Meanwhile, as Jax was solving all the problems and laying out a clean roadmap for the future of the Demon Kingdom, days had passed since the remaining members of the Hero Party returned to the Human Kingdom.
They hadn't experienced any rest in those few days. After arriving at the temple and realizing they lost Natasha, they quickly found a way to teleport into the inner sanctum of the Church of Light.
~RING~RING~RING!~
Alarm bells had rung the moment they arrived, holy wards flaring as Priests, Templars, and Healers rushed to surround the battered Hero Party.
Instead of the usual welcoming party, this was a scramble to help them as quickly as possible.
Killian was taken first away first, as his body had been broken far worse than any of them had initially realized.
Multiple of his organs were ruptured, his mana pathways were shattered and his aura was flickering erratically like a dying flame. If the healers had been any late, he'd surely of paid the ultimate price.
It took three High Arch-Priests, a Choir of Light Clerics, and a relic altar blessed directly by the Goddess of Light, Kayle to stabilize Killian and even then he didn't wake up, instead being in a mini-coma.
Due to this, the entire Hero Party was basically fractured. Lizzy hadn't left the infirmary since they had returned, kneeling at the foot of Killian's bed for three days straight, praying for his survival until her voice gave out.
Touka had remained in her own room, ruminating about the failure while Alexi was placed in a separate ward. Her mana pathways were also completely scorched, strained nearby to collapse.
If they weren't Heroes, even if Jax didn't kill them, all of them would've died from overexerting themselves during the battle. The strain on their bodies was simply immense.
While she was healing, Alicia refused a bed, preferring to sit on the balcony overlooking the Human Capital City bow resting across her knees as she stared out at the bustling streets below. People laughed. Merchants shouted. Life went on, blissfully ignorant of what had nearly annihilated them all.
All of them were in an extremely depressed state until the forth day, when Killian finally woke up, holy bells ringing through the infirmary as Priests rushed in, Lizzy sobbing openly as she clutched his hand, pouring restorative light into him even as the healers begged her to stop and let his body recover naturally.
Killian screamed the moment consciousness returned. He thrashed against the bed, golden light erupting violently from his body, cracking the sacred marble and sending lesser Priests flying backward.
"He's here!" Killian roared, clawing at his chest, "GET HIM OFF ME!"
Touka burst into the chamber, grabbing Killian by the shoulders and forcing him back down.
"Killian!" she shouted. "You're safe! You're in the capital, look at me!"
"NO!" Killian screamed in an extreme voice, "You DON'T GET IT, HE'S HERE TO KILL US, GET OUT!" Killian's scream was laced with unmatched trauma as Touka used all of her power to hold him down.
"CALM DOWN!" Touka shouted into his wild eyes, "He's gone, you're safe. LOOK AT US, you're safe," Touka said, desperate to calm him down.
Killian's eyes were wild, reflecting something far darker than memory.
Alexi was wheeled in moments later, ignoring the healers as she raised trembling hands and cast a calming array, her voice cracking as she spoke the incantation.
Slowly, painfully, the divine flare subsided and Killian collapsed back onto the bed, breathing hard as he finally accepted he wasn't being crushed underneath Jax's boot like a bug, but was in fact, back in the safety of the Human Capital.
The room fell silent as they all saw him calm down, only to hear his soft whisper.
"I fucking lost,"
No one contradicted him. How could they when they all had traumatic memories of how they were thoroughly outclassed that day.
"He didn't even fight me seriously," Killian continued hollowly, "He caught my sword with one finger."
The High Arch-Priest stiffened as he heard that, the first details he heard of the Hero's defeat that shocked the entire world and it was already a massive bit of information.
"He crushed me," Killian said, fists clenching. "Like I was nothing."
Lizzy shook her head desperately. "You're alive. The Goddess preserved all of us. That's what matters."
Killian turned his head toward her slowly, looking around until he noticed one person was missing.
"Natasha isn't here."
The silence that followed was suffocating, as all of the Hero Party members stood awkwardly and avoided his gaze, aside from Touka who finally responded, "She was taken,"
Killian's gaze snapped to her, "Taken? TAKEN HOW?" He screamed.
"He...that Demon, he pulled her out of the teleport," Touka said quietly, "Right before it completed. We didn't have time to react,"
Killian sat up despite the healers' protests, ignoring the immense pain in his torso as he spoke, "Then we have to go back."
"No," Touka said instantly, her tone much more assertive.
"We can't," she continued, "Look at you, look at all of us we got crushed, what do you think will happen if we just barge in there, do you want us all to die?"
Alexi swallowed hard as she continued Touka's point, "He let my Tier-Zero spell hit him… just to make a point. At our current level, we stand no chance Killian,"
One of the Priests stiffened, "That's impossible, no one can survive a Tier-Zero spell that easily, unless they're a god,"
"Well he did," Alicia said, "And he also wiped out an entire Holy Order like they were insects. So clearly we're dealing with someone with God-level power, but isn't beholden to the Covenant,"
The Arch-Priest turned pale, thinking of how a being that powerful could probably take over the world if left unchecked.
Killian stared at the ceiling, "He said something…I remember him saying something before I passed out,"
Touka looked at him sharply, "What?"
"'Phase one complete.'"
The Arch-Priests exchanged looks of unease when they heard that, praying immediately.
That evening, the summons arrived.
Royal seals from every allied Kingdom.
The Kingdom of Lumeria - for the Human Kingdom
The Solarian Empire - The Elven Empire
The Northern Theocracy - Where the Dwarves & Fairies live.
The Merchant Foundation of Aurelion - A massive, multi-species Merchant Foundation
All of them were demanding answers as to what happened and how it happened.
The Heroes of Light had been the spearhead of the war effort against the Demon Kingdom since they were summoned by the Goddess of Light.
All of these powers had deep connection to the Goddess of Light or her allies, and had placed blind faith in the heroes, mobilizing entire armies and funding the Hero Party on the assumption they were near unstoppable, and would quickly crush the Demon Kingdom.
Now, one was missing, an entire Holy Order was completely annihilated, and one figure had done it all, shattering their dreams of Divine Supremacy.
Needless to say, all of these powers wanted answers.