from the floor. Finally, Daion emerged accompanied by Aelith.
Seraphine fell silent, thoughtful.
The plan is sound, but we rely too much on luck… and on Daion having correctly analyzed the enemies. Well, I already killed the generals, I suppose not everything can go right.
Loryn caught up with Daion in the corridor. He still wore his arm in a splint, though it was visibly improving. Daion looked at him and offered a small smile.
"Alright, what do we have?" the summoned man asked, pulling his hood back on.
Daion sighed.
"What do you think we should resolve first?"
"We only have seven days," Loryn answered firmly. "There's no time to do it piecemeal."
Aelith watched them cautiously.
"All right," Daion said at last, "let's begin."
He strode decisively toward the inner courtyard. The summoned glanced at him sideways: only a few dozen were still able to fight. The soldiers numbered fewer than a hundred, and the slaves would be no help.
Daion turned his gaze to Aelith.
"Hey," he began, "call Thero. Tell him the situation and that we need the demihumans' cooperation."
"That will be difficult," she warned.
"I know, which is why I need you to ask," Daion replied, eyeing the men available to him. "Tell them that demihumans outside the divine guild's control must scout for any enemy movement. And those under the guild's authority should help with preparations. Otherwise…"
"Thero will die," Aelith finished in a grave voice. Daion nodded, a trace of regret in his face. "Understood."
Aelith left without another word, determined to carry out the order. Daion wondered if Thero could convince them, but this was not the time for doubt.
He descended to the ground floor in search of Marui. Finding him was not hard: those not helping to rebuild the fortress were drinking at the bar. Daion reached him without fuss, and with a conspiratorial glance at Ken, took the mute by the arm and led him away from the group. Marui tried to protest, but Daion ignored him.
"Can you roughly predict where the area is on the surface?" Daion asked Loryn. He thought for a moment and nodded.
"I can estimate roughly where it is, but it's not precise," he answered.
Daion smiled and laid a hand on Marui's shoulder.
"That's okay, so long as he can find it," Daion assured him. Marui looked confused and stepped back.
Daion approached the soldiers polishing their weapons.
"Hey," he called. They looked at him curiously; he gave a few instructions and they nodded, hesitant. Then they rose and began to gather their comrades.
"What did you tell them?" Loryn asked. Daion met his gaze.
"That they should stop preparing the fortress and focus efforts on turning the trenches into deadly traps," he said thoughtfully. "If we can stop them cold in the trenches, we can hold them at bay. They're too big; we have the advantage in confined scenarios. Concentrating everything on the fortress would be a waste of resources when we must…"
Loryn applauded with his eyes. Daion looked up.
"I understand," Loryn said, "but we don't have time to waste."
They nodded and left the fortress. They reached the dungeon entrance and followed the path guided by Loryn, who strained to recall it with precision. Marui walked with his head down, kicking at stones; Daion remembered what Ken had said and tilted his head with pity. Marui noticed the look and took a step back, uncomfortable.
Loryn stopped abruptly. They were in a hollow ringed by mountains: a perfect arena for near-divine beings.
"I think it's here," Loryn said, nodding with certainty. Daion believed him, but it needed confirmation.
"Marui, can you locate a cavity about thirty meters deep?" Daion asked.
Marui looked up, nodded, and positioned himself in the center of the hollow. He closed his eyes; his ability activated. A wave of energy ran through the ground as he furrowed his brow, focusing on what might be hollow beneath his feet. The wave stopped. For a moment Daion thought it had been in vain, until Marui raised his hand and pointed to the center: a faint light rose from the earth. With simple gestures he indicated that this was the spot they should bore into.
"Hey, Loryn," he said, looking at him with confidence. "How good are you with explosives?"
Loryn glanced sideways at him, surprised —and for the first time, a tense smile crossed his face.
Aelith reached the underground area easily. They opened the gate for her without question, avoiding unnecessary delays. Time flowed differently within the goddess's dimension, and if she couldn't control it, there was no telling how long she would remain there. Aelith stepped fully into the sacred zone.
She was surrounded by darkness. For a few seconds, everything was pitch black —until a chill ran down her spine and light suddenly flooded the place. The space shifted into the familiar green meadow.
Thero appeared, sitting casually on a chair, and opened her eyes slowly, surprised that Aelith had entered so abruptly.
"What do you want, darling?"
Aelith met her gaze directly, hoping that reading her thoughts would be faster than explaining. Thero nodded after a moment.
"I see... you want me to use my influence over the demihumans. But what's your plan exactly… ah, I see —you'll use the terrain to isolate the noble."
"And… we need help to make it happen. Daion believes victory is certain, but even so…"
"You want me to fight?" the entity asked with mild curiosity.
"Yes, I believe you should. It's your life, after all. Without you, the demihumans couldn't… that's why I think…" Aelith tried to keep her argument coherent, but it was never simple to give orders to a force of nature.
Thero looked at her with pity and sighed.
"I'm sorry, dear. It's forbidden by the oldest powers for non-mortal beings to intervene in this war. The only divine being allowed to be present is the Demon King —and even he, with severe restrictions."
"And what happens if you break those rules? Why not just ignore them? You're gods —why follow such stupid laws? Or are you afraid of the Corrupts' power?"
The entire dimension trembled in anger at her words. Thero lifted her gaze, narrowing her eyes.
"You shouldn't speak about things you don't understand, darling. Some of the Primordials are excessively proud —especially the Primordial of Space, the one who allows us to exist in this dimension." Thero crossed her legs elegantly. "And besides, we wish to avoid a direct war. If the gods intervened, they would win easily, but the Corrupts and the Alphas would retaliate with full force. And if an Apostle —or worse, one of the Ten— were to appear, there would be no world left after the battle."
"So what, we just sit and wait for death?"
"I never said that," Thero interrupted, her tone sharp as she fixed her eyes on Aelith. "That we can't intervene directly doesn't mean we're doing nothing. The Primordial of Gravity is already taking enormous risks. He personally saved Daion from an Alpha god."
Aelith froze, shocked that Thero knew about that —it didn't seem like something the Primordial would want known. She could even feel that same terrifying presence press against her neck, making her shiver. Taking a deep breath, she met Thero's eyes again.
"He sent Daion without any abilities. You really think that's taking a risk?"
"You're seeing it too simply. Do you truly believe Daion is just another human?" Thero asked calmly. "Tell me —would a normal person have achieved what he has, in such a short time?"
Aelith didn't know how to answer.
"Besides," Thero continued, "he's not helpless. He was chosen specifically because of his potential efficiency in this world. In fact, the Primordial had to…" She stopped herself abruptly, cursing under her breath for saying too much. "The point is, frustrating as it may be, this battle belongs to mortals."
Aelith nodded. Thero smiled softly and closed her eyes.
"The demihumans will receive the message. They'll cooperate with Daion."
"Thank you, Your Holiness," Aelith said, bowing slightly before turning away and leaving the interdimensional zone.
She was startled when, upon exiting, the guard at the entrance jumped back in fright.
Aelith gave him a curious look. The man was trembling, sweat visibly rolling down his face.
"What's wrong?" Aelith asked.
The guard glanced nervously to the side, gripping his spear. "Well…" he began, "you've been gone for five days…"
Aelith felt her stomach twist and a cold sweat ran down her back. For a second, her mind went blank —all she could think about was one thing: Is he all right?
Ignoring anything else the guard tried to say, she started running. The man tried to follow, but couldn't keep up.
Aelith rushed out of the crypt as fast as she could. When she reached the basement, her breath caught —the entire place had changed. The endless stacks of rotting crates that had once filled the room were gone.
She hurried up the stairs, taking them two at a time. No one was there. Not a single sound echoed through the fortress. Panic set in —Had they left? Had they given up because she hadn't returned?
She reached the door leading outside, hesitated for a moment, then pushed it open.
And froze. Before her stretched an empty field —and in the distance, a dark column of smoke rose into the sky.
Did the Corrupts lie? Did they attack early? Aelith ran immediately, dashing out of the fortress and into the plains.
By pure chance, she ran straight into Loryn. He looked at her, confused by how out of breath she was.
"Where were you? It's been five days since Daion sent you," the summoned man said cautiously while Aelith tried to catch her breath.
"I know, but Thero's dimension was acting up—she was asleep," Aelith explained.
"Well, what did she say?" Loryn asked.
"That the demihumans will follow Daion because Thero has given her support." Aelith exhaled in relief, glad to see they were relatively all right. "Where is he?"
"Well…" Loryn muttered, scratching under his hood. "He's… busy. The preparations are a bit more complicated than we expected."
"Show me."
Loryn shrugged. I had to check on the progress anyway, he thought.
They walked across the plains until they reached the trenches. Aelith felt a strange sense of calm seeing the summoned fighters climbing out of them, exhausted, with dark circles so deep they looked ready to turn into raccoons.
She peered inside —the walls were lined with spikes, and between the trenches, makeshift shelters were being built as fast as possible so the artillery crews could fire safely.
Aelith didn't entirely understand the plan, but everyone was working harder than ever. From the mountains, she spotted two summoned mages chanting spells from their grimoires.
"Daion wasn't very clear with the instructions," Loryn admitted with a faint smile, "but we got the idea. If we can lure the Corrupts into the trenches, they'll be easier to bring down."
They advanced toward the dungeon. What had once taken them days to cross was now an easy walk; there was no longer much danger of attack. Every so often a suicidal Devourer emerged, only for Aelith to kill and consume it without hesitation.
Inside, several demihumans were extracting resources and collecting treasures. There were so many that raw Omega energy had accumulated in the air, and summoned soldiers stood in line to claim a portion.
They reached the area where Daion had once fought the Corrupts. Aelith had to cover her ears from a sharp sonic crack —below, soldiers were carefully handling dynamite, lifting it up by rope to the higher levels where demihumans were mining furiously. The ground shook with every strike of their picks.
"We only need to drill about twenty meters," Loryn said with a grin. "Once we do, the surface above will be unstable enough that one strike from Thaloren will bring it all down."
Aelith nodded.
I didn't realize it before, but even if it sounds like a solid plan, we're depending on far too many coincidences, she thought. Surely she wasn't the only one feeling that way —but no one questioned it. They all just kept working. It was their last hope, and all they could do was trust Thaloren to steer the fight toward that spot.
"This is suicide," muttered a soldier passing nearby. Loryn felt a sting in his chest and clenched his fists to keep them from shaking.
Aelith sighed. Despite everything, she was also aboard this train of faith.
"And Daion?" she asked.
"Oh, that idiot's preparing our fight," Loryn replied dryly.
They left the dungeon without difficulty and headed out. Aelith quickly realized they were moving toward the same town where they had once fought the Alphas.
"Why doesn't he just let you kill it? He's risking himself for nothing," Aelith said.
Loryn nodded; he agreed completely. What Daion was doing could only be called reckless —or stupid.
"I think he's trying to prove a point," Loryn said irritably. "He wants to inspire the summoned and the soldiers to fight. Besides, the demon's strong —not as much as the Ice Guardian, but enough to give me some trouble. It'll be good training. I've never tested my support powers, and if things get out of hand, I'll just blow its head off."
Aelith nodded.
"So it's more of a show for Daion, since you'll be keeping things under control," she summarized.
"Exactly," the summoned replied.
They finally reached the town after several hours. The sky had darkened; it was hard to tell the time, as the clouds blocked every trace of sunlight except for a dim glow.
Aelith was startled to see that all the remaining soldiers and summoned fighters were there, digging holes and moving explosives across the ground. Daion stood at the center, directing them.
It was strange seeing him like this —more decisive than usual. The others actually listened to him, though most wore expressions of irritation or fatigue.
Ken's group stood beside him, arguing. Aelith approached quietly, trying to catch the conversation.
"You should let us fight with you!" shouted Ken, while Amelie and Marui stood by the fire. Brut was sitting on the ground, resting. Though he had recovered somewhat, the strike of a god was something he would never forget.
"I already told you — we need you, the strongest among the summoned, to stay in the trenches and hold back the bulk of their army," Daion explained, visibly exhausted. "Besides, as I said, this is my fight."
"That's stupid! Just because you want to play the hero doesn't mean you have to fight alone like an idiot!"
"When did I say I was going alone?" Daion shot back, slightly irritated by Ken's persistence.
The summoned man only huffed and walked away. Daion sighed, then noticed Aelith's presence.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up," he teased, ruffling her hair as he approached.
"Don't touch me!" she protested, though she didn't pull away.
Daion smiled, relieved to see her unharmed. Aelith quickly explained the situation, while Loryn listened from a distance.
"It was worth a try," Daion said simply.
"Well, either way, it wasn't that necessary. The demihumans have agreed to cooperate, and everyone here's doing their best to reinforce the border," he added, stretching a little as his gauntlet pulsed with light.
Aelith noticed he now wore a long coat that nearly reached his knees. His hair had also grown longer — far too much for just a few days to have passed — which meant it must've been a side effect of his rank advancement. It now fell over his eyes.
"Are you sure that—" Aelith began, but froze mid-sentence. A memory hit her — the lash of a whip across her back every time she dared to question her masters.
"Of course I am," Daion assured her with a confident smile. "I know it sounds like a lot of things need to go right, but it's actually pretty doable… if you know how to use them. You'll see once the battle starts."
He said it with conviction — the kind of conviction that felt more like he was trying to convince himself. Still, his determined eyes and unwavering smile showed that his personality had changed since the day he first arrived.
Aelith tilted her head slightly, not quite understanding what he meant.
She was about to ask when a tremor shook the ground, followed by a deafening sonic boom that made everyone flinch. Daion looked up, stunned.
"What was that?" asked Aelith.
Daion only smiled and glanced sideways at Loryn, who nodded.
"What else could it be? The battlefield's finally ready."
End of Chapter 40.