“So. How’s everyone doing?” Levi asked, looking around the camp.

  Isa shrugged, leaning against the wall. “I’m fine. I didn’t even fight.”

  “Why did we run?” Colin asked.

  They stood in the same cave they’d hidden from the cannibals in earlier, except now there were no cannibals left who knew where it was. Neither Kai nor Vox knew about the dungeon, or at least, Isa thought Vox wouldn’t, so they were safe. And if either of the other two Champions came for them, there was always the back exit.

  “Vox was too strong. We couldn’t beat him, not even with Kai. Not yet, anyways.” Levi nodded toward the exit of the cave. “So we level up. Get out there and take on the next two villages. It isn’t going to catch me up to Vox, but it’ll get me close enough to be able to pose an actual threat to him.”

  “And Kai?” Isa asked.

  Levi shrugged. “I’d appreciate if he wounded Vox.”

  “Wouldn’t you do better fighting alongside him?” she prompted.

  “Nah. He’s strong, but we’re both used to fighting alone. Well.” Levi looked at the undead all around him. “Alone, anyways. If I fight Vox with him, and we win, you can guarantee that the next fight will be him attacking me.”

  Isa hummed. She nodded, but distractedly.

  “Well, plans are all well and good, but if he’s there when Vox comes at me, I’m using him. In any case, our ideal scenario is that we clear the dungeon and scurry out before Vox finds us. After all, we gain nothing from killing him, but we lose everything if he kills us.”

  “Right. Because we’ll be dead,” Isa deadpanned.

  “Precisely.”

  “Do we really gain nothing? Won’t that prevent the apocalypse, if we kill Vox?” Colin asked.

  Levi shook his head. “I don’t think so. I mean, think of it this way. Whoever wants the apocalypse, whether it’s the gods or someone else, they’re going to set off the apocalypse whenever they want. Do you get what I’m saying? Armageddon doesn’t stop happening because one of the angels left the horns at home. Ragnarok doesn’t stop rolling in because someone left the toenail boat in the harbor.”

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  “Toenail boat?” Colin asked, lost.

  “Norse mythology, keep up. Literally thousands of years old, so you can’t ding me for spoilers. But anyways, you get what I’m trying to get at? We’re the precursors to this apocalypse. We’re the warning signs. The foreseen warnings. But if there aren’t twelve Champions, do you really think whoever wants this world over is going to wave the white flag? Oh no, technicality, sorry, can’t destroy the world, we only have eleven mortals chosen by the gods.”

  Colin nodded, slowly. “I… kind of get it. But isn’t that how prophesies work? Aren’t they requirements, or whatever?”

  Levi waved his hand. “Eh. At best, you can say that’s how humanity interpreted it. All I know is that my Goddess didn’t warn me about needing to stay alive so the world ends. I think this whole ‘Champions’ thing is just something the gods want. I mean, right? If the world ends, someone has to take possession of whatever’s left, so why not duel it out with a proxy war between superpowered mortals? It sounds interesting to me, and I guarantee it sounds interesting to the gods, too. But if one of the gods loses their Champion, I’m pretty sure the Apocalypse will keep right on happening. I don’t think it’ll pause, not for one moment.”

  “That does make far more sense than the alternative. For one, the gods have never cared much for mortals. It always struck me as strange that twelve Champions were required to end the world. Why would the gods let mortals control their timing at this final juncture?” Isa mused aloud.

  “Right, exactly. You’re picking up what I’m putting down. We’re just proxy agents of the gods, not the keys that open up the locks to the apocalypse. So… yeah. Killing Vox removes a proxy agent, but it won’t stop the apocalypse. Vox is the only one dumb enough to think that. And Kai. And most of the other Champions.” Levi paused. He shrugged. “Probably. Who knows? It’s magic, so maybe the apocalypse really does stop if we don’t have exactly twelve Champions. But I wouldn’t put money on it.”

  He clapped. “So. Wild guesses aside, Isa! Where is that next town, and can we get there without running into Kai or Vox?”

  She gave him a look. “They know we’ll be headed to the other villages as well. It wouldn’t surprise me if one or both of them were waiting for us at the next village. After all, there’s only three villages.”

  Levi nodded. “Alright. Let’s outthink them, then. Why don’t we head straight for the third village?”

  “It’s much higher level than the first two. If you don’t progress through all the villages, you’ll probably struggle to wipe out the third.”

  “But it’s stronger, so that means more EXP, right?” Levi guessed.

  Isa nodded. “Yes.”

  “We don’t need to sweep in and genocide the village like we did with the first one. We can do a little guerilla warfare. Lure out the villagers in ones and twos and take ‘em down. Plus, harder for Kai and Vox to find us that way,” he pointed out.

  She shrugged. “It sounds reasonable enough to me.”

  “Are we going ahead with this? Hoping the Champions aren’t actually the locks to the apocalypse, and ignoring Vox and Kai?” Colin asked, concerned.

  “Yes, and no,” Levi said. “Yes, for now. But once we’re strong enough? Hell yeah, we’re killing Vox and Kai. I don’t care if they’re the locks to the apocalypse or not. I don’t care if I’m just treading water by killing them. They’ve tried to kill me, and all of you by extension. As far as I’m concerned, they’re dead,” Levi pledged.

  He turned toward the exit and smiled. “But first, let’s level up!”