“Locked?”
“What does that mean?”
This level 400-man, Mark explained.
“Well, at interspace 10, someone can lock off a world that they own.”
“But Rose doesn’t have level 10.”
“Then I don’t know, but I can assure you that she’s the only one that could have done it.”
Celios had an idea.
“Maybe, no that would mean that she met someone she couldn’t beat.”
“What?”
“I think she used system override.”
“What kind of skill is that?”
“As the name suggests, it overrides the system, allowing her to do things she shouldn’t be able to.”
“So, you think she used that to lock the worlds?”
“Yes.”
Thalia slammed the table.
“That would use all of her mana though.”
“If she met a commander, then she would consider it a necessary move.”
Thalia slumped.
“So, is she dead?”
Mark shook his head.
“No, I think they still intend to utilize her powers. Given what happened to Dareu, they probably sent a commander to each minor world in order to defend it.”
“That makes sense. Will they do anything crude to her?”
“I frankly don’t know, most people in the faction don’t have high morals. They may be especially mad given her direct involvement in the destruction of Dominion. So, either they’ll be especially crude or torturous. Maybe both.”
“That is worrying. How can we save her?”
“Impossible at this point. She’s already an anomaly in being able to even stand against a commander, given her value, they would likely have at least two commanders guarding her.”
“Where would they keep her?”
“Headquarters.”
Elren sighed.
“Why are we already assuming she’ll lose?”
Mark looked at him in response.
“Because she locked the worlds, I may not know much about her, but I know enough to understand that she did it because she expects to lose.”
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“And if they kill her?”
“Then I will still fight with you. I was looking for a reason to leave the God Slayers for a while now, and she helped me and saved this world. If she dies, I will fight alongside you.”
“Thank you.”
“I swear by my name I will respect the mercy that was gifted to me by Rose Hood even after her death.”
A glow of handcuffs appeared on his wrists then faded leaving us in shock.
Celios spoke first.
“You’re a deity?”
“A deity?!”
Mark nodded.
“I am, or was, one of the 5 deities that joined the god slayers.”
“Did you know Raidren?”
“Yes, in fact he was my brother. Not to say I am saddened by his death. He was worse than most.”
“I see.”
“Though I am still surprised you were able to find his weak point at your levels.”
“Thalia found it.”
“Precisely. It’s surprising enough if a low-level deity is able to see it, but for a dragon to. That’s the most shocking bit.”
“What are you saying?”
“There’s something that gives you people power that shouldn’t be afforded to people of your level. Count that with Gabriel, not once, but twice, fighting to defend your faction. I think there is something unique.”
“Could it be that Kala is a reincarnation?”
“She is?!”
“Is that rare?”
“Indeed, while a lot of people speak of reincarnations, there are none that have been actually recorded.”
“Really?”
“Yes, if there is any rules that are stable other than the system, it’s that everything has one life.”
“Alright?”
“Meaning that no one is able to fully reincarnate. Revival is one thing as it simply pulls for the one life to continue but smite stops that possibility.”
“Can’t Gethel revive the smited?”
“That’s the rumor. But given what I know I assume that it comes with a cost.”
“Why?”
“Despite being a deity, Celios. Do you not understand what smite does?”
“I understand it’s an instant kill and can’t be revived.”
“Well, in full it essentially completely separates the soul from body.”
“Does death not normally do that?”
“Not before a certain amount of time. In effect, Elren’s resurrection can’t revive someone who’s been dead for over a month. But some with greater will could be revived for up to a decade.”
“Incredible, so smite just reduces that time to zero?”
“Yes.”
“Is it possible to survive smite?”
“Short of having a convenient level up, no.”
“Then why don’t deities spam it.”
“That’s a good question. It’s because it is ultimately unusable until the opponent has lost over 90% of their HP.”
“So that’s why Rose and Celios both struggled against higher powers.”
“Wait, when Ausar possessed me, she was able to use smite despite me having a lot of HP.”
“Ah, now against deities it is different. Since we can only be killed by being cut in a particular pattern, AFTER the opponent reached a certain threshold, smite doesn’t have as much effect. So, it has a degree of damage, and the requirements are waived against deities.”
“But why was she able to use it on me?”
“Celios, are you able to use smite against Rose?”
“Of course?”
“Well, Amy, see it like this. Even if you kept your independence during the possession, your body, in effect, was Ausar, so smite saw you as such.”
“So, the skill that allows us to connect…”
“Could also be utilized to focus a strike to defeat a strong nature user. And the first evolved human.”
“You could tell that?”
“Of course, you could probably also tell that.”
We looked at him confused, except for Amy who nodded.
“You’re an evolved deity.”
“Bingo.”
“An evolved deity?!”
“Yes, while not as extreme an evolution. When deities become 400 or higher, they evolve. Our magic becomes much stronger, and our speed increases greatly.”
“Then how did we beat Raidren? He would have been evolved too.”
“Because he was too confident in his prophecies.”
“I see.”
“By the way, Rose told me of the forgiveness rule. Did you pass it?”
“Yes, the people made me the minor ruler of Dareu for some reason after that.”
“That’s funny actually.”
“What?”
“Almost the exact same thing happened to Rose.”
“Do you think she will be okay?”
“Of course, do you think anyone could keep her down?”
Celios smiled.
“Of course, no one can’t. She never stops fighting.”
“Heather always was like that.”
Amy and Amanda nodded.
Despite the hope, I couldn’t help but be worried.
I felt like Royce did. When he was worried shortly before Rose showed up, half dead, telling us we were fighting Celios.
Something horrible was about to happen. And I could only try to guess what.