"...."
Silence perverted what was formerly a grand castle. Instead what remained of the imposing figure was the few walls that miraculously survived, while the roof and floor was practically erased into nonexistence.
"Did we do it…?"
Miledi was the first to speak, even the apostles seemed to jolt back into consciousness upon hearing her words.
"...."
Ivan was unsure. He did have quite a lot of faith in the god-slaying weapon created by the Liberators but it was a fact that it had never even been tested before.
"W-Was there supposed to be some effects or something? Maybe a giant beam shooting into the sky, or the personification of Ehit's soul flying into the sky before exploding? Tell us, Miledi-san!"
"I-I don't know, we've never used the God-slaying dagger before!"
Miledi reeled back against the intense interrogation of Felis, who had surprisingly addressed her so formally. Though that just might be because Felis didn't want to address someone who made her and her sister suffer so affectionately.
10 seconds turned to 30, and then a whole minute had passed. Finally, 5 minutes later and nothing changed. Ehit's body was still slumped over on his knees, a gaping whole in his chest as the wooden parts of his body slowly lost color.
The apostles remained silent throughout the whole ordeal, continuing the fight never entered their mind as they stared at the lifeless corpse of their master.
Some of the eldest apostles held a disgruntled look on their faces. Even if they have never seen their master lose his vessel before, something about the current situation puts them at unease.
A feeling of loss or sadness wasn't what they experienced, instead it was an unease for their futures. 'What now?' they thought.
Their master was gone, at least as far as they knew. His commanding voice never appeared in their head. The voice that constantly told them what to do, the voice that existed solely as their reason to exist.
It was gone, and so was their purpose.
Ivan sweeped his eyes through the army of apostles before sighing softly, in his heart he felt a little bit of pity for the purposeless beings. He turned to Yue, who started at the crumbling body of Ehit with furrowed brows.
"He's dead."
That's all Ivan needed to say as her lithe figure handed him the dagger. Ivan stepped forward without another word, the dagger in hand, he stabbed Ehit's corpse again.
"But just to make sure."
His right hand glowed as the dagger pierced where Ehit's heart would be if he were human, His right hand was placed on Ehit's head. The red sparks enveloped the area before the disintegration of Ehit's corpse accelerated at a visible speed.
And within one minute, everything that remained of the dead god had disappeared.
"Damn, I didn't even get to hear the bastard beg for his life…!"
Miledi spoke with a huff, her mini golem arms crossed as she stared at the ashes that blew away in the wind. A sense of accomplishment washed over her.
'Revenge won't make you happy? What a bunch of bullshit! I haven't felt this good in centuries~!'
Her purpose as well had been complete, but unlike the apostles she was gratified by the fact. She successfully avenged her only family.
If she wasn't unwilling to start a fight with the already pitiful apostles then she would've bottled Ehit's ashes and incinerated them just for the fun of it.
"Phew—!"
Felis on the other hand was unconcerned about appearances. She slumped to the ground and supported herself up with the palm of her hands, leaning with her head in the air as she used one hand to wipe the non existent perspiration off her forehead.
She didn't exactly know about the situation, but what she did know was that her father's enemy and the one who hurt her Yue-sensei was dead. That was enough for her to feel happy about. In the end all it meant was that she'd have more peaceful times with her family.
Felis fought a lot of powerful enemies, and by the end of it her claws kind of hurt. But, to her it was all worth it.
"...."
Shea felt she was a bit of a bystander in this whole event. Unlike the others she didn't exactly have hatred toward Ehit, even if she said something about him during the confrontation.
'One less enemy for my kind.'
At the end of the day that's the only thing she took from it. Because of Ehit her kind had a bad reputation, out of the three races the beastmen had it the worse. Hated by both sides they couldn't even leave the Sea of Trees without someone trying to enslave them.
But now word will get out that she and her people participated in the elimination of the evil god. To her that basically guaranteed that the beastman will get the treatment they deserved.
[Master…?]
"Tio?"
Ivan heard the voice of the dragoness inside his mind. He searched around, only now noticing that the sky had returned to its former color and the great dragon in the sky had disappeared.
He used one of his scouting skills to locate where she might've gone. After a minute and a bit of back and forth with her he managed to locate a weak heartbeat from the corner of the castle.
With a snap of his fingers a portal opened to his side, the dragoness softly descended from it as Ivan guided her weakened body with gravity magic. Her clothing was badly torn, but thankfully none of her private bits were exposed.
But even then Ivan quickly rinsed her off with some water magic before drying her off with heat and wind. Manifesting a curtain from thin air he hid her inside while he changed her into a new set of clothes using his gravity magic.
After that he held her delicately in his arms, a faint blush adorning her face as being held in a princess carry in front of so many people was an embarrassing experience for her. Though she never once let out a complaint.
"He's really dead huh…"
That was all she said afterward. She was cognitive toward the end of the fight as Ehit had thought. So she was able to experience his final moments and even got to revel in the fact that she had partook in his end.
She wiped a tear that had formed at her eyes.
'Mother, Father, did you see me? I finally did it… I'm so glad. We avenged those we lost along the way, our hundreds of clansmen who honorably perished by this evil man's machinations. So you can rest now… leave the future to this Tio of yours…'
Her clan no longer had to live in hiding on a remote island as they have been for centuries since their 'extinction'. She had realized the dreams of her people since the inception of her clan, the final will of the first dragonmen who died fighting against Ehit to protect the peace.
She was sure he already noticed it, but she couldn't wait to tell her grandfather the good news.
And then she'll…
She battered her eyes at Ivan coyly, her blush returning at a greater intensity. Her eyes moistened for a totally different reason.
Ivan smiled wryly, an expression everyone on the scene noticed as he had stored away his helmet for the sake of formalities. What he wanted the world to know was that it was he and his companions who took down the evil god.
And while he'd love to acquiesce to Tio's not so subtle hints, there was one person he had to talk to before anything else.
With the waves of his hands Tio floated away from his embrace and descended slowly onto a rug he put on the floor. Tio on the other hand had a wry smile of her own on her face, but nonetheless her eyes showed approval.
So without a word Ivan approached Yue.
"Let's go, Yue."
"Mn!"
She gave a little nod followed by a noise of acknowledgement.
Ehit ruined her life, but it was also thanks to him that she was able to meet her other half. If her grandfather hadn't imprisoned her she would've never met Ivan three hundred years later.
Though what she felt for that wasn't gratitude, instead she felt a little bit of pity for the false god. His actions had unintentionally created a monster team that would destroy him and his plans. He brought Ivan to this world and the hero party so he could use the Hero as his latest vessel.
Then she met Ivan.
After that his fate was sealed.
With the wave of her hand the message orb that her uncle left behind appeared in her hands. In it were the detailed motives of her uncle and the reason as to why he turned coated and locked her away.
But most important of all, it was his message to her. He prayed for a day when she'd be saved, well he essentially predicted it. As he predicted, Ivan was her protector.
Yue turned to look at Ivan, she spread both her arms before standing on the tips of her toes. Even then she couldn't reach her lover's face. So he crouched down for her.
*CHUUU!*
"Thank you for everything, Ivan~"
"Hehehe, don't sweat it. I'd kill a bastard like that any day if it meant protecting your smile. Now, let's go, we must inform the world of the end of this war!"
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Most likely the next chapter will be the last. It depends on how long I decide to write it though. This was a nice chapter to write, didn't feel much pressure doin' it either. Which is a major plus for me. Now if you excuse me, I shall reward myself with a cone of pecan ice cream~!
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