Chapter 1814 Altair, Virtue of Justice, Shinjaka Continent, Four Demon Earls & Twelve Zodiac Gods
?"Sage Altair, what have you been up to these days?"
Eren inquired of Altair's spectral rendition standing before him with a light smile on his face.
The two had managed to reestablish contact during Eren's retreat into the mortal realm for more than five years.
"Eren! What a pleasant surprise. You really have hidden yourself deep, boy. Are you still on that deadbeat assignment from the Corps?"
Altair expressed his shock at receiving a communication request from Eren after a long time. He sighed and shook his head before answering Eren's question.
"As for me, I'm at work – as always. Currently on a demon purging mission issued by the Zodiac League."
Altair replied honestly.
***
Having barely achieved S-Rank when he left Anfang, Altair recognized early on that he needed to depart from his homeworld to make quick progress in his Rank before his Lifeforce ran out. When Eren offered him a way to do just that, Altair seized the opportunity without hesitation.
Altair believed that following Eren's lead was the best decision he could have made in his life. While he faced some challenges during the war between the two kingdoms, circumstances quickly shifted, and his involvement in their affairs was soon forgotten.
The Great Shattering had reshaped the entire landscape of Anfang, altering the dynamics between existing organizations post the significant change. Consequently, Altair and his "partner-in-crime" Osha Daman faced no persecution.
Arriving in Labh Salem earlier than Eren, Altair, leveraging his S-Rank status, found swift accommodation within the world and its diverse customs. After careful consideration, he chose to align with the divine faction.
Touching down on the Shinjaka continent of Labh Salem, where the influence of the zodiac pantheon gods held sway, Altair became a member of the Zodiac League. Similar to the organization Eren was part of, the Zodiac League was connected to the divine faction and had access to the Void Dimension maintained by the divine forces.
Earlier, Altair had used a Sin Series Mark to enter a demonically influenced Plane along with Eren and others when he left Anfang. Since the Zodiac League represented the divine faction, they requested him to eliminate the Sin Series Marks first.
For Practitioners below the S-Rank, it was nearly impossible to rid themselves of the Sin Series or Virtue Series Marks once bestowed upon them. However, this limitation didn't apply to those at the Sage level.
As a Sage, Altair's soul could endure the intense soul cleansing needed to remove the Sin Series Marks. Recognized as a Kaiser by Labh Salem's standards, the League invested in Altair without hesitation. Especially after seeing his aptitude. Of course, Altair was also smart enough to hide many things about him, which saved him a lot of troubles.
Virtue Series Marks differed from Sin Series Marks.
While the Sin Series belonged to seven factions of the same pantheon, Virtue Series Marks were spread across seven distinct pantheons. They were developed by various gods working together to counteract the Sin Series Marks, preventing any single pantheon from monopolizing them.
The zodiac pantheon, led by the Lion God Leo, blessed its followers with the Virtue of Justice Mark. This meant that all twelve zodiac temples could bestow the Virtue of Justice Mark to their most ardent and capable followers.
The continent of Shinjaka was dominated by half-blood forces, some sharing bloodline lineages with the twelve zodiac gods. They were beast gods after all. So their descendents were naturally half-bloods.
As a result, capable Practitioners on the continent bore the Virtue of Justice Mark, becoming a prominent identifier for those aligning with the twelve zodiac gods.
The Virtue of Justice Mark aligned with Altair's temperament and personality, proving superior to the ability awakened after receiving the Sin Series Mark earlier.
Then again, Altair had acquired the Mark solely to traverse the demonic Plane while leaving Anfang behind, with no intention or opportunity to utilize the Sin Series Mark. As such, the Zodiac League successfully removed the Sin Series Mark without significantly impacting Altair's foundation.
Just like Kaaisayan's Demon Slayer Corps, the Zodiac League was also part of the enormous front opened by the divine faction against the demonic forces. Consequently, it was common for the Zodiac League to issue demon-purging missions to its members.
The pantheon of the twelve gods faced opposition from four of the 72 Ars Goetia Demons. These Immortal demons, namely Furfur, Malthus, Raum, and Bifrons, collectively formed the group known as Demon Earls.
The demonic cults associated with the Demon Earls had surrounded the Shinjaka continent from both sides, with some forces causing chaos within the continent. Dealing with these demonic entities associated with the Demon Earls kept the Zodiac League constantly engaged.
After hearing about Altair in one of the Demon Slayer Corps' reports, Eren managed to establish contact with him. Labh Salem was significantly larger than Anfang, making it take some time for the two to learn about each other's circumstances.
During their conversation, Eren and Altair reminisced about their lives in Anfang. Altair expressed his desire to bring Altashia with him to Labh Salem, but Eren informed him that Altashia planned to enter Echidna after accepting Kirin's invitation.
Eren used the confidentiality agreement with the Corps as a reason to keep his current location hidden from Altair. It wasn't a matter of distrust; rather, Eren had reservations about the methods employed by the Zodiac League, given Altair's connection with the league.
After discussing the current trends on the Shinjaka continent, Eren posed the question he had called Altair for: "How many demons do you have in "stock" now?"
Knowing that Altair was in charge of the demonic entities captured by the Zodiac League and acted as a prison warden appointed by the league, Eren inquired about Altair's progress.
In addition to his role as a jailer, Altair took on-field missions to alleviate boredom and secure more S-Ranked resources for himself.
"Hm? Let me check," Altair pulled up a Spectral Screen in front of him before responding to Eren.
"Currently, I have two demonic entities in the S-Rank, 30 Practitioners in the A-Rank, 567 in the B-Rank, and around 4000 small fries in the lower ranks imprisoned.
Do you want some of them?" he asked.
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