Chapter 173

She remembers.

The sword of the Military Deity parried by the Obsidian Sword.

A clash as if swords and blades were grinding against each other, bodies pressing close.

Swinging, slicing, shaking off.

Meanwhile, flowing with those strikes and meeting them head-on.

Even though there was a difference in build, the agility of the Military Deity in the form of a boy followed a different rhythm. Yet, the youth’s response was absolutely flawless.

Using the size difference, closing in and targeting lower extremities with that stance—all met with lowered posture, countered deftly, and turned into a skilled counterattack.

If the Military Deity’s blade dance swept through the battlefield like a soldier’s blade, the youth’s swordsmanship felt far from any dance but possessed the same restraint and control—an extraordinary group martial art.

An individual moving like a collective entity, with discipline and weight.

Yet not heavy, still agile, without lacking anything—speed, response, everything about it.

Then, the boy sang out loud.

“Fear! But do not fear! Behold the brightness coming to you!”

Golden lightning flashed from the golden sword.

And with that, instead of recoiling, the young man’s dark blade began emitting a pitch-black current as if absorbing the lightning.

Every time he swung his sword, its glow flickered, only for the Military Deity to effortlessly block and counter every strike.

Without any hint of burden or threat, the boy continued his dazzling blade dance with an excited expression.

And while stepping back a few paces to defend, then advancing again to counterattack, Heeba noticed something—a certain rhythm, a pattern in the youth’s movements.

‘Not excessive.’

No fully extended arms or legs. When swinging his arm, it barely reached past 90 degrees, maybe extending to 45 at most.

Even his lower body followed the same principle.

Despite this, his movement seemed effortless, almost natural, as if breathing—connecting each motion seamlessly.

‘His feet…’

He usually landed on his heels unless it was unexpected or urgent, where toes or balls of the feet touched the ground first.

There was no dragging or unnatural pressure either.

Using the rear foot naturally to shift balance, he maintained perfect control over his entire body’s equilibrium.

Being familiar with math and geometry, Heeba recognized this immediately.

And to her, trained in such theories, the youth’s movements appeared incredibly captivating and beautiful.

Is all of this not just showmanship but practical combat honed for real battle?

How can someone execute such unnatural movements so effortlessly?

Even considering the boy’s smaller frame forcing him to lower his stance further, there’s no sign of hesitation.

Come to think of it, even when facing taller warriors, there wasn’t much noticeable difference.

It wasn’t as if he adjusted his stance for the boy’s height.

‘Is this his ultimate effort?’

For instance, full commitment.

Surprisingly little arm and hand movement, yet the sword moves dramatically, swiftly, sometimes sharply.

But fundamentally, the essence of this swordplay is… defense.

‘Extremely refined.’

No traces of aggression, decisiveness, recklessness, or violence seen in warriors and soldiers.

Nothing of the sort is visible here.

Even with such intense bodily movement, there’s order and precision.

It feels like… like… an impregnable fortress.

“The Lord of the Heavens and the master of contracts bestows upon me victory! This is the true killing blow of a victor! A punishment from the heavens! Divine retribution! Accept it as your fate!”

From the golden sword came fierce lightning, accompanied now by blazing flames erupting in radiant gold, so vast it could cover the sky and the land.

And yet, somehow, the young man faced it within inches.

Heeba gasped in horror.

‘This is really…’

The end?

“Well, show me what you’ve got! This isn’t the end, is it?! I believe you have more!”

Golden lightning struck down.

“……”

And in response, the obsidian youth countered with his obsidian blade.

“―!!”

Words couldn’t escape her throat.

The collision of light and darkness.

As Heeba trembled, a sudden streak of black light carved through the thunderous blaze.

Black Light.

The trajectory of darkness cutting through.

The imperfect darkness began swallowing up the divine punishment.

“What is this? What’s happening right now…?”

Though unclear,

One thing was certain—he had done something, and now this black trajectory was sucking in the golden blaze like a vacuum.

The buildings, standing proud for centuries, cracked, crumbled, and collapsed under the backlash.

And still, the force extended upward—not toward the surroundings but straight into the sky.

The golden lightning burned fiercely, yet it all seemed to be absorbed into a dark opening in the heavens.

“Ugh!”

Intense heat storms raged across the area, charged with electromagnetic currents causing sand to float and electric arcs to dance wildly, scorching the ground and structures alike.

“Chaos indeed! Since ancient times, light and darkness have been a relationship beyond conditions and constraints—an eternal cycle of birth and destruction! But your darkness is different from evil itself! Thus, seeing your power reminds me greatly of Ahura Mazda’s younger self—I am highly delighted!”

Despite showcasing incomprehensible power, and despite being nullified head-on, not a single shadow of frustration crossed his face.

Rather, he seemed delighted.

Was it because he’d found a worthy opponent?

Or perhaps due to finally having a battlefield where he could unleash his full potential?

If not…

“Well, try this one too.”

Lightning and flames.

And a massive storm swallowing everything.

Each element reaching the domain of divine punishment.

Any one of these could annihilate nations, armies, even gods.

And there are three.

“If this exceeds your capacity, the entire city will vanish without a trace. Are you prepared to receive it?”

“……”

Pointless chatter.

Too soft to possibly be heard,

Yet strangely, Heeba heard it clearly.

“Fair enough!”

The boy shouted heartily.

Soon, the massive storm and lightning wrapped around him, and fiery winds surged around him and his surroundings.

‘For a human to withstand this is way too extreme.’

Heeba’s insides burned with anxiety.

To just sit here and watch this unfold…

Could this be the only chance to bring down the Military Deity?

But…

He—the obsidian youth—is not entirely of this place.

Still, does it matter?

Ultimately, he has come before us and protects us, hasn’t he?

Whether out of pity or due to a competitive spirit toward the Military Deity, or even vengeance—it’s unclear.

“Regnar, what exactly is happening over there?”

Surrounded by crows,

Yet the battle between the giant, the hairy man, and the loathsome avatar of the Military Deity remains temporarily paused.

In the middle of this, the Military Deity suddenly ignites his fervor toward the skies—what kind of harmony is this?

“We might not see it with our eyes… but you’re different, aren’t you? And since this involves a god, you must see it differently, right? Am I wrong?”

“…Yeah.”

Heeba kept her gaze fixed on the scene.

Again,

An incredible clash unfolded.

Perhaps the hairy man approached because of the deep layers of unease and doubt—fear that they might be wiped out by this concept-defying calamity.

After all, seeing how the Military Deity handles both lightning and flames and continues unleashing more suggests…

That his opponent may be something they cannot possibly approach.

But we cannot see.

Is it due to the level, the realm, the gap?

Or… are we simply not ready yet?

“That accursed deity of legions spoke of our god. Why?”

At that moment,

As if directly answering the hairy man’s question,

Through the colossal firestorm, a massive black snake pierced through the obsidian flash and swordlight.

“The god of inevitable defeat, the god of evil.”

Ahura Mazda.

From light and darkness, taking darkness.

From good and evil, taking evil.

From salvation and annihilation, taking annihilation.

“Could you be… ours…?”

Daeva.

Once celestial beings ruling the world,

Now completely on the opposite side.

Their leader, willingly bearing the sins of all evils, accepting the fate of inevitable defeat and destruction.

And their archenemy, said to have been the great adversary of the celestial beings before creation.

But.

Through the Great Annihilation, creating a new world.

Born from Zurvan but eventually consuming even Zurvan himself.

Becoming the Supreme and Perfect Benevolent God.

And his followers, creations, disciples—they are our true enemies.

Had we not known this secret, we would have blindly accepted the predetermined notions of good and evil.

As we used to.

Long ago.

His name is Ahura Mazda.

And his rival, called brother, is Ahriman.

Also known as:

Ohrmazd, Ormazdes, Hormuz, Azhandara.

Eventually, he reached an unapproachable level.

Thus, the current Second Heavenly Lord, the Brightness God, is Mithra.

The Master of Contracts.

An existence that always held its position and prestige throughout eras and worlds.

And he…

Would continue to spread his presence and authority even in an age where our language faded away.

Known as Mithras (Μίθρας).

Yes. That’s the determined future.

Such a future she foresaw.

For a very long time.

Therefore, Heeba and Regnar judged resistance meaningless.

The goal is survival and preservation.

Simply surviving.

But.

If the future I saw differs from what I knew?

If it contained arrangements and plans far beyond my understanding?

How can we possibly fathom the realms dreamed and planned by the gods?

Yet, we once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them.

We too.

“I might have been receiving revelations since a very long time ago.”

Only, blinded eyes and deaf ears prevented recognition.

“Hahahaha! Appearing here?! Ahriman-!”

The Military Deity bursts into laughter.

The laughter soon turns into wild guffaws.

His voice booms louder, echoing like the earth itself trembling.

But.

The content sounds like a child discovering a fun toy, brimming with excitement.

“Well, we can’t just stand idly by!”

I, from the start,

Was never meant to be just a warrior or soldier!

“I was born to be a Legion Commander!”

Smashing through adversity.

Shattering despair.

Reversal upon reversal.

Guaranteed victory.

Instilling fear and unease in enemies.

Bestowing faith and belief in allies.

“You! The evil that must be crushed! Darkness!”

The boy floats mid-air, carried by the wind.

Below him, steel warriors and their massive avatars rush in en masse.

Merely their presence begins to devastate the surrounding area.

“Since you’ve dared to raise your head, you must pay the price!”

The obsidian snake roars.

Its enormous form, half-submerged in some unknown abyss of darkness, yet the exposed portion alone seems capable of enveloping the entire city.

Meanwhile, Carriel, who narrowly avoided falling to his death by diving into the darkness, coughs up sand stuck in his throat and grumbles inwardly.

“…So this is why you summoned me?”

Athena?

As if responding to his words, the massive snake’s pitch-black eyes, resembling the Black Sun from mythology, intensely gaze down at him.

Unlike the Military Deity and Heeba, Carriel interprets the situation entirely differently.

-Snakes symbolize cycles, creation, life and death, eternity. If represented in terms of the mundane and creations, they signify the origin of the Mother Goddess.

The Demon King, who had attached himself unnoticed, draped his arms over Carriel’s shoulders and pointed upward.

The sky, already obscured by the massive entity, no longer reveals its clarity or brilliance.

This is the archenemy of the current Heavenly Lord.

And.

In our era… equivalent to the Demon King.

-Later, when you meet him, the Demon King you’ll chat with in Hell—they share the throne, constantly devouring, absorbing, raping, subjugating each other, winning and losing… It’s absurd, isn’t it?

“…Why does that sound so trivial?”

“So, what should we do now?”

-Why are you asking me?

And replacing the Demon King’s snort,

-Naturally, you should help me.

Athena—or rather, Ahriman—spoke.

Wait, weren’t you a goddess?

Ignoring the ridiculous power in the voice… this is a man’s voice, isn’t it?

-Can one maintain dignity and sovereignty when their throne has been usurped?

“…?”

As Carriel furrowed his brow in confusion,

The Demon King started explaining condescendingly.

-He doesn’t get it! Losing and becoming a trophy means your status, position, everything has been demoted and transformed! It’s a pretty common story in mythology. Didn’t I explain something similar before? You don’t remember?

“…Ah.”

So that’s what it was?

Meaning originally she too…

Never mind. It’s irrelevant now.

Mythology, when the veil is lifted to reveal the truth, becomes this pitiful, doesn’t it?

“Oh glorious one! Warrior! What are you doing!? Forget your previous efforts! Now is the time to face the embodiment of all evils! Come to me quickly! Use your chaos to execute righteous deeds! This is a rare opportunity that may or may not come again even if the world is reborn!”

“…”

But sir,

The Military Deity is also urgently calling me.

Which side should I go to obediently?

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