After making a heartfelt request to Lila, Gemini returned from the kitchen, only to see Quinn drink some water, before swirling it in his mouth to clear his palate. The demon Demigods, who were streaming in and everything, did something similar, before settling down on one of the many sofas quietly.

For a moment, the Demon Sovereign wondered if he was holding a gourmet buffet or a strategy meeting. These punks were actually quite fearless; they desired his wife’s cooking. It didn’t stop there too — they even had the gall to be picky. Anything that had marks of his handiwork would be singled out and avoided systematically…but he wasn’t actually a bad cook.

Lila was just too good.

At some point in the past three weeks, Gemini had given up on trying to help cook. He knew that he was being a hindrance to Lila, but more importantly, the expressions on everyone’s face whenever he took the stove was heart-breaking.

“Lord,” the Demigods greeted in a single chorus.

“It’s excellent to see everyone here,” Gemini replied. “Los-Ajax, Pur-Sandai, Bal-Nan, Za-Tia, Gu-Barai.”

The five Demigods he named jerked upright.

“Be at ease,” Gemini replied. “I just want to check on your current state. How are your injuries?”

“We’re fine, sir. Thank you for your concern. We will be able to take the field in a few days,” Pur-Sandai replied, his small build motionless.

“You speak for everyone?” Gemini asked, curious. “What happened?”

“Replying to Lord, we had a…competition,” Pur-Sandai replied. “The five of us were of the opinion that since we were injured and of no use against that…god, it would be far better for us to compete based on our cognitive capabilities. Given that Lord is responding to this invasion with an impressive guile, we felt that this was the most appropriate course of action.”

“I see.” Gemini nodded thoughtfully, and little Aria gurgled along with him.

“Mistress Aria,” Pur-Sandai ventured, “do you have any orders for us?”

The demons turned as one to look at the baby in Gemini’s arms.

“Goo…goo?” Aria sucked her thumb and looked at the Demigods, before making a squeal.

“Mm, I see.” Pur-Sandai walked over to Aria, before holding out a small finger for her. Well, Gemini called it small, but to Aria, it was probably quite the huge item. The little baby clutched the finger with her two small hands, before making a curious gurgle.

“Do you really understand what she just said?” Gemini asked.

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“Replying to Lord, partially. I can feel emotions and understand their intent. It is something unique I attained as a Demigod,” Pur-Sandai replied.

“Sandai, I said it before. Drop formalities when you’re talking about Aria,” Gemini replied. “That goes for everyone here too. I might be your…superior or something, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends outside of work.”

“Your grace honours us,” the demons replied collectively.

“That reply again.” Gemini rolled his eyes and scoured the area. There were twelve Demigods with them right now, each of them the leader of a larger group of Demigods and Paragons. The Wildlands had a terrifying number of semi-divinities; even though most of them perished when the Demon God fell in battle, the remaining survivors were more than enough to wipe out any given country with ease.

In fact, Gemini had the feeling that the combined total of the great gods’ familiar spirits would only match up to the number of demon Demigods and nothing else. The demons were supremely talented in cultivation, after all. If the Demon God hadn’t been driven insane, he could have steamrolled the Heaven-cleaving Fortress and most of the other Five Lands in a single day with his familiar spirits alone.

As it was, however, he chose to engage in battle with the great gods of the Five Lands, discarding his overwhelming advantage in numbers. Up until today, Gemini still had no idea what was running through his mind, despite being freed and turned into his true successor.

Lila came out at this moment, breaking his chain of thoughts. “Oh dear. There’s not going to be enough food for everyone.”

The Demigods wilted together at those words, prompting Gemini to wonder once more about their purpose here. However, the dejected looks on their faces carried a very contagious emotion, and before long, the Demon Sovereign reluctantly ordered the best cooks amongst the Demigods to help Lila out in the kitchen.

The strategy meeting wasn’t all that important, considering the fact that the Five Lands’ invasion force had been bogged down from logistical and disciplinary issues. In fact, the Demigods rarely had to make a move now; his Sages alone could take care of any intrepid supply line that wasn’t the odd Demigod. So long as the top experts of the Five Lands refused to put themselves in danger, Gemini could not see, in any manner or shape, the possibility of their invasion succeeding.

To make things worse, the Five Lands’ attempts to escalate the battle had just worsened their own situation. More troops were sent in, which meant that his strike teams didn’t even need to take out all the supply trains. Taking out one from every nation was enough to make them engage in what essentially was a civil war, as guerrilla troops of every nation attempted to make up for their shortfall by hijacking the convoys of other nations.

Like dominoes, really.

Hmm. Would Aria be delighted if I show her some dominoes? The clattering sound they make as they fall might make her squeal happily or something. After making a small mental note, Gemini returned to his contemplations.

No matter how he looked at it, the Five Lands weren’t going to make any substantial gains, not with the black hemisphere around them. The Demon God, in his final moments, had created the strongest defences the Wildlands could ever hope to have.

“I wonder how Hereward is doing right now,” Gemini muttered. He had struck an agreement with the Sentinel of Space, continually putting up a show for the sake of their objectives. Their plan was about to move forward to a new stage, which, by the looks of it, wasn’t going to last for a long time.

Gemini would continue to drain the Five Lands’ resources, launch an enormous counter offensive, and then reach out with a ceasefire and treaty of non-aggression. From there…peace would follow.

Peace for the Wildlands. The demons would be safe. Spared from a horrible fate.

All of it, made possible through his own hands.

Would that be atonement enough?

Gemini shook his head. He already had an answer long ago.