After the battle concluded, the barrier was released from around me.
I walked over to Dante, who was watching the corpse of the woman he had just fought, as it slowly evaporated into nothingness.
"You fought well, Dante. I am truly proud of you." I told him.
The man turned and bowed, his face showing no signs of sadness for the woman, but rather happiness for being able to make me proud.
"It was an honor, Father Vale. Rather, I thank you for trusting me and giving me the opportunity to fight this battle for you."
I still felt slight guilt for placing the burden on Dante, but I knew that I should focus more on the outcome, rather than the means we took to get there.
Oliva sat on the other side of the arena, his back against the wall as he waited to be transported to his world.
His face was indifferent to the loss of his comrade.
He doesn't even mourn.
"Vale," he said when I got closer. "Congratulations, your man fights well."
I ignored the praise, this time asking him a question of my own.
"Why do you not seem to care about losing the life of your companion?"
Oliva let out a chuckle before responding.
"Firstly, she is not my companion. I merely brought her because she was expendable. After hearing that there was a way for me to escape this battle alive with certainty, I knew that I had to take that chance."
The way that he spoke of his people angered me for a moment, but I calmed myself.
"What if you needed someone to rely on for this battle? That is why I brought my most competent man with me."
Oliva hardly hesitated before responding.
"We are gods now, Vale, no longer plagued by the weaknesses of humans. If we wish to have something done, our best bet is to go out there ourselves and do it. I am far past relying on the competency of humans."
I didn't respond, turning away from him and heading back to our side before being transported back to our world by Osidon.
I will remember your name, Oliva, God of Purity.
The titles truly hold no meaning.
---
Once I arrived back in our world, I instantly noticed a shift in the moods of my people.
Not only that, but other things were strange.
All 26 members, excluding Dante, sat by the crimson fields, waiting for our return, though when we arrived, their faces did not light up with their usual happiness.
Instead, they looked worried about having to bring me bad news.
I quickly enhanced my senses and counted again.
Ignoring the new houses and people I had received as a reward, I counted only those that stood in the field.
No. There are only 25. We are missing somebody.
I checked the faces.
...
Zerlos!
With a dash, I sprinted to his house and entered without knocking on the door.
The sight I was met with was gruesome.
Zerlos was on his knees, hands gripped around a sword that was stabbed into his belly and protruding out from his back.
Blood had oozed from the wound, staining the wooden tiles beneath him.
My heart sank into my stomach.
This can't be.
I enhanced my senses to see if his heart still beat.
Nothing.
He has truly killed himself?
Laomi entered the room behind me; I didn't need to turn to know it was her.
"I am sorry, Great Vale. I wish I was here to stop him. This is an incredible loss for us all. He was a great man."
Zerlos has committed suicide. Is this all because I chose Dante over him? Surely not. Surely my decisions don't have such an effect on people. He was my greatest man.
I wanted to mourn, but I knew I couldn't show weakness in front of my people.
Instead, I ordered his body to be buried and left the house.
---
I headed to the waterfall to meditate. It was against what I usually would do, but I didn't care at that moment.
I wanted to be alone and away from the noise of my people.
I sat atop the mountain and only listened to the waterfall crashing into the depths below, and stayed like that for ages.
---
After hours had passed, I noticed footsteps coming from afar, and after sensing further, I recognized them to be Sera's.
She stopped behind me, afraid to disturb me.
"Yes, Seraphina? Do you need something?" I asked, and she jumped at being noticed.
"N-no, Great Vale. I've just come to tell you that the newcomers are settling in well. There are so many of them, all talented in many ways. With them, our population is above 40," she explained.
I wanted to feel happy, but could only focus on the life that we had lost, not the many that we had gained.
"That is good," I responded calmly, attempting not to betray my emotions.
I sat there in silence for a few moments, and Sera stood, my back facing towards her.
Suddenly, she decided to take a risk and sat next to me, close.
I kept my eyes closed, only listening to the surrounding sounds. Her heart was beating rapidly.
"Vale," she finally spoke, speaking to me plainly now. "You have been a great leader to your people. Please, be proud of yourself, and remember that we all love you dearly. There was nothing you could do to stop Zerlos from doing what he did. Some things are decided by fate."
I am a god; I should be able to alter fate itself,
I thought, but did not say aloud.
Truthfully, I appreciated the words of comfort, and wrapped my arm around Seraphina, pulling her into a side hug.
"Thank you, Sera."
My mind drifted to battle 002.
I thought that even if me and Lucifen had different motives for our contempt towards Osidon and his games, we both aimed towards the same end.
These games can not continue. I will make sure that they end with me.
And on that night as I sat by the waterfall, I came to a decision.