The first person that Yale visited was his grandfather, Graenk.
He had been known as the Battle God previously, but he stopped using that nickname latter because the only one allowed to use it was the first God who obtained the Battle Divinity.
If people of low leveled universes used those names in their ignorance, the rightful owners might not care, but Graenk was already a Great God, so using that nickname would be the same as offending the real Battle God.
The True God that owned the title was quite famous as someone that would start a conflict for any reason, and any person who he discovered that also used the title Battle God ended dying in a battle against him.
Graenk was strong enough to join the Council of Gods, but when Alrein offered it to him far before they learned about the war, Graenk refused because he didn't want to catch any attention.
It wasn't because he feared that the real Battle God would learn about him using the nickname in the past because no one who knew Graenk would believe that he feared the real Battle God. It was just that he didn't want problems, and there was no need for him to become a member of the Council of Gods, so he tried to avoid trouble.
If he was really forced to fight against the real Battle God, it was difficult to say how the battle would end because Graenk wasn't weak at all.
However, after the war was announced, the situation changed. Before, if the real Battle God appeared, Graenk would have accepted a battle without too many worries because he was confident in remaining alive even if he lost.
The problem was that the real Battle God had always been a ghost member of the Council of Gods. He obtained the membership in one of the countless battles he had, but he never went to the Council of Gods.
He wasn't against the Council of Gods, but he couldn't be considered to be allied with them either.
However, there was no way they someone who loved battling so much wouldn't choose a side in that situation, and he chose the rebels. He could be considered the only one who just swore not being allied with the Council of Gods to join the rebels instead of the common oath, but the rebels didn't want to reject him and send him to the Council of Gods, so they still accepted him.
The matter among Graenk and the real battle God would have been only between them in the past, but after the real Battle God joined the rebels, if a conflict started, it would trigger the whole war.
Thus, Graenk had been even more low-key than usual, but he was happy living like that with his wife anyway.
Before Yale had the chance to say anything, Graenk spoke.
"So, you have finally come. Alrein already told me about the situation. Don't worry, you can leave this universe in my hands. I will protect it with all my power. Although I wasn't born here, this universe is extremely important to me."
Those who were born before the universe was created had a stronger feeling for that universe than those born there afterward. Although Alrein was the one who created it, the rest contributed somehow to it, so it was different than a universe that already existed before they were born.
"Then, I entrust this universe to you. We probably won't be able to return until the war finished, so you are in charge of protecting the universe in our absence. Sadly, I can't believe that no one will try to attack this universe, you need to be ready."
Without those going to the Council of Gods, the strongest one left was Graenk, so it was normal that he commanded the rest of the universe in case of danger, and no one believed that there wouldn't be any danger for them.
"Don't worry. Although they aren't as strong as you or Alrein, we still have a great power here. Alrein told me that you all have already been summoned to the Council of Gods, don't lose more time speaking with me. I am sure there are others that want to see you before you leave."
The strongest ones among those remaining to protect the universe were mostly of Alrein's era, so Graenk knew them very well, and it was easy for him to coordinate with them.
"You are right. Farewell."
Yale wanted to visit Aiwai before leaving because she knew the whole matter despite being only a Minor God.
Since Wyba was taken away, Yale needed to tell her everything. It was fortunate that Wyba's mother behaved better and didn't ask Yale anything about the matter.
"Mom, I told you that dad would come here."
When Yale appeared in front of Aiwai's room, Ange and Lina were already waiting for him there.
"I never told you the opposite. There was no doubt he would come to bid farewell to Aiwai."
Lina sighed as she saw Ange act more childish than usual. She had been so busy from the day she obtained the membership of the Council of Gods that she just wanted to be spoiled a bit by her parents.
Besides teaching her own disciple, Yale would also help her with her own training. Thus, she wanted to relax a bit since the remaining hours wouldn't change her strength nor her disciple's strength.
"Sorry for being so easy to predict."
Ange and Lina didn't make the slightest effort to hide what they were saying, so Yale obviously heard it.
"Let's go to pay a visit to Aiwai together. I bet she will be very happy. In fact, she discovered both of you long ago, so she is expecting all of us to enter."
Aiwai was weak compared to them, but there was no way she didn't notice Lina and Ange chatting in front of her door while waiting for Yale.
"Of course! We never tried to hide our presence for this reason."
Aiwai had been quite lonely while everyone was focused on training their disciples, so they felt bad for her.
Fortunately, she managed to spend some time with Wyba's mother, but although nominally, Aiwai accepted her as a mother due to being Wyba's mother, they weren't as close as Aiwai was with Yale and Wyba. Even Ange and Lina were closer to Aiwai than Wyba's mother.
It was just that since Aiwai didn't have parents and she considered Wyba her sister, she felt that it was natural agreeing to Wyba's mother's request. If it wasn't for how important Yale was, she would have also asked Yale because Wyba's mother considered Yale as her own cub since the day she gave him the bloodline.
Wyba returned a few times, but since she was following Barha, she never stayed for long, and it had been a long time since their last visit. Moreover, given the sudden call for the competition, she wouldn't return until after the war.
"Aiwai, we came to see you."
Before speaking, Yale had already changed to his half-beast form, and Ange did the same. They knew that Aiwai loved to see them in that form.
"You finally remember my existence. You are too mean to your sister."
Aiwai wasn't really angry because she knew that Yale and the others were busy for important reasons.
"Your mean brother came here to spend some time with you before we leave. There is no way to tell how much time we will need to return, but probably the war would have ended."
Aiwai knew what Yale was meaning. She learned that the war would be an immense one, and that losing meant that they would all die. Anyway, Aiwai would die if Yale died, so she never considered how she would feel if Yale died because she would follow him instantaneously. Aiwai and Wyba had their souls linked to Yale, so no matter how strong they became, they were still linked to Yale, which included the downsides, but neither of them would want to live in a world without Yale anyway.
"Then, you should relax here. It has been a long time since you rested on my fur. Of course, Ange and Lina are also welcome."
Aiwai changed to her beast form and waited for the three to go and rest on her fur.
Since she knew how much responsibility Yale charged on his shoulders, she wanted him to relax one last time.
"A pity that Wyba isn't here, but she is in a crucial step of her training, I hope that she succeeds before the competition, I can't disturb her now."
Yale spoke while resting his body on Aiwai's fur. Ange and Lina did the same, resting in each of Yale's sides.
At that moment, Wyba was still a Goddess, but she was in the process of advancing, so if she succeeded, she would be a Great Goddess when the competition started.
The problem was that it wasn't certain if she would succeed or not, so Yale hadn't told her anything when he observed what she was doing.
Even Barha kept silent about the competition because she didn't want to disturb Wyba.
"I am sorry for Wyba, but it is better if we enjoy this. We won't be able to rest like this for a long time."
Those were Yale's last words before falling asleep. Although he didn't need to sleep, it still felt well doing it sometimes.
