Instead, his eyes were squinting toward the direction of the bright light as it gradually began to dim.
Considering that White Flame's gift had strengthened after he became a god, to the extent that his ability to cast illusions wasn't fake but could be imposed upon reality itself, although Orion didn't understand the limits of what he could do, he understood that whatever White Flame was planning, it wasn't anything good.
The brilliant light gradually dimmed.
Just as Orion was on the verge of instructing Fifi and Seth, his words hung in his throat, and his eyes widened in astonishment at the unfolding scene before him.
He had expected White Flame to alter the landscape to his advantage, considering he could already transform a mountainous route into a grassy expanse. Heck, he had even anticipated it would become a series of colossal mountains ready to crush them into mincemeat...
But not this!
Orion found himself confronted by at least a hundred men and women dressed in camouflage uniforms, each appearing either tattered, worn out, or adorned with various patches. Every one of them looked human, their eyes focused intently on him.
"SOLDIERS! BEFORE YOU ARE BETRAYERS WHO HAVE SIDED WITH THE INVADERS. UPON ALL OF OUR SACRIFICES, THEY HAVE BEEN BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE THAT OUR ACTIONS ARE EVIL! SOLDIERS, BRING THEM BACK TO THEIR SENSES AND SHOW THEM THE MIGHT WE HAD USED TO HOLD OFF THESE FILTHY INVADERS!" White Flame bellowed loudly in the air.
As Orion listened, he became suddenly dumbfounded as a thought struck him. White Flame wasn't trying to kill them!
Of course, as he pondered it, he understood that it made sense since he and the rest were essentially the first humans that White Flame might have seen in several millennia.
Even if he intended to kill them, after his fight with Seth, given his current level of strength, he might have realized that he couldn't do so. The White Flame now was much weaker than he was in the past.
Understanding his current situation and intentions, this might as well be his last stand and how he chooses to face it.
The ground rumbled as the soldiers charged towards their direction, each of them wielding a firearm that they held like a club. The speed of their advance increased by the minute.
Orion cleared the thoughts from his head. There was no need to be emotional at this point, given the high stakes.
"Do whatever you can to hold him down for me," Orion spoke calmly, breaking Fifi and Seth out of their daze as they stared at the scene before them.
"Hey, I might not understand what is going on here, but it seems like you have a lot of explanation to do once we get back to the village," Seth said, briefly glancing at Orion with a serious gaze before focusing once more on the men and women charging towards him, surging forward.
"I would also like to get a proper explanation about everything from you once this is over," Fifi said seriously, looking at Orion.
Seeing him nod in response, she shifted her attention back forward, and instantly, her body surged towards the figures furiously, charging towards their direction.
Up ahead, Seth unleashed his Vylkr energy from all three of his Vylkr containers and activated his gift.
Out of thin air, ripples of molten lava emerged from Seth's skin, slowly seeping into the ground.
It didn't matter if it was a drop or two, as they all began to expand. Like a furious wave bent on removing everything in its path, it advanced towards the charging men, along with several cracks on the ground filled with molten lava also appearing below them.
When the two sides collided, the wave of molten lava consumed them with a "roar," swallowing them before the ground beneath tore open and submerged them into the pit of lava.
The ground boiled.
Seeing this, Seth couldn't help but smile wryly. Unfortunately, he had expected something more from the 'so-called god.'
"Huh!" Seth's suddenly frowned as he squinted at the scene before him.
The several individuals he had buried within his pit of lava reappeared on the surface, thrusting their hands forward to advance.
They were swimming within the molten lava pit!
"Tch! They are just as impenetrable as him," Seth muttered.
Just as he was about to use his gift and submerge them in another wave of molten lava, a large volume of water erupted from the ground and collapsed onto the molten lava pit. It quenched the fiery pit and hardened the molten lava until it turned into solid rocks, trapping the soldiers within it.
Regardless, that... was far from enough.
RUMBLE!
RUMCRACK!!!
The ground tore open as they strengthened to free themselves from the volcanic rocks. Witnessing that even that was futile, Seth activated his gift, this time heading straight towards the flickering figure of White Flame.
Fifi was not far behind as she activated her gift and directed it straight at White Flame, realizing they could do nothing to halt the advancing figures. Her only hope rested on Orion having a plan for handling this, or else he might struggle to establish his place as a warrior in the future.
Meanwhile, Orion, who lingered behind during their futile attempt to halt the advance of the impenetrable soldiers before shifting their attention towards White Flame, immediately activated the small crimson greatsword mark on his arm.
Instantly, the persistent itch that had been bothering him vanished, replaced by a weighty sensation within his grasp.
Turning his head to the side, Orion beheld the four-meter-long crimson great sword in his hand, observing as it collided with a muffled "bang," creating several spiderweb cracks that stretched outward for about a meter.
"Where are we?" a familiar feminine voice sounded beside him.
Orion shifted his gaze slightly to the side, and there she was—the captivating figure of the winged goddess, Aerialia.
Her wings were unfurled, stretching majestically as she hovered in the air, a frown creasing her features as she surveyed the unfamiliar surroundings.
