"You can leave now." Lucifer waved his hand. "Nothing you say will make a difference."
Asmodeus gritted his teeth and left, while increasing the weight of his steps.
Lucifer waited till the door was shut and immediately rose to his feet and stepped towards the window.
"At this rate, we will lose. One of us is already dead, and Erebus turned out to be useless. The current possibility of victory is 45%, maybe 30% considering that they might have not shown their full power yet. I have to make that 100% instead, but how..."
Lucifer looked to the vast sea of stars and had an idea. "Yeah... The gods definitely have enemies, who likes to see the world burn. I only have to find them, and force them to help us."
...
"Ugh..." Isaac crumbled as a sharp headache woke him up. He squinted his eyes and looked around the dark bedroom in confusion. Soon, he remembered where he was, and the headache slowly vanished.
"Oh, you awake?" Lock looked away from the laptop, which he had tried to turn on for the past three hours to no avail. He felt like the new technology he had found was cursed.
Isaac looked over at the handsome man and scratched his hair. "Yeah, thank you."
Lock nodded and asked, "May I know why you came here?"
"I don't know. My mind was in quite a shambles, you see." Isaac rose to his feet and felt much better than before. All his pain had disappeared.
"You must have some reason to be here, right?" Lock asked.
Isaac shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the balcony. He saw the Stronglord Army training tirelessly.
Lock walked to him and leaned against the railing. "Shouldn't you be fighting in that war?"
"Shouldn't you?" Isaac asked back.
"Heh." Lock chuckled. "Yes, Apollo summoned me there."
"Apollo... why didn't you go there?" Isaac remembered the statue in the Stronglord Royal Palace and thought it was indeed Apollo's statue.
"I don't want my men to die." Lock said with a heavy expression. "It is a battle between gods and it is not a place where mortals can do anything."
"Not true." Isaac said. "Mortals happen to be in a key position to win this war. The demons are dangerous because there are so many of them. Is it more dangerous to have millions of demons roaming around or seven powerful demons?"
"That's a difficult question." Lock chuckled. "Millions of weaker demons are still above human-level strength, while those seven powerful demons are above gods."
"Yes, humans can't fight against even ordinary demons, let alone those powerful demons. So, if they can't win anyway, wouldn't it be better to have only seven?"
"That does make sense in a very disturbing way." Lock sighed and shook his head. "I am ready to go to war. I don't mind, but each man here has a family who counts on their protection."
"Did you ask them?" Isaac turned to Lock. "Let them decide. Do you think they are training till nightfall to stay protected behind walls? No, they desire battle and victory."
Lock turned thoughtful and looked at the shouting soldiers, who were training with each other to become stronger and better versions of themselves.
"Fine, wait a second." He turned around, left the balcony and the room.
Isaac leaned against the railing and watched as Lock entered the backyard and all the soldiers suddenly started saluting.
Lock gathered everyone and began his speech, which made everyone's heart pump in excitement. The soldiers listened closely and all of them had made their decision days ago since they were evacuated from World of White.
They all knew there was a big battle coming up and were ready for it.
They drew their weapons, pointed them at the darkening sky, and shouted in unison. "Of course!"
Lock watched the scene emotionally and told everyone to prepare for departure. He then returned to the villa, went to the armory where his golden armor was, put it on, and returned to the bedroom looking like a valiant hero.
"I see they made their decision?" Isaac turned around with a small smile.
Lock held the hilt of his sword and nodded. "Yes, dare you join us in the final battle?"
"Sure, why not." Isaac grinned.
"The armory is in basement, if you are in need of an armor."
"No need." Isaac shook his head and left the balcony with his muscles bulging. "I am in no need of mortal equipment."
Lock smirked and then heard hurried footsteps coming from the hallway. A beautiful woman with a haggard-looking expression appeared with a distressed look. "Lock, what do you mean you are going to battle?! You said you would stay here! Who will then protect us? What if those demons come here!"
She was the Empress of the Stronglord Empire.
Lock tightened the straps of his armor and said, "I will leave behind a group of a hundred soldiers to make sure all of you stay safe."
"Only a hundred?!" The Empress screamed. "There is already a whole army on the battlefield; can't you leave half at least?!"
"Every man counts!" Lock shouted and waved his hand. "Leave, I will leave at dawn with my men and we will either return in coffins or as victors.
The Empress gritted her teeth and stomped away from the room.
Isaac then reappeared in the room. Once she appeared, he left with the Explorer of Life to stay hidden.
Lock finished strapping his armor tightly and said, "She is from a political marriage and is a troublesome individual, but I am also doing this to protect her."
"Of course." Isaac leaned against the wall and asked, "There are two options. Do you want me to teleport everyone to the battlefield, or do we go in old fashion, with a ship across the ocean."
"Hah, the option is clear." Lock rubbed his neck. "I like to take a ship if you don't mind. I want to see the ocean once before I die."
"Understandable." Isaac said and looked out of the window to dark sky. "Its finally time for me to enter battlefield... hmm."