After Iris and Zarek finally calmed down from hearing the word "god" and the visceral reaction it had triggered in both of them, the tension in the air slowly dissipated.

Taking this opportunity, Leon dropped all of the imperial army armors and swords onto the ground in a clattering heap, the metal clanking against the stone floor of the plains.

"Here, I don’t need them," Leon said simply, stepping away from the pile and gesturing for them to take the items back.

Iris’ eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of all the armors and swords of her fallen guards scattered across the ground.

Her expression was unreadable as she surveyed the items with a mix of emotions.

It was as if she wondered it was possible for him to drop so many of them at once, though she eventually let out a heavy sigh.

"Alright, we’ll take them back... they might be useful for training or equipping new recruits," she said, waving her hand dismissively as she prepared to collect them.

Seeing everything that had happened and the hostility he now faced from the army, Leon didn’t feel like attempting to enter the imperial army to wear these things anymore, the idea losing its appeal completely, espcially after the ambush.

Even Violet didn’t seem to be part of the army, she simply was helping the kingdom and gaining favors from the queen.

He’d simply look for something better in the future, that would be the optimal choice rather than forcing his way into a hostile organization that clearly didn’t want him around.

Fwoosh!

Iris tapped her staff against the air with practiced ease, and every single item started to float around her in a neat circle, defying gravity as they rose from the ground.

"Alright..." Iris smiled faintly, her expression softening, "See you later, Celestial, we’ll look more into... whatever happened today and try to root out the traitors in our ranks when we return."

And just like that, both she, Zarek and the floating items disappeared at the same time in a flash of light, leaving the group alone in the quiet plains.

Only Violet, Celeste and Emilia remained near Leon, who simply wanted to teleport back to the kingdom now that the immediate danger had passed and the queen was on their side.

"Are you seriously gonna return after all that?" Violet asked, raising an eyebrow with genuine curiosity, "I mean, if it was me, I’d get the hell away from here and leave them to their own fate with all those traitors still around..."

"No," Leon smiled, "I would usually do that, but not when its related to the gods and their schemes, I need to see this through and make sure they don’t succeed."

"Huh..." Violet said, not entirely convinced but accepting his reasoning without further argument.

"But what about you, where would you go after this?" Leon asked, curious about her plans for the future.

"I heard there’s an incredibly strong stronghold a small distance from here," Violet informed, her eyes lighting up, "Its closer to all the strongest areas of the domain, so I’m aiming to go there soon once I deal with everything here first."

"A stronghold huh... must be pretty strong then," Leon mumbled thoughtfully, considering the implications.

"Yeah, I spoke to a few people and apparently there were a dozen of strongholds previously scattered across the domain, but this specific one managed to destroy them all or force them to disband and join theirs, so they grew really fast in power and numbers!"

"Hm," Leon nodded, considering the information and filing it away for later.

"If you give them a [Stronghold Crystal] they immediately accept you as well, I don’t have a usage for mine, so I plan to do it once I get there."

Leon still had one of the [Stronghold Crystal] he got from the [Crystal Mist Guardian] back in the lower domains, sitting unused in his storage space.

He didn’t plan to create a stronghold in the [Higher Domains] as well, but he didn’t know yet what he would do with it, so he kept it for now just in case.

"Alright, just be careful when you go," Leon nodded faintly, "I’ll stay here to level up but... I also don’t think I have much more to do in this kingdom."

"You gonna participate in the [Excursion]?" Violet grinned, "That’s the only reason why you’d stay, wouldn’t it?"

"What excursion?" Leon raised his eyebrows in confusion, having no idea what she was talking about.

"Oh shit," Violet hit her own head with her palm, "That’s right, as soon as the match ended in the arena, you left before they announced it..."

Violet explained to Leon what the excursion was all about, and indeed, it was as Leon remembered from what Celeste and Emilia had told him earlier.

Celeste and Emilia had told Leon about the [Training Grounds], the [Imperial Arena], AND the [Exrcusion] when they had first shown him around the kingdom.

They had said it was for big events but that there hadn’t been any recently, which was why they couldn’t tell him much about it.

Which meant that this upcoming event was exactly the kind of thing they had been talking about.

"This is an event, just like those in the [Lower Domains]," Violet nodded, "I’ll participate as well, then move to that stronghold after it’s over."

The only event Leon had participated in in the higher domains so far was the [Divine Academy’s Entrance Exam] back when he first arrived, so he was curious about what this one would entail.

Since Violet hadn’t done that, it would indeed be her very first event in the higher domains even though it had been years since she had been freed from the forsaken city.

"Being stuck in that city wasn’t really helping me out, and I haven’t even gone back to [Ember] yet," Violet sighed, "I swear I’ll check on my parents soon though..." her expression became slightly more gloomy as she spoke, "...When I get stronger."

"Are they all that strong?" Leon scratched his chin, "Those from your world I mean."

"Hah, people from eternal-level worlds aren’t forced to go through [Eternal Ascension], but its pretty much the norm, if you die there, you’re simply considered weak, meaning that pretty much every adult in [Ember] is at least above level 100."

"Damn."

...

A/N

I wonder what you guys think of the pacing, I’ve been trying to make it not too fast but not too slow, and increasing the world building since it matters a LOT for the plot in the future :)!