"So in the near future, the Great Aetherium would gain Malakar, Skarion, Zakaria, and whoever falls next. Multiple new Supreme Gods at once."
"The Demon Emperor and the Twelve Demon Lords will definitely take notice of them."
The consensus forming across tens of millions of spectators was simple: the Great Aetherium was not to be provoked. By anyone. The Titan Pantheon, the Dragon Pantheon, anyone who'd been watching and calculating, their calculations only had one answer now.
The Gods of Truth from the Light Empire had gone from relief to despair in the span of one time-reversal arrow.
"We were celebrating Skarion's explosion just now…"
"We're finished."
"His Majesty Asher is too proud to negotiate a surrender."
"Then we're truly finished."
At the edge of the battlefield, the Castle Lords who'd fled and returned were processing their own version of events.
"I ran. I actually ran."
"We all ran."
"We missed the best scene. He reversed time, resurrected Malakar, and one-shotted Skarion with a single arrow. That footage would have sold for an absolute fortune on the world channel."
"My intuition says he's close to the peak. After the other battlefields finish, he will ascend. And then there would be no one left on the Endless Continent above him."
…
At this moment, in the space between the void and the battlefield, the Elven Empress Aurelyss had watched everything from start to finish.
She and her delegation had stayed, protected by her own Divine Power, they hadn't fled with the others. Which meant they'd seen Haru raise the [Sorrow of Time] and put an arrow through Skarion's forehead.
The same [Sorrow of Time] she'd traded to Haru.
An Ancient Elf Goddess leaned close and murmured, "Your Majesty. That bow… wasn't it in our treasury?"
"I traded it to Haru for the artifacts." Aurelyss said. Her voice was perfectly flat.
"Ah."
The Gods around her exchanged looks.
"The Fifth Demon Monarch Temerith's natal artifact. A pure Abyssal Artifact. And he used it like it was his own." Someone paused, "Is His Majesty Kazehaya actually human? The Lord of Slaughter seemed convinced he was a Dimen—"
"Enough." Aurelyss's tone cut the discussion off, "His Majesty Kazehaya's godhead contains nearly two hundred sources of Divine Laws, an unprecedented feat. Mastering the abyss law is simply one more. Why else would the spirit of Endless Continent's Laws shelter him? A demon would never receive that protection. He is human."
She paused before continuing, "He is also our ally. Remember that."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
They fell quiet. Aurelyss stared at the battlefield. She'd acquired the [Sorrow of Time] from the Titan Pantheon at an enormous cost. She couldn't use it, the Abyssal Corruption made it untouchable, so she'd included it in the trade with Haru, privately considering it dead weight she was relieved to offload.
She'd thought she was getting the better of the deal, but when she saw Haru use it to reverse time and kill an Ancient Supreme God with one arrow, she was really angry.
"Don't mention this transaction again."
The Ancient Elf had the wisdom not to say anything further.
…
Third war zone.
Yvonne's arrival had flipped the equation immediately. Two Goddesses who'd been besieging Nova with a significant advantage suddenly found themselves on the defensive.
Yvonne, an intermediate-stage Supreme Goddess, was stronger than either of them. Coordinating with Nova, who'd been conserving energy the entire fight, Mordra and Micteya had no chance at victory.
Mordra had no personal quarrel with the Great Aetherium. She'd joined this war entirely to strike at the Nature Pantheon's allies for an ancient grudge against Elunara that had never faded. The Great Aetherium had simply been the available target.
Now she watched Malakar and Skarion fall in the first war zone, and felt the full weight of how badly she'd miscalculated.
"I surrender." She said, "I'll pay whatever you want. Artifacts, information, anything. Just let me leave. I'll even fight for your empire once."
"Believe in my Lord." Yvonne said, attacking harder, "And you will have eternal life."
The irony of giving a religious pitch about eternal life while relentlessly attacking her did appear as quite bizarre to Mordra, and her Sea of Origin also broke shortly after.
"Your bloody Evil Pantheon is the reason for my death! I curse you…" She managed, before Yvonne sealed her soul and collected the drop items.
She then crossed to the other side of the war zone towards Micteya, who had watched Mordra fall. She'd come here to save her brother, and her brother was standing in the Great Aetherium's formation radiating holy light, entirely at peace, probably praying for her to get captured right now.
She'd lost everything she came for. Her brother was gone, not dead, but converted into something she didn't recognize. The war was lost. Her fellow Supreme Gods were sealed one by one.
Yvonne and Nova suppressed her together without much difficulty. Five main gods gathered by the Evil Pantheon. Five sealed souls. All of them, waiting for the Holy Grail, the Angel Reincarnation Pool, and whatever came next.
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