Jeremy was already at the peak when Dallion’s group arrived. The dragon, of course, was with him. Glaring at Simon, the giant creature let out a snort of fire, then growled.
“So, that’s the famed dryad emperor,” Jeremy said, deliberately ignoring everyone else. “Magic or something else?”
“Magic,” Lyulak replied in a tone of voice that made it look like he was addressing a servant. “Like all true conquerors here.”
The comment made Jeremy smirk. It was beyond doubt that magic provided a huge advantage. As far as Dallion knew, all three banished leaders had been born with the magic trait, as had Jeremy. He and Euryale were considered common, although they had obtained the empathy trait before becoming domain rulers. Simon remained an unknown. It was just as possible that he was born with all seven traits as it was for him to have been born with only the basic five .
“I see we have another dragon.” Jeremy turned to Euryale. “He’s a bit young, though.”
“Two more,” Simon corrected. “Dal’s hiding another in his realm.”
“Right. Along with the rest of his pet menagerie. She’s too young to do much, though.”
“She killed your echo.” Dallion couldn’t help himself.
“Great.” Jeremy laughed. If the emotions coming from him were any indication, he wasn’t in the least bit upset. “She destroyed a broken toy. I guess we can hope that the Moons are broken too.”
Miniscule spikes formed all over Euryale’s armor. Some could mistake it as a response to the comment, but in truth, she was mentally preparing for the battle to come. While her combat experience vastly exceeded Dallion’s, her awakened power was the least of all. Also, she was the only one of the seven that didn’t have a magic trait. For that reason, she’d have to make up for it in combat.
“Where’s the seventh?” Lyulak asked.
“She’ll be here,” Simon said through a yawn. “She’s wondering if she can wipe us all out with a mega spell.”
Barely had he said that when Dallion felt a world level combat splitting. The entire world felt like being split apart, creating twenty different versions. In all but one a magic ball of light the size of a meteor shot out from the ocean, flying straight for the group.
Five seconds, Dallion thought. That was the approximate time it would take for the spell to reach them and—one might expect—the length of the combat splitting Tiallia could maintain.
Immediately, Pan, Lyulak, Simon, and Jeremy sprung into action.
Jeremy’s approach was to order Aurun to blast a cone of fire in the direction of the approaching spell. Lyulak has a distortion spell that changed reality and sent the flaming projectile off course. Pan created a sequence of giant spell circles that—as far as Dallion could make out—were meant to diminish the effects of the upcoming spell. Finally, Simon surrounded everyone with an impenetrable sphere of green aether.
Three seconds in, all but one of the instances became reality—the one in which the spell had never occurred.
“That was interesting,” the dryad said. “Seems I’m not the only one that isn’t pleased with this alliance.”
“Call it a final dispensing of doubt,” Simon said. “Who would join a group they could easily kill?”
Within Dallion’s personal realm, Aquilequia let out a roar.
Stay calm, Aqui, Dallion said. He can’t hurt you now.
Half a minute later, Tiallia arrived at the scene. Her clothes, unlike before, were made entirely of sea iron. This was the only time that Dallion had seen her in person. Now that she was present in her physical form, the nymph wasn’t at all talkative or confrontational, quietly waiting for Simon’s plan to go into action. And, as expected, it did.
“Who goes first?” Jeremy asked.
“Optimally, the weakest,” Simon replied without hesitation. “We just need to make sure that we don’t go over three quarters. That should let everyone reach a hundred and forty, give or take.”
“Why not a hundred and fifty?” the dryad asked.
“Safety precautions. Everyone has a trick up their sleeve. If it’s more than one-forty, someone might snatch everything that’s left.”
Trust in their mutual distrust—that’s what united everyone. Not to mention that it was certain that not everyone would survive the clash with the Moons. No one had mentioned it openly, but there was no denying it. The greatest strength in the world in all the history of time had gathered here, yet there was no way to compare it to the Moons who watched above everything.
“I go last,” Dallion said, surprising everyone.
“You fancy yourself the strongest?” The dryad mused.
“You know that it won’t matter, right?” Simon tilted his head slightly. “Once we challenge the Moons we lose all our domains until the outcome of the battle.”
“I’m the one forming the party.” Dallion looked the archbishop straight in the eyes. “I’m the one who’s issuing the challenge. I want to be last.”
“Suit yourself.” Simon shrugged. “Let’s start.”
You have granted full control of the Land of ALLIANCE to EURYALE.
You have granted full control of the Land of SANDSTORM to EURYALE.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
You have granted full control of the Land of LANITOL to EURYALE.
You have granted full control of the Land of NEROSAL to EURYALE.
You have granted full control of the Land of ACADEMY to EURYALE.
A flow of rectangles flashed before Dallion as three quarters of his domains left his possession. The fallen south and the forbidden north were the only ones that he deliberately did not share, along with Dherma.
In a fraction of a second, new power emanated from the gorgon. The simple coordinated action had briefly made her the highest level awakened within the world. That didn’t last long, though.
Second to receive the boost was Simon. The archbishop, while possessing many unique powers, was quite weak when it came to practical combat. From there on, the mages took turns: Lyulak, Tiallia, and Jeremy.
Dallion was rather surprised to find that Pan was considered the most powerful of them all. Given that he was the first, one would assume that all his skills and methods would have been copied, discussed, and improved. Clearly, the knowledge was lost in the depths of time.
Then, finally, it was his turn.
You have broken through your one hundred and fifty-seventh barrier
You are level 157.
Choose 26 traits that you value the most.
Dallion felt vast swaths of land join his domain. Most of the continent, along with a large part of the ocean, suddenly became his to control.
A hundred and fifty-seven? Dallion wondered.
At first, he had thought that either Tiallia or Jeremy had given him a greater chunk by accident. Checking his domain, though, it quickly proved not to be the case. While unable to measure it to the last square mile, Dallion had a pretty good estimate of the size of his domain and it was well within the three-quarter limit that Simon had insisted upon.
The only explanation was that the extra seventeen points had come from special achievements that had earned Dallion awakening levels.
You sneaky bastard. Dallion glanced at the archbishop. You had foreseen this as well.
If one level separated Dallion from the coveted one-sixty, he might have made a gamble and attacked the least defended domain in the world to make up the difference. With this much, he couldn’t dare it, especially with Euryale here. Even with Pan on his side, he wouldn’t stand a chance in a direct confrontation.
“Anything wrong?” Simon asked, making it clear that he knew what was going through Dallion’s mind.
“Distributing trait points,” Dallion replied.
It was tempting to put all of them on body. Dallion had seen what the golden colossus was capable of. With a few spells, he’d be able to boost the trait, anyway.
Magic was another option, but with so many mages in the group, that might become a bit redundant.
Let’s hope I’m not reading too much into this… Dallion put twenty-four of the points on empathy, increasing the trait to a hundred and twenty-five. The Green Moon had said he’d given him a boon, so maybe that would help make use of it. The remaining two points Dallion put on mind, increasing it to a hundred and ten.
“Ready.” Dallion said and mentally invited everyone to join him, forming a party. The six rectangles that flashed in front of his eyes confirmed that each of the people had accepted.
It had finally come to this.
Dallion took the Moon emblem from around his neck. Maybe because of the light, it seemed that each of the Moonstones was glowing, similar to the Moons in the sky. There was no turning back now.
“I just say it?” Dallion glanced towards Simon.
“It would help if you actually think it as well,” the boy said. “The Moons dislike half-hearted approaches.”
“Don’t we need to discuss a plan before that?” Euryale asked.
Tiallia, Jeremy, and Lyulak stared at her as if she had stepped on a cockroach.
“The plan is obvious,” Jeremy said. “We focus on Galatea. Magic is the most harmful. Once he’s done, we move to the nearest.”
It wasn’t much of a plan, but where deities were concerned, there couldn’t be anything better. There was no way to out-strategize, so the only logical approach was to rely on brute strength, dealing with one at a time.
“And if there happens to be only one, we all focus on him,” Tiallia added.
Dallion took a deep breath.
“I seek an audience to challenge you.” Dallion held the emblem high above his head. The moment he blinked, the Moons had vanished from the sky, replaced by their humanoid avatars.
Each of the seven deities was present, including Astreza himself. They had the exact appearance they were depicted in every statue and temple of the Order to the very clothes. Dallion had seen most of them during his awakening journey. Now, he saw them all at once. The magic threads that made up their very beings were unlike anything else he’d seen. In all his conversations, be it in dreams or in awakening trials, they had deliberately hidden their true power.
BLUE MOON - ASTREZA
Species: MOON
Health: 100%
Traits: 160
Skills: 160
Weakness: NONE
Never before had Dallion seen such a white rectangle. There was no illusion magic involved, neither was there any reason to specify the traits and skills that the Moons had. It was clear that they had everything. The only information of importance was the number.
Despite the massive difference, Dallion felt relief. At a hundred and sixty, the Moons would be incredibly difficult opponents, yet remained within reach.
“Very clever, Simon,” Astreza said.
“I try not to disappoint.” The archbishop bowed.
“Heh.” Galatea, the Purple Moon, crossed his arms. As he did, his aetherbird familiar appeared on his shoulder. “I bet you think you’re so smart? You think that because all of you are challenging us, we won’t dare banish you all?”
All of us? Dallion thought. The furies aren’t—
“Jeremy is the ruler of the furies now,” Dararr, the Orange Moon, interrupted. Even now, they could still read thoughts. “He gained the title after winning the great fury war. No, the rulers of all seven races are present. But some of you knew that already.”
“There’s a certain logic to your hypothesis,” Berannah, the Cyan Moon, nodded. “What’s a world if no people are living in it? Without people, there won’t be anyone for us to guide and protect, nor would there be an environment for us to place otherworlders in.”
“You’re right about that,” Astreza said. “A barren world is a barren world. Forming an alliance would force us to make a choice: ignore the challenge and leave one race to take over the world, or banish everyone and do nothing.”
“At least this way we have a chance,” Lyulak said. Two curved wooden scimitars had appeared in his hands.”
“Indeed.” The Blue Moon nodded. “Or you would have if all this hadn’t happened before.”