Pele looked terribly dispirited.

Wepwawet had expected as much when he teleported back to the classroom and to most of his classmates' acclaim. Ganesha and Artemis drew him into a group hug the moment he materialized back, with most of the rest clapping and congratulating him. Only Pele's posse of Axomamma, Ishtar, and Epona took a moment to try and console Pele, which probably worsened her mood.

Gods could stand compassion, but never pity.

Pele had claimed enough Altars active to survive the transfer back to the Nexus in one piece, but her defeat had nonetheless crushed her ambitions. She would have to repeat the school graduation project on another world with another class.

Miss Athena noticed it as well and quickly addressed the whole class. "I would like to do a private performance review with our Incursion participants now," she said. "I will summon you all later for your first grading."

"No way you're not in the lead, Wepy," Artemis whispered in his ear. "You've been crushing it."

"I'm sure your parents will be so proud of you," Ganesha added.

That's what I'm afraid of. Wepwawet's jaw clenched on its own. The thought of pleasing his father would have excited him once, but he could only muster the energy for unease for some reason. The glares Horus sent him only reinforced that feeling. I have enough headaches to deal with on Elphion.

On one hand, being the valedictorian brought lots of attention and with it the possibility for powerful alliances since weaker players would flock to a winner to defend them; but on the other hand, it made him a threat to those who aimed for the top spot like Horus. Not to mention that Pele's defeat left Lavaland free for the taking.

Whatever the case, none of his classmates would treat Verglane like a forgotten backwater nation from now on.

Miss Athena waited for the rest of the class to disperse until only Pele and Wepwawet remained. "You have both performed well according to the System Logs," she commented upon reviewing their actions, her brow arching slightly upon noticing Whiro's casting of the Divine Avatar Ritual. "This Miracle is forbidden."

"Whiro said that the Titans managed to sneak in some banned cards," Wepwawet warned her. "I've checked, and the Divine Avatar continued to work after I concluded the Incursion long enough for my Idol to return to its pedestal."

"Which implies it works outside of B&C battles." Miss Athena's scowl deepened the more she reviewed the logs. "I see the ban on some Miracles like Mana Lotus, Treasure Run, and Safe Return from the Beyond has indeed been lifted… none of them guarantee an immediate victory on their own—anything too powerful would have likely alerted us to the sabotage—but those will provide their users with a large advantage."

The likes of Mana Lotus allowed a player to basically get some free mana, while Treasure Run and Safe Return from Beyond provided a large card advantage for relatively meager costs. All of those had been banned for a reason, and Wepwawet wasn't looking forward to fighting someone with those Miracles in their deck.

"Can Beelzebub access them too?" Wepwawet asked. It seemed likely the bug-bastard would try to accumulate as many advantages as he could on the ground since everyone else would naturally gang up on him.

"My guess is that Beelzebub reactivated outdated quests we removed from more recent versions of our Systems, though I cannot tell which ones," Miss Athena confirmed with a sharp nod. "I would normally penalize students for looking for cheats, but considering the opposition's actions, I will allow you and your classmates to use those Miracles if you can unlock them."

At least there was a silver lining to this situation… Wepwawet thought. "So I won't be penalized for using The Divine Avatar?"

"No, you have earned it." Miss Athena then turned to Pele, who had remained silent so far. "I am truly sorry for your loss, Pele. Considering the System sabotage and the extraordinary circumstances, I doubt the Board of Education or your Pantheon will hold your defeat against your professional future. You performed well in an exceptionally difficult situation."

To Wepwawet's surprise, Pele shook her head. "I deserved to lose."

Wow, her defeat had truly shaken her for that vapid spitfire to react like this. Wepwawet couldn't help but feel sorry for her in spite of all the headaches she caused him.

"You made the difference," Wepwawet tried to console her. "One of the Miracles you milled would have allowed Whiro to counterattack, and destroying the Hydraslime saved your followers. I wouldn't be here without your sacrifice."

"I didn't sacrifice myself," Pele replied grimly. "One of my Champions blew my Idol up."

That took Wepwawet aback, though Miss Athena didn't seem all that surprised. "You mean Peridot?" Wepwawet guessed, remembering that Pele cast one last Miracle to protect him. "But why?!"

"Because I took him for granted. Because I didn't earn his respect. Because I didn't pay attention and fucked it all up." Pele slammed her desk with her forehead in defeat. "I sent my Champions to fight a needless war, led them to defeat, and then paid the price."

Pele proceeded to recount her side of the battle, from her foolish decision to let the magmorians concentrate all their forces in one spot to the loss of Citadel Sapphire and General Peridot's treachery.

"I nearly started a war over my allowance without considering how it affected my followers," Pele lamented. "I lied so many times I came across as untrustworthy… I should have seen it coming…"

"That Operation Cobalt plan was in place since the magmorian built the fortress," Wepwawet pointed out. "Why weren't you aware of it before all of that?!"

"Because I never bothered to look or even ask." Pele let out a sigh of pure defeat. "I would have known if I had just paid attention."

Well… Wepwawet couldn't exactly argue with her reasoning. Any sensible god would have tried to learn everything there was to know about their civilization before making big decisions. That was what Wepwawet tried to do since day one.

The fact that General Peridot deceived and tricked Pele into defeat did disturb him, even if he couldn't blame the magmorian for distrusting his goddess after all of her selfish blunders. Wepwawet could see the parallels between these two and his own relationship with Victoire. Had he not opened up to her, she might have distrusted his words and plotted against him the same way Peridot did against Pele.

"Why did you save General Peridot if he betrayed you?" Wepwawet asked. He hadn't seen the general's name come up among the list of casualties, so he had to be still alive among Citadel Sapphire's ruins.

"Because he was right," Pele replied. "I did consider him and the other pieces on a board."

"Mortals are living beings, the same as us, with feelings and thoughts," Miss Athena said calmly. "We should not take their faith for granted, even if we created them."

"I… I understand that now." Pele took a long, deep breath. "I won't make that same mistake again, Miss Athena."

"I know you won't," Miss Athena replied kindly, her hand finding its way to Pele's shoulder as she walked over to her desk. "There are many things to learn from defeat as well as from victory; humility being one of them. You may have lost a battle, but the lesson you took from it will one day help you win the war. While you were not the best goddess for your first civilization, I have no doubt you will treat the next one much better."

It was little relief to Pele for now, but Wepwawet had a feeling Miss Athena had hit the nail in the head. This disaster did cause the vapid volcanic spitfire to reflect on her actions. Wepwawet could tell part of her did care for her Champions, but she just never had to face consequences for her behavior before.

"As for you, Wepwawet, your achievements have been nothing short of outstanding," Miss Athena congratulated him with a sincere smile. "You and your civilization will likely receive top marks and an 'exceeded expectations' commendation."

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"Thank you, Miss Athena." Wepwawet shifted in his seat, knowing his father would be unbearable once he received his marks. "If I may… there's a question I must ask you, Miss Athena."

As always, the goddess of wisdom guessed what was on his mind. "I assume you wish to learn how to unlock Miracles that can revive Champions?"

Wepwawet nodded sharply. He had lost a good fourth of his Champions in the battle on top of many of his followers, and his Mummy's Call could only bring them back as mindless undead.

"Some quests are designed to reward you with the ability to revive your Champions," Miss Athena replied. "Of course, you understand that our code of ethics prevents us from giving you the solution. All I will say is that the rewards of Quests follow their theme. The more you follow Quests related to the dead, the more likely you are to find what you are looking for."

"I see…" In which case, the best Wepwawet could do would be to focus on completing Quests until he found the Miracle he was looking for.

Pele cleared her throat. "Wepy, I know I don't have the right to ask anything of you after what went up between us, but… could you take care of Lavaland for me?"

"You want me to take over Lavaland?" Wepwawet choked in surprise. "After everything that happened between us? Why?"

Pele shifted awkwardly on her seat. "Lavaland has been peacefully trading with other nations besides Verglane for generations… but that was when the Fire Sultan was in power and leading an army. Now that we're both gone–"

"There's a void to fill," Wepwawet guessed, his hands clenched into fists. "Which gods' civilizations border yours?"

"Sun's, Ishtar's, Axomamma's, and Epona's." Pele scratched her cheek. "Lavaland is actually at a crossroads between many countries…"

That didn't please Wepwawet in the slightest. Axomamma looked dedicated to keeping her civilization to itself outside of trade and diplomacy, but both Ishtar and Epona were warrior goddesses while Sun Wukong's temperament was the stuff of legends. It wouldn't serve Verglane to have an unstable Lavaland descending into chaos or to have a potentially hostile nation take over the magmorians' resources. He would have to stabilize the region, one way or another.

"Why me, though?" Wepwawet asked. That part confused him the most. "We've been at each other's throats for months now. Why not ask another member of your posse?"

"I am going to ask them too, but Axo will probably prefer to focus on her civilization and the others…" Pele looked away. "The others have issues, and I fear my people will get caught in the crossfire without me there to keep the peace."

My people. Wepwawet didn't fail to catch on to her wording, and from the thin smile Miss Athena sported, neither did she. So she cares after all…

Wait.

Pele was her posse's peacemaker? Pele?!

That didn't bode well. That didn't bode well at all!

"I… I will see what I can do," Wepwawet replied after recovering from that revelation. He already had plenty of issues left to deal with in Verglane, but he would have lost his civilization without Pele's contribution, so he couldn't exactly deny her last request. "Although I doubt the magmorians will forget our previous enmity so easily."

"I can share information with you," Pele suggested. "Stuff only I and the Fire Sultan knew. Anything that could help smooth over the transition."

"The next Incursion will not hit Elphion for quite some time, and likely not in your territory," Miss Athena reassured Wepwawet. "This ought to give you time to consolidate your borders."

Wepwawet suppressed a shudder upon being reminded that this Incursion had only been the first of many. Whiro had been the weakest Titan, a midlist player by divine standards, yet his attack had devastated both Verglane and Lavaland.

And the next Incursion would be even worse.

There was no time to waste.

So many corpses.

Victoire didn't fathom how many casualties they had suffered until the survivors gathered the dead inside Narc. Seeing Cynisca among them was already a shock, but it was spotting knights dragging a barely alive Kale and Lord Raymond's mangled remains that hammered their losses home. Her former commander, who had survived Beelzebub's invasion of Promesse and the gods knew how many other battles, had drowned to death.

Mistouffe's group eventually made its way back to the city as well, short of Goreville and Grudu. Victoire only had to take a look at the survivors' downcast expression—especially Mistouffe, who could hardly suppress her tears—to realize what had happened.

They couldn't recover Grudu's and Goreville's bodies largely because they had been melted beyond recovery. The only thing Mistouffe's group managed to recover was the damaged Torc of Grand-Loup. Victoire knew Lord Wepwawet could repair it, but seeing the legendary artifact so corroded and rusted didn't sit well with her.

In the end, she gathered all the surviving Champions—alongside Jasper and Princess Topaz—who didn't require immediate medical attention at the Idol's feet to discuss the situation. Only a handful joined. Karen the Kraken was searching the artificial sea for stranded survivors to ferry back to Narc, Kale was recovering from his wounds in the infirmary, Insupportable was still 'napping' from the artillery shot he received, while Lord Rickart and Sagesse remained unaccounted for.

The latter didn't entirely surprise Victoire. The divine game board had brought Citadel Sapphire much closer to Narc than normal geography allowed, which meant the artificial ocean stretching between them had found more space to spread. Victoire's crafters believed that the plains separating Narc from Lavaland would likely transform into a marsh overtime, and a poisonous one at that. Even if Lord Rickart and Sagesse had survived the battle—and that remained a big if—it would take them a while to return to Narc.

"There's quite a lot of souls to bury," Lourson noted sadly. "More than what our graveyard can handle."

"There is already a mausoleum under the city," Renarde replied. "We could refurbish and expand it, should Lord Wepwawet prove willing."

"That would certainly alleviate our inevitable sanitary crisis," Wintresse said. "The groundwater is befouled, and the wasteland summoned by our enemy risks poisoning the land."

"Leave it to me!" Slimon said while hopping in place. "I'll clean this city so thoroughly your water will shine at night!"

They're all acting so responsibly for once, Victoire thought. I guess that this war hammered home the reality of our situation and the importance of getting along.

No bonds were stronger than those forged in the heat of battle.

Victoire glanced at the magmorians while Slimon and their more magically-minded friends bounced off ideas to deal with the water poisoning. The princess had been distraught and deep in prayer since the battle's conclusion in spite of Jasper's best attempt to cheer her up. Victoire couldn't blame her after watching her father and sister being drowned to death, but her mood had only worsened since.

"I cannot hear the goddess' voice in my head anymore, nor her presence," the princess whispered under her breath, her voice trembling and shaking. "My prayers go unanswered…"

"I am afraid to say that Lady Pele has departed this world," Lord Wepwawet's voice echoed in the wind as his spirit manifested out of thin air, to his Champions' surprise. "Her flame went out on Elphion along with Citadel Sapphire."

Victoire's heart skipped a beat as she considered the implications, while Princess Topaz gasped in shock.

"The goddess is… dead?" Jasper asked solemnly

"She has been banished from this world by the Titan, with no way to come back," Lord Wepwawet replied. "I am truly sorry."

The princess' flames wavered, but neither she nor Jasper denied it. Victoire guessed that they had sensed Pele's 'demise'—her god having already informed her that deities simply reformed elsewhere rather than dying—through the Champion bond. They had simply been unable to understand why until the truth hit them.

"Good," Wintresse said with a complete lack of sympathy whatsoever. "One less headache for us to deal with."

The changeling's blunt words drew a glare from Jasper and a sob of horror from Princess Topaz, but Victoire could tell most of the Champions present shared her opinion. She wouldn't mourn Lady Pele either, especially since her and the magmorian army's demise spelled the end of their invasion.

"Lady Pele's last request was that my nation make peace with Lavaland and that I assist your nation in its hour of need," Lord Wepwawet told the princess. "I understand that you may not trust me, but I wish to inform you that I consider our conflict behind us. I will see how we may return you to your homeland and settle a peace treaty once things calm down."

"We… would be thankful," Jasper replied on his princess' behalf, since she was too shaken to answer herself. "I must say that our previous dispute sounds like a trifling matter after what we fought today."

Lord Wepwawet waited a moment and then turned to his followers. "You have done well, my Champions," he said. "In spite of all the losses we've taken, victory is ours. Today shall become a Holy Day honored by future generations in many festivals."

"What of Rickart and Sagesse?" Rapoleon asked. As their fellow Roynimalia council member, he seemed the most concerned for their safety. "Are they still alive?"

"Rickart's group is safe and sound near the wreckage of Citadel Sapphire… though I'm afraid Sagesse perished in the attack," Lord Wepwawet confessed, news which saddened but did not surprise the Champions present. "I've tasked them to recover General Peridot and other magmorian survivors."

"The general survived?" Jasper asked with joy. "What a relief!"

"What of my father and sister?" Princess Topaz all but begged. "Are they…" Lord Wepwawet sadly shook his head, crushing her hopes. "I… I see."

"You have my condolences," Victoire said. While she had no love for the Fire Sultan and his goddess after they plotted Verglane's destruction, losing a parent and the deity in which one had placed all their faith in would shake anyone.

"What of my wife?" Jarlack inquired. Victoire briefly thought he had grown affectionate towards Cynisca until he proved her wrong. "I recall that this Champion contract involved a revival clause, and our nuptial agreement does not include a 'till death do us part' caveat."

Lord Wepwawet nodded sharply. "There will come a time when I will have regained enough of my power to return lost Champions from the dead."

"Really?" Mistouffe asked, her head immediately perking up with hope. "Grudu and Goreville will be back?!"

"Yes, though it won't be for a time," Lord Wepwawet warned them.

"That's awesome!" Mistouffe's enthusiasm immediately returned. "You've heard the boss! Let's rebuild Narc so our friends return to find it better than ever before!"

"Damn right," Lourson agreed. "I can get behind that."

That lifted everyone's spirits, Victoire thought, as Mistouffe's words seemed to inspire a few of them. Part of her was sad that her god didn't seem capable of reviving everyone who had died for Verglane today, but a single soul returning from the dead would already be a great Miracle.

It was then that Victoire realized that something had changed. She didn't doubt Lord Wepwawet's promise to revive his Champions nor his intentions. His decision to rescue Narc in person at the risk of his own existence on Elphion's mortal plane had dispelled some of the doubts she had about him.

For the first time in many months, Victoire now believed in her god.

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