After another half-day of travel, the caravan finally arrived at Alancretia, entering a stone tunnel before exiting onto a bridge connected to a city painted blue, the water surrounding it shining crystal clear and bright.
"This is it! The city of water and hot springs, Alancretia!" Aqua said in joy.
"No way! I see elves and dwarves in the streets! Now it's more like a fantasy world!" Kazuma said.
"Ah, smell that clean air, folks! You don't get that on enough worlds!" Nemo said.
"Yeah…but is it? I mean, like Aqua said…this town's the home base of the Axis Church." Theo said.
"Eh, I mean, it can't be that bad." Ethox said. "I mean, Aqua may be a bit of a handful sometimes, but most of the time, she means well. So her followers must be-"
The Nobody was interrupted when a crowd formed around the group.
"Hello, travelers, and welcome to Alancretia!"
"Might you be adventurers? Pilgrims? Tourists? Converts?"
"If you're looking for work, the Axis Church is hiring right now!"
"You can get paid to tell other towns how wonderful the Axis Church is!"
"You get amazing perks, like calling yourself an Axis Disciple!"
"Join us! Please join us!" the crowd chorused.
"...Eh…?" Ethox said, his eyes swirling in confusion.
"It was already enough being Rhea's spy on an old acquaintance. Rather not go through that again." Yuri said before snapping Ethox out of it.
"Huh? Oh! Um…W-We aren't here to convert, but thanks anyway." Ethox said to the crowd.
"Alright, you heard him, we're just going to head off!" Kazuma said as the group made a hasty retreat.
"Have a blessed day in our blessed town!" the crowd waved the group off.
"Aqua, are all your followers…like that?" Ethox asked the goddess.
"You mean devoted and eager to spread their faith? Well, of course!" Aqua said. "My followers are the best!"
"Uh…that's not what he meant." Ultra asked.
"They're more like cultists. Even the Church of Seiros isn't this fanatical." Yuri said.
"Cultists is mild, they act like door to door salesmen!" DJ said.
"Hey, I don't tell them how to get followers!" Aqua said. "If they act a little too enthusiastic for you all, you can't blame me for it." she said, as Megumin quickly suppressed a look of horror on her face, unseen by the rest of the group.
"Are they going to be a problem in regards to the negotiations?" Rosalie asked.
"I don't see a problem at all, but if you mean they'll be part of the meeting...nah, I don't think so." Aqua waved off. "Things that don't directly involve them aren't their business."
"Then I guess we'll just have to put up with their nonsense for now." Tanya said, looking sullen. "Though I can't promise that I'll get through the day without shooting someone in the foot…"
"Do your best, Major!" Viktoriya encouraged her younger leader.
"I suppose our first course of action is to find a place to stay, then go find the rest of the Fodlan leaders." Mirror Match said, before turning to the three with them. "I don't suppose you know where they are staying?"
"Probably at an inn nearby." Byleth said.
"That would be the most likely location." Yuri said.
"Great, let's get over there…before anyone starts converting us again." Shez said.
It was then that they all checked in to the nearby inn where waiting inside were Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude.
"Hey…been awhile." Claude said.
"Guys!" Ethox said. "Great to see you all again! How're things going back home?"
"Things have been going well. No wars breaking out, thanks to all our working together in Onigashima." Claude said.
"And on top of that, there hasn't been any activity from Those Who Slither in the Dark since that day." Edelgard added. "It seems their losses during that battle were too much to recover from."
"Nevertheless, we're glad you three heeded Rosalie's summons." Mirror Match said. "I trust the Axis Church did not bother you too much upon your arrival?"
"Lemme guess, they stopped you at the front door and feverishly asked if you wanna join them too?" Claude asked.
"They were perhaps a little… too energetic. But once they discovered who we really were, especially Edelgard, they backed away." Dimitri explained.
"They also backed off when the saw Rhea." Claude said. "Turns out they didn't really wanna try messing with the Church of Seiros. Though, I'd watch it if they find out you follow some goddess named Eris."
"Hm? I devote my faith to the goddess Eris. Is there a problem with that?" Darkness asked.
"Apparently, yes." Edelgard said.
"Axis members don't really take too kindly to hearing her name." Claude said. "From what we heard, anybody who's a follower of Eris will get discriminated in every way short of a stoning."
Darkness was silent for a moment, contemplating that statement, before she ran out the door. "Everyone! I am a follower of the goddess Eris!"
"...Yeah, should've seen that coming." Ultra sighed.
"Seriously? That turns her on too?!" Naofumi said.
"Eh, she'll be fine, it's Darkness, masochism personified." DJ said. "She'll come back when she's…satisfied, I guess."
"Why do the Axis Church hate Eris though?" Ethox asked before looking at Aqua. "Is it because you can't stand her either?"
"Please. It's not hate. They just know that she pads her boobs and that I'm great." Aqua said.
"We didn't come here to talk about religion!" Rosalie spoke up. "We have to get started on our plans for dealing with the Demon Lord!"
"Rosalie is right, though her wording isn't quite accurate." Edelgard said. "Let's begin our Zenos Road Countermeasure meeting at once."
The group headed to a separate conference room, where inside, Rhea already was waiting.
"Hello, everyone. I've been waiting for you." the archbishop greeted as everyone sat down. "It is time for us to discuss the important matter at hand. The Demon Lord of Gaeabrande, Zenos Road, is loose in the multiverse, and ever since the battle at Onigashima, he has caused all sorts of mayhem. From unleashing the Nihilistic Demon, Odio, to reviving his four Heavenly Kings and forming an alliance with the former Mad King, Bohan. I believe we are all in agreement. Zenos Road must be stopped as soon as possible."
"We're already well aware. We've already got a plan in play actually." Theo said. "But, we can't share a thing."
"Why not?" Rosalie demanded. "Is it because of who you have working on this plan? Who are they? Brave heroes?"
"In a way. Demon Lord Rimuru Tempest…and Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown." Theo said.
"You…are working with demons?" Rhea said in surprise.
"Yeah. And they also helped in freeing Onigashima." Theo said.
"But they're demon lords! They're evil!" Rosalie said.
"Eh…you just don't know'em like we do." Theo smiled.
"And just because they're Demon Lords, it doesn't make them evil." Yuri added.
"Yeah, Rimuru only has the title of Demon Lord. He's not exactly a real demon." Ethox said.
"Even still, your guild's roster is completely unfathomable." Rosalie said. "You're backed by two massive nations, and you have the support of numerous heroes coming from other worlds. If you truly wanted to, you could conquer a universe or even a world."
Theo got up and walked towards Rosalie before raising a hand and giving her face a slap.
"Theo what are…." Mirror Match said.
"Conquer the worlds and universes? That's not…what adventurers do. We explore the unknown, discover lost treasures, even take out evil monsters and bad guys. We aren't…your mercenaries." Theo said seriously.
Rosalie recovered from the slap and was about to draw her sword… but then she remembered what happened before with Seiya and backed down.
"You're right… my apologies. I was thinking like royalty and not from your point of view." Rosalie said.
"Regardless of our standings, we still agree that Zenos is a threat. After all, he was slated as one of Kaido's allies during the battle at Onigashima, and was in full support of the New Onigashima Plan." Dimitri said. "We don't know what he's planning, but all the same, we have to be united to stop him. I'm sure we're all in agreement on that."
"You bet we are!" Rista said. "Zenos was my responsibility at first, and now so many more people have been caught up in it. If I don't see this through to the end, then I can't call myself a goddess."
"And Zenos has been gunning for us since the start. We're going to finish this, one way or another." Ethox agreed.
"And we will. But we can't rush him…least not yet." Theo said.
"Why not? What's keeping us from doing so right this very instant?" Rosalie asked.
"For one, we don't even know where he's hiding out, or what his plans are." Mirror Match said. "He is not about to reveal his hand so early."
"I get it. So we're gonna wait it out until he makes a move first." Claude said.
"Exactly. Not exactly the best plan, I'll admit, but it's worked for us so far." the former king said.
"The best offense is a good defense." Yuri said.
"So we're just gonna wait in Alancretia until Zenos finally makes a move?" Mash asked.
"Works for me! This is a hot spring town, after all." Elulu said.
"Hopefully we can stay here for a while and tolerate Aqua's fanatic church members." Legolia said.
"Well…meetings over then." Theo smiled as Mythos Hearts dispersed.
"Okay…seriously, what is this plan you keep going on about?" DJ asked. "We didn't know about any plan."
"That's because we didn't tell you, cause of two or more certain talkers in your party." Cobalt said.
"...Oh yeah." Ethox realized. "Sorry…"
"On the subject of our party, we should probably go find Darkness." Ultra said. "Tough or not, we shouldn't leave her alone too long."
"Yeah, good point." Ethox agreed. "Bro, we're going to find Darkness. We'll be back at the inn, hopefully before nighttime, so we'll see you when we get back."
"Good luck…" Theo said as Ethox and his party ran off as Cobalt chuckled. "What?"
"Nothing. It's just you've gotten more serious since you and Ethox met." Cobalt said.
"Well I am the older brother here. I gotta be the serious one." Theo chuckled. "So…the plan…"
"It's nearing completion. Just needs a bit longer." Cobalt said. "The announcing team will arrive when the time comes."
"Good. Can't wait." Theo said. "This has been a long time coming, Zenos."
As the Fatebreakers walked through the streets of Alancretia, they felt as if they were pieces of meat, surrounded by starving wolves.
"Why do I feel like we're gonna get hounded by the Axis Church again?" Legolia asked.
"Probably because we're gonna be hounded by the Axis Church again." Nemo answered.
"Lets just find Darkness before any of them get any ideas." Koenig said.
"Ah!" A little girl called out as she fell over.
"Here, let me help you up." Legolia said, helping her up.
"Thank you miss. What's your name?" she asked.
"It's Legolia, also known as High Elf Archer." Legolia said.
"Neat. Could you show me how to spell it?" the girl asked, offering a pen and paper.
"Of course." Legolia said, taking them.
"Heh…I wish I could give out my-" Kazuma said before he saw what was on the paper, his face morphing into one of horror.
"Huh? Something wrong, Kazu-?" Legolia said before looking at the paper to realize it was an application to join the Axis Church.
Without a word, Kazuma snatched the paper away from Legolia and ripped it in two.
"KUSOTAREEEEEEE!"
On that day…Kazuma Sato lost faith in humanity.