chapter 143

A Memory from the past came to Frey’s mind. It was the time when they tried to subjugate Ananta.

They had used their full power in the fight, but they still suffered a crushing defeat. They didn’t even manage to do much damage before being forced to run for their lives.

It was then that they’d realised that the Demigods weren’t all the same. That they were divided into levels. And those beings that the Circle had nicknamed ‘Apocalypses’ were on a completely different level.

Just looking at Elliah now was enough to send shivers down his spine.

It wasn’t just the cold. Frey was certain.

This woman in front of them was at least on par with an Apocalypse.

‘She’s not stronger than Riki.’

But that didn’t make the situation much better. In the first place, if he were to use Riki as the target for comparison, then every other Demigod other than Lord would appear weak.

He was truly the number two among the Demigods, capable of defeating the other four Apocalypses on his own.

Frey looked around.

‘A Magic Warrior, a Knight and two Wizards.’

If a Witch had come with them, they would’ve been the same as his team from 4,000 years ago.

When he had that thought, Frey felt a little disappointed that Sheryl wasn’t there.

If she had been with them, the range of strategies they could use would’ve expanded greatly.

The versatility of Witches was definitely top-class among the five jobs.

Then it occurred to him that he could use this battle to make up for his failure in the past.

Frey turned to Diablo.

“I’ll take charge.”

[…]

Those words made Diablo turn to look at him.

[I am 9 stars.]

“I know that.

[Are you saying you’d have a better perspective of the battlefield than a 9 star Wizard?]

“I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t think so.”

[Hoh. I wonder where this confidence comes from.]

“Because it’s the truth.”

Diablo fell silent for a moment.

At first glance, it seemed he was embarrassed, but he was also a bit angry.

[If I find that your orders are…]

“I’ll pass command to you immediately.”

[…hmph. Understood. Then take the lead, Frey Blake.]

Frey nodded before turning back to Elliah.

‘The terrain isn’t favorable for us.”

Elliah probably had the power of ice.

He wasn’t certain, but he believed that to be the case since she was able to manipulate the blizzard at will.

It was a very tricky ability. Cold caused the body to stiffen and lowered the its capabilities, which could prove fatal for Wizards and Knights.

“Nora, Snow. Please keep the pressure on Elliah.”

“Understood.”

“This location is no good.”

Nora complained in a low voice. This was understandable since her small body was almost half-buried in the snow.

“I’ll enchant you with fire magic.”

Fwoosh.

Nora and Snow’s bodies became covered in fire mana.

It was difficult to expect an excellent effect, but it was better than nothing.

Taht.

Suddenly, Nora and Snow disappeared at the same time. They moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to follow them with the naked eye, but it was no problem for Elliah.

Clang clang clang!

Dozens of small skirmishes happened in an instant. The sounds of which were mostly covered by the blizzard.

Nevertheless, Elliah did not move from her position. It was almost as if she was a spear of ice stuck in the earth to stop their advance.

‘Is this the power of ice?’

Snow was dumbfounded. Her blade, which could cut through steel like it was paper, was being blocked by a mere chunk of ice.

It would be a lie to say that her pride wasn’t wounded by that fact.

“Hmm.”

Nora’s fist was also blocked by the ice. But since she was much stronger and more experienced than Snow, she was able to think of a way to overcome it.

She looked down at her fist, and then at the ice, before putting her thumb in her fist.

Then she tried again.

Crash!

Her outstretched fist shattered the chunk of ice like glass, sending shards of ice flying everywhere.

Elliah’s eyes widened slightly.

‘What a sharp gaze. She managed to immediately grasp the nature of the ice.’

What was even more surprising was the fact that her body was strong enough to immediately target the weakness after she grasped it.

‘This human is only a step away from becoming a Warrior King.’

But that alone wasn’t all.

Crack crack!

The ground split apart at that moment, and thousands of hands popped out of it. These skinny, skeletal hands swayed .

This was Diablo’s personal spell, Grasp of the Dead.

It was this very spell that held the Demigods in place back at the Blake family residence.

Elliah’s body lightly rose into the air, and the skeletal hands flew up after her before they all suddenly stopped moving.

The simple cold air had blocked their movement.

[Spells below 7 stars won’t be able to affect that woman.]

As he said that, Diablo began casting another spell.

[…it seems 8 star spells only have a slight effect.]

“My spells wouldn’t have much of an effect either.”

In this blizzard, the strength of fire spells would be reduced to less than half. As for ice spells? He didn’t think they would have any effect.

It would be like attacking Nozdog, who had the power of death, with necromantic spells.

Frey spoke briefly.

“I think we’ll have to fight blindly, Diablo.”

[What do you mean?]

“We just have to cast spells until our mana runs out. The stronger the Demigod is, the less decisive Wizards should be in the fight. We just need to force an opening for Snow and Nora to take advantage of.”

[I agree, but it still sounds stupid when you say it aloud.]

“Our top priority is to find out her abilities while stalling for time. If we attack without any information, then we won’t even be able to scratch her.”

It was a standard statement.

Diablo nodded heavily and muttered.

[It will be a long fight.]

There were still three such beings out there.

Apocalypses.

Diablo sighed.

Fortunately, they were currently in critical condition.

‘At least two of them need to die before the odds turn in our favor.’

Then Diablo put those thoughts aside and focused on the fight.

* * *

Agni opened his eyes.

[You’re awake.]

Then he heard an eerie but familiar voice.

When he turned his head, Agni saw Nozdog looking at him.

“…where…”

[We’re in the Livindak Mountains.]

“I…”

Agni frowned as memories began flooding his mind.

“Kuh…”

Riki’s betrayal, their fight against him and their overwhelming defeat.

He was a monstrous being who completely overwhelmed four Apocalypses and even fatally injured three of them.

If it wasn’t for Lord, they all would have died.

“How long has it been?”

“Kuku. It’s only been a few months.”

Ananta gave his signature laugh, but his expression wasn’t cheerful.

“Our injuries weren’t things that could be healed so easily…”

Agni touched his chest.

He remembered Riki’s power of the sword. Riki had even been able to cut his body and soul without issue.

For Agni, wounds on his body would be healed in an instant, but Riki’s attacks had almost killed him.

Not only that, it had also been the same for Ananta and Nozdog. But now, their bodies were fully healed.

There were still questions he wanted to ask, but Agni looked around before asking.

“Where’s Leyrin?”

[She went into hibernation.]

The answer came from behind.

There, a crack appeared in the air from which Lord walked out.

Then he spoke in a happy voice.

[You’re all awake, my comrades. I sincerely welcome you back.]

“Wait a minute. Leyrin is hibernating? What do you mean by that?”

[Leyrin was the only one of you four to not be injured. And while I was treating you, she gave all her divine power to help you. Then her Apostle was killed.]

“Hmm. So that’s what happened.”

[Such a shame.]

Ananta clicked his tongue, and Nozdog nodded.

At that moment, only Agni seemed unable to come to terms with reality.

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Lord suddenly spoke up.

[I had a lot of time to think while you all were incapacitated. I thought about why we had encountered such a situation in the first place. I wondered why we should be bothered to rule over every species and why we should be so concerned about their survival, development and balance… hmm. And it turns out the conclusion is much easier than I expected.]

Paht.

Suddenly, Lord and the other Demigods teleported away. It was Lord’s spatial movement.

They appeared in the country closest to the Livindak Mountains, the desert state Silkid. And the place they appeared was none other than its capital city, Talhadun.

“Wh-, what’s going on? Who are these guys?”

“They appeared so suddenly…”

“Are they Wizards?”

The warriors of Talhadun were shocked when the four transcendent beings suddenly appeared in front of them.

At first, they thought they were Wizards, but when they got a good look at them, their expressions hardened.

“That… isn’t that a Lich?”

“Th-, their auras are strange.”

“Why does that guy not have a face?”

Some of the more experienced warriors immediately put their hands on their weapons while gulping nervously.

Ignoring them, Lord threw something to Nozdog.

[Nozdog, take this.]

Tak.

Nozdog looked down at the little piece of metal in his hand.

[Illuminium.]

[Eat it. Then clean the surroundings.]

When Lord gave the indifferent order, Nozdog immediately put the Illuminium in his mouth while saying.

[Understood.]

Crunch.

Then he made a weird shape with his fingers.

Kugugu.

Immediately afterwards, a giant skull appeared in the sky. The chin of the skull moved up and down slowly, and it gave off a bloody, red glow.

[Swallow.]

Gulp.

Hundreds of people who were looking at the skull suddenly fell to the ground in unison.

This wasn’t because they planned to do so beforehand. Instead, it was because their souls had been absorbed, and all that was left was the shell.

Hundreds of lives had been lost just because of one word from Nozdog.

[This is my conclusion.]

“Did you finally decide to wipe out all of the bugs? Our dear leader.”

As he asked this question, Ananta’s voice had a pleased undertone.

Lord responded simply.

[For thousands of years, the humans and other races have steadily developed their strength. We tried to dominate their growth, but our influence is only superficial. Meanwhile, they quietly developed even further in the shadows. They even created a group called the Circle. Accordingly.]

Lord looked down at his hand.

[Our strength has also weakened.]

“Weakened? Our strength doesn’t change.”

[To be precise, the range of our actions has decreased. Since we realised that the ‘will of the world’ can destroy us, we became reluctant to act.]

They couldn’t help but nod at those words.

Since they’d confirmed the will of the world’s existence, the Demigods became hesitant to expose themselves and gradually retreated into the shadows. Doing their best to control the continent with something other than force.

[That was a weak judgement. Think about it, comrades. Remember how we drove out the Dragons, who fashioned themselves as the continent’s mediators.]

Lord clenched his fist, his voice becoming more and more emotional.

[At that time, we prepared for casualties. Because that was just how powerful the Dragons were. And in truth, we did suffer some losses in the fight with them.]

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

Lord shook his clenched fist as he explained to the confused Agni.

[From now on, we will acknowledge the humans and other races as true enemies, and we will face them with all our might.]

His gaze then turned to the crude castle built in the center of Talhadun. It was the Great Chief’s residence.

Although he realised what he intended to do, Agni had no intention of stopping him.

Instead, there was still something that he needed to know.

“I don’t care whether you want to destroy Silkid or not, but there’s something I’d like to know first.”

[What is it?]

“Where is Leyrin?”

“Hmm? Didn’t he already say she was hibernating?”

Ananta was the one who responded, but Agni shook his head.

“Then I’ll change the question. Lord, why did you say ‘everyone’s awake’ when watching us come to our senses?”

[…]

“Was that just a simple mistake? If not…”

[Isn’t Leyrin there?]

Lord interrupted Agni’s words, but Agni couldn’t help but respond in a confused tone when he heard that.

“What do you…?”

Agni realised that Lord was pointing at him, then his finger moved.

[She resides in your body, Ananta’s body and Nozdog’s body. Leyrin has become a powerful energy that’s flowing through you at this very moment.]

When Agni heard that, he felt a lightning bolt strike his head. He forcibly stopped his body from trembling, and he slowly opened his mouth.

“…no way, so we were able to heal so quickly…”

[Thanks to Leyrin.]

Lord finished in a flat tone.

[After I absorbed her, I gave her divine power to you.]