When The Cute Godkiller Opens A Tavern [OP Mentor, SoL, LitRPG]

"For the divine, it takes a whole new meaning." ~Valor'el zel Valar

When Grace and the others returned to the entrance of the dungeon, it was Valor'el who greeted them, instead of Shallies. The seraph's understanding expression told them that he already knew what had happened.

"Get your food first," he said. "Lady Shallies will wait."

Valor'el jerked his head to one side. There, by the shore, was a pile of giant rocks that Grace was sure hadn't been there before. They were made in a way that looked like a cliff, held together through pure mana-control. At the top was Shallies, sitting in a way that purposefully left enough space for one more person to sit on it next to her.

"She wants to speak with you one by one after you've eaten." The seraph pointed at Grace first, then to Ren, then lastly to Tayin. "You'll approach her in that order."

Their meal was already prepared. An early dinner. And after Valor'el indicated that the dishes didn't include any Food Buffs, Grace assumed that there would be no more fighting for the rest of the day.

Quietly, all three of them ate. Ren didn't have much of an appetite, and most of it seemed to have transferred to Tayin. The halfling, despite having a near-death experience, was enjoying the food the most. Grace observed the two while she sat beside the seraph.

"It's always like that the first time," Valor'el said, taking everyone's attention. "When you see someone who can easily save you, yet she does nothing to do so. It'll always feel like she had betrayed you."

"You're telling me that Shallies has literally watched someone die in front of her," Ren said, putting down his glass of orange juice with a bit more force than he intended. He didn't look apologetic at all.

Valor'el paused. Grace understood that gesture. The seraph was waiting to see if Shallies would stop him from speaking. Ren noticed this but said nothing. As for Tayin, she was getting more food, humming to herself.

Nothing happened.

"Yes," Valor'el replied. He poured himself a glass of wine and relaxed, leaving his food for a while. "She watched people she cared about die. Every single one.

"When you became her mentees, she creates a significant bond with you. Whether you like it or not, a part of her soul will watch over you. It doesn't track where you are or what you're doing, but it monitors your Lifeline, which is a hidden trait you'll be able to see in your System Consoles after you've met the requirements.

"That piece of soul also binds you to Lady Shallies. And when you die, she'll die as well."

"What?" Ren exclaimed. Grace was a little late to react, as well as Tayin, who paused as she was about to sit down with a full third plate. "That doesn't make sense!"

"For us mortals, no," said the seraph. "For gods and Godkillers, it becomes more complex. Death gains three meanings. I only knew of two until recently.

"First, there's the superficial death. It's a state that most dead gods are in, apparently. Lady Shallies only told me about it when she said that our god could be brought back to life. Next, there's real death. According to her, it's when she truly kills a god, severing them from Destiny with no chance for resurrection or reincarnation. Something that she had done a few times.

"Then there's mutual death. This one doesn't require Lady Shallies' involvement for a god to experience death. But it is a death that all gods go through from time to time."

Valor'el had finished his wine. He went to get more while he kept talking.

"A few chosen Favored Class holders become more favored than the others. They're called Avanities, or the Avatars of the Divinities. They acquire part of the soul of the god who favors them. And this creates a bond that's somewhat similar to a Soul Confidant. Phey'lan is one of those people.

"If these Avanities die or experience any other extremely strong emotions, their god will experience the same thing. Imagine, dying but unable to truly die. To suffer that experience again and again. To feel your heart stop, your mind go blank, your connection to the world severed. We can never truly understand how it feels because we'll only go through it once and then it ends. For them, however, they go through it again and again."

"What does this have to do with Shallies?" Ren interjected. "She's not a god. She doesn't have any Avanities. She doesn't favor anyone."

Valor'el smiled. "How sure are you, Ren? If she can kill gods, entities that can bend the rules and even sometimes break them, do you honestly think that the rules that actually work on these deities also apply to her and Apple? Do you honestly think that Favored Class holders can contribute anything to a Divine War with their own power?"

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A pause. Silence. Valor'el finished his glass and placed it back on the table.

"In Lady Shallies' case. Everyone that she teaches and everyone that participates with her in the Divine Wars are all her Avanities. You three already have a part of her soul, ever since you first officiated your mentorships."

He turned to Tayin. "If you had died, Lady Shallies would've also drowned and been devoured by whatever creature had captured you. But that is not to say, that she'll give you more help than what she has already provided you."

Something has been bugging Grace in the back of her mind during this entire conversation. She couldn't quite pick up on it until now.

"Is that her Great Sacrifice?" she asked. "She's not allowed to save other people?"

Valor'el blinked, and so did everyone.

"No, I don't think so," answered the seraph. "I've seen her save a number of people before."

Ren was clearly angered by this, but before anyone could continue the conversation, a pebble hit Valor'el's shoulder. Everyone turned, alert, but they quickly relaxed when they saw Shallies up on the makeshift cliff waving her hand. She beckoned over.

"You better go up there, Grace," said the seraph, not even bothered by the pebble.

The half-orc quickly finished her meal and excused herself. Before she could even take a step, another pebble hit Valor'el. He rushed his meal and stood.

"I better go with you."

"You've been giggling and smiling the entire time," Ren said. He took his time with his meal, watching the halfling get a fourth plate and merrily eating from it. He didn't dare mention anything about her appetite. "You sure you haven't gone crazy?"

"No, you idiot!" Tayin said. "It's because I'm happy!"

"You almost died a while ago."

"But I lived!" The halfling's genuine smile was contagious, something that Ren had constant trouble keeping away. She smiled wider. "And I'm so happy because of it!"

Ren relaxed. He tried to smile, but he couldn't.

"You, on the other hand, have been frowning this entire time."

"I'm having a hard time believing that Shallies just sat there, watching you suffer." Ren clenched his fist. "She owes you an apology."

"You're forgetting something, Ren," Tayin started, wiping her face with a paper towel. "Shallies literally told us that she's not going to help us fight our fights even if we're about to die. Great Sacrifice or not, I think what she showed us just then is clear enough proof that she's true to her word. Besides, if she did help me, I would feel a little inadequate."

"But that's just crazy!"

"Yeah, you were about to go crazy wild, when I woke up," Tayin said, giggling as she twisted Ren's words. "I saw it, you know. How angry you were at Shallies. You looked like you were about to try and hit her."

"I know that's impossible…" Ren said, sighing. "I know I shouldn't."

"You were cool, though," Tayin said. "Thank you for saving me. That's the biggest part of why I'm really happy. Thank you for caring so much about me."

Ren turned away, embarrassed. He could feel his face warming up.

"Are you blushing!?" Tayin said, jumping off her chair to look at his face. "You are! You're so cute!"

"I'm not blushing!"

"You're blushing."

"Am not!" Ren turned away again and resumed eating to avoid Tayin's stare. "Go back to your seat and eat."

"I like this Ren," Tayin said, going back to her meal. "Cute but strong, and really caring but shy. But I also kind of miss the old you. You haven't even said anything about my appetite this entire time. You would've found all the excuses in the world to call me a fatty by now."

"You almost died," Ren explained. "I thought you're getting your fill to recover."

He scratched his head and turned away again. "I'm not going to call you a fatty anymore, Tayin. I think we've outgrown that stage of our lives now."

"Thanks," the halfling replied. Even without Ren looking, he could tell just by the intonation of her voice, that she was still smiling. "I'll try my best not to call you an idiot when you're being one. And you are being one right now, with Shallies."

"Yeah… I'm sorry."

"Mmm…"

A quiet descended upon the both of them. Only their utensils made any sound. Ren's ears were throbbing. He had been planning to confess his feelings during their entire travel back from Tayin's near-death experience. But the struggle to find the courage for that, along with his confusion on how to think of Shallies from now on, conflicted within him, making him hesitate all the more.

It was like staring at the dark water, not knowing what lied beyond. Not knowing was his weakness. More specifically, not being able to prepare for the unknown was his greatest weakness. He knew those. He had admitted to that. That was the reason why he wanted to be indestructible in the first place.

Still, he had jumped on that water. He had faced his weakness before, he could face it again. He just needed more courage to confess—

"So I was thinking, we should get married after we deal with Thrush'ven Alir."

Ren blinked. He turned to see Tayin had pulled some of her gray hair out of the bun, hiding her face partially behind it.

"What?" he asked.

"You heard me the first time, Ren," Tayin said, peeking from her hair. She was blushing but still smiling. "It's embarrassing to say again, so just give me an answer."

Tayin undid her bun, pulling all of her hair down to fully cover her face.

Ren swallowed his nervousness hard, clenching his fist and finding all of his courage. He didn't need to deal with the unknown this time. Because he already knew, and he was just being an idiot, like she said.

He leaned in close to Tayin, pulling apart her hair curtain to look at her face. She looked so small, so cute, and so embarrassed. But she met his gaze, with all the expectations in the world.

He leaned closer still, until his lips were right next to hers.

Tayin wrapped her slender arms around his head as Ren gave his answer with a kiss.

"Oh my…" Grace said.

She heard a sigh as both she and Valor'el observed Ren and Tayin kissing each other.

"Give them some space," the Godkiller said. She tapped the stone beside her, looking at Grace. "Sit."

The half-orc followed the instruction. Valor'el stayed behind them, standing and facing away from the lovebirds.

Then silence.

There was just the sound of the ocean waves lightly tapping the stone cliff. Grace looked at Shallies, who was looking down on the waters below.

"So," the half-orc started. "What are we talking about?"

Shallies turned to her with a serious expression on her face.

"I want you to jump off the cliff."