An hour into the fight, the number of monks fell to less than fifty, and those who remained looked rather worn out. Their Kasayas were torn into shreds, while they were inflicted with countless wounds, be it slashes and punctures from Valkyries' spears or burns and other types of traumas from the elements. But they still continued to resist.
-"While I despise them, I must admit that few can compare with their dedication."
~"I agree. The devotion of a monk is something that even I admire. Sadly, we are irreconcilable."
-"This is something that I was thinking about. Why do you take such drastic measures against them? Wouldn't it be better to force some kind of peace while taking as much as you can from them?"
~"There are things that make it hard for me to tolerate them, mainly their pursuit of severing samsara. If they were simply fighting against immortality, I would be their best friend, but they wish to oppose the Principles that involve one's Soul."
-"You mean reincarnation?"
~"Yes. Reincarnation is one of the major Principles on which [Myriad of Worlds] operates, and while I don't understand it as well as [Law of Equivalent Exchange], its connection to Souls, Permanence, Abundance, and even my own Ordination is undeniable. Their wish to deny it, deny part of me."
-"Clash of divinities."
~"It's something similar, but as I lack divinity, so it has some differences. But that's not important now. Auriel."
~"Your Majesty."
~"Stop the fight temporarily. I still want to talk with them."
~"Yes."
A minute later, all Valkyries surrounded the remaining monks, making sure they couldn't do anything.
~"Now that we are clear about who is in what situation, we can start our talks."
-"Donor, please speak your mind."-One of the leading monks, whose Dharma was Manjushri, stepped forward as their representative.
~"I wanted to ask, who came up with the idea of backing up Izanagi?"
-"I'm not aware of anyone with that name. We never had any connection to any Izanagi."
~"Hou? Are you sure?"
-"Yes."-The monk lied to me while looking into my eyes.
~"Good. Next question, who do you invade the Shinto pantheon?"
-"Donor, please don't accuse us of such transgressions. We are here to protect the innocent mortals. Donor should be aware of the chaos happening in Takamagahara, so in accordance with the pact between primordial gods, we came to make sure Shinto gods don't involve mortals in their conflicts."
~"Then, last question, what should I do with you now?"
-"I would ask Donor to let us keep our lives."
~"You are quite audacious. While you hadn't lied to me in those three answers, you hadn't answered them truthfully. You truly don't help nor know Izanami. After all, he must take a Buddhist name to join you, so he should be known by his Dharma's name, Yamantaka. The second question is a blatant bending of rules and intentions to fit the narrative. So you, despite those two answers, still have the nerve to ask me to spare you?"
-"Donor, it is easier to save a life than to..."
~"Yes, yes, I know that, but I haven't taken any lives."
-"This..."
~"But I shall listen to your preaching this time. You don't know Izanagi, so I'll deal with him without your input. I will also allow you to save those mortals and let you keep your lives."
-"Thank you, Donor."
~"Aureiel."
~"Your Majesty."
~"Suppress all of them and create a great formation that will cover the whole Far East using them as nodes. That way, they can protect those mortals for the rest of their existence."
~"By your will."
After hearing my orders, the monks wanted to speak, but before they could vocalize anything, Valkyries resumed their attack. Leaving the rest to them, I walked to where Izanagi was watching the whole situation, still suppressed and lacking any power.
~"Any last words?"
Izanagi looked at me and Izanami before sighing and speaking calmly.
-"I hope you know what you are doing."
~"No, you don't. You wish we were mistaken, as this is the only way history can prove you right, am I correct?"
-"..."
~"Izanami, do you want to do this, or...?"
-"I'll do it. I'm all ready to be exiled to staining my hands won't leave any repercussions."
~"I wouldn't worry about that."
As I spoke, the sky suddenly turned red, and a rain of blood began falling all around. Looking into the familiar phenomenon, I smiled slightly.
~"As I thought."
-"A god died?"
~"Yes. Jingliu officially entered the ranks of true powerhouses."
-"Jingliu? You mean that ice-sword girl killed Fūjin?!"-Izanami, for the first time, was truly shocked.
I simply smiled and looked at the kneeling god, who was also dumbfounded. Without waiting for them to recover, I created Lamb's arrow in my hand and stabbed Izanagi with it.
Before he could react, the white arrow made from pure End was lodged into his throat. Comprehending what had happened, he looked at me with eyes full of resentment before turning into ash and disappearing.
The death of the primordial god also created effects that could be felt around the whole world. The already red sky became even more crimson, looking like a sea of blood hanging over the world. At the same time, a loud roar echoed everywhere, silencing other monsters that had been howling since the fall of Fūjin.
-"One-Eyed Black Dragon!"
~"Indeed. To think I will be praised be the scourge of the world."
-"You can understand that roar?"
~"While I lost many of my draconic characteristics, I still retain those abilities, Dragon Language included."
-"Can you roar?"
~"Let's focus on something more important for now."
-"Sure."-Izanami gave me a side-eye while smiling.
The two of us continued to watch the battle, making some light banter.
Because both situations in the Far East and Orario didn't need my direct involvement for now, so I focused on my avatar in the Elven forest, or rather just outside the Elven forest on Rakia's border. As their first force was being exterminated in the woods, the gods and other leaders were sitting on the wall, already having a victory party.
As there were no gods in the Elven kingdom, it was beneath Ares and his cronies to act, and in their eyes, their victory was certain for the same reason. They were so full of themself that they forgo even the usual guards in their border fortress. Everyone was drinking and partying.
When I was thinking about what to do with this situation, I noticed something that attracted my attention. High in the sky, there was a lone owl flying in the circles. This was odd, as no normal owl would fly like that in the middle of the day, and it wasn't a spiritual one that Elves used.
Deciding to follow it, I waited until it started to fly toward a small stone formation a few kilometers from here. When the owl flew there, it entered a cave before landing on a wooden stand. The moment I jumped into the cave, two spears appeared in my way.
-"Huh? A fox?"-A man in hoplite armor spoke surprised.
-"It must have been attracted by Capitan's companion."-A woman in similar armor spoke after thinking about the situation.
-"What to do with it?"
-"Leave it be. We can't eat it as fire would expose it, so killing it is wasteful."
-"Sure, Sis."
-"Sigh, we are on duty right now. I'm your commander."
-"Right, right."
Ignoring the two, I moved deeper into the cave, and after passing through a few wards that concealed this place, I entered a surprisingly big camp underground. Over a hundred tents were set up here, with people in hoplite armors walking around.
To not alarm anything by using my perception inside an area protected by so many wards, I decided to explore in a traditional way, wandering around the camp. Few people noticed me entering, but most of them ignored me, and only one young woman approached me.
-"Cute! Did you enter here by mistake? Come with me. I'll take care of you."
The girl, who looked to be barely older than Ais, picked me up and took me into her arms. As her presence would make my exploration more convenient, I decided to stay with her for now.
-"Wow, you are so well-behaved. My name is Pallas. Nice to meet you."-The girl smiled as she continued to talk to me under the impression that I was a normal fox.-"I was so envious of Lysimache and her owl, but now I think that you are cuter than her stupid bird. How about it, will you be my companion?"
Seeing that the situation was developing in a not-so-favorable direction, I was thinking about how to resolve it, but suddenly, someone called from a nearby tent.
-"Pallas, who are you talking to? Come quickly."
-"I'm going!"
Pallas took me with her and entered the tent. Inside, there were around ten people surrounding a big model depicting Rakia's border wall and fortresses. It was exactly the same hundred or so kilometer stretch of wall facing the Elven forest.
-"Why did you call me, Sister Lysimache?"
-"The Rakia main force entered the Elven forest a few hours ago and should be occupied by Elven forces by now, so we are preparing to make our move. As one of the commanders, you have to know our strategy."
-"I'll listen to you."
-"You girl... Don't just listen to me, but think! We are here to work together, not simply listen to orders like those peons of Rakia."
-"Mou... You know I'm not that good at strategies."
-"Sigh."
-"Don't be like that, Lysimache. As a Capitan, while discipline is important, you need to lead by example, not fear."-A woman, who was the only goddess present around, spoke in the tone of a teacher.-"And you, Pallas, don't make your inadequacies into reasons for not working. If you only enhance your strong points, you will never be worthy of the title of hero."
Pallas lowered her head after being admonished by her goddess
-"Hmm?"-The goddess noticed me in her child's arms and looked at me surprised before smiling and winking at me.
-"Lady Athena?"
-"It's nothing. Let's start with the planning. Tell me about your thoughts."
The people around started speaking one by one, and soon, a full-blown discussion started. While listening to it, I also formulated a plan that I would use in their place, but I was impressed by the ingenuity of some of their ideas.
Being used to the strength and techniques of Hold and Spirit Empire, my plans were more direct, leveraging our superior technology and abilities while utilizing methods such as teleportation, invisibility, etc. Taking a step back and planning to confront a superior force with small numbers in a conventional fight was something I never attempted.
Their talks lasted for an hour, and in the end, the strategy they came up with was impressive enough that I passed it to Marshal Hua for her to appreciate. She also agreed that having such competent officers would be a blessing for any general, going so far as to try and convince me to poach them for Hold.
-"It's a good plan. Almost no blind spots and plenty of precautions in case something goes wrong."
-"Thank you for your praise, Lady Atena."
-"But I wonder what our guest has to say about this. I believe that input of the man who continued to make waves in the world would be a great boon to my children."
Athena's words surprised those present, and they quickly became alerted, guarding against any intruder.
~"This plan is something even my comrades are impressed by, but personally, I hate leaving anything to chance when it comes to fighting, so it's not something I would propose personally."
As I spoke, everyone present looked at me surprised, but the look on Pallas' face was especially wonderful. Ignoring the stares, I jumped from her arms onto the table in the middle.
~"Think of it as an occupational disease, but I ran some readings on this strategy. While it can be successful, the sacrifice required was over what I think any of you would wish to see."
-"Is that so? Then is there any way to improve it?"-Athena smiled after hearing my answer.
~"There are countless ways. The question is, will you choose them?"
-"Wha..! How come this cute fox can speak? But that's even better! Can you be my companion, little fox?"
~"Ehem, allow me to refuse."
-"Pallas, please be courteous."
-"Lady Athena, do you know this..?"-Lysimache asked, unsure how to refer to me.
-"Not personally, but I believe everyone here knows him."
~"I'm Yue."
-"Yue... Fox... Ah! You must be that Yue! One equal to a god!"-Pallas was the first to connect the dots.-"To think I would meet you... Eh? I held His Excellency Yue in my arms! Ehehe..."
Seeing how fast the girl changed between emotions until she finally began giggling with a somewhat obscene look, I couldn't help but glance at Athena.
-"Don't mind her. You are her idol and motivation, so she is a little overwhelmed."
~"Leaving that aside, may I ask why do you want to attack Ares? I know about your rivalry, but I think that taking such great risk in something stupid."
-"It's indeed something that I wished to postpone until I could gather more people, but this occasion is something that won't come twice. Also, I received information that I would receive a helping hand to emerge victorious, and it seems that the words of Oracle are not mistaken."
~"Oracle, huh? This can change things. May I know what were their words?"
-"Then had even left a message to you. 'We walk the same Path but are yet to come across each other.' This was what I was to pass onto you in exchange for their divination."
This simple sentence overturned my view of Oracle as an organization and its ideas, but I still lacked more details to act on my new opinion, so I left it in the back of my mind. For now, I focused on Athena.
~"While I would like to help you, as leader of Hold and Spirit Empire, I'm already under great scrutiny, and acting with you would be harmful to both of us in the long run."
-"Truly? This is disappointing."-Artemis didn't look bothered despite her words.
~"But I will help my wife."~After telling that, I created a portal through which a blue-haired goddess and her familia walked.
-"Artemis?"
-"Long time no see, Sister."
-"Yes, I'm glad that you are okay. I heard that great doom loomed over you."
-"Thanks to Yue, nothing bad happened to me and the children."
~"Athena, Artemis wishes to help you, but I can't allow any harm to come to either her or her familia, so I will leave two of my Guards to keep them safe."
-"I understand. I'll make sure they are safe and sound."
~"Jeanne, Shenhe."
Two of them appeared next to me.
-"Leave it to us, My Master."-Jeanne spoke while showing her reverential look.
Shenhe nodded, indicating her agreement with Jeanne's words.
-"Thank you."-Athena bowed to me slightly.
~"It's not me who you should be thankful, but Artemis. To avoid causing any trouble, I will leave for now. If anything happens, call me."
-"Don't worry about us."-Artemis smiled, feeling happy about my care for her.
After sending her one last glance, I disappeared from there.