Chapter 114
High above the arena packed with individuals from Arkrest Kingdom’s Magic Academies—Dran included—were two formidable individuals gazing down on the rest. These figures that stood in the blue sky seemed human, though they were far from that.
White wings spread from their backs, while their black armors glistened like obsidian. Each had a ceremonial sword at their waist, a decorated long sword lowered, and a bulky-tipped short spear as tall as their height in hand.
These were Valkyries who served the gods of war in the heavens.
Out of the two present, one seemed to be twenty-two or twenty-three years old, with a braid as red as the blood of her enemies. The other was a teen with short yellow hair and an innocent face.
They served Aldeath, the greatest war god in existence, and were ranked high among the Valkyries.
The girl with the braided hair was Sarako, while the yellow-haired teen was Saha. After Aldeath and Amias had witnessed Christina’s combat in the Goblin fight of Bern village, they had arranged for a number of Valkyries to watch over Christina on a rotational basis.
However, if their gazes were too intense, Christina would notice someone watching her from time to time and raise her guard. Moreover, when Dran was with her, he would pick up on these Valkyries and wave to them or greet them with a look, causing these women’s hearts to throb.
Sarako and Saha, who were on duty to watch Christina this week, already had their eyes fixed on the woman. However, their main god, Aldeath, and his sister, Amias, had further instructed them to avoid being noticed by Dran and Lenia today while making sure to keep a close eye on Christina. Hence, the two were treading a fine line as they watched over the woman who had stricken the fancy of Aldeath and Amias.
Sarako, always serious with her tasks, was faithfully following the orders from their lord. On the other hand, Saha had a bored look on her face, somewhat displeased by the fact that she could not do anything else.
「Hey, Sarako, Lord Dragon is close to noticing us anyway. Why don’t we just descend and greet them instead? That way, we don’t have to watch over her from above. We can even hang around Christina.」
As Saha voiced out her selfish request like a child, Sarako regarded her companion with an utterly serious expression, one that would make anyone agree that sternness was in her bones.
「We can’t do that. We serve Lord Aldeath, and Lord Aldeath has ordered us to watch over Christina and welcome her soul to the Garden of Warriors at top speed when she passes away. Lord Aldeath has not ordered us to descend and speak with her.」
The majority of Valkyries were faithful subordinates, though Sarako was a particularly hard-headed and inflexible one of the bunch. She was closely similar to the earthly depictions of Valkyries, leading to her high recruitment rate of Einhelial heroes. However, it was rather hard to work with her as colleagues.
「It’s true that Lord Aldeath did not give such orders, but won’t it be nice to be acquainted before we usher her into the Garden of Warriors? Usually, we don’t do this, but she’s someone Lord Aldeath knows. Besides, she’s also Lord Dragon’s lover. Rather than popping up at the time of her death to invite her over, greeting her now minimizes room for error in the future. It’s also polite.」
The target of their recruitment this time just happened to be Christina, the lover of Ancient-Celestial Dragon Dragon, an existence far more superior than their main god Aldeath. Moreover, Christina was one of the rare few awakened superhumans on earth, with stunning looks that even the goddesses of beauty would be jealous of, as well as the protection and blessings of the Ancient-Celestial Dragon Dragon.
The spirituality of her soul had surpassed that of a saint and reached the realm of demi-gods. If she continued refining her soul in the days to come, her spirituality would soar beyond that of Einhelials and reach the realm of gods. Right now, even if she were to become an Einhelial, her spirituality would exceed that of Sarako and Saha.
「Hm, that’s true, but this isn’t the time to do so. However, your suggestion makes sense. This is an unusual situation…」
Oh… She just needs one last push, Saha mused delightedly.
Meanwhile, Christina was precisely the rare talent that urged even the inflexible Sarako to consider alternate modes of action. Sarako felt a need to work harder for her future surge within her and channeled even more attention to her task.
For now, she was going to watch the fights of Dragon, the divine beast carrying his genes, and the human Christina. At present, Dragon seemed unbothered by their gazes anyway.
Saha glanced down casually, and an overwhelming divine energy burst forth around the two women out of the blue.
「What?!」
「This divine energy… Lord Aldeath!」
The divine energy of the two Valkyries’ one and only lord along with his sister, Amias, was accompanied by four bouts of divine energy more appalling than Aldeath’s. As Sarako and Saha were surrounded by such divine energy, four supreme gods appeared before the two women as well.
Aldeath was in a sleeveless black top and black leather pants, and he had his treasured long spear in hand. Beside him, Amias appeared in a long, light green dress, unlike her attire when she had descended to Bern village.
Even a visit from Aldeath and Amias was enough to startle Sarako and Saha out of their wits. Yet, these two gods had come with four supreme gods, creating an unfathomably astounding sight for the two Valkyries.
To Aldeath’s right was Mairahl, the god of mother earth, with her long black hair. On the other side of Mairahl stood a figure with an Orichalcum eyepatch over his left eye, dark green robes, a triangular hat, and a double-edged spear. This was the ancient god of magic and knowledge, Aldin.
Behind Aldeath, a human silhouette appeared. This robust physique was mostly pale white, with red and gold lines tracing parts of it. The face that appeared had curvatures that indicated a nose and blue eyes, but nothing else, not even pupils, could be seen. Angular extensions that looked similar to human ears stretched diagonally backward. A red halo reminiscent of the blazing sun and a white halo recalling the full moon in the night sky hovered behind this figure.
This deformed human silhouette was Jareid, the God of Justice.
The sixth supreme god who appeared was a slender man, and the most powerful of the gods present right now. He was Keios, the God of Chaos and the twin brother of Caravis, the God of Destruction and Oblivion.
With the descent of the great heavenly gods of equally formidable powers, the straight-laced Sarako and even the frivolous Saha were rendered speechless as they froze on the spot.
Sarako and Saha had not noticed, but these gods who had come to watch Dran and his companions in the tournament were all great gods who had pledged to enter Dramina’s Royal Capital.
「Sarako, Saha, you’ve done your jobs well. You have my thanks.」
The moment Aldeath offered his praises with a hearty laugh, the stiff Sarako and Saha finally snapped out of their daze and dropped to their knees in the air speechlessly. Even these Valkyries who had served Aldeath for a long time rarely met the great gods. The only time they would encounter each other was during battles with the evil gods of the demon realm. Hence, the sudden gathering of these gods had thrown the two women into a state of confusion.
「Y-Yesh! Lord Aldeath! Lord Amias!」
Sarako, who was too intimidated to even lift her head, stumbled on her words as she uttered her reply.
「Wh-Why have you come here? Moreover, you are in the company of Lord Mairahl, Lord Aldin, Lord Jareid, and Lord Keios!」
「What? Dragon, oh, it’s Dran now, isn’t it? That guy is taking the stage, so we wanted to have a closer look. You may be unaware, but Dran made an oath to us when he entered this human city. Since it’s a good chance, I invited this bunch over too. You two can continue with your duties.」
It would not be so troubling if it were that easy to acknowledge Aldeath’s statement and resume duties. However, Aldeath’s unusually dauntless nature tended to cause rather troubling situations. Clueless about the hearts of his subordinates, he let out a cheerful chortle, only to be berated by the one-eyed ancient god.
「With you, their lord, and us present, that’s a tall order to be asking of them. Aldeath, your subordinates are genuinely feeling uneasy. Pay more attention to your words.」
「Oh? Is that so? It’s just a bad habit of mine that I can’t seem to change. All right, Sarako, Saha. You guys can return to Valhalla for now and take a break. I’ll do your job with my own eyes. This will do, won’t it?」
「Y-Yesh. Lord Aldeath, I’m sorry but I have to refuse this offer.」
「Huh? What’s the matter, Sarako? You work hard all the time. I can’t just accept that protest of yours without an explanation.」
At the sight of Sarako’s passionate response, Saha was reminded of her companion’s enthusiasm for their main god, Aldeath. From where Saha was kneeling next to Sarako, she spotted the unusual flush of Sarako’s cheeks as Sarako lifted her head up.
「M-My apologies, but may we continue our duties of watching over the life of Christina Maxis Almadia? We will certainly refrain from disrupting you, Lord Amias, and everyone else by keeping our distance.」
Hold on. Don’t drag me into this, Saha lamented silently to her companion. However, it was clear that her companion was currently obsessed with her adoration and admiration for their main god.
In the face of the unusually enthusiastic Sarako, Aldeath made a few gestures of being in contemplation. Then, he swept his gaze across his sister and his friends, as though asking for permission for his subordinates to remain.
「I see. Amias, Mairahl, Old Aldin, Keios, and Jareid, if you don’t mind, I hope to keep my subordinates Sarako and Saha here. What do you think?」
Naturally, the great gods who had gathered here were not so narrow-minded as to find such a situation intolerable. Hence, no objections were raised, and the Valkyrie besotted with her lord was allowed to stay and watch the battle of the Ancient-Celestial Dragon on earth.
As Sarako’s heart burst with bliss, she failed to notice that her companion, Saha, was suffering from a terrible stomachache from having to remain in the same spot as the highest gods in heaven.
I believe I’ve spotted a pattern: at least part of what Alphapolis wipes clean are any events that represent a major update to Dran’s harem’s current status.