Within the Celestial Plane, at the Hall of Greater Divinity.

“Haah… thank the heavens I’m finally free from that place,” a woman could not help but murmur to herself as she stretched her arms out, finding great relief in it.

“More like thank the heavens WE’RE finally free from that place,” said a voice in response not long after, causing the woman to lightly sigh as she looked at the blade sheathed around her waist. “I was the one wielding you all this time, you know? You pretty much didn’t have to do anything.”

“Says who?” the voice replied. “You know how hard it is to channel high levels of energy through my body without imploding? On top of that, you even wanted me to transform near the very end!”

The woman and the voice were none other than Kurohana and Aurus, respectively. After being alerted to the reality that demons from another universe were gradually infiltrating the Celestial Plane in a bid to turn this universe into their own, Kurohana went ahead and turned Aurus into the masterwork weapon she had dreamed of all this time, being given the name Sin Eversor.

Knowing fully well that even the tiniest bit of strength helped out in the grand scheme of things, she then made the hard decision of dispelling both Shirohana and Haihana as she returned to just being one body.

On the other hand, Aurus went through multiple modifications, with each modification increasing the lethality of Kurohana’s attacks whenever they fought against the demons. Even though only a couple of months had passed since he was reclaimed by her, he had already reached Lesser Primordial grade in terms of rarity, allowing him to be truly worthy of being called a weapon wielded by the gods.

As they continued to bicker through the corridors of the hall, they eventually arrived a certain room, knocking on the door before heading in. Once inside, they quickly noticed the great amount of documents, maps, and the like strewn around the place as a woman embodying darkness looked at them with a tired expression.

“Oh… it’s you two,” said the woman as she gave them a wry smile. “I’m guessing the mission went well?”

“It was bordering on the edge of failure, but a second wind allowed us to fight back,” replied Kurohana in response to her words. “But forget about me for now. Have you even been resting properly, Nix?”

Hearing that, Nix could only wryly chuckle in response. Grabbing a couple of the documents on the ground, she then told them, “Does it look like I can?”

“Sure, us gods have no need for sleep anymore, but at this rate, the mental fatigue will affect your decision-making. As one of the leading commanders in this war, you should really take a rest,” said Kurohana with a hint of worry.

In response to those words, Nix came closer to Kurohana before giving her a light embrace. Seeing this, Aurus had the urge to say something in the heat of the moment. However, Kurohana’s deathly glare prompted him not to do so, allowing the embrace to go on for a while in silence.

Eventually, after a few minutes had passed, Nix let go of her embrace around Kurohana, giving her a smile. “Thanks. I kind of needed that.”

“Well, as long as it helps, I guess.” Kurohana could only shrug her shoulders in response. “Anyways, is there anything else we can do to help?”

Hearing this question, Aurus went ahead and paid more attention to the conversation, wondering what Nix would them. However, contrary to what they expected, Nix shook her head as she told them, “You’ve already done more than enough for the Celestial Plane, Kurohana. You deserve to take a rest as well.”

“Can we really afford to take a rest, though?” Unsurprisingly, Kurohana echoed out the same thoughts Nix did at the start of their conversation. “The demons are out there fighting against our people. We’re on the losing end, Nix. We need to do everything we can if we want to push them back out of the Celestial Plane.”

“You know that’s easier said than done, Kurohana,” said Nix. Then, with a slightly grim expression, she continued, “You know what we’ve obtained from the reports? The scouts told us an Ancestral Demon God is leading the offensive. On the other hand, only the Immortal Verdict wielders on our side have started to make a move so far.”

After that, she shook her head with a sigh. “They’ve already contacted the Guardians and the Overseer from the Divine Triad Pagoda, yet they still haven’t obtained any response.”

Hearing the term ‘Ancestral Demon God’ come out of Nix’s mouth, Kurohana could not help but shudder in great terror. As she had also been part of the frontlines during the First Divine Demon War, she knew very well what even a single Ancestral Demon God could do, with the Ancestral Demon God from that time quickly wiping out a third of their side in just move. Nevertheless, an Ancestral Demon God having that level of power was understandable.

After all, Ancestral Demon Gods were equal to those who wielded Transcendent Canons, a tier above Immortal Verdicts in power.

“If the information you’ve obtained is actually true… then why haven’t the Guardians made a move yet?” Kurohana could not help but ask after a moment of silence. “Aren’t they on par with each other?”

“Even I don’t know the answer to that, Kurohana,” Nix said with a sigh. “All I know is that we have to stand our ground until either the Guardians or the Overseer makes a move.”

Listening to all of this, Kurohana could not help but let out a long sigh filled with worry. “Is there even a way for us to even out the playing field while we wait for them?”

“If a being among the Greater Gods ascends their Greater Law to an Immortal Verdict, then there’s the possibility of us turning the tides to our favor,” replied Nix, her tone laced with a hint of hopelessness. Then, she looked at Kurohana. “Of course, you know very well how hard it is for a Greater God to ascend to that level.”

Kurohana could only nod at her words as the situation felt more and more hopeless with every passing second. It was true that becoming an Immortal Verdict wielder was easier said than done. After all, even Nix, who was already showing signs of her Greater Law breaking through to a higher tier, was still a fair distance away from truly becoming an Immortal Verdict wielder.

Just as Kurohana was about to ask another question, a young man opened the door to Nix’s office without hesitation, his expression that of immense terror. “We’ve got bad news, Commander! Another Ancestral Demon God appeared from the opposite side of the Celestial Plane!”

“You’ve got to be **ing kidding me…” was the only thing Nix could say as she whirred her brain to come up with a strategy as quick as possible. “Relay my orders! Have the fast response team make their way to the other side first to mitigate our losses. While doing so, tell seven of our main teams to head to the other side as soon as possible!”

“As you wish!” With that, the young man quickly left the premises, leaving both Kurohana and Nix alone to themselves again. However, after listening to what the young man had said, Kurohana could not help but feel even more despair.

Noticing this, Nix told Kurohana, “Leave for now and take a rest, Kurohana. I’ll send you your next orders once things have settled down.”

“But…” Naturally, Kurohana wanted to help out.

“As one of my closest friends, please Kurohana. Just leave. I don’t want to yell at you,” said Nix in response, trying her best to contain her anger.

Realizing what Nix was doing, Kurohana silently nodded her head as she left the premises soon after, leaving Nix to her own devices as she made her way back to her plane.

…

Back in her plane, Kurohana could not help but let out a long sigh as Aurus started to hover in the air in front of her.

“You still thinking about the things Nix said a while ago?” Aurus asked after some time, to which Kurohana let out yet another long sigh in response.

“How can I not?” she replied. “After all, the survival of our universe is at stake here. From the looks of it, the chances of our universe being taken over by them is very high.”

“Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about it. You’re only a Greater God, after all,” said Aurus in response. “According to Nix, only someone at the level of an Immortal Verdict wielder would be able to make an impactful change. However, neither you nor Nix and the others are anywhere near reaching that point.”

“Yeah…” Hearing that, Kurohana could not help but sigh once more, only for a thought to pop up in her mind not long after. As she thought, she could not help but ponder over it in silence as her face gradually regained its natural complexion. “It might sound crazy… but it just might work.”

“What does?” Naturally, Aurus could not help but ask in response, to which Kurohana sent over a strand of her energy to him, containing all of the information she had just thought about all this time.

Obtaining the information, Aurus hovered in a place for a while before eventually asking Kurohana in slight disbelief, “Is that even possible?”

“Does it look like we have any other choice? Almost everyone is at their wits’ end. The least we can do is find a way to help out,” said Kurohana in response.

After pondering over it for a bit more, Aurus decided that it was better than doing nothing. “As the one who played the living hell with my life just so you could turn me into your magnum opus, it’s definitely peculiar for you to actually do something kind.”

“Let’s put it this way. If our universe ever gets destroyed, would you even have the chance to hate me?”

“Well… you’ve definitely got a point.”

…

Erudinia, within the town leader’s manor in Verdant Breeze Town.

“And so, that sums our plan to get into a city-level academy as fast as possible,” said Aurus as everyone attentively listened to his explanation. “Any other questions?”

“Yeah. I got a couple.” Horell raised his hand, which prompted Aurus to allow him to speak. “You told us we’ll have to collect skills in order to form skill sets. However, where are we going to get those skills in the first place?”

“Well, I—” Before Aurus could finish his question, he had disappeared all of a sudden in front of everyone, making everyone wonder as to where he had gone.

“…”

“…”

“…well, that sucks. I guess I’ll never know the answer to my question.”