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Chapter 439: Proof of Graduation

“In the Keeper’s name, in the name of protecting this world from harm, I call upon the champions of every nation…” Although the Keeper had not explicitly given his approval for this matter, he had long since given her permission to use his name for matters of world security. While she had often refused to use this right in the past, time was of the essence here.

And so, Tsubaki explained the dangers that the world faced. She spoke of the giant disaster that had lurked unseen, and how it had chased the most powerful monsters away with its mere presence. She told them of how the spirit of the world itself had come to her, warning her that those same monsters would soon be returning, some more terrifying than ever.

This was different than the attacks that they had faced from other worlds in the past. These were all creatures that had originated from their own world. Unfortunately, many of them left before being truly understood, so their abilities were unknown.

When the kings and queens, presidents and emperors heard Tsubaki’s words, they could feel the crisis hanging over their heads. Even if she had not invoked the name of the Keeper, many of them would have still sent aid without a second thought. Now that she did so, however, those more reluctant individuals found themselves compelled.

Within the hour, these world leaders were sending orders to assemble the mightiest champions of their worlds. The greatest mages and warriors, druids and heroes were all called for an emergency meeting.

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High above and far away from Earth, an unassuming silver fish flitted through the vastness of space. Behind it… were over a hundred of the same type of creature, undaunted by the harsh atmosphere. They swam through the starry sky as if it were their ocean, navigating around asteroids as they moved back towards the distant world that had birthed the leader of this school.

In another direction, a writhing mass of brown and purple flew forward as well. It had nine long tentacles dangling behind a bulbous head. It looked almost like an octopus, if not for the extra tentacles and the fact that its head appeared to be made of countless glowing rocks.

And finally, perhaps the most terrifying presence was coming directly from the sun itself. A feline form made of golden flames, prancing towards its original home. It did not dodge around any asteroids, simply batting them aside with its heavy paws. Some of the smaller asteroids simply evaporated on contact, while others were left misshapen after briefly turning into molten slag.

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“This is going to be another problem, isn’t it?” I asked, watching the various monster groups moving back towards the world. In truth, there were dozens of different types now roaming the solar system, and of those less than ten had decided to return to earth. Even still, most of those were returning in the same state that they left.

The problems were the three that had been empowered. The Silversoul Bass, a creature that had left as an individual, but had created an entire school of fish to follow its return. The Earthshaper, a mollusk that had absorbed rare and powerful materials in the asteroid field and evolved.

However, the worst of them was the Goldenleo. Originally a lion made of ki, natural energy, and mana, it had been drawn towards the sun after fleeing the planet. While it was living on the sun for only a few short years, it had absorbed some of the power of the sun’s flames. Like with the Sea Terror King, it had grown to a level beyond what I could simply smite.

“Judging by their speed and distance…” Aurivy spoke up, looking at the monitor. “The first wave will be the unmodified disasters. Five of them will descend over the course of five days. On the seventh day, the Earthshaper will arrive. On the twelfth day, the Silversoul school will arrive. After that… it will take one month for the Goldenleo to appear.”

I gave a small nod as I listened to her estimation. “The main problem is getting everyone in a position to intercept these monsters as they arrive. Earth is too big, and they can’t afford to spread their forces too thin.”

Aurivy shook her head at that. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Now that they know where the danger is coming from, they can focus their manascopes and plot the courses themselves.”

Bihena, still standing nearby, stroked her chin in thought. “With the assembled champions, the normal disaster-level monsters won’t be able to pose a significant challenge. However, as they are appearing alone, this could cause those champions to lower their guards. Especially the gaps between the three major threats.”

The human goddess pointed to the three modified disasters. “Having a day gap after five days of consecutive fighting means that the forces will have started to think that the worst was over. Unlike Accalia, I can’t measure this monster’s defense, but the nature of the materials that it consumed should make most conventional attacks useless against it.”

“Next, the fish… this is going to be hard for them. Up to this point, they will have had an overwhelming numbers advantage, needing only to fight one disaster off at a time. When the entire school descends, each one having disaster-level strength, I expect that they will encounter heavy casualties.”

“But… the main problem is the Goldenleo. The other monsters, I believe that the mortals can fight against. This one… even entering the planet’s atmosphere could cause damage to the world, due to the extreme heat its body emits. If possible, I would recommend sending some of us to deal with this one.”

Hearing Bihena’s suggestion, I gave a small nod, closing my eyes in thought. This wasn’t like the Sea Terror King. There was no risk in sending the deities to fight, and I did not necessarily need to make a move myself. So, I only needed to choose who would be best to send.

“First off, Ashley. As the Goddess of Fire, she has the greatest advantage over this type of creature, and might even be able to snuff it out on her own. If she can’t, she’ll need a suitable defender, so Keliope should move as well. As the most defense-oriented goddess, she’ll be able to provide ample help.”

“Finally… Ryone. Her Magic domain will prove helpful in pretty much any fight.” In truth, I had considered sending Accalia as well, but decided against it. Accalia’s Wind domain would be completely useless in space, and her main fighting style would similarly be less effective.

Aside from our first invasion, I had never seen Terra in a fight. With her domains, it was unlikely that she would make a good battle goddess, so I did not want to include her. Similarly, most of the other deities would be eliminated for the same reason. I could only trust these three to handle the task.

Bihena seemed to consider the lineup, before nodding her head. “Sending three goddesses to destroy one monster could be seen as overkill, but it is also best to err on the side of caution. Aside from Ashley, the other two will be acting outside of their domains, and burn divine energy to fight.”

Giving a faint nod, I turned my eyes towards the screen once again, where I saw a rather… surprising scene.

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“Sir, are you certain that these creatures are up for this task?” An elven soldier addressed an otherwise unassuming scholar, who offered a small smile in return.

“I would offer a demonstration, but these children have a hard time holding back.” The elven scholar, Jonas Bayrun, assured the soldier. Standing behind him were five humanoid figures that seemed to be made of brilliant light. At first, the soldier thought that these were the Lightborn of Fyor, before realizing the different characteristics.

As had been explained to him, these were monsters. And monster tamers had never truly dominated the upper tiers of champions due to the limits of the monsters they controlled. For normal combat, they could be seen as remarkable, but that was only when they were able to face monsters of the same or lesser level than the monsters that they tamed.

“Very well…” The soldier reluctantly agreed, before filing in Jonas’s name on the register. “The first attack is expected to take place the day after tomorrow, above the Forest of Heroes.”

“The Heroc homeland?” Jonas mused to himself, before nodding his head. “I’ll make my way over there immediately.”

After saying that, Jonas wasted no time before turning around and walking out of the building. Once outside, he signaled to the five slimes of origin. Their halos split apart from the viscous bodies, coming together to layer atop one another.

Following this motion, the bodies of the five slimes all merged and joined together, forming into a single mass. The shape that they chose vaguely resembled a canoe, which Jonas jumped into without hesitation. Afterwards, there was a silver flash as the ‘canoe’ ascended into the air and sped off to the horizon at a rather extreme speed.

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“Interesting…” I muttered to myself, watching Jonas with his five slimes. “I didn’t expect him to be joining this battle… but maybe that means that we will be able to avoid some extra casualties.”

“Apologies, Dale, but… Jonas was included in my initial calculations.” Bihena sighed, shaking her head. “I will not deny the power of the five slimes he possesses, but I find it unlikely that they will be able to protect some of the champions from the attacks of the Earthshaper and the Silversoul school.”

“Is that so?” I wasn’t quite sure where she got her confidence from, but I knew better than to doubt her when it came to such things. At this point, I could only watch and wait. Between Tsubaki and Jonas, I could already predict that the first five days would pass without much issue. The real crisis would only begin with the Earthshaper…

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When Tsubaki had finished her briefing, and began walking towards her room, she heard a faint clattering of metal. Moving to investigate, she found Dana standing in the armory, seemingly testing the various weapons within. “Dana… what are you doing?” Tsubaki questioned, though she seemed to know deep down what was happening.

“I’m getting ready to join you.” Dana spoke matter-of-factly. “A sword is no good, huh? Maybe a staff would be better for me?”

“Dana, no.” Tsubaki shook her head firmly, though for the first time Dana did not seem intent on listening.

“Dana, yes.” She retorted. “Tsuba, if you die, I die. And I don’t want to die. The safest place in the world for me is by your side, keeping the both of us safe. You’ve spent so long training me, you know I’m ready for this. Instead of trying to hold me back so that you can protect me, help me.”

Dana turned to fully face Tsubaki, showing her teacher and adopted big sister a face of utter determination. “Rewrite the spells you stored in me and create battle spells. I’m joining you in this fight, one way or the other. Make me your armor, your spear, or your ally. But I won’t let you leave me behind now that we’re facing a real threat. This is what you trained me for.”

Dana’s words seemed to bounce around in Tsubaki’s head. She had been so focused on raising Dana as a little sister, and engrossed herself in the feeling of having a family, that she had forgotten Dana’s role as her student. A student to the Servant of the Keeper, who herself had entered his employ. Taking a deep breath, Tsubaki nodded her head with a firm look in her eyes.

“Alright… let’s get started.”