Death... and me

Roan shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "Whether you believe it or not is not my problem. I just thought that this was the right time to tell you about that event."

Phex and Frin's expressions changed once more as they finally understood that they heard it correctly. "Impossible! How would you be able to do such a thing? Even if all the Divine Demon Beasts attacked their headquarters together, we wouldn't be able to pull that off. That place is a fortress."

Roan shook his head in response as he said, "In fact, it wasn't that troublesome. You know...things become a lot easier when your race is completely underestimated. Let's just say that humans being slaves on this planet helped a lot in making the Zasfins drop their guards."

Frin immediately asked something else after that. "Wait! If that is true, then where's Celis? Also, that World Swallowing Cedar was a Stage Nine Demon Tree, so it should be gigantic. How did you bring it out?"

"Do you remember the Freedom Sect that we temporarily created in the Demon Beast Continent?" Roan asked. Phex and Frin nodded in response before waiting for Roan to continue. "That's where you can find Celis. However, don't expect Celis to do the same thing for you as he did for the Zasfins."

Phex immediately shook his head as he responded, "No can do! I knew that something must have happened with the World Swallowing Cedar for the Spiritual Energy to come back to normal. But I always thought it had escaped on its own, and I haven't heard from it ever since. If Celis is really there, I will immediately pay him a visit and request his help. If he retrieves the Spiritual Energy of the Zasfins' side, this war will become several times easier. World Swallowing Cedars are also Divine Demon Beasts...or Plants. I'm sure he'll consider it. Not to mention that it would work as revenge against the Zasfins for him."

Roan shook his head as he reiterated himself,  "I'm not saying that you would have a problem making Celis accept it. I'm pretty sure that Celis would love to take in all the Spiritual Energy from the Zasfins and focus it on the demon beasts to get back at them. Unfortunately..." Roan stopped there.

"Unfortunately? Unfortunately what?! Say it!" Phex and Frin were even more curious now.

"It's just that Celis suffered a huge drop in cultivation after escaping from the Soul Rulers' headquarters," Roan explained.

Frin found it weird, though. "So what? You and Rean can heal us, so you can definitely heal it as well, right?"

Roan never said that Celis was injured, just that Celis's cultivation had dropped. However, he wouldn't try to fix this mistake. Following that, he shook his head as he replied, "We can't. That's because Celis's cultivation dropped to the Stage Five level. It's one thing to heal injuries, but recovering cultivation is a completely different thing. Light Element can do nothing about it."

Phex and Frin were shocked when they heard that. "Stage Five! Celis's cultivation dropped to Stage Five! How could that be..."

Roan assured them, saying, "Don't worry. Celis accepted it as a price for escaping the confinement made by the Soul Rulers. If it was you, would you mind losing your cultivation if you could stop being their puppet?"

Phex and Frin went completely silent after hearing that question. They were both Divine Demon Beasts, just like Celis. Naturally, they know how humiliated Celis would have felt during all this time. Sure enough, they probably wouldn't mind losing their cultivation if it meant that they could escape.

"Sigh...if Celis is only at Stage Five, then there's no way he can stop the world's Spiritual Energy anymore. At most, he can control the Spiritual Energy of a small region," Phex said those words with a gloomy expression. "In any case, I'll go pay Celis a visit to see how he's faring. As a Divine Demon Beast, I ought to do so."

Roan didn't mind that. Telling them about Celis was already part of the plan since they couldn't hide him forever. Wartime was the best moment since the demon beasts needed him and Rean the most. 

"Still, you haven't explained how you brought Celis out of there. Even if Celis's size decreased after regressing to Stage Five, it's not something you can move around as you wish. I have no doubt that the protection around Celis was even more strict than the formations that existed there." Sure enough, Frin didn't forget that part.

Roan didn't want to talk, though. "That's a secret. Do you think we would reveal everything that easily? Our human race is the weakest out of the three on this planet, so we need some insurance."

Phex wasn't surprised to hear that, eventually saying, "So be it. As curious as I might be, the important part is that we don't need to worry about Celis stealing our Spiritual Energy anymore." Following that, he went back to the previous topic. "Now I understand why you said that only you or Rean would be able to convince Sevinia. After what you did and the fact that they brought you there, that might be their only chance at getting back on their feet."

Frin couldn't help but say, "Still, I find it too dangerous. Rean's life is a must for the plan to work. In fact, even without the Hafel Clan's help, we could probably make the plan work as long as Rean was here. We would just be careful not to completely take over the planet."

Roan shook his head, saying, "Wrong. You all plan to go to the Bestial Sacred Ground, right? If you succeed in opening the path to that so-called Realm of Gods, will you stay here to protect the demon beasts?"

Frin was taken aback, muttering, "This..."

Phex sighed as he understood what Roan meant. "He's thinking much further ahead than you or I. Let's be honest. None of us, who have been at the peak of Stage Nine, would let that chance pass up. Once we leave, who will keep the Zasfins at bay? However, having the agreement with the Hafel Clan would ensure that status."

Roan was satisfied with Phex's words, saying, "It's good that you understand. This is not only for you but for the human race on this planet as well. That's all."

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Author's Note: Privilege will change next month, so please check the author's thoughts below.