YM778.TV Chapter 55: An Old Lady's Opinion.
[Mana: 65\\\\81k]
Dina stared at her status with a nod, it consumed far more than she expected, but far less than the original.
"My turn then," Arla slammed the ass of the barrier shut and took a breath, looking at the remaining percentage of the small horde that was trapped inside of it. "Go back to the shadows, you wretched creatures!" She aimed her staff at them.
[Mana: 40k]
[Casting teir 6 Infernal magic: Holocaust]
The large structure made of mana suddenly started shooting crimson flames from all corners on the inside, engulfing the demons in a tormenting incineration chamber that rapidly reduced them all to piles of ashes and crisp bones, putting an end to their numbers, and at the completion of their roasting, Arla took a peek at her mana again.
[Mana: 40k]
It was unchanged, showcasing her fine skill in precision mana manipulation.
"Well done," Grim tapped Arla\'s shoulder, watching the top of the barrier shoot out torrents of smoke and ash as it slowly collapsed. "And you as well, I see your training has yielded some terrifying results!" He turned to Dina as soon as she returned to Arla\'s side and gave her a nod, to which she smiled and adjusted her coat.
"Thank you."
Upon Dina\'s return the advance army burst into cheers, it was a massive victory the likes of which they had not seen in a while, thanks to the heroes making quick work of the majority of enemies.
"Dina, that was amazing!" Eris approached them, and behind her the other heroes and captains except for Ikaris also approached, so singing their praises at a job well done to each other, and while they had their reunion Grim went to the side and invited Idria over.
"Casualties?" He asked, and she smiled at him.
"None, sir,"
"None?"
"Every fatal wound that was incurred was cured by Eris before it was too late, and Ikaris played a great part in helping, she was more of a help in saving lives than the others were combined," Idria gestured to the tallest point on the ridge where he saw Ikaris standing and staring down at them with Sol by her side.
"How did she manage to do that?" He asked shocked.
"I have no idea, she was moving so fast it felt like teleporting, and she did so while carrying an armoured soldier with wounds and their dead weight while she fought," Idria answered with a shrug. "The others were flashy, sure, they have incredibly destructive potential, but Ikaris will be hailed by all the soldiers who realised what she did as the true victor today."
"Saved a bunch hm?" Sol looked at Ikaris with a cheeky grin. "You\'re embracing this hero title to the fullest, aren\'t you?" He teased her, but instead of the usual back and forth about heroes and people in general that he had gotten used to, he found Ikaris was still, she was silent, she was serious.
"Are you okay?" Sol rested his hand on her shoulder.
"Master," Ikaris turned to him, even though her body had no glow, her eyes shone with divinity, and her ears were elongated as her emotions caused her powers to go unchecked. "I want to save these people," She stared down at the rejoicing lot.
"I felt something inside of me when I was helping them, a care I had lacked when I governed Atla, I fought at their sides and understood their mortality, how fragile and beautiful death makes them..."
"One thing at a time," Sol smiled at her and gave her headpats. "First you have to face the consequences of your actions." He gave her a small push causing her to stumble forward toward a large group of soldiers that were making their way toward them.
"Master?"
"Ikaris!" The man at the front yelled, causing everyone else to stop and look at him as he approached and fell at her feet. "You... You saved my life, when I was bleeding out, you rescued me, you brought me back to the healers!"
"Rescue?" Han asked, looking around at Eris, who nodded with a bright smile.
"Thank you, thank you so much, our goddess of battle hero, Ikaris!!" The man exclaimed at the top of his voice.
"Eh-what?" Dina fumbled and stared across the multitude as cheers started erupting.
"She saved me too, I was stabbed through the chest, but thanks to her and Eris, I\'m still alive!" One man gestured to himself and the large hole in his chestplate.
"Yes, while you guys were on the frontlines, Ikaris was busy saving every wounded on the battlefield," Eris approached them, clapping her hands in cheer with everyone else. "As a result, not even a single soldier died today." She gestured to Ikaris who was recieving an applause like none other.
And Ikaris was so flustered she just stood there shocked, being a goddess, she never saw a need to be among the creatures she ruled over, but here where she held no such responsibility she had learned something incredible.
She looked around at Sol who was smiling as he too applauded her.
"Mortal life is fleeting," She mumbled to herself and Sol nodded.
[Activating telepathy: single target]
"You finally get it," He answered her. "For a god, there\'s always time, but for these people, life is a single moment where their entire existence is formed, defined, and then erased, never to be seen again, for them, time is an enemy, and it is the most precious currency."
[The gods are in awe at the praise True Goddess Ikaris is recieving]
[The goddess of war is displaying conflicted emotions]
[I truly wish it was me] Dr\'ul sighed, but with her sigh there was also a smile.
She loved warfare, but she had been watching Arkadians fight and die for over a hundred years, this was the first victory without tears of sorrow, and it was all thanks to the foreign goddess; Ikaris.
"Whoa there, don\'t get complacent," Sol leaned his head and stared up at Dr\'ul with a wide and threatening grin.
"I\'m still biding my time there goddess of war, don\'t ever forget it, you have a lesson to be taught and I\'m gonna make sure I bend you over my knee and discipline you properly!"
[Why you little-] Dr\'ul\'s hair caught aflame and she squeezed the edge of her throne, crushing it as she stood and grabbed the window to stare back at him.
"However, I want to see what happens here first," Sol looked back to the Arkadians with a gesture of his hand. "These people need saving, and Ikaris is willing to do it, I can\'t ruin her plot development for the sake of one fight, you\'re not my top priority."
Usually this would have caused Dr\'ul to blow a fuse and act up, but she too felt the need to back off out of respect for Ikaris\'s conviction and declaration, even if it was not from the pantheon, witnessing a god lay waste to the demonkin for the first time had earned Ikaris the respect and admiration of the entire cluster of Arkadian gods, so Dr\'ul decided that she would not sully that moment with her antics.
After all, Sol\'s grudge with the gods was not the main issue on Arkadia; it was for his personal entertainment just as it was their own.
"Ah I can\'t take any more!" Ikaris quickly approached and clung to Sol\'s arm causing the cheers to slightly dwindle.
"Ah, him again!" Someone from the back of the crowds closer to the other heroes snapped in irritation. "That weakling, how did someone as azing as out goddess of battle ever become subservient to someone like that?" The man asked, causing a small protest around him.
To everyone\'s shock though, it was not Ikaris who defended Sol, or any of the other heroes; it was another random soldier, albeit an older one with a standing amongst the army who spoke her opinion.
"That boy is not the weakling you mistake him to be," The old lady answered the you gan next to herself, sheathing her sword and folding her arms.
"I have been in the advance army for seventy years now, and I know a warrior when I see one, I have watched the man who everyone hated to get my personal opinion of him, and I have come to the conclusion that he is far from weak, he is more of a broken and tarnished soul than anything else-"
"Miss Lily?" One other random soldier looked around at her as the minority who heard her and stopped cursing Sol also turned. "What are you talking about, he\'s no warrior, he\'s a pampered-"
"I saw it with my own eyes, young man," Lily shook her head with an astute smile. "The moment he laid eyes on those demons we defeated, he became a different person, his mana, his expressions, his presence became that of a monster itself, he was going to head the charge had our Lady Ikaris not struck first," She explained, staring across the crowds at Sol.
"He has hate for them, abominable hate beyond my experience, hate I have not seen in years, I have no idea what happened to him, and how he ended up this way, but that young man has probably seen atrocities we have never and will never witness in our lifetimes, he knows them, he has faced them before; Sol Vestic fought the demonkin before being summoned, that is the impression I got earlier."
"There\'s no way."