Nozdog subconsciously shuddered when he heard those words.
He had no choice but to shut his mouth.
Riki drew his sword.
ââŠâ
Then, something strange happened.
Fear gripped Nozdogâs very soul as he gazed at this simple, unadorned sword.
He was astonished by this fact.
âAm I afraid? Me?â
It was impossible.
Because of his control of the power of death, fear was something he was very familiar with, more than any other Demigod.
Although he didnât actually have any memories of feeling it, he knew better than anyone how to control and induce fear.
Lord was the only one who could make him feel that way.
Or so heâd believed.
Until Riki drew his sword, that is.
Riki drew his sword in a slow, smooth motion.
Nozdog didnât move.
No, he couldnât move.
The experience he had gained over the years warned him that moving at that moment would be extremely dangerous.
It would be no different from suicide.
First, he should observe.
They all knew Rikiâs power.
âPower of the sword.â
From the moment a sword entered his hand, even if it was an old, rusty sword with a blunt edge, it would become a sword that was capable of cutting anything.
That was all they knew about Rikiâs power.
But was that truly all?
[Not on the same level.]
These words were said very confidently.
ââŠâ
Riki looked down at his sword.
[A sword without conviction is just a piece of metal.]
He could hear the heavy voice of a man in his ear, as clearly as 4,000 years ago.
He wanted to ask himself.
Is there still no conviction in me?
Am I just swinging a piece of metal?
He was curious.
If that man saw his sword now, what would he think?
Everything started from one question.
[Are you really satisfied?]
âI donât know.â
He still didnât know yet.
[Have you ever risked your life while wielding a sword?]
He hadnât.
Because he was too strong.
Riki only knew one being who was stronger than him, and he never had a reason to fight him.
But⊠if he were to face four opponents at the same time, he would have to stake his life.
[When that time comes, maybe youâll feel something.]
âRight.â
Riki mumbled softly and swung his sword.
His sword seemed to disappear, becoming a flash of white light.
The one standing nearest to Riki was Agni, but Riki wasnât aiming at him.
Agniâs body was made of inextinguishable flames.
In terms of regeneration, he was the best among all the Demigods.
He could still cut him with his sword and even deal a severe blow. But the damage would be insignificant compared to the others.
Because of this, Riki chose to target Nozdog instead.
[âŠ!]
He couldnât avoid it.
Nozdog knew this.
As he had the power of death, Nozdogâs defensive techniques were mediocre at best, and he knew that he would be unable to block Rikiâs attack with just that.
âIn that caseâŠâ
Kooo.
The power of death erupted from his right hand.
It would be a terrible joke for someone who knew they had weak defense to just watch on and wait for death to take them away.
The gold and silver in the room turned purple and melted quickly.
Clang!
The power of death was released as energy.
This caused its speed to match that of Rikiâs sword.
âCan you destroy it, RikiâŠ?!â
Nozdog asked this question inwardly.
Rikiâs answer was yes.
Crack.
[Kuaak!]
Nozdogâs right shoulder was completely destroyed as he released a scream at the tremendous pain he hadnât felt in centuries.
[How⊠did he stop my death energy?]
Just before reaching him, his death energy had disappeared without a trace.
Riki revealed a dagger in his left hand.
Nozdog hadnât realised it because it was in his blind spot.
[E-, even⊠such a small blade could block my powerâŠ]
âThe size doesnât matter. It just needs to be in the shape of a sword.â
[I canât acceptâŠ]
Fury shined from Nozdogâs eyes.
He looked around.
This place was small.
Too small.
He couldnât even stretch properly.
So what would he do?
It was obvious.
He would just have to make it bigger.
Kugugu.
Nozdogâs body began to grow.
Leyrin spoke hurriedly.
âNozdog! If you release your power hereâŠâ
[Shut up!]
âWhat did you say?â
Nozdogâs words caused Leyrinâs expression to stiffen.
This was because the Demigods rarely ever used such harsh terms toward each other.
This was proof that Nozdog was no longer thinking clearly.
âTchâŠâ
Leyrin decided to let it go for now.
Then, she turned to the relatively calm Agni and said.
âIâll protect the Apostles. Agni, you and Ananta help Nozdog.â
ââŠHelpâ
Agni made an uncomfortable expression.
What were they?
They were Demigods.
Beings who had overpowered the dragons and were praised as the strongest.
They were unmatched on the continent.
As such, they were all incredibly proud.
Of course, he had never fought against his own kind.
However, he didnât have a choice at this moment.
ââŠunderstood.â
After receiving Agniâs nod, Leyrin disappeared from her spot.
Riki saw this, understanding that she had gone to move the Apostles to a safe place.
He continued to pressure Nozdog with his swordsmanship.
âCome to think of it.â
He hadnât even used his divine form.
There was a high chance that he would use it in this fight.
ââŠThis is a difficult situation.â
Agni analysed the situation calmly.
He was the master of flames, but that didnât mean he had a fiery personality.
Instead, he was the second most logical among all the Apocalypses, after Riki.
That was why he was able to quickly grasp their current situation and the problems they faced.
The most unexpected thing for him was the fact that Riki really was much stronger than the other Apocalypses.
When it came to divine power, he was certain that Riki was the strongest one after Lord.
However, he couldnât say if he was strong enough to suppress the four Demigods gathered here.
Agni, Leyrin, Nozdog, Ananta.
These beings were among the strongest Demigods in existence.
Nevertheless, there was no sign that they could conclude this situation easily.
Nozdog spread his death energy, covering Ananta and himself.
Even if Leyrin wasnât there, they shouldâve been able to suppress RIki and force him to kneel down.
[Kuk!]
Nozdogâs left arm was injured next.
Riki used his sword to completely dominate the fight even when the blade was only the size of a fingernail compared to Nozdogâs huge body.
âThis isnât good.â
Nozdogâs death energy might have had the ability to cause death itself to his opponent, but he was similarly able to give the dead life.
The undead that he raised were dozens of times stronger than normal undead.
This was natural since even the undead summoned by Oydin, who was simply used as bait, were extremely strong.
Yet, Nozdog still hadnât summoned any undead.
The reason was simple.
It was meaningless.
Even if he summoned hundreds or even thousands of small fries, they would be unable to stall Riki, even for a moment.
âNo. Theyâre not even small fry.â
Even the weakest among Nozdogâs undead could massacre groups of A class monsters.
However, even these undead would not be able to withstand even a single slash from Rikiâs sword.
âBut why can Riki show such strength in that form?â
For Demigods, it was common for them to exert more power the larger they became.
However, Riki was still maintaining his human form.
ââŠno way.â
Was this his strongest state?
If so, then there was a chance for them to win this fight.
Crackle.
A ball of flame flew from Agniâs hand.
It looked like a normal fireball at first glance, but the heat it stored was terrifying.
Riki glanced at him before pausing his attack for a moment to swing his sword at Agniâs flames.
âI knew it.â
âWhat do you know, Agni?â
Ananta, who was standing beside him, asked.
Agni narrowed his eyes as he looked at Riki.
âIsnât it weird? Riki is able to overpower us even in his human form. If he were to enter his divine form, this fight would definitely be much easier, so why doesnât he do it?â
âHmm⊠is it because heâs not in a hurry?â
âNo. Lord will be back soon, so Riki has to end this fight before that. He doesnât have the time to relax.â
âThenâŠâ
Agniâs gaze was locked onto Riki.
His serious expression, skillful swordsmanship and his body filled with divine power comparable to a divine form.
âThat is Rikiâs strongest state.â
âWhat?â
âYouâd understand if you remembered that he has the power of the sword. For Riki, entering his divine form wouldnât mean becoming strong. Instead, it would be a hindrance.â
Ananta nodded.
When they entered their divine form, they would become larger.
For the Apocalypses, while their divine forms werenât as large as Agniâs, who had the largest, they were still much larger than ordinary Demigods.
And for Riki, who used swords, that was a disadvantage. (TL: they donât really explain it, but Iâm assuming this has something to do with him having to use swords, and there not being any swords of that size/the tediosity of having to carry around a sword so large)
âMaybe for the past few thousands of years, Riki trained himself to be able to unleash his full strength in that form.â
âKukuku⊠right. But that still doesnât mean we have any clear countermeasures. As you said, he can still use his full power in that state.â
âThereâs one. If he stays in that state, then his durability should not surpass that of an ordinary mortalâs by much.â
Of course, Nozdog also knew this.
Nevertheless, Riki was moving too quickly, and he was unable to do any damage.
Agni was also not confident he could keep up with his speed, either.
But he had a solution.
Roar!
A pillar of fire rose up from Agniâs body and shot into the sky, causing Ananta to have to back away to not get burnt.
In his divine form, Agni looked down at Ananta and said.
[You should enter your divine form as well.]
âWhy?â
[Because Iâm planning on raising the temperature of this place.]
The heat rapidly rose, and Anantaâs usual smile disappeared from his face.
âTo what extent?â
[Beyond the tolerance of the human body.]
* * *
âHeâs angry.â
Frey was certain.
Lord was practically exuding anger. Far more than 4,000 years ago when he had locked him in the Abyss.
This showed just how much he cared for Riki.
It was also evidence that Rikiâs betrayal was more painful to him than any Demigodâs death.
[I wonât kill you easily. That wouldnât assuage my anger at all. You did something you shouldnât have done. Iâll make you pay for that.] (TL: Lock him in the Abyss!)
Kung.
He felt the space around him get sealed.
Frey sighed.
He couldnât beat Lord even if he awakened his full power at that moment.
He wouldnât even be able to put up a fight.
Just as Frey was about to gather his mana.
âWait.â
A passage appeared in the frozen space, and someone stepped out of it.
It was a woman heâd never seen before.
The woman had a very sensual body and bright, purple hair, but Frey couldnât help but feel like she reminded him of someone.
Lord turned to her.
[Iris, what are you doing here?] (YH: oh it gets better)