Chapter 427 - Welcome Back

"Dhahliah and Cilan…" 

A frown marred Alinea's brow. "Those are…"

In the two continents in Ged, there were only two that occupied one huge piece of land, Dhahliah and Cilan while the others occupied the other one. 

Dhahliah was the second of the only two empires in Ged, while Cilan was the Ice Kingdom that was sealed off away from other kingdoms in this world. It was a very closed off kingdom and didn't even participate in diplomatic activities. It was why it was tagged as a hermit country. 

How in the world did Dhahliah start a war with Cilan? 

Fredek cleared his throat taking everyone's attention before speaking. "Even before you returned here, there has already trouble brewing between those countries. Dhahliah accused Cilan of stealing their treasured item."

"What item?"Alinea felt a sense of déjà vu. 

"The Lazarus. It's an item given by the King of Heaven that can grant immortality— in short turning someone into a deity," Ivan answered. 

"Ha? Is there a thing such as that?"Alinea was doubtful. The only means for a human to become a deity and achieve immortality was if the King of Heaven,or Rod, or now, Stribog allowed it.

"Of course, there's none. Brother never had something like that to give," Gin sighed. "It must be a false accusation. Dhahliah just wants to have a reason to wage war. After all, Cilan is a very rich kingdom in many ways."

Alinea silently agreed. Even if Cilan was a hermit kingdom, it was the only country where rose-colored crystal flowers called sulia grew. Sulias were native to the Celestial Plane, and it's somewhat similar to panacea. They were given by her father during the first Immortal War to all the kingdoms in Ged, but they all died except for the ones in Cilan. In short, in this day and age, only the Ice Kingdom had access to the said panacea. 

"But it's strange that Dhahliah would war against Cilan over the flowers,"Alinea said. 

Panacea it might be, sulias were peculiar flowers that recognized specific owners. If given against the owner's will, they would lose their magical properties and would be reduced to nothing more than crystal decors. In this case, the owners were the royal family of Cilan. Even if Dhahliah won the war, they could never use the sulias. 

"Whatever Dhahliah's reason is, it's not a matter we have to meddle with," Gin told her seriously, and Alinea nodded in understanding. 

They could really not do more for anyone in the mortal plane now that they had recovered their celestial statuses. If they were simply Returners to Ancestry without memories, they could still be forgiven. But not anymore… 

Fate… Whether these kingdoms perished in war would be now up to fate. 

Alinea's tasks in this this life was already finished. She was born for the purpose of liberating the King of Heaven. Now that Perun's free, she had to help keep up the fort in her father's temporary absence. The five years she had asked to extend her stay was already more than a bonus before she too had to ascend. She couldn't let her uncle carry all the burdens alone. 

"In any case, Ovid, Kres, and Ritz will not join the fray. If these three kingdoms won't move, none of the other kingdoms in this continent will." Ivan's voice was confident when he spoke, and it was with reason. 

Geography-wise, the other countries couldn't pass to go to either Dhahliah or Cilan if any of the three allied kingdoms wouldn't allow it. Ritz and Ovid were the only kingdoms connected to the Dark Valley which was situated at the edge of the continent shared by Dhahliah and Cilan, while Kres covered the two kingdoms in the middle. None of the armies from Veles, Atlantis, and Yhi could go through unless they had means for teleportation. 

"That's good then,"Alinea murmured. 

War was not a good thing. If they were not able to do anything to prevent it, at least minimize it. 

"Let's go back to Japan," she said and everybody agreed. 

The very same day, Alinea and her group stood outside the portal going back to Earth. Since Stribog had recovered his powers, he no longer needed to go to the Devil's Cavern. He could directly make a doorway from anywhere. 

Unlike the last time she left Ged, this time, she left without a heavy heart. 

"Take good care princess. Don't worry about Ritz. We will take good care of everything here," Fredek told her and she leaned forward and gave him a hug. 

"Take care too," she told her father's most trusted vassal who was now the Ritz King. 

"You guys…" A mischievous smile was plastered on her lips as she turned to her brothers who stood patiently behind Fredek. The familiar and endearing faces made her heart warm. "I guess I'll see you in the Celestial Plane," she said and Lucius, Rubic, Horgall, Sven, and Midas beamed at her. 

They might be staying longer in the mortal plane than her but it was a sure thing that they would see each other again. They all have become immortals like her— and for gods like them, a few decades or even centuries were not that long. This time, death could no longer separate her and her brothers. 

"We'll see you again there General," they answered and they all waved goodbye as they crossed the portal. 

It didn't take for Alinea, Ryuu, Gin, and Ivan to get to the other side. The portal opened directly at the Cedar Palace's courtyard. By the time they finally stepped out of it, people had already gathered around, all with anticipating looks on their faces. 

"They're back! The Young Masters are back! The Young Miss is back!" they cheered as soon as they appeared. 

But Alinea didn't have eyes for every one of them. Her silver gaze was only on her smiling brother's face as she left Ryuu's side to run towards him. 

"Big Bro Aki!" she called out tearfully as she jumped in his waiting embrace. 

Suzuki Aki hugged her tightly as he lifted her up. "Welcome back little sis. Welcome back…"