Keoza stood in front of the people gathered around Lux and sighed.

Since Eriol had delegated him to become his spokesperson, he decided to tell everyone the current state of things.

“Lux faced a being that threatened to erase him and Solais from existence,” Keoza stated. “However, at the last second, the Gods of this world intervened and prevented the worst-case scenario from happening.

“In exchange, Lux had to pay the price in order to save everyone he cared for. With his soul as an anchor, the Gods were able to deflect the Outer God’s attack, as well as destroy the connection between the Abyss and the two worlds, Elysium and Solais.

“With this, all the Abyssal Gates were forcefully closed, preventing the rest of the Abyssal Legion from entering both worlds.”

Keoza paused for a bit as he looked at Aurora, who was crying her eyes out before continuing the rest of his explanation. He pitied her, but there was nothing he could do about the current situation.

“All of you gathered here, the Demigods, and a handful of people, were spared from the side effects of the Gods’ intervention,” Keoza stated. “Aside from those whom I have mentioned, everyone else in the world has forgotten about Lux. Even those who hold him very dear in their hearts.”

Alexander and Maximilian glanced at each other. Worry was reflected in their eyes and, before they could say anything, Keoza confirmed their suspicions.

“Lux’s lovers, with the exception of a few, have completely forgotten him,” Keoza said, staring at the two Saints. “Iris and Cai were two of the ladies who no longer remember him. I’m afraid that even his own mother, Adeline, has forgotten him as well.”

“… What about my mother?” Alexander asked. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent s N(o)vl(ꜰ)ire.nt

Aside from Iris, there was one more person who loved Lux very much and raised him as part of their family.

Keoza sighed before nodding his head. “Vera has forgotten him as well.”

Keane, who had remained silent until now, looked at Keoza with a solemn expression on his face.

“If you hadn’t shielded us earlier, would we have forgotten him as well?” Keane asked.

“Yes,” Keoza replied in a heartbeat. “This Divine Spell affects everyone below the Demigod and Supreme Rank. Only Supremes and Demigods who have met Lux in the past will remember him.”

Gerhart frowned after hearing Keoza’s reply. “How about the Guild? Will they forget him too?”

Keoza nodded “Yes.”

“Then, is he… really dead?” Alexander asked.

Truth be told, he didn’t want to ask this question. However, he needed to know the answer to this question.

Keoza didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked at the frozen image of the Half-Elf inside the giant block of crystal.

“His heart has stopped, and he is no longer breathing,” Keoza replied. “I would like to say that he is indeed dead, but even I am not sure if he is really dead or not.”

As someone who had conjured the block of crystal, Keoza was well aware of Lux’s condition.

The Half-Elf’s current state seemed to be suspended in time. If not for the crystal keeping him in place, his body might have already disintegrated into countless particles.

The dice that Max had thrown into his body also helped to keep him intact, allowing his regeneration abilities to increase drastically.

This ability was also patching up the Half-Elf from the inside, creating a better, and stronger vessel.

There was only one problem.

The body no longer had a soul.

Perhaps due to the ripple or shock waves that happened afterward, Lux’s soul must have been blown away by the explosion.

Before Eriol and Max lost consciousness, they told Keoza that his soul hadn’t entered the cycle of reincarnation.

This meant that Lux wasn’t technically dead, but his soul was somewhere out there, and no one had any idea where he was.

“I will be returning to Elysium,” Keoza stated. “Just remember this. Do not break this crystal no matter what. Lux’s revival depends on it. Do I make myself clear?”

Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.

After giving the crystal one last glance, Keoza transformed into a Dragon Token and shot up towards the heavens, leaving Solais and those who cared about the Half-Elf behind.

———————

Asmodeus looked at the battlefield with a serious expression on his face.

After confirming that all of the Abyssal Monsters had been killed, he went to talk to Aina and told her that he would return to Solais.

He didn’t mention anything about Lux because he didn’t know how the young lady would react to the news.

“I will be leaving the Calamity-Ranked Monsters here to act as guards to be safe,” Asmodeus said. “If anything happens, contact Aurora right away using the Guild Chat.”

Aina nodded.

She wanted to ask if everything was fine, but she had a feeling that she wouldn’t like the answer to her question.

Because of this, she held her tongue and watched as Asmodeus disappeared in front of her.

————————

Back in Solais….

All of Lux’s Named Creatures and Covenant Members gathered.

Diablo, Ishtar, Pazuzu, Orion, Asmodeus, Lazarus, ALL-MITE, Zagan, Revon, Shax (Nightgaunt), Leoric, Draven, Avernus, Hana, and Bedivere all looked at their Master’s body that was frozen in a block of crystal.

Even Blackfire hovered beside them with its body bent over, showing its sadness.

“The fact that we remain here proves that Master is not really dead,” Asmodeus stated.

As Lux’s Equal, the Lich King, was considered his right-hand man. So, despite the fact that Avernus was stronger than him, he didn’t make any effort to usurp Asmodeus’ position.

“I’m sure that all of you had seen a glimpse of his last moments as he fought against that… being,” Asmodeus said while clenching his fists. “Right now, the world is embroiled in a war against the Abyss. We have won our battles, but some places have lost theirs.

“Elysium will have no choice but to use everything in their arsenal to defeat the invaders that are currently ravaging the land,” Asmodeus stated. “Of course, the same is happening to Solais as well.

“However, the miasma that separated the different regions has evolved to the point that it is also poisonous to the denizens of the Abyss. Because of this, we don’t have to worry about the safety of the Six Kingdoms, at least for now.”

Asmodeus paused as he looked at his comrades at arms with a solemn expression on his face.

“With the exception of Avernus, we are far too weak to contend against Calamity-Ranked Monsters,” Asmodeus said. “Also, we have no idea when Master will be able to return to his body. What I’m trying to say is that we don’t want a repeat of what has happened here today.

“Master lost because he fought alone. He was forced to split his forces in order to protect the people that he cared for. You already know that a Necromancer doesn’t fight alone. We should have been there with him, but we couldn’t because the circumstances didn’t permit us to do that. So, I have a proposal.”

The fire in Asmodeus’ eyes glowed brightly as he looked at his Master’s subordinates.

“All of us need to form our own armies,” Asmodeus stated. “An army that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. A force that will make even Demigods quake in fear.

“Master has a skill that will allow all of us to become one with him. But, in our current state, merging with him will not give him any substantial benefits. Sure, he might be able to become a Saint if we do that. However, he is fighting against a Pseudo-God.

“A single Saint is not enough to defeat that kind of existence. But, what if he had millions of subordinates? Do you think he would stand a chance?”

No one answered his question because they didn’t know the answer to it.

“The answer is, I don’t know,” Asmodeus stated. “Because it has never been done in the past. So, what we need to do is to make that a reality.”

Diablo and the others clenched their fists because they, too, wanted to see how strong their Master would be after he merged with all of his subordinates, granting him a power that might even surpass the Demigod Rank.

“All of you, go and recruit as many members as you can into your armies,” Asmodeus stated. “Master is no longer here, so if any of you die, you cannot be revived. Prioritize your survival and flee when necessary. Even if Master returns, you are not allowed to stand by his side until your own army reaches the hundreds of thousands.

“Only those who manage to reach this number would be allowed to fight with him on the same battlefield. So, go. I do not care what methods you use. Only your results matter.”

Blackfire, who was listening to Asmodeus earlier, disappeared as soon as the Lich King finished talking.

After becoming a Divine Artifact, it could move autonomously away from Lux and appear beside anyone that it considered as its Master’s ally.

Now, more than ever, Blackfire was determined to fill up the 100,000-strong quota. It would travel across Elysium, looking for strong creatures to devour, allowing it to play a role in the battle that was about to come.

Diablo and the rest bowed in front of Lux one last time before they, too, went to Elysium.

All of them would raise an army of their own, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, so that, when their Master returned, they could fight alongside him…

And show their enemies their Unholy Might.