BXBX NOVEL Chapter 229: Your Time Has Come.
"I don\'t have time for this." Sol spun on his heels and vanished with so much residual power that the entire mountain was destroyed in his wake leaving the continent trembling while he appeared back on D\'ol above Eris\'s mansion with a clap of thunder and a deafening explosion of air.
"He\'s back." Dina looked towards the windows just as Sol swooped in and landed next to her.
There lying in the bed was Ikaris with a sleepy smile and surrounding her was the entire remainder of the heroes\' party along with Dr\'ul, S\'mael, Adonai and Renia.
"Master could you not do that every time you arrive, there have been countless complaints about explosions from the neighbours and citizens around us, not to mention you nearly gave an old maid a heart attack yesterday," Dina stared up at him.
"Sorry, I\'m anxious," Sol retorted unapologetically and took a seat next to Ikaris, holding her hand and kissing her fingers. "How are you?" He asked and she slightly squeezed his hand and huffed with a smirk.
"Weak, and also anxious, like there is an eager baby inside of me wanting to see the worlds," She chuckled back at him and Sol smiled and placed his forehead on the bed next to her resting his mind for a moment. "What of Jenifer?" She asked back.
"Should you really be concerned about anything else right now?" Usami furrowed her brows at Ikaris. "You\'re due in a week, you should be thinking about your child," She raised her shoulders but Ikaris scoffed at her as well.
"From one mother to another, I am sure the only thing on your mind a week before you had your child was their safety." Ikaris stared at Usami, and the latter huffed and nodded in defeat. "You wanted to keep her safe; you wanted her to be protected, I\'m asking Sol this for the same reason, Usami, I need to know."
"They\'re planning a full-scale invasion." Sol got straight to the point. "It\'s Ill-timed and frustrating that they\'re doing it now when you\'re like this, according to what is considered prompt by their standards they will be here within the next few days to a week."
"But that\'s-"
"Almost exactly when you\'ll give birth," Sol responded to Ikaris before she even had the chance to finish.
"The problem is I can\'t bring you back to earth to have her, that\'s putting all of humanity in danger, and we can\'t stay here either; when that child is born, it\'s going to consume a lot of your power, the two of you are going to be like a beacon to every Emporium vessel from here to their Collective."
"Sol..." Eris wanted to say something but kept her tongue when she saw the conflict on his face and his hair continuously flash from brown to white and gold.
"It\'s a high possibility that I\'ll be locked in battle for who-knows how long with them, I won\'t be able to hold my daughter after she\'s born, I won\'t even be able to come near you...!" He clenched his fists causing a strong gust to sweep the sheets about, but it was Ikaris who held his hand again and smiled at him to calm him down.
"Dear, there is none I trust more than you with that task, do not fret, no harm will come to either of us."
"I\'ll make sure of it," Dina added seriously, and Arla joined her declaration with a nod. "It\'s our job to remain at her side, right, so you don\'t have to focus on anything else?" Dina rested her hand on Sol\'s shoulder. "It\'ll be okay."
"Sol, Drul raised her fist and caused a flare of fire around her arm. "Do not lose heart, I will be at your side."
"Yes, as will I," Adonai folded his hands from his seat and huffed. "We all owe you an unplayable debt for what you did, to lay my life in service of my saviour is not enough to repay your benevolence." He declared, and the other two gods next to him nodded in agreement.
"You all..." Sol stared at them grateful for their forward support, but shook his head in refusal. "I can\'t ask you all to leave Arkadia like that, this is a fight that will undoubtedly spill across the collective if I fail to contain it, Arkadia will need you, I only came to warn you to be ready-"
"Out of the question," Dr\'ul objected. "Standing by your side will lessen the breach and your workload, rather than facing it all alone, take solace in our combined strengths, we will be by your side." She smiled at him. "Let us fight with you."
"Dr\'ul, you are Vatui, and you too, Renia, it\'s evident from your appearances."
"Changing the way I look is an easy feat." Renia waved his excuse to the side. "You will not get rid of us that easily, Master Vestic." She smiled at him.
"Their ships are what will detect you-"
"Dear." Ikaris sat up with Sara\'s help and held onto his hand once more. "I understand more than they do why you reluctantly accept comrades willing to fight by your side, and the fight against Sitri was an exemption because of your weakness at the time, but remember, this is not Atla, they are not your old friends, and they are by no means weak either, it is okay to place your trust in them."
"I have never seen you mention your old home with such an expression before, Ikaris," Dr\'ul regarded her with curious eyes. "What happened there?"
"Best left unsaid," Ikaris answered. "What matters is that this is not Atla, this is not an unwinnable fight, nor is it an invasion unknown to us, we have the advantage.
"Over a hundred thousand battleships are coming at us, a hundred thousand Captains of unknown strength, three hundred thousand warriors of Vice-Captain levels, most of which are stronger than their captains, and billions of soldiers let me be clear; over ninety percent of the pantheon could be killed by any of them, this is not the demon army full of mobs and easily defeated drones, every single one of these people is a warrior with years of training under their belt-"
"All the more reason to not do it by yourself." Dr\'ul huffed, stood and walked over to him dropping her hand on his shoulder. "I am not of Atla, you know my strength even better than I do, I guard Arkadia so if your desire is for me to retreat then I will ask no more questions, but let me fight by your side Godslayer, it is all I ask."
"I choose destruction!" S\'mael smacked all his fists together with a grin. "I thrive from it, so long as there is an enemy I am immortal!" He laughed.
One by one they all declared their readiness, but all Sol could see no matter how much they encouraged and assured him was his old party; his first love, his best friend, his greatest supporter, and a young man who had looked up to him as an older brother and had died early on in his arrival, Sol smiled at Dr\'ul and her fellow gods, but contrasting his smile was pain and heartache, something his wife and lovers realised and kept hidden for his sake, as well as the sakes of those who wanted to fight alongside him.
"Master, they are on the move." Alpha appeared at his side and along with Sol everyone went silent, the mood was ruined completely, and all eyes fell on Sol when D\'ol began to slightly tremble.
"Thanks, Alpha," Sol looked at her and then at the others. "Ikaris- "
"I know, it is okay," she answered him and looked at the other heroes and Sara, while Uriyu and Gia came running through the door towards them after Alpha had summoned him."
"Is it time?" Uriyu asked and Sol stood upright and rested this hand on Ikaris\'s cheeks.
"I\'m sorry, Ikaris."
"I understand, Love, do what you must, we will wait for you." Ikaris smiled at him while he rested his hands on Dina and Arla\'s heads before Alpha whisked all of them away along with Eris\'s entire palace grounds, leaving him with the gods floating in the air.
"All of you, get ready," Sol curved his hand and balled his fist and with a flash of gold they all disappeared, re-emerging in an entirely different place.
"I do not recognise these stars..." Adonai looked around. "Where are we?"
"I chose this place because it\'s far away from Arkadia and Earth, so even if the fight spills over into another whole, they won\'t be affected or discovered," Sol raised his hand and created a small golden ball infused with his Godslayer mana and shot it out in the void before them. "That will guide them right to us, I can\'t stress caution enough, everyone," He looked around at them.
"This won\'t end quickly."
"Trust us, Sol." Dr\'ul relaxed in the emptiness and summoned her throne, taking a seat and resting her cheek on her fist. "We are ready." On her words, all the others did the same and Sol in response folded his legs and fired off three more golden balls and closed his eyes.
"Now we wait."
***
"General," A man dressed in a captain\'s battlesuit alongside nine others each with tattoos from the numbers two to ten on their right cheeks turned to him. "We have a strong Godslayer reading coming from them again."
"It\'s a call for war; he knows we\'re coming," The general frowned. "I misjudged his softness, he knew the moment he let Law go that we would return."
"What do we do sir?"
"Until the Vatui woman is discovered he is our main target and priority, set a course directly for him and alert the armada of his presence," He ordered with a lazy wave of his hand.
"Do not fret Godslayer, your time has come."