Chapter 313: Final Discussion

Leno, Squabee, Lidia, and Sarah were all the first to make it to the battlefield. Off in the distance, Zalo’s body was like a monument of power emanating dark energy in the sky. There were no clouds to cover his upper body, so his gargantuan size was even more well known.

Three dark forces of energy clouded the sky, acting as an artificial barrier for Zalo. Lidia shook feeling Zalo’s power up close.

"Those balls of energy. What are they?"

Leno looked up int the sky.

"Those are the Keepers of Calamity. Zalo’s strongest warriors. If we want to get to Zalo, we have to go through them."

Leno’s eyes suddenly widened before turning around. Behind them, Maria and Jacob slowly built themselves from darkness. Their presence was suffocating. Dark energy poured out of their bodies like an odor. Lidia’s eyes widened seeing their faces.

"Maria... Jacob..."

Jacob walked forward, walking past the group and staring into the sky at Zalo. Anger welled in his gut.

"He’s dead. I’m going to kill that bastard. He’ll pay for everything he’s done."

Maria looked at Lidia with sorrowful eyes.

"We killed the Frost Monarch. We absorbed his corrupt power. Jacob and I are now deities of corruption."

She looked at her hands.

"I am unsure if this is something we can come back from."

Lidia ran over and embraced Maria tightly.

"It will all be okay. We’ll win. Humanity will not end today."

Suddenly, something kicked up a cloud of dust next to them. No one flinched. They all patiently waited as the area cleared, trying to see what it was. Without wasting any time, Slimo ran out of the dirt and hugged Lidia tightly.

"I made it back just in time."

Just as he did, the bracelet the Traveler had given him snapped in half. Slimo looked at it with an annoyed expression.

"So, that’s the drawback? That asshole got my hopes up."

Lidia held on to his hand.

"What did you learn? Anything useful?"

Slimo hesitated after being put on the spot.

"That man was nothing more than a fraud. All he gave me was a plan B, but I absolutely refuse to use it unless we have no other choice."

"What was this plan?"

Slimo remained silent for a moment.

"I won’t tell you. I don’t even want to consider it an option until we exhaust all others. Until then, we fight with our normal strength. Did you all learn anything useful on your travels?"

"Not necessarily. We were unable to befriend those freaks in the time leviathan. They tried trapping us in a time loop but-"

Lidia stopped for a moment, then looked away.

"It was a hard battle, but we won. Leno and Squabee helped me fight when I lost my strength."

Slimo looked at his son.

"I see. Thank you both."

He turned his body towards Zalo.

"He’s even more disgusting than I imagined."

Squabee noticed that Slimo’s legs were shaking. Simply gazing at Zalo, even as someone who could hardly sense his power, was making him afraid.

"Seriously... to think I would be fighting a God in my lifetime is absurd! Maybe I should have offered to stay at the cabin all those days ago. What’s with those three weird looking things in the front?"

Leno walked up to him.

"Keepers. Three of them. They are who we have to face before Zalo."

"Three keepers, huh? What do our odds look like based on your senses, Leno?"

Leno thought for a moment.

"With just the keepers in the way, I would estimate only three percent."

"Three percent?!"

"Yes. But the real number is lower. I can sense three enemies approaching as we speak."

Suddenly, an armored creature descended from the heavens, wielding a dark green blade that matched the color of its armor. To its left and right, there was a man and creature Jacob was all too familiar with.

"You... live. You are just like your father, you know that?"

"Zalo hasn’t eaten you yet? Probably doesn’t like the taste of shit then. Right, Orvo?"

Orvo dragged himself forward. He wasn’t wearing any armor. His skull mark was left wide open on his back, emanating a chilling aura.

"My name IS NOT ORVO. It’s Jacob, you brat. How dare you mock the person you’re name after."

Jacob didn’t flinch at this revelation. It was as if he was expecting it for a long time.

"Am I talking to your mark or am I talking to the real Jacob?"

"We are one in the same!! This mark is me and I am the mark!"

The Jade knight landed gracefully on the ground, holding out its sword in front of itself. It tried taking a step forward, but Maria walked towards it before it could.

"Mortals. Your choices are quite simple. You join Zalo or you die. I will give you no time to ponder this."

The last creature bounded over the turf and tried walking over to Jacob. Slimo stopped him with his hand. Its strangely curved body creaked as Slimo pushed it back slightly.

"Say... you look like someone we knew. You wouldn’t happen to know him, would you?"

Jacob looked over at the grey curved creature with voids peeping through its roots.

"Slimo, that’s the desert spirit that almost got Maria. It looks like it’s a little hurt we never paid it a visit when the calamity started. Does your boss know you tried teaming up with me to overthrow him?"

The creature hummed to itself. A voice appeared in all their head.

"I warned you, Jacob. You had a choice. However, you have turned into such wonderful prey. Feasting on your flesh will be a treat."

Jacob ignored his comment and turned his attention back towards Orvo.

Suddenly, he manifested a sword made of black flames from his hands. Orvo watched his power with wrath.

"I’m not afraid of you because you are a deity. I’ll never be afraid of the little boy who collapsed to his knees when faced with true power."

Orvo’s body began to morph into something else. His skin split open, slowly being replaced by thick black fur. Jacob jumped forward and tackled him away before he could complete the transformation.

Maria kicked the Jade knight into the air so forcefully it sounded like thunder had struck its armor.

The desert spirit tried to attack Slimo, but he was ready for it. He dodged the grey tendrils and punched the creature as hard as he could, sending a devastating shockwave into its head.

While this chaos was happening, Squabee activated her transformation, Sarah grabbed hold of Squabee’s back, and Leno turned his legs into light, allowing him to fly up towards the keepers in the sky.

Humanity’s final battle had officially begun.