Group by group, individuals recruited and summoned by Josephine Wong and her friends and colleagues at the Division and from the Grant Academy came to a giant hall in Xianshi Inn. They included monks wearing light but meticulously enchanted cassocks while others holding long metal and wooden staves and some had Vajra pestles in the sleeves, exorcists in leather or silk armors with swords and batons, mages, witchers and sorceresses, and last but not least, knights and warriors.
On one end of the hall, there was a small platform, on which stood Josephine Wong, Professor Barnes, Professor Dorothea Clarkson, Pei and Nameless. Some other members of Josephine Wong's team were standing beside the platform, including some members in Division Agents' uniforms.
"When is he gonna come?" Professor Barnes walked to Josephine Wong's side and asked.
"Soon. We still have three minutes." Josephine Wong said: "Don't worry. He'll be here."
"You've got an awful lot of faith in him." Professor Dorothea Clarkson shook her head and said: "You know - I can and have accepted the fact that he's a god walking among us - wounded and all. But - why does he care? He's a god right? And knowing everything - "
"Well, what else can you do?" Josephine Wong chuckled, then shrugged: "You can just refuse to accept it, or you can still have doubt in your heart but still hold it in and get on with it. But what would it help in the end?"
"Hopefully not as some kind of sacrifice?" Professor Dorothea Clarkson twitched her left eyebrow.
"Yeah well, if that is indeed the case I'd better be worth a lot. I better be the fuel that created the next intergalactic overlord." Josephine Wong laughed.
"Woosh!" Just this moment, a group of warriors, mages and fighters with superpowered gears and a small team of wizards and witches in silk white robes appeared at a corner of the hall.
"I thought the Division fast reaction forces were here already?" Pei asked.
"These are additional support, from two security council members." Josephine Wong smiled and waved at them the leader of the two teams: Lady Ryleen and Bruj.
An orange and golden beam of light appeared on the platform, and just like a portal, Jianmen walked out from inside.
"Well, is this everyone?" Jianmen asked, rubbing his temples with a frown on his face.
"That should be it, I can't guarantee there won't be more coming though." Josephine Wong answered with a bright smile: "After all, it's the party of a lifetime. I passed out a lot more invitations."
"Thank you. Thank you. You've done so much." Jianmen smiled and patted Josephine Wong on her left shoulder, then walked up front and said to everyone with an enhanced voice: "Hi everyone. Thank you very much for being here.
"Now, you may not know me, but my name is Jianmen Yu, former student of the Clan of the Golden Feather, and I am the owner of Xianshi Inn, which is this place. And it is my honor to be standing here with you.
"Now, as all of you are already aware of what kind of threat and enemy we will be facing, I will not attempt to repeat the information. In less than an hour's time, we will be entering the realm, where the famous Hellinger Family once resided, and where the tear in the world was created.
"Defilers are creatures with a thin-waisted pyramid social structure - they have a lot of lower level swarm creatures as their drones; they have a small number of mid level creatures that serve as some kind of middle management tier, those of you who were present during the incident of Clearwater Municipal Hospital, you would have already seen one of that; and finally, there would be a few top tier, which serves like a god and ruler to the rest.
"For those of you who know about the municipal hospital and what happened there - I encourage you not to worry. Defilers only appeared to have that kind of power because of the kind of energy they possess - the kind of power that tends to disintegrate order. But I am here with you, and I'd here share with you the two things that will help you battle them and put you on an equal footing with them: the first, is your will - the stronger your will is behind your every attack, the more your attacks hurt; and the second thing, is this - "
Josephine Wong's eyes widened in utter surprise when Jianmen took out two pieces of white crystal and displayed them to everyone in the hall. She wanted to go forward and ask Jianmen, but while she was hesitating whether she should, Jianmen crushed the two pieces of crystal with his hands.
"These two crystals are a kind of rare resource that you cannot find in the wild. It takes a lot of effort to obtain them, but they have this really helpful and neat property - they could help us repair order and fight chaos." Jianmen explained to everyone, as the energy released from the crystals slowly filled the room, and under his command, slowly went into everyone's body and mind as a noticeable warm blessing: "And this I share with you. Once again, I am honored to be standing here with you. Please ready yourselves, the gateway will open in ten minutes. If any of you would like some drinks or cake, please feel free to ask." When the energy released by the crystals reached Jianmen, out of a sudden inspiration, he used his power of mind and will to separate out a small "blob" of this energy and sent it away from the hall, and to the coordinates of his and Josephine Wong's students.
"Why?" When Jianmen went back to this end of the hall, Josephine Wong came to his side and asked.
"Why not?" Jianmen shrugged.
"But …"
"No 'But'. I've made my decision."
"Okay, okay - it's just - I don't know what to say - "
"No need. Just - survive and don't die, okay?"
"... you too."