[The Archon War has ended. You have been chosen to become one of the Seven Archons. Proceed to Celestia immediately.]
Early the next morning, the gods of all seven nations received a message from Celestia.
All seven of them let out a long breath. Their nerves, strung tight for so long, finally loosened for a moment.
They each flew toward Celestia from their own nations. Morax was among them.
When Morax arrived in Celestia and noticed Elliot, he froze. His eyes widened, as if thinking that the person in front of him...
looked familiar...?
Sensing Morax's gaze, Elliot only looked back at him coldly, without any other movement.
When Morax met those cold eyes, he felt like he was just imagining things. He simply looked away.
Soon, once all seven gods had taken their places, Elliot swept his gaze over them. Then he raised his hand and, with a single motion, a transparent barrier spread out and covered all of Celestia, completely sealing off any way back.
"First of all, congratulations on becoming the victors of this war. In this thousand-year conflict, you were the ones who stood at the end. You are now the seven strongest gods on this continent."
"Before I grant you the authority of the Seven Archons, I will give all of you one chance. A chance to challenge me."
"I believe some of you are dissatisfied with this war. Now, the opportunity is right in front of you."
"I'll give you ten minutes to discuss and consider. Don't worry. Even if you lose, I won't do anything to you. You can treat it as a way to vent your anger at me, or as a way to test the difference in our strength."
"Ten minutes. Think it over."
When he finished speaking, the seven gods all stared, eyes wide, completely stunned.
They looked at each other, but no one spoke. None of them really knew the others. Each had been the main god of their own territory, so no one started any discussion. They just watched.
After a while, Barbatos, who had met Morax once before, nudged Morax with his elbow.
Seeing Barbatos move, Morax leaned over slightly so he could hear him.
"War God Morax," Barbatos whispered, "what do you think? Should we try?"
Barbatos's quiet suggestion shook Morax inside. He had also been thinking about trying.
But he remembered hearing, from someone he couldn't quite recall, that the Heavenly Principles were very strong.
He couldn't remember who had said it, or the exact details. It was just a vague memory.
"If there's no problem even if we lose, I want to try," Morax answered Barbatos.
Every one of them was a top god who had survived a thousand-year war. Each one stood at the peak of power in their own region. Now that they had a chance to fight the one who started this whole war, of course they had thoughts about it.
More importantly, when Elliot said, "Even if you fail, I won't do anything to you," that only pushed them further toward the idea.
It was the classic guaranteed-profit mentality.
If you win, you get to release a thousand years of anger.
If you lose, you lose nothing—and you learn the gap in power between you and him.
Who would turn down something like that?
What they didn't think about was the process between winning and losing.
After hearing Morax's answer, Barbatos became more confident.
So they began to talk. The seven strongest gods gathered together, each introducing their own name, their elemental power, and their view of the situation.
In the end, they reached a single conclusion.
Try it.
They still wanted to challenge Elliot.
"I have a question," Baal said to Elliot.
"What is it?"
"Can I have someone take my place? I'm not a combat-type. My sister is. She's better at fighting," Baal said.
"Of course you can," Elliot replied with a faint smile.
"Are you sure that even if we lose the challenge, we won't be punished in any way?" the Dendro God asked again, still uneasy.
"I'm sure. Even if you lose, I won't do anything to you. And any wounds you take during the fight—I'll heal them."
When they heard Elliot say that, they all looked at each other. Then, together, they turned to face him and said, "We want to challenge you."
"Have you all decided?" This time it was Elliot asking for confirmation.
"We have. But the challenge doesn't start until Baal's sister gets here."
"Alright. Then we'll wait for her."
With that, Baal immediately left Celestia.
...During that break, the others hurried to discuss strategy.
Seven of the strongest gods challenging Elliot alone—even if they lost, it wouldn't look too bad.
With that in mind, they excitedly discussed tactics and how to coordinate.
Elliot just watched them, wearing a kind and gentle smile, like he was looking at a new toy.
After a long while, Baal returned to Celestia with Zebul.
"We're ready." Once they saw Zebul take her place, they all turned to Elliot.
"Then let's begin."