444 Calculating the Damage
As soon as the Void Beast's death was confirmed, I could finally relax. Of course, I didn't turn off the Status Augmentation just yet. One for the case where some random enemy arrives, and two since the Energy Recovery potions I took were still actively replenishing my energy.
If I stop Status Augmentation at this moment, then, for sure, I would end up having an Energy Overload. If that happened, then, without a doubt, I would die after my body exploded.
"Hmm?"
The sky suddenly cleared up, as if some veil had been removed. The barrier that the Void Beast set, which locked us in, was finally lifted.
"Finally..."
I sighed, lying down on the blackened ground on my back.
The battle against the two Void Beasts was long and treacherous, but fortunately, we still succeeded in killing them off. It's a little sad that we couldn't follow Fang's script for fighting the Void Beast, though, but well, a win is a win.
"Master..."
Ember peeked over my head, her eyes filled with a mix of joy and worry.
"The battle is over, but what should we do?"
"..."
First, I probably want the effect of these five Energy Recovery potions to vanish. The pain is turning my mind sluggish and making me feel lethargic.
"For now, let's head back. Can you teleport me as is?"
"I can, but... what about him?"
Ember turned behind her, and I inclined my neck to peek. The one Ember was referring to was none other than Azrael, who was already done with his job here.
"Right..."
What should we do?
It would seem a little heartless if we just dropped him back to the Otherside with a simple thank you.
[Don't mind me, little slime. I can return to the Gate by myself.]
Azrael quickly asserted himself before turning towards me.
[And Will, I will never forget the favor of you healing me not once, but twice, even saving me from the brink of death. As thanks, you can keep that necklace and call me when you need my help.]
After saying his piece, he then started to fly into the sky before turning into particles of light and vanishing. What a cool way to teleport. He was like the Marine General in that certain pirate anime I watched before.
Anyway, as soon as he vanished, only Ember, I, and Namia were left in the wide, barren land.
"Hmm?"
Before I could say anything, however, Namia had already started walking away. I guess she doesn't plan on getting chummy with us, as usual. But wasn't she sent here by the girl who can't be named to do something? Was it just to protect me from the Void Beast?
"Ah, thanks for your help, Namia! We really appreciate it!"
Although I knew she wouldn't think good about me saying thanks, I did anyway. As expected, she didn't even bother turning around before opening a red gate and leaving.
Now, only Ember and I were left, and with nothing else to do, she finally opened a portal leading back to Heaven's Republic's capital. Since Ember was caring enough, the place I landed wasn't the cold stone floor, but a soft set of cushions... living cushions.
"L-Leader!"
""Sir Will!!!""
Fang, Minerva, and Hekate, who were sitting together, were surprised when I suddenly appeared on top of their laps. Ember also followed shortly after, with a smile on her lips.
"We're back, everyone!"
Although she greeted energetically, the air in her surroundings wasn't that good. Looking around, there was Vermeil, who was still being healed by Goddess Blanc, with God Zeshion already awake, leaning against the wall with bandages wrapped around his wounds.
"Will, you're back."
Zeshion greeted me as he tried to stand up, with Alpha and Zeta supporting him from either side.
"It looks like you took care of the second Void Beast by yourself. Alpha relayed the play-by-play of your battle to me."
"... Ehehe."
It was a little awkward hearing that. After all, most of the time, I was simply at the back, suffering. The only time I played a pivotal role was when I was helping Azrael to buy time for Ember and Namia.
Zeshion seemed to have read what was on my mind and shook his head gently.
"If not for you being the System's Crowned Successor, you couldn't have placed that beyond-god-level monster under your control, albeit temporarily."
He groaned lightly as he sat on the chair in front of the girls, with Alpha and Zeta standing on either side, before continuing.
"Furthermore, without your help, even he would've died. What you did was something only you can pull, Will. Be proud of your achievements."
17:03
Dispatching a Void Beast practically on our own. Such an achievement was probably without an equal in the entire history of this world. Furthermore, two Void Beasts in succession!
"..."
But still, it's not all good things that happened.
Zeshion and Vermeil's injuries would need them to activate their Heavenly Halo to heal. The fact that it didn't automatically activate must mean they either don't have enough energy to completely heal or that the halo was already used earlier today.
There are also the deaths of tens of thousands of tamers from all over the place, which happened after the god tamers moved to handle the Void Beasts.
Furthermore, the heaviest loss was probably Ajax's death.
I tried looking around, but I didn't see any of his tamed monsters. Although I'm curious as to what they're currently doing, I didn't have the heart to go and talk to them either way.
I'm unsure if his tamed monsters would stay here and search for new masters, go out on a journey to mourn his death, or continue defending their posts until their last breath. If possible, I want to take them under my wing, but with my remaining Mental Capacity, one God-level monster would be my limit.
Still, with his death, the power of this country would effectively drop by at most a quarter.
"Quite a lot of lives were sacrificed for this battle..."
Zeshion muttered in a sad tone but still tried to smile.
"... But thankfully, their sacrifices weren't in vain. Again, thank you, Will."
"No need to thank me; I'm just trying to survive desperately myself."
I returned his smile, but since my body was hurting all over from the Status Augmentation of Ember and Azrael still running, it turned into a wince.
"Anyway, the battle's not over yet,"
I added.
"There's still hundreds of thousands of God-level demons left."
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