With the mastermind of the entire problem gone, the spell of lust slowly receded from everyone's minds. Knowing that they would feel forever burdened by the knowledge of what they have done, Noah did what was must and erased everyone's memories before their conscious self takes over.
Minutes later, the process of assimilating the Art of Divinity into the bodies of the hundred men also finished. With that, the village now gained more than a hundred pseudo-divine beings that are theoretically capable of fighting toe-to-toe with even the Great Demons.
Together, they restored the village to its previous state and let the awakened villagers continue life as they had it before. Although the villagers were confused as to why the expedition returned so early on, because Noah guaranteed that all is fine, they all shrugged their curiosities off.
Placing the anomalies aside, the village, now having its territory expanded, began to set out and extend their forces towards the mountain range. With the previous influx of refugees from the outside, and with more coming, new houses were arranged to be built.
Men were also sent to the mountain range to search for valuable materials that would prove useful in the following days to come. With tensions against the Nephtal Empire increasing ever so greatly, it is of utmost priority that resources must be pooled for future battles.
As for the Empire's situation…
Luciferius City, within the Black Palace…
Bang!
Seated on the throne, Nefarius was seething with anger. Behind him, rubbles of the Pillar of Lust were scattered on the ground. Having informed that the mission failed, with even his bed warmer dead, the Mad Emperor was livid.
"Bastard!" His bellow echoed past the throne room. "How dare they!"
Clenching his fist, he smashed the throne's arm rest with his bulking arms. Still, the throne remained intact. He then growled, with his eyes fixated at the distance, "Enjoy this victory while ye can. Soon will be thy destined fall." Behind him, the remaining six pillars glowed ominously.
Back in the village, as they began expanding their territories, the research for the construction of The Ark continued. Noah and the other leaders reckoned that it would not be long before they could begin attempting to construct the ark once again.
The stalemate between Noah's forces and the Empire continued for a long time. Although skirmishes between the two occurred from time to time, no huge progress from both sides had transpired for almost fifty years. During those years, research has progressed smoothly, and, by the third year, the shipbuilding for the new version of the Ark had begun.
With the improved shipbuilding tactics that were devised by the various refugees that came from the ocean side, and with the new materials that proved their worthiness in being a part of the Ark, it took more than four decades to construct the ship.
While that was happening, Noah had also formally established the Heavenly State to oppose the tyrannical rule of the Nephtal Empire. The Knights Templar, being its main force, led its men to fight against the demons and the Nephilim to defend the state. With God as its divine ruler, Noah was elected as interim Representative to lead the state.
Noah had also received a new, or rather, updated order from the Highest, allowing some people from the enemy side to convert their beliefs and surrender themselves to Him.
When he declared that, both the citizens of the Heavenly State and The Empire were shocked. The Heavenly State was nervous with taking in outsiders that believed in the demons but was also relieved that many more would join their ranks to go against the Empire. The Empire, on the other hand, was sent into turmoil as three schools of thoughts rose; being steadfast in going against the Heavenly State, resisting the tyrannical rule and siding with them, or those that remained neutral as always.
As an answer to such provocation, the emperor Nefarius first suppressed the news of his declaration before sending his men to seek and annihilate those who dared to defect to the State, declaring that "any coward who dares to turn their back to the Empire would be condemned to eternal damnation. Another action they did was intensify the attacks against the State, which proved to be pointless, since the attacks were always curbed by the Knights Templar.
For years, the Heavenly State has been expanding. Using the mountain range as the springboard to their offensive, The Heavenly State had successfully possessed seven cities and fifteen towns, one of which was the Town of Gehenna at the side of the Sarjena Mountain where Noah started his journey after defeating the Leviathan.
An extensive conversion took place at that time, saving innocent sinners and children from the sins that their forefathers had done. Due to that, the State's population boomed to hundreds of thousands. Manpower grew, and therefore production boomed. Thanks to some products that the Garenson Patriarch Elric had introduced, the overall quality of life that the people of the State were experiencing increased greatly.
The ranks of the templars also grew, with a substantial number of converted people wanting to fight the Empire to achieve their long-desired vengeance. Still, those who knows better found it more suitable to join the workforce, therefore boosting up the speed of construction projects.
With that said, soon, the Ark is to be completed. Anticipating the arrival of the Behemoth, Noah and the other leaders of the state began to prepare. They weren't building any walls that aims to stop the Behemoth. Instead, they prepared to examine any weakness within the Ark's build, if there could be any.
Little did they know, that in the depths of the Empire, a man feared by all was mobilizing a huge army, together with six infinitely unfathomable beings. Soon, their numbers reached several billions. If this army was present in the old universe, this army alone could be used to conquer a huge chunk of it. With its astronomical strength, they would even be able to pulverize planets, let alone conquer one.
Fortunately, as the world, the universe even, was still in its primordial form, the powers that surrounds it are still impossible to fully destroy.
"Let's move, everyone!" When the morning star rose from the east, the Heavenly State turned its cogs once again, especially since this day was special; It was the final day of the Ark's completion!