The fate of the rebellious royal guards is the fate of the weak, to be used as tools for their betters. This kind of thing happens every time in the void universe. It is nothing in the grand scheme of things. There are entities out there in the void universe that destroy realm trees and all the life within them.
If one cannot sacrifice others, one cannot reach the levels of such entities. It is why the era of conquest is so bloody. It is the era of sacrifice. The weak are sacrificed for the power of their betters just like these royal guards will be sacrificed for the good of their betters.
The ants brought Tanya up.
"Oh my. She has lost some weight." The Colossus remarked with sadness.
Tanya has changed. One of these changes is the drastic reduction in size. There are no scars on her body since she is a mana entity with a very high healing factor but one can tell at a single glance that she has been through a lot.
Her reduction in weight indicates severe trauma that her existence has not been able to fully heal despite the lack of scars. That's just the obvious damage to her. There is surely psychological trauma that may never heal despite the fact that the memory of her experience within the ant mound is foggy at best. Some things just can't be forgotten even when the events have been wiped out from the mind by a powerful entity.
The Colossus took her from the royal guard that brought her up. It was then that Tanya teared up. Her vacant face finally showed some emotion after recognizing a familiar face.
"Aunty Vint. I missed you." Tanya said.
"Silly girl. It has only been a year."
Tanya hugged the Colossus and sobbed. The Colossus patted her gently while singing to her. Helios observed their interaction with some interest.
'It seems like they have a close relationship. It might be like Cardinal Hak is to me but much closer.' He assessed.
Tanya stopped crying later and even fell asleep in the embrace of aunty Vint. Helios kept a straight face through it all.
The Colossus lifted her and carried the sleeping girl in her arms. She said to Helios, "Good job Mr. Negotiator. This exchange went without a hitch."
"It's probably because they are afraid of crossing you. They know you can do extreme things to get your way."
She laughed merrily. "You're funny. I'll remember that. I'll say it about you at your burial ceremony if you die."
"I appreciate it."
"Anyway. I'm leaving now. Good luck with your job. If you ever come by the Storm city ask for Vint the Typhoon."
Then she began to grow. She expanded until she became her full colossal form. Then she walked away. Her gigantic feet created quakes in the sand as she walked. If there's ever a saying that describes how she is walking, it will be "walking like you own the place." All of the earth is open for her to stomp on with her carefree attitude. She didn't stop as she passed the front lines. She had orders from her god to take Tanya and leave.
The royal guard that had been staying away returned. He said to Helios. "The queen has had enough negotiation for a while. She will contact you when she is ready for another round."
Helios nodded and began his trip to the front lines. He had done his job very well. The negotiation went without a hitch and it wasn't due to the fear of Aunty Vint. Legion wanted the negotiation to go well, so it went well. Actually, the turn of events might be better than they planned thanks to Vint the Typhoon. So he is happy as he journeyed to the front lines still reeling from the shock of events.
He was joined by some of the priests that were scattered earlier. Not all of them survived Vint's transformation but None of the ones alive said anything. They didn't complain or admonish him either. It is not their place to say anything. They are simply the mouthpiece of the gods and this situation is a game of the gods. It is not their place to voice an opinion. They might have opinions but they can not say them. Saying anything might offend a god so they kept quiet and walked in silence with him.
Temple Of The Gods.
Unlike the priests, things are not so silent or peaceful amongst the gods. The gods immediately started fighting as soon as they realized what Harkam was doing. His Colossus had broken into the temple to collect the items for divinity and also stole the captured royal guards. Then forced the innocent Helios into making the exchange.
They realized that they were wrong when they said Harkam had gone too far earlier. It turns out that there's more he can do past the boundary of reasonable. So they began to fight. This time a lot more gods took part in it. Some gods joined both sides either because of camaraderie or because it is fun to fight. So things have truly escalated from a fight between 8 gods into a fight amongst some 30 gods.
But it didn't end there. The Celestial Supreme remained silent throughout it all. He was watching the chaos but his mind is somewhere else. It is the worst possible reaction in this very volatile situation. The bitter gods took his silence as an opportunity to do more.
A bitter god proclaimed grandly. "You have blasphemed me Harkam and you helped a mortal to do it too. I shall wage war on your church and uproot your legacy in the mortal realm."
Many other gods joined in this proclamation. Divine wars were declared. The gods are not joking. At this very moment, their various churches are already mobilizing their forces. This will be a world war like no other. It will be the largest war in recent history and all of it was caused by the kidnapping of some demigods in an ant mound.