Chapter 50 The Way Forward

Bella shakily walked along the empty road, her soft palms pressed against a partially broken wall as she supported herself. While she was not physically injured, her mind was much more stressed. Although the burst of Gavin's divinity had healed her up, the subsequent flares of pressure from the Gods had strained her mind considerably.

"Adrian... Malaki..." She stumbled and dropped to her knees, her head bowed as she leaned against the blackened wall. After an unknown amount of time, the sound of rapid footsteps roused her from her state of half slumber.

"...lla! Bella!" Thick boots covered in black dust slid to a stop in front of her. Wearily raising her head, she saw Malaki drop onto a knee in front of her, holding onto her shoulders firmly. He scanned her thoroughly for injuries, and when he saw no physical injuries, he immediately thought that she was suffering from a mana backlash.

Quickly, Malaki pulled out a couple of vials from a hidden pouch which glowed in two distinct colors. One glowed bright blue, while the other was a neon green color. The blue potion was a mana recovery potion, while the green one was a mental rejuvenation potion; both were useful for mages who had overstressed their minds and drained their mana reserves.

He poured both potions down Bella's throat, and while the mana recovery potion did nothing to her already full reserves, the mental rejuvenation potion helped a lot, stabilizing her shaken mind enough for her to utter a few words.

"Adrian... He's over there..." She shakily pointed in the direction Adrian had been fighting with Leon earlier. Malaki's eyes widened and he rushed over after making sure that she was fine. He looked for some time before eventually seeing Adrian's crumpled body laying on the floor. For a moment, he thought that his close friend had died until he saw the faint rise and fall of Adrian's chest.

"Thank the Gods..." He sighed before propping Adrian up and pouring a health recovery potion and mental rejuvenation potion down his throat just to be safe. After that, he carried Adrian back to where Bella was.

"Is he okay?" Bella asked, concerned. Her face had regained most of its color, and she was beginning to feel more energetic.

"I think so. You are the best at this kind of stuff, not me." Malaki mumbled and placed Adrian down in front of Bella. The blond haired girl raised her palm up and placed it against Adrian's head before sending a pulse of mana into his body. A minute later, she pulled back her hand with a relieved sigh.

"He's okay, just unconscious." He told the other man.

"Good... We should get going before those monsters come again. I don't fancy being buried under a mountain of legs again." Malaki said and lifted Adrian up again, hoisting him over his shoulder. Now that he knew Adrian was fine, he was being a lot less careful and delicate when handling him.

As the left, the duo did not come across any creature, smoothly leaving the boundaries of the ruins. Looking back, Bella let out a deep sigh. A strange feeling rose in her heart as she looked at the ruins. She had nearly died here today. This was the closest she had come to death so far.

"I don't think we will be exploring any more ruins for the foreseeable future. She mumbled under her breath.

"You got that right." Malaki concurred as the duo made their way over to their wagon, which had thankfully not gotten destroyed in their absence. Malaki took Adrian into the back and dropped him in the corner, before going back around and quickly climbing onto the coach's seat.

p "Let's get out of this shit hole." He grumbled and flicked the reigns, sending the horses running forward.

Bella turned around to look at the town, and was shocked to see hundreds of white millipedes with purple tipped antennae watching them from all over the town.

"M-Malaki! Look at that!" She exclaimed as she stumbled back. Malaki, hearing the urgency in Bella's voice, quickly maneuvered to take a look, and was equally stunned for a couple of seconds. He quickly regained his composure and turned back to the front.

"Whatever reason they are not attacking for, I am glad for that. I do not want to see another giant millipede in my entire life again." He grumbled loudly and urged the horses to move a little faster. Neighing louder, the horses used more power, causing the wagon to move faster. Soon enough, the wagon had left the immediate vicinity of the town, and the occupants of the wagon were unable to witness the changes that were slowly creeping through the ruins, changing it into a grand location that had been blessed by a God.

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Leon stepped out of the God Temple a step behind Michael. He let his eyes roam across the spreading white marble that was creeping over the black, moss covered blocks that made up the foundation of the ruined town.

"Amazing, is it not? This is the power of Divinity. If you grow as my follower, then you will also be able to harness this power for yourself one day." With his arms folded behind his back, Michael oversaw the changes that his Divinity was making to the ruined town. Magnificent buildings that were built from marble blocks appeared one after another, and pale colored blocks formed interlocking tiles throughout the entire town, forming a sight that seemed to scream tidiness and holiness.

Leon nodded his head. He had been stupefied earlier, but now, he was just numb. He could only just go according to Michael's arrangements for now and hope for the best in the future.

"Get your minions, the living ones, to come around. They may be partially undead, but I will use the connection they have to me through you to boost them a bit. They shall serve as guards to this town, and expand the territory of this place in your absence." After a while, Michael told Leon and summoned a seat to wait for the millipedes to gather.

When they had gathered in the hundreds, they silently stared at their master and the other man that radiated power. Under Leon's control, none of them panicked under the pressure. After some time, Michael waved his arm, and a wave of white light enveloped the crowd.

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End of Volume One!

Number of Chapters: 50.

Word Count: 52,850.