Chapter 640: The next step (1)
Gathered around the campfire, the Temple students came one after another, forming a ring around Frey Starlight.
Familiar faces ..and others Frey had never seen before ..were all there, and their number kept swelling until a single fire barely felt enough.
From among them, Daemon Valerion stepped forward and took the lead, sitting down across from Frey.
“Lighting a campfire before the battle and talking through our fights from this whole war ..I love this vibe.”
Daemon spoke in his usual loud, heavy tone.
Being the only one still wearing armor made him stand out more than anyone else. From the looks of it, he could no longer remove the Golden Dragon plate since fusing it to his body.
“‘Vibe’? And who said we’re going to talk about our fights? Didn’t you get enough of that in the briefing?” Selena shot back at him.
“Ah, damn it—women…” Daemon grumbled, shaking his head before continuing.
“We’re in a war. That’s the main topic. Or would you rather we talk about love and your silly relationship with that ‘lucky bastard’ standing next to you?”
He jabbed a finger at Dawn, turning Selena’s face beet red.
“There’s nothing between us!” she snapped, while Daemon scowled harder.
“Ah… you’re one of those girls who deny their feelings to the very end. I really hate your type.”
He kept stoking the flames ..hotter than the campfire itself.
Despite the tension, he managed to make someone burst out laughing.
It was Frey ..laughing honestly for the first time in a while.
“Daemon… you really say whatever pops into your head without a second thought.”
Frey was plainly enjoying the spectacle.
“You don’t get to laugh, Starlight ..you’re worse than she is on that front.”
Daemon tipped his chin toward Frey’s own tangled situation ..juggling two girls at once.
Uriel was present, and she clearly didn’t like what she heard, but Frey didn’t care.
“Fine, Daemon. Let’s talk about the war.”
Agreeing to his initial suggestion made Daemon grin with satisfaction.
“It’s simple. Everyone here reports what they’ve done since the war began. Think of it like a Temple exam ..and whoever did best gets the top mark!”
“Ah… I see.”
At last, everyone realized what Daemon was trying to do.
“That’s so childish…”
The comment drifted in from the side, souring his mood again.
“What now, Seris Moonlight? Why do you girls insist on opposing me to the bitter end?”
Seris shook her head.
“I’m not opposing you. I just think it’s childish. You’re making war sound like a game.”
“Women…”
He grumbled again, but Frost Moonlight stepped in before things could escalate.
“No need to wind each other up. Treat the ‘game’ as a breather from all the strain.”
Frost seemed fine with Daemon’s idea, and that got things moving quickly.
“Good. Then let each of you tell us what you’ve accomplished since the war began,” said Ellen White, the former Student Council President, taking charge.
One by one, they shared their tallies.
Most present were among the Temple’s finest, and the fact they’d survived this long spoke to their skill. Many had slain a great number of Ultras since the start.
But overall ..besides Frost Moonlight and Ellen White ..the new generation of the Temple led the board on raw achievements.
“Since the war began, four hundred and fifty Ultras have died by my hand, and I’ve killed eleven of their commanders,” Daemon reported.
He’d been active from day one, and by the numbers he outpaced most of the circle.
“I don’t know my total count,” Selena said, “but I’ve taken down dozens of Mist Aberrations ..each around S+ ..which should be decent, right?”
Her feats were on Daemon’s level, perhaps even beyond. Seris wasn’t far behind either.
But when it came to achievements, two people eclipsed everyone else.
In second place stood Snow Lionheart, who had done plenty in his own right.
“I defeated a Nightmare Lord ..the Cosmos .and killed the Hollow Smogh. I also prevailed over a bishop ..Michael Platini. As for how many enemies I’ve slain… I don’t know.”
Snow summarized his path. Those few names alone placed him far above the rest by a wide margin.
Above everyone ..except one.
“Ah… Frey Starlight.”
“It’s a foregone conclusion.”
“I’ve been hearing about him since the war began…”
When Frey’s turn came, whispers spread .. tallying up rumors of what he’d done.
Hearing the chatter about himself, Frey sighed and began to recount.
“Let’s see… my ‘accomplishments’ in the war…”
He tried to recall, counting his victims slowly.
“First ..no idea how many Ultras I’ve killed. A few tens of thousands, maybe more. I don’t know.”
He said it like it meant nothing ..yet that alone silenced the circle, the gap laid bare.
“I also took down Lord Gvardiol; killed Dragoth; recently ended the Hollow Pontiff Sulyvahn; and I’ve beaten Gavid Lindeman and V, though I couldn’t finish them, unfortunately.”
He paused, thinking.
“I’ve killed a lot of the Church’s followers… ah, and I think I beat their Angels of War, too. I fought Joseph Blattier. I’ve faced most of the Ultras’ Lords, plus some demons like Beatrice ..and another who came with her…”
Frey was about to continue, but Ellen cut in.
“That’s enough… Frey Starlight, you’re the winner ..there’s no need to list anything else.”
Ellen cut him off, a headache forming from the sheer weight of the names Frey was tossing out so casually.
The others agreed.
“He’s fought every enemy commander and killed tens of thousands… doesn’t that make it feel like he fought the whole war by himself?”
Someone said, and once again the circle fell silent.
He wasn’t wrong.
It could be said that Frey Starlight had carried most of the war so far on his own, making many of them realize that, had he not been there… they might already have lost.
“That’s honestly terrifying,” Frost sighed.
Not long ago, he’d set Frey as his target—someone to challenge and surpass. But since the war began, he’d had to face how naïve that was. They now lived in entirely different worlds of power.
“Seeing how far you’ve all come .. especially you, Frey Starlight ..I can’t help but laugh when I remember your first days at the temple,” Ellen said with a gentle smile.