Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube - Chapter 404

I really don’t want to go deal with this. Thera thought with a sigh as the sun rose.

Even if she hadn’t gotten any sleep that night, she was just so comfortable compared to the last few days, her head resting on Ben’s chest, drawing circles with her fingers was so much more pleasant compared to dealing with the state of the world. She would have been happy to just lounge around like that for days.

Unfortunately, that day was too important, so with one final look at his sleeping face, she got up and dressed, scribbling a quick note for him when he woke up before quietly leaving their room to make her way through the ruined city.

The spirits had been thorough in their rage, with everything that they could destroy being left as nothing more than piles of rubble at her feet, with only a few other buildings still standing.

Given the condition of the place, it was surprising that there was still anyone other than them there to see it, but plenty of patients had been moved there since it was a relatively safe area, all things considered, and there were still some members of each army along with various adventurers going out to hunt the many demons that had come through the now vanished gate that survived.

As she went, she pushed rubble out of the way, clearing the road to the planet's own gate network before stepping through to see just how crowded it was. While nobody was rushing to get through the one she’d just come from baring the occasional group of patients, for all of the others it was like the entire world was trying to move at once, everyone having somewhere to go as the dense crowd of people were still moving even three days after all of the invasion points closed.

She couldn’t exactly blame anyone for it either, everyone on the planet was dealing with the emotional fallout. There were plenty of people who were elated, celebrating the fact that the gates had been forced shut early without word of the cause spreading to them yet, while for others their fears were only made worse. With the exception of the mana-based life of the world, nobody living had seen with their own eyes what the battle would entail. Being told about it simply hadn’t done any justice to the experience, and as lucky as they felt that the first wave had ended early, it made them all the more aware of how much worse the next ones would get.

And that’s not even thinking about the fallout of what Iberu pulled.

She could feel her jaw clench as she carefully made her way through the crowd. She didn’t know which watching god had been the first to figure out what had happened, that the head of the craftsman’s guild as a whole had not only managed to trap so many spirits, but forcefully extract their power to run his weapon, but she knew it was Anailia who’d let it slip to her father as he and six of the other great spirits arrived almost instantly, smashing the trap to save those it contained before hunting those who were involved, her aunt Funa forcing them to spill who among them had been aware of what they were doing and who had been clueless before dragging off the guilty parties for tortures she couldn’t imagine.

And they deserve whatever they’re getting.

The trap had contained a thousand spirits and they had intended to make one for every gate after proving the viability of the weapon, treating her people like a disposable resource to be sacrificed for the world as a whole. The thought left her sick, and the consequences were going to be far-reaching if nothing was done.

It was with that sense of purpose that she made her way to Allfaith, where a meeting about just what had happened was to be held as she got to their crowded streets, ignoring the signs of damage and walking to where she knew it was going to take place, only coming to a stop as she passed a certain building on the way.

It was a temporary hospital, like so many others that had been set up to take care of the wounded, and from where she was she could see it was overflowing, the city's main hospital likely regulated to looking after less severe cases since it was farther from the gate.

Even in just one day, so many people had been hurt, enough that healers were going to be busy for potentially weeks trying to treat everyone they could, having to keep everyone in a poor state longer to split their mana between patients rather than focus on getting one done quickly but leaving the potential for others to die in the time it took any healer to get to them.

“...I have some time,” She muttered to herself. “I’m here, what? An hour early, maybe closer to two? I have time.”

She couldn’t just walk by, but that meant she needed to be quick, so without wasting a moment she rushed to the door and pushed in, pulling out her card to prove her skill as she offered just a bit of help.

As the notification went off in her head, Thera rushed off, her detour taking longer than she’d planned by sheer virtue of how many people that were hurt, with plenty still to go even after she’d left. She had wanted to stay longer, but she needed to know what the spirits would do as they aired their grievances so she let her feet carry her, touching her necklace as she did to let the jobs fill her mind.

AVAILABLE JOBS

“I’ll take saintess.”

It didn’t need any thought to know what to go for, she’d known she’d be getting the job ever since she’d gained the title, and with how many people there were to treat in the world as things stood, she couldn’t justify any other choice when she fully expected to be busy acting as a healer for a while so she listened as the notifications filled her mind.

Name: Thera Oress

Race: Succubus/Spirit Hybrid

Titles: Spirit Child, Madman’s lover, Spirit princess, Saintess

Jobs: Saintess (lv4)

Previous Jobs: Beginner Dancer, Dancer, Apprentice mage, Earth mage, True mage, High earth mage, Spirit mage, Life mage, High life mage, Telekinetic mage, Adventurer, High telekinetic mage, High spirit mage, Master earth mage, Earth princess, Master life mage, Life princess

Attributes:

Affinities:

Resistances:

Blessed skills:

Passive skills: 

Active skills: 

Blessings:

Trials:

She didn’t let herself stop to appreciate the notifications going off in her head, there’d be time for that later. Instead, she rushed to a government building on the edge of town, not the one Ben had forced his way into after being free of the trial, but instead another, more seldomly used but also more important for one key reason. It had been built in the coast, with the central hub of it creating a private meeting ground for both land and water-based races to talk.

She made her way to the front door of it, feeling her stomach in knots. She hadn’t actually been invited, but she filled an unusual role as one of the two people to fall between the categories of spirit and more typical mortal, and since she understood what was going to happen she just needed to do her best to try and leave the outcome as good as it could be for everyone as she moved to go past the guards stationed at the front.

“Hold up there miss, I’ll need to see some identification if you’re heading in.”

Okay, so confidently walking in didn’t work, I guess that leaves me with trying to talk my way in. Gods above I wish I had Ben here, he seems a lot better at this sort of thing.

She tried not to let the thoughts touch her face as she pulled out her card, hiding all the information on it but her name and race before showing it as the second spoke up.

“Ahem, miss, if you don’t have any identification from any government you’re affiliated with then you’re in the wrong place.”

“If you’d take the time to look at my race on my card then you’d know I’m not,” She told them sternly, holding it in front of their eyes. “I believe you should know what this meeting is about, and I’m also fairly sure you should know that the great spirits aren’t happy. It’s in everyone's best interest that there be a mortal in the room they might actually want to listen to compared to whatever heads of state they’re just going to ignore out of hand.”

The two looked at each other, not sure what to do. It was clear that she wasn’t an uninvolved party, but they also had their orders, and there were enough people of note behind those doors to enforce the simple rules they were given. Thera could see all of that, so she decided to make it easy for them.

“Okay, you both have a job, I get it, but I’m sure we all collectively don’t want the spirits doing anything crazy so don’t hold this against me and if you haven’t gotten yourselves free in a bit I’ll let you out when I’m done.”

“Wha-”

Before either could get out a complete thought, the ground beneath them rose up, wrapping around them to hold them in place but not tight enough to cause any harm either. Even if she hadn’t been able to talk her way in, she wasn’t going to hold it against anyone who was just doing their job, and if either of them had any earth magic they’d be able to get themselves out of it in a bit. All she had to do was use whatever minutes she had.

With a quick apology, she walked past them, pushing through the doors to a large lounge area with another door on the other side of it, the sounds of the proceedings making it through, though not in any way she could understand as she pushed through to find the crowd beyond.

Of the mortals there, there had to be a thousand spread between land and sea, with a few semi-aquatics as well to help ensure that everything that was said on either side made it to all parties, but beyond that were the spirits floating around. Of them there were thousands, more than she’d ever seen at once, all filling the air while at the center of it all stood the great ones, seven of the eight present for the proceedings with only the great fire spirit, her uncle Incedis missing.

It was obvious enough who in the crowd possessed awakened magics, those few staring at the sky nervously with the strength of their mana sense letting them see just what was above them as someone in the crowd spoke.

“Abrus and Lux, both of you of all people shouldn’t be humouring this idea,” A man in the crowd said, trying to sound reasonable. “You have families on this world. Mortal families that can’t just fly off to wherever you think you might escape to. Are you really just going to abandon them like this?”

“I’ve already made my stance clear,” Her father told them firmly, holding her mother’s hand. “I will stay, but you won’t see me acting to get a single other spirit to do the same if they don’t wish it. If this is how the world will treat them then they’re better off somewhere else.”

“I stand the same,” Her aunt agreed. “What happened wasn’t just one person acting alone, but a group of people in high positions who’d viewed us as nothing more than a resource. I’ll stay for my child, but it's clear from the weak reaction among you all that since you can’t see them you can’t properly view them as people. If that’s the case, why should they risk themselves to fight for you?”

“So there you have it,” Vividus spoke. “Unless any of you can even begin to provide proper compensation for the lives of the spirits that were lost, why should we not simply leave?”

“Have you not already taken your revenge?” One spat. “You went so far as to murder our king! Will you not be-”

His words were cut off with a scream as his arm exploded in a fountain of blood, Vividus in front of him with her hand around his throat before anyone in there could perceive what had happened.

“You’re king provided funding and resources to that madman knowing full well what he was doing,” She said coldly. “Consider yourself lucky that Lux and Funa kept me from eradicating your kind as a whole. Hell, half of your nation is still standing, isn’t it? Besides, do you really think that ending a mortal lifespan is comparable to ending an eternal one?”

She looked around as she asked it, giving anyone the chance to speak up as none of the other great spirits stopped her from acting in her rage. “You all get at most a few centuries on this world, but this act has wiped away millennia lived and the rest of time to go along with it. Do any of you fools grasp how long eternity is? If we were to combine the lifespans of every living being on the planet, it still wouldn’t add up to the life of a single spirit. That is how insignificant you all are.”

There was a clear divide in the crowd between those who understood what it would mean to lose the spirits and those who didn’t. All of them were scared of the seven before them, but it was harder to appreciate what the ones that remained unseen actually did in the battles unless their mana sense was good enough for the affinities they possessed. Too many of them weren’t properly appreciating the sort of fighting force the spirits could be with their outrageous mana pools and high levels of control for their affinity.

“Vividus, I don’t think they’ll understand our worth like this,” Spoke her uncle Salinoth, the great water spirit who was using the form of a large, floating eel made of ice, kicking the more typical trend of following in her father’s footsteps for picking his appearance. “Because they’re blind fools it's important to make them know it in their soul, so all of you, if you will?”

He wasn’t speaking to the crowd, nor to the other great spirits with him. Instead, he looked up, speaking to the various spirits around as they each expended just a little bit of mana to do something they almost never would, they made themselves visible to mortal eyes.

Light, fire, and dark spirits all simply cast their mana while earth, water, and air all manipulated the substances they’d interact with, pulling them from the world around them to create false bodies for themselves the same way the great spirits would as those who weren’t able to see them were forced to confront how outnumbered they were should discussions break down further. Vividus had already maimed one, and the rage of them all didn’t want to be contained.

Salinoth ignored the growing unease though, instead speaking out to just two of the earth spirits above, going on to make his point.

“Yes, both of you, if you would, I believe a proper demonstration is in order.”

It must have been something they’d planned earlier before the meeting had begun with both spirits moving up, rising to the roof before they demonstrated their power as the two alone separated it from the rest of the building as each person looked up in horror at the display of strength, before it was crushed down to a block and placed among the crowd.

“So that,” Vividus stated. “Is the strength you’re losing. You really should consider yourselves lucky you know. We’re only talking about leaving, not waging our own war first, but for all we feel about what happened, we still hate the demons more, which is the only reason why you’re getting this meeting. So convince us if you can, why should we not abandon you all to your fate?”

A murmur went up as they spoke amongst themselves, all of them finally completely on the same page. Before they’d understood the value of the great spirits, each of them able to hold a gate by themselves, but too many had failed to grasp the strength of the regular ones without seeing it with their own eyes. Now that they did, they understood why it couldn’t be lost and cursed out Iberu and his co-conspirators for creating the situation to begin with as a single problem emerged the more they spoke. What could they possibly offer?

As far as any of them could tell, the spirits simply didn’t need things. Even the fact that they were on the world at all had more to do with preference based on the environment they’d come into being in. They didn’t breathe and lived entirely off mana, a force that could be found anywhere in reality. Really, they stayed on the world for the simple reason that a feeling of gravity was more comfortable than not having it and that a living planet was more interesting than the largely empty void of space, but if they had to leave they would. It was the choice that would be safest for them in the long run in the end.

It was then that Thera finally spoke up, forcing her way through the crowd to stand before her aunt and the other great spirits, with all of the standard ones buzzing with excitement when they noticed she was there, rushing to fly around her with each spell they were dressed in still active, making her look like the heart of a strange storm as they called out to her.

“Princess, you’re here!”

“It’s good to see you, princess!”

“Princess, have you gotten stronger?”

She felt a few of the great spirits giving both her and all of the ones around her funny looks, not having been aware of her growing popularity among their kind as she tried to keep any discomfort about the incredibly enthusiastic greeting from her face.

“Hello, hello, It’s good to see all of you too,” She told them gently as many in the crowd of mortals were quick to draw the connection between her and her father from looks alone while she faced her aunt Vividus, who was staring at her at a loss for what might have been the first time.

“I’m not quite sure about where to begin with all I’m hearing, but I take it you have something you want to say? Your connection to us isn’t going to change things Thera, you’ve always thought of yourself as a succubus before a spirit.”

“I have, and I think I’m right to, but that’s not what I’m doing. You said you wanted to be convinced, so I’m here to make the spirits an offer,” She told them, before going to look over her shoulder to all of the groups behind her. “Of course, so long as you can talk all of them into going along with it.”

While many of the mortals looked unsure, even more were looking at her with hope, wanting a solution to smoothing things over that they just couldn’t see as she gestured to the two spirits that had just displayed their strength, and before the eyes of all of her aunts and uncles transferred her mana to them, bringing them back to full strength.

Some looked surprised, but Vividus just regarded her with curiosity. “Interesting, I’d heard rumours among them of something like this, but to see it’s accurate is certainly unique. But so what? What value is there in a skill that you alone use?”

“The value is that there’s no reason I should be the only one who can use it,” She said confidently. “I know you pay at least a little attention to the world aunt Viv so here’s what I want to propose. All of you stay until the third wave, if things get too bad at that point then leave, and in exchange, we’ll get the skill master and his apprentices to learn this skill from me and spend the next few years of their lives passing it on to the powerful mages of every nation. If they all learn it and devote an hour or two to passing on their mana a day then it will be the best chance since you all came to this world to grow your numbers. Even if you have to escape in the end then you’ll be escaping with far more spirits than you’d be leaving with now, it would work out for you all in the long run whether we win or lose.”

She’d been thinking about just what she could do ever since she’d heard this meeting was going to take place, and this was her solution, one she felt confident in that would work out heavily in the spirits favour.

Her mother was smiling at her confidently beside her father as the rest of her extended family looked amongst themselves. It was a good offer. Spirits were always hesitant to bring their numbers up since the time after would leave them at their most vulnerable, but if they were to have a way to regain their strength from taking mana from the mortals then there’d be a chance for them to grow their numbers in a way they never had before. If things really did get too bad during the third wave, they could simply leave, they had nothing to lose from such a proposal.

It was clear they were going to accept, it was just a matter of making sure that the representatives would agree to such a thing. It was only Vividus who looked at her curiously, a question on her lips.

“I’m not inclined to say no to something so beneficial, but why are you doing this?”

“What, why wouldn’t I?”

“Things work out very heavily for the spirits from a deal like this, why didn’t you push for more?”

She knew that Thera didn’t think of herself as one of them which made it harder to understand, but her niece just shook her head.

“Gods above Viv, because I’m not you. Besides, they all say I’m their princess, I should at least try to act in their interest.”

She did want them helping the world she lived on, but she also wanted them getting the most they could from it, it was as simple as that. It was with that last statement that those floating around her went wild, the spirits being clear in their affection.

I really don't want to go deal with this. Thera thought with a sigh as the sun rose. Even if she hadn't gotten any sleep that night, she was just so comfortable compared to the last few days, her head resting on Ben's chest, drawing circles with her fingers was so much more pleasant compared to dealing with the state of the world. She would have been happy to just lounge around like that for days. Unfortunately, that day was too important, so with one final look at his sleeping face, she got up and dressed, scribbling a quick note for him when he woke up before quietly leaving their room to make her way through the ruined city. The spirits had been thorough in their rage, with everything that they could destroy being left as nothing more than piles of rubble at her feet, with only a few other buildings still standing. Given the condition of the place, it was surprising that there was still anyone other than them there to see it, but plenty of patients had been moved there since it was a relatively safe area, all things considered, and there were still some members of each army along with various adventurers going out to hunt the many demons that had come through the now vanished gate that survived. As she went, she pushed rubble out of the way, clearing the road to the planet's own gate network before stepping through to see just how crowded it was. While nobody was rushing to get through the one she'd just come from baring the occasional group of patients, for all of the others it was like the entire world was trying to move at once, everyone having somewhere to go as the dense crowd of people were still moving even three days after all of the invasion points closed. She couldn't exactly blame anyone for it either, everyone on the planet was dealing with the emotional fallout. There were plenty of people who were elated, celebrating the fact that the gates had been forced shut early without word of the cause spreading to them yet, while for others their fears were only made worse. With the exception of the mana-based life of the world, nobody living had seen with their own eyes what the battle would entail. Being told about it simply hadn't done any justice to the experience, and as lucky as they felt that the first wave had ended early, it made them all the more aware of how much worse the next ones would get. And that's not even thinking about the fallout of what Iberu pulled. She could feel her jaw clench as she carefully made her way through the crowd. She didn't know which watching god had been the first to figure out what had happened, that the head of the craftsman's guild as a whole had not only managed to trap so many spirits, but forcefully extract their power to run his weapon, but she knew it was Anailia who'd let it slip to her father as he and six of the other great spirits arrived almost instantly, smashing the trap to save those it contained before hunting those who were involved, her aunt Funa forcing them to spill who among them had been aware of what they were doing and who had been clueless before dragging off the guilty parties for tortures she couldn't imagine. And they deserve whatever they're getting. The trap had contained a thousand spirits and they had intended to make one for every gate after proving the viability of the weapon, treating her people like a disposable resource to be sacrificed for the world as a whole. The thought left her sick, and the consequences were going to be far-reaching if nothing was done. It was with that sense of purpose that she made her way to Allfaith, where a meeting about just what had happened was to be held as she got to their crowded streets, ignoring the signs of damage and walking to where she knew it was going to take place, only coming to a stop as she passed a certain building on the way. It was a temporary hospital, like so many others that had been set up to take care of the wounded, and from where she was she could see it was overflowing, the city's main hospital likely regulated to looking after less severe cases since it was farther from the gate. Even in just one day, so many people had been hurt, enough that healers were going to be busy for potentially weeks trying to treat everyone they could, having to keep everyone in a poor state longer to split their mana between patients rather than focus on getting one done quickly but leaving the potential for others to die in the time it took any healer to get to them. ...I have some time, She muttered to herself. I'm here, what? An hour early, maybe closer to two? I have time. She couldn't just walk by, but that meant she needed to be quick, so without wasting a moment she rushed to the door and pushed in, pulling out her card to prove her skill as she offered just a bit of help. As the notification went off in her head, Thera rushed off, her detour taking longer than she'd planned by sheer virtue of how many people that were hurt, with plenty still to go even after she'd left. She had wanted to stay longer, but she needed to know what the spirits would do as they aired their grievances so she let her feet carry her, touching her necklace as she did to let the jobs fill her mind. AVAILABLE JOBS Queen of mana Musician Professional dancer Bard Darkness mage -charm specialized Healer Dark mage Staff user Master adventurer Homunculus creator Chimera maker War mage Saintess I'll take saintess. It didn't need any thought to know what to go for, she'd known she'd be getting the job ever since she'd gained the title, and with how many people there were to treat in the world as things stood, she couldn't justify any other choice when she fully expected to be busy acting as a healer for a while so she listened as the notifications filled her mind. Name: Thera Oress Race: Succubus/Spirit Hybrid Titles: Spirit Child, Madman's lover, Spirit princess, Saintess Jobs: Saintess lv4 Previous Jobs: Beginner Dancer, Dancer, Apprentice mage, Earth mage, True mage, High earth mage, Spirit mage, Life mage, High life mage, Telekinetic mage, Adventurer, High telekinetic mage, High spirit mage, Master earth mage, Earth princess, Master life mage, Life princess Attributes: Vitality: 2070 Vitality recovery rate: 33/hr Mana: 499,902 Mana recovery rate: 174/min Strength: 285 Agility: 756 Stamina: 635 Intelligence: 699 Affinities: Light: 4 Life: 22 Fire: 11 Water: 14 Air: 12 Earth: 103 Death: 3 Dark: 43 Space: 2 Time: 1 Resistances: Light: 5 Life: 9 Fire: 11 Water: 16 Air: 12 Earth: 35 Death: 13 Dark: 42 Space: 7 Time: 8 Blessed skills: Spiritual earth magic lv3* Charm magic lv5 Passive skills: World speak+ Coordination lv5 Bind Mana recovery rate enhancement lv7 Earth sense lv3 Active skills: Calculate lv2 Dance lv5 String instrument lv3 Woodwind instrument lv3 Cleaning lv2 Staff wielder lv1 Meditation lv2 Speed reading lv4 Spiritual life magic lv2* Telekinesis lv7 Dark magic lv8 Spirit empowering lv9 Cooking lv1 Mana examination lv6 Blessings: Anailia's Blessing Elvat's life magic Blessing Quox's Blessing Eneth's Blessing Earth Pantheon's Blessing Trials: Trial of Anailia and Tolona Earth tower She didn't let herself stop to appreciate the notifications going off in her head, there'd be time for that later. Instead, she rushed to a government building on the edge of town, not the one Ben had forced his way into after being free of the trial, but instead another, more seldomly used but also more important for one key reason. It had been built in the coast, with the central hub of it creating a private meeting ground for both land and water-based races to talk. She made her way to the front door of it, feeling her stomach in knots. She hadn't actually been invited, but she filled an unusual role as one of the two people to fall between the categories of spirit and more typical mortal, and since she understood what was going to happen she just needed to do her best to try and leave the outcome as good as it could be for everyone as she moved to go past the guards stationed at the front. Hold up there miss, I'll need to see some identification if you're heading in. Okay, so confidently walking in didn't work, I guess that leaves me with trying to talk my way in. Gods above I wish I had Ben here, he seems a lot better at this sort of thing. She tried not to let the thoughts touch her face as she pulled out her card, hiding all the information on it but her name and race before showing it as the second spoke up. Ahem, miss, if you don't have any identification from any government you're affiliated with then you're in the wrong place. If you'd take the time to look at my race on my card then you'd know I'm not, She told them sternly, holding it in front of their eyes. I believe you should know what this meeting is about, and I'm also fairly sure you should know that the great spirits aren't happy. It's in everyone's best interest that there be a mortal in the room they might actually want to listen to compared to whatever heads of state they're just going to ignore out of hand. The two looked at each other, not sure what to do. It was clear that she wasn't an uninvolved party, but they also had their orders, and there were enough people of note behind those doors to enforce the simple rules they were given. Thera could see all of that, so she decided to make it easy for them. Okay, you both have a job, I get it, but I'm sure we all collectively don't want the spirits doing anything crazy so don't hold this against me and if you haven't gotten yourselves free in a bit I'll let you out when I'm done. Wha- Before either could get out a complete thought, the ground beneath them rose up, wrapping around them to hold them in place but not tight enough to cause any harm either. Even if she hadn't been able to talk her way in, she wasn't going to hold it against anyone who was just doing their job, and if either of them had any earth magic they'd be able to get themselves out of it in a bit. All she had to do was use whatever minutes she had. With a quick apology, she walked past them, pushing through the doors to a large lounge area with another door on the other side of it, the sounds of the proceedings making it through, though not in any way she could understand as she pushed through to find the crowd beyond. Of the mortals there, there had to be a thousand spread between land and sea, with a few semi-aquatics as well to help ensure that everything that was said on either side made it to all parties, but beyond that were the spirits floating around. Of them there were thousands, more than she'd ever seen at once, all filling the air while at the center of it all stood the great ones, seven of the eight present for the proceedings with only the great fire spirit, her uncle Incedis missing. It was obvious enough who in the crowd possessed awakened magics, those few staring at the sky nervously with the strength of their mana sense letting them see just what was above them as someone in the crowd spoke. Abrus and Lux, both of you of all people shouldn't be humouring this idea, A man in the crowd said, trying to sound reasonable. You have families on this world. Mortal families that can't just fly off to wherever you think you might escape to. Are you really just going to abandon them like this? I've already made my stance clear, Her father told them firmly, holding her mother's hand. I will stay, but you won't see me acting to get a single other spirit to do the same if they don't wish it. If this is how the world will treat them then they're better off somewhere else. I stand the same, Her aunt agreed. What happened wasn't just one person acting alone, but a group of people in high positions who'd viewed us as nothing more than a resource. I'll stay for my child, but it's clear from the weak reaction among you all that since you can't see them you can't properly view them as people. If that's the case, why should they risk themselves to fight for you? So there you have it, Vividus spoke. Unless any of you can even begin to provide proper compensation for the lives of the spirits that were lost, why should we not simply leave? Have you not already taken your revenge? One spat. You went so far as to murder our king! Will you not be- His words were cut off with a scream as his arm exploded in a fountain of blood, Vividus in front of him with her hand around his throat before anyone in there could perceive what had happened. You're king provided funding and resources to that madman knowing full well what he was doing, She said coldly. Consider yourself lucky that Lux and Funa kept me from eradicating your kind as a whole. Hell, half of your nation is still standing, isn't it? Besides, do you really think that ending a mortal lifespan is comparable to ending an eternal one? She looked around as she asked it, giving anyone the chance to speak up as none of the other great spirits stopped her from acting in her rage. You all get at most a few centuries on this world, but this act has wiped away millennia lived and the rest of time to go along with it. Do any of you fools grasp how long eternity is? If we were to combine the lifespans of every living being on the planet, it still wouldn't add up to the life of a single spirit. That is how insignificant you all are. There was a clear divide in the crowd between those who understood what it would mean to lose the spirits and those who didn't. All of them were scared of the seven before them, but it was harder to appreciate what the ones that remained unseen actually did in the battles unless their mana sense was good enough for the affinities they possessed. Too many of them weren't properly appreciating the sort of fighting force the spirits could be with their outrageous mana pools and high levels of control for their affinity. Vividus, I don't think they'll understand our worth like this, Spoke her uncle Salinoth, the great water spirit who was using the form of a large, floating eel made of ice, kicking the more typical trend of following in her father's footsteps for picking his appearance. Because they're blind fools it's important to make them know it in their soul, so all of you, if you will? He wasn't speaking to the crowd, nor to the other great spirits with him. Instead, he looked up, speaking to the various spirits around as they each expended just a little bit of mana to do something they almost never would, they made themselves visible to mortal eyes. Light, fire, and dark spirits all simply cast their mana while earth, water, and air all manipulated the substances they'd interact with, pulling them from the world around them to create false bodies for themselves the same way the great spirits would as those who weren't able to see them were forced to confront how outnumbered they were should discussions break down further. Vividus had already maimed one, and the rage of them all didn't want to be contained. Salinoth ignored the growing unease though, instead speaking out to just two of the earth spirits above, going on to make his point. Yes, both of you, if you would, I believe a proper demonstration is in order. It must have been something they'd planned earlier before the meeting had begun with both spirits moving up, rising to the roof before they demonstrated their power as the two alone separated it from the rest of the building as each person looked up in horror at the display of strength, before it was crushed down to a block and placed among the crowd. So that, Vividus stated. Is the strength you're losing. You really should consider yourselves lucky you know. We're only talking about leaving, not waging our own war first, but for all we feel about what happened, we still hate the demons more, which is the only reason why you're getting this meeting. So convince us if you can, why should we not abandon you all to your fate? A murmur went up as they spoke amongst themselves, all of them finally completely on the same page. Before they'd understood the value of the great spirits, each of them able to hold a gate by themselves, but too many had failed to grasp the strength of the regular ones without seeing it with their own eyes. Now that they did, they understood why it couldn't be lost and cursed out Iberu and his co-conspirators for creating the situation to begin with as a single problem emerged the more they spoke. What could they possibly offer? As far as any of them could tell, the spirits simply didn't need things. Even the fact that they were on the world at all had more to do with preference based on the environment they'd come into being in. They didn't breathe and lived entirely off mana, a force that could be found anywhere in reality. Really, they stayed on the world for the simple reason that a feeling of gravity was more comfortable than not having it and that a living planet was more interesting than the largely empty void of space, but if they had to leave they would. It was the choice that would be safest for them in the long run in the end. It was then that Thera finally spoke up, forcing her way through the crowd to stand before her aunt and the other great spirits, with all of the standard ones buzzing with excitement when they noticed she was there, rushing to fly around her with each spell they were dressed in still active, making her look like the heart of a strange storm as they called out to her. Princess, you're here! It's good to see you, princess! Princess, have you gotten stronger? She felt a few of the great spirits giving both her and all of the ones around her funny looks, not having been aware of her growing popularity among their kind as she tried to keep any discomfort about the incredibly enthusiastic greeting from her face. Hello, hello, It's good to see all of you too, She told them gently as many in the crowd of mortals were quick to draw the connection between her and her father from looks alone while she faced her aunt Vividus, who was staring at her at a loss for what might have been the first time. I'm not quite sure about where to begin with all I'm hearing, but I take it you have something you want to say? Your connection to us isn't going to change things Thera, you've always thought of yourself as a succubus before a spirit. I have, and I think I'm right to, but that's not what I'm doing. You said you wanted to be convinced, so I'm here to make the spirits an offer, She told them, before going to look over her shoulder to all of the groups behind her. Of course, so long as you can talk all of them into going along with it. While many of the mortals looked unsure, even more were looking at her with hope, wanting a solution to smoothing things over that they just couldn't see as she gestured to the two spirits that had just displayed their strength, and before the eyes of all of her aunts and uncles transferred her mana to them, bringing them back to full strength. Some looked surprised, but Vividus just regarded her with curiosity. Interesting, I'd heard rumours among them of something like this, but to see it's accurate is certainly unique. But so what? What value is there in a skill that you alone use? The value is that there's no reason I should be the only one who can use it, She said confidently. I know you pay at least a little attention to the world aunt Viv so here's what I want to propose. All of you stay until the third wave, if things get too bad at that point then leave, and in exchange, we'll get the skill master and his apprentices to learn this skill from me and spend the next few years of their lives passing it on to the powerful mages of every nation. If they all learn it and devote an hour or two to passing on their mana a day then it will be the best chance since you all came to this world to grow your numbers. Even if you have to escape in the end then you'll be escaping with far more spirits than you'd be leaving with now, it would work out for you all in the long run whether we win or lose. She'd been thinking about just what she could do ever since she'd heard this meeting was going to take place, and this was her solution, one she felt confident in that would work out heavily in the spirits favour. Her mother was smiling at her confidently beside her father as the rest of her extended family looked amongst themselves. It was a good offer. Spirits were always hesitant to bring their numbers up since the time after would leave them at their most vulnerable, but if they were to have a way to regain their strength from taking mana from the mortals then there'd be a chance for them to grow their numbers in a way they never had before. If things really did get too bad during the third wave, they could simply leave, they had nothing to lose from such a proposal. It was clear they were going to accept, it was just a matter of making sure that the representatives would agree to such a thing. It was only Vividus who looked at her curiously, a question on her lips. I'm not inclined to say no to something so beneficial, but why are you doing this? What, why wouldn't I? Things work out very heavily for the spirits from a deal like this, why didn't you push for more? She knew that Thera didn't think of herself as one of them which made it harder to understand, but her niece just shook her head. Gods above Viv, because I'm not you. Besides, they all say I'm their princess, I should at least try to act in their interest. She did want them helping the world she lived on, but she also wanted them getting the most they could from it, it was as simple as that. It was with that last statement that those floating around her went wild, the spirits being clear in their affection.