As Rem considered the appeal of prayers, Hakeem was already praying. 

Contrary to many expectations, it was Hakeem's mother who introduced him to Christianity. The late Mrs. De Darwin was a truly devout Christian ever since she converted when she married her husband and saw it as her duty to teach her son all about faith, love, and forgiveness. This love held strong even when she wasted away from cholera, believing in a brighter tomorrow for her child with pride in the life she led.

Hakeem held that fact with pride, and it was the sole pillar supporting his limitless tolerance against the bedlam in front of him.

“Why are we still trying to save those useless bums!?" Tai shouted. “Recall the garrison and assemble them to deal with Tezca!”

While Tai advocated abandoning the civilian to go in on the offense, Lin was having a panic attack.

“What do you mean the Astral Sea travel around the Four Seasons Realm has been cut off?” Lin asked the wizard who had come to deliver her the grim news. “Are you telling me we can’t even evacuate one person?”

Tai didn’t waste this opportunity to dunk on Lin.

“I already told you it was useless. The flood raised a conceptual curtain to isolate the planet. Our only way out is to cut through the isolation field with sufficient firepower once we deal with that monster.”

“And then we should start killing the non-combatant to power a ritual?” Lin declared, attacking Tai’s gruesome suggestion that sent the whole room shivering.

“Stop trying to play saint, Lin,” Tai said. “You only care because your ‘friends’ will also be sacrificed.”

During the back and forth, Hakeem felt a tug on his shirt. He turned to see Chandra looking between him and the furious shouting match.

“Nova and this realm are going to die,” Tai said grimly. “The most we could do is make sure the enemy is taken down and some combatants escape.”

“And how do you know so much about this?” Lin asked once again. “Even if we follow your plan, how do you expect us to survive after your mass sacrifice?”

The meek Chandra continued looking at him with teary eyes.

Meanwhile, the two stooges were still going strong.

“How I know isn’t important. What is important is surviving,” Tai proclaimed.

Lin was on the verge of blowing her fuse. “Yeah, unlike you, maniac, I have a faction that will be affected by your stupidity."

“Okay, tell me your solution then,” Tai sneered.

The sudden turn of direction socked the wind out of Lin. Despite everything she had said, Lin Nova—the Sapphire Princess of the Coral Dynasty—got exactly no answer out of this box.

Tai seized this advantage.

“If you don’t have a solution, then..."

As Chandra was on the verge of a mental breakdown, Hakeem had had enough. He conjured some spatial constructs—gags—around the two smart mouths.

Then Hakeem De Darwin took the helm.

“Both of you, quiet down,” Hakeem said, ignoring the stifled protests of the two obstacles to salvation. “My best friend is getting his ass kicked for our sake. If you want to suggest sacrificing others for your survival, the least you can do is join him and pay in blood first. I know you are on the verge of a catastrophic breakdown, but my best friend can only buy around two hours, so we must make the most of it.”

Hakeem glanced at Chandra.

“Chandra, you have been tugging on my sleeve for a while now. What is it you want to say?”

Chandra hesitated for a second.

“I don’t know how, but Master Nova is getting better.”

…

The Solstice Palace infirmary was nearly deserted, despite the rapidly worsening situation.

It couldn’t be helped. The situation was deteriorating so fast that the garrison’s soldiers had to camp outdoors and bite through the injuries to keep up with the worsening flood of pure evil.

Instead, the infirmary became home to two patients.

One was Cytortia, lying unconscious on the bed.

Another was Nova in her human form. In contrast to the moment she faced Rem, the elegant deity with immaculate white hair had vanished, leaving a sickly woman gasping for air. Sweat soaked her white hospital gown as the Great Serpent fought through her daze to stay alive.

“You said she was getting better,” Lin yelled at Chandra.

To the shock of everyone, it was Miss Ruthless who came to her defense.

“This is a miracle,” Tai said, checking her teacher’s temperature with a touch. “She should be dead by now.”

“We are going to be fine now, right?” said Chandra. She wanted to take Tai’s surprise as a sign of hope.

Contrary to popular belief, it was the man of faith who sensed something wrong in the fabric of space and time.

“Chandra, you jinxed us,” Hakeem said.

At that moment, the earth shook.

All over the Four Seasons Court, the black sludge of malice rose into the air, creating a plate of reflective darkness. Pressure, not much different from the suffocation of the deep oceanic trench, descended from the sky and pressed upon the city in chaos.

Nearly buckling from the descent, Lin glanced at Tai.

“What the hell is that?” Lin screeched.

“I don’t know,” Tai said, horror-struck.

“You don’t know?” said Lin. This recent discovery that Tai could feel emotions other than anger, annoyance, and smugness blew her mind. “I am almost convinced you know everything.”

“I have never seen them do anything like this,” Tai muttered in fear of the unknown. “What is happening?”

“Malrort is directly siphoning the energy from corrupting the realm into making a spatial gate,” Hakeem said, feeling his soul slip out from how things were going the opposite of his way. “Tezca is coming back early to kill Nova and finish this planet for good.”

Everyone looked at Hakeem like he had grown a third eye. They heard every word he said but struggled to accept it.

Their two hours of respite got cut short.

“How did you know that?” Chandra squeaked.

“You know what my best friend is like,” Hakeem explained. “He is so damn good at critical thinking that he often makes those kinds of ‌accurate conjectures out of the blue. After a while, I picked up some of his insight when it came to reading the opponent's intention.” He whistled. “I also have space-time ability, so detecting the space-time gate isn’t that hard.”

“Isn’t that bastard supposed to hold him back?” Lin asked, trying to deny reality.

“You should know he wouldn’t last forever against an opponent that is constantly getting more powerful with each second,” Hakeem replied.

Ring! Ring! Ring!

The ringtone caught everyone by surprise.

Hakem reached into his pocket and answered the call. He turned on the speaker for everyone to hear the conversation.

“Are you okay, mate?” Hakeem said.

“No,” replied Rem, coughing his lungs out. “I just finished digging my way out of a mountain.” The knight made a wincing sound of pain. “I think most of my bones are still fractured. Tezca has left; prepare yourself.”

“Yeah, we have an issue,” Hakeem said.

“Issue?” Rem said. “The mega bitches are losing their minds, right?”

Said ‘mega bitches’ glanced at each other. Their mouths open wide in silent outrage. Yet none of them dare to speak, given that Rem was absolutely spot on about their lack of direction.

“That and Tezca just opened a space-time gate to come back early,” Hakeem said, opting to rip the bandage off.

The phone went silent before erupting into strings of profanity.

Hakeem knew that Rem could keep the cussing up forever, but sadly, they didn’t have the time to let him do it.

“I know you are upset, but do you have any plans?" Hakeem asked.

Rem’s reply was straight and honest.

“I have a plan for H.P. Lovecraft’s oceanic monstrosity emerging from Mt. Vesuvius and creating a singularity in the planet’s exosphere, but that doesn’t mean I can make a miracle from water and sunlight, buddy. I am confident that I could eventually devise a strategy to stop Tezca. However, that wouldn’t solve the problem of this stupid flood destroying the planet.”

The air was gloomy.

“He is right,” Tai confirmed. “Even if we kill Malrort’s representative, the encroachment won’t be reversed.”

Thankfully, Rem wasn’t finished yet.

“But that doesn't mean our original plan has failed.”

“Original plan?” Chandra asked. “Isn’t your original plan counting on our master to kill that thing?"

It was then that Rem decided to dispel a misunderstanding once and for all.

“I think I made myself clear, but it appears I wasn’t clear enough. Yes, we have hope that Nova could end this before the blood and tears, but we aren’t counting on it. Your master is simply too cocky to finish the job.”

“He isn’t wrong,” Tai commented. Her speech was quieter than a rustling breeze, yet everyone present heard it just fine.

Rem ignored her and continued.

“Thus, building on the premise that Nova would fail, we assume the realm will be encroached upon. In every historical precedent, Malrort encroachment has never failed. The best we can hope for is to bust out of the restriction placed by Malrort with sheer firepower.”

Tai allowed herself to feel smug after getting some positive reinforcement, but Rem doused some water on that sense of superiority.

“But to give that idiotic tree any ground was a loser’s attitude." An injured mortal man who barely survived his battle declared with undeterred spirit, “Precedent exists to be broken, and we will rob those assholes of their clothes and homes. And luckily, we have a perfect energy source to counter Malrort. The only thing we need is a proper receiver.”

The reaction to Rem’s declaration varied from shock to bewilderment, but it was the normally stoic Tai who took it the hardest. The Daughter of Fall yanked the phone from Hakeem’s hand and yelled into it.

“You are crazy! There is no way for you to beat the Malrort.”

“You are absolutely right.” Rem said. “I have no method to override Malrort's encroachment. That can only be done by someone who can deeply synchronize with the planet—someone who qualifies as a Child of Heaven. Luckily, we have one such person…”

It was then that the three mega bitches realized the true nature of Rem’s plan and his sheer insane leap of faith. Tai, in particular, was so gobsmacked by the revelation that she dropped the phone.

“Cytortia?” Lin squeaked, pointing at the blond girl tucked in an infirmary bed. “You are putting this planet in that loser’s hand?”

“Yes,” Rem said with no hesitation. “And I am tired of pretending this is a problem.”

“Cytortia cannot fight!” Chandra said.

“Maybe not,” Rem said. “But I am sending her to someone who can help do the fighting for her.”

Tai attempted to speak, but she could only open and close her mouth like a goldfish before the insanity of this maniac.

With that, Rem left behind a closing statement.

“Given how utterly horrified you are, you finally get‌ the actual plan. Now brace yourself and start buying every single second, unless you have a better method that doesn’t involve mass sacrifice.”

The line cut, and the three mega bitches turned to look at the sleeping Cytortia.

It was Chandra who spoke for everyone there.

“I can’t believe I am doing this.”

…

Meanwhile, in another realm of consciousness, Cytortia opened the door to a wonderland.