The meeting continued deep into the night. The little girl's plan was taken into consideration, and after she revealed the nature of her so-called "irresistible bait," the other experts also agreed that it could work.
The plan was extremely risky, though, and if it failed Eden would rapidly hasten towards total annihilation. It was a great gamble nobody was quite willing to take.
In the end, that plan was set aside as a final resort. Before the situation became tense enough to put it in motion, Eden's forces would stick to guerrilla tactics and covert operations to lessen the Nox's influence in the sector.
War was a long and drawn-out process. Even going many months without combat wasn't strange. The mental battle, however, was constant.
And more than the Nox, the Army of Heaven, as the soldiers colloquially termed themselves, was suffering heavily. The stress and exhaustion they felt didn't translate to the Nox powerhouses who could sit back and casually sent hundreds of thousands of mindless lower beings to attack at any time.
Alleviating this invisible burden was of utmost priority. Once morale soared, their chances of victory would do the same. After all, a vigorous soldier would kill ten enemies in the same amount of time an exhausted soldier took to kill one.
Within Eden, there was a world largely hidden from the universe due to its unique spatial coordinates. The folds of space seemed to wrap around the world and camouflage it from the outside world.
In this strange world, there was a tree that took up most of the world's surface area, the earth around it was filled with foliage and flora that established itself using the tree's roots as a base.
And on this tree was a cabin. A woman sat in this cabin worriedly staring at the simple wooden table in front of her. A small "x" marked itself onto the table as she did so.
"Another one gone. With this, under half of Eden's worlds remain uncorrupted. Should I…move?"
"Don't. You know as well as I do that you can't."
A man appeared behind this woman wearing pristine white robes that contrasted his dark hair and eyes. His presence was ethereal, making one doubt whether he really existed or not.
Naturally, this man was a Demigod.
"Arturo, if it was your Demon Race in peril, would you stay still?" She asked.
"I would," Arturo replied without hesitation.
"Then you're a better person than me. I cannot allow my people to suffer like this without a chance at redemption. If I kill that Demigod, it will give them the leeway to take back our sector and win the first major battle of this war. You know how much their momentum means."
Arturo sighed despondently. "Regardless, none of us are powerful enough to disobey the universe's rulings. If you wish to potentially harm every existence in the Grand Heavens Boundary, act as you please. However, wouldn't it be better to provide minor aid so they can deal with the problem themselves? Not only will we remain safe, but your people can also further improve themselves."
The woman frowned but said nothing. Of course she'd considered this passive stance of support but she didn't know how viable it was. What did she have to offer besides combat power? Her treasures weren't helpful in the long run. Besides, one needed to at least be a 4th class being to control a Demigod rank artifact.
The exceptions to this rule were too rare to matter on such a large scale.
"What you should offer them?" Arturo repeated after hearing her doubts. He raised his brow and looked at her like she was an idiot. "What they require right now is a method to take down the destroyer ship. You're telling me that there's nothing you can offer to aid them?"
The woman looked deeply into Arturo's eyes before her own flashed with realization. She had been too focused on the Nox Demigod instead of the crux of the issue. As long as the destroyer ship lost function, the Nox would lose a great deal of their current momentum.
"If it's just a mana engineering device…it should be possible. Arturo, I thank you for your advice, but I must ask you to leave now. I have important business to take care of."
Arturo chuckled lightly. "You don't have to tell me twice. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid while I'm not here."
"Tch, as if I need your help with anything."
"Even as a Demigod you're still the same…it isn't bad asking for help every once in a while, you know."
"I'll ask for help when I need it. I asked you for help just now, didn't I?"
'I think it's more apt to say you took my unsolicited advice but…' Arturo thought internally. Naturally he wouldn't say it out loud and upset the woman.
Still, her behavior brought a smile to his face.
Reaching the Demigod level wasn't all fun and games. It wasn't just power that one could wield freely. These Demigods who chose to stay in the lower universe were always limited by numerous factors.
Ironically, the most limiting factors were manmade. The endless politics and restrictions made it tiring to even live. The only solace was that time passed extremely fast for these Demigods.
Their natural lifespan was just too long, making their perception of time distant. Arturo had seen the rise and fall of countless powers and geniuses. He'd seen betrayal and darkness enough to make one convert to the Nox's side.
Yet, this woman always remained the same. Here, secluded in her little paradise, she shone with a radiant light that cast away all the darkness around him.
Without her continued presence, Arturo knew that he might've…
Nevertheless, seeing her get up and begin to work, his figure slowly faded. Interrupting her when she was like this was asking for death.
In his mind, he had to wonder: with the ingenuity this woman showed whenever true danger appeared, could she truly help turn the tides of war without breaking the restriction?
He could only hope so. From this point on, she became Eden's most promising route of survival.
'That's a heavy burden to carry alone…I dearly hope that it isn't heavy enough to destroy you.'
With that Arturo's figure vanished. Finally, the woman turned around and looked at the spot where he used to be.
"Just wait a bit longer. When this war is over…"
We can finally have the relationship we've always wanted. She wanted to say these words, but stopped herself.
Whether they'd live through the war was still unknown.
Her attention refocused on the task at hand. In her hand, pale green mana coagulated into a ball. That ball was slowly molded into the shape of a small humanoid being. With another breath of mana, it was brought to life.
"Go," the woman said, "take this to Aaliyah and tell her it is a gift from me. It is up to her how she uses it."
Kyuu~!
The fairy chirped excitedly and took hold of the spatial ring that was handed to it. Afterwards, it left through a nearby window and flashed through space, headed to its destination.
The woman looked up at the full moon in the sky and sighed.
'Hope, huh…it'll still be a few years until its symbols can mature. Please…please try to hold out until then.'
