"I think I understand why I'm on the verge of collapse," The Dark Angel Evil Spirit said with a chuckle. "Luckily, I'm now tied to the Chaos Sea. I'm not at the point where I'm indestructible as long as the Chaos Sea exists, but at least I won't drop dead like a normal person."
"Pfft, no surprise there, coming from a fragment of you!" Alaric sucked in a breath, glancing at Sasrir with a sigh.
"What kind of weird phrasing is that?" Sasrir shook his head, smiling at the Dark Angel Evil Spirit. "He's just joking. Work is heavy, but if you need a break, he won't stop you. This guy's protective of his own."
"Looks like you two really get along," The evil spirit said with a smile.
"Of course! Sasrir's my hard-won deputy!" Alaric nodded matter-of-factly, then, as if struck by a thought, turned to the evil spirit. "By the way, don't you want a new name? You can't just go by Sasrir too... that'd get confusing."
"A new name…" The Dark Angel Evil Spirit looked momentarily lost, then, after a second's thought, ventured, "Messiah?"
"Pfft!" Alaric couldn't hold back a laugh. "Seriously? You guys really just pull names from old texts, don't you?"
It was no secret that Adam and Amon's names came from mythological stories.
And Messiah? Straight out of the same playbook.
"Wait, then how'd you get your name, Sasrir?" Alaric turned to Sasrir, curious.
"Maybe The Ancient Sun God had a rare moment of inspiration?" Sasrir quipped.
"I'd buy that," Alaric nodded thoughtfully, then turned back to the evil spirit. "I could roast you for this, but if you're set on it, I'll call you Messiah from now on."
With the Dark Angel Evil Spirit's naming issue settled, Alaric continued, "Since Messiah's situation is resolved, I'm off to arrange the God of Combat's funeral. Anyone want to join?"
As the saying goes, since they were already here, and though Alaric had delegated the funeral to Colin Iliad, he didn't mind joining in.
After all, the God of Combat was the first Sequence 0 he'd killed... a milestone worth commemorating.
"Me! I'm in!" Lil' Amon raised its hand first, always eager for a spectacle.
"I'll join too," Klein nodded. Though he wasn't close to the God of Combat, it didn't stop him from attending the funeral.
"Jack" naturally stuck with his two buddies.
The trio was enthusiastic, and the others, following the "we're here anyway" principle, decided to attend the funeral as well.
Even Messiah, freshly reborn, chose to join the event.
Thus, in the fallen Giant King's Court, the God of Combat was laid to rest with great ceremony, becoming the second giant buried there after the Giant King, observed by a crowd of onlookers.
After the funeral, the group dispersed. The True Creator returned to his mushroom-growing duties, taking the Blasphemy Slate... closely tied to the Chaos Sea... with him for safekeeping.
Adam, as usual, melted into the air, liable to pop up from some corner later. Amon, after ambushing Lil' Amon with a sack and giving it a lightning-fast thrashing, made a quick escape.
…
Sasrir took Messiah back to the Republic to start work.
Alaric, with Klein and the others, headed to Backlund to find Bethel, who was at the Abraham family's residence, grading papers at a breakneck pace.
The papers weren't just from the Abraham family's younger generation. They also included those from young people who had recently passed assessments to join the Beyonder preparatory academy.
The Republic needed its own Beyonder forces. While poaching from the churches was fun, their loyalty was questionable.
Thus, the Republic established a preparatory academy for Beyonders. Outstanding youths from schools, after inquiries and evaluations, could qualify to join.
Joining the academy didn't guarantee becoming a Beyonder, but participants would learn relevant knowledge. Those who excelled and showed strong interest could, upon adulthood, take further tests to join the Nightwatcher.
This legion was modeled after church Beyonder teams, like the Nighthawks or Punishers. Thanks to Alaric's unique rule-based abilities, which could temporarily grant Beyonder powers within their range, legion members didn't always need to become Beyonders themselves... they could borrow rule-granted abilities.
While this capped them at Sequence 8, it was often sufficient. Most church Beyonders were at this level, with Sequence 7s typically serving as team leaders or regional overseers.
Those uninterested in the Nightwatcher or who failed the tests, unless utterly incompetent, could be recommended to Beyonder-related departments, like logistics or roles with indirect exposure to the supernatural, avoiding direct danger.
If someone wanted no part of it, they were free to leave, as long as they stayed within the law. The academy imposed no restrictions.
Why focus on youths? Older individuals were generally less suited to become Beyonders.
Of course, exceptionally talented older candidates could be admitted at the academy's discretion. While primarily scouting from youth schools, the academy didn't entirely ignore skill academies.
Bethel had recently been overseeing this initiative, his Door pathway abilities making it easy to travel nationwide.
"…Why'd you all show up out of nowhere?" Bethel asked without looking up, clearly sensing their arrival.
"Came to check on you and see if the academy's got any promising talents," Alaric said with a smile, casually leaning over to glance at the papers Bethel was grading. His brow quirked.
He'd spotted a familiar name: Melissa Moretti.
Klein noticed it too, his gaze sharpening with concern for his sister.
"What's up?" Bethel asked, puzzled by their reactions.
"Nothing, just saw a familiar name," Alaric said with a smile, then asked casually, "So, how's this girl doing?"
"Very well. Melissa Moretti has exceptional talent in mechanics and strong morals…" Bethel, clearly familiar with her, praised Melissa before concluding, "Barring any surprises, she'll likely join the Nightwatcher."
Klein pressed his lips together. As family, he didn't want Melissa in danger, but as her brother, he respected her choices.
***
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