Dressed in a short stylish black tunic with a golden chain around her neck, the Goddess of Truth Serina gazed at the scene in front of her distastefully. Keeping her and her followers hidden in the shadows took more energy than expected in a land where Truth was barely respected. Serina had expected the battle to be short but she had expected Yuano to win. Yuano was weak in martial prowess but he was still a god. This scene was pathetic by even his standards. Catiano has warned me on the god's overdependence on his artifacts but his advice fell on deaf ears. Yuano was simply too arrogant. She felt a sense of with a good dose of schadenfreude seeing Yuano flounder so terribly. Yet, the ramifications of revealing this defeat to the mortals would be devastating to the absolute powers of divine beings. Most of Yuano's men was unconscious and with a simple Sleep spell from her, even the currently conscious ones were soon in dreamless sleep.

She wondered if this young lady was really a demigoddess as Yuano stated. Her Eye of Truth did not reveal anything about this mysterious Ada except her name was Ada Newth. This was highly peculiar indicating that the girl was either capable of divine magic -- which was not unheard of but extremely rare even among demigoddesses -- or that she was an actual goddess. Serina shook her head as she dismissed the latter possibility. This girl showed the barest understanding of the ether and almost no command of it; there was no god or goddess who would arrive in this world with such ignorance.

Besides, if Ada was a goddess, why would she not possess any divine apparel or artifacts? This question led to another mystery. How was this Ada able to command so many distinctive elements without using any ether? She was also able to resist a direct assault from a Divine Weapon without suffering any harm. Yuano thought that she was using at least a little but he was wrong. Serina didn't sense any usage of either Divine or even mundane ether originating from her. Perhaps like Serina, she had access to the Deeper Truth -- a blank black interface with arcane words that appeared in her mind. Serina has tapped into it whenever she used abilities such as the Eye of Truth but its full set of functionalities was still a mystery even to her.

A small feminine voice interrupted her musings. "Mistress, the demigoddess Ada and her entourage are leaving. Do you wish for us to intervene?"

Serina looked down and saw that one of her Silent Ones utter these words. The silver-haired woman who looked to be in her early 20s was the youngest of the three but so far has demonstrated the most zeal. The disciple was dressed similarly to Serina in a stylish black tunic with the barest markings of silver embroidering around the edges that accentuated its appeal. Lacking overt sexual appeal, the tunic presented a perfect meld of both power and elegance. She preferred this look in both her followers and herself to the garish clothes that Yuano favored or the elegant but overtly sexual clothes that her friend the Goddess of Beauty preferred.

Starting this sect of worshippers took a significant amount of resources and at the time she has doubted herself whether the time and energy were well-spent. Ultimately though, she realized that it was. The other gods had the advantage of superior quantity of followers; she needed to circumvent their advantages with quality. She felt that has succeeded. With powers unimaginable by almost any of the other gods' followers, the Silent Ones have powers bordering on the Divine. In return, they have sacrificed much, forgoing all mortal attachments including their own families. They underwent rituals where they had to burn their own eyes. To see the Truth, one must be willing to disregard the veil of lies in the physical world. This was followed by a ritual where each one had to face one of the primal monsters in the wilderness with no outside assistance. Only by proving oneself worthy can one be anointed with such a Title and part of her powers. Out of 300 who has tried in the last year, only 10 has proved themselves worthy.

Serina gave the kneeling worshipper a smile and a slow shake of her head. "No, Zylith, let her and her followers be. I am curious on her powers but not enough to put you three at risk."

Still kneeling, the woman named Zylith stiffened. "Mistress, we are more than capable of taking care of them. Even a demigoddess."

Serina shook her head and emphasized her words more forcefully. "No, she may be more than you suspect. Besides, I am curious on their intentions. I have sent one of my eagles to track them. If there needs to be interference in the future, I will undertake it myself."

She waved her hand and the veil hiding her and her three disciples disappeared. It was time for her to make herself known to Yuano. She could hear him clearly muttering to himself. What he said made no sense to her. If he was a mortal on the streets, she would have dismissed him as a deranged madman. This was pathetic. She said sarcastically, "Yuano, I see that you are handling yourself quite well."

"Serina, what are you doing here? This is not your Domain."

"I was merely passing by observing the ruckus caused by your recent assault on the newly awakened Goddess of Life. Who knew I was going to be presented with this scene?"

"And I'm sure you're full of yourself aren't you? You never managed to defeat me in battle in the last war and now you get to see me completely on my knees. Go ahead. Laugh all you want."

Serina shook her head. "No, I am not laughing at you. I am merely saddened by your ignoble attitude in a fair duel."

"Fair? How was that fair? This wretched woman, no girl, hid who she was. In any duel, you need to declare who you are first."

"This was not her fault. It was your arrogant presumption which led to your own defeat."

"If you didn't reveal yourself to gloat, what are you doing here?"

"Is it not obvious? I came here to offer my assistance in your conflict with Ayula."

"And why would you offer that? I do recall the atrocities you committed on my followers in the last war."

Serina waved her hand. "That was war and if you would be inclined to remember, you are no less guilty. In fact, I would venture to say that you were worse."

Yuano was about to protest but Serina continued without a pause. "Let us stop this nonsense. I do not wish to bring up past transgressions between us. We face a mutual threat here."

"A mutual threat? I can take care of Ayula on my own just like before. There's no need for your help."

"I think you do."

"I don't think so."

Serina sighed. "Let me explain to you very clearly. This is a different scenario than last time. We have a new goddess here. Do you not recall the incident three centuries ago with the Goddess of Sky?"

There was a moment of silence. Serina had the mental picture of the gears in the knucklehead's brain slowly turning. Finally, he said. "You suspect that Ayula may be teaming up with the new goddess on taking away our followers and our powers?"

"I do not suspect. I know this to be the case. Ayula is highly predictable."

Yuano scoffed. "I still don't think I need your help. For the Goddess of Truth, I've seen plenty of lies coming from your mouth."

Serina smiled. "I always tell the truth."

"You mean you always say a partial truth and omit the bigger truth that's behind your partial truth. So really it's a lie meant to use me."

"Do not be so hung up on semantics."

"This isn't semantics. It's the truth."

"Funny for a lying and cheating merchant god to tell me about what Truth is."

"I am not a merchant god. I am the God of Wealth."

"Will the God of Wealth rise from the mud so we can talk properly?"

"I thought you said you weren't going to mock me. You know if I do that, I'll destroy half the city."

"That is right. I almost forgot that your artifacts have been destroyed. Do you wish me to help?"

A long pause ensued followed by a sigh from the god. "Fine, if you wish. But this does not mean we have an alliance."

"We shall see."

Serina thought that to use such powerful magic on a despicably pathetic god was extremely wasteful. Desperate times call for desperate measures though. Restore would return a particular area to a previous condition at an earlier time. Serina chose to center it on Yuano. The moment Serina said "Restore", the quicksand and the granite blocks disappeared. Yuano stood in front of them while three of the guards also in the sphere of influence stood up hesitantly from where they were laying on the ground. They looked confused but quickly drew their weapons and walked to stand beside their god.

For a god who was just trapped, Yuano appeared quite arrogant. The god glanced at Serina's followers and laughed. "You really think you can help me with followers that look like pubescent children?"

"I can assure you that they are more than a match for your men. In fact, I believe the youngest of them could defeat your three men."

Yuano chuckled grimly. "I recall cutting down your followers by the hundreds in the last war. Here, you're challenging my elite guards. All of them have trained for decades in swordcraft."

Keeping her composure from breaking into anger took some effort but Serina calmed herself quickly. "I propose a deal. If Zylith here can defeat your men in a duel, you will agree to be in alliance against Ayula."

With no hesitation, Yuano nodded. "Fine. Here's a contract. Read it and see if you agree."

Yuano snapped his finger and a piece of paper with a quill pen appeared in his hands. With a scribble, lines of text appeared on the sheet. He rolled it up and threw it to Serina. She caught it in one hand and unfurled the scroll. Reading it carefully, she took out a pen from her tunic and signed it. "All seems to be in order."

"Let's get this over with. Remember that if you lose, you'll be Compulsed to follow my every order for the next fifty years."

Serina stated confidently. "I will not lose."

Serina waved her hand and a gravel patch approximately ten meters in diameter appeared between them. Yuano barked a few words in Exicozan to his three standing guards. They stood to attention and listened raptly. Then, they approached the ring and entered them. Serina nodded to her follower and she stepped into the makeshift dueling ring. Serina asked. "Ready?"

The guard wielding curved dual swords dashed forward towards Zylith the moment Yuano nodded. A second before the swords reached Zylith, she dashed forward narrowly avoiding the blades and punched, fist impacting directly the man's helmet. A shockwave of sound erupted from the impact point with a resounding splatter that everyone could feel in their chests. The helmet has completely vaporized and so has half the man's head. The explosion of blood and guts covered Serina's disciple in a nightmarish red shower. Scarcely a second later, she sidestepped a spear thrust from another man approaching from the side. She spun towards him and dealt a spin kick to his stomach. This one ended up with a hole through his guts and his intestines fell out splattering on the ground. Before he could scream in pain, Zylith struck his head with a palm strike, leading to another eruption of brain matter.

Yuano looked shocked. Serina simply gave her an encouraging nod. "Good but there's one more to take care of."

The third man was about ten feet away and stood with feet firmly planted on the ground holding his longsword in front of him in an attempt to stave off Zylith. He looked terrified but the grip on his sword remained firm. His eyes widened as Zylith devoured the space between them in one leap, landing right behind him. He swung his sword backwards in a futile attempt to cut down the woman. She ducked gracefully and spun around with a kick to his knees. There was a distinctive sound of bones breaking and he fell screaming on the ground. With another strike to the fallen man that created a hole in his chest, he instantly fell silent.

Zylith stood up straight and bowed. She muttered something and the blood and guts on her attire all disappeared. It looked as pristine and elegant as before. She looked at Yuano directly in the eyes and smiled. The god scowled. "What kind of monster have you been breeding here, Serina? I thought your tactics are usually more subtle."

Serina shrugged. "There is a time for everything. Subtlety is hardly appropriate here."

"Fine, the contract is binding. I agree to your stupid alliance. So do you actually have a plan?"