Kojo stood at the border between Archadia and Adonis, his hands in his pockets as he gazed out at the vast expanse of the Adonisian plains. The sun was high overhead, casting a warm glow over the landscape.
They had four days remaining until the Rulers' Council. Adriana had filled them in on her progress with Duke Mikael. It turned out that that was a good call, as he was the one who was to represent their kingdom in this meeting.
Kojo learned that in the event that a ruler could not make it for the gathering, they could designate a proxy to participate in talks in their place.
The rule with this arrangement was that the proxy was considered to be the voice of the nation they represented, and whatever they said would be considered to be the stance of the entire nation. This consensus was reached so that a King or Queen who sent a proxy wouldn't go back on whatever decision had been made with the excuse that what the representative had said or had agreed to went contrary to the country's policies. But then, it was also important that the ruler of the nation show themselves, as the use of a proxy could only be used a limited number of times and, as said earlier, under certain circumstances such as ill health, civil war, and invasion. Another condition for the use of a proxy was that they should be a member of the royal family and have a noticeable impact on their nation through position or sheer reputation. Since the King had been there in the previous meeting, she decided that with the plans that had been drawn up and the changes that were coming, it was best to send their best negotiator, as well as being a Duke. And that was the Astute Judge himself.
"If possible, there wouldn't be the need to do anything after the council, as Mikael, being the meticulous fellow, would kill two birds with one stone," Kojo thought.
Cassandra walked up to him, her eyes scanning the horizon before coming to rest on Kojo's face.
"What's the purpose of all this?" she asked, her voice curious. She had joined the group when they moved to make the fortifications, saying that she was bored at home, so Kojo agreed for her to come along.
Nefaria, Lin, and Koniko had also been sent out to the part where the Chain River was to be diverted several miles away in the province of Carnelia. They had taken the Chimera Rabbit with them, and as usual, Mekna and Keo stayed at home doing chores, all the while bickering and being at each other's throats. Kojo sighed, remembering one particular incident where they woke him up in the middle of the night all over a scuffle on who got to wake him up first. It was a simple thing that could be solved with a simple game of rock-paper-scissors, and yet they had weapons out and were about to battle to the death.
"Now that you mention it, why is Nefaria still here anyway? Isn't she like a Demon Queen with subjects and a realm to run?"
("Probably just slacking off like you do. You're a bad influence on the girl.")
"How is it my fault if she's being lazy, and don't you think calling her a girl is a bit of an understatement? I mean, she's old. Very old."
("It's rude to talk about a woman's age, you know.")
"Speaking of age, since you were a new program that was launched and being run on the day that the experiment happened, doesn't that make you....."
His mind was suddenly filled with static, and he winced, covering his ears.
Sharone, who had been standing next to Kojo, responded to Cassandra.
"Oh right, weren't you there? We're going to fortify the border now."
Cassandra looked around. Apart from them, there was nothing else. No bricks or wood. Just the preexisting fence some distance away with a handful of Adonisian soldiers looking at them with lazy but curious expressions.
"How?" Cassandra asked.
Sharone smiled mischievously. "You'll soon see."
Kojo glanced at Cassandra, and she caught him staring.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, a hint of amusement in her voice.
Kojo shook his head.
"No, nothing's wrong," he said, looking away.
"But can I call you Cassie instead of Cassandra?"
Cassandra's eyes sparkled with teasing.
"Oh? We've moved from honorifics to first name and now pet names? Are you that enamored by my beauty? If you're to pursue me, you'll have to submit to the teachings of the church. Polygamy is only recognized under certain conditions of Levirate marriage and infertility of over ten years. If you're willing to follow these among teachings, you'll have to leave everyone else behind."
"I'll pass. And besides, aren't you a woman of the cloth?"
"Who, me? Oh no. I've just been devoted to my duties and building up my faith that I haven't thought about those things that would compromise my purity." Cassie clasped her hands together and looked towards the sky.
Cassandra's voice dropped to a whisper. "I did sneak into the prohibited part of the library, though. Against the Vanica's orders, of course."
Kojo wondered what secret texts she snuck to read and was about to ask.
But he saw Cassandra's expression as her eyes drifted towards Rey and Eden, who were standing side by side at that point, with a strange expression and blushing cheeks; a droplet of saliva fell from the corner of her mouth. No need to say more. He knew the exact kind of text she was reading.
And what were they doing in a church library anyway?
Cassie noticed Kojo giving her the side-eye and quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve and smiled at him. Kojo wasn't convinced.
"Hm, purity," he scoffed.
("You're one to talk, cherry boy.")
"Please don't rub it in," Kojo pleaded, weeping inwardly. Sysia just laughed. Kojo cleared his throat.
"Anyway, who is this Vanica person you mentioned?" Kojo asked, trying to change the subject.
Cassandra's gaze snapped back to Kojo's face.
"Vanica Kash is one of the 22 strongest Glory Knights and is ranked as a Glory Paladin, just above the Saints," she said, her voice matter-of-fact.
Kojo's eyes narrowed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Cassandra's smile grew wider. "It means that Vanica is a warrior of the faith, sworn to uphold the teachings of the church. And as her student, I am expected to follow in her footsteps."
"Faith?" Kojo wondered.
("Faith, more commonly known as Holy Magic, is a portion of the power drawn from a deity, in this case, the goddess Shrena. It can be seen as a separate power system similar to but fundamentally different from normal magic.")
"And the warrior stuff she was saying?"
("The Elites are a ranking system that are determined based on the legends of the top ten most famed individuals. But that doesn't mean that they are the strongest. There are other individuals who are strong enough to be included within that ranking or even surpass it.")
"Yeah, ranking based on legends really isn't the best 'cause a person could just lie and be tagged as the strongest in the world," Kojo thought.
("In the Church, they use a different ranking system based on faith, other soldiers, an elite force known as the Glorians. One must first become a squire before passing out as a Glorian and then aspire to be a Glory Knight. The Glory Knights are the 1,220 strongest knights in Ezkanur, and even above them are the 22 strongest Glory Knights. They've been divided into two groups. The first group are the Saints, the top ten strongest who have been tasked with guarding The Gates Of Sephirot. The next group are the Paladins. They handle mundane matters pertaining to the mortal realm. The Paladins each have a squad of a hundred men under them of varying ranks, and each knight aspires to do their best to rise up the ranks to become a Paladin or even a Saint as well.")
"Huh, I didn't know that," Kojo commented. He paused for a minute.
"Wait, did you say the Gates Of Sephirot?"
("I did.")
"What the actual fu-"
"Kojo," Adrian called him, bringing him from his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"The guards have agreed to move away from the border for a distance," she said.
"It was a real pain in the ass trying to convince them to do at least that much," Rey said, rubbing his neck. Adriana elbowed him in the gut.
"Language, brother."
"Master Kojo, then let us begin."
"Alright," Kojo said, unfurling his wings and flying skyward.
Cassie looked confused as Adriana and Rey moved out of the way.
"Come on," Sharone said, gently pulling her away.
"What's happening?" she asked.
"Watch," Sharone responded.
Eden raised his hand and fired a silver beam of silver energy into the sky.
Miles away at the agreed point, Koniko was yawning. Lin tapped her and pointed to the flare. That was the signal to get ready.
Kojo was so high up that he could see the outline of the two countries. He curled his hands into fists, leaving only his index finger and thumb, and crossed them over each other in front of him. Sysia had already calculated the oath the river extension should take, and it appeared as a red line in his mind that was projected against the landscape.
Several magic circles began forming over each other above him.
From the ground, Cassie watched with astonishment as Kojo formed the spell.
"That's....that's holy magic. But wait, something is different about this one. He's used elemental magic and his own arcana to make up for the lack of faith and using light instead."
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Rey asked.
"The spell Kojo is about to use is the holy magic spell Divine...."
"Solar....." Kojo said as the beam charged up.
Extinction.
At Carnelia, Koniko fired an arrow at the river, causing a nuclear blast to tear an opening, which Lin then widened using her gravity magic. It was now time for Nefaria to play her role. She teleported them to a high point just as the destructive energy beam tore through the ground. She kept them floating in a boat she had summoned, which was being pulled by two four horse-like daemon creatures in the underworld. She sat down and helped herself to grapes in a bowl while Koniko and Lin did their thing, flinching when the hole was next to her.
Koniko mitigated the heat while Lin widened the chasm being made, and before long, a large hole was beginning to widen at the border with Tessaloni.
Kojo stopped the beam and watched as water began to fill the chasm that was three to five kilometers wide and the hole which was slowly turning into a lake.
Kojo teleported the floors of the tower that belonged to the merfolk into the charm, spreading it at various points while also doing the same for that of the Lizardmen, making it at the very bank of the river.
He then observed as the river and lake had been formed and floated down to join the others. The Adonisian guards had panicked and rushed to report this but were ignored.
Cassie stared at Kojo as he talked with Nefaria in her flying boat.
A vision flashed across her mind, and she saw him covered in blood, a devilish smile on his face.