When Evan arrived at the Council Hall, the Elder Spirits were already seated, along with the commanders of Tír Síorghlas’ military who had been close enough to attend.
The eting had apparently already started, and as Evan entered, a spirit pulled out a chair for him, and he took a seat.
Over the past two months, so of the Elder Spirits’ attitudes toward him had changed. While a few had beco more cordial, others remained tense or openly hostile.
However, the binding contract between them prevented any of them from acting on those feelings, so Evan paid them little attention.
Since they didn’t like him to begin with, he kept his interactions with them, and anything or anyone under their command, to a bare minimum.
Just as Evan yawned and was about to rest his head on the table until the discussion reached sothing requiring his input, Caeril suddenly addressed him.
"Sir Evan. Thank you for the service in today’s operation."
"You’re welco."
Evan replied, raising his gaze to et Caeril’s, and the Elder Spirit silently handed him a few papers.
"Coming from Nature’s Abode yesterday was good news that I wish to share with everyone present."
Caeril’s words drew all eyes to him, and in a composed tone, he made the announcent.
"Infernal Archdevil Commander Yujia has been slain."
"?!"
"Who?!"
One of the Elder Spirits sat up, eyes wide in shock, and Caeril answered calmly.
"Sir Evan’s companion, currently working with Nature’s Abode, Sir Arthur. The news ca directly from the prophetess.
She also inford us of the deaths of several other Infernal Archdevils at Sir Arthur’s hands, including Kagluk, Vonun’s right-hand man."
After delivering this report, Caeril’s expression darkened slightly, and everyone imdiately tensed, feeling he was about to follow up with bad news.
"Unfortunately, even after months of searching, we have been unable to locate Infernal Archdevils Vonun and Jegunul. Not even Kagluk’s death managed to draw Vonun out from wherever he is."
Though this wasn’t as bad as so feared, and a few sighed in relief, it was still troubling.
Two of the enemy’s three commanders were missing, and there was no clue where they might be.
Who knew what they might be plotting?
"Still, with Yujia’s death, I’m sure their forces will be thrown into disarray. If we spread the news on our side, it would stir further chaos among the Infernal Devil ranks, giving us a chance to strike another blow."
"I understand your enthusiasm, but calm down. Our forces still haven’t recovered from the last operation."
"Yeah. And while we succeeded, it wasn’t without losses. Constant deploynt could take a toll on the soldiers’ morale."
"The death of an Archdevil Commander would be more than enough to keep morale high!"
"Even so, we shouldn’t rush things..."
The Spirits began to debate among themselves on what course to take, and Evan silently tuned them out as he sifted through the files Caeril had handed him, which contained everything the Prophetess had relayed to Tír Síorghlas.
It was only when one of them said sothing that caught his attention that he finally looked up.
"Now, among the major Infernal Devils, only Vonun, Jegunul, and Azzonnin remain."
"Huh? Azzonnin?" Evan repeated, his voice slightly louder than usual, drawing the attention of many in the room.
"Yes. Soul Devil Azzonnin. Like Vonun, he’s been missing for quite so ti now. He was once a Transcendent Devil Dragon, but was killed by a Hero during the last campaign against Triffid.
He later resurrected as a Soul Devil, and though he lost his original power, he still holds considerable sway among the devils and even serves as a Vice Commander. Since he prefers using Soul Clones and rarely reveals his real body, we haven’t been able to get rid of him, troubleso as he is.
I suspect he might be up to sothing with Vonun and Jegunul..."
Caeril trailed off after his long explanation, and Evan blinked twice before finally replying.
"Well, I can assure you he’s NOT with Vonun and Jegunul."
"Hmm? How do you know that?"
Caeril voiced the question on everyone’s mind, and in response, Evan raised his palm and activated a holographic projection, displaying his mory of the battle with Azzonnin and the mont he’d beaten the man within an inch of his life.
"Because I killed him eight weeks ago."
"..."
For a mont, there was silence. The hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
*ting
A pin literally dropped, and everyone heard it. That was just how deafening the silence beca after Evan’s words.
"I’m sorry, what?" Caeril finally managed to ask, and Evan replied calmly.
"Did I not ntion this on Day 1? I told you I fought a Soul Devil trying to take over my body. That was Azzonnin.
He probably targeted because of my white dragon factors and attempted to consu my soul, but unfortunately for him, my soul is far stronger than any mortal soul could ever be, so his attempt failed, and I ended up devouring him instead.
Azzonnin is dead and gone."
Evan concluded his explanation and pulled out his portable console. When he pressed the power button, it blinked red, showing that the battery was dead, so he began recharging it with magic power.
anwhile, the Spirits exchanged glances, and several turned toward a particular Elder, who simply shook her head.
"Um...when did you say you killed him again?" Caeril asked.
"Eight weeks ago."
Evan replied evenly, and upon hearing his words, everyone in the room, still wearing looks of disbelief, shifted their gaze back toward the sa Elder who shook her head again.
"He speaks no lies."
Unbothered by the fact that they had used a lie detection skill on him, Evan remained focused on recharging the portable console in his hand until Caeril finally spoke.
"Sir Evan...I think you should have disclosed this information to us far earlier."
"That’s your fault, not mine. You didn’t tell he was a big shot. You only told about Vonun, Jegunul and Yujia. No Azzonnin, so I didn’t think much of it."
"..."
His response left them silent, unable to refute his point. It was true that no one had inford Evan of Azzonnin’s significance within the Devil Hierarchy.
It turned out to be a case where everyone assud soone else had already told him, and as a result, no one did. Because of that, they had all been unaware that Evan had killed Azzonnin more than two months ago.
’To think that he’d already hilled a High-Rank Devil before we even made contact with him...’
The Spirits couldn’t help but view the teenage Rogue Hero, who had decapitated half a dozen Level 800s in the past week, in a completely different light.
"Still, that Yujia was a Superior Transcendent, right? I wonder if Arthur has finally transcended. That would be nice."
When Evan brought it up, Caeril’s eyes widened in realisation, and he quickly spoke.
"Sir Evan, the Prophetess said that she would need to speak with you privately when the Chasm closes."
"Speak with privately? About what?"
In response to Evan’s question, Caeril answered,
"Sir Arthur’s Transcendence."
Now it was Evan’s turn to widen his eyes in surprise. A mont later, he nodded and said,
"I’ll look forward to that eting, then."
With that, he returned his attention to the portable console in his hands, and just like that, the eting continued, with many decisions being made.
◇ ◇ ◇
Archdevil Yujia was dead, slain by the Progenitor Godslayer, Arthur, an ally of the spirits who wielded the power of Destruction.
When the spirits of Tír Síorghlas first heard the news, there was mass confusion, as the Destruction user they were familiar with was NOT nad Arthur.
However, when the second line clarified that he was a friend of the ’White Dragon of Destruction’ they knew well, everything finally made sense.
"If he’s Sir Evan’s friend, then it makes sense."
That shared sentint was a clear testant to just how well-regarded Evan had beco among the spirits over the past two months.
The announcent of Yujia’s death was followed by news of Azzonnin’s, and the spirits of Tír Síorghlas cheered even more enthusiastically than before.
The impact of this news shattered Devil morale across the board, allowing the spirits to reclaim vast swathes of territory in a sweeping wave of montum.
The deaths of Azzonnin, Yujia, and Kagluk shook the Devils to their core. If even their Commanders and elites were falling one after another, then their own lives suddenly felt far more precarious.
The days continued in that fashion, with the spirits forcing the devil forces into retreat. Yet another Transcendent Archdevil fell, and Evan eliminated the final Vice Commander on the western half of the continent.
And on the Seventh Day, the news Evan had waited months to hear finally ca.
The Chasm was closing.
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