Lumos had assumed the role of leader once Elion disappeared into the meadow to carry out his mission. He was still shaken somewhat by everything that had happened. The knowledge about the time loop wasn't too surprising—but what he had written about Keill…
It felt strange. Especially the part about acting as if he didn't know her. Why would he include that if things had truly unfolded as described? None of it made much sense.
Hopefully, he'd get answers soon.
The group continued walking through the meadow. It wasn't their first time doing so—just the first they could remember. Joart's group was still grieving the loss of their former teammates. Elion had dealt with Joart ruthlessly, but his actions made sense. Time was short, and the bastard had deserved it.
Lumos had also handed the amulet to Farha, as Elion had reminded him to. She was slowly learning how to speak, and it was actually quite cute to watch.
The amulet consumed a small amount of Soul Integrity. The sorcerer had warned her about it, but the design was incredibly efficient—so much so that he wondered how the former iteration of himself had managed to make it. She wouldn't be at risk of unraveling unless her Soul Integrity was already critically low.
Still, Farha looked a little down—not enough to raise alarm, but enough for Lumos to notice. He had expected her to be overjoyed about the amulet.
They were nearly at the meeting point where Keill was supposed to arrive, and the sorcerer was feeling nervous.
Eshrod caught up to him.
"What's up, wizard? You're looking weird."
Lumos glanced her way. The young woman had taken the time loop revelation pretty hard, but she seemed back to her usual self—maybe because of Elion's speech about this being the last loop.
"Am I? Maybe it's my clothes. Not exactly worthy of a character such as myself," he said.
Eshrod chuckled.
"Right. Well, I don't know, you've had that perplexed look on your face the whole time."
"Just… pondering about magic and stuff."
She gave him a dubious look.
"Uh-huh… what was it you asked Elion at the start? Something about whether loving her? What was that about?" she asked, smirking.
The sorcerer sighed.
"I don't really know. My notes mention a love story between me and the girl we're about to meet. And it goes into detail. I don't know why I would've written that."
Eshrod raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, that's peculiar."
"But please don't bring it up to her. I also wrote to keep it a secret," Lumos added.
"Then why'd you tell me? I'm the worst person if you want to keep something secret. You know I love gossip."
Lumos gave her a deadpan look.
"Just imagine it—a tragic love story erased by time. I'd be a fool not to get a front-row seat," Eshrod teased.
Damn… I screwed up.
Lumos wasn't even sure why he'd told her. Maybe it was just bothering him so much that he needed to share the burden. Still, telling Eshrod might not have been the greatest of ideas.
The trees began to clear. A lone figure sat on the grass, dressed in a dashing suit and going over strange objects with a nervous expression.
Lumos stared for a moment.
Alright… I get it now.
It wasn't hard to see why he might fall in love with her—just from her sense of style, her poise, her self-assured presence.
The sorcerer adopted a neutral expression and took a tentative step forward.
"Keill, I presume?" he said, clearing his throat.
The eccentric woman studied him for a moment before a smile spread across her lips.
"Yes, that is my name," she replied.
They studied one another with intently while Eshrod watched, amused.
"You didn't follow through on your promise not to write about me, did you?" Keill asked, her voice a blend of amusement and sadness.
"Neither did you," Lumos replied with a grin.
"I guess not…" she turned away, slinging her backpack with the blue plasma tank over her shoulder. "Your loss anyway."
"Well… as I see it, it's far from a loss," the sorcerer mused, stepping closer.
"You really are just as I described you," she said. "We can catch up after… and say goodbye, I guess."
Her tone turned somber.
Keill shook her head.
"We don't have time to waste. The timing of our attack must be perfect for the plan to work."
"Let's get to work, then," Lumos replied cheerfully, trying to lighten the mood.
Keill nodded.
They reviewed the plan devised in the previous loop to attack the Earth God's secret base. The goal wasn't to destroy or even weaken it—they lacked the firepower for that. It was a distraction, meant to make enough noise to force the High Lord to withdraw her clones and give Elion time to evacuate everyone.
They began heading toward their targets.
"You sure Elion won't mess it up?" Keill asked, peering into Lumos's eyes. "He seemed… unstable last time. Enough to worry me about the negotiation—especially with someone like Yon."
Farha, walking nearby, listened with interest.
"What do you mean unstable?" she asked.
The sorcerer shrugged.
"Following what I wrote, he wasn't… how do I say it. He wasn't himself. But from what I saw today, he was mostly back to normal."
"Mostly…" Keill muttered.
"Well, something still felt off. But I wouldn't worry too much. He'll manage—at least, as far as the plan goes."
A silence stretched.
Lumos turned to Farha.
"You… should maybe try talking to him."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Why me?"
The sorcerer smirked.
"Well, the looks you've been giving each other tell me you two are close."
Farha blushed and turned away, adopting a haughty air.
"I… you've got it all wrong," she muttered.
"Sure… whatever you say," Lumos teased.
The Mute Demon kept looking away, feigning offense.
"I'll consider it," she added quietly.
Eshrod caught up to them.
"What were you guys talking about?" she asked, smiling cheerfully.
Keill stifled a laugh.
"Teenage romance."
The look on Farha's face was priceless.
They arrived at the small cave that would serve as their base for the hit-and-run tactic against the Dwellers of the Depths. It was well hidden and far enough away to avoid detection.
The base itself was still invisible, but Keill knew exactly where it was. She had tried multiple times to breach it alone, but now she had more firepower.
She laid out all the tools she'd brought, explaining their purpose.
"This is a bomb, this is another bomb." She pointed to a round device with buttons. "This is also a bomb. And that too."
"How many bombs do you have?" Eshrod asked, eyeing the devices warily.
"Enough. Trust me," Keill replied, missing the point.
"I prepared disguises for four people. The rest will charge the front, make enough noise to look like an all-out assault," she continued.
"Who's infiltrating?" Lumos asked.
"I know the layout best, so I'll go. Farha too—her pocket dimension makes carrying bombs easy. You as well—you're the strongest among your group, so you should come with us," she said. "The last one will be Kellta, since she's a Dweller of the Depths and knows the language."
Joart's former group glanced at her uneasily.
"You? A Dweller?" Leonard asked. She sounded surprised, but not afraid.
Kellta removed her mask and waved shyly.
"You guys never figured it out?" Lumos asked. "Why did you think she wore a mask?"
"Well, she didn't have horns, so…" Leonard looked embarrassed. "Wait—is that the imp you talked about?!" she asked, turning to Eshrod.
"Yeah, surprised you didn't figure it out," the Gremlin said.
Talom looked at Kellta and asked,
"Why did you hide your identity?"
The fire-wielding imp said something, but only Eshrod could understand her with the translation rune active.
"She said you didn't exactly have the best opinion of Dwellers," Eshrod explained.
"I guess you were right…" Ironman conceded. "But now that we know the truth, I feel kinda bad…"
Kellta shrugged.
"She says she doesn't really care about those guys," Eshrod translated.
Talom raised an eyebrow, but Keill cut him off.
"We need to go. Time is of the essence."
And thus, began Operation How to Negotiate with the Earth.