CH 562

Allen traveled from the forest to the island many times, bringing back huge rocks, which the dragonkin would chisel into usable stone material.

"We're back."

Allen and Cecile then returned to the magic ship.

The pilot Piyon was part of the divine people, so Allen did not mention any details of what he was doing, since no matter how friendly Piyon was, he was still a servant of the Heavenly King.

The first sales were important to any deal. The Heavenly King would eventually find out what Allen was doing, but it was better to delay that so he would not throw a wrench into their plans.

"Oh, you're done then? We're about to arrive, actually."

"I see."

Hearing Larappa, Allen walked up to the screens and looked into them.

There he saw the circular landmass known as the Divine Arena.

Allen was going there so Formar and Luck could become even stronger.

He would keep Sophie with him to raise his own Skill Level though.

The Divine Arena was also the Temple of the 8 Weapon Gods, led by the God of Swords.

(I wonder how much Kurena and the rest improved. She was sleeping the last time I checked…)

Kurena and the hero's party were already there, though Allen was slightly worried about Kurena.

(Hmm, maybe I should update the Grimoire for now.)

Allen decided to write down the changes of the last 2 months until they landed.

[Human realm]

-Rodan Village: Villagers from Rodan Village are undergoing Talent Changes with help from Allen's Army

-Academy City: The city is being expanded to accommodate the additional school year, Allen's Army is helping students undergo Talent Changes

[Divine Realm]

-Divine Arena (God of Swords, God of Bows, etc.): Kurena, Haku, Hero's Party in training

-Paradise of Primordial Beasts (Beast God Garm, Beast God Giran, etc.): Shea, Ten Heroic Beasts in training

-Temple of the Earth God: Merle, Tam-Tam, Admiral Galara's Party in training

-Temple of the God of Music: Rosalina, Dogora, Kiel, Ignomas, Lepe in training

-Temple of the God of Trading: Peromus, Fiona in training

-Heavenly Country of Shandar: Somei and Abigayle working to unite dragonkin

(Hmm, looking at it this way, we're spread out pretty evenly. Though Ignomas is a spearman, so if it's safe enough I'd like him to join the Divine Arena too. That goes even more for Dogora though.)

The fight in the Spirit Paradise had been so harsh that he had no time to check on his Nests.

He could only hope that everyone was improving smoothly.

He also felt like having Ignomas in the God of Music's Temple was a bit of a waste.

As he thought of that, the magic ship landed, and Piyon and Larappa decided to stay aboard.

"Where are we going to head next?"

They would work on their next route in the meantime.

"Go to the God of Earth Gaia's Temple next."

They could depart as soon as they made sure the magic ship was working properly.

"Oh, we're going there? Ah…you want divine orichalcum."

"Yeah. I'll get a sword that won't break no matter what."

Allen sounded excited as he replied to Cecile.

"You really never change, do you…"

Cecile quickly understood what Allen was trying to get, a sword that would not break.

She felt a bit relieved but also annoyed that Allen had not changed at all since she met him.

Once Allen told Larappa everything he had to, he descended the stairs to the side of the ship.

An angel with bulging muscles like a bodybuilder awaited them on the ground.

"Oh, Lord Querubin. Thank you for coming to receive us."

That was the First Angel Querubin, who served the God of Swords Sestavinus.

'Mhm. I heard the troublemakers were headed here.'

"You're exaggerating."

Allen replied playfully to being called that.

'Hmph, the God of Swords isn't as lenient as the Great Spirit God. The moment you disrespect her I'll make sure your head never connects to your neck again.'

"That'll depend on what kind of trial we get."

'Y-you little..?!'

Querubin reached for the sword hanging from his belt.

"...What do you mean?"

Allen remained calm, looking intently at Querubin.

"Hey, why are you trying to get him riled up like that!"

Cecile had to step in to stop Allen from escalating the issue.

'Hmph, I'll take you to the God of Swords' Arena. Follow me.'

Querubin's face was red with anger, but he took a deep breath and calmed down.

Once everyone had disembarked, he turned around and walked away as they followed him.

The landing pad was detached from the main landmass, connected by a 100 meter long bridge.

(There's stone paved paths everywhere. I guess it's because they have a lot of Faith here, considering how much fighting the Demon King has caused.)

The floor of the Divine Arena was paved with red bricks.

While the Heavenly King's palace was made of stone, the entire Temple of the 8 Weapon Gods was made of stone.

Once they had crossed the bridge, Allen spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but I think it'll take too long to just walk over to where Kurena is."

'Hm, I guess so. Let's fly then.'

The God of Swords' Arena was located in the center of the Divine Arena, which was many thousand kilometers in diameter.

Querubin spread his 3 pairs of wings while Allen activated Kuwatoro's [Floating Wings], and they flew at a high speed to the center of the Divine Arena.

(I see, so the God of Swords' Arena is in the center, and the 7 others are surrounding it.)

Allen used Kuwatoro's [Thousand-mile Eyes] to check the Divine Arena's layout.

The Divine Arena was thousands of kilometers wide, and the God of Swords' Arena in the center was hundreds of kilometers wide, which also served as her Shrine.

Many training coliseums with dome roofs were dotted around there.

The other 7 Weapon Gods had 100 kilometer wide Arenas around the center.

Allen had the Divine Compasses of the God of Swords and God of Bows, so he should be able to enter both without issue.

(I should try to get the Axe or Spear ones next. That way I can bring Dogora over. I can pull two now, so either is fine. I'll also have to ge the God of Magic's. Wait, hm? Are those angels?)

As Allen observed the different Shrines, he spotted a large number of angels training.

"I see, so this is where the angels train."

"What now? Is this the angels' training grounds then?"

Cecile replied next to Allen.

"The angels also fought the Demon King's Army the other time. Hmm, I see."

The angels were training there, some with bows, others with bows.

That reminded Allen of the story he heard from Merus. While Rosenheim was being invaded, the Demon King's Army went to steal the God of Fire Freya's Divine Artifact.

There had been many losses on both sides as the other Gods went to Freya's aid.

Allen had thought that the Gods had been the main fighting force, but the angels seemed to train a lot too.

A long time passed as Allen was lost in those thoughts, and their trip reached its end.

They landed in front of a large gate, guarded by multiple angels.

'Welcome back, Lord Querubin!!'

'Welcome back, Lord Querubin!!'

'Yes, I'm back.'

(This looks a lot like a gym.)

The angels' voice was louder than it had any need to be, but Querubin acted normal.

'The humans are over here. Follow me.'

Kurena was training in a nearby building.

"We're finally seeing Kurena again. I wonder how strong she got."

"Yeah…hm, this looks a lot like a dojo."

(I'll challenge all of them.)

A sign next to the entrance called it the God of Swords' dojo.

'Here. This is where everyone has to meditate. I'll inform the God of Swords of your visit now.'

(Meditation? C-could she be…)

After sliding the large door to the side, they entered the wooden dojo.

Querubin was done guiding them, so he left to tell the God of Swords about the visitors.

"I guess this means we can go inside… Ah, there's Haku."

Sophie and the rest were careful to not do anything rude in the divine realm, so they carefully walked on the wooden floor, and soon spotted Haku ahead of some angels sitting with their legs crossed.

'...'

Haku did not react to Sophie's voice, sitting cross legged like the angels, with his head leaning down and his eyes closed.

Even when Allen and the rest were in front of him, his eyes remained closed.

There was one angel, likely an instructor or a senior apprentice, pacing from one side to another behind the meditating angels.

After Haku, the group noticed Kurena and Helmios' party meditating as well.

"Zzz… Zzz…"

"She's sleeping…"

Cecile was shocked to find that while the angels and Helmios' party were focusing on meditating, Kurena was sound asleep.

"Ah, Allen."

Helmios' party had noticed Allen, but they forced themselves to keep their eyes closed. Kurena woke up though, and her face quickly lit up seeing Allen.

"Hey, Kurena. Have you been sitting here the entire time?"

"Yeahh…"

Her happy face quickly crumbled into somberness, showing just how hard her time there had been.

(Alright…)

Allen began taking a very deep breath.

Cecile and Sophie turned to look at him, wondering just what he was about to do.

"What kind of clown are they taking you as?!"

Allen used all the air he had breathed in to shout loudly.

'Wha- Keep it quiet over there!'

Since Allen raised his voice, an angel that seemed like an instructor rushed there.