Heinrich said, "Our world is being watched by an Outer God known as the Mother of Flesh. She has already launched several attacks on this world, and even Artemis, the moon goddess, has been corrupted, becoming one of Her earliest victims."
Gerald froze, stunned. After a moment of silence, he blurted out, "Huh?"
Heinrich's sudden declaration felt like they had been discussing which flavor of milk tea was better, and then, without warning, he solemnly announced: "Did you know? Aliens have already invaded Earth multiple times."
Anyone would be dumbfounded.
Immediately afterward, the Catfolk Councilor spoke up. "It's true. My city was attacked by Artemis Believers. They intended to use a ritual to transform all the citizens into puppets of the Outer God."
"If not for the intervention of Okhema's Goddess of Romance and the Divine Descent of the Goddess of Love, you likely wouldn't be seeing me here today."
Heinrich added, "I, too, once made a grave mistake out of arrogance, becoming a sinner against the world. Fortunately, the Sky God and God of Reason from Okhema intervened, averting the crisis."
"Huh?" Gerald exclaimed.
His gaze darted between Heinrich and the Catfolk Councilor. "Wait a minute... you're both saying you've experienced an Outer God Crisis and received help from this Okhema place?! Why was I never helped?"
"Uh... maybe you just got lucky?" Heinrich offered tentatively.
The Dwarf Councilor chimed in, "Or maybe you're just too weak, little man. When the sky falls, the tall ones take the brunt. You're too short to get hit anyway."
"Bullshit!" Gerald retorted. "Not only did I get no help, but my only experience with this place is that my entire army was wiped out in a single move by some God of Strife guy?!"
Heinrich fell silent.
The Catfolk Councilor remained silent.
"Now that sounds like my kind of good news!" the Dwarf Councilor exclaimed gleefully.
Gerald's lips twitched slightly. Deciding not to waste his breath arguing with the Dwarf, he turned to Cerydra and asked, "What about the Northern Territory? Has it also been invaded by Outer Gods? Did this 'Okhema' offer any assistance?"
How to put it? Gerald seemed to be looking for allies at this point. Of the four factions present, the Arcane Federation and the All Nations Alliance had both experienced similar crises. If the Northern Territory had also been invaded by Outer Gods and aided by Okhema, then the Dragon Ember Empire would truly be the odd one out.
Cerydra didn't lie. She stated directly, "The Northern Territory has never been invaded by Outer Gods."
Hearing this, Gerald couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. This evened the score at two against two. However, before he could speak, Cerydra continued, "But I am an Okheman. Perhaps because the others drove off the Mother of Flesh twice, she saw me in the Northern Territory and dared not approach?"
Gerald: "???"
So you're the one who helped the Arcane Federation and the All Nations Alliance!
"That doesn't make sense!" Gerald protested. "Why would you Okhema help others but then come to beat me up?"
Cerydra tilted her head slightly. "I'm not sure about that. After all, it was the God of Strife who acted back then, not me."
More importantly, she had only recently arrived in this world at the time. How could she possibly have known anything about the Outer Gods?
And it must be said, that batch of Imperial Army soldiers directly contributed a massive boost to her fame. In a way, they could even be considered the 'first pot of gold' she'd earned in this world.
Gerald asked, "So, what exactly is this Okhema place?"
Heinrich and the Catfolk Councilor remained silent, turning to look at Cerydra. After all, they weren't the main parties involved; it would be better for Cerydra, as a native of Okhema, to explain.
Cerydra replied, "A hidden city blessed by the Gods. However, as global tensions escalate, we've ended our secluded existence."
After a pause, she looked at Gerald. "Oh, by the way, Okhema lies directly beneath the Dragon Ember Empire, geographically adjacent to your territory."
Gerald exclaimed, "Holy shit!?"
That was a terrifying statement. Are you saying there's a nuclear launch button right under my ass, and I didn't even know about it?
Cerydra continued, "A total of twelve gods protect the city. Now that the entire world is threatened by Outer Gods, with the nest destroyed, no egg can remain intact. That's why we've taken action."
"Rest assured, if the Dragon Ember Empire ever faces the same threat from the Outer Gods, we will come to your aid."
"Ten... twelve gods!?" Gerald's lips twitched slightly. After all, the entire world only had twelve True Gods, and those deities couldn't intervene freely. Yet the Okheman gods seemed to move about as they pleased?
Does this mean this tiny city possesses military might surpassing the entire world? Isn't that a bit exaggerated?
Even Heinrich and the Catfolk Councilor were momentarily stunned. They knew Okhema was powerful, but they hadn't imagined this level of strength. Heinrich had personally witnessed Hyacine's battle as well as Anaxa, and the mere thought of ten more beings as formidable as that was utterly absurd.
The Catfolk Councilor, on the other hand, was thinking, I've seen Aglaea fight, and there are eleven more gods just as powerful as her?!
A moment of silence fell over the room before Gerald finally spoke. "If the Dragon Ember Empire ever truly faces an Outer God threat, we humbly request your assistance."
But in his heart, he thought,Thank heavens Okhema lacks any strong expansionist ambitions. Otherwise, wouldn't I be the first to suffer?
The discussion about Okhema concluded, and Heinrich shifted the topic back to the Sun God. He glanced outside and remarked, "The World Barrier remains intact, so the Mother of Flesh shouldn't be able to directly influence the Material World."
"However, both the Sun God and Artemis reside beyond the Barrier, beyond its protection. Artemis suffered an accident long ago, and now it seems the Sun God's turn has finally come..."
To the Material World, the Moon's existence made little difference. After all, the Moon neither emitted light nor served any apparent purpose. In Cerydra's previous life on Earth, the Moon influenced the tides and Earth's rotation. But this world operated on the "Heaven is round and Earth is square" cosmology, lacking both tides and planetary rotation.
Conversely, the Sun was vital. The entire world depended on its light. If the Sun God faltered, the world would plunge into eternal night.
After explaining the situation, Heinrich turned to Gerald and the Catfolk and Dwarf Councilors. "If possible, I urge both nations to cease hostilities. In the face of such a global threat, continuing our internal conflicts is incredibly unwise."
"Our immediate priority should be to investigate what has happened to the Sun God. Can he be saved? If we can help restore the Sun to its original state, that would be ideal. But if we're powerless to do so, we must consider how to survive in a world without the Sun."
Even if the Mother of Flesh doesn't invade the Material Plane, the loss of the Sun—the loss of light itself—would still be a cataclysmic disaster, capable of destroying the world.
The call for a ceasefire hung in the air. Gerald and the two Councilors fell silent. After all, war had already broken out, and it wasn't something that could be halted on a whim.
The simplest question was this: the Dragon Ember Empire had already occupied several cities of the Alliance. If a ceasefire were declared, what would happen to these cities? Would the Empire keep them, or would they be returned to the All Nations Alliance?
If the Empire kept them, the Alliance would never agree. These were their ancestral lands. The Alliance's current war aim is to reclaim its lost territories. Letting the Dragon Ember Empire walk away with its gains? Such a thing was unthinkable.
"But if we were to return it to the Alliance, the Dragon Ember Empire would never agree. I worked so hard to conquer this territory. You can't just tell me to give it back! What was the point of fighting at all?"
This is just the national perspective. From the perspective of the rank-and-file soldiers, consider this: One day, a soldier might be locked in mortal combat with the enemy, his comrades all fallen around him, leaving him the sole survivor. Fueled by rage and vengeance, his only thought is to kill as many enemies as possible before his own death.
Then, suddenly, an order comes down from above: "Cease fire! Let the enemy go!" What would that soldier think? Or rather, how would all the soldiers react?
That's why, once a war has escalated to a certain point, one side must be utterly defeated. Forced mediation will only leave both sides deeply dissatisfied.
Both sides believe they can win and are determined to fight on. In such cases, the mediator becomes the target of their mutual hatred.
So, the current situation isn't just about whether Gerald and the two Councilors are willing to end the war. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't know how to do it.
Heinrich continued gazing out the window. The twilight deepened into night, the sky darkening completely until no trace of light remained.
Cerydra pondered for a moment, then declared, "If we can't achieve a ceasefire, we'll implement Static Warfare. All frontline soldiers on both sides are to remain stationary—no attacks, no offensive orders. We'll tell them to await a more opportune moment to strike! Everyone stays hunkered down at the barrier lines! Wait!"
As for how long they'd have to wait—perhaps ten days, perhaps two or three months—the plan was simple: hunker down and wait. No one was allowed to move.
Cerydra continued, "Then I'll notify Okhema and take charge of investigating the Sun God incident. As for you, remain vigilant about the situation within the country. I suspect this sudden darkness may trigger unforeseen consequences."
Gerald immediately pounded his chest and declared, "Consider it done!"
The two Councilors added, "We agree to this proposal."
Soon, both parties departed, leaving only Heinrich, Cerydra, and Arthur in the conference room. Heinrich asked, "How do you plan to investigate?"
Cerydra shrugged. "What other choice do we have? We'll venture beyond the World Barrier and take a look at the Sun itself."
Normally, the Sun would be a colossal fireball, radiating extreme heat. Even if Tribios could open a Century Gate directly to the Sun, she wouldn't be able to cross—it would be far too hot.
This was actually a self-protective measure by the Sun God, using extreme heat to deter even Outer Gods from approaching Him casually.
But now that the Sun had gone dark, extinguishing its light, it was likely in a state where it could be approached.
At that moment, the Demon Axe in Arthur's hand spoke up, "Ah, you guys really live in a cursed world, don't you? Being targeted by an Outer God... tsk, tsk, tsk~"
This statement immediately caught the attention of everyone present. Heinrich asked, "You know about the Outer Gods?"
The Demon Axe replied, "Of course! I'm a Demon Lord, after all! This 'Mother of Flesh' you mentioned is incredibly powerful. To be honest, even in my prime, I couldn't defeat her."
After a moment of silence, Heinrich spoke up first, "Tell us something we don't already know."
The Demon Axe paused. "...Fine. The Outer Gods' power level is roughly equivalent to Demon Lords below the 200th layer of the Abyss. I once visited the 211th layer, where a Demon Lord had clashed with an Outer God. Traces of corruption still lingered on its body.
"But according to that Demon Lord, the Outer God he fought was in no better condition either."
"According to that Demon Lord, Outer Gods have virtually no concept of a 'True Body.' Any of their manifestations can represent their entirety. This means you can only kill an Outer God by simultaneously obliterating all its existences across all realms."
"And that's an incredibly difficult task. After all, who knows where this Outer God has been? How many worlds has it left its mark on?"
"In my opinion, you should focus on escaping. This kind of enemy is beyond your capabilities. Even I nearly succumbed to corruption just from glancing at those Prayer Beads!"
Arthur retorted, "That's because you're an idiot who acts on impulse!"
If True Gods rely on Authority and demons rely on numerical strength, Outer Gods combine both—possessing Authority and numerical power—making them terrifyingly formidable.
Cerydra gently stroked her smooth chin, deep in thought. In her current Identity, she wasn't particularly afraid of facing the Mother of Flesh head-on; after all, she had the numbers advantage—if one couldn't win alone, they could gang up.
But if what the Demon Axe said was true—that all of an Outer God's existences had to be destroyed simultaneously for a complete kill—then this was indeed a problem.
So, Cerydra mentally called out to the long-dormant 'System.'