-"Men! Today, we shall show those demons what true fear is. Their seven Evils cower in their realms, not daring to meet us on the field. Now, we bring the fight to them! For the Victory!"
-"For the Victory!"
-"May His Majesty watch over us!"
-"For His glory!"
Standing next to Nobu, who was delivering her speech before the launch of the offense, I was shocked by the strength of belief soldiers had in us. Despite seeing their respect daily in Hold, the feeling of their aura before going into battle was entirely different. There was no doubt or fear, just sheer conviction in both their strength and Hold's ideals.
Seeing that I was impressed by the soldiers, Nobu approached me with a proud expression on her face.
-"Not too shabby, right?"
~"They have the same kind of aura as zealots of cultists. How did you cultivate so many fanatics?"
-"Well, you can thank that miko girls for stories about you, and with your ascension to Aeonhood, it just happened."
~"And here I thought that Palace Guards were overly devoted..."
-"That girls are a little different from them. Their commitment has a different undertone and extend than my soldiers."
Deciding to avoid the subject as the Nobu's eyes started becoming sharp, I started looking for any angels still on the surface of the so-called Sanctuary.
~"I'll also get going. I want to see those angels that gave our soldiers problems."
-"Heh. Good luck."
~"Indeed. May the Moonlight guide you."
-"I'm not a follower of Elune, but thank you.
~"Right. Force of habit."
Locating only a few angels outside of their High Havens, I teleported to where some of them were. What greeted me was a destroyed village with both human and demon bodies around, and in the middle of it were three armored figures with streams of light as wings.
As I wasn't hiding myself, the three of them quickly noticed me, and without even speaking, one simply threw his spear at me. I ignored the weapon, which was blocked by one of my Shadow Guards, while the rest of them captured the angels.
~"Don't kill them yet."
-"Yes!"
~"Human! Free us at once!"
~"Concited indeed."
Deciding not to waste words on them, I simply focused on researching and analyzing what the angels were. I quickly found that they couldn't be considered Physical Beings, and categorizing them as Spiritual Beings that manifested as armored humanoids was closest to their true nature.
What attracted my attention the most was the fact that, at the core, those three were the same, not distinct beings born from different Souls. Each of them was born from a shard of the same Soul. Their individuality was later created by their different experiences, creating spirits they possessed.
The essence of their being was Light and Sound, making them beings of Harmony and Order that were an obvious antithesis to demons. They fell just short of being Spirits. If their origin was not in the Light of some being but a pure law, they could be counted as Spirits.
Finding what those three could provide to me, I ended their suffering while keeping the memories they had. Using them as a reference, I easily found the entrance to High Heavens.
~"All Shadow Guards are to return to Emerald Dream and await further orders."
-"Yes!"
Moments later, all presences in the surrounding shadows disappeared as every Shadow Guard returned by using an artifact created by me and Malygos to allow travel between my location and Moon Palace, which all my Guards and Shadow Guards started to use.
Taking one last look at the destroyed village, I teleported to the entrance of High Heavens.
Appearing in my Aeon form before the giant crystalline gate. I could feel countless angels quickly flying from surrounding structures encircling me. None of them attacked me, as they could intely feel the difference in our powers.
~"Stop! You shall not profane the purity of Hevens!"
A golden Angel more powerful than the rest flew from the top of the gate. Standing between me and it, he pointed his spear at me.
~"Invader, speak your purpose."
~"Conquest."
~"In my eyes, you look almost like us. Why do you wish to disrupt the Lightsong?"
~"Angel, for a long year, you opposed and attacked my people. Now, I shall remove the danger you pose to my subjects."
Manifesting the Oath of Silence in my hand, I struck the ground with it. Soft chime silenced the choir of angels behind the gate, bringing absolute stillness after echoing through the surroundings.
The golden Angel quickly distanced himself from me, but other Angels weren't quick enough, and those close to me crumbled to the ground, their Sound erased from existence, resulting in their demise.
Recovering, the golden Angel attacked me but was unable to approach me due to my unleashed aura. Other Angels also tried to strike me, using all at their disposal, but nothing could reach me.
Never liking to be passively attacked, I struck the ground with my Khakkhara staff while using my power of [Yggdrasil] to manifest my dominion.
~"Svartalheim."
The sound of shattering glass started to resound around, and soon, pristine white stones of the High Heavens started being encroached upon by the Darkness of the Realm I summoned from my world.
I started to move forward as the Realm started to expand with my steps. No matter how powerful the Light used by the Angels, they couldn't illuminate the inky black Darkness that was consuming their radiant Heaven.
Even the golden Angel using his spear couldn't prevent Svartalheim from approaching the gate and draining it of brilliance before it crumbled into dust.
If the power of Light is to empower and purify, then Darkness dims and deprives. Eternal opposites that would normally exist in the state of balance showed what disturbing this equilibrium leads to.
No matter what it was, everything in my way was consumed by the Darkness, and with every passing second, the High Heavens lost more and more ground. Any Angel that was touched by the blackness would also quickly lose his Light, dying and being consumed by the Realm.
Ignoring the desperate defense of the Angels, I continued walking toward the center of the High Heavens, arriving before the source of their existence not long after. From memories of the Angels, I learned that this was Crystal Arch, one of two major remains of a being whose body created this world.
~"Stop, intruder. I beg of thy."
I stopped and turned to the source of the voice. A singular female Angel floated between me and the Crystal Arch. She was the last of her kind, every other Angel falling into Svartalheim.
~"Angel, to you, this is slaughter. But I see only the consequences of the decisions you took."
~"Tell me, why do you arrive here? Why did this happen?"
~"What is your name, Angel?"
~"Auriel."
~"Auriel, there are countless ways to answer your questions, but in the end, my word was what doomed this outcome. In the same way, your decision made it final."
~"Is there any other way?"
~"The High Heaven will fall, but I shall grant you last mercy. I will take this Crystal Arch and attune it to my power. In the future, all your brethren shall serve me."
~"How is this a mercy?"
~"Is it not? Rather than exterminate you, I offer you a way forward. Tell me, did you ever extend even such pity to ones you killed?"
~"..."
~"I promise not to bind your future kind into slavery. I shall elevate you into Spirits of my Nine Realms. But the High Heavens have to fall. The Order you follow can't coexist with our Principles in this world."
~"I see. Thank you for your last mercy."
~"I hope that in our next meeting, you will fight side by side with me."
~"That would be an honor."
Deciding to honor the last Angel, rather than let the Darkness consume her, I manifested a sword and attacked her personally. My strength was much greater, so this was barely a fight, but this allowed proud Angels to upkeep their honor.
By the time Auriel was no more, Svartalheim had consumed the rest of the High Heavens, leaving only my immediate surroundings devoid of Darkness.
Focusing on the Crystal Arch, I used my Path of Ordination to change the Nature of the Lightsong, attuning it to my [Yggdrasil]. Nine distinct colors appeared in the Arch, spreading over it and covering the silver Light it originally possessed.
Making the Svartalheim recede to my world, I allowed the Roots of the [Yggdrasil] to take over the whole realm. The white and immaculate Heaven soon turned into a realm where countless islands were suspended between the Roots of the Tree. Each of those lands becomes connected to one of the Nine Realms, making this place the center of all of them.
Crystal Arch, as the core of this realm, was at the epicenter of everything. The Lightsong turned into Worldsong, changing the nature of being that will emerge from it in the future.
To end my usurpation of this realm from its world, I focused on my Path and decreed its new name.
~"Vallhala."
When my words echoed, the Crystal Arch hummed in harmony, creating the ten first Spirits. Each of them looked similar to Angels before, but their wings now had the color of the Element they represented. Nine of them embodied one of the Nine Realms, but the last was different as it was born from Nine Realms at the same time, having wings that were pure white.
Looking at that Spirit, I could see that it was born from the same shard of Soul as Auriel, so knowing that Crystal Arch must have acted according to my subconscious wish.
~"You all shall be known as Valkyries. You nine shall lead your sisters from the Realm you are born of."~I spoke to the first nine.~"You shall be known as Auriel, in honor of your past, and lead rest as overseer."~I finished while turned to the last Spirit.
~"Yes!"
The first nine Valkyries flew to their corresponding Realms while Auriel stayed next to me.
~"Remain here and guide those who are born after. I will call upon you if the need arises."
~"Yes."
After that, I teleported out from the Vallhala.
Appearing next to Nobu, who was overlooking the battlefield in the Realm of Sin. She glanced at me but quickly returned to watching the battle.
-"Done?"
~"Yes, I assimilated High Heavens into my world. Angels are now extinct."
-"Good, their holier-than-thou character rubbed me the wrong way."
~"You are Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, after all."
-"Hell, I'm. What are you going to do now?"
~"Want me to clear some demons?"
-"Nah, looking at the current pace of the soldiers, there is no need for you to step in."
~"Then how about some morale boost?"
-"What do you have in mind?"
~"You see, I got some angelic items, and there is a spear that was used by the strongest of all Angels. Using this as proof of Heaven's fall would make quite the impact on both demons and our soldiers."
-"Sure, I can't wait to see demons pissing themself from fear."
Flying into the air, I took out the spear that the golden Angel wielded. Using some of my power, I threw it into the demonic forces, shredding numerous of them in the place of impact. My sudden attack stopped the battle that was taking place, making both demons and soldiers look up at where I was floating.
~"Soldiers of Hold. Show those demons that no Evil can stand to the Five Principles. They shall fall as Heaven did. For the Victory!"
-"Glory to His Majesty!"
-"For His glory!"
Returning to Nobu's side, I watched how she gave her orders to exploit openings in demons' ranks and put them to rout. This was the second of seven realms that were left to be cleared, and after a short rest, our forces would move to the third one.
After retrieving the spear, I returned to Hold, where I focused on the research. There were still three days before I had planned a meeting with Artoria, so I wanted to make some headway in our projects.
Luckily, nothing happened in those three days, allowing me to bury myself in data and magic formulas until I had to prepare for the meeting with Artoria. Calling for Jingliu and Cellina to accompany me as guards, I was about to leave for the Nobu's world when my four sister-Herrschers stopped me and wanted to tag along.
~"Sigh."
-"Please. We won't trouble you there."
~"Kiana, you are aware that Hold and Avalon are allies at best? They are not a subordinate force to us, so I have to treat them with consideration. Even if I don't mind, I don't know if Artoria will permit you to accompany me during the meeting."
-"Bronya thinks Artoria will agree."
~"Sigh, let's go."
Taking the six girls and however many Shadow Guards were in my shadow, I teleported to the place in Nobu's world where I was supposed to meet Artoria.
As we were a little before the agreed time, we had to wait for Artoria to arrive. Precisely on time, a portal appeared, and Artoria with Mordred emerged from it.
-"Sorry for making you wait, Yue. Hmm?"-Artoria stopped speaking when she noticed the four Herrschers and narrowed her eyes while speaking to them-"To think you will come here so quickly."
-"We meet again, Artoria. I hope you don't mind us coming with Yue."
-"It depends on your purpose."
-"Don't worry, we have the same purpose, and until it's achieved, we hope for a truce."
-"Good."-Artoria returned her attention to me.-"I'm glad to see you again, Yue."
~"It's indeed good to see you."
-"You've changed..."
I nodded, acknowledging her words.
-"I hope you don't mind sharing a story of how that happened, but for now, let me take you to Avalon."
~"Of course, please, lead the way."
Stepping next to Artoria, I walked with her through the portal, entering into her kingdom. The great castle surrounded by walls and high towers was the centerpiece of this realm. The clean and orderly medieval city behind us complemented the image of the kingdom during its golden age.
The architecture here was much different from the one in Hold, where the Futuristic-Eastern style of Xianzhou was joined with the Ancient influences brought by Hestia, and the Gothic style of the original buildings of Hold created a mix that focused on grandeur and solemnity.
The simple yet practical style of the surroundings was pleasing, and if not for the lack of some interesting flora, I would certainly wish to have my own residence here.
Following Artoria's lead, we entered the garden behind the castle where Merlin and other mage were standing. After a short greeting, we all sat down in the gazebo and, after being served some English Tea, we started to talk.